Video Game films either arrive too late, or have little to do with the source material.

Stay Up Be Easy · Jul 6, 2018

If they're not striking while the iron is frozen, they're embarrassed to have anything to do with the source material.

And I don't get it. All you're doing is pissing off the fans that would have given you a chance in the first place.

-Sonic The Hedghog is going to a be a Smurf movie taking place in the real human world. Already a hard sell turned into a no.

-Gears of War. When this was being looked at the producers thought it was too grim. Didn't want to make a movie about the apocalypse and near extinction of humanity. The mood needed to be lightened.

-Tomb Raider (and potentially God of War). 20 years after their debuts and after the games have already gone through reboots.

-Ratchet & Clank. Didn't see it but supposedly a lot of the series trademark bite was taken out. And again 20 years after it's heyday.

The best received strike quick and at least attempt to evoke the spirit of the original.

*Mortal Kombat. I don't GAF if it's a quality film, I love this movie and will keep going back.

*Resident Evil. I saw the movie first and didn't play REmake until 2015. Decent as babies first zombie flick. Sticks alot closer to the games than the net back then would have you believe(mansion as a front for an underground genetics lab). Resident Evil in function and kinda in form.

Cvie · Jul 6, 2018

Warcraft was decent, also 10 years late.

Violence Jack · Jul 6, 2018

Silent Hill was very good minus some terrible acting.

G_Shumi · Jul 6, 2018

Technically this is going to be a TV show but Showtime is developing a Halo TV series. It could be good but the perfect time for it would've been 10 years ago.

Shadow2222 · Jul 6, 2018

That just reminded me that Donnie Yen confirmed Sleeping Dogs is still in the works earlier this year.

RatskyWatsky · Jul 6, 2018

G_Shumi said:
Technically this is going to be a TV show but Showtime is developing a Halo TV series. It could be good but the perfect time for it would've been 10 years ago.

^^^^

Like, Showtime's most ambitious and expensive show ever is going to be Halo? In 2018?

BDS · Jul 6, 2018

99% of video games either have a terrible, derivative story that would make a generic movie OR have a really good story that takes advantage of the medium in such a way that makes it impossible to translate to a mainstream film. The number of games that can actually be adapted well into a film with mainstream appeal is very limited.

Z-Beat · Jul 6, 2018

I always thought it was because movies take a long time to make and studio execs tend to be slow to the button on greenlighting them. If you decided to make a Fortnite movie right now, we might see a trailer in a few years when it will probably have died down.

As for the source material, I don't mind it too much as long as it still captures the spirit of its source. When you try too much to be like the games with no rhyme or reason you get Resident Evil films 4 through 7. When you try too little you get the House of the Dead movie sequels, or the first House of the Dead movie.

I'd like to see them do something with a game that has a solid, non-convoluted story like The Last of Us and see what happens.

Stay Up Be Easy · Jul 6, 2018

BDS said:
99% of video games either have a terrible, derivative story that would make a generic movie OR have a really good story that takes advantage of the medium in such a way that makes it impossible to translate to a mainstream film. The number of games that can actually be adapted well into a film with mainstream appeal is very limited.

That's another thing. A lot of video games don't have stories or settings worth adapting. Uncharted and Tomb Raider are lovely games. But they borrow so much from adventure movies already, it seems pointless to make adaptations of them.

Sonic COULD be an interesting movie. There's nothing like it.Ecco the Dolphin same.

Gears, Resistance a ton of stuff that's generic or run of the mill in gaming hasn't been touched in movies. Kind of inverse for the other problem.

Even something like Mega Man. What in cinema hues close to it? Let alone a series spanning decades where each sequel gets a little darker leading to the extinction of man?

Shadow2222 said:
That just reminded me that Donnie Yen confirmed Sleeping Dogs is still in the works earlier this year.

RatskyWatsky said:
^^^^

Like, Showtime's most ambitious and expensive show ever is going to be Halo? In 2018?

I remember it was supposed to get off the ground back in 03.

But MS tried to play Warner Bros & Fox off of each other in a secret bidding war.

But Hollywood isn't like like the VG industry that treats develop like national security and corporate espionage. Studios contacted each other struck a domestic/foreign distribution deal and both called MS with their plans.

District 9 ended up being the fruit that bore from that.

So I'd say it's a win!

Cybersai · Jul 6, 2018

The new upcoming Super Mario CG movie.

Einchy · Jul 6, 2018

G_Shumi said:
Technically this is going to be a TV show but Showtime is developing a Halo TV series. It could be good but the perfect time for it would've been 10 years ago.

I'm happy that it's happrning because I still care about Halo, but yeah, it's kinda confusing how that got greenlit in 2018. I hope there's still enough of an audience and the show is good for it to continue.

PantherLotus · Jul 6, 2018

It all comes down to the current structure of Hollywood and the way the financing works. TLDR: only bet on as sure a thing as possible. no risks.

Z-Beat · Jul 6, 2018

G_Shumi said:
Technically this is going to be a TV show but Showtime is developing a Halo TV series. It could be good but the perfect time for it would've been 10 years ago.

We did get those two miniseries on Waypoint back in the day with the commander and Spartan Luke Cage

HomerSimpson-Man · Jul 6, 2018

I always wished we got the Halo film before it fell through. The director ending up going on to make the awesome District 9 when it did.

Finaj · Jul 6, 2018

Warcraft was actually too close to the source material. Except the stuff with Durotan, it was a faithful recreation of the events in Warcraft: Orcs and Humans. The problem is that, sure, things happened in WC1, but the characters didn't have much personality and the film refuses to cut the fat and focus on a few characters.

For example:

The human main character's son dies and there is no audience investment because he got, like, 3 lines.

It needed to be its own thing and completely ignore Blizzard's storytelling.

Now, if Duncan Jones wants to faithfully recreate, say, Arthas' story in WC3, go right ahead.

But WC1 didn't have enough substance and the film adaptation adds nothing.

Deleted member 18347 · Jul 6, 2018

Violence Jack said:
Silent Hill was very good minus some terrible acting.

I must rewatch it one of these days. Probably soon.

I remember liking it enough to think it was the best movie adaptation of a game, even though it didn't come close to doing the source material 10% of its deserved justice.

NookSports · Jul 6, 2018

Yes. Angry Birds was also an eternity away from the game being relevant.

Epic should start working on Fortnite movie ASAP

Deleted member 17388 · Jul 6, 2018

Cybersai said:
The new upcoming Super Mario CG movie.

Honestly that and Detective Pikachu are the only ones that might be have a small chance to succeed, talking about BO at least. The first in terms of brand development, Universal expertise in cross-category licensing might be why Nintendo chose Ilumination Entertainment of all the animation studios.

As for Detective Pikachu, it's a possibly captivating story for the summer and it's features a worldwide icon, however I don't know how adequate is to release it as a counterprogramming to Avengers 4, but maybe they can pull a Jumanji...?

Wood Man · Jul 6, 2018

I feel like we're going to get a Minecraft movie in the next decade.

Rhomega · Jul 6, 2018

I hear they're still wanting to do a Five Nights at Freddy's movie. The first game came out 4 years ago. The last game came out 6 months ago, but it seems its popularity has come and gone.

SatoAilDarko · Jul 6, 2018

Wood Man said:
I feel like we're going to get a Minecraft movie in the next decade.

Mac from It's Always Sunny is already the director for it.

Deleted member 17388 · Jul 6, 2018

Wood Man said:
I feel like we're going to get a Minecraft movie in the next decade.

Yeah, it's supposed to release on May 2019 but at this rate-- aside that will be directed by Shawn Levy (From Night at the Museum and Big Fat Liar) and written by Jason Fuchs (Co-writer from Wonder Woman), we don't much more...

Rhomega said:
I hear they're still wanting to do a Five Nights at Freddy's movie. The first game came out 4 years ago. The last game came out 6 months ago, but it seems its popularity has come and gone.

Well Ultimate Custom Night just released, however for that film they might be wanting to target the teen audience that grew up with the series, so in about 4 year from now :p

DigitalOp · Jul 6, 2018

nazgul_hunter said:
Yes. Angry Birds was also an eternity away from the game being relevant.

Epic should start working on Fortnite movie ASAP

Fortnite has the potential to be a really great CGI movie or Kids TV show.

Surprised they never did an FZero Anime.

GoW 2018 is basically the greatest game to film adaptation that will never be done. It would translate extremely well.

WillyFive · Jul 6, 2018

DigitalOp said:
Surprised they never did an FZero Anime.

Seriously? It aired alongside Sonic X.

Deleted member 17388 · Jul 6, 2018

DigitalOp said:
Surprised they never did an FZero Anime.

Have I got an anime for you!

guek · Jul 6, 2018

I have a lot of thoughts on this topic, but it mostly stems from my criticism of narrative driven video games rather than the films games have inspired.

The cold, hard truth is that video games do not have a rich history of compelling stories that can stand on their own, nor should they. Video game characters and the settings they inhabit become endearing over many hours as players interact within that world. They are not structured like books, tv, or film in such a way as to drive plots over well timed beats. The chaotic and unreliable nature of player skill alone throws a wrench into properly pacing and timing stories. This is why video game stories are so often generic schlock. My favorite example of this is, of course, The Last of Us, which many people absolutely adore for a story that would make for an incredibly mundane film if structured and paced the same way it is in the game. The game itself doesn't do anything novel within the zombie post-apocalyptic genre and instead relies on the time spent with the characters to endear players to them to great effect. I'm not saying you couldn't adapt The Last of Us into a compelling movie but there is so much that would need to be cut, rearranged, or rewritten from the game itself to make it work, and with how generic the story is, there's very little there in terms of unique identity that would be required in the transfer.

On top of this, making movies is fucking hard to do. Just like making good video games is really hard to do. It's not enough to have source material to draw on. Comic book movies and their wealth of botch jobs makes that point quite well. Rather than be genuinely inspired by the games on which they're based, movies based on gaming IPs feel like they were crafted by a marketing team and forced through a machine that produces the most generic adaptations imaginable.

SOLDIER · Jul 6, 2018

Cybersai said:
The new upcoming Super Mario CG movie.

In what world is this considered "late"?

When has Mario ever waned in popularity?

DigitalOp · Jul 6, 2018

WillyFive said:
Seriously? It aired alongside Sonic X.

Grunge_Hamster said:
Have I got an anime for you!

Wood Man · Jul 6, 2018

Grunge_Hamster said:
Yeah, it's supposed to release on May 2019 but at this rate-- aside that will be directed by Shawn Levy (From Night at the Museum and Big Fat Liar) and written by Jason Fuchs (Co-writer from Wonder Woman), we don't much more...

Oh, I didn't know one was in the works. Okay then.

Cybersai · Jul 6, 2018

SOLDIER said:
In what world is this considered "late"?

When has Mario ever waned in popularity?

Mario came out 30+ years ago. It'd weird Nintendo never tried a proper cartoon or CG animated Mario movie till...2020+

SOLDIER · Jul 6, 2018

Cybersai said:
Mario came out 30+ years ago. It'd weird Nintendo never tried a proper cartoon or CG animated Mario movie till...2020+

The live action movie soured them SUPER hard. They remained adamant about never working with Hollywood again.

sph3re · Jul 6, 2018

I mean, the new Tomb Raider is about the rebooted game, so I don't know why you would use that example

I agree with the general sentiment, it's probably got to do with the gameplay aspect of it, most directors find that part hard to nail down in cinematic form

Burt · Jul 6, 2018

94.5% of the time, the problem is actually that the production ties itself too closely to its videogame identity.

See: Doom and its first-person shenanigans (to name one of many who have fucked up in that way), Warcraft's unwillingness to create a visual identity separate from the game's that would actually work in real life, absolutely everything in Hitman, Assassin's Creed, and Street Fighter.

A huge number of fantastic movies can be summarized in a sentence or two. For however terrible you think videogame stories are, there are plenty that are capable of providing that one or two sentences of solid cinematic framework. There's no real reason a DOOM movie should be any worse than a John Wick or a Dredd or a Fury Road. The only actual problems are in taste and execution.

Comics are equally as fucking terrible and stupid and awesome and moving as videogames, but they do fine because we've gotten to a point where good people with good taste are taking the jobs. That's really all it is.

Daitokuji · Jul 7, 2018

Of course they always turn up "late." No one is going to spend millions on a series or game that is only semi-famous or is rising in fame. They wait until it's already hit peak fame and then by that time it's already fading. It's the same reason for the "Madden curse." They only pick players who have peaked in terms of skill and/or fame and by that time decline is inevitable.

Akela · Jul 7, 2018

They're also generally quite terrible regardless, considering highest rated game adaptation is Rampage with an Oscar worthy 52% Rotten Tomatoes rating, and the list drops off substantially after that.

The problem isn't that they arrive too late or don't follow the source material enough, the problem is that they're not good movies to begin with. Most of them aren't even worth streaming on Netflix let alone paying money to see them in a cinema.

Ryaaan14 · Jul 7, 2018

BDS said:
99% of video games either have a terrible, derivative story that would make a generic movie OR have a really good story that takes advantage of the medium in such a way that makes it impossible to translate to a mainstream film. The number of games that can actually be adapted well into a film with mainstream appeal is very limited.

This

zoggy · Jul 7, 2018

Comics are as stupid and generic as video games but then you have the mcu.

It's not the source material it's the people making it

Busaiku · Jul 7, 2018

My favorite story ever, 9 Hours, 9 Persons, 9 Doors, doesn't even work as well on a platform besides the original (DS), let alone a different medium.

spookyduzt · Jul 7, 2018

Stay Up Be Easy said:
they're embarrassed to have anything to do with the source material.

Stay Up Be Easy said:
The best received...

Resident Evil.

Crossing Eden · Jul 7, 2018

BDS said:
99% of video games either have a terrible, derivative story that would make a generic movie OR have a really good story that takes advantage of the medium in such a way that makes it impossible to translate to a mainstream film. The number of games that can actually be adapted well into a film with mainstream appeal is very limited.

guek said:
The cold, hard truth is that video games do not have a rich history of compelling stories that can stand on their own

^^^^^^

I tend to cringe whenever I see gamers say things along the lines of "the story in this video game is better than the vast majority of hollywood films." That's basically them admitting that they don't actually watch hollywood films.

Punished Snaku said:

Critical reception aside, to say that the RE films were a massive success would be a huge understatement. The overall budget of all the films combined is $292,500,000, the overall box office of all the films combined is $1.2 billion. They laughed all the way to the bank as RE die hards complained that the films weren't faithful enough.

passepied joe · Jul 7, 2018

Any "cinematic game" that people think would translate well to another medium would end up being a B-tier popcorn flick.

saenima · Jul 7, 2018

BDS said:
99% of video games either have a terrible, derivative story that would make a generic movie OR have a really good story that takes advantage of the medium in such a way that makes it impossible to translate to a mainstream film. The number of games that can actually be adapted well into a film with mainstream appeal is very limited.

Although this is true, good writing and a competent director can turn almost any premise or setting into something interesting. The problem with game movies is that they are usually made by people who have no interest or respect for the material, or are put in the hands of hacks like Uwe Boll or Paul Anderson. I had some hopes for Warcraft because of Duncan Jones, but that movie has a terrible script and it's missing probably about another hour or so of world and character development.

Some games have worlds ripe for exploration. Dishonored, for example.

Deleted member 22490 · Jul 7, 2018

DigitalOp said:
Fortnite has the potential to be a really great CGI movie or Kids TV show.

Surprised they never did an FZero Anime.

GoW 2018 is basically the greatest game to film adaptation that will never be done. It would translate extremely well.

WillyFive said:
Seriously? It aired alongside Sonic X.

F-Zero Densetsu

Grunge_Hamster said:
Have I got an anime for you!
F-Zero Densetsu

You guys only posted the opening and not the infamous gif/video?! For shame!

SolVanderlyn · Jul 7, 2018

Cvie said:
Warcraft was decent, also 10 years late.

Warcraft was godlike. It made the mistake of adapting WCI. If it adapted WCIII it would have been a commercial success too.

Deleted member 2171 · Jul 7, 2018

I always imagined this is a result of the length of time it takes to get rights sorted, and the Hollywood Process where writers, execs etc can get assigned to a contract just so they get greenlighted, and they'll all have weird ideas like that one guy that insisted every movie he work on have a spider in it as a central point.

G_Shumi said:
Technically this is going to be a TV show but Showtime is developing a Halo TV series. It could be good but the perfect time for it would've been 10 years ago.

For what it's worth, they DID try 10 years ago. They were pretty open about it in interviews that they just couldn't get the project actually going. It's why Weta made that full scale Warthog.

At least we got District 9 out of it.

Horp · Jul 7, 2018

Looking forward to the Fortnite movie in 2027, when the game can barely sustain enough people for the queue-times to be acceptable.

Deleted member 8257 · Jul 7, 2018

Mortal Kombat was schlocky but it knew perfectly well what it set out to do. Props to Paul WS Anderson for having that vision and sticking with it.

CaviarMeths · Jul 7, 2018

Tomb Raider is a loose adaptation of the 2013 game though. It's really not that late. Tomb Raider games are still very popular. And it was a decent flick. Not great, but pretty good as far as video game movies go.

I also liked Warcraft until the ending, bait for a sequel that will never happen. But yeah, definitely late.

The first Silent Hill movie is kind of a Frankenstein's monster of a movie, loosely stitching together a bunch of shit from the first few games, and it turned out to be half decent. Or more of a guilty pleasure maybe.

davepoobond · Jul 7, 2018

Warcraft was about as straight of an adaption I could ask for. Probably the best "video game movie" other than the Tomb Raider movies I guess.

I think people mostly just want to see the same story they are familiar with just with actors and shit

Bakercat · Jul 7, 2018

Mortal Kombat was a really good film imo. Came out at the right time and it stuck mostly to the games. I feel things like Lui Kang's brother were added because they felt the character was too much of a bland babyface (he is, fight me). Even things like Sub Zero and Scorpion working together is explained as Shang Tsung controlling them even though they are enemies. Honestly, I rarely noticed that there isn't that much violence in the movie even though I've
Watched a thousand times over the years.

Video Game films either arrive too late, or have little to do with the source material.

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