Mazes and Monsters (1982 TV Movie) User Reviews

early Tom Hanks

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 14 February 2015]

Mazes and Monsters is a role playing board game. JayJay (Chris Makepeace) is diminished by his overbearing mother. Kate (Wendy Crewson) is his friend. Daniel (David Wallace) suffers under his domineering parents. Robbie Wheeling (Tom Hanks) is starting anew at college after some problems in his past. The three friends convince the level 9 Robbie to play the game again despite his obsessive problem with it. JayJay decides to bring the game into the real world of the caverns.

The made-for-TV production is pretty weak. The most compelling part is Tom Hanks early in his career during his 'Bosom Buddies' days. It has the lesson-of-the-week element to it. I also remember thinking as a kid that it's a fascinating concept to play the game for real. Nowadays, it's called LARP. The mental disturbance is done badly but Hanks shouldn't be blamed for it. It's cheesy and probably better to let Hanks do some acting.

Beware the sacrilege!

[jack008 · 4/10 · 24 October 2006]

The psychology of this movie is really weird to try and figure out. Its often billed as an anti-RPG movie, but its really not that simple. Here are come apparent contradictions that make me wonder just what (if anything) they're trying to say about gaming.

They laboriously introduce all the characters home lives by way of introduction, all of them having parents who are divorced, alcoholic, and totally out of touch with their lives except for the times they're harshly pressuring them to succeed. Tom Hanks is arguably the worst off, having just failed out of another school and still dealing with a brother who disappeared and may be dead.

Its mentioned a couple of times that they play the game to work through problems in their real lives. And sure enough, at the end, when they go to see Robbie (Hanks), they're all happy and well-adjusted, embarking on their adult careers, problems solved, games put away (Daniel doesn't even want to design computer games any more), and even Robbie's mother, who's been constantly drunk and dissatisfied, is suddenly the Happy Homemaker, looking fresh and bright and arranging flowers.

Sure, JJ suddenly (and quite cheerfully it seems) decides to commit suicide, but the reason seems to be entirely because he's a lonely boy genius who can't get a date, and not because his character dies, as in the famous Jack Chick tract (which happens afterward anyways, and it almost seems like he does it on purpose so he can end Daniels game and get everyone to come play his. In fact, the prospect of live-action role playing in the caverns seems to be the only thing that saves him from killing himself!) And in what may be the coolest tableau scene in the whole movie, Kate, looking very fetching in chain mail, looks right at the camera and says something like, "The scariest monsters are the ones in our own minds."

The biggest fantasy element in this movie is the two muggers passing up the rich couple so they can rob the dirty, homeless-looking guy of his magic beans. The recurring theme (a "The Way We Were" for the 80s)might have been poignant at the end, but as a way to kick off a movie is downright depressing and seems out of place. And for one final mystery, our hero, wearing full Pardu regalia, has a psychotic break, becomes his character completely and embarks on his quest, so of course the first thing he does is change into 20-century street clothes.

So maybe the movie's irrational, but I guess its dealing with an irrational topic. In those days a circle of kids with dice and pencils was regarded as tainted and possibly possessed, and you could go insane if they spoke their mumbo-jumbo at you. The anti-game paranoia is pretty much summed up in the first scene, where the reporter asks the cop whats going on, the cop says a kids lost in the tunnels and there's a chance Mazes and Monsters is somehow involved. The reporter admits to being vaguely familiar with the game (although he allows his own children to play it), then turns to the camera and reels off a polished spiel that blames the game for everything and admits no possibility of another explanation. In the end, its no masterpiece, but interesting as made-for-TV movies go.

I am actually speechless after seeing this movie

[big_ringer · 3/10 · 1 December 2006]

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.

Ahh memories

[Neil_MacLeod · 18 October 2004]

This movie is a classic. OK not in the "what a masterpiece" sense or the "what a great undiscovered gem" sense but more along the lines of "Oh my God I am gonna pee my pants laughing at this early 80s fear-mongering flick which happens to feature a young and bewildered Tom Hanks." This is right up there with "Plan 9 from Outer Space" or "Reefer Madness." Not a movie to take seriously AT ALL, just a nice slice of Reagen-era silliness for your Sunday afternoon perusal. If you haven't seen it, it is well worth rooting out, though I fear you won't "get" the beauty of it if you are not a thirtysomething former nerd who lived through the "D&D is a product of Satan and responsible for warping my child's fragile mind" eighties. Then again people are making the same complaints about "Grand Theft Auto" and "Hitman" so perhaps it still holds its charm...

Crummy, Transparent Failed Drama with a Blunt, Misguided Message

[drqshadow-reviews · 2/10 · 1 July 2014]

A full-on smear campaign about the evils of Dungeons and Dragons, from the height of the parental outcry against the game. Funny and sad in the same context as Reefer Madness, it's akin to a long after-school special in the blunt, inelegant way it hammers away at its only point. An extremely young Tom Hanks, freshly released from his run on Bosom Buddies, cut his teeth on more serious material in this leading role. As the poor sap who nosedives into deep mental illness as a direct result of the game, his part is madly corny and he clearly had some growing pains to work through before becoming the dramatic juggernaut we'd all come to know a decade later. Badly produced, terribly acted, smug and boring and predictable to the final reveal, it's a living stereotype, the very essence of a bad made-for-TV movie.

Blurs the line between fantasy and stupidity

[constructionbob · 2/10 · 9 August 2001]

I didn't even know this was originally a made-for-tv movie when I saw it, but I guessed it through the running time. It has the same washed-out colors, bland characters, and horrible synthesized music that I remember from the 80's, plus a 'social platform' that practically screams "Afterschool special". Anyhoo.

Rona Jaffe's (thank you) Mazes and Monsters was made in the heyday of Dungeons & Dragons, a pen-and-paper RPG that took the hearts of millions of geeks around America. I count myself one of said geeks, tho I have never played D&D specifically I have dabbled in one of its brethren. M&M was also made in the heyday of D&D's major controversy-that it was so engrossing that people could lose touch with reality, be worshiping Satan without knowing, blah blah. I suppose it was a legitimate concern at one point, if extremely rare-but it dates this movie horrendously.

We meet 4 young college students, who play the aptly named Mazes and Monsters, to socialize and have a little time away from mundane life. Except that M&M as presented is more boring than their mundane lives. None of the allure of gaming is presented here-and Jay Jay's request to take M&M into 'the real world' comes out of nowhere. It's just an excuse to make one of the characters go crazy out of nowhere also-though at that point we don't really care. Jay Jay, Robbie, Kate and Daniel are supposed to be different-but they're all rich WASPy prigs who have problems no one really has.

But things just continue, getting worse in more ways than one. The low budget comes dreadfully clear, (I love the 'Entrance' sign and cardboard cutout to the forbidden caverns) Robbie/Pardu shows why he's not a warrior in the oafiest stabbing scene ever, and the payoff atop the 'Two Towers' is unintentionally hilarious. Tom Hanks' blubbering "Jay Jay, what am I doing here?" made me laugh for minutes on end. Definitely the low point in his career.

Don't look at it as a cogent satire, just a laughable piece of 80's TV trash, and you'll still have a good time. That is, if you can stay awake. The majority is mostly boring, but it's all worthwhile for Pardu's breakdown at the end. At least Tom Hanks has gotten better. Not that he could go much worse from here.

It's a living stereotype, the very essence of a bad made-for-TV movie

[eminkl · 2/10 · 18 April 2020]

A full-on smear campaign about the evils of Dungeons and Dragons, from the height of the parental outcry against the game. Funny and sad in the same context as Reefer Madness, it's akin to a long after-school special in the blunt, inelegant way it hammers away at its only point. An extremely young Tom Hanks, freshly released from his run on Bosom Buddies, cut his teeth on more serious material in this leading role. As the poor sap who nosedives into deep mental illness as a direct result of the game, his part is madly corny and he clearly had some growing pains to work through before becoming the dramatic juggernaut we'd all come to know a decade later. Badly produced, terribly acted, smug and boring and predictable to the final reveal, it's a living stereotype, the very essence of a bad made-for-TV movie.

Similar to drug films of the 50's.

[trash1990 · 2/10 · 12 July 2006]

This film reminds me a lot of the anti-drug films of the 50's and 60's due to the fact that it was made by people that have obviously never experienced the social evil that they are warning us about. Tom Hanks and his buddies are "role playing", but there are no dice, lots of candles, and then you are just swept away in a bad montage showing Hanks falling for the lady in the group. quite funny but misguided. I wonder how many poor kids had their D&D stuff destroyed, and were told that the use of their imagination was the road to destruction. As a film it's basically an after school special, bad acting (although Hanks does show some of his talent) and relationship talks, and no one seems to be having any fun. It seems these films have a psychological focus on adolescents starting on the road to adultism, which is more serious, apparently, and requires you to buckle down and do the things everyone else does. Despite my vote of 2, this is worth watching due to its unique genre, scare films, which I personally find quite funny.

D&D will make you go INSANE!

[jellopuke · 4/10 · 27 July 2020]

A D&D panic movie that's completely laughable today buy must have seems so serious back then. It's pretty silly but quaint and from a simpler time. It's hardly good, but as a time capsule of reactionary parents, it's something to see for sure.

Not as bad as people say

[BlackWolfe · 7/10 · 19 May 2008]

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.

You rolled a 2 for minus 10 intelligence points

[one9eighty · 2/10 · 30 November 2020]

In 1982 the world was a completely different place. Where you now have LARPing, gaming cosplay and conventions, back then you had small groups of kids who enjoyed fantasy adventure games like Dungeons and Dragons, played out of the way of polite society, usually in a basement. Of course parenting was different too, nowadays it's not really an issue to have your kids hooked into the latest fantasy adventure film, back in Reagen-era America there was a worry that games like D&D would cause serious harm to your children's (to quote Eric Cartman) fragile little minds. This made for TV film explores just that, the effects of getting too engrossed in a fantasy world.

I understand that back in '82 this film missed the mark with it's fearful and sensationalist approach to subject matter, the same can be said about the film now. It has not aged well and is completely ridiculous. It feels like a propaganda piece made for the fearful Reagan-era America rather than a film to entertain. We follow Tom Hanks in one of his first roles as his life descends into chaos in a world which is far too adult and grown up for him. Starting out as as an innocent game with his college buddies the game soon moves underground into some off-limit caverns. He is 'wet behind the ears' as he wanders around a seedy New York, not knowing the dangers that he is never too far away from. It is established early on that Robbie has psychological issues and cannot separate fantasy from reality, but ultimately, it is the problem solving from the game that gets him back to relative safety.

This is a TV film which moves quite slowly, it is not really that engaging, and I found myself getting bored and distracted throughout. On the other hand, it does not require much thinking either, so I was able to pick things up again with ease. The truth here is that the draw to the film is probably Tom Hanks, he does a decent job in his first real film and manages to convey various emotions throughout. Unfortunately, I do not have many plaudits for the film itself and would not be in a rush to recommend it. I have watched it and endured it just to say I have seen it, but I won't be in a rush to even consider watching it again.

I Loved IT!

[RealBlast3 · 10/10 · 27 March 2006]

I guess I am just weird, but I have seen this movie several times and I just treasure it. I just love how the 4 kids all become friends and play the game together. I always wanted to be in a gaming group like that. I also though Chris Makepeace was wonderful in the part, and that he acted with much enthusiasm and effusiveness. I loved the music even which some have put down and yes even the sappy love/friendship song.

I found it thoroughly involving and not an ANTI-Gaming movie. It is a coming of age movie about adolescence in my book, and it is more about the disconnect that a kids feel to their parents than anything else. The pressure that parents put on their kids to succeed as well is shown here as one of the key reasons that Tom Hanks snaps. The real attack is on parents who don't bother to get to know their children and what their kids want and need, but who are trying to run their kids lives by picking out their schools, friends, and jobs for them like Tom Hanks character's parents in this film.

If ya all weren't so busy snickering and making fun of this movie, you might have realized why Tom Hanks snaps and that it actually had nothing to do with the M & M game at all, and that he would have obviously snapped anyway due to how damaged he was from his overbearing parents (his mom is hinted at as a drunk and his brother ran away from home and his father is just one of them tough gruff bossy sonabitches who orders his son around).

Well I adore this movie anyway, and I found it both entertaining, funny, and moving.

I disagree that this was just a smear campaign against fantasy role playing

[djlowtek · 6/10 · 31 August 2021]

I disagree that this was just a smear campaign against fantasy role playing as so many others have said. I felt it was more a story about general psychosis and loss of a loved one. It wasn't really hinted that the "game" was at fault, as the majority of players didn't suffer any ill fate. It was a drama/tragedy genre movie just with a d&d plot. This movie wouldn't tell parents to not let their kids play games as it really doesn't try to push that agenda much or make that direct connection. Nobody said anything like "the game is to blame for this" - even the news caster in the very beginning had no idea about what was going on just happened to hear the name of the game. I guess you could say the early 80's era does mean it was 100% just trying to make it anti-d&d but in actuality the movie really doesn't push it much.

So, with that out of the way, a review... Not great. A decent watch for what it is (if you're into gaming) however really nothing spectacular. There is more focus on character drama with very little about gaming. Of course Tom Hanks is an immediate pull to watch... so yea, it is what it is.

Whither Chris Makepeace?

[pete_vh · 1/10 · 14 January 1999]

Many people like to point to this TV movie when arguing with the vast legions of Hanks-philes out there that Tom did in fact make crappy films (I think "Bachelor Party" was great, but that's another story). The movie focuses on a "Dungeons and Dragons-style game" that eventually drives our young Gump to hallucinatory madness. The story is charmingly early 1980s, focusing as it does on the imminent threat to our youth posed by those evil role-playing games.

I, however, prefer to view "Mazes and Monsters" as the turning point in the "Whatever Happened to Chris Makepeace?" story. we all remember him as 'Rudy the Rabbit' in "Meatballs" and as the hapless Clifford in "My Bodyguard", where he gave us all a vicarious thrill by beating the crap out of Matt Dillon. Few could argue (especially those of us who read "Dynamite!" on a regular basis) that great things were in store for him.

And then came Rona Jaffe. The line between bad acting and bad writing is razor thin, so I leave it to you to decide whose fault Makepeace's performance in this is. All I know is that the last major release I saw him in was "Vamp", and that was 1986. He had a small role as Sean Penn's brother in "Falcon and the Snowman", but by that time the Brat Pack torch had been passed to others with straighter hair and flashier resumes.

I can't in good conscience recommend this movie. Watch it if only to see a younger, more idealistic Chris Makepeace, before Rona Jaffe feasted on his soul.

The Flagship of D&D is Bad for You Movies

[HorrorLARPGuy · 17 February 2004]

Man, this movie makes me miss the days when gamers were viewed by the general public with unease and fear. The best gaming happened then. These days, there are no cautionary tales of gaming gone awry. Instead they make fun of gamers on shows like "Jesse" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". Time has stripped away the fun of doing something that your parents worry about and just left the "geek" stigma. I'll bet that 90+% of the people who have viewed this film are actually gamers themselves. I will also bet that those same people have watched this movie more than once. It's a guilty pleasure. How many times have I heard a fellow gamer say "Frelig jumps into the pit, what does Frelig find?", or have said it myself? It has added to the jargon of gamers. I've heard gamers refer to someone as having "Gone Pardu" when they are getting a bit too much into their role-playing hobbies. Though I have yet to rescue a fellow gamer off a skyscraper after he has been stabbing "Gorbils" in the subway. My Best-Friend's parents actually made him watch this movie to try to scare him away from gaming when he was a teen. They didn't actually watch the movie. They just taped it, and showed it to him and didn't stick around. Boy, his Dad was horrified with the results. Instead of turning my friend off of gaming, it turned him onto to Live Action Role-Playing. Within a few years he founded the LARP group Adventures in Mid-Land in NY. A group that still exists under new leadership a decade and a half later. How many others were inspired to LARP because of this film? If you enjoy this film you should also check out the following movies. "Shakma" is a film starring Roddy McDowell as GM who's live action game goes horribly wrong when a crazed baboon starts killing his players (Don't you hate when that happens?). When billed in channel guides it is typically listed as "A game of Dungeons & Dragons turns deadly". Uh oh, Mom and Dad, another cautionary tale. Then there is the OTHER Wendy Crewson anti-gaming film "Skullduggery". With both Mazes and Monsters and Skullduggery to her credit, you have to wonder what this lady has against us gamers. Skullduggery is so incredibly bad it deserves to be on MST3K. If you are a gamer and a fan of bad films (and what are the odds of that?) you really need to track those two films down. Quick listing of other movies that have some anti-game statement. "Cloak & Dagger", "T.A.G. the Assasination Game", "Gotcha! (1985)" and for our S.C.A. friends there is George Romero's "Knightriders". The film "The Dungeonmaster" with Richard Moll is NOT a gaming movie, despite the title. It is side-splittingly bad though. There is also the book "The Dungeon Master: The Disappearance of James Dallas Eggbert III" by William Dear. It's the true story of how the author's search for a missing college student. The author is a P.I. and focuses his search around the missing kid's D&D hobby. He ignores other aspects of trouble in the kid's life, like the kid's drug problem and instead hangs out to play D&D and get into this kid's head. In the end James Dallas Eggbert III is found in a crack house with no help from the author. The cover of the book lead people to believe yet again that D&D is bad for you, when the reality of it is that being a 16 year old genius in college with drug problems, homosexual tendencies and the name Eggbert would overwhelming for anyone, gamer or not. James Dallas Eggbert Committed suicide before the book came out. William Dear had the TV show "Matt Houston" based on him. They even had an episode play very Loosely on the Eggbert story.

If you look at all of these tales, fictitious or true, the game itself is never really to blame. In Mazes & Monsters it's Robbie's issues with guilt over a missing brother that caused his insanity, not the game itself.

Tom Hanks's First Lead And He's Off His Meds

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 3 September 2007]

This made for television film marked the first feature picture where two time Oscar winner Tom Hanks was featured in the leading role. Mazes and Monsters finds Hanks as one of four college students, Wendy Crewson, Christopher Makepeace, and David Wallace are the others who are into the board game of Mazes and Monsters. Title obviously changed by author Rona Jaffe to avoid a lawsuit from the creators of Dungeons&Dragons.

The game like its real life counterpart has its followers and it can get pretty intense. Not unlike some Star Trek conventions where some folks really do get into character. When things get that intense there are some that can't handle it.

Hanks turns out to be one of these, it turns out he's schizophrenic and his board character after the four of them decide to add a level of realism to the game by playing in some caverns gradually takes him over.

Mazes and Monsters is a cheaply shot feature and does make good use of country and New York City locations. It's a memorable feature now because of the climax shot on the roof of one of the twin towers. The leads, especially Hanks turn in good and sincere performances.

For fans of Dungeons&Dragons and Tom Hanks especially.

In a word, ridiculous

[Leofwine_draca · 3/10 · 21 June 2015]

Once upon a time, the popular roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons swept across America, giving teenagers the chance to use their imaginations and build up fantastic worlds in their mind. The game would improve problem-solving and social skills and develop a whole host of mental processes - as you might guess, I'm a fan - but at the same time there was a Christian backlash against what was perceived to be "black magic". The same thing goes on today with the likes of Harry Potter.

MAZES AND MONSTERS is the adaptation of a novel which follows the same 'warning against the occult' theme. A group of high school buddies play the titular game in their basements, only to be driven out of their mind by the evil influence involved. It's all completely ridiculous of course, and laughably so; the addition of some rubbery monsters doesn't add up to much. The only reason this incredibly dated film is of interest today is because it stars future superstar Tom Hanks in one of his earliest roles.

A Maze Not Worth Entering

[natashabowiepinky · 3/10 · 11 April 2014]

Mazes And Monsters is a film about two controversies... the first very much of it's time, the second (not of it's own making) would only be apparent decades later. Let's get the more recent one out of the way: there is a lengthy scene set in the now destroyed World Trade Centre. This is probably enough to stop it ever being shown on American television ever again. No big loss there, let me assure you.

The main thrust of the story though, regards Dungeons And Dragons (Name changed to avoid a long courtroom battle), which was a huge craze back then, only matched by the paranoia of parents and preachers who thought it encouraged Satanism and campaigned voraciously against it. All stuff and nonsense of course, but nowhere near as daft as what is on display here... as Tom Hanks loses his mind, and goes on a quest to find his long-lost brother.

Whether the movie blames his mental breakdown on the board game or views it as an innocent party (The same way a bit of Grand Theft Auto wouldn't lead you to steal cars and mow old ladies over, unless you had something pretty sick lurking inside you already) I don't know. What I am quite certain of is that Mr Hanks would love to round up every copy of this junk, attach a large weight to it and hurl them down into the Bottomless Pit Of Dross, never to be seen again.

I mean, let's look at what he gets up to. He starts having a few fun sessions of fantasy role-playing with his friends, and starts a relationship with a fellow female gamer. But before he knows it, his mates have got tired of the tabletop version, and transplant it to a REAL LIFE setting... in some conveniently nearby abandoned caverns. Here's where Hanks goes completely loco: During a particularly intense moment in the dark while playing, he reimagines himself as his fictional character: a 9th level priest. He breaks up with his girlfriend to be 'pure', gives away all his possessions and starts blessing everyone. Then, one Halloween night... he just disappears.

Where has he gone? Why, New York of course... in search of the mythical Twin Towers (and yes, that IS a Tolkien reference) to hurl himself off the top. Along the way, he stabs a mugger to death he thinks is a monster, and gets directions from a hobo whom he believes is The King Of France. It's just like a giant reinterpretation of Knightmare... except, the dungeoneer is a complete fruit loop. This is all very, very silly... but played totally straight by Hanks & Co, who may be labouring under the misapprehension they're making a serious cautionary tale. I think one look at the rather sorry finished article may be enough to change their deluded minds.

In different hands, this may have had some saving grace as a cult film... but most of the time it's just deathly dull, and the moments that aren't are too stupid even to be appreciated by lovers of camp. AND STOP PLAYING THAT GODAWFUL LOVE SONG WHICH HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING IN THE MOVIE ALREADY!!

When Hanks retires, and his colleagues hold a reception in his honour..., expect clips of this to end up in a compilation of his 'best work'... you know, as kind of an inside joke. Hanks's reaction? He'll smile, laugh and move swiftly on. Being the consummate professional he is. But really, he'll be absolutely mortified. Never mind Tommo, we've all gotta start somewhere... 3/10

A Biased and Bigoted Drama

[arion1 · 5/10 · 2 January 2004]

While cinemtically well shot, this is a biased and bigoted drama which provided fodder for religious fundamentalists in their war against role-playing games.

The premise of the movie is simple: three college students play a role-playing game called Mazes and Monsters, an all-too-obvious ripoff of Dungeons & Dragons. When the game thins, one of the members hits on the not-so-original idea of taking the game to the next level, by dressing up and doing it live. One of the players, who's less mentally balanced than the rest, stays "in-character" when the game is over.

It's a simple schizophrenic mind-swap, and seems like Walter Mitty all over again. By following literary and character clues, his friends track the player (Tom Hanks) to New York City, and start looking for the Two Towers. In this post-9/11 world, the sight of the World Trade Towers being used in this story give it new meaning. The confrontation with Hanks' character, Robbie Wheeling, is a bit unnerving; a sign of Hanks' power, and a good hint of his future prowess in acting.

Sadly, this movie and its story were cited as Gospel by foes of Dungeons & Dragons, and role-playing games in general. The story was reinvented and twisted several times by religious fundamentalists in their crusade against D&D's maker, TSR, and its later parent corporation, Wizards of the Coast. Given that D$D is nearing its 30th anniversary, such animosity can only be called bigotry. It's also ironic when you consider that more people are killed yearly in the name of religion, than have ever been in the name of Mazes and Monsters!

Never heard of it, but it's actually OK

[neil-douglas2010 · 7/10 · 29 April 2022]

Certainly not Tom Hanks' best film, but not his worst either. A Dungeons and Dragons gone wrong kinda movie, but it's really about the real world and growing up to meet our parents hopes. The film would be nowhere without the four likeable leads, especially Wendy Crewson, who portrays the love interest with aplomb. The ending is actually quite melancholic as the friends realise that Hanks' characters problems have not been resolved, but the gang go on one last quest.

Nutty Film

[whpratt1 · 1/10 · 25 March 2006]

This film sold for one-dollar at Wal-Mart on a DVD and so I do not feel like I lost anything for watching this film, except my TIME. Enjoyed the acting of Tom Hanks, (Robbie Wheeling), who was very young looking and gave an outstanding performance considering it was a horrible script. The story is about college students who decided to play the game Mazes & Monsters, only in a very realistic setting. Robbie Wheeling has had problems in the past playing this game at other colleges and is advised by his parents to leave the game alone and get good grades. Robbie meets a very nice gal and has a romantic fling with her and once he starts playing the game, he stops making love to her and acts like a Monk. There are some scenes in the film which are taken running around the former World Trade Center and also in the Observation floor and Roof area. It is rather sad viewing this part of the film where so many human beings died because of evil in the world. This is not a very good film, except for Tom Hanks trying to keep the film above the sinking level of entertainment.

Tom Hanks in his first lead role

[treakle_1978 · 10/10 · 16 June 2020]

Fun and games with friends. Great movie with a nice ending. It's a better movie than others think. I enjoyed it and I'm sure you will to.

Enter The Maze At Your Own risk

[buckikris · 6/10 · 16 March 2016]

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.

watch only for Tom Hanks

[deanalangillings · 2/10 · 5 June 2017]

Only worth watching out of interest in seeing Tom Hanks before he exploded into being a superb and super famous actor. It doesn't know what it wants to be. Is it about "mazes and monsters" for fans of the game? Is it about the evils of playing such games? Is it about a disturbed teenager's decent into schizophrenia due to the disappearance of his brother? IF it had tried to be any one of these, it could have been good. It tries to be them all and therefore fails at all of them. At one point, we have a character say that he wants to "win" and mazes and monsters. Anyone with any knowledge of the real world game of which mazes and monsters is an expy, will know that winning is not the point at all.

F&F (Fact & Fantasy)

[Mitaka · 13 March 2002]

Ah, I remember it well. 1982. I was twelve years old. Mom heard they would be showing this movie on TV and decided I should watch it so I would get out of the D&D club I had just joined at school. After it was over, she asked me what I thought.

"A perfect example of the dangers of fantasy."

She missed the sarcasm. Completely.

Rona Jaffe's book and movie did more damage to role-playing in the '80's than almost any single other source. The book and movie have little to do with the realities of role-playing. But, then again, MOST anti-RPG rants are just as bad.

I've seen it a couple of times in the video stores under "Drama". I suggested they move it to it's proper place - "Comedy". At least THEY got the joke! :)