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I have to disagree with pokemon. Being a fan of the thing itself I find it good enough. But I believe others just saw it as nothing more then piss because if you done some research on the thing,well all I have to say that the Americans are such pussys. The completle removed any referance of god and etc. Obviously so not to offend the Pope himself. If you get him to go on a crusade on your ass I can safely say you are doomed.

To me one game that really felt like you were taking part in a movie was God of War.

I would love to see God of War made into a movie.

It starts off with the main character attempting to commit suicide. Then shows the events that led to him getting to that point. I think the way the story gradually evolved, giving you bits and pieces of his past would work on screen.

Just leave out a lot of the puzzle solving which doesen't really work onscreen that well.

of course, getting the chains to work like real weapons would be a major obstacle and could kill that movie.

of course they would probably put Keanu Reaves in as Kratos.

I can see it now...

.... Dude Ares... that was totally not cool what you did to my family.

On second thought ... please don't make god of war into a movie

I kinda like Resident Evil, scratch that, I like it a lot. Compared to other vidgame-based movies, the writers managed to create a solid story. A bit disappointment with the sequel, though. And unfortunately, the third movie didn't do any better either :(

As for Mortal Kombat, albeit they could've done a better job with the casting, was quite an entertaining movie--much better than Street Fighter for sure. But they did a pretty good job at wrecking the sequel.

Studio execs make the decision to make video game movies, rarely creatives (if any). The reasoning is that video games already have a target market and are cheap to market to that core. At the same time, they want it to appeal to as many people in general with a 2-minute trailer. (the "If you loved that movie, you'll love this movie" thinking). It's not about making a good movie, it's about hedging your bets, because execs are so busy covering their asses, they don't have time to actually do any work.

Ultimately, the (Hollywood) studio execs don't care about anything that can't be sold to people who don't speak English. It's all about international audiences nowadays so the trailer's got to say everything about this movie. "It's got to look cool, it's got to be loud, it's got to have explosions!".

Now, that may work for games, where flashy graphics and awesome gameplay are more important than strong unique stories -- and that's fine because games have the 'challenge factor'. you've got to beat the bad-ass difficult mutha (boss battles) to keep progressing. Movies don't whup the audiences' ass until you have to go online for a walkthrough / cheat.

Creatives on the other hand aren't invested in the material (source or otherwise) to imbue the movie with stuff that makes movies good -- a relatable protagonist that grows from strength to strength. Even in games, your character can pick up new skills as you progress through the game, but most vid game adaptations have the character being able to do everything from the beginning (flying through the air while eating a cheese sandwich) without showing the struggle in developing that skill / themselves. Even in comic book movies you have characters who discover and develop their powers over the course of the first movie. In video games? Everyone and their mothers know how to shoot a gun... everyone's born with a gun in each hand (and unlimited ammo).

But there's hope. Currently most movie creatives are comic book fans (and cartoon fans), not necessarily video game fans. Fast forward a generation -- maybe 10 years or so, and the people who grew up on Xbox's and PS2's instead of Saturday Morning Cartoons and X-Men will be in the industry -- and might well care enough to write / direct that great video game movie. Or we could just have "Madden 2019: The Movie"

I thought "Max Payne," would do well based on the trailer (pretty stylish). But nothing can save a movie with bad acting and a poor story.

Why do people always mix up "good movie" with "movie i liked"?

Or even better "good movie" with "good content/content i liked in the movie"??

You talked about Postal a little while ago... and said many people say it was a "good movie". No, it wasn't.

Perhaps the people liked it because it was "oh so" anti and "brave" or anything (not that it was, but ya). But just because you liked the content of the movie doesn't make it a good one, you know?

Bolls movies don't "improve", his first was just as bad as his last one. So no, he doesn't improve.

And I'm not talking about the subjective stuff (like i said, the content, if you liked the movie or not etc).

I liked Max Payne

Metal Gear Solid. Half the game is storytelling. Enough said.

Have you played these video games before watching their respective movies? I didn't and I thought Resident Evil 2 & 3 were alright movies. Hitman was the best attempt yet in my opinion, though I didn't even know it was a video game until it came up in your list. I wonder, does knowing a movie is an adaption of a game affect your opinion?

Hold on here...now we all but know that all video game movies suck. HOWEVER, has anyone thought of The Prince of Persia being a canadite to break the curse? It has an excellent storyline first of all. Next, it has a grat cast and is being made by the guys who put together Pirates of the Carribean. This one will be good.

I think that even tough Pirates of the Caribbean wasn't actually based on a videogame, they did manage to make a cool movie out of a theme-ride game, with just a few visual references and a vague story to get them started, so I see no reason why the same couldn't be done for a videogame. I think Prince of Persia could be fun. And to be fair, most videogames based on movies suck too.

I agree that at this point, the only hope we have is Gore Verbinski's Bioshock. Partly because that even as narrative-driven as the game was, it'll be a winner as long as you preserve the setting and a few key points about the storyline (Andrew Ryan and Jack's relationship, the identity of Atlas, some stuff about what the Little Sisters and Big Daddies were for). I think the stuff about characters like Dr.s Tenenbaum and Suchong aren't all that important, and Sander Cohen will be the Tom Bombadil of the film.

As long as Verbinski keeps the main themes about the libertarian dystopia and the nature of Andrew Ryan, Atlas, and Jack, it should be good enough imho.

Prince of the Persia seems to me like Jake Gyllenhaal's version of Christian Bale's Terminator 4- both are actors are just slumming in a popcorn fest.

i think you have the wrong idea of why video game movies suck. i will admit though, history has tended to repeat itself.

accomplished movie makers tend to ignore video game movies as a whole. look at who created the Super Mario Bros. movie.

now if you tell me that you have talent like say Guillermo Del Torro behind something like Halo or Peter Jackson and it'd be a much better job than anyone else could do.

it's much like the comic book movie franchise. it was dead and never taken seriously for close to 10 years and now it's arguably the biggest money-making movie franchise around.

I agree with the premise, but I hope your writing skills are better shown through your film...

Edit: I meant to say the game movies are bad, not the games are bad

The games are bad because they change the core elements. Having

the same characters is only part of the formula. Take the Dragon Ball

movie for instance. The director said he changed it to feel more, modern,

and took the fantasy, alien world aspect out of it. Yes, it has Goku,

Bulma, and Piccolo, but Dragon Ball Z is set in the distant future.

Bulma makes hover cars for godsakes, and they have Goku driving

around in a car? It doesnt make sense to use the characters but

not have them in context of the game. Piccolo kung fu fighting in

a night club? What do they think the movie is going to turn out like.

Resident Evil 2 and Mortal Kombat were good because they GOT the

story. Jill is trapped in a city with Nemesis..That is resident evil. Lui

Kang has to fight in a tournament of souls...that is Mortal Kombat.

Goku learning Kung Fu in New York, and has a biker girlfriend

named Bulma, and is stalked by a trenchoat wearing mutant named

Piccolo is not Dragon Ball. Silent Hill is also a good one, whether u

liked it or not, it was Silent Hill, with themes and characters.

Actually many video games are made for storytelling, most rpgs for instance, many of which are not only fascinating but completely captivating. I am a huge rpg fan and the only reason I play them is for the story. It's just too difficult to condense 60 hours of gameplay into a one and a half hour movie.

Because of the requirement for interactive material, no video game is going to have the narrative or the structure that is required for a good screenplay. In a game, they can't tell you everything the character does because you have choices, and they can only have a loose structure because otherwise the game would feel like Legend of Dragoon, where you're forced from one point to the next with no exploration. For a good screenplay, you need a good structure, you need compelling characters, you need pace and you need balance. Those who said that movies based on video games failed because they didn't stick to the source material are misleading yourselves. Sticking to the source material -- that gameplay elements, the spare plot, the cliche and one dimensional characters -- is what makes these movies bad.

That said, those of you who said that the movies don't have to be bad are right. Many good movies have been made out of novels, and structurally novels really aren't good for movie adaptations. They aren't limited enough in time and space, they aren't as cohesive as a movie needs to be, and they are too long with too many characters. So if screenplay writers can overcome the limitations in novels, they can overcome the limitations in video game adaptation.

Sad to say, but the limitation right now appears to me to be that they adapt these games with the original game audience in mind, thinking that they have a built in audience, and so they try to make the movie in some way like a video game. There's also a lot of impatience, and they don't wait to get the right people in the project and the right script. In order to make the movie good, though, they have to betray the source material. I think, though, as video game technology improved and continues to improve, they should be able to borrow visual styles, and perhaps the feeling of the movie.

Those who said that it was a problem that the film makers don't play the games may be right. Can you imagine Lord of the Rings if Peter Jackson hadn't been a fan of the book? In adapting something, I think the wisdom is that it's best to get the spirit of the thing and not worry too much about getting in all the characters or plot points. How can you get the spirit of a movie you haven't watched, a book you haven't read, or a game you haven't played? That said, only one question remains for me. How many games truly have a spirit to them?

What about Final Fantasy Advent Children, or does it loose out because it didn't hit theaters?

HA! in my first comment i was about to say "i better not hear anyone say they want a bioshock movie or a god of war movie" but i didnt

but i didnt think it was necessary to put it but a couple of people said it xD

haha...well im saying it now for you guys that said it...no god of war...no bioshock...halo has a horrible story...im looking forward to prince of persia but i was also looking forward to hitman

a little too much debate for a subject that has already been concluded by everyone thats human (80 comments?)

i thought humanity already agreed to agree on the "these movies suck" subject...

and it died after hitman when everyone agreed to say "video game movies suck" this has alredy been established but of course, john had to remind the few of us that have hope for max payne about the very consistantly shitty record video game movies have been keeping

old news, but this is johns way of reminding us that max payne WILL suck (and it will)

NEXT!

While I respect what you are trying to say John, It really isn't complicated. There are two major factors why there has yet to be a really stellar video game movie, neither of which you named in your original post.

#1 Choosing the wrong IP or franchise.

This is easily the most common mistake made when turning a video game into a movie. Just because something makes a great game and sells well does not mean it translates into a good premise for a movie, just like all movies good movies do not easily lend themselves to being made into a compelling game. Just looking at that list of movies, I see five movies based on a fighting game. The games these movies are based on barely have a plot, so is it really smart to try to manufacture a movie from such a limited premise? The same applies to Super Mario Brothers. I mean, you can't get any more basic than the plot of SMB and yet someone decided that was the game to try to stretch into a 90 minute movie. That's just not smart.

#2 Video game publishers not being discerning in who the sell movie rights to, and Hollywood not investing the talent or money to make a quality product.

Even in the few instances when Hollywood chooses a to make a movie from a video game franchise that lends itself to the silver screen, they have never taken the proper steps to make sure the end result is a quality movie. Whether it's going with a hack director (you know who I mean) or some kid just out of film school that directed a couple cool looking music videos, or hiring a second-rate writer to adapt the script, or cheaping out on the on-screen talent, there has never been a movie based on a video game to date that has been given a fair shot at being a GOOD movie. Look at the few movies based on video games that are at least decent (Tomb Raider, Silent Hill). They at least had some combination at least two of the following: a fitting budget, a quality screenwriter and director, or decent actors. That alone should prove that if a video game movie is ever given all three, it could easily be as good as a movie based off any other medium.

I'm really hoping that the Bioshock movie and rumored MGS movie get the type of support they deserve and we can disprove once and for all that it's impossible to make a good video game movie.

I don't understand one of your main conceits.

You say a good premise doesn't mean a good story you say.

Well it does if you take the premise and then spend the time to make a good story from it.

Transformers john is a great case. They come from something that had no narrative whatsoever. A paragraph "premise" blurb on the back of a toy packet. the tv show the movie everything all comes from an inanimate toy.

If you got decent talent on board one of these things you could make a good film but they always load them up with hack writers and directors.

I've started writing a script for PacMan and can't stop writing. I think it can actually be a great date movie (Pac and Pepper (Ms Pac Man) with their cute round yellow heads and healthy-shaped bodies), but I think big movie studios would give me a hard time when they make the connection between Power Pills and illegal drug use, and I don't think I'd ever get the rights from Namco-Bandai to make it as an independent studio either (too risky for them), and with the wide appeal of interest it's destined to draw too much conflicting attention and end up in development hell.

Good post. I was just wondering, have you ever played Metal Gear Solid? Thats a game I think disproves all your theories. There's an intense narrative because it was designed to be have a movie story telling. It's awesome. If you get the PS3 you should pick up the 1st one.

@Padthai

"The one movies that does follow the games well is Mortal Kombat, and it’s basically a kung-fu movie. It totally works"

MK had its moments, I'll give you that. But as much I loved techno in the 90's, it did get on my nerves in that film...and as for the plot of MK? Repeat after me:

Enter.

The.

Dragon.

*************

I agree with John for the most part on his listing here. Looks like he got 'em all. However, I liked Res Evil 3 a hell of a lot better that the first two films. I also still stand behind my thoughts on Silent Hill, which I could not disagree with John Campea more on.

That said, I do agree that some of the fanbase for most of these things-including Silent Hill- put toouch stock into the films. In fact, when the charge comes out regarding Hill "You must play the game to really get it and understand"...well, to this freaking day I haven't played the darned game, probably never will, and I still liked the film, and I got it. But whatever love I had for the film has slided over these past few years, partially because of the fanbase turning me off...but also because I would up enjoying John Carpenter's In The Mouth Of Madness even more. (I dare anyone to make a comparison to that film with the Silent Hill film)

Tomb Raider came the closest, although if that's as good as it gets, then, yes, until the Earthworm Jim film gets made, all video game movies for the most part stink.

Hopefully video game movies will get better...unlikely though. The only good "video-game" movies are those made by the developers themselves

(except FF: Sprits Within). Look at FF: Advent Children, Dead Space (animated), or the upcoming Resident Evil: Degeneration. Video games shouldn't be made into movies unless they have enough decent source material e.g. MGS. I hope Gore Verbinski of "Pirates" fame doesn't screw up Bioshock...that game was trill.

Lol, I love how everyone is telling me that the Max Payne movie will be good but I now have an article with facts to prove that there has NEVER been a great or even good video game movie adaption. I believe Tomb Raider came the closest but still failed miserably.

I agree, video games in general are more gameplay-driven than plot-driven. But I think the major problem with video game to film adaptions is that most video game concepts work well as VIDEO GAMES, not films. Most video game plots are far too unreaslistic and this is done to make the gameplay more interesting. When this is put onto a big screen it just becomes ridiculous.

A good point is made about the amount of narrative in Videogames vs movies, where part of the "narrative" of a good story based videogame should be the play experience, which you can't really convey in a film. As well it seems too many of these filmmakers try to make a "videogame movie" rather than just a movie... though we have yet to see truly A-List directorial and writing talent take up a movie based on a Videogame, I guess it all comes down to how Bioshock and Prince of Persia turn out, since both have actual talent behind them.

Advent Children was a fan-service sequel to the game "Final Fantasy VII" itself and had nothing to do with "The Spirits Within." It's not exactly the best example of a video game movie since the story is absolutely retarded if you've never played the game before.

Still, the action sequences alone overshadow the bad script. It's hard to concentrate on character development when you've got people racing through a tunnel at 500 mph throwing exploding motorcycles at each other and a sword fight that destroys half a city. I like to think FF7AC is what inspired the style of animated action movies like "TMNT" and "Kung Fu Panda."

I have fond memories of Resident Evil since I saw that on my best friend's birthday. About twenty of us went to the movies to see this and we were alone in the theater. The laser room sequence was cool, but other than that, it's shit. You can "feel" the budget throughout that film, if you get what I mean.

Fun fact: the zombie dog effect was accomplished by dumping pasta on the dogs, and the dogs kept eating it:)

AZA,

What sequel to The Spirits Within? If you meant Advent Children, it was not a sequel (to The Spirits Within). Advent Children was good, but take into account it had a very specific target base, and it's not a live-action film. Video game movies work better so far as animations, because there is more suspension of disbelief, and you can think more about the character than the actor portraying it.

Enjoy This!

http://www.livevideo.com/video/Tundra22/087ABC4B085F4217B004638E4FD1D5C9/roflmao.aspx

It's funny John doesn't have Final fantasy Advent Children on there. That was a pretty damn good movie.

As far video games being made into movies. I want to see max payne it looks like it has mad potential to be good.

Secondly a Rachet and Clank movie would be awesome. For those of you who haven't played any from the Ratchet and Clank series you all are missing out.

I still think That BioShock will be a great Movie. BUt one that could be real good, using the universe and creating a side story is from the Mass Effect game.

FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN

"Unfortunately also one of the most incoherent and pathetic movies ever made."

That is the way of a lot of Anime flicks. This was not a turn off the brain and look at the pretty CGI flick. You had to think and if you could follow it you it was pretty damn good.

you are so wrong...

final fantasy : the spirits within was awful, but the sequel was super-cool !

sure , it was a direct to dvd release, but it had the best fight scene i seen in a a movie (animated or no)

Hey John, have you seen Max Payne yet? It has a 29/100 on Metacritic right now.

Don't forget point 4 John; they can never get a reputable and talented big name director to make them (I guess Gore Verbinski would be the first but he's on thin ice with a lot of us right now because of those Pirates sequels). After all, you said Del Toro would be in a 'no win' situation directing Halo and so he didn't.

I think your point 3 is the best one sir. A lot of the time what kills these video game projects is the collaboration between the studio that wants to make the film and the company that made the game, both having a completely different idea how to make a great movie, but only one of those parties being qualified to do so.

I read a book called 'Tales from Development Hell' which gives a great insight into the painful development of the Tomb Raider movie and how several potentiall great versions of the first movie kept getting stalled by conflict between the producers and EIDOS who made the games. It's a damn shame becase Tomb Raider was a game inspired by a movie so it seemed to have the best chance of working (and I don't agree that the first one was even close to ok - it was an abomination imo).

ok so the reason that the movies suck is the writers plain n simple...for the uneducated comments on the street fighter movie just bieng wierd characters kicking the shit out of each other...well there is actually a long and large story line with ryu and akuma.....every one has its own story that has been written by actual writers but never made it in america.....and to say halo would be the only one that would make a good story is just xbox fanboy chitchat...are you telling me ithat the first 3 resident evil games wouldnt have worked if they where done like games? what about bioshock...Max Payne movie sucked cause they deviated from the original source....gow about castlevania...i mean the story line of the belmonts could be massive series with cool sequals...again comics and books have been made allready but instead hollywood would rather higher a shitty your writer to write the script for it.....ok and if those dont work the fuck it make a river city ransom movie and then have a real movie about just kicking the shit out of people.....making educated comments isnt just for scientific or mathmatical problems they are also great for fiction...and video games have a huge story board for many many venues....like you said about the kevin smith comment on giant fucking spiders....they are just getting the wrong people to make these films.

The most all-inclusive point that explains why all these movies fail as films is simply because NO ONE directing ANY of these films are real fans of the material, let alone gamers. In theory video games should not be difficult to translate into film, considering all the material is all laid out in front of you. Sure there are pacing differences, but it's still a story. If all parties involved truly understood what it it is about something that makes it special AND are there from the beginning to guide others in the right direction, then we would see some drastic improvements.

Unfortunately it is true that most companies stick to a more "tried and true" formula and most directors and execs are too old or too out of touch with the game culture to begin with, which contributes heavily to the life-less echoes they continue to churn out from truly inspired material. But we will have to wait a couple more years until that generation of kids (like myself) that grew up playing games like Resident Evil, have the chance to adapt the games they are so in tuned with, to films (like a Zack Snyder-type for instance). Just give them some time to get recognized. It'll happen sooner than later.

I already predict an entire reboot of the Resident Evil franchise in 10 to 15 years. I'm sure there will be no objection.

KANTHAN

"Pirates of the carrbian is a ride and has no story at all but they still made a great film"

Yeah, but it only worked as a silly inspiration for the universe. With video games, you've got to keep the original universe in mind all the time. Old games like Street Fighter don't really have any innovative universes, so you've got to improvise (with good and - no bad and bad success). But as the technology and resources nowadays give loose, we now have more and more chances to experience bigger, deeper and more realistic game universes than ever (like, more realistic than Super Mario Bros), which can be used in film making business.

I believe it's only a matter of time before some film maker hits the jackpot.

I believe

I fully agree, many of these movies just tried to be other movies, so they felt like predictable cliches, especially the ones that take themselves too seriously. Plus, games with rich story and source material will alienate the fanboys if they change the material, and disappoint them if they don't introduce anything new. What we need to do is take simple games that leave things to the imagination, and present them in a whole new light, without trying to look like something else. Examples:

Pac Man: Pac Man could be be a supernatural thriller about Pac Man and Ms Pac Man (who look like people with 'Pac' heads), who stroll around the maze-like city looking for groceries, are terrorized by ghosts until they hit their emotional breaking point (swallow pills?), investigate the hauntings, and hunt down the ghosts. We may finally get some backstory on how Inky, Blinky, Pinky, Clyde/Sue died, and why they attack people. It's a small main cast, calls for little destruction, and I think a budget of only $50K-$100K has the potential to make this a starkly original and emotionally gripping film.

Katamari Damacy: Forget what you think you know about astronomy, and logic. Nicholas Cage stars as the Prince (according to an April Fool's Game Informer). Here is fertile soil for a timeless tale of the bond between a son and his stern (but loving at heart) alcohol-loving father. We learn about their cosmic race, how they steward the heavens, strive to pursue true beauty, and their fascination with the variety and diversity of things on earth. Set up the stage for the Prince to prove his worth to his father (a few 5-minute rolling episodes in several locales can pad the time. It might be interesting to see how he chooses which way to go to roll things up). Throw in some rivalry with his cousins. For more depth, the Prince talks to the people inside his katamari and receives advice. It all leads up to the task of rebuilding the moon. The following 10-15 minute scene will cost $10,000,000,000 as he geometrically rolls up an entire Japanese city, and moves on to roll all over the world! At the end what happens to all the people and animals in the katamari? They'll "Shine down on us in beauty forever!" The people wave smiling and teary-eyed up at the Prince and the beautiful new stars in the sky. Keep it upbeat, quirky, and kawaii!

I do agree that pretty much all movies based on games have sucked but i gotta defend games somewhat because i believe there are games out there that do have great narratives like MGS series, Half Lifes, Grim Fandango and my personnel favourite Final Fantasy VII. Anyone whose played FFVII will tell you that over half that game is filled with narritive, dialogue and cut scenes hell it's more of a story book than a game imo.

I also agree with the people saying it's the genre/type of game that is being translated thats one of the problems, FPS, RTS, Beat'em Up's wont really work but a meaty RPG would be better.

@Lesterf1020

Adventure games would make great movies. In those ones, the gameplay is all about making narrative choices, not working on your reflexes. They're practically finished movies the way they are. Unfortunately, those went out of style in the early 90's when games like Doom started taking over, so box office can't really rely on the fans for them.

I intend to see a Gabriel Knight movie before I die, even if I have to film it myself. If graphic novels can step out of obscurity long enough to get all their epic stories out in the open, adventure games can do the same.

I think the problem is also about the money. Execs see potential and want to cash money but they completely forget about doing the screenplay and adaptation right.

Japanese did "Final Fantasy 7 Advent Children" and it was great and was done by japanese. I think Hollywood always do things the wrong way when adapting a game for the big screen.

I want to give some credit that they are trying very hard in some cases, but I think it is not enough.

...Tetris would be a great movie...lol

I think one of the big problems with video game movies is the genre. All video game movies seem to come from the action or First person Shooter genres. These games were designed primarily for action gameplay with just enough plot and dialogue to keep the story moving and make the gameplay less monotonous. I submit that real time strategy games are similar. However, these are the popular games that everyone has heard of.

They should be making movies of Adventure games. Those games are made for their narrative and many are essentially long interactive books. So I think if Hollywood wants to make a non sucky video game movie they need to look at the great Adventure Games. The problem with that is that Adventure games are not popular.

I mean most people know "tomb raider" and "doom' but who ever heard of "Grim Fandango" or "The Longest Journey"?

IN THE NAME OF THE KING: A DUNGEON SIEGE TALE

All I recall from this movie is a battle scene where the orcs or whatever the hell they were, started firing their catapults and such. They were firing fireballs or something; fine, I could accept that.

Then came this scene:

Orc A decides to sit down on the business end of a catapult.

Orc B decides to set Orc A on fire.

Orc C fires said catapult hurling Orc A into a distant tree.

I think I sat there for a good 5 or 10 minutes or so trying to figure out how in the hell a scene like that is spared from is rightful place on the cutting room floor.