REVIEW: ‘1Up’ Should’ve Fine-Tuned Its Gaming Skills

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1Up is a Prime Video Original film directed by Kyle Newman and written by Julia Yorks with Lionsgate and Buzzfeed Studios handling production duties. Vivian (Paris Berelc), better known to her friends as “V,” manages to get into college on an esports gaming scholarship. However, she has to deal with constant sexist remarks and put-downs from her fellow team members in the Betas—most notably from team captain Dustin (Taylor Zakhar Perez). V decides to quit the Betas and form her own team of female gamers, the 8-Bits, with her best friend Sloane (Hari Nef). After convincing her History in Video Games professor Parker (Ruby Rose) to coach them, V and the rest of the 8-Bits start playing in esports competitions—especially when V learns that her scholarship depends on victory.

This film, alongside fellow Prime Video comedy My Fake Boyfriend, is apparently meant to “develop, produce and distribute socially relevant feature films with the aim of targeting millennial and Gen Z audiences.” As a millennial, I can tell you that it only gets halfway there. While the idea of tackling gender politics in gaming is actually not that bad of a plot point, the approach Newman and Yorks take feels less like “A thrilling story ripped from the headlines” and more along the veins of Newman’s previous Star Wars-themed film Fanboys. In perhaps a strange stroke of fate, Fanboys was written by Ernest Cline, who’d go on to write the pop culture/video game mashup Ready Player One. 1Up features the same mix of gaming references and sophomoric humor, only this time with Girls™!

Which leads me to my second point: many of the characters, save for V, fall into thinly sketched stereotypes. Sloane is “The Best Friend,” Lily (Madison Baines) is “The Odd One Out,” Diane (D.J. Mausner) is “The Girl Who’s ‘One of The Guys'” and V’s love interest Owen (Nicholas Coombe) is “The Nice Guy.” But Rose as Parker is possibly the most disappointing aspect. There are hints at her past involving a less than favorable experience in the world of gaming, and I would have liked to see more of that. But Rose’s usually stoic nature is a poor fit for Parker, who’s meant to be an empathetic character. One can only wonder what Elliot Page would have done with the role before dropping out. And it isn’t lost on me that the majority of the female characters are white. For a film whose characters claim they want to “change the face of gaming,” that face looks awfully blonde and white.

Despite this, there are a few bright spots. Berelc is the most well-rounded character as V; even with the well-worn “character has a special skill that’ll help solve all their problems” trope, she gets moments where she gets to expand on why gaming means so much to her. Newman also has a great skill for montages, as there are at least three in the film and they contain the film’s funniest bits. The main game the 8-Bits play, called Knights of the Elder Orb, boasts some sleek CGI in-game sequences that often look cooler than what’s going on in the real world. And toward the end, there’s a scene that doubles as a sobering reminder of just how toxic the gaming world can be, especially when fragile male egos are involved.

1Up has a strong premise concerning the world of gaming, but the execution is subpar due to having the wrong creators behind the helm. In the right hands, this could have been a clever comedy. But if you’d like to see a truly great and often hilarious movie, I’d recommend watching The Last Starfighter or the Sonic the Hedgehog films.

1Up is currently available to stream now, exclusively on Prime Video.