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By Doug Trueman, Lauren Fielder
Movies based on video games are fairly common but are usually not as good as the video game. But the video game movie that's better than the game itself is a rare bird indeed. Similarly, movies based on books rarely succeed, so why would movies based on games succeed? It makes sense, though, that we crave seeing our favorite games turned into big-screen cinematic explosions with big-name (or even no-name) actors filling the shoes of the characters we've steered and directed through world upon world--even if those movies aren't always that great.
The introduction of the newest generation of console systems, the Dreamcast, the PlayStation 2, and, coming soon, the Xbox and the GameCube, has ushered in games that are wholly cinematic. While Final Fantasy has existed in the realm of cinematic for years now, Metal Gear Solid is another example of a franchise fully taking advantage of newer technology. You could also argue that while games are resembling films more and more, films are beginning to look increasingly gamelike (ever see Storm Riders?). Games have been created around movie plots for more than two decades now, while greater than a dozen films have been produced based on game mythology. The latter is a curious animal that we thought we would examine under the microscope to gain a clearer understanding of this trend.
But heed our words. Some of the earlier game-to-movie conversions are not pretty and, in many cases, not very good at all (even though the cast and crew of all these films should be proud of at least trying to take cinema into a direction previously unexplored). To steal the tag line of Cronenberg's The Fly: Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Yet with games such as Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider, and Resident Evil getting the silver-screen treatment, we just might be on the verge of all of that changing.
Warning: Most, if not all, of these summaries contain plot spoilers, so read at your own risk. (You might never rent any of these films, but don't say we didn't warn you.)
Special thanks to Daniel Finkelstein.
Next: Show me live-action game-to-movie conversions
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