Siskel & Ebert - The Wizard (1989 )

[@palebeachbum]

I liked this movie as a kid. I'm 41 now and still have it on VHS. It gets pulled off the shelf and watched every few years still.

[@kadenkim5193]

See, the thing I like about Roger Ebert is that while he disliked video games, he never went out of his way to directly insult gamers.

[@MediaHell]

the bit about TMNT was brilliant

[@Swoll826]

The Dam level owned parents back in the day too

[@michaeldorsey1394]

I understand it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I saw this 3 times in theaters when I was 8 and still love it to this day!

[@realplayer54]

I think most people knew this would be the review since these two are professionals(and legends). I have liked and even loved movies they didn't like.

[@jgrj52]

What I like about this review is that Neither critic is demeaning towards gamers which at the time everyone was and instead these two treated them with respect and intelligence

[@Uroboro_Djinn]

If the society we live in was like that we wouldn't need to RISE UP! Bottom text

[@jahrfuhlnehm]

The episode for most of it is fine enough on its own but it went up quite a notch when even Ebert knew enough about TMNT to catch the movie's lazy video game mistake. I don't know how many kids at the time would've nit-picked such a detail but knowing enough to acknowledge the movie even insults the intelligence of the kids playing these video games is what sealed this review for me.

[@danielstack4158]

They were the best critics there was for a reason.

[@mcgannahanskyjellyfetti1663]

Damn! I'm ACTUALLY jealous! Roger Ebert was actually a better player at Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles than I AM!!!!!!!! 😯

[@schmeltingaccident]

It was a hard game for sure. I think why there was so much nostalgia for it for kids from 80’s and early 90’s is because it was TNMT in a Nintendo game, and the music was excellent and catchy. But yeah, it was a game all my friends had but none of us ever beat, at least when we were kids…

[@tarantinoish]

@@schmeltingaccident It’s hard to beat as an adult.

[@mikesilva3868]

Saw this movie on vhs I was 6 in 1990 at a friend's house it was a lot fun to watch I'm a huge fan of this movie 😊

[@PAX_BISONICA]

It was made for kids who love video games. And guess what, the same kids who watched this when they were kids also has rewatched as adults for the nostalgia alone.

[@josh24441]

As someone who saw this at the movies when it came out, all us kids thought it was boring. All we wanted to see were the Nintendo clips, which all us 80s kids knew were dead wrong.

[@OikPoinFive]

@@josh24441 this rocked good film

[@josh24441]

Job Search no it was boring and lame. And you know it was bad when even siskel and Ebert were calling bullshit on all the video game scenes

[@attackofthetheeyecreatures3472]

@@OikPoinFive Yeah, it really isn't a good movie.

[@Dan-di9jd]

I watched this recently as an adult after nearly 30 years. I must say the movie is a bit concerning given how the characters are trekking across half the country for 9 days in 100+ degree heat and sub freezing temps at nights which is typical in such environments. Then there is the whole aspect of the Jimmy's father and mother and how the mother hired this child bounty hunter but ignored her ex-husband's children. Then the disturbed child who witnessed his twin sister drown before him and how Nick, the eldest failed to watch them. Then the girl who appears to be a runaway is taken with the family at the end of the film as if they adopted her. The video game scenes made no sense and at the end of the movie, I have no idea how Jimmy won the championship by getting a star in Super Mario Bros 3. I don't think as a kid we ever cared about scores and even the actual nintendo championship did not seem to care about how many points you get.

[@arnyjk]

"I once got to the second level of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles". I'm betting he got killed by the electrified seaweed.

[@ArizonanSummer]

He was still butthurt about the underwater level when he declared that video games aren't art, lol.

[@williamshaw9047]

@@ArizonanSummer I think he mentioned playing the game in his (negative) review of the first TMNT movie.

[@Dane_Youssef]

THE WIZARD was escapism, pure and simple. The idea that you can run away from home--and such a bad environment, break into a loony hatch for kids, hitchhike across three states, evade adult authority figures so damn easily....

[@Dan-di9jd]

As an adult though everything about it is scary knowing the truth about this world. They have two children, one with a mental health issue, and they're both wandering out in a desert that is known for its extreme day temperatures and freezing night temperatures. Then you have a young teenage girl who says her mother gambled their home away and she is left to the streets where she knows bikers, truckers, and other gamblers, all of which aren't exactly great people and the potential for other things to happen far outweigh the entire notion of a childhood escape from parental guidance.

[@Dan-di9jd]

However, as a kid, yes the entire nintendo aspect was all I could see but now as an adult watching the film again, I must say that it is not exactly something I would want to happen to my kids.

[@Mike-gl4wt]

I can watch this movie over and over again just because of my favorite actors in it and love Nintendo. It never gets old.

[@ezequielgomez7083]

I called The Wizard of Video Game (1989) was my number 1 All-Time Favorite Video Game Movie.

[@ziggybammurphy191]

I was 9 when this came out....i loved this movie then and im almost 37 and i love it to this very day.....its a part of alot of 80’s- 90’s kids childhoods and NES was a big part of that..no kid back then cared about the shameless advertisements...all we cared about was getting a glimpse of Super Mario Bros 3....

[@MrParkerman6]

Actually, I'll I cared about was the road trip angle.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Doug Walker correctly stated that the dialogue written for the children was better suited for adults.

[@alexr4208]

What got me about the movie is the kid is supposed to be playing Super Mario Bros. 3 (which was always one of my favorites) for the first time, yet he found the hidden magic flute! That's not even close to realistic! Have these filmmakers no shame! :)

[@risingsonseven]

That's was a very serious review of this movie lol

[@sabrinabishop6665]

Wow! These guys are Legends, miss these guys. Rest well.

[@gregorymansour1763]

That TMNT bit really hammers hard why you shouldn't put anything in your movie if you don't understand it. Something modern Hollywood films still struggle with.

[@note2owns]

I was 10 when this movie came out and I was hooked. The movie was not meant to cater to adults on an intellectual level. The mistakes that were pointed out went by unoticed by numerous kids watching the movie. And as far as the movie being a plug for the Nintendo, the console had already been out 4 years up until that point so in was more a plug for Super Mario Bros. 3 which was realeased not long after the film. Good movie regardless

[@MrParkerman6]

This isn't a kid's film and it wasn't made for kids, it's a FAMILY film.

[@danieldougan8613]

The young actors made this movie watchable. They were great even with a bad script. I liked the story about the kid who couldn't talk and the fact that video games were an escape (figuratively and literally) for these kids from their crappy home lives. I loved how streetwise the girl was. I enjoyed this one at the time. There are definitely worse movies out there, including movies based on video games. (SMB movie?)

[@Dane_Youssef]

Roger, they ran into PLENTY OF SERIOUS DANGER!! They were mugged... TWICE! That bounty hunter apprehended Jimmy... TWICE! But... that guy was going to return him safely to his family. So... never mind that part.

[@misterquantum9840]

"California!"

[@JoeyArmstrong2800]

Despite the fact that it's a stupid plot and a Nintendo commercial, the performances of the young actors are actually pretty good.

[@vibeofthee80s_]

I still love this movie :-) reminds me of my childhood, Nintendo was so big 1/30/23

[@pollyisagoodbird]

I believe "The Wizard" was told from a kid's point of view, like something a kid would write if he had to write a story about him and his friends. That might explain why both the kids and adults are very strange in the film; the kids act like adults because that's what kids think they act like, and the adults are strange because a lot of kids believe adults don't know what they know when it comes to a lot of things (in this case, Nintendo).

[@MrParkerman6]

No it isn't, it's from the audiences point of view.

[@shaun8062]

Brilliant review on your part. I believe you're right, all the way. That's how a lot of 80s and 90s movies and shows for kids were written. I'm watching this in 2023 and actually find the movie charming and kind of funny. The music is even good. The actors are great for that time in my opinion!

[@SB0780]

I think this film works - they missed the point. I found the back story of Jimmy's sister dying beautifully done. He doesn't just "not talk", the kid has PTSD.

[@OikPoinFive]

Agree

[@trollskullkid69]

I think this film would work for a more mature audience, but it's clearly made for kids who like NES games. What kid at the time of the movie's release would give a shit about themes of loss and mental illness when they just want to see their video games on the big screen?

[@bomitalia3588]

I remember the 80s my mom always told me to go play in traffic

[@jptpoker]

lol security only stopped him hen the girl screamed, not when he clearly attacked and abducted a nine girl old boy.

[@SaraNightfire1]

Being fair: The way he grabbed the kid already had people turning the heads of the people around them... XD...

[@SignOfTheTimes008]

the movie had tons of fun, ah they forget what it was like to be young :-)

[@todds.6028]

0:59 #metoo in 1989

[@user-tn4ik2pi3r]

He said he almost beat level 3 implying he died and had started over

[@Nathan-gd7xq]

No one's mentioning that the girl grew up to be the singer of Rilo Kiley?

[@MrParkerman6]

That's cuz most of these comments are old and Her name is Jenny Lewis.

[@the_lion_god2320]

when you see a internet smuck saying sega "deserved" to lose it's hardware business by inserting some 'harsh truth' bs, the easiest way to make them seethe is reminding them this one film was never looked fondly back in the day at all, not even during the dawn of early 2000s gaming online culture at all, nintendo paved the way for videogames to become a zealous cult of hypocritical idiocy, i recall angry videogame nerd reviewing this film and i don't even think he had a positive thing to say about it

[@andyjennings791]

what do I know about Nintendo? very little... and I quote.

[@TazTheYellow]

I cannot believe how much better this review of The Wizard stood the test of time than The Wizard itself did.

[@hectorlopez1069]

Back when arcades were everywhere. At restaurants and the malls.

[@donguyguy]

I must admit, I was disappointed at the bad review, but the fact they pointed out the inaccurate game screens is a sign of a great reviewer.

[@littlekingtrashmouth9219]

It did inspire a good episode of regular show

[@StreetHierarchy]

It's basically a kids' version of Rain Man. I still enjoy this movie and I'm 30 years old. Immature, yes, but 30 all the same.

[@timmcfadden1762]

james pita iii I had the same thought, they stole storylines from Rain Man and Over the Top with the truckers. But it's a classic movie. It got me to ask for the power glove for Xmas, which I immediately discovered sucked on the 1st day, but man it brings back memories.

[@josephadorno92]

They're absolutely right..but they were wrong in thinking people would be disappointed by it.

[@yaywhewclips242]

so many movies of this era inspired by video games!!

[@michaelbrush741]

I remember being very disappointed with the lack of video games being played. I was 7 though at the time

[@prettysouthclothing9815]

Siskel looks like he has some kind of horrific scar or halloween makeup at 2:20 ?!?! Perhaps it was a premonition of his later illness.

[@fy90s]

they're actually right about the videogame scenes tho. lol.

[@Sweetestsadist]

1:00 Just so you know: This is a Dan Schneider production.

[@timsydlowski5208]

What is the blemishes on Siskel’s face by his temples or is it just my screen ? Looks like he has a band aid on his forehead and black and blue. 😮🤔

[@captaininsano3198]

Absolutely savage review even they knew it was bullshit.

[@Drooblemeister]

The Wizard is not supposed to be realistic, that's why it's a KID'S MOVIE! Fortunately, it's a kid's movie who for many of us who were born in that decade can still enjoy it into our 30's..

[@thecinematicmind]

"KID'S MOVIE" excuse does not equal good film.

[@connorbrennan4233]

Correct. There are films meant for kids that are well-written, intelligent, and respect their audience.

[@mariogamefreak1]

Drooblemeister it's was made to sell toys

[@futuremovieactor]

a favorite from my childhood. I realize how much of an adult mentality the movie has now. I think kids will really eat up the fantasy elements, I sure did when I was almost 8. it has problems but it seems like the drama is real and that kids would really have fun with it. Gene and Roger, I love you guys, but you underestimated what kids could handle from movies. plus Roger, he said he "almost beat Mecha-Turtle at the end of Level 3." ALMOST. did you not consider that he died and had to restart the game? I wouldn't say it was harmless, but if a kid like me who DIDN'T play Nintendo games could have loved this, imagine what a kid who DID would think.

[@Dane_Youssef]

I thought that when I first saw the film, obviously. However, I wanted more about WHY they loved Nintendo and WHY Jimmy was such a savant at the damn fucking thing. There's no given explanation. Allegedly, it's supposed to be because he's Autistic. But... they don't explain that because then it's all the more obvious they were ripping-off RAIN MAN. RAIN MAN and TOMMY. So there...

[@SignOfTheTimes008]

I enjoyed it, it was flawed, but it had a fun energy to it. To each his own though, to every movie there are those that will both love and hate it.

[@TheAdminSlayer]

This movie is why he never thought games would be true art.

[@SB0780]

Coming from the two fellas who gave thumbs up for 'Speed 2: Cruise Control'. :D

[@OikPoinFive]

Lol

[@williamhowe1]

No one's perfect.

[@attackofthetheeyecreatures3472]

It's technically better than this movie

[@movieman104]

Roger Ebert says this is a Christmas movie in his written review something he never mentions on the show. is this a Christmas comedy?

[@yellowhue30]

I loved this movie when I was a kid. I have not checked, (I will now), but Home Alone was far worse on the "danger to children scale" then the wizard, and your thumbs we probably up for that. Again, you were to old and uninformed to appreciate what this movie had to offer kids at that time. We loved Nintendo, Super Mario 3 was revolutionary to young gamers, and to your point that a cross country trip is a dangerous proposition to potential ticket holders, a notion fundamentally removed from what any movie offers anyone who partakes; an escape from their reality, into a movie. E.T.; dangerous to children because befriending and harboring an alien sends the wrong message to kids, The Jungle book; kids should not fraternise with bears and wild animals, Never Ending Story; skipping school and day dreaming.. .,and your stellar review of Hayao Miyazaki, and his movies Spirited Away and Ponyo, as accurate as they were, depicts all manner of similar danger, but without mention or negative annotation. The Wizard was a movie designed for children, and we liked it. Though I could not sit through a modernised version, with Angry Birds being the "new game", and Apple being the advertisement, I suspect that an eight year old might give it a thumbs up.

[@donskiver]

The Wizard was a feature length nintendo advertisement thinly veiled as a movie. Especially the fucking power glove and mario 3 (don't get me wrong, I love mario 3...it's the power glove that sucks. I got to try it out at a demo at toys r us as a kid and it barely even worked) On a side note, I'm extremely impressed that Ebert got to stage 2 on TMNT for NES.

[@Nicholas_Steel]

The movie makers probably thought the second sewer entrance in the 1st level = 2nd level. iirc the 2nd level is the dam.

[@StephenSteinbacher]

Rip Mr. Ebert.

[@p.z.arnott2329]

I wonder what they would say about The Lego Movie if they were still around today.

[@BenJabituya]

RIP Roger Ebert.

[@dongeraci8599]

This movie's like candy. You know it's bad for you, but you love it anyway.

[@Harpfrmhel]

This is a REALLY bad movie. I was nine year sold when I saw this movie and even then I knew it was bad. It was extremely boring. There's very little actual video gaming in the film and when the video games are on screen, the film gets information on them wrong. That and the fact that you never see Super Mario Brother's 3 until the very end despite ALL the commercials showing it like the main focus of the film, left me feeling bored and disappointed even when I was it nearly thirty years ago.

[@johndough6793]

Left you bored kinda like your personality huh

[@Nicholas_Steel]

Kinda like the Downsizing movie, advertisments advertise it as being all about getting shrunk down, having to deal with that and what it'd be like to live in a miniature world when the movie has literally nothing to do with that other than that the main actor got miniaturized.

[@josh24441]

I remember it was on TV during Christmas and as a kid I so wanted to like it. But I just couldn't. It was boring with a story I didn't care about. All I wanted to see were the Nintendo shots

[@hectorlopez1069]

3 kids hitchhiked to Los Angeles to win the 50,000 prize money.

[@proudhug]

0:24 "The movie wants us to believe that these three kids could successfully hitchhike all the way to Los Angeles while eluding a manhunt and not running into any serious danger along the way." 1:33 "I disliked the danger those kids were in as they hitchhiked hundreds of miles, and at one point actually used a skateboard on an interstate highway traveled by heavy trucks." So which is it, Roger? Were they in danger or weren't they?

[@vibeofthee80s_]

Please go 💩

[@Justen1980]

fuck that i saw it when i was 9 and it was great

[@yellowhue30]

I loved this movie so much at the time. I spent a lot of time at the theatre when I was young, and I saw this movie over thirty times in the theatre back then. It would be a terrible movie without the context of being nine years old when watching.. ..and like the power glove; it's so bad!

[@seanvogt221]

You forgot one other legendary film, Tron.

[@jovanlopez1660]

Ahhh....yeah The 2 HATERS...i remember these 2....

[@BenJabituya]

I actually enjoyed this movie! I mainly enjoyed this, because it involved the very thing I grew up on, NINTENDO! This movie can't be all that bad! Siskel and Ebert drank too much Haterade!

[@BenJabituya]

37

[@skizzzle]

Like Fred, this interview was Savage.

[@BenJabituya]

Siskel and Ebert could never get 50 grand on Double Dragon! Why did they bash this film? I think this film was awesome, with the subject matter involving the very thing I grew up on!

[@Ilovemovies917]

I keep thinking that red hair is Kerri Green

[@farmzombie]

Ebert hated video games because he held a grudge against TMNT for years.

[@clintonwilcox4690]

Yes, but who didn't have a grudge against that game? The water level still gives me nightmares. lol

[@fictionalmediabully9830]

It's a badly designed game, so I don't blame Roger Ebert.

[@Dim4323]

CALAFORNIA

[@BeauSkunk]

I liked the movie, I think they're kinda overanylizing it, (and overall I always felt these guys hate every movie that isn't an "award winner") but I will admit they are a bit right about the movie makers not knowing much about the games featured. (The people playing them in the footage weren't even that good at the game.) Kinda funny to hear one of 'em played TMNT. I loved that game as a kid, even though like most Konami games it was rediculously hard.

[@patrickshields5251]

OH LORD we're they spot on about the film. Not only is it a blatant Nintendo and Universal propaganda, it's also a poor man's version of Rain Man. They are right, this film is garbage.

[@seanvogt221]

There's only one film that is the gold standard of video game movie and that's TRON (as well as the sequel TRON Legacy).

[@027220]

The biggest problems with this are the younger boy's mother and stepfather who only want him brought him back but not his brother, which is wrong and having them change in the end make them pathetic characters.

[@joellennon6736]

027220 I despised those characters

[@ReverendBenzo]

This movie fails because I think the filmmakers forgot that watching someone play video games is boring. You always just wait for them to end their game so you can play.

[@sliat1981]

This was just a shitty Nintendo commercial

[@flmbyz]

Holy crap, yeah! *facepalmslap*

[@elpato54]

For the love of God, this movie was an adventure fantasy. I agree it's not a very good movie, but the reasons they listed are not the right reasons to hate this movie. As children we could suspend disbelief for what these kids did an dthere was still the fantasy aspect that we knew this wasn't possible, but it was a cute approach. PS: Yes there are innaccuracies, but how else are they going to make it accessable to non-gamers? Hey Ebert, you must not know TMNT has limited continues.

[@rjd1922]

How would being accurate make it inaccessible to non-gamers?

[@sleepyjones9625]

A nerd and a lesbian complain about a kids movie

[@Kousaburo]

"ARGH! He touched my breast!"

[@sliat1981]

What breast?

[@williamhowe1]

(eye roll.)

[@Pikey_Wikey]

What are you people in the comments saying? This movie sucks. The only good part in the showcase for Super Mario Brothers 3. AVGN and Nostalgia Critic and even Siskel & Ebert agree that this sucks.

[@marioiacolucci]

the movie was not bad was super Mario 3 in this movie before it was released to the pubilc

[@connorbrennan4233]

Another highlight was the kids being chased through the King Kong soundstage on the Universal Studios Tour.

[@jahrfuhlnehm]

What's with the comments? KZbin commenters being KZbin commenters. Lead paint is a hell of a drug.

[@Triple0Nine]

Siskel said it was a very mean film..lol

[@mikebison]

California

[@20thCenturyFav]

They're not wrong this movie is awful

[@flmbyz]

@elpato54 No, sorry, this movie really did suck. It doesn't hold up well as you get older and it's really a cheap commercial for Nintendo and the newly opened Universal Studios tour. You wanna see a good video game fantasy? Look no further than WarGames or The Last Starfighter. Those were good movies that knew what they were doing.

[@only257]

love this movie they are both wrong

[@martykeaton182]

The Wizard doesn't hurt the good work of Fred or the others but it stinks. I recommend if you want good family films about missing kids, to stick with the first 2 Home Alone movies, regardless of the certain parts of 'em that are boring.

[@SignOfTheTimes008]

loved this movie! but yeah, it had so many mistakes in it!

[@FourGamerPlay]

What the fuck!

[@jordanowen42]

He certainly has very selective tastes.

[@thesimplisticseth]

This movie looked bad!

[@Dadge42]

this movie really did suck. if you liked it even as a kid you were wrong.