buckikris I remember seeing this film on T.V. back in the early 80's. I do not see what the big fuss is with this movie. It's far from Forrest Gump, but remember this was one of Tom Hanks first movie roles. Well this was the first movie I saw him in. The rest of the cast were new to me except Chris Mackenpiece(Meatballs), Murray Hamilton(Jaws), and Vera Miles(Psycho). To me I would give this movie a 6 1/2 star, but it is a good solid six. The reason for my rating because it sends out an important message to young people. I am familiar with the Dungeons and Dragons from the 80's. I wasn't a big player, but some of my friends were. I don't care who you are, if you start burning the lines between reality and fantasy, it's time to get out. In Mazes and Monsters, this is what happened to Robbie. He couldn't separate reality from fantasy; and the later took over. This not only happens with games, it can happen with movies, T.V., E.T.C.. I actually found it very interesting to say the least. I believe this was the first time a movie has discussed a mental illness. I think it was bold, sometimes we forget the struggles with a mental illness, as well as a medical illness. A good movie, with a powerful message.

Aaron1375 Yes, about the only thing this film is memorable for is that it starred a youngish Tom Hanks who only a few short years later would be a relevant star in Hollywood. Here though is not a movie that is going to showcase his talents much at all and the only other thing that might be considered somewhat entertaining about this flick is the scene where he thinks he sees a monsters and runs a guy through. Yes, this movie is about the evils of playing a game that makes a group of people use their imaginations and try to come up with interesting scenarios. Basically, an after school type special about the evils of the game Dungeons and Dragons cleverly retitled here as Mazes and Monsters. Apparently, the makers of this film thought that nerds should not have fun of any sort unless they were going to go out and do underage drinking, drugs, having lots of unprotected sex and harass other weaker children like all the popular kids were doing. No, these bad people were playing a game that actually required one to use there brain, heaven's no! Not that, if they have a brain they actually may be able to think for themselves and not be brainwashed by certain groups out there. Yes, I think this movie is utterly stupid and a waste of time. Granted, it could be a movie against addiction, but there are a lot fewer people who died taking Dungeons and Dragons to far in its entire existence than than say what drunk driving claims in like a month.

BlackWolfe Somehow I missed this movie when it came out, and didn't see it until about twelve years later. I bought it based on the cover copy, which seemed to indicate a fun fantasy movie: D&D player ends up in a fantasy world. It never occurred to me that they meant "fantasy" literally.HOWEVER, a lot of people have been unfairly attacking this movie for years, claiming that it espouses the "dangers" of role-playing.FACT: Tom Hanks' character is established to have psychological problems from the beginning of the movie, including an inability to separate fantasy and reality.FACT: This psychologically unstable character is the only one to have this problem.FACT: The rest of the players use problem-solving skills they developed from role-playing to save his life.Far from showing the dangers of role-playing, I thought this movie did a good job of showing the kind of deductive and inductive reasoning that can be developed by using your imagination.I think it did at least as good a job of defending role-playing as it did attacking it.

Nick I caught this movie at a small screening held by members of my college's gaming club. We were forewarned that this would be the "reefer madness" of gaming, and this movie more than delivered.Tom Hanks plays Robbie, a young man re-starting his college career after "resting" for a semester. What we, the viewer, find out as the movie progresses, is that Robbie was hopelessly addicted to a role-playing game called "Mazes and Monsters," a game that he gets re-acquainted with after a gaming group recruit him for a campaign.This movie is laughable on many, many levels. One scene features the group "gaming by candlelight," which is probably the best way I can describe it. While I'm sure that this was meant to be "cultish" in some way, as most gamers know, it's horribly inaccurate. Most role-play sessions are done in well-lit rooms, usually over some chee-tohs and a can of soda.The acting, while not Oscar-caliber, isn't gut-wrenchingly awful either. This is one of Tom Hanks's first roles, and Bosom Buddies and Bachelor Party were still a year or two over the horizon. The supporting cast, while not very memorable, still hand forth decent performances.Mainly the badness lies in the fact that it was a made-for-TV movie that shows the "dangers of gaming" Worth a view if you and your friends are planning a bad movie night.