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Atari: Game Over

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Tomatometer 3 Reviews 57% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings

Critics Reviews

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Brad Newsome Sydney Morning Herald 07/26/2019
Fun and worthwhile. Go to Full Review
Mikel Zorrilla Espinof 09/04/2019
'Atari: Game Over' is a very entertaining documentary about the curious case of the 'E.T.'s' videogame and also offers a quick review of the rise and fall of the title company. [Full Review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
MaryAnn Johanson Flick Filosopher 10/27/2015
The truth about one of the great urban legends of videogame history is nowhere near as epic as you'd imagine: in fact, it's rather anticlimactic. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Kyle M 08/03/2024 Passionately honest and rightfully defensive, plus technologically nostalgic, this engaging, intriguing documentary refreshes its anticipated resolution for its mythic subject that should reason enough compel for non-game seekers. (B+) See more P F 12/18/2023 The documentary does a reasonable job of inviting us on an excavation for lost gaming history while interviewing the people who were there at the time it was created. It's unfortunate that there is an air of geek over-importance in this history racketed all the way up to eleven when Ernest Cline is introduced. It's good to see Howard Scott Warshaw finally get the respect he deserves, especially for a game he had such little time to make but I find it contradictory that a documentary trying to set straight our perception of history regarding its artists ignores the history of the artists and inventors before Atari. For all the talk also of Atari being a great company to work for the documentary leaves out the obvious thorn that is what led to the formation of Activision and therefore third-party companies. What shines through Atari: Game Over is gamers of all ages who can unite to show passion for their interests towards video game history. The legend of that ‘terrible' game E.T. did end up bringing everyone together and by the end, it did with unexpected results. See more 10/23/2020 It's a decent geek out over a bottle of wine on a locked-down Saturday night but it doesn't quite deliver on the promise of it's title and trailer. The Rise and Fall of Nokia is basically the same film but more fun, and if it's possible more bacculleric. Would I buy the T-shirt? Yes, yes I would - living the cliche. See more 04/18/2020 A fun watch for fans of video games, or of the subject matter itself. Atari: Game Over follows a crew that is in New Mexico seeing if the urban myth that Atari back in the 80's dumped the video game failure of "E.T. The Extra Terrestrial" in the dump. The film goes over the dig itself and goes over the downfall of Atari overall. It's very simple and while I enjoyed the interviews I wish it had taken some more time to dive into the story. The dig itself should have been the main focus and we get them going back and forth with it and the history. For the most part I had a good time watching it because I was interested, but I think people that aren't aware of the urban legend or have an interest in Atari wouldn't find it too interesting. For everyone else it's worth a watch. See more 02/26/2018 Everything about this was compelling for me as a video game fanboy and felt authentic enough. That is, until Ernest Cline had the audacity to argue that E.T. for Atari was a "great" game. See more 11/19/2017 A nice documentary, but kinda underwhelming. Nevertheless, has a few good moments and some cool pop culture references. I hoped it would focus a little more on the technical aspects of the game development, but it was interesting to learn a little more of the 70s and early 80s game industry enviroment. See more Read all reviews
Atari: Game Over

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Movie Info

Director
Zak Penn