Resident Evil Director: Games Deserve Better Film Adaptations

[RossRaymondEdwards]

Resident Evil Director: Games Deserve Better Film Adaptations

Paul WS Anderson has a bone to pick with other Hollywood-types who "don't do justice" to the games on which their movies are based.
[img_inline caption="" align='right' src='http://cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/66/66446.jpg']
In an interview with MCV [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/resident-evil-film-boss-slams-bad-game-movie-directors/082974], Paul WS Anderson blasted fellow directors for leaning too heavily on the popularity of their films' videogame licenses and trying to "fool" fans into buying a ticket.



"A lot of videogame movies are made by directors who don't know the videogames they are based on from a hole in the head," he said. "They don't do justice to the games, they don't immerse themselves in the games, they don't understand what people liked from the games."

Anderson specifically called out the Tomb Raider series, saying that after he saw that the first installment "wasn't very good," he wasn't exactly eager for a sequel. By comparison, he said, the Resident Evil films have seen a growth in popularity because they stay true to the core audience. Tell that to Nemesis, Paul.

"Despite what a lot of haters on the internet might say, I love the Resident Evil games," he said. "And these movies are made with a huge knowledge and real passion for the games."

Resident Evil: Retribution, the fifth installment in the franchise, is scheduled to hit theaters in September of next year. Despite all receiving lackluster marks on review sites such as Metacritic [www.metacritic.com], the first four films have grossed more than $670 million worldwide during the past decade.

Source: MCV [http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/resident-evil-film-boss-slams-bad-game-movie-directors/082974]


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[Tireseas_v1legacy]

I think I speak for a lot of people when I say "You are not the person who should be saying this."

 

[Kinokohatake]

What the fuck? Between Tomb Raider 1 and Resident Evil films, I'd pick Lara every time. The Resident Evil movies give a big middle finger to the franchise and he is talking out of his ass. And no they haven't become more popular. At this point they are high budget direct to dvd films. Though I do agree that most directors including Anderson are just doing this for the money.

 

[Optiluiz]

Hurm... Perhaps the problem is the classifying of 'videogame movies' as 'videogame movies'. Directors should be worried about just making a good movie, nevermind the videogame part.

 

[Rawne1980]

I didn't mind the Resident Evil films, i've seen far worse.

Bloodrayne comes to mind.

Super Mario Brothers is another that was .... polite word for absolutely shite ...... nope, can't think of one.

 

[Trucken]

In my humble opinion:
First movie: Really good
Second movie: Crap
Third movie: Watchable
Fourth movie: OK (but the 3D was headache-inducing)

I'll admit that I haven't played any of the games and my knowledge is limited, but it's been fairly obvious that the movies haven't stayed close to the source material.

 

[MDSnowman]

Oh, like you're the one to talk about staying true the material, Anderson.

This. A thousand times this.

 

[SyphonX]

Not even Capcom stays true to the Resident Evil games anymore...

... and they make the games.

Resident Evil 1 was the best entry, period. It was about a creepy mansion where every room was interesting, and the enemy was believable (in a fiction state-of-mind); all the monsters were just genetic/biological experiments gone wrong, including the T-Virus. You thought your death was around every corner, and you honestly felt like you were trying to just GTFO and solve a mystery along the way.

Fast forward to Resi 4 & 5 (while they are good games, gameplay-wise), what-in-the-hell are these games about, really? It went off the rails pretty far since 4, and the newest entry is basically a Left 4 Dead/Counter Strike rip-off. There is magic, and more deus ex machina in every scene then there are periods in the entire script. It got real silly folks.

It's all been pretty lame since Resi 3 really. I've had my fun in all the games, but I won't pretend the "lore" or actual plot is any better than what the movies are, because they're not.. they're almost worse.

 

[SomebodyNowhere]

I'm sure he didn't call out Uwe Boll specifically for fear of a possible boxing match Mr. Boll would probably try to arrange.

 

[Trasken]

It takes ball to spew such fucking bullshit from his mouth considering all he has taken from the videogames is the names and zombies, that IS NOT resident evil, that's Paul Anderson presents: Zombies! Starring his wife (bet she did REAL GOOD in the casting)

 

[Just_A_Glitch]

By comparison, he said, the Resident Evil films have seen a growth in popularity because they stay true to the core audience. Tell that to Nemesis, Paul.

I love being able to pinpoint exactly where I stop listening to people. If those films are true to the games, then what the hell have I been playing all these years?

 

[Not G. Ivingname]

Yet two of YOUR video game films are on Roger Ebert's "worst films of all time" list.

 

[The Great JT]

I realize that it's probably been said before, but Paul, if you think that the games deserve a better, more true-to-the-source-material movie, then stop making them about Alice!

In fact, I'd say it's about time to reboot the RE movie franchise. Start again and be more true to the source material, and more importantly get rid of Paul WS Anderson and Mila Jovovich. When we want to see a Resident Evil movie, we want to see characters like Jill, Chris, Claire and Barry (among others) and Wesker being a smug, badass son-of-a-*****.

How embarassing is it that I know more about how the Resident Evil movies should play out and the most contact I've had with the series is Phelous's reviews of the movies?

 

[Inkidu]

Oh, like you're the one to talk about staying true the material, Anderson.

You know he had another movie that didn't do so hot with a female lead character called Alice. Projection much?

Well what can you say, it's probably Sony's fault anyway. I mean when you turn down George A. Romero for a zombie movie you have failed right there.

The worst two things Romero would have done were make Chris Redfield a Native American and not in the STARS unit, and make Barry Burton a black guy.

Lesser of two evils! Lesser of two evils!

 

[Frostbite3789]

Hurm... Perhaps the problem is the classifying of 'videogame movies' as 'videogame movies'. Directors should be worried about just making a good movie, nevermind the videogame part.

That. That right there is the problem. They give a huge middle finger to the source material, name dropping important characters from the games to get people like us into seats, but they pay no mind to the years of canon that previous games have made.

Fuck us, because they have a VISION.

 

[Nico4]

I get him, but he should take a hard look at himself too. As if any of the RE films followed the games well, or were any good. Tomb Raider I thought was a good adaptation. Sure it reminded just a bit of a female modern version of Indiana Jones, but the games bought that on it's own too.

 

[IndianaJonny]

Pot calling the kettle black, no?