Corey refuses to let his emotionally disturbed younger brother Jimmy be institutionalized, and the two run away together. They soon join forces with a resourceful girl, who notices that Jimmy has a special talent: he is a "wizard" at video games and can achieve the high score on absolutely everything he plays. Evading their parents and a sinister bounty hunter, the trio head for a climactic showdown at the national video game championships in California.
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.
– Roger Ebert,
Chicago Sun-Times,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
Hollywood hucksters, zap them, have borrowed from Japanese game-pushers in this shameless attempt to sucker America's children.
– Rita Kempley,
Washington Post,
1 Jan 2000
rotten:
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.