Don't Film These Games!
- Thread starter MovieBob
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I have also written an article about why a Halo movie would be a bad idea (and I actually like the series) which basically can be boiled down to, Master Chief creates no tension as a main character, he is a faceless, near silent protagonist, who is too powerful for the audience to worry about him.
But do you know what would make a good movie, the plot to halo 2. Think about it: An alien general has just been disgraced by a huge military loss and is sent on a suicide mission to clear his honor. During the mission he finds out that if his leaders are to succeed in their goals all life in the universe might be destroyed. Unable to convince them he must rally his men against his former leaders and team up with the very people who caused his disgrace in the first place.
That sounds like a good plot for a movie. But, hardcore Halo fans have never seemed to like the arbiter very much (how dare you have a character with depth) so I can see it getting some backlash from the fanbase making him the main character of the movie. And their is the fact that you would either have to make a Halo 1 movie prior to it, or summarize it in the first 10 minutes of the movie.
But do you know what would make a good movie, the plot to halo 2. Think about it: An alien general has just been disgraced by a huge military loss and is sent on a suicide mission to clear his honor. During the mission he finds out that if his leaders are to succeed in their goals all life in the universe might be destroyed. Unable to convince them he must rally his men against his former leaders and team up with the very people who caused his disgrace in the first place.
That sounds like a good plot for a movie. But, hardcore Halo fans have never seemed to like the arbiter very much (how dare you have a character with depth) so I can see it getting some backlash from the fanbase making him the main character of the movie. And their is the fact that you would either have to make a Halo 1 movie prior to it, or summarize it in the first 10 minutes of the movie.
Sad fact: Prince of Persia cost $200 million to make.
Sad fact 2: It has made about $60 million in box office so far.
Sad fact 3: PoP will be lucky to make back its production budget on domestic and international box office combined.
So... Yeah. Probably not the model for video-game-based-movies to come, that.
Sad fact 2: It has made about $60 million in box office so far.
Sad fact 3: PoP will be lucky to make back its production budget on domestic and international box office combined.
So... Yeah. Probably not the model for video-game-based-movies to come, that.
There are some games that I feel would make interesting films, with the right people behind them and a bit of TLC put in, naturally.
Shadow of the Colossus's predecessor, ICO, is one that immediately jumps to mind. It's the simplest story ever. The main character is a young boy with horns who is locked away in a seemingly abandoned fortress, only to discover that there is an evil plot afoot centered around a girl named Yorda, who is being held captive. Ico then spends the remainder of the tale trying to find a way to get he and Yorda out of there. It all sounds like a great film, if minimalist just like it's source material was. Problem being, it doesn't have nearly the same mass appeal as the sort of film adaptations that Bob is talking about.
Grim Fandango is another interesting prospect. The aztec afterlife blended with film noir elements seemingly borrowed wholesale from films of the genre. This is a film that could work wonderfully with some stop-motion animation, and in particular the people who made The Fantastic Mr. Fox seem uniquely suited to this sort of material.
I could picture a Mario film working really well, believe it or not. They could even give a sort-of abridged origin story for Mario, being one-half of Mario Brothers Pluming in a highly-caricaturized version of New York City and getting himself sucked down an odd green sewer pipe. An instant later, he tumbles out in a magical mushroom kingdom occupied by mushroom people and odd turtle people and a princess who has been kidnapped by a giant lizard who wants to rule the land. Great little adventure story waiting to be made right there; one that should have sort-of a Wallace & Gromit feel at the outset, a few short scenes to make us care about the character presented, make us like the guy, and that slowly becomes more Up-like in it's action beats once in the mushroom kingdom.
Shadow of the Colossus's predecessor, ICO, is one that immediately jumps to mind. It's the simplest story ever. The main character is a young boy with horns who is locked away in a seemingly abandoned fortress, only to discover that there is an evil plot afoot centered around a girl named Yorda, who is being held captive. Ico then spends the remainder of the tale trying to find a way to get he and Yorda out of there. It all sounds like a great film, if minimalist just like it's source material was. Problem being, it doesn't have nearly the same mass appeal as the sort of film adaptations that Bob is talking about.
Grim Fandango is another interesting prospect. The aztec afterlife blended with film noir elements seemingly borrowed wholesale from films of the genre. This is a film that could work wonderfully with some stop-motion animation, and in particular the people who made The Fantastic Mr. Fox seem uniquely suited to this sort of material.
I could picture a Mario film working really well, believe it or not. They could even give a sort-of abridged origin story for Mario, being one-half of Mario Brothers Pluming in a highly-caricaturized version of New York City and getting himself sucked down an odd green sewer pipe. An instant later, he tumbles out in a magical mushroom kingdom occupied by mushroom people and odd turtle people and a princess who has been kidnapped by a giant lizard who wants to rule the land. Great little adventure story waiting to be made right there; one that should have sort-of a Wallace & Gromit feel at the outset, a few short scenes to make us care about the character presented, make us like the guy, and that slowly becomes more Up-like in it's action beats once in the mushroom kingdom.
Hardcore fans of the Halo story love the Arbiter, actually.pigmy wurm said:
And read the books. John-117 is a much deeper character then what you see in the games, as previously stated in the thread.
Well the evidence seems pretty compelling, people think a halo movie (about ODSTs i'm guessing) would work, it's not like the universe revolves around MS, look at halo:ODST for an example of that. The franchise has enough in the way of backstory to create something from this, though most will freely admit that it would have to change some of the canon to get onto the silver screen. But interestingly enough, most halo fans seem okay with that so long as it's for a greater good, look at the new game Halo:Reach, I've heard thats changing some of the novel canon, again for the greater good.
Perhaps Movie bob should have an article going into more detail on why a halo movie would'nt work, as I think fans of the franchise are feeling quite dismissed, and frankly bored of more halo bashing. I will admit, we are an over protective bunch due to the multiple years of halo bashing, you know the whole "halo is shit" "why" "people who play it are shit" "so why is halo shit" "because only kids play it" "but, then why is the game shit..?" etc
Perhaps Movie bob should have an article going into more detail on why a halo movie would'nt work, as I think fans of the franchise are feeling quite dismissed, and frankly bored of more halo bashing. I will admit, we are an over protective bunch due to the multiple years of halo bashing, you know the whole "halo is shit" "why" "people who play it are shit" "so why is halo shit" "because only kids play it" "but, then why is the game shit..?" etc
Looking forward to next week's "Games Bob Wants to See." I bet money that Mass Effect will make that list. As for the Halo wars (see what I did there?) going on here: if only the games actually tapped into the rich backstory of the novels and such and had more depth (and had an enemy NOT staffed by comic relief), then the games would be so much better. I saw Halo had all these novels before I played Halo 3 and thought that I was in for a deep game full of rich characters. I was disappointed. There's a lot of missed potential in the Halo games' story.
I think a Prototype movie might work kinda well. I think Christian Bale would make a pretty damn decent Alex Mercer, they'd have to make the characters drive the plot more and not the memory's of the people Alex eats, and probably establish a more "villainy" villain, but with a decent script treatment, I see that as a something that really could work.
I disagree about Shadow of the Collosus. The Road proved that a movie can be mostly about atmosphere whilst still being compelling, entertaining and moving. Oh wait...he didn't like the Road did he...
Also Final Fantasy could work as an anime, live action might be hard to do as the visual style is so abstract.
Yes that is the mood and gameplay, they also have kick ass stories and characters.
Also Final Fantasy could work as an anime, live action might be hard to do as the visual style is so abstract.
Wha...?
Yes that is the mood and gameplay, they also have kick ass stories and characters.
Look, all I need out of a Game-turned-movie is a Theater Screen with the game playing on it and a controller.
This is a good article, but I can't really see many games actually working well at all as a movie. So I'm interested in what's going to be in the next list. Games are not meant to be movies just as movies are not meant to be games, you don't see movie articles about what movies should and should be made in to games. There are only a few titles that could, like Heavy Rain, that wouldn't require massive tweaks to the point where you might as well write an original script. Doesn't have the marketing push that the IP already has, but at least it'd be a decent movie and not a crappy video game movie (or vice versa).
This is a good article, but I can't really see many games actually working well at all as a movie. So I'm interested in what's going to be in the next list. Games are not meant to be movies just as movies are not meant to be games, you don't see movie articles about what movies should and should be made in to games. There are only a few titles that could, like Heavy Rain, that wouldn't require massive tweaks to the point where you might as well write an original script. Doesn't have the marketing push that the IP already has, but at least it'd be a decent movie and not a crappy video game movie (or vice versa).
Yep, no one's going to be sending Bob angry letters over SotC. Every fan of the game I've ever encountered is completely against making the game a movie. There's still the rumor that the scriptwriter for Chun-Li will be writing a script for a SotC movie, and needless to say, it's my worst nightmare.
Oh god, Shadow of the Colossus as a movie, dear God no x.x For all the reasons highlighted.
And I extend that to ICO. Both games in that series work partly because of how quiet and lonely they are - every character and unique moment is poignant.
The Only other medium I could see ICO working in is a children's picture book - because I feel like I do reading that sort of thing while I play it.
And I extend that to ICO. Both games in that series work partly because of how quiet and lonely they are - every character and unique moment is poignant.
The Only other medium I could see ICO working in is a children's picture book - because I feel like I do reading that sort of thing while I play it.
I'm not much of a FPS fan, and the Halo games aren't especially enticing to me, but it sounds like there's a possibility that Halo could be a good movie, IF it were based on the BOOKS instead of the games, and this is a list of movies based on GAMES that would suck. I watched Halo Legends and LOVED it, even before Moviebob here told me what he thought of it.
As for movies I'd like to see made... Hmm... Well, they're making the Avengers, they've got X-Men, Captain America, and all sorts of Marvel hero movies made. If we were to somehow get the right conditions, I'd almost like to see Marvel vs Capcom made into a movie. Yes, a very stupid idea, and most fighter games don't have a story worth crud for a movie. But hey, it sounds more like a "fun" movie, not necessarily a serious story. Maybe something like, we watch as Ryu shoryukens Doc Doom while M. Bison is beaten down by the Hulk.
On the other hand, maybe it'd do better as an animated movie... Ah well, just some creative thinking.
As for movies I'd like to see made... Hmm... Well, they're making the Avengers, they've got X-Men, Captain America, and all sorts of Marvel hero movies made. If we were to somehow get the right conditions, I'd almost like to see Marvel vs Capcom made into a movie. Yes, a very stupid idea, and most fighter games don't have a story worth crud for a movie. But hey, it sounds more like a "fun" movie, not necessarily a serious story. Maybe something like, we watch as Ryu shoryukens Doc Doom while M. Bison is beaten down by the Hulk.
On the other hand, maybe it'd do better as an animated movie... Ah well, just some creative thinking.
I still think Halo would be a great movie. Work the kidnap childs so they become Spartans, create good relations between the characters, Spartan dies of a tragic death becoming the martyr that saved humanity.
Sounds great doesn't it? Ok, it probably rips-off something. But then again, what doesn't?
Sounds great doesn't it? Ok, it probably rips-off something. But then again, what doesn't?
"I've never played Uncharted"
"Wow, Nathan Drake is such a douchebag"
Yeah, that's pretty lame Bob. -_-
"Wow, Nathan Drake is such a douchebag"
Yeah, that's pretty lame Bob. -_-
I find it rather interesting to note that Fallout is NOT on this list....
Anyway, I actually think that a Halo movie could work, provided it told that same story from the games from a different point of view than Chief's. Were he to show up sporadically to emphasize the action or some similar point, it could work. Balance between original story and source story would be the key here.
Anyway, I actually think that a Halo movie could work, provided it told that same story from the games from a different point of view than Chief's. Were he to show up sporadically to emphasize the action or some similar point, it could work. Balance between original story and source story would be the key here.
Are you high?DazBurger said:
Halo is only like Avatar in that it's science fiction.
Plot, characters and setting are FAR different.
OT: Halo COULD technically make a pretty damn good movie, provided elements from ALL the games and the novels and maybe even Legends were used and maybe strategically cut if they decided to follow the first three games. I especially think a movie, maybe using the novels as source material, could be a great way of fleshing out Master Chief as a character.
I also think Mass Effect could make a damn good movie if they followed the main plot and maybe threw in one or two side-quests. That, and I would really hope they'd consult the writers over at Bioware to not completely screw the thing up, just to be sure.
Come to think of it, I also want to see the Baldur's Gate games and the Neverwinter Nights games filmed...I know I'll probably regret saying that when I see the eventual result(s) though.
Oh, and how in the thousand hells is the new Mortal Kombat trailer in any way related to Saw? It looks more like one of the overrated batman movies. Yes, sue me, I have no love for batman anymore, now that the dark knight has come out and everyone's worshipping that, as well as the constant meme-tization of batman as a badass chuck-norris-like ninja who could defeat all the Spartans (both from 300 and Halo derp) in a single fell scheme. In short, people are making batman a Marty Stu.
And by the way, if they filmatize any fucking Valve game, I will crowbar them in the face, 'cuz I kinda liked Half-Life one(and two as far as I got before it died), Team Fortress 2 and Portal.
Uncharted would proooobably just be Indiana Jones with the lead character being an even bigger douche without a whip and a stylish hat.
Ironically enough, I feel I might come of as a douche myself. Sorry about that