I. Love. Video. Games.

They're awesome in dozens of ways, and contrary to popular belief they do NOT kill off imagination. Not mine, anyway. Once I turn a game off after playing, my mind already begins to dream up adventures…

I always thought that video game characters were cool, that the heroes were everything people should be, that the girls were wonderful in their own special way, that even video game villains could be considered pretty cool. I just love video games and everything about them.

I DON'T always like movies about them, but this one I felt I HAD to see. You see, a few months ago I got addicted to "Viewtiful Joe" for the Nintendo Gamecube. I played it like 4 times, as different characters. And I heard reports of a sequel too, so I'm already saving up money to get it, right?

Yeah…I am definitely a Joe fanatic.

NOW Joe's movie is out, and I just HAD to see it, right? So I took my family along with me. The critics had given it incredible reviews, saying that not only was it a great video game movie, it was also a…well…viewtiful movie anyway! Whether you were a fan of Joe or not, the movie was supposed to be pretty damn good.

So my family decided to all come. My Mom, my brother and I headed into Avon with my friend Matt to check the film out. I was pretty excited.

David said the movie would be a let-down, but I disagreed. I said that as long as the film stayed pretty true to the game, then he'd like it. He liked the video game as well. David laughed a little at this, but I could tell he really wanted to see that movie too. As did Matt, who was fascinated with Joe's powers.

The movie was gonna be exciting. The movie would stay true to the game.

Perhaps a little TOO true…

Nicholas Michael Grey walked into the Hoyts Cinema, with his family and friend behind him. He looked all around the dome-shaped entry hall with his hazel eyes and smiled at the big "Viewtiful Joe" diaorama that the cinema had put up. David motioned towards the snack bar, and Matt and him took off in an instant, ordering "Two mixed Icees, please!"

David and Mom bought some buttered popcorn, and Nick got a large bag of Skittles. They were all set for the flick. The movie-goers showed our pre-bought tickets to the ticket puncher dude, and headed straight down a hall, taking the last right turn to the movie in theater 4. He smiled at the large crowd gathered, and looked for four open seats. Someone caught his attention. "I'd recognize that curly, messy brown hair anywhere! Nick-o-lino!" "Daaaad! Don't call me that…" Nick turned beet red in the face, and walked over to see his Dad. Michael Grey was a forty-something year old man, with dark black, curly hair, a 5 o'clock shadowed face and a bristly mustache. Nick hugged his dad, squeezing tightly. His dad looked him up and down…mostly up, considering that the 14 year-old was 6 feet tall, and slightly taller than his dad already.

"Have you grown ANOTHER inch since I saw you?" "Aw, Dad! Don't be silly. Hey, are you here with Barbie Girl?" "That's right, "Bigfoot"." Nick looked behind his dad to see a Native American, middle-aged yet still pretty woman. She had long, dark brown hair and a nice smile. She wore blue earrings, a bead necklace and had on a black jacket with a white undershirt. Her pants were also black as well. This was Barbara Tyler, or rather, Barbara Grey. Nick's stepmom.

His step-brother and sister were behind Barbara. Jordan was a…big boned…young man who would soon be in college. He was about 26 years old, and a hard worker. He had stringy yellow hair that was combed across his head...except for a SMALL bald spot. He had a big, smiling face and blue eyes. Kelly, Nick's step-sister had long hair like Barbara, except hers was of a lighter brown. She had a charming smile and red fingernails to match her all-red dress. Jordan had a red/blue striped sweatshirt and jeans on, his usual attire. Their shoes were incredibly stylish.

David was wearing a "Kokopelli Hiker" T-shirt and black pants, his neat brown hair combed down on his head. His mom had curly, dark brown hair, with a purple "Union Yes!" shirt and a black skirt with white shoes. Matt was wearing a "Star Trek" tee with black pants, and his hair was also pretty neat like his brother. He had on shades as well, but was taking them off.

Nick had dressed pretty simply. He had on an impressive "Life is good" green T-shirt with khaki cargo pants. He wore a little silver Celtic cross on his neck and had brushed his hair back quite well. His white and blue sneakers glinted in the light of the theater floor lamps. He grinned at his assorted family and friends.

"Great to see you guys! Here to catch "Viewtiful Joe" and see if it's really as good as they say?" "Yes, Nick." "No, we're here to kidnap the audience." That was from Jordan, who liked wisecracks. Nick just smiled and sat down. He pointed at the screen. "The previews are starting! Shhh!"

"NAVY. ACCELERATE YOUR LIFE." "That would be a wonderful thing, that." "I'm loving it!" "Coming this fall!" "Be prepared for…"

"You know, when the previews in the movie last at least half as long as a movie itself, then we're in deep trouble." "True dat, Nick." "Word." "Good! You're learning "cool" nicely, Nick." "I have a good teacher Dad, right Dave?"

About 20 minutes later, the movie began with a dramatic opening, showing off Captain Blue's opening fight and Joe and Sylvia's date. "Come on Blue, you gotta win! We can't do it without you!" said Joe from the screen. Nick was impressed. The acting was very good, and the characters were so well animated, they almost looked…human! Now Captain Blue was groaning, being pulled into the darkness, and Sylvia had noticed that something was wrong. Nick knew what came next. The evil monster known as King Blue would pull Sylvia into the movie, and then carry her off…

But something different happened. The monster stared RIGHT AT NICK AND HIS FAMILY. And laughed horribly.

"EXCELLENT…YOU SHALL DO VERY WELL FOR THE SACRIFICE! SEIZE THEM, COMRADES!"

People in the audience screamed as big villains from the movie and the video game jumped out. A tyrannosaurus in army fatigues was roaring right in Nick's face, and Alastor was hovering above Matt, who seemed pretty interested in Alastor's threads.

"Niiiiice!" "Like them? They're custom-made. Now…" Suddenly Alastor grabbed Matt by the shirt cuff and lifted him into the air! Nick tried to pull Matt down, but was pinned beneath the mighty claws of the dinosaur, who roared with laughter. "We'll get you soon enough, just wait!" The infamous "Joker" bianky called out: "We've got enough! We only need 7 humans!"

"Can't I eat this tasty civilian? I haven't had a good meal in DAYS! The platoon's grub stinks!" "No, Big John. You'll spurt blood all over the nice floor." Big John growled angrily, but released Nick and jumped back into the screen. Matt also screamed as he was unceremoniously thrown into a cage along with Nick's family. Nick himself stared in shock as the cage was lifted up by a huge statue and held aloft. "We got them, so is time to go now!" the Jewish accent that the statue had might have been funny somewhere else, but not here. Nick desperately tried to get Flinty to release the cage by kicking and punching the temple guardian, but he only succeeded in bruising his knuckles and his feet. Alastor hovered over him in the air, and Nick snarled "If you harm my family and Matt, I'll…I'll…" Alastor simply shook his head. "Don't bother getting up kid. Just sit back and watch the bad guys win. You can't stop us." Nick tried to stand up, but he'd really hurt his foot kicking Flinty. He fell right back down, grabbing and rubbing it to ease the pain.

Alastor waved goodbye as the villains all went back into the screen, and Nick was left alone in the movie theater.

His family was gone. Matt was gone. Everyone else who'd been in the theater had run away. What could he do?

He didn't think about it for one second. He hobbled towards the screen, and slowly climbed up onto the ledge that the screen rested on. He let out a bellowing war cry and rushed after the villains, ignoring the soreness of his feet.

He felt for a moment as if he was entering some kind of liquid, that's what going into the screen felt like. But then…empty air. And he fell, and fell, and fell.

Down, down into Movieland Nicholas Michael Grey fell.

He saw green grass below him, and grit his teeth. His body slammed painfully into the ground…

And he everything went black after a sudden, brief, incredible moment of pain.

He awoke suddenly. There was a light breeze that cooled his face, and that made his lightly curly brown hair sway a little. He got up, rubbing his sore back…ouch. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. It was felt sore instead of broken…and shouldn't his back be broken after such a fall?

He stood up, stretched a little, eyes closed and arms reaching high…and looked to his right.

A beautiful, extensive and bustling metropolis streamed out across beautifully green and grassy fields. A gigantic sign, to the right of a road that led into the city said: "Welcome to Movieland Metropolis".

He was in no way, in any manner, in Avon, Connecticut anymore, that was for sure.

Wait a moment…familiar-looking shadows were looming on the ground. Nick turned around, drawing in breath as he came face to face…with Viewtiful Joe, Sexy Sylvia and Captain Blue.