Video Game Movies...

Movies and Video games:  Two different versions of entertainment but they just can't ever seem to work well when they're combined.

But why?

Why is it that two seemingly similar mediums cannot find a happy playground to frolic in?  Both are created for the entertainment of their customers.  Both are created to tell a story with a set of main characters and supporting cast that audiences will either fall in love with or despise.  In most cases, both have high production costs and a staff of 100's that work grueling hours to produce something for our entertainment. Both share similar genre fields:  Horror, Action/Adventure, Indie and Sports to name a few.  

So where does it fall apart? 

The Script:

Is it within the story, or subject material, that the two just can't find a happy transition? That is definitely part of it.  Think about it, most video games have ridiculous plots.  A plumber jumping through pipes to go to different parts of the world searching for a princess while breaking bricks with his fist and hopping on his enemies to kill them?  Don't get me wrong, everyone wants to be a hero who saves someone and destroys everything in his/her path to do so, but the story isn't exactly Oscar writing worthy.

It wasn't a blast... Or a thrill ride...

At least that is true with games of the late 80's / early 90's.

In recent years, video games have come a long way with story emphasis, making compelling drama driven games that fuels a players desire to see it through to the end.  Yet still there hasn't been a video game movie created that has fully encompassed the original source material/story and depicted it perfectly on screen.  Most adaptations are a complete joke and visually comical above all else. (Street Fighter, Super Mario Bros, Double Dragon)

 Good God this movie was horrific.

Hollywood has taken a more serious approach throwing big money at games like Tomb Raider and Prince of Persia hoping that visual effects /action (or a hot lead actress that fan-boys have lusted after since Hackers) would make up for a poor background/origin story but has been met with mediocrity. Though both made over 300 million world wide (and Prince of Persia arguably only hit that because of 3D revenue), each of the scripts weren't anything phenomenal.  There was just something missing and that something is the difference between a great movie that you always want to watch or one that just sits in your collection collecting dust.

The Length:

Maybe it's the length of films that cause a major issue in video game adaptations to cinema.  Movie run times are anywhere from 1.5 to 3 hours in length per feature film while most good games last anywhere from 8 to 16 hours.  Character build up and back-story is essentially non existent within movie adaptations to make the script work within its time restrictions.  Instead of the story having multiple dramatic/action set pieces over a long period of time, movie scripts are given one plot for a specific set of characters, a few action sequences and an eventual climactic scene at the end.  It all feels rushed. Literature adaptations to screen generally feel this way as well but there are far more greater "book movies" than there are "video game movies".

As gamers, do we feel more absorbed in the subject matter that we're watching transpire in front of us because of the length of time we're putting into the game? Or perhaps it's because of the fact that we're actively participating in the game itself for that amount of time.  Do we feel more connected to the game then we do with the movie because we're actually driving the story forward?  Sure, but is that a reason for a movie version of what we're playing to be so out of touch with the subject matter at hand? No and that is a shame.

The "Taken Seriously":

Lets face it, movie versions of video games have been terrible to mediocre.  Scripts are often rushed and rarely thought through, character development is a hind sight and the actors/actresses picked to play the roles of the main characters we've come to know and love are B list material. (There are exceptions to this of course)  Movie studios get this notion that fans of a certain video game want to see a live action version of something that they love and adore because we ask for it repeatedly.  However, they don't take it seriously because it's based on a video game that is more often than not considered to be "childish" hobby.  Despite the gigantic leap forward that the gaming community has made with more serious tones of its subject matter, most adults still believe video games are a "kid" thing.   When films are made based off video games, they are are targeted more towards the younger audiences instead of focusing more on an older age bracket.

Games that are created today deal with heavy morality choices and consequences forcing a player to self reflect on their decisions and what played out in front of them.  This is no "childish" hobby by any means anymore and Hollywood needs to treat the idea behind the video game with a lot more respect.  Dark underlying tones, character conflict and harsh realities within fantasy worlds should be depicted with the same solid screenplay writing that you'd see in major movie productions.   The target audience that the screenplay appeals to should be broadened to a wider, more mature variety of people, not just the video game player who asked for a film adaptation of the game.

Lets hope that Hollywood starts to realize that this isn't a kids genre anymore.