Anthony Stokes thinks video game adaptations could learn a thing or two from comic book movies….
Of all the different trends in Hollywood, few have seen as little success as video game adaptations. They don’t come very often, but when they do finally show up they’re usually painful to watch and are generally disappointments financially, critically, and to the fans of the franchise on which they are based. Why is it that it seems near impossible to have a good video game movie? Is it budgetary reasons? Lack of faith in the original source material? Lack of talent? Let’s look at some of the video game movies that have come out over the years, and offer solutions to the problems raised…
Video game adaptations have had a rough road. First out of the gate was Super Mario Bros., which was not a very good start. It’s widely considered among the very worst adaptations ever made and as bad as it was, it really did set the trend. Since then there hasn’t been one video game movie to get a “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I would say it’s been an uphill battle, but that would indicate progress.
There’s a big parallel between comic book movies and video game adaptations. Superman: The Movie was a great start but barring a few exceptions, up until Blade, X-Men and Spider-Man, comic book movies were pretty much unwatchable at one point. They were fundamentally horrible movies on every single level. I’ll watch BloodRayne and Doom three times each before I watch the 1990s Captain America and The Fantastic Four. However, what changed with comic book movies was very talented and established filmmakers (David S. Goyer, Sam Raimi, and Bryan Singer) with a very specific vision treating the source material with respect and doing their own take on it. Marvel Studios have since perfected this formula and continuously profit from it.
While video game movies have had a lot of major studio backing, where I think they’ve failed is picking good talent behind the camera. At first sight, the actors they pick are perfect for their roles – I can’t think of a better choice for Hitman and Lara Croft respectively than Timothy Olyphant and Angelina Jolie. But actors depend on good direction and good scripts, which none of these movies have have had. The most high profile filmmaker to direct a video game movie to date has been Paul W.S. Anderson (Mortal Kombat, Resident Evil). Uwe Boll gets most of the credit for ruining the video game-to-movie industry, but Paul W.S. Anderson deserves just as much blame. Studios need to stop looking for studio directors and get a director and writer who have a unique vision and they will see much better returns both critically and commercially.
Another problem is choosing which properties to adapt. Now I’m a huge fan of both comic books and video games, but let’s face it – a lot of them aren’t very good. When they’re great, they’re spot on, but if you just pick up a random comic or video game it’s probably not the best fit for a movie adaptation. That’s why movies like Iron Man and The Dark Knight incorporate elements from the best of their respective comics, which are used to create something new. Typically, saying that a video game has “a good story” generally means it has a serviceable story that fits the game play. Video games stories can run anywhere from 5 to 40 hours and it’s incredibly difficult to tell a well-balanced and engaging story in that time. As much as it’s hard to turn a big book into a movie, it’s even harder to adapt 10 hours worth of gameplay into a 2 hour movie. That’s why most video game movies make up original stories. It’s better to use the best parts of the game as the inspiration for an original story.
An issue with all types of adaptations – not just video games – is that the studios take something and turn it into an action movie. This is not always the best way to appeal to fans of the source material, or to make a good movie. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a great adaption because it takes its comedic source material and stays true to it, whilst delivering well thought-out and natural feeling action set pieces. However, it is not an action movie. You still have to be able to tell a story, and shoehorning in action scenes does not make it very easy. Take a good look at each adaptation and decide how best to bring it to the screen by capturing the spirit of the source material, while also having visceral and aesthetically pleasing elements to satisfy general movie going audiences. Once again Marvel has perfected this art and as such, has acquired a license to print money.
Thankfully Hollywood seems to have taken a step back and has begun to try and adapt video games which actually have great stories and characters. Assassin’s Creed, Portal, Half-Life and Splinter Cell movies have all been announced. Deus Ex: Human Revolution has picked the team behind Sinister (Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill) – one of my favorite horror movies of last year. At one point Gore Verbinski was set to direct a BioShock movie – an even better example. This is the definition of a step in the right direction and I am very optimistic about the future in that I don’t think we’re too far away from getting a good movie based off a video game.
To close, I wanted to pick a list of video games I think are ripe for adaptations, along with the filmmakers I feel would be best suited to bring them to the screen…
BioShock – Darren Aronofsky
God of War – Guillermo del Toro
Uncharted – Edgar Wright, with Bradley Cooper in the lead role
Assassin’s Creed – David Fincher
Which video games would you like to see adapted for the screen? Let us know in the comments below…
Anthony Stokes is a blogger and independent filmmaker.
Originally published May 31, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
