MarkMclovin
Member
Maybe Gary Whitta can save them?
/s
/s
Mortal Kombat worked out, for a bunch of reasons.
1. The people who actually cared to see a Mortal Kombat movie, got to see the movie, while they were still in their prime period of caring about the game.
2. Mortal Kombat has a very basic premise and the characters aren't any deeper than what they look like + their 5 sentence paragraph in the game manual.
3. In light of point #2, that basic premise fit an existing movie type, very well. The fight tournament movie. Enter the Dragon. Bloodsport. The Quest, etc. And not to mention, movies with lots of fighting, in general. There is a market, for that. Especially back in 1995. The characters didn't need much adapting and you just sprinkly in some aesthetic, on top of a fight tournament movie. Which it so happens, is a perfect way to adapt a fighting game. I mean, so far, everything is falling into place. You have a marketable movie type for general viewers and you also have a movie which reminds fans a whole lot of the game.
4. The production didn't suck. In 1995, cool visual effects were still novel and cutting edge. and all of that just felt like hyper real adaptation of the game's rough graphics and effects. and even people who didn't care about mortal kombat were like "holy $#!T awesome!" when Scorpion's snake thing came out his hand, etc. and people hadn't yet seen Jet Li take apart a gun with a single hand snatch. So, Sub Zero got VFX points on that, too.
Goro was done by a real creature shop.
Mortal Kombat had real movie making magic put into it. and viewers got real magic, out of it.
5. And with the visuals, as whole: it was a good, fairly direct interpretation of the game's art direction and graphics. It was "Hyper real" Mortal Kombat. It was actually cooler looking, than the real thing, the game, itself.
6. Dance music was hot right about then and they made that crap catchy and dancy. My mom was head of a cheer squad at the time and you can bet she worked Mortal Kombat in, between Jock Jams tracks. and our football team was like hell yeah our cheerleaders are playing Mortal Kombat!
Mortal Kombat isn't a good movie. But, it was just the right experience for fans. And had plenty of crossover appeal, with general movie fans and pop-culture. and it happened at a key time, when that was more than enough.
I actually think many games would translate wonderfully well to film if they had a director, cast, and crew that had a vision and followed through on it. A Soulsborne by Nicolas Winding Refn would be great if he made it similar to Valhalla Rising. A mysterious protagonist going through constant trials and tribulations in a nightmare world full of all manner of monsters, mad men and even worse things. Make the other characters few and far between but make them colorful and weird in a very Souls like style. Even incorporate the game mechanic into the game similar to Edge of Tomorrow with the protag constantly dying and being forced to repeat things but slowly gaining the knowledge and skills to overcome the increasingly towering odds.
No, I feel it's either hypocrates who say the stories are bad but enjoy blockbuster movies with equally as bad/good stories or it's actually fedora wearing film/game critics that only watch independent or niche movies that are made by a handful of people and don't realize that big games cannot target such an audience.I feel like people who say that game narratives are bad know nothing about story telling or have never written a story themselves. They just follow the myth that game narratives are bad as if to say there's just one note to the whole medium
Silent Hill to me is a great example of I guess where many video game films that try to stick to the games have stumbled. It's actually great throughout as it stays a mystery. Then it stupidly tries to explain everything but it can't go back to the games to lift that because not only has the plot been cobbled together from multiple games in the series but it has been altered in a number of ways. And proceeds to lose almost everything it has going for it.
One thing Silent Hill really copied well was the look and feel of the world. Really, up until the cult characters take over the story.
Never saw the sequel.
Pyramid Head ripping that dude's flesh off was probably the peak of the film in so many ways.
Sure, and? The details of it weren't all that great at all, what i'm saying is only having the "Ezio arc" as an incipit is meaningless in whether or not you can make a good film out of it.The Ezio arc is basic storytelling 101. Man seeks revenge, joins a cause greater than himself, learns to fight for the cause, etc, etc.
Again, it doesnt matter how the story was done in the game. A film isn't a direct adaptation. Only the broad strokes and general concept matter
I've yet to see it myself but from the very start it seemed to me like it'd be unapproachable for someone who isn't already a Warcraft fan. I simply don't have time for movies but I should try and sneak it in somewhere.
The Fast and The Furious series has become the Saints Row films.Hell, I'd argue that Fast and Furious 4, 5, 6 feel like video game adaptations of video games that dont exist, except somehow they'll also good enjoyable fun action movies.
Justin Lin should direct an F-Zero or Wipeout movie
This is a great idea! Remember the Speed Racer movie?
No?
Nvm.
Like honestly I was surprised when Need for Speed didn't try to be a Fast and the Furious rip-offHell, I'd argue that Fast and Furious 4, 5, 6 feel like video game adaptations of video games that dont exist, except somehow they'll also good enjoyable fun action movies.
I just realized that we have had 5 video game films this year, and the second highest rated one was Warcraft at 28%. Angry Birds was #1 at 43%
I actually loved the Speed Racer movie. I thought it was one of the more visually arresting and spectacular films we've gotten in a long time. Its also got a pretty solid if simple story to it and the themes of family and such were all pulled off really well. I think its a great movie for kids and adults. It was just horribly misunderstood which is sad.
No, I feel it's either hypocrates who say the stories are bad but enjoy blockbuster movies with equally as bad/good stories or it's actually fedora wearing film/game critics that only watch independent or niche movies that are made by a handful of people and don't realize that big games cannot target such an audience.
I generally never understood the people who seem to be unable to differentiate between deep and entertaining writing. Both are good, just different.
I can watch "Arrival" and enjoy it one day and then "Predator" the next and just because Arrival's story stay with me much longer, it doesn't make Predators writing bad. Both serve their purpose and entertain me in their own way.
This is a great idea! Remember the Speed Racer movie?
I actually loved the Speed Racer movie. I thought it was one of the more visually arresting and spectacular films we've gotten in a long time. Its also got a pretty solid if simple story to it and the themes of family and such were all pulled off really well. I think its a great movie for kids and adults. It was just horribly misunderstood which is sad.
So you're the guy who liked Speed Racer.
I've never seen. Didn't know the Wachowski made it, wow.
The two best videogame movies weren't even based on videogame properties and that would be Scott Pilgrim Vs The World and Edge of Tomorrow.
This is a great idea! Remember the Speed Racer movie?
No?
Nvm.
Except it wasn'tCoincidentally, the videogame was better than both the source material and the movie.
Because 99% of video game stories suck and that unsurprisingly transfers over to other media. Especially when the main point of that media is storytelling.
Except it wasn't