The Games Maker (2014)

(On TV, April 2020) In other hands, with a slightly different spin, with less wide-eyed honesty and with lesser actors, The Games Maker would have been insufferable. As it is, it’s merely mediocre, which is still an improvement. Set in a fantasy world where board games are a dominant form of entertainment, the film follows a boy who, after being suddenly orphaned, ends up in a boarding school where his game-making talents are recognized. Considering that the fantasy adventure that follows this premise has kingdom-remaking impacts, you may be forgiven for making a list of all previous fantasy works from which this film borrows, whether it’s the Harry Potter atmosphere, Lemony Snicket narration, board game mania, whimsical set design or chosen-one narrative in a board games-obsessed universe. Still, it’s not a bad or boring watch, even if the production values and choices made by writer-director-producer Juan Pablo Buscarini are sometimes suboptimal. There’s a sense that however freely inspired The Games Maker is, there’s a good-natured wide-eyed conviction at the way it goes about telling its story. Some set-pieces are kind of interesting, and the opening sequence already sets the very specific tone the film is going for. I liked it, even though I suspect that the natural viewing public for this film is closer to the pre-teen set.