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‘Catch the Future’ takes a look at the journey of Catch-Gamer and their history as a team, as well as showcases some of their best frags from recent tournaments such as WEG 2, CPL Winter 2005, and several of the CPL World Tour stops. A very unique movie, ‘Catch’ draws from the style of both documentaries and pure frag movies. The film runs just over 21 minutes and has five different sections, one dedicated to the each player. Each segment highlights its player with live video, frags, some personal info, and commentary from some of the most prominent members of the Counter-Strike community, including our very own Karpov and Midway.

From the intro of crawling text as an allusion to the opening of the Star Wars movies, all the way to the sentimental conclusion, ‘Catch’ keeps you entertained. One of the things that really sets this movie apart from other run of the mill frag highlight videos is not necessarily the editing or music, but rather the insight into the players’ personalities and everyday lives. It doesn’t only afford a look at their play as professional gamers, but also allows the viewer a view the players as people, which is rare for a non-documentary. The set of voiceovers by gaming experts for each player’s section is another nice touch that provides a major positive contribution to the quality of the film.

In this style of frag movie, good free-look HLTV shots are absolutely essential when creating a film of high quality. Without them, the viewer can quickly become really bored, really quick if it is simply POV scene after POV scene throughout. ‘Catch’ definitely fulfills this requirement. The director, Jasper “pava” Wiese (no, not the pava from mibr), does a great job of keeping your attention with niftily twisting replays of nice shots,  courtesy of HLTV, and a little creativity. The effects also earn a plus for never obscuring the in-game footage, because as we all know, one of the most frustrating things in the world has to be getting those recurring headaches from the oh-so-popular “shake the screen and give the viewer a seizure” effects. The skillful editing helped the transitions between players run smoothly, with a little help from some short clips that ran between each player.

This interesting addition to this already unique film came in the form of several short interval scenes that employed witty sound montages and some cool shots that didn’t really fit in anywhere else in the movie -- most notably the interval highlighting the teams’ collection of crazy deagle shots. The use of these interval segments hasn’t really been seen in many previous CS movies of this sort, but is quite effective nonetheless. In these segments, as well as throughout the entire film, the music is very well synched and helps keep the movie flowing smoothly.

The music was chosen well. I hate to break it to all you euro Catch-Gamer fans though, there is absolutely no techno and NO Nightwish. Too bad. The director decided to go with a reasonably eclectic mix of rock hits that most people can recognize and anyone can tap their foot to. It has a little something for everyone… except Nightwish fans.

The conclusion really ties the movie together well. A lighthearted film throughout, ‘Catch’ ends on a nice note with a tribute to Zevy and Juzam, the two players who were ‘asked’ to step down from the team. With the outtro comes a sense that these guys aren’t just teammates, but great friends. It goes to show that regardless of superteams and contracts that come into play nowadays, none of that can magically create friendships and the team chemistry that goes along with them.

Editing: There were not too many amazing special effects and no 3D work, but they weren’t really necessary for this kind of movie. Nice editing and cutting in this one made it a much more enjoyable 20 minute viewing.  4.5 / 5

Music: The music was mixed enough that the movie wouldn’t be ruined for you if you disliked a certain kind of music or specific band. Well chosen.  4 / 5

Skill level (Wow factor): This is a group of skilled guys who can be caught making really nice shots, but impressive plays that showcase good movement and smart play as well.
4 / 5

Overall: This was a good movie. It won’t be sent to Cannes anytime soon, but it was well done, and sound in all categories. 4.5 / 5