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132 Comments
- MCA2142, on 06/01/2009, -2/+81Uwe Boll
- GalacticRerun, on 06/01/2009, -2/+35Are you having a laugh? From the movies I've seen:
The Shining
Green Mile
Harry Potter movies
Goodfellas
Godfather movies
Once Upon A Time In America
Casino
Raging Bull
Heat
Gangs of New York
This Boy's Life
The Untouchables
Donnie Brasco
Jackie Brown
Scarface
The Fly
Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory
Full Metal Jacket
The Perfect Storm
Schindler's List
Die Hard
Big Fish
Carlito's Way
LA Confidential
Memento
Forrest Gump
James Bond movies
O Brother Where Art Thou
Pinocchio, Peter Pan, etc
The Jungle Book
Sleepy Hollow
Lord of the Flies
Lord of the Rings
Brewster's Millions
Requiem For a Dream
Jurassic Park
American Psycho
Million Dollar Baby
KPAX
The Bourne movies - TobiasParker, on 05/31/2009, -2/+33Games based on movies suck because they are rushed to meet a movies production schedule. We have all know this for quite a while.
- palehorse864, on 06/01/2009, -0/+24I think most adaptations that have been bad, video game and otherwise, have had some trends. The main trend is a lack of respect for the source material, or an inability to adapt it, remain true to it while filling in any inbetweens.
Studios seem to license franchises in the hopes that the fans will come out and boost income.
Although they want the name, they have no interest in the actual material. They want to make an original movie and often just slap a few names and minor details onto the plot (mario movie, etc.) Even if the series has a great story line, they have no confidence in it.
The end result is usually that there is some fan buzz beforehand and the first week, the fans go and see it and realize there's no respect for the source material (why even pay to license the property if you don't want it), and the fans pass word around that the movie sucks. At the same time, the people who have no idea of the original source material come in and see whatever the writers threw together which doesn't appeal to the fans or any audience and the movie tanks. Look at the Dungeons and Dragons movie as well for a good example. - sirjimithy, on 06/01/2009, -2/+22Video games based on movies are worse... typically.
- madduck623, on 06/01/2009, -0/+14Goldeneye?
- inactive, on 05/31/2009, -1/+15Are you forgetting about the Academy Award-winning "Pong"?
- palehorse864, on 06/01/2009, -0/+12Also don't forget the films that for whatever reason throw out important elements of the plot but try to pick out the most minor details and make them big. The second Mortal Kombat film really screwed up the plot, but was obsessive about getting the kicks and such in the opening scene looking as they do in the game. It was a cool move, but it shows they got their priorites wrong.
The funniest part of that movie was that the "animalities" where a character polymorphs into an animal, became a major plot point and the key to the movie. At best, in the game, those were glorified easter eggs. It was kind of funny though to see an easter egg from the game adapted into the key of the whole movie.
The lines were also pretty funny because of this "use your animality". The reason that didn't work in the script is because it was just a silly modification of fatality for the games. As an easter egg in a game, it works, but when it became a plot point in a movie, it was just a funny sounding word. - altgeeky1, on 06/01/2009, -0/+12The classic example: the Atari 2600 cartridge of "E.T.".
Atari ignored their playtesters, then went on and pre-produced MORE of that game than ALL 2600 systems in existence at the time (!!). This essentially bankrupted the Atari division of WB and led to the great videogame crash of the early 80's. - reaper527, on 06/01/2009, -0/+12true (but thats not what the article is about, the article is the other way around)
- Akraz, on 06/01/2009, -2/+14Silent Hill was one of THE best Game-Movie adaptions I have ever seen.
- jezsik, on 05/31/2009, -0/+10Mary Poppins.
Of course they always screw up the story or some other aspect of the book when they turn it into a film (Bonfire of the Vanities springs to mind), but Mary Poppins is a brilliant film from an awful book. So, yeah, there IS one. - rolawson, on 06/01/2009, -3/+13I don't care what anyone says. Resident Evil was awesome.
- Zarokima, on 06/01/2009, -1/+10Or this timeless classic: http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1770138
- GoKings, on 06/01/2009, -0/+7They're bad because they rarely invest the time and money into a movie like that, probably realizing that it's a pretty small market. It wasn't until they invested a lot of money and got serious about comic book movies that the movies turned out great, and also brought in people from all types who maybe have never read a comic book. I mean, a Halo movie would have been AWESOME had they directed it right and invested a lot of money. But that's a risk. They run the risk of people seeing "Halo" and then instantly thinking "Well I never played the videogame so..." If you half-assed the movie it would turn into some cheesey action movie.
- djfreex, on 06/01/2009, -0/+7Actually, why games based on movies are so bad?
- koorb, on 06/01/2009, -0/+7Because they are using someone else's franchise.
If I got the Highschool Musical licence and produced a crap toy with it, I would make money off the toy because it has a recognised licence on it.
If I make a good toy I would be better off branding it with an IP I own because then I can make more money off of my investment without paying the IP holder. If I branded my good toy with another companies IP, I am building up their franchise for them with my money. And when it comes around to renewing the licensing agreement they might just want more money next time. - copypastry, on 06/01/2009, -0/+7Uwe Boll is a pretty talented troll.
- Narcism, on 06/01/2009, -0/+6Nice list. +Shawshank Redemption
- cmsjustin, on 06/01/2009, -0/+6and vice-versa
- mandarin, on 06/01/2009, -1/+7Enough Tomb Raider pls
- NathanielJ, on 06/01/2009, -0/+6Yeah, and that's pretty sad.
- Lucas123, on 05/31/2009, -2/+8Shallow story line?
- JinxCrow, on 06/01/2009, -0/+6Because they're rushed into being to make money by expanding the franchise.
End. - uninspireded, on 06/01/2009, -2/+7We never talk about that. It never happened.
(Shameless paraphrasing http://collegehumor.com/video:1912670 ) - altgeeky1, on 06/01/2009, -0/+5>Uwe Boll
Exactly! If at the end of the day your post is still not the top dugg, then nobody here thought about the problem. Licensed movies are always iffy, but Uwe Boll takes "bad" to an extreme.
Ed Wood did far more with less, than Uwe Boll ever has. - sirjimithy, on 06/01/2009, -0/+5Biggest. Offender. Ever.
- Lagstorm, on 06/01/2009, -0/+5I agree but Tron was a movie first. :)
- kryptikcomic, on 06/01/2009, -0/+5There is no Fight Club.
- ZenMojo, on 06/01/2009, -0/+5I agree wholeheartedly. Let's take some examples:
The very, very bad...
Doom.
--The game is Event Horizon with heavy artillery.
--The movie is Resident Evil in space.
--What's missing? Well, the whole insanity *****, demons from hell, most of the creative creature designs, and especially the fact that this is a HORROR game living in darkness, not an action movie with zombies in it.
Street Fighter 2.
--The game is Enter the Dragon with fireballs. Bloodsport with a giant green science experiment. Mortal Kombat without the interdimensional travel.
--The movie is some weird mix of that Dolph Lundgren movie Men of War, some generic JCVD action movie, and a lot of explosions for no reason.
--What's missing? Um. Martial ***** ARTS are missing from this movie. No, seriously, watch this Street Fighter movie and I defy you to find more than one street or a fight between two people who actually know martial arts.
Double Dragon.
--The Game is a cross between the Warriors and any generic Bruce Lee revenge flick. In short, ***** AWESOME.
--The movie is a cross between Prayer of the Rollerboys' apocalyptic future minus the Corey Haim plus any generic Bruce Lee impersonators' revenge flick.
--What's missing? Well, the girlfriend who isn't missing, the non-stop ass-kicking (Billy and Jimmy spend most of the movie fleeing from GUNS in CARS instead of, you know, punching people in the gooch).
Trivia: Is it a coincidence that DD and SF exist in the same universe and share the same movie release year and both are nauseatingly bad movies.
Super Mario Brothers.
--The game is a bad head trip with dinosaurs and turtles and killer mushrooms and plumbers.
--The movie is a bad head trip with dinosaurs and killer mushrooms and plumbers...in a post-apocalyptic alternate dimension run by evolved dinosaurs.
--What's missing? Um. The fact that this is a goofy children's world of fantasy and mystery and not a science fiction movie.
Mortal Kombat Armageddon...
--What's the point?
--No, really, what's the point?
--What's missing? ***** it....
An Uwe Boll Quartet
Postal
--This game should never have been made.
--This movie should never have been made.
--What's missing? Who cares?
Dungeon Siege
--The game is Willow...with Steampunk tech.
--The movie thinks it's Lord of the Rings...no, that's just it. The movie thinks it's Lord of the Rings. Really.
--What's missing? Good lord....
BloodRayne
--The game is a generic grindhouse Nazi exploitation flick...with a vampire in it.
--The movie is a generic dark fantasy flick...with Ben Kingsley in it.
--Yeah, this was a waste of time.
House of the Dead
--The game is a forgettable grindhouse zombie movie...
--The movie is a convoluted forgettable grindhouse movie with...no plot.
--He made a mediocre story into a BAD story.
The pretty good...
Mortal Kombat.
--The game is Enter the Dragon in a hellish borderworld dimension with gods and the undead and monsters.
--The movie is Enter the Dragon in a he--holy *****. Would you look at that?
--What's missing? Not much. Some unnecessary backstory. But other than it being a pretty standup B-movie with all the trimmings, it managed not to be *****.
--Who to thank? Paul W.S. Anderson. Yeah, that guy.
Resident Evil
--The game is...well...it's Return of the Living Dead minus the jokes with a bunch of creepy Japanese science fiction mixed in.
--The movie is...well...it's Return of the Living Dead minus the jokes with a bunch of creepy Japanese science fiction mixed in. And an evil little girl (computer) to up the already present creepy Japanese horror factor.
--What's missing? Every character from Resident Evil. Except for the fact that this is actually a SIDE STORY, which means Resident Evil fans and new viewers are treated to a never before seen story in the Resident Evil universe. In short, no one gets pissed off.
--Who to thank? Paul W.S. Anderson again.
Silent Hill
--The game is an eerie mix of the House films with some Sixth Sense and, well, a whole lot of creepy *****...with evil Puritan cultists.
--The movie is...well, it's just like that in fact. With a different plot arc.
--What's missing? Well, it's more like, what should have been left out. You know, the whole "Hey, she's not really in Silent Hill, she's in an alternate evil universe" story that kept dragging me out of the horror, as well as the ***** need to explain everything in detail with a ten minute monologue beginning with "Congratulations!" I was almost expecting "Our princess is in another castle." - DanteDefiance, on 06/01/2009, -0/+5I'd say it's about even. In super rare occasions the game is actually BETTER than the movie (i.e. Wolverine Origins and Riddick)
- jthei, on 06/01/2009, -0/+5Bad things happen when you make a five hour movie.
- neio, on 06/01/2009, -0/+5So true, he ***** up so many movies, I'm sure there's a special place in hell kept aside for him.
- dizavin, on 06/01/2009, -1/+6well this article touches on a great point here that I always try to make on this subject:
videogame movies tend to be so awful because the source material... well.. sucks. I mean, lets be honest here, video game plots are always excruciatingly atrocious and the only real reason that they can get away with that is that by playing through as a character in these stories, it adds a whole other dynamic to the way you experience that. in GTA you can easily forgive the cornball story that seems like it was written by a pair of highschool goofballs because when you're down on the streets of liberty city shooting up rival mobsters, it doesn't really matter that much. just like all other games, all you need is an arrow telling you where to go, what to do and who to kill to advance through the game. plot is just the icing on the gameplay cake and doesn't really matter that much so most developers will write their own stories instead of hiring an actual writer who knows how to craft a tale. hence, why game plots usually suck pretty bad 99.99% of the time.
movies, on the other hand, are almost ALL about the plot. so for a video game movie to be on par with other movies that are considered "good", you HAVE to compromise on the plot and be willing to cut out that ***** part of the game and modify it to work on screen.
but, since the biggest fans of games are whiny, contentious nerds who will never ever be satisfied with any video game movie short of simply playing the game on a movie theatre screen? I personally see it as a bit of a lost cause until they realize that. - sirjimithy, on 06/01/2009, -1/+5Agreed. Especially with Wolverine. But I had to do testing on several of those games a few years back, and bug-testing games like "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", "Cat in the Hat," and the Lord of the Rings PS2 games was a pretty painful experience.
- stevealford, on 06/01/2009, -0/+4The two greatest book-to-movie translations ever:
The Shawshank Redemption
Of Mice and Men
Both were almost word-for-word interpretations. I wish all attempts to put novels (or novellas, in the case of Shank) to film could live up to their standards. - greeniemeani, on 06/01/2009, -1/+5The answer is so obvious - I think the poster was submitting a rhetorical question...
- TrevorBradley, on 06/01/2009, -0/+4I for one look forward to this question and others being answered in a new documentary entitled "Duke Nukem Forever"
- LethalLink, on 06/01/2009, -0/+4Fight Club
- inactive, on 06/01/2009, -1/+4Hollywood does not seem to learn by their mistakes. they just keep churning out crap after crap.
- DAC1138, on 06/01/2009, -0/+3Some plots just cannot work (Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, etc...) But some will work if done properly. An example would be Deus Ex. A play through the first game takes about a day. Try cramming all of that into a 2 hour movie. You cant. Don't even try. This is where it fails. Hollywood tries, and they usually fail. A plot like Deus Ex is best left to a miniseries or a trilogy. There's too much story and character development.
Some games, like the article points out, just don't have a plot. Like tetris and rally racer. - neio, on 06/01/2009, -0/+3Megan Fox is supposed to star in the next Tomb Raider. Moar!!!
- amirman, on 06/01/2009, -0/+3the reason is Uwe Boll
and yes, the Mario Brothers movie was freakin' awesome.
it's basically a masterpiece. collegehumor.com is definitely not my source of intelligent reviews of post-modern art.
leguizamo is the mang! - reaper527, on 06/01/2009, -0/+3some of the game based movies are pretty good. unfortunately, for every tomb raider and resident evil 1 quality movie that comes out, we will get 5 more uwe boll house of the dead quality movies.
- ZenMojo, on 06/01/2009, -0/+3Ever read a novel?
- bjs3171, on 06/01/2009, -0/+2shouldn't the guy who made the Metal Gear games just make the movie version?
- nik15, on 06/01/2009, -0/+2Because they decide to make a game based of the movies plot they put random bosses, characters, and other ***** that wasn't even in the film. Also they try and copy other games and fail
- inactive, on 06/01/2009, -0/+2Except in a game like Resident Evil half the plot is filled in by diary entries, not palpable for a 2 hour movie.
Half Life, I mean come on its just a standard plot about an evil corporation's creation out of control and the main character never talks
Final Fantasy 7, the story was good when I was 13 but going back and playing it now you realize it is an emo-fest
Street Fighter, what more can you do with it, its about a tournament and there is no right or wrong story as everyone's ending is different, the anime is decent yes but most characters were in there for one scene out of fan-service, no time to develop their personalities.
House of the Dead, its a goddamn linear shooting arcade game, what plot is there? - xsecretfiles, on 06/01/2009, -1/+3There was a Fatal Fury movie??????
- psibladeZX, on 06/01/2009, -0/+2some stories are not meant for certain media... i.e. some books are not meant to be movies, etc...
they never talk about the reverse... games based on movies.. ugh those are garbage -
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