During the Q&A session after the Frag screening the filmmakers said they had 220 hours of footage they could use to make a 90 minute film. As a result, Frag sometimes feels it is just scratching the surface on its subject matter with serious issues like gamers falling out with their parents over their choice to pursue this career, dealing with sponsors and tournaments who have stringent rules and issues of taking drugs to continue to play well.

One thing the documentary does well is use some different ways to present its ideas. It uses a fictional 1950's style school educational film to describe how the pro gaming industry works. It use 8-bit animation to describe the founding of id Software. The different media is used most effectively in telling the story of pro gamer Rafik "Lost-Cauze" Bryant. Here the filmmakers sometimes depict the ups and downs of his gaming career as an adult comic book with Bryant as a samurai swordsman.

Quite frankly, the movie makes the pro gamer life seem less than desirable. Some gamers train 12 hours a day to go to tournaments where they might not be paid for months, if at all, if they win. Gamers and teams try to get sponsors but sometimes the sponsors decide to disappear. There are sponsors and organizations who restrict players in any number of ways. Indeed during the Q&A session the filmmakers stated that some pro gamers they interviewed wouldn't comment on certain matters because their sponsors would pull their support.

Frag's makers wanted to make the movie as an expose on the pro gaming industry, saying that while the sponsors have made lots of money, the average pro gamer doesn't receive much at all. In that respect it had done its job. Pro gaming is made to be not glamorous but tough and sometime all the training doesn't help against big corporations.

The movie's structure is non-linear for the most part with some characters' storylines moving in and out of the main narrative. As a result it can be confusing to follow at times. At other times the film pulls out something that seems on the surface to have nothing to do with the rest of the film such as an extended sequence on a pro Guitar Hero gamer and Dawn Wells (TV's Mary Ann from Gilligan's Island) showing up seemingly at random for no real reason other than the fact that she is famous.

Ultimately Frag is an interesting movie that takes a look at the dark side of professional gaming from many angles but you wish they could have the time to explore these areas even more. You may find it a little hard to follow at times but there is some strong material here. You can purchase the movie for $20 at its official web site.