I hate movies/shows based off of video games. Too few have any potential, and they can potentially ruin the franchises they are based off of. Two in particular are making me mad.
This is a movie in the works based on Warcraft. Who cares if it is produced by Legendary Pictures (one of my favorite movie companies), and directed by the man who directed the Spider-Man movies? It is a great game series. It may be a good movie. I still hate the idea, and will continue to hate it until I die.
Here, here, and here all state the existence of a work in progress of a Halo anime. There was a movie in the works a few years back, but that was scrapped. So, in a new move, they decide that an anime may bring in the same amount of dough as a movie? Both are bad ideas.
Article after article after article state that movies based off video games are unsuccessful. And those are just some examples. Articles about the topic are all over the internet, like a plague.
Movies based off of video games need to stop.
Based on the last link's researched information, Mortal Kombat was the highest rated video game-movie adaptation to date (it was posted in April of this year) according to Metacritic, with a measly score of 58 out of 100. Only two professional reports gave it anything above a 70.
At least Blizzard didn't give the movie priveleges to Uwe Boll, who has an impressive track record of making bad movies.
I post no pictures on this post, they remind me of the stupidity of this field of releases.
I may regret asking this, but what do you think about this atrocity?
~Koubo
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Well I've always personally believed that with the right people handling it it's possible to make anything into a good movie, whether it be a video game or whatever. I've always believed that, but I think a recent example of how that's true is what the Wakowski brothers were able to do with Speed Racer. But I think that's been one of the major problems video game movies have had, that no one compitent enough seems to be making these things.
ReplyDeleteI also think another huge contributing factor to that would have to be that there really hasn't been any video game movie based on any titles that, quite frankly, would be a good idea for a movie anyways. I think if you were to get a game with a good storyline, like, say some of the Final Fantasy games or the Xenogears/Xenosaga franchise, or possibly even the Soul Reaver franchise, and get those same compitent people to handle it like I mentioned above, you might actually have potential for a pretty dang good video game-based movie there.
I agree that there can be potential for many great game-movies. Get a game like Final Fantasy or Mass Effect or Uncharted, then find a really good director (somewhere along the lines of Christopher Nolan-type good), and you may have a good movie produced (an Uncharted movie is in the works, and a Mass Effect movie is rumored, by the way).
ReplyDeleteThere are many flaws. Release times. Directors being limited to what the rights-holders will allow. Directors having no interest in game movies. People (like me) hating the idea of an awesome game being turned into a movie that will, based on history itself, turn into a genuine flop. Licensing issues up the wazoo. It goes on.
I look at a list like that, and then look at those who successfully jumped through those hoops only to produce utter crap known as the film adaptation, and I want to sacrifice something to the film gods in apology.
The only way that I think a Warcraft movie would be any good is if they didn't use the in-game stories for the plot of the movie. There are plenty of novels about the world Warcraft is based in that would make pretty awesome movies. If they were to use those books instead of a story that has already been fleshed out in a game, they could have a decent movie. Plus, that way, it wouldn't really be a video game-movie. It would be a video game-book-movie, which would be better (in my opinion). I'd especially like to see the book that told the history of Thrall (the leader of the Horde) made into a movie.
ReplyDeleteNow, as for the Halo anime, I just think that's a terrible idea. Halo is a good game and all, but it needs to stay that way: a game.
And not all movies based off video games are bad. Look at Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within or Final Fantasy: Advent Children, I'm not sure how well they did in the box office, but they do have a pretty big fanbase. Spirits Within is my favorite of the two.
My only real problem with video game movies is that they seem to be re-telling a story that we've already played through, and they usually do it poorly. I say that if there are novels about a game, make movies out of them. That way you're taking something linear and turning it into something else linear. Video games are not usually perfectly linear (with very few exceptions).
@Bryson: I think you may very well be one of the only people I know that actually liked Spirits Within...... ^_^' I think the only problem I had with it is what the big problem everyone seemed to have with it, that is that it really wasn't a "Final Fantasy" movie, if you know what I mean. Like, there wasn't really anything in it that had anything to do with Final Fantasy. Other than that though, it really was a good movie in it's own right.
ReplyDelete@koubo: Yeah, even if it is indeed possible it's very unlikely to happen, just simply because none of those kinds of people would be interested in doing one in the first place. Although I do believe if there was a way for them to understand just how great of storylines there are in a lot of games out there it might actually get them more interested. Who knows. All I know is that we were very, very close when Peter Jackson expressed interest in the Halo movie before that got scrapped......