Kernel Rating (out of 5): 
MPAA Rating: NR Length: 105 minutes
Age Appropriate For: 10+. The documentary is unrated, but doesn’t include anything questionable. Because it’s a documentary that focuses on the development of the video-game industry, there are some clips of various video games, some of which are violent (including “Street Fighter” and “Mortal Kombat”). Otherwise, no cursing or sexual content.
The documentary ‘Video Games: The Movie’ can’t figure out who its audience is: committed gamers who already know the history of the medium or newbies who want to catch up on the basics. That indecision, coupled with its fawning tone, makes ‘Video Games’ more industry fan service than anything else.
By Roxana Hadadi
If you watched “Wreck-It Ralph” and thought to yourself, “Hmm, I wonder about the evolution of these video games, and how they become such a powerful pop-cultural force,” then perhaps it would make sense to turn to the documentary “Video Games: The Movie” for answers. If only “Video Games: The Movie” provided more context than it did adoration, though—this is a work that caters entirely to its industry, fawning over it with zero abandon.
