It's come to my attention that many older TF2 fragmovies just aren't on the radar for those darn kids these days.
With that in mind, I've compiled a top 10 list of what are, IN MY OPINION, the absolute best damn fragmovies to ever exist, plus a ton of honorable mentions that are well worth a watch if you haven't heard of them before.
(For the purposes of this, I'm defining "fragmovie" to mean a video of tf2 frags with at least some extra effort thrown in via adding smooths or other non-POV shots, as opposed to "fragshows" which are purely POV footage. I also weigh quality of editing a bit more heavily than maybe the average person.)
Without further ado:
THE BEST TF2 FRAGMOVIES OF ALL TIME
#10. Swimmingly || A TF2 Sniper Frag Video by taytahs(AKA MilkBypr0duct): https://youtu.be/cM0KI7P73UI
Perfect pacing, incredible smooths (especially given that this was made before modern smoothing tools existed), and great frags help this sneak onto the list.
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#9. Classy by ikpure: https://youtu.be/q_i24DGo2bw
This is forever one of my personal favorites, with the last frag (I won't spoil it) being perhaps my favorite moment in any fragmovie ever. ikpure's movies are all about pure love for the game, and it bleeds through in every second here. (This movie is now a decade old by the way!)
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#8. PREM by CUBE: https://youtu.be/jamuLPfQibU
This is the gold standard by which most other fragmovies are judged. Ahead of its time in its incorporation of SFM, and embeds its frags firmly in their historical context. An absolute must watch if you haven't seen this before.
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#7. Late Blossom by NaF: https://youtu.be/9dkaw4iV32U
A masterpiece of editing and unlike any other fragmovie I know of. A strong idea, flawlessly executed.
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#6. HELSINKI - a TF2 Community movie by weatherspoon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSCR1Ruxx3k
Short and sweet, with a lot of sweat. Super high production quality, great frags, and great pacing. A very "complete" fragmovie, if that makes sense.
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#5. Red Light Green Light by MightyMe: https://youtu.be/gojLYwoLNw4
The one hit wonder demoman fragmovie, lighthearted and fun with some truly unique frags and editing. Never fails to make me smile or laugh when I watch it.
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#4. ozfortress winter league highlights by bonez: https://youtu.be/T8gxLtvWJtY
If you can make it through the overly long (but admittedly very epic) intro then this is an insane rush of a fragmovie featuring lots of high stakes frags from a tournament setting.
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#3. NFG by Gazy: https://youtu.be/F5ohRp3qHTg
This is the most recent fragmovie on the list and boy does it deserve it! Gazy keeps the pace extremely high and the adrenaline flowing through meatshot after meatshot. Scout movies can fall into the slow, low damage (i.e. BORING) 5/6k territory easily but this movie deftly avoids that pitfall. I've watched this probably about 15 times now and it never fails to get me really hyped to play TF2. The map reskins and crosshair are the icing on the cake, giving it a great old-school/quake feel that helps make this really stand out.
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#2. Pop Culture by Cla: https://youtu.be/Ii4mWZRLHH4
An incredibly high quality movie on all fronts, with tons of great smooths, insane frags, and fun music. It's hard to articulate exactly how, it's just...really good.
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#1. Fanom ESEA S6 highlights by subtitled: https://youtu.be/tRNARy0DwKI
What makes this fragmovie deserve the number one spot, in my opinion? In addition to the top level frags that still hold up reasonably well almost eleven years later, the spotless production quality, and the excellent music choice, this movie masters one thing that hasn't really been done quite the same in any movie before or since:
It portrays the complete chemistry of a top level team working in sync through showing us exactly how the players of fanom enable each other's crazy frags via working together. The game we play is Team Fortress 2, and anyone who has played on a coordinated team knows the magical feeling when you and your teammates are on the same wavelength and use that power to absolutely wipe the floor with the enemy. This movie captures that lightning in a bottle, and that's what pushes it over the edge as the best fragmovie of all time, in my opinion.
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If you see a movie that's not on this list or in the honorable mentions that you think deserves to be, please share! I love discovering fragmovies I haven't seen yet.
Anyways, here's a big list of fragmovies that you should definitely watch if you haven't, but that didn't quite make the cut:
HONORABLE MENTIONS
The Experiment ESEA S9 highlights by subtitled: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnXY7B6_hq8
A lot of the frags don't really hold up to modern standards (except the engineer frag at 6:22) but another really high quality movie overall.
Venus, pt I by Googler: https://youtu.be/AbsafNyUyuQ
Unmatched production quality.
Majestic by ikpure: https://youtu.be/a0F5kuE37sQ
Like most of ikpure's movies, this one is soaked with nostalgia in the best way. It's an almost uninterrupted stream of excellent frags, silky smooth production, and awe. It's extremely transportive.
Classy vol. 2 by ikpure: https://youtu.be/UkyzTu-Owd8
A worthy sequel to Classy, pure bliss in fragmovie form and never fails to make me feel something.
Departure by Cla: https://youtu.be/hFTEM6Y8t9U
Outstanding quality in editing and frags (especially for the time), plus a unique approach to displaying the killfeed that works quite nicely.
Mango Fix - Sniper/Scout Frag by taytahs(AKA MilkBypr0duct): https://youtu.be/wDb2LU13omk
This video has the best smooths out of any movie on this list. The cinematic work here is unbelievable, especially given that the tools taytahs had
at the time were so clunky compared to what's available these days.
ETS Lan by kaypologist: https://youtu.be/Q-TNQQI0zxU
Somewhat weak frags hold back the god-tier editing and unique style of this video.
SHIFT by grid: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_NCptpjn24
This madman recreated TF2 maps in Blender or Cinema 4D for this (I forget which) which is an insane amount of work,
but it paid off with a unique look and while there are some minor slips, the rest of the movie is great overall and this effort was enough to get 2nd place in the Boneyard Productions Comp, still the biggest TF2 editing contest the scene has seen. (PREM took 1st)
Yz50'd 1 and 2
ETF2L Highlander Challenge by CUBE: https://youtu.be/NWrZVybyiU4
When I think of "HL fragmovie", I think of this video. Still probably the best HL fragmovie ever made.
i63 Fragvideo by cyanic: https://youtu.be/epEIbLFGgKg
Doesn't quite manage to maintain an incredible level of quality throughout its gargantuan 14 minute length but nevertheless an important landmark in TF2 editing.
Breakneck by Uil and Cyanic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgo4Ys6NOXc
Some of the best of modern TF2 editing IMO. Real boundary pushing SFM work and great pacing throughout.
The LAN Down Under Trailer 2021 by Uil: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOzVYGS658o
Doesn't quite meet the criteria since it's a trailer and like a minute long, but HOLY SHIT this is good.
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P.S. Shoutout to Crasian for helping me track down some of the real boomer fragmovies