Movies And Video Games: Why Don’t They Mix?
The movie industry and the video game industry have attempted to meld on several occasions. None of which have had astronomical critical and commercial success simultaneously. The only one that came close was GoldenEye 007 back on the N64. Since then there have been many pairings of games and movies. Games first, then movie; sometimes movie first then game. Recently the games have come prior to the movies and some say ruin the story for the movies by revealing the endings. However the overall consensus is that movies based on a video game franchise or single iteration become horrible representations of the medium. So why is that?
Lack Of Developer Involvement
Nine times out of ten the developers who own the intellectual property don’t have anything to do with the movies besides selling off the rights to make quick cash. Certain companies however do make the effort to have their properties stay true to their counterparts, like Capcom and their involvement with the Resident Evil franchise. Some beloved franchises are not so lucky, Metal Gear Solid comes to mind. David Hayter the voice of Snake and also a professional screenplay writer has written numerous great movies such as Watchmen, X-Men and X2. He wanted to write the script for MGS movie with the supervision of Hideo Kojima (series creator) however things didn’t quite work for him and he was rejected by Sony. He is currently writing and putting into work Lost Planet: Extreme Condition. When developers take a back seat to their properties development in another medium it usually creates half-assed works of crap, or pieces that are loved by some and hated by others. Hitman was a prime example, as barely any story was congruent with the series. Same can be said about the randomness of the two Street Fighter films. Mortal Kombat feels to be the most true to the source material to this day.
Casting Errors
Casting is key to development of a movie based on a video game or based off of anything in an already existing medium that has a face. You begin to see actors who would be right for the part. Often times though studios choose what would broaden their audience and garner more money in the end. On certain ocassions they choose the cast based upon budget, which is sensible but rarely does it ever work out for the best. Overall casting has bee sub-par for game movies. The upcoming Kane And Lynch movie due out in 2011 has great casting of Bruce Willis as Kane, however Lynch will be played by Jamie Foxx. I don’t understand hollywood at times. However, one can argue that Mortal Kombat and Lara Croft has one of the most true to gaming casts.
Rating Issues
Most of the popular games that are brought to movies are M rated titles. As one would assume R rated movies based on games that are yes, aimed at mature audiences but are played and bought by many underage teenagers and children would be a wonderful idea. You want to see the R rated movie based on your favorite game? Than you have to bring a consenting adult. However sometimes it is just cheaper to create a PG-13 title and create an Unrated Blu-Ray or DVD release to appease the fans. The problem with this idea is that most of the hardcore who are into the series/game being portrayed on film are anxious to see it and won’t wait for the home release. Some recent ratings issues have come in lieu of Max Payne (did the story even keep true to the game?), Doom (WTF? Really?), and Hitman as well.
Future Holds Hope
Well, there is plenty for the industry to improve upon when it comes to transferring mediums. Hopefully subsequent titles will be good and Uwe Boll wont make any more movies like Far Cry and Postal. Halo seems to be having the same issues as Metal Gear Solid was having with the change of producers/directors so quick. So I leave you with a list of movies based on games coming out in the near or long future.
- Metal Gear Solid
- Tekken-Later This Year
- King Of Fighters( Says its released in November 2009 but I havent seen it anywhere)
- Resident Evil: Afterlife
- Kane And Lynch
- BloodRayne 3: The Third Reich
Short URL: http://thegamershub.net/?p=7946
Posted by AnthonyD
on Jul 23 2010. Filed under Editorials, News, Philosophy and Gaming.
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