Pac-Man the Movie

I came in to this expecting seven minutes of pacman graphics with the title character being dubbed . This isn't in fact what I got . Instead the bulk of this short is very much live action here the audience see a news report and the action cuts to an underground military base where a US Army officer is being shown a new scientific technique by a couple of techno whizzkids . It was at this point I was reminded of another 80s arcade game TRON which was also turned in to a movie . This is a fan made film and is technically proficient . The downside is like a few shorts it feels like a calling card screaming " If you liked this please give us some money to make a full length feature " but I'm trying to think has there ever been a decent Hollywood movie based on a video game ? Mind you how often do you see a decent film come out of Hollywood these days anyway ?

The news is full of rumors about what is going on inside the Maze Complex deep below ground inside a military compound; talk of Project Yellow Sphere have gotten out but nobody is quite sure just what it is and what it is trying to achieve. Today is testing day and one officer is going to experience firsthand what the project is all about.

Pac-Man the Movie is a fan film but to call it this really doesn't do it justice because it is really well made across several aspects and it functions as a whole much better than I expected it to. Video game and toy conversions are not uncommon now with Transformers, Battleships, Mario Brothers, Streetfighter and others all kicking around for some time, so why not Pac-Man? Well, this film makes that suggestion in a way that must at very least be making some executives sit up and suck a thoughtful tooth over the potential because, as an intro, this little short is great fun.

The atmosphere is key. We have military men talking tough and walking through corridors in the way they do in Hollywood movies, then we have the scientists in a clean, professional tech environment. All of this looks great and the most are made of the sets because they really do feel high budget. From here we have Pac-Man himself who is revealed as a fun character who gets a high-speed special effects sequence in the maze, with cool ghosts, impacting sound and some nice slow-motion moments. It is fast, has energy and it is really entertaining. The performances all perfectly fit the tone of the Hollywood blockbuster and the special effects are just top notch.

There are loads of bad game and video game adaptations out there, but this isn't one of them – a really entertaining short film, but please, let's all promise not to make a feature film out of this.