Beau Bridges Movie:

				Salesrank: 188346
		Used Price: $80.91
		MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Media: DVD

Editorial Review:
Less raunchy than Tommy and more conventional than Tron, The Wizard also revolves around gaming. There's even a Bridges on board. In Tron it was Jeff, in The Wizard it's Beau. As opposed to the rock opera’s pinball-playing "deaf, dumb, and blind kid," however, quasi-catatonic Jimmy (Luke Edwards) is a video game wiz. While the nine-year-old lives with his mother, half-brothers Corey (Fred Savage, circa The Wonder Years) and Nick (Christian Slater, fresh from Heathers) live with their father, Sam (Bridges). When Jimmy, who recently lost his sister, is placed in a home, Corey busts him out for a trip to California. (Today, Jimmy's condition would be labeled post-traumatic stress disorder.) As they're leaving Utah, they join forces with gaming enthusiast Haley (Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis), who suggests LA's National Video Game Championships. So, off they go by foot, skateboard, and the kindness of strangers. Sam, Nick, and obnoxious bounty hunter Putnam (Will Seltzer) are close behind. The outcome may be a foregone conclusion--the fractured family makes their peace--but The Wizard still offers a nostalgic, Nintendo-laden look at 1980s gamer culture (Power Glove, Super Mario Bros. 3, etc.). Plus, sharp-eyed viewers will spot Toby Maguire milling around before the showdown at Universal Studios Theme Park. If not for the hitchhiking, gambling, and reckless automotive destruction--after Putnam takes a knife to Sam's tires, Sam smashes his headlights with a shovel--the movie would be appropriate for all ages. In other words, it earns its PG rating. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

The Wizard [Region 2] Reviews:
For the most part, a cheap cash-in for Nintendo
2009-11-10 - I consider myself a very unbiased reviewer here. I went to see this movie in the theater back in 1989. At the time I kinda liked it. I mean what kid wouldn't? It had kids like us who were playing Nintendo in order to win copious amounts of money at Universal Studios in... CALIFORNIA!!! It also had some obnoxious backstory about the kid's dead sister or something. I didn't know what. It's only all these years later that the only good drama from this movie stems from Pinball Wiz Jimmy's inner conflict that we eventually learn has to do with his deceased sister. There's no detail given about this, and it is very, very loosely connected with the main story of Jimmy(Luke Edwards), Corey(Fred Savage) and Haley(Jenny Lewis) who are trying to get to California and win at Video Game Armageddon. Along the way the kids are robbed, harassed and assaulted by some of the worst human beings in the world. I guess the movie was trying to portray things in a realistic light, but it really goes over the top at times with its sadism. Here's why I only give this movie 1 star though: It is ONLY about playing Nintendo games and promoting it's cheap poorly made products(The Power Glove). The movie spends a whole lousy 30 seconds on poor Jimmy's mental problem and doesn't delve any deeper into his persona or psyche at all. It's just a movie that over-reaches. It wants to be more than a cheap promotion for Nintendo, but it just isn't. It tries to convince the audience that it's not a wolf in cheap clothing(yes, I mean to say CHEAP). Sure, the Wizard has some minor nostalgic value, but when it's all over you'll be left feeling empty and wishing the movie could have offered more.

I forgot how much I loved this movie!!
2009-09-17 - This is an old classic for me. It's a great family movie but it is old and shows it. What a great look back at video gaming also. Once you see the power glove it brings back so many memories. Highly recommended

Best Movie Ever?
2009-07-09 - I watched The Wizard a thousand times as a child and loved every second of it. Then I went about 15 years without watching it and after passing the dinosaurs on the side of the 10 freeway in California, I realized I needed to own this film. I just watched it for the first time as an adult, and the combination of nostalgia and genuine entertainment has confirmed that this movie will always be in my top 10. If you didn't grow up playing Nintendo, don't bother. But if you did...order this dvd!

SUPER MARIO BROS 3!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2009-06-04 - The movie had SUPER MARIO BROS 3. Now if you have read several of these reviews you hear that mentioned a lot. Because back in 1989 Nintendo was king. In fact Nintendo is the only video game system I can think of that was a phenomenon. Nintendo ruled the world. They even used the NES Advantage joystick on Ghostbusters 2. Damn Nintendo can you shill your products even harder. Mario 3 is what Halo and GTA are today. Mario was the man, and seeing his latest game on the big screen. As a kid I could have died right there in my seat. Now it seems like the review is for Mario 3 and not the movie. This is actually a very good family movie. Kids on the running ditching the man. You got to love that. And that is what holds up today. The original NES is in the history books. Kids will see those games and will not see the excitement and thats fine. Hey things come and go. But, the story is solid and it is a fun watch. I'll end with the coolest line atleast to me in the movie. When the tourniment is at its climax and they open to show the new game. The crazy host uters these words "Welcome to video Aramagedon"

that nostalgic feeling
2009-05-14 - This is a film for the kid that grew up in the 80s and loved his/her NES and loves getting that nostalgic feeling when discovering something from the past.
The film is presented in 1.85:1 and looks good upscaled on a 46" LCD 1080p screen.
But, my memory served me wrong when I was recollecting on this film. The last 10 or so minutes are the only instance you see Jimmy playing at the competition. I thought it was like 30 minutes. It's rather fast and abrupt. The Wizard is heavy on story and light on the NES. It is a commercial for Nintendo but in a way it's not, or not any different than coca cola having product placement throughout a film. There's just not that much NES involved in the film. And I'm not sure why Fred Savage is wearing the Power Glove on the cover...neither Jimmy nor Savage dons the glove.
I give it 5 stars because it's classic 80s that not too many folks know about.