# Are movie adaptations of video-games ever a good idea?



## shaunj66 (Feb 11, 2018)

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GBAtemp Portal Poll *for the week of 10th February 2018​
*Are movie adaptations of video-games ever a good idea?
*​With the recent news that the upcoming _*Super Mario* _movie will be worked on by _Illumination Entertainment, _the studio behind such works as Despicable Me and Minions; we ask you - are video-game to movie adaptations ever a good idea?

Movie adaptations of video-game franchises is not a new concept and many franchises have already made the jump to Hollywood with varying degrees of success. You have examples such as *Tomb Raider* which saw decent critical reception to the *Mortal Kombat* movies which were less successful. You even have the 1993 live-action _Super Mario Bros_ which despite being a cult favourite, is known for being notoriously bad and performed so badly at the box office that the sequel which was even teased at the end of the film was cancelled.




Some might argue that video games are interactive movies already and that, if anything, value will be lost in the transition to film as you are more disconnected from the narrative when we compare films to story-heavy games such as* Final Fantasy *or *The Last of Us* - one of which already has several movies and the latter rumoured to be in the works.

Then you have movies that although based on video game culture such as _Wreck It Ralph (2013) _or _Pixels (2015), _that were polar opposites in terms of success both critically and commercially. 

What separates a good movie from a bad one and does the level respect of paid to the source material matter?

Let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll and leaving your comments below!


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## Technicmaster0 (Feb 11, 2018)

I liked the assassins creed movie but the majority of films based on video games are crap.
It's more important to have a good script than to be very close to the games. Some ideas from video games simply don't work in a movie.


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## Flame (Feb 11, 2018)

its very hard for a game to be made into a good movie.

people just want to make a quick buck. so a good story is not there, when the good story is they money isn't they.

also the way a video game's story is told doesn't fit in a movie way of telling a story.


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## FAST6191 (Feb 11, 2018)

I am sure it is possible -- they are both typically somewhat visual ways of telling stories and if we count film sequels or go for TV shows then take place over similar amounts of time.
Interaction and the lack thereof can be tricky but it is not impossible to work around.

As was mentioned though most just seem to be a simple tie in cash grab exercise. Given that most games are not superbly written either it does not make for a great result.

"does the level respect of paid to the source material matter?"
The main way we see of try to patch up a story is bad and yields mostly bad results.
A proper retelling of a game similar to the book adaptations which worked or "take the main premise, a few elements from it all and run with it" would get better ones if done well.
For the latter then I kind of like the earlier Resident Evils (yet to see past the prison one) and Prince of Persia was not the worst.


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## aykay55 (Feb 11, 2018)

I think movie adaptations of a game series is a-OK, as long as they do it right. What is never OK is a game adaptation of a movie. (LEGO Movie video game flashing in my head)


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## Psionic Roshambo (Feb 11, 2018)

It really depends, also on the person if you don't mind it not being fantastic than you can have a good time with some video game movies.

I liked Mortal Kombat, and Resident Evil sucked but they kept getting better so the last couple where pretty damned good.

Prince of Persia Sands of Time was amazing in my opinion.

Mario was pure trash... even I couldn't enjoy it lol

Off the top of my head that's about my experience with movie video game stuff...

Edit: Street Fighter the movie was pretty bad too... 

Tekken the old 90's animated movie was pretty good if you can find it.


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## Sakitoshi (Feb 12, 2018)

They are called adaptations for a reason.
Is impossible to make a 1:1 copy of any interactive medium into a non-interactive, but you can make it in a way that is convincing enough if you respect the source material.

A good example that comes to my mind is The Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, they took almost every element of the game and transformed it into something usable in a movie, the parkour is there, the dagger consumes sand of time while traveling in time, the second in command (in this case his uncle) was trying to take over, the only missing thing was the hourglass of time and sand monsters, but that would have transformed the movie into a typical zombie movie tbh.

A bad example is Max Payne, so bad that I forgot the plot for good but I remember that barely followed the game and was horrible.

Another good example is Angry Birds, it takes everything from the game and creates a plot from scratch, the birds are there and are angry, the pigs are evil and stole the eggs, is fun to watch, what more do you need?


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## MikaDubbz (Feb 12, 2018)

First Silent Hill movie was ok.  And do the Pokemon movies count?  I mean they're adaptations of the anime which itself is an adaptation of the games.  If those count, then Pokemon 2000, the Power of One is a pretty awesome movie adapted from a video game.


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## BlackWizzard17 (Feb 12, 2018)

Adaptions of games are just like books, either shit or leave out a lot. Some games based on movies however can turn out great just look at The Warriors for PS2.


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## Sonic Angel Knight (Feb 12, 2018)

Have we learned nothing from the past? 

Yes is good for hype/publicity but become cringe memes of the past waiting to be ruined by critics.


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## The Real Jdbye (Feb 12, 2018)

The problem with movie based games and game based movies is that they're often not very well done.
The Warcraft movie was pretty great though and shows that it is possible to make good movies based on games.
I'm not sure if Wreck-It Ralph counts, since it isn't based on a real game, but it does include characters from real games and really manages to embody what video games are all about, so I think it counts. That was also a great movie.
FF7 Advent Children was decent, I suppose. It felt like it didn't really have a lot to do with the game but was rather a separate story set in the same universe (but possibly in an alternate timeline)
Not that that's necessarily a bad thing.


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## sarkwalvein (Feb 12, 2018)

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.


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## leon315 (Feb 12, 2018)

usually videogames' movie adatation suck, but the 1st time i saw Disney's Prince of Persia movie adaptation, i was seriously impressed by its amazing screen scripts, plot and characters performance, it had good box office too.

there's always few exceptions


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## paulttt (Feb 12, 2018)

The street fighter 2 animé was awesome.


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## linuxares (Feb 12, 2018)

I might be in a minority but I think the Tomb Raider films was alright, nothing Oscar worthy but totally fine films.

EDIT: Btw everyone! https://mojang.com/2016/06/the-minecraft-movie-has-a-release-date/


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## Spectral Blizzard (Feb 12, 2018)

If Nintendo's in it, they can do fucking ANYTHING.
Just a reminder.


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## Naridar (Feb 12, 2018)

Let me think...


Spoiler











Yes, it is good.


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## MisterSteak (Feb 12, 2018)

I think they absolutely would be if studios would stop treating them like fan service and start treating them like real, actual spinoffs. Some game stories and universes have been leaps and bounds above what I've seen and felt in theaters, but studios aren't interested in giving them a real voice as much as cranking out quick moneymakers, usually.


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## RustInPeace (Feb 12, 2018)

It's a good idea, but 9 times out of 10, they've been adapted terribly. The only video game movie I can legitimately defend as being really good is Mortal Kombat. Otherwise you get mediocre stuff like Super Smash Bros, bullshit like DOOM, funny bullshit like Street Fighter, and a mix of bullshit and laughs in Mortal Kombat Annihilation. The animated movie adaptations coming are steps in the right direction, especially since the shitty video game movies have been live action. I'm particularly interested in Detective Pikachu since Ryan Reynolds will voice the title character.


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## Foxi4 (Feb 13, 2018)

How is this even a question? The bad video game movies are the best ones! Mortal Kombat and Resident Evil are way up high on my list of guilty pleasures, not to mention the masterpiece that is Uwe Boll's Postal. It's possibly the greatest movie of all time, funded exclusively with Nazi gold.


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## Issac (Feb 13, 2018)

I would like to have video game movies made in a certain way: Not mimicking the game!

I mean, make it a complementary movie to the franchise / video game. Have it set in the same universe, use the characters or whatever... but make a it a MOVIE.

Max Payne, for example. Make it an action movie with the dark imagery and with the right "feeling"... but don't pretend it's a game. Make it a backstory that ties into the games, instead of recycling pieces of the story.
Everyone who knows the brief backstory to the first game (I won't spoil it) knows that it's very effective... but WHY does it happen? Why him? Create a movie with that in depth backstory.

Or Silent Hill. There's so much lore to use, that you can make a great movie out of it. Instead, they fucked it up (in my opinion) by throwing in a mishmash of a story based loosely on the first game, with monsters from the second game... and still bullshitting out a story that clashes with the real lore. 
Explore the worshipers, the rituals, the town, the evil that lurks... but don't throw in Pyramid Head for no reason. Don't throw in "Sexy Nurses" for no reason. ARGH!!! Missed. Freaking. Opportunity. at making a decent video game movie (and a decent horror movie).


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## Seliph (Feb 13, 2018)

I'd watch a movie retelling of the Metal Gear Saga because they're already very cinematic but I don't think many games will do good as movies.


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## DinohScene (Feb 14, 2018)

There where talks about a Bioshock film.
I'd fucking love to see it.

Movie adaptations of games can be quite amazing.
If they do it properly that is.


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## ToonGoomba (Feb 14, 2018)

I remember watching the Super Mario Bros. movie when I was about 3-4 years old, and I thought I was watching an entirely different movie. That was NOT Mario. I remember watching the Super Show too, and I knew it was Mario, but it didn't _seem_ like him. Now that we are in modern times with animated movies and upgraded technology, I want to be able to tell who Mario is in the new movie. Specifically the video game Mario we all know and love, but with lots of personality and emotions added in. And since this is a new Mario movie, I'd put it in the action/adventure genre. Not the kids/family/comedy genre.


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## dimmidice (Feb 14, 2018)

Dead or alive has a movie that completely flopped and is ridiculously bad in many ways. But i love that movie. Fighting games probably make for the best movies. They're not heavy on story so they can't butcher that. They're already visually pleasing and who doesn't like a good fight scene?

Edit: Here have the trailer.


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## Megadriver94 (Mar 10, 2018)

I think its not too different from adapting novels and comic books into movies. Personally, I'd like to see how a movie adaptation of SOMA would end up.


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## Old (Mar 11, 2018)

Rarely a good idea.  The transition/adaptation is always going to be tricky, regardless of script, acting quality, etc. (or lack of).  It's always going to be difficult because video games are a far more interactive - and often very personal - experience.

The first Silent Hill flick has decent enough visuals & you can see what they were going for in the atmosphere department, but I can't think of too many others that were even _watchable_, let alone *good*.
There is an infamous Street Fighter scene in the film 'City Hunter' that is consistently amusing.  Certainly better than that horrid 90s version with Van Damme, and as a 'bonus' we get Jackie in full drag as Chun-Li!


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## osaka35 (Mar 11, 2018)

Those who make video game movie tend to make the same mistakes as those who make sequels to movies: Most either stick to the same notes and it's utterly boring and pointless, or they do things in such a way that you're not sure they even played/watched the source material. It's hard to capture the personal experiences of a game, that lightning in a bottle, for the big screen.

Wreck-it-ralph was great because it focused on video game tropes, rather than any specific game, and had very human and sincere themes. Plus it was written really well. Mortal Kombat stuck to the game as closely as possible, threw in some "neat" visuals, and it was atrocious (well, fun to laugh at anyway). terribly written, nothing human to connect with, and difficult to follow.

I love silent hill. I love it. But I didn't like the movies overly much. I'm not sure if that's because I know the games so well, or if the acting/plot made my brain hurt (I said "but why though" a little too much during those movies). Why they couldn't have just gone with the "the town is a reflection of your own psyche" angle, I'll never know. Probably either couldn't think of a clever enough plot, or wanted to create a mass-appeal horror flick. But I digress.

You make things happen in a video game, you personally drive the story forward (well, usually). That's a large part of the engagement. So to watch the characters you controlled move on their own...your brain can get disinterested. Course, on the other hand, people really like "let's play" videos (which I don't get), so maybe it's not a huge deal anyway.

Guess it comes down to plot, competence, and a deep understanding of the source material.


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## Condarkness_XY (Apr 25, 2018)

If the movie doesn't suck, I'll change my mind, but in all honesty I not trust Hollywood producers to give a damn enough to make a video game movie any good.


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## Glyptofane (Apr 25, 2018)

Anime adaptations of video games are one thing and usually not good either. I quite enjoyed the Ace Attorney anime though. As for live action, I don't believe I've ever seen one that wasn't a christless abomination.


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## sarkwalvein (Apr 25, 2018)

Glyptofane said:


> Anime adaptations of video games are one thing and usually not good either. I quite enjoyed the Ace Attorney anime though. As for live action, I don't believe I've ever seen one that wasn't a christless abomination.


I got scared of its weird clunky ending running animation and ran away from it. Perhaps I should give it another chance.


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## Dreamhigh1708 (May 20, 2018)

Glyptofane said:


> Anime adaptations of video games are one thing and usually not good either. I quite enjoyed the Ace Attorney anime though. As for live action, I don't believe I've ever seen one that wasn't a christless abomination.



I actually enjoyed the Ace Attorney live action haha... It's a bit cheesy and not super high budget but they really tried to be as close to the original work as possible, and I enjoyed it for that... I wouldn't say it's outstanding but well, good enough haha

I answered that it depends on the script and the overall movie production... which I believe is true... there MUST be a way to make it nice... But true enough, it's not easy to find a good adaptation... Assassin's Creed I HATED, forced myself to the end but it hurt to watch... I find Resident Evil entertaining and the action scenes are not that bad, but I haven't played the games... I've heard they're really different from the movies, is it true ?


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## Mr. Elementle (Jun 29, 2018)

I mean they can be good as long as the film maker understands what made the game good, another big thing in my opinion is to not just retell the game, have a story set in the same world as the game, (Not some weird alt timeline semi retelling bullshit like silent hill and resident evil did)

the dead rising movies are pretty good because they're just dumb zombie movies, they know what dead rising is about and they tell a story in the same universe and keep the same tone. The Professor layton movie is one of my favorite movies ever made (Seriously it is a genuinely amazing movie) because it understands why professor layton kept you intrigued in the plot, so even though you weren't solving puzzles it still felt like you were watching the plot of a game unfold. 


and as much as i know people hate on FNaF i am genuinely excited for the five nights at freddie's movie since the best part of that game is the hidden lore and writing (Even the books were good like better the games imo) so a FNaF movie directed by chris columbus with Scott advising should turn out pretty good (As long as there's no executive meddling to fuck it up)


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## Gon Freecss (Jul 13, 2018)

Resident Evil and prince of Persia, yes!


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## Song of storms (Jul 24, 2018)

Wreck-it Ralph was good.


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## FAST6191 (Jul 24, 2018)

I would disagree on two counts.
1) I found it fairly dull and predictable
2) Other than a few cameos and nods the whole thing was an original property.


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## Ariff Tsukasa (Jul 27, 2018)

It's depend on quality of the film.


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## kuwanger (Jul 27, 2018)

Most movies are somewhere between mediocre and terrible.  The same with video games, really.  I think the real question is if one can make a movie adaption of a video game with drama and character development that works well.  There's very few video games that I think really would fit that mold.  So, you're left making most as either non-serious, campy movies or simply playing out a mediocre recreation of a video game.  The rest just tends to be terrible.


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## Veho (Aug 5, 2018)

There are several problems with adapting games (games that aren't interactive movies to begin with {Until Dawn, Detroit: Become Human and so on}) into movies. 

The main draw of a video game is the gameplay (duh), which takes up the majority of a game's duration. In contrast, only about 20% of any given movie is taken up by the genre mechanic (action in action movies, staring at puzzles in "puzzle" movies (think The Da Vinci Code), running from rolling boulders and jumping chasms in action adventure movies, actual sports matches in sport movies, and so on). So from the very get-go you drastically reduce the source material's main appeal, and you're left with... the story, and here you open a whole other can of worms. 

The first issue is that most game stories are awful. 

No, really. They are terrible. Not _all_ by a long shot, but most of them are. They are Sy-Fy-Original-Movie, Straight-To-TV level awful. Games make up for it with gameplay, the in-game story is just a framing device to (loosely) connect missions/levels/stages, and isn't as important, but usually it's a terrible convoluted naive fanfic-level mess. People  And if the storyline is long enough it becomes a soap opera on top of everything else. A game can have deep lore and a great setup and a satisfying ending, but everything between the opening cutscene and the end credits is a convoluted pile of WTF. 

Some games basically don't have a story at all. "There's this bunch of stuff and you have to explode it. Good luck." You have to expand this into a complete screenplay somehow. Good luck. 

On the other end there are games with too much content. Games are long (30+ hours), they can fit a ton of plot and content, and there is absolutely no way to cram all that into 90 minutes of movie time, so you have to get rid of 90% of the stuff and maybe mention some of it in passing or give nods to it in the background scenery. Remember how much books lose in adaptation to movies, now imagine that times ten. 

Games have dozens of levels/missions. A standard movie structure allows for two "missions". Choose wisely. 

And then there's video game logic. 

You inevitably have to change something, and the problem is that no matter what you change a (large) portion of the game's fans will hate you, and you are gambling on being able to draw in non-fans and regular moviegoers based on . And if you don't change anything, the movie will be a horrible mess for one or more of the above reasons.


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