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Why You’ll Never Be Happy With Video Game Films

kotaku.com — On the big screen, a video game's weird, clumsy narrative doesn't have things like gameplay to hide behind. On film, games can't escape the fact that they're often shallow without their interactivity, their action pacing, or their player-created experience. And yet every time we go to the theater for a video game movie, we're expecting – what?

Who dugg this? Made popular Feb 20, 2009

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  • dngermouse, on 02/19/2009, -6/+79Uwe Boll, that's why
  • deadasdisco, on 02/20/2009, -3/+48mortal kombat is the best video game movie.
  • googooly, on 02/19/2009, -5/+42Same as great movies can not make great games. except The Chronicles of Riddick
  • wolfing, on 02/20/2009, -0/+23I think a movie based on Tetris would be cool
  • SpectralSounds, on 02/20/2009, -0/+17Goldeneye. Yes, I liked the movie too.
  • zomgwaffles, on 02/20/2009, -0/+17"why should a powerful pharmaceutical company invent an obscene mutant zombie virus, anyway? "

    because Umbrella isn't a pharmaceutical company, they specialize in a vast number of things including biological weapons, cosmetics, genetics engineering, computer hardware etc.
  • ericrous, on 02/20/2009, -0/+16Why bother?
  • phrenzy, on 02/20/2009, -0/+15Am I the only one who liked the Silent Hill movie?
  • Pxtl, on 02/20/2009, -0/+14Considering how horribly perverted and distant from the source material the average hollywood "adaptation" is, I think anyone who says "but the source material sucks" is cheating. Plus, you've got cart blanche for the details of the story.

    I mean, look at Doom. They had three elements: A marine, on Mars, fighting demons from hell.

    They threw out two of those things, and still sucked at making the movie.

    No excuses.
  • rhdesigns, on 02/20/2009, -3/+17Although I was disappointed with the Final Fantasy movie Spirits Within, the Final Fantasy seven movie, Advent Children was pretty amazing
  • lewystud, on 02/20/2009, -0/+14agree entirely - but only the first
  • DCstewieG, on 02/20/2009, -0/+13Mortal Kombat was the first movie I noticed surround sound in. When Scorpion threw his spear, the sound of it revolved around the theater. It blew me away. I was 12 then and now I've grown up to be a surround sound whore. Thanks MK.
  • Topher06, on 02/20/2009, -3/+15Hollywood thinks they can take the IP of a game, write a simplistic script based on the basic concept behind the game and then expect millions in box office profits. The worst part of all this is that they are usually successful in that assumption so why break the model.

    Its the problem that there is not a single ounce of creativity left in Hollywood, period. Even Oscar noms these days are usually derivative drivel based on concepts and ideas rehashed to death purposely crafted so that self-medicated attention whores can come together once a year and all pat themselves on the back for projectile vomitting partially redigested fecal matter at a big screen and calling it art.

    Honestly there was like 5 good movies last year and I don't even want to download movies for free anymore because of all the ***** Hollywood is flinging around, which is all you get when you put lobotimized man apes in front of and behind a camera these days.
  • inactive, on 02/20/2009, -0/+12There are plenty of good games based on movies. There are just a lot more bad games based on movies.
  • SemiSarcastic, on 02/20/2009, -0/+12My good sir I challenge you to a cynic contest!
  • PhantomJM, on 02/19/2009, -4/+15As vapid as it was, I kinda liked "Resident Evil: Degeneration". At least it was entertaining.
  • inactive, on 02/20/2009, -0/+11I was pretty happy with the first Mortal kombat movie. It's the only decent game movie and the soundtrack is the best movie soundtrack ever.
  • dngermouse, on 02/20/2009, -0/+11no
  • sirjimithy, on 02/20/2009, -0/+9Ding ding ding! Uwe Boll is an embarrassment to the film-making community.
  • Walcherina, on 02/19/2009, -1/+9Bloodrayne might have been the worst movie I have ever seen.
  • angelgabe, on 02/20/2009, -0/+8Mortal Kombat FTW!
  • ericrous, on 02/20/2009, -0/+8There was a Dead Rising movie. It was called "Dawn of the Dead."
  • FredFredrickson, on 02/20/2009, -0/+8*Cue techno music*

    MOOORTAAALLL KOOOMBAAAT!!!!
  • wedges, on 02/20/2009, -0/+8if doom was about demons from hell instead of a disease, didn't have the rock in it, and was a horror instead of an action movie, it could have been good.

    also, watch escape from city 17 and tell me that doesn't have potential.
  • trer, on 02/20/2009, -0/+7Fallout would make an excellent movie.
  • dngermouse, on 02/20/2009, -0/+7that's what they all say
  • JoeHammer, on 02/20/2009, -3/+10Riddick was awesome! Don't anyone digg him down because the movie sucked. The gameplay was awesome.

    Secondly, I'd like to add one more movie based game that was awesome: The Hulk...based on the Ang Lee movie...was great.
  • Maurina, on 02/19/2009, -5/+11But The Wizard defined my childhood!
  • Kohaxx, on 02/20/2009, -0/+6I think Hollywood's issue is they take a brief synopsis of the game and then write a half assed script for it. Anyone see Max Payne the Movie? Not even Markie Mark could save that sinking ship. Video game movies have the same rules of any action movie, you have to relate it to the premise, the script has to make enough sense for an action movie, and then you add the explosions and effects.

    They usually just add explosions, celebrities and effects and call it good.
  • tobidashi, on 02/20/2009, -0/+6Totally. The writers wouldn't even need to follow anything except the few pip boy, nuka-cola, vaultec, Brotherhood of Steel, and supermutant ideas. Sure, there'd be lots of things missed by gamers that couldn't possibly be put into the film (they might be able to fit in the Holy Hand Grenade), but with the nature of the game, a completely new story line wouldn't be a bad thing - it would be necessary. Why the Fallout universe has yet to have a film adaptation is beyond me.

    What? They could make the Wing Commander movie, but they can't make Fallout?
  • Durrok, on 02/20/2009, -0/+6Heh, I downloaded the torrent of that movie just because I knew she got naked in it. When the movie was done downloading it came with a preview file. The preview file was the entire sex scene. I said "nice", deleted the movie, and kept the sample. :P
  • kingmanic, on 02/20/2009, -0/+6"But the fact that (up until recently) most games have only a bare skeleton of a plot means that the film is free to do whatever storyline they should choose to build a nice movie for the passive reception."

    That is more liability than advantage. It means you have to fill in the blanks in a logical manner to the audience you are making it for. A 43 year script writter who hasn't player metal gear may not realize that a core element of the game is the long winded philosophizing and the silly in jokes. He may just write a straight off action film. The people doing the adaptation aren't usually fans. Even if they were games have elements we read into them. Meaning each person gets something different out and ignores what he doesn't want. My best friend got hooked on RPGS with FFVII and he didn't understand the story and his brain made one up for himself. In his mind it was a straight forward rescue the world plot and he ignored anything which seemed odd or he didn't comprehend (sephiroth is really where? why did I go on a date with barret? Meteor ? planet? weapons what?). When you make a movie and include all those bits a guy like my friend will be confused by the plat and be unable to simply formulate his own because it's being fed to him.
  • Kragnerac, on 02/20/2009, -0/+6I love the Power Glove... It's so bad...
  • inactive, on 02/20/2009, -0/+5I'd watch it.
  • fluidfoundation, on 02/20/2009, -1/+6Video game movies began and ended with Stay Alive, and I will hear nothing to the contrary.

    ;)
  • ericrous, on 02/20/2009, -0/+5Laura Flynn Boyle could play the straight line.
  • Pxtl, on 02/20/2009, -0/+5I'm not talking about Metal Gear or Final Fantasy, where the game has a detailed story to work from. I'm talking about Doom and Mario and Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter and Tom Raider and various other games where there is almost no plot to speak of at the time the movies were made.

    Other than a few videogame tropes (Doom should include BFG, Mario should include big jumps, Tomb Raider needs to include acrobatics, and Mortal Kombat must be lethal), the directors could make whatever movie they liked.

    My point is that a straight-off action film would be _fine_ for many of these games as long as it didn't suck.

    They suck. That's the problem. It's not that they're "unfaithful" or "missing the point" or whatever.

    It's that they're utter crap.
  • Pixelante, on 02/20/2009, -1/+5That's why they're called Umbrella. Ella. Ella. Eh eh eh.
  • RobotBuddha, on 02/20/2009, -1/+5I'll agree with you on postal. I've seen most of his movies, and hated all but that one.
  • djmphoto, on 02/20/2009, -0/+4Well if they give Peter Jackson the chance to make a Halo movie, then there is a chance that it might be good. I'd see it.
  • Gnarstache, on 02/20/2009, -0/+4I like you
  • Abomonog, on 02/20/2009, -1/+5Well it depends on how it's done. If you do it like Mortal Kombat or Postal and actually make the events seem relevant to the games your going to make a decent product (or at least a likable one). But when you rape the franchise and totally split off from the ideas that the game presents (Doom) you get mediocrity.

    Hitman just came out weird. As a stand alone movie it was pretty good. But when you start actually thinking of it in terms of the game it kind of sucks because of the disconnect from the game.
  • dandonia, on 02/20/2009, -0/+4It is about time MK followed Street Fighter back to it's roots of 2D fighting.
  • anonnos, on 02/20/2009, -0/+4I liked it too.It was better than the resident evil adaptation.
  • WhiskeyLemur, on 06/30/2009, -0/+4It has little to do with the source material, imo. Movies based on games tend to suck because the two media are incompatible at a very basic level: the basic nature of video games is *interaction* while the basic nature of movies is *passive reception.* That, imo, is one of the big reasons that film adaptations of novels tend to do much better - novels, unlike video games, have the same passive, linear nature as film.
  • Stiles05s, on 02/20/2009, -1/+5I enjoyed Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children.
  • Pxtl, on 02/20/2009, -0/+4But the fact that (up until recently) most games have only a bare skeleton of a plot means that the film is free to do whatever storyline they should choose to build a nice movie for the passive reception.

    I mean look at Mario Bros. They had nothing to start with but Plumbers Vs. monsters. All the stuff about reverse-evolution-guns, electric cars, Malthusian destruction, etc. they made up for the film.

    They nearly had carte blanche to make up whatever film they wanted. They just had to do plumbers vs. monsters.

    So there is no reason for the movie adaptation to suck. Only recent games, things like Half-Life 2 where there is a definite storyline you're shoehorned into working from, those games you really are constricted. But most older "genre" games like fighters, brawlers, multiplayer FPS games, platformers, etc. have only the barest hook of a plot. So really, the movie can be far divorced from the storyline of the game and really only steal the "look" of the game.

    The fact that they fail even under those circumstances can't be blamed on anyone but the movie makers.
  • captainmo77, on 02/20/2009, -0/+4It would have a killer soundtrack.
  • AtheismFTW, on 02/20/2009, -0/+4Metal Gear Solid would make an excellent movie
  • seedsofwar, on 02/20/2009, -0/+4yeah, but you see kristanna lokken's boobs.
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