Everyone loves movies and everyone loves video games, but when the two attempt to join, something is lost in translation nearly every time. What succeeds on the little screen so very often abysmally fails on the big one. Sure, a game’s plot, characters and environments might seem like guaranteed money for a film adaptation, but the line between monetary success and go-die-in-a-hole failure is a tough one to navigate.
First the bad.
We all remember the failures. Last summer’s “May Payne” adaptation had nothing decent in it. The problem was more deeply-rooted than a clumsy narrative and Mila Kunis playing someone other than Meg from Family Guy. This film had no redeeming qualities. Gamers got excited about it because “this would finally be the good video game movie,” but when they left the theater, hands in pockets, with desires to go all Men in Black and wave the wand in front of their eyes to forget the anguish, they realized a decent video game movie may never exist.
The much worse.
The movie: “Super Mario Bros.” This 90s film was so inescapably poor that I would hand Princess Peach over to the sinister Bowser himself if allowed to erase this film from history. We all know how it went down. Some movie producer thought it’d be a grand idea to cash in on one of the most beloved video game characters ever. And you might think a cartoon adaptation would be most fitting, but no, it was decided the movie should be a feature-length live-action endeavor. Needless to say, the movie failed, and it failed hard.
The one that had a chance.
A movie based in the fictional world of Albion from the Fable” video game universe.
Storytelling is a facet of game-design Fable-developer Lionhead Studios have literally perfected from the beginning. The story is a literal coming-of-age tale about a young boy seeking vengeance on those who’ve wronged him. His life is surrounded with moral decisions, the consequences of which, remain with him and affect his daily happenings. The game world is littered with high-fantasy, action, adventure, and exploring. Those are all elements of a great movie, am I right? A film, based in the colorful world of Albion, properly casted, executed, and marketed, could be a big winner.
The one we want to succeed, but probably won’t.
2009’s “Uncharted 2” was a downright splendiferous video game. It had some of the best voice acting, characters both evil and pure, and bullet-ridden sequences in the history of video games, but it likely won’t make a great film. It could be decent, but its expectations would be so monumentally high, it would easily crush itself under its own Nathan Drake-buffed weight. “Uncharted 2” is a prime example of leaving well enough alone. The game is phenomenal and plays out much like a film. Why not leave that delectable taste in the mouth of millions, instead of a chewy, garbled attempt at blockbusterdom.
The definitely will be, barring catastrophe, good.
Jerry Bruckheimer, the man famous for directing the Pirates of the Caribbean films has a clear knack for delivering action-packed movies full of memorable moments. So when his name is tossed around the video game world, anxious eyes set their sights on him. The movie is “Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time,” and, based on a few trailers and a reveal of the general plot synopsis, this film may just be the one to rescue the rest and shine a banner of hope on the painfully disturbed genre. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the Prince of Persia, and with a glistening six-pack and a loin-loosening smile, might just make this film a winner when it releases in May, 2010.
Walt Disney won’t let me embed the trailer,but watch it here.
The video game to movie transition has its best chance with the Prince of Persia flick, but the main issue I believe is one of discretion. Sure you could make a film based on a popular game franchise, but should you?
