Kinghts of Badassdom - Blu-ray

Film: Actually, Joe (Ryan Kwanten) enjoys his life to the fullest. He enjoys working as a car mechanic, and his life with his rich buddy Eric (Steve Zahn) in his castle-like home couldn't be more perfect. But when his girlfriend Beth (Margarita Levieva) breaks up with him, he considers that maybe it's time to grow up and strike out on his own. But Eric won't let his best friend struggle with such thoughts. Together with Hung (Peter Dinklage), he drugs Joe and unceremoniously ships him off to a big live-action event. But Joe, for the life of him, doesn't want to participate as a knight in the battle for the mythical realm of Evermore. Only the sight of the sexy fellow player Gwen (Summer Glau) leads to the fact that he can be persuaded to stay. But unfortunately, the game soon turns bloody serious when Eric summons a real demon during a ceremony that takes the form of Beth, of all people. And while the friends still think they're in for a relaxing weekend, the demon begins its bloody hunt for the LARPers, who soon have to muster some real heroism...

Knights of Badassdom is not only a movie about but also for nerds. The cast alone will make any nerd's heart beat faster: Ryan Kwanten from True Blood, Peter Dinklage from Game of Thrones, Tom Hopper from Merlin and Black Sails, Danny Pudi from the comedy series Community and of course Summer Glau (Firefly, Terminator: S.C.C.), who has even had her own episode dedicated to her in the hit series Big Bang Theory. Wrong Turn 2 director Joe Lynch has embedded these actors, who are very popular with his target audience, into a very quirky story that presents itself as an amusing mix of comedy and horror.

There certainly could have been a bit more taken out of the live-action role-playing scenario. But the approach alone is really very charming and funny. Not every gag is right and sometimes the staging seems a bit too trashy. But overall, this weird demon hunt is a lot of fun. This is also due to the fact that here not only some of the typical nerd clichés, but also the brutality are unrestrained exaggerated. The fun factor is actually only marred by the fact that the script fails to fully exploit the potential from the truly delightful basic idea. Too often the story relies on predictable, flat gags and thereby also loses sight of the development of the actually very likeable characters. So, unfortunately, they remain too one-dimensional in the end to be able to remain really lasting in the memory.

With a slightly cleverer script and a few less zotes Knights of Badassdom would have had quite easily the stuff of a cult film. Because thanks to the perfectly chosen cast and the original starting idea, the horror comedy works really well for long stretches and offers the target audience some really fun moments. That the film didn't turn out as good as it could have in the end is a shame. But since the good laughs and amusing ideas over the rather bland gags ultimately clearly dominate, remains at the bottom line a positive overall impression, which then also allows only one conclusion: Absolutely worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The Blu-ray presents the film in good picture and sound quality. The visuals are pleasing with a high level of image sharpness and a powerful blend of colors. The matching of contrasts and black levels is also on a good level and support the overall positive impression throughout. The audio is present in a fairly lively DTS-HD Master Audio mix, with decent surround effects every now and then to keep things moving in the multichannel realm. Good!

Extras: Bonus features include four short promo interviews with Peter Dinklage (approx 1:19 mins), Summer Glau (approx 1:59 mins), Steve Zahn (approx 1:07 mins) as well as director Joe Lynch (approx 7:12 mins). There are also two mini-featurettes on the special effects (approx. 1:11 min.) and the clash of horror and comedy (approx. 1:05 min.). The best extra, however, is the panel from San Diego Comic-Con (approx. 48:34 min.), where the cast and director talk about the filming in front of enthusiastic fans. Various program tips from the provider round out the additional offerings. Good!

Conclusion: Knights of Badassdom is an amusing mix of affectionate parody of live-action role-playing games and twisted horror comedy. True, not every gag is spot on and at times the whole thing degenerates too far into the silly. But the cast, which makes every nerd's heart beat faster, some very funny ideas and the charming-trashy production ensure that the fight of the sympathetic LARPers against demonic forces has become great fun despite its weaknesses. The Blu-ray presents the comedy in good picture and sound quality and has with a special from the Comic-Con also really worth seeing bonus material on board. All of which is then enough for a: Absolutely recommended!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp