Videogame Film Adaptations - Discussion, Speculation, and Wishlists

[Digger of Bricks]

First of all, I'm not a videogame guy; I've never really played any video game, save for a few classic arcade games a couple of times.

But, I am fascinated by many of the novel back stories and plots of numerous videogames, particularly those of a alternate historical basis. The three prominent videogame franchises that I think could make for some incredible movies are the Wolfenstein, BioShock, and Fallout games specifically. These three franchises have had been pondered upon by various film studios for film adaptations, but have currently been put on the back burner or shelved. One other franchise that I'd like to see adapted for film is Crimson Skies; but currently, it may not have much relevance now. 

So what cinematic videogame franchise adaptations are you anticipating and/or wish for? Discussion of movies focused generally on videogames and/or videogaming (Wreck-It Ralph and Ready Player One, for example) is also allowed by the way. 

[xboxtravis7992]

Still waiting for the Halo movie... Think I have a long long wait left to go! 

[Digger of Bricks]

WB has released the second trailer for Ready Player One, releasing in March next year.

It looks interesting, but without that amazing version of Pure Imagination that scored the initial SDCC teaser, this trailer doesn't really do anything for me. I was surprised though to see King Kong show up in it, and a few Overwatch characters even make an appearance.

Edit: By the way, does anyone recognize that little jingle after the title treatment? 

Edited December 11, 2017 by Digger of Bricks

[Oky]

Honestly, seeing how every single movie adaptation of a videogame has been terrible or mediocre at best, I'm not sure I want to see any more. The only movie that was somewhat successful is Wreck-it-Ralph, but that was just an original movie about videogames in general, not an adaptation of a specific game. Ready Player One is in a similar category, although it remains to be seen if that one is any good.

I think the problem is that classic games like Super Mario Bros. have such a simple and/or weird story that it will be hard to make a movie about them that is realistic, entertaining, and faithful at the same time, whereas modern games have become so cinematic that they are essentially interactive movies already, so turning them into live action films would simply remove the interactive element and therefore be kind of pointless, especially since most "live action" movies are made up of at least 50% CGI nowadays anyway.

Now, does that mean that a good videogame movie can't be made? No, of course not. If you get a good director and cast and pick a property that lends itself to a movie adaptation, it is possible to make a good movie out of it, but at this point it seems unlikely to happen.

That said, I hope the upcoming Tomb Raider reboot will be good. I am a fan of the game which it's based on and since it's one of those games that was so story-driven and had such realistic graphics that it was essentially a playable movie, so I can see it working as an actual movie if they don't change too much, and so far the trailer looks like it is fairly faithful to the game. But then again, we've been burned by a Tomb Raider movie twice before (although the first one is a bit of a guilty pleasure for me ). I kinda hope that the Uncharted movie will get out of development hell at some point as I think it has a similar chance of being a good movie, considering the recent Tomb Raider games have been an effort to copy the style of those games, although it will be hard to find a cast that has the same charm as the characters in the game.

It has been announced that Illumination is working on an animated Mario movie and I think this is probably the best chance we have at a decent Mario movie. The colorful and cartoony nature of the Mushroom Kingdom and their residents can only be done justice in animation in my opinion, and say what you will about the minions, but Illumination is one of the best animation studios in Hollywood right now, so they have the talent to pull it off I think, so fingers crossed.

Speaking of Nintendo, many have been clamoring for a Zelda movie since forever, and even though I've never played any of the games except for a bit of Twilight Princess, I get the impression that it is a fairly generic fantasy story, so I do think there is potential for an epic movie or at least TV show there.

I have never played any of the Five Nights at Freddy's games either, but the characters do look pretty creepy, so the movie that is currently in development could make for a good scary movie if done right. That is to say, if they use ACTUAL animatronics and not some CG crap. Maybe we could even get a clear answer about what the hell the story of these games is. I'm getting tired of seeing theories about FNAF lore.

I like the idea of a BioShock movie, and I also think that a Portal movie could be fun if it has the same clever writers as the games, although I'm not sure how interesting it would be to watch a silent protagonist go through testing chambers while being berated by an AI for two hours. Maybe they could make it like Hardcore Henry by having the whole movie in Chell's POV and give a good reason for why she doesn't talk (a side effect of her hibernation perhaps?).

One of my favorite games of all time is Jak & Daxter, so I'd love to see a movie based on those games. It's never gonna happen, but considering that the big screen debut of their more popular cousins, Ratchet & Clank, didn't go so well, perhaps it's for the better.

Sorry for the long post, but those are my thoughts.

[Digger of Bricks]

2 hours ago, Oky said:

I think the problem is that classic games like Super Mario Bros. have such a simple and/or weird story that it will be hard to make a movie about them that is realistic, entertaining, and faithful at the same time, whereas modern games have become so cinematic that they are essentially interactive movies already, so turning them into live action films would simply remove the interactive element and therefore be kind of pointless, especially since most "live action" movies are made up of at least 50% CGI nowadays anyway.

It's the storylines of many modern videogames that fascinate me, and since I'm not a videogame guy, I much rather see these narratives done as films, just as long as they were done right.

It's funny, but I almost feel that the videogame industry has become an outlet for a multitude of original storylines that otherwise would be turned down by Hollywood in favor of much more familiar fare. Much of what comes from Hollywood tentpole films these days are sequels, comic book adaptions, YA novel adaptions, reboots/remakes, and other billings that Hollywood feels has enough familar stability to greenlight for production. I'm not saying that many videogames were actually rejected movie pitches, but some storylines seem like they were meant for the big screen. 

2 hours ago, Oky said:

I kinda hope that the Uncharted movie will get out of development hell at some point as I think it has a similar chance of being a good movie, considering the recent Tomb Raider games have been an effort to copy the style of those games, although it will be hard to find a cast that has the same charm as the characters in the game.

The Uncharted adaptation is now on a roll currently, with Tom Holland (a.k.a. MCU Spidey) in the lead roll for an origin story. And yeah, I'm interested too see how that's going to turn out too. 

2 hours ago, Oky said:

I like the idea of a BioShock movie, and I also think that a Portal movie could be fun if it has the same clever writers as the games, although I'm not sure how interesting it would be to watch a silent protagonist go through testing chambers while being berated by an AI for two hours.

Speaking of origin stories, that's how I'd like to see a BioShock movie done, as a story focusing on the rise and fall of the city of Rapture. Such a film could be a very heavy, but stylish, political commentary drama.

[Oky]

22 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

It's the storylines of many modern videogames that fascinate me, and since I'm not a videogame guy, I much rather see these narratives done as films, just as long as they were done right.

I understand. That's why I said "kind of pointless" as I do know that the whole point of movie adaptations is to bring those great stories to people who don't play video games (and make more money out of them).

True, Hollywood seems very much bereft of originality these days, but isn't adapting a popular video game just as unoriginal as adapting a popular book? Just a thought.

22 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

Speaking of origin stories, that's how I'd like to see a BioShock movie done, as a story focusing on the rise and fall of the city of Rapture. Such a film could be a very heavy, but stylish, political commentary drama.

I disagree. I mean, I'd definitely want to see Rapture in its prime as well, but only as a flashback during the film. I don't know how much you know about BioShock, but there are many plot twists which are revealed the more you learn about what happened before the events of the game, and one of the best parts about the game is being dropped into this dark, mysterious place and gradually unveiling its secrets, so I'd want the movie to have the same feel.

[Digger of Bricks]

On 12/13/2017 at 8:05 PM, Oky said:

True, Hollywood seems very much bereft of originality these days, but isn't adapting a popular video game just as unoriginal as adapting a popular book? Just a thought.

Yes, but to clarify, I was more saying that I wish we would currently see more original sci-fi movies come from Hollywood in the same way the videogame industry has done. Many of the videogame industry's best selling franchises aren't media tie-ins to some other preexisting franchise.*

You see, the three franchises that I mentioned in my original post (Fallout, BioShock, Wolfenstein) all fall into dystopian/post-apocalyptic alternate historical genres, which are very different takes on your usual present day projected dystopias that we typically see in Hollywood films, and something that would be interesting to see be tackled cinematically.

*The Batman Arkham series is one particular exception though.

On 12/13/2017 at 8:05 PM, Oky said:

I disagree. I mean, I'd definitely want to see Rapture in its prime as well, but only as a flashback during the film. I don't know how much you know about BioShock, but there are many plot twists which are revealed the more you learn about what happened before the events of the game, and one of the best parts about the game is being dropped into this dark, mysterious place and gradually unveiling its secrets, so I'd want the movie to have the same feel.

I guess even cinematically, that would still be the best approach to the plot for an adaptation.

Now the one thing I would NOT want to see carried over to a cinematic adaptation is all the absurd, comically graphic blood and gore that can be such a trademark of these games. I'm not necessarily saying that it would be taken down to a PG rated level, only to a more realistic, modest level.

Edited December 15, 2017 by Digger of Bricks

[rodiziorobs]

Its interesting that the best "video game movies" tend to not be the ones based off of games themselves, but those that play with the concept of the game--i.e. Wreck it Ralph, like @Oky said, and movies like Scott Pilgrim or Live. Die. Repeat. I don't think they are actually video game movies, but they come close enough.

As for actual video game movies, I don't think there are any great ones. There are a couple I like, but they are more of guilty pleasures than actual good movies.

For example, Prince of Persia is an underrated B-movie with an A-list cast. I can't attest to its faithfulness to the game (never played it much), but I enjoy it all the same. It's worth it just for the scenery-chewing Ben Kingsley.

Warcraft did the impossible by making the Orcs look genuinely real. Not just cut-scene 'real' either, but lived in, earthy. Unfortunately that (and the wooden acting) made the humans look like really skilled cosplayers by comparison. I still enjoy the movie as a whole, but its easy to see why it was generally panned.

Probably the reason I like Warcraft despite its many flaws is that I'm a sucker for high fantasy movies, and genre films of any quality tend to be few and far between. That being said, I could get behind a Zelda adaptation, or a classic like Chrono Trigger (which would probably work best as an anime series, honestly) or, if we're really reaching back, Dragon Warrior in all it's 8-bit MIDI glory. Even if they weren't great, I'd probably enjoy them anyway. If they ever happen.

All the buzz for Ready Player One seems positive, but that's usually the case for any blockbuster, even the lousy ones. Also, it isn't an adaptation of a game, either, so the odds are more in its favor.

[BaneShake]

I would never want a direct retelling of Bioshock, Uncharted, or The Last of Us, but movies set within those worlds would be just fine. I could get behind a Bioshock movie set in a new city somewhere (although where would you put one after the deep ocean and the sky?), which would even make sense considering the way Infinite ended (no spoilers here). Uncharted would be fun; it doesn't necessarily need to follow Nate even; I would be so down for a Charlie Cutter or Sully-lead adventure. The Last of Us could follow literally any survivor, even brand new, and could be great due to the brilliant themes and original monster design.

Now, a game that could totally be adapted directly into a movie is Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. It went under most people's radar, which is a shame. It's a brilliantly-told story with gorgeous visuals and design. Fun fact, one of the art designers from that game jumped to The Last of Us, so you can spot some similarities in look and even themes.

[Digger of Bricks]

Here is the second trailer for Tomb Raider, coming to theaters this March.

 

[Digger of Bricks]

Here's the second trailer for Rampage, releasing on April 20th.

Also, a totally 80s poster for Ready Player One too was released.

Spoiler