Going Viral: Review

16th December 2024

Beckett O’Connell (Shea Pritchard) isn’t very popular at school. He’s a shy, nerdy kid and would do anything to make more friends. There’s also a new device called a VTV which everybody seems to have where you can create videos to share with your friends, but Beckett’s videos aren’t very popular.

Then, one day, something pops up on his computer saying that Mr. Viral (Louis Labovitch) can get his videos millions of views. Once he clicks on the pop-up, Beckett’s life changes forever, but he’s about to discover that the price of fame could put him and his friends in danger.

Going Viral is a throwback movie to the 80’s which pays homage to films such as Weird Science and Back to The Future. However, rather than just being a movie relying on nostalgia bait, Going Viral feels as authentic as it came to the time and is made with love for that era.

With all the right elements put together from undoubtedly watching many of the best movies from the 80’s Going Viral feels warmly nostalgic. However, the story drives the movie, making it feel like something from that time that was either successful or forgotten only to resurface because It’s so weirdly prophetic.

The ‘predictions’ about the future are a little on the nose and sometimes it feels like it could have done without the 80’s aesthetic. However, the attention to detail and knowing exactly what makes these movies work gives it an edge.

There could have been a temptation to lose the story a little in favour of making the audience reminisce about a simpler time. However, Going Viral does give its audience a little of both to satisfy a wider audience.

All in all, Going Viral is a satisfying movie that doesn’t pander to a new generation, nor does it try too hard to pull the strings of those wishing they could go back in time. Mr. Viral makes for a compelling character too, if not a slightly copywrite infringing one, and a surprise cameo from an 80’s icon makes it all worth the journey.

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