Video Game Movies

[Peench]

With the recent release of Hitman I got to thinking about how many video game movies there have been and just how many have truly sucked. There have been some good ones. I remember watching Tron back in the days and thinking that it would be awesome to make my way inside a computer to battle evil bugs and drive those awesome light motorcycles.



I also remember the Tomb Raider movies and how they were a nice addition to the Dr. Jones genre of movies. And these movies were based on games.

But then I got to thinking about movies like mortal combat, double dragon and this:



There have really been some crappy movies based on video games released. Why?

Was it because games in the old days were a niche market and focused on a few little wow factors instead of gameplay or storytelling? Or was it that producers never thought that a movie made about a video game would be engaging enough to draw the crowds and make them millions?

Whatever it is, games these days have developed a rich storytelling that really brings different worlds and issues to light. Games such as Halo and Mass Effect have writing and great stories and backgrounds on their side. The Halo game has spawned books, graphic novels, figures, etc. Unfortunately the possible blockbuster movie has been sidelined.

Undoubtedly Hollywood will continue to make movies about video games. This might even be easier now that games are more mainstream and often have a very rich and diverse story and/or plot. So my question to all of you is, generally speaking, will video games movies from here on out be good or bad?

[Jon Liu]

Very, VERY rarely have they turned out very good. 90% of the time they end up absolutely horrible.

[Desi Cuse]

99% of the time they sucks. Movies becoming games also suck. Except a select few Star Wars games.

[Gordon]

Mortal Kombat was a good movie. Mortal Kombat 2 was not. Hopefully Mortal Kombat 3 is a good movie.

[lovekeiiy]

Actually, Tron was a movie first. They made the arcade game after the movie became very popular.

As for video game movies, it'll be the same as it is today. It's not so much we expect the movies to be Oscar and Academy award winners and get five star reviews. It's just that we expect the movies to be at least entertaining for those ninety to one hundred twenty minutes were there, and spent money on. We all know the Hollywood studios are just trying to take advantage of the build fan base of the games, and exploit the license. But gee, how much do you have to do to not make crap on cellophane? At least with video game license exploits, it's not that the most of the games are bad, they're just not very good. They're usually just mediocre. Enough to be fun for weekend or two.

[dmiller68]

I thought the RE movies where good. There have been a lot of bombs as well.

[Peench]

There have been plenty of bombs, but with the changes in video games these days, do we expect future game-based movies to be good or bad?

[D_Litch]

They'll always suck.

[AlphaQ GehaD]

if your asking if they made Assassins Creed, Mass Effect, and Halo into movies would they be good...I say its 50-50, but most likley to be a no and bomb the movie scene. Im still thinking not all great Game stories are cut out to be great Movie scenes. Imagine a GTA movie lmao, you cant portray everything you do in a game that makes it fun in a movie. I hope they could make better movies after games, but even with this new fad of deep rich storytelling, it will be hard, harder to portray the full story with a blend of action.

[Gordon]

Must watch the Postal movie.

[Twilight]

Some videogame movies have been decent, RE and Silent Hill come to mind. But to turn a game that really has no plot (Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter) into a medium where plot is everything? The games based on movies usually suck as well. I will give them a whirl from Gamefly maybe, but never buy one.

[namehater]

Originally Posted by Brian Callahan

I will give them a whirl from Gamefly maybe, but never buy one.

[Peench]

Hey Brian - to clarify Name's post. A couple of our members own a game rental company that is tops, bar none. The company is Get Your Gamez and they offer the best customer service and prices (for PGL members) around.

[Causedawg 83]

I kinda think that games to movies are best when they're made into movies that aren't designed to be high on plot and character building. For example, Resident Evil and Silent Hill, both great movies in my opinion, but when you watch a horror movie, you don't expect great plots and character building, in my opinion.

I think as long as they stick to that formula, they'll be fine... with occasional embarrassments like Street Fighter and Super Mario Bros.


Which was first: TMNT: The Cartoon, TMNT: The Movie, or TMNT: The Video Game???

[The Milk Man 09]

I think as long as Uwe Boll stays away from them we have a fighting chance.

[Thornes70]

meh.

If the game has a good plot, maybe a competent writer can do something with it. If a game is just weak plot but lots of action, I consider it toiletbowl.

bot hit the nail on the head: taking advantage of the franchise's fanbase, that's all it is... "oooh, I loved that game, so I'll probably love the movie, too!"