The Wizard

PG

Now Playing

1h 39m

Kids & Family

Comedy

List

27%

22 Reviews

Tomatometer

59%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

After his little brother, Jimmy (Luke Edwards), is put in a mental institution, Corey (Fred Savage) breaks him out and the pair run off together to California. On their travels, Corey meets a girl named Haley (Jenny Lewis) and discovers that Jimmy is a master at playing video games. With talents like his, he could easily win the top prize of $50,000 at Video Armageddon. While the three travelers hitchhike to the competition, the boys' parents hire a bounty hunter to track them down.

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Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Rent The Wizard on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Janet Maslin

New York Times

Video-addicted kids may well find this exciting, but for anyone old enough to stay out later than 9 P.M. it's a distinct bore.

Rated: 1/5

May 20, 2003

Full Review

Rita Kempley

Washington Post

Hollywood hucksters, zap them, have borrowed from Japanese game-pushers in this shameless attempt to sucker America's children.

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

It was only after the three kids arrived safely at the championships that I began to question the ethics of the film, which is, among other things, a thinly disguised commercial for Nintendo video games and the Universal studio tour.

Rated: 1/4

Jan 1, 2000

Full Review

Tom Ford

Toledo Blade

The Wizard would have been better on the TV screen, where its programmed predictability would have more closely paralleled that of the games themselves.

Aug 3, 2022

Full Review

Sebastian Zavala Kahn

Más Gamers

It's turned into a cult classic, especially for video-game and 80s fans. "The Wizard" is pure nostalgia; uneven and confusing, but fascinating. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 2.5/5

May 16, 2020

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

A shameless promotional piece. But compared to the McDonald's-pushing Mac and Me and the Coke-hawking Leonard Part 6, The Wizard almost looks as exceptional as The Wizard of Oz by comparison.

Rated: 2/4

Mar 29, 2020

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Joel H

Of all the shameless marketing ploys to sell Nintendo products to kids in the 80s, The Wizard is probably the best. I thought this movie was so cool when I saw it back then, and dreamed of the day when I would be able to compete in a video game championship like Jimmy did. The viewing experience was a little different as an adult. I still like it, but I definitely noticed the glitches in the script. They used a lot of cheat codes for the plot. It was also more dramatic than I remembered. Yes, this movie is a little ridiculous, but The Wizard will always hold a special place in my memory banks.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

04/30/24

Full Review

Conrad G

Not for everyone but def love this movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/08/24

Full Review

Daniel M

This was one of my favorite movies as a child and it was a pleasure to watch again today. So much nostalgia it was great! It was funny watching it as an adult because you realize how much of the movie makes no sense lol

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

10/06/23

Full Review

Steve D

More product placement than actual film.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

09/07/23

Full Review

Red T

I Like It and kind of have a soft spot for it, but It's Not Good. the acting is ok and forgettable. Fred Savage starts out good but than just becomes forgettable as family drama and relationships take a back seat to Double Dragon's High Score. The child Detective Guy & Lucas who I guess are supposed to be the villains are so forgettable and have no depth to them. I swear Lucas is just there to sell the Power Glove more than anything. Everyone else including Haley is just forgettable. Jimmy is supposed to be the main character and he has nothing to him and is so boring. Heck the movie is named after him and he may be one of the most uninteresting main characters I've ever seen. It feels like the California subplot could've been taken out completely. The cinematography is ok. The desert shots are actually pretty good and memorable because of the solid camerawork throughout. The ending is memorable more for Super Mario Bros 3 and being over the top than being anything good. This is littered with boring unneeded scenes and tons of Video Game Product Placements. The music isn't bad. Some of it is catchy 80's songs while the rest just blends in. The editing isn't that good and the pacing for me was ok enough mainly because I wanted to see the next games rather than any thing about the characters. This feels like a Video Game Story and a Child Runaway Family Coming of Age story and never makes the two work together cohesively. The games are way more interesting than the movie itself. It's a bit sad I remember Super Mario Bros. 3 as the big takeaway. But I still kind of like it for its cheesiness and being one of the first to feature video game culture for kids and trying to relate a bit. I'd say try this if your of a certain age and remember this era of games. Otherwise skip this, there isn't anything here. Go play Super Mario Bros. 3 instead.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/18/23

Full Review

Edward M

Good plot , good acting , would recommend it to anyone who hasn't seen it already!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

Full Review

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Todd Holland

Director

Fred Savage

Corey Woods

Beau Bridges

Sam Woods

Christian Slater

Nick Woods

Jenny Lewis

Haley

Luke Edwards

Jimmy Woods

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Synopsis

After his little brother, Jimmy (Luke Edwards), is put in a mental institution, Corey (Fred Savage) breaks him out and the pair run off together to California. On their travels, Corey meets a girl named Haley (Jenny Lewis) and discovers that Jimmy is a master at playing video games. With talents like his, he could easily win the top prize of $50,000 at Video Armageddon. While the three travelers hitchhike to the competition, the boys' parents hire a bounty hunter to track them down.

Director: Todd Holland
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal Pictures
Rating: PG
Genre: Kids & Family, Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 15, 1989, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2015
Box Office (Gross USA): $12.3M
Runtime: 1h 39m
Sound Mix: Surround

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