Making movies BASED on games vs movies INSPIRED by games

[SethRex]

Now in this topic I'm talking about video game movies. But really you could take it and talk about anything really, like movies based/inspired by books/series.

The topic is 'Making movies BASED on games vs movies INSPIRED by games.

I think both are a popular idea, though one may inspire more 'rules' and 'expectations' than the other. For instance, when you make a movie BASED on a game you're opening it to expectations that the movie should be as close to the game as possible. People will want to see their favorite scenes in the movie.

Whereas if you make a movie INSPIRED by a game your opening up new doors to new stories. For example, the Resident Evil movies, horrid as they are in many people's minds, are not adapted from the games themselves but more inspired by them. They have the characters (well 4/5 of them do), they have the canon creatures, some of them even had similar storylines if you bother to look closer.

movies INSPIRED by games have more license to go in new directions and are free to tell different stories without the shackles set upon those that would be BASED/ADAPTED from the games themselves.

What are your thoughts on this topic.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by SethRex

What are your thoughts on this topic.

I think you're trying to justify that Super Mario Bros. avatar, but I still liked the Van Damme "Street Fighter".

[LegacyCosts]

Make a big budget mass effect trilogy with a director who isn't Michael bay or someone similar. The script should follow the video game relatively closely, and makes a better ending in the third film. Then all of my hope will be restored in video game filmmaking

[Mandalorian]

Originally Posted by LegacyCosts

Make a big budget mass effect trilogy with a director who isn't Michael bay or someone similar. The script should follow the video game relatively closely, and makes a better ending in the third film. Then all of my hope will be restored in video game filmmaking

Neil Blomkamp's Mass Effect would be my dream.

[Moviefan2k4]

Originally Posted by EricJ

I think you're trying to justify that Super Mario Bros. avatar, but I still liked the Van Damme "Street Fighter".

"Street Fighter" was campy fun, with a slight touch of seriousness thrown in. I still love that they got Adrian Cronauer to voice the Allied Nations announcer... "Gooooood morning, Shadowloo..."

As for the OP's question, I think the gold standard for directly-based films is probably still the first "Mortal Kombat", from 1995. Yes, it departed a little, but the bulk of the story was lifted from the first two games. They also added side characters like Art Lean, Johnny Cage's sensei Master Boyd, and Liu Kang's brother and grandfather. Cary Tagawa made an excellent Shang Tsung, to the point he was rehired several years later for the second season of "MK: Legacy".

"Super Mario Bros." is probably the grandest example of taking game-related inspiration way too far. Its hokey beyond reason, and tons of new elements were added which made very little sense. They basically combined Princess Toadstool with Daisy from "Super Mario Land", turned Koopa into a humanoid dictator, made Big Bertha into a bar bouncer instead of a fish, etc. While I enjoyed the performances of Bob Hoskins (RIP), John Leguizamo, and Samantha Mathis, the rest just crumbled very quickly. I did like Richard Edson and Fisher Stevens as Koopa's idiot cousins, but even their silliness couldn't save the movie. Its the gaming world's version of "Spaceballs".

[Mahatma]

I think inspired by beats based on any day of the week to be honest.Same with other way around.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Moviefan2k4

"Street Fighter" was campy fun, with a slight touch of seriousness thrown in. I still love that they got Adrian Cronauer to voice the Allied Nations announcer... "Gooooood morning, Shadowloo..."

And the fact that Van Damme and Julia exchange their game-character catchphrases before their big battle, just as in the game.
("Are you man enough to fight me?" "All who oppose me shall be destroyed!")

"Super Mario Bros." is probably the grandest example of taking game-related inspiration way too far. Its hokey beyond reason, and tons of new elements were added which made very little sense. They basically combined Princess Toadstool with Daisy from "Super Mario Land", turned Koopa into a humanoid dictator, made Big Bertha into a bar bouncer instead of a fish, etc. While I enjoyed the performances of Bob Hoskins (RIP), John Leguizamo, and Samantha Mathis, the rest just crumbled very quickly. I did like Richard Edson and Fisher Stevens as Koopa's idiot cousins, but even their silliness couldn't save the movie. Its the gaming world's version of "Spaceballs".

And turned power mushrooms into some icky fungus on the wall, but at that point we were all thinking, "FINALLY! Something actually from the GAME! "

[Thomas Irwin]

I know a lot of people may not have seen it, but I think DOA: Dead or Alive is one of the better game adaptations I've seen. I feel it was reasonably faithful to the series, and I liked the people who were cast in the respective roles. I really enjoyed that one myself.

[EricJ]

And if anyone of moviegoing age had actually played Prince of Persia, we could've appreciated how much Disney's movie captured the jump-and-climb tone of "Sands of Time"

[Moviefan2k4]

Originally Posted by EricJ

And the fact that Van Damme and Julia exchange their game-character catchphrases before their big battle, just as in the game.
("Are you man enough to fight me?" "All who oppose me shall be destroyed!")

I'm actually surprised they didn't throw all of them in, but another was Cammy's "thrust-kick!" yell during a fight.

And turned power mushrooms into some icky fungus on the wall, but at that point we were all thinking, "FINALLY! Something actually from the GAME! "

I did like them having the uniforms from the game later in the film, though; it was a nice touch. I still want to see a straight-up "Super Mario" film made someday, maybe as a CGI effort in the vein of the "Galaxy" games.

[SethRex]

Originally Posted by Thomas Irwin

I know a lot of people may not have seen it, but I think DOA: Dead or Alive is one of the better game adaptations I've seen. I feel it was reasonably faithful to the series, and I liked the people who were cast in the respective roles. I really enjoyed that one myself.

I love DOA. It was very good and I'd have liked to see a sequel. But I guess it wasn't handled very well and didn't make a lot of cash back.

[Monterey Jack]

There has never been, nor will there ever be, a good movie based on a video game.

[Packerfan75]

Movies and games seem incompatible. Whether it be movies based off games or games based off movies. They just turn out bad.
I think movie studios don't take the game seriously enough to make a good film and game studios get rushed to get the game done by the movie's release date. Either way, it's a recipe for disaster.

[Stanlore]

Up to this day, i still think the King of Videogame Movies is: Silent Hill.

A movie, that was based on a game, that was inspired by a movie (Jacob's Ladder).

Watching the movie just felt like playing the game. They used alot of the music from the game, and the cinemetic atmopshere was like the game as well. It was faithful in its adaption, and most impotantly, it gernerated the same feel.

Who knows... maybe Videogame movies will get better in time. I mean, we are in the comic book movie renaissance. Remember how terrible those early ones were (apart from a rare few)? Maybe a videogame era will come some day.

Metal Gear Solid is in development, and will be overlooked by Hideo Kojima. The game always had a very hollywood cinematic feel to it. I can see it being very possible to replicate.

Uncharted, which is basically a Indiana Jones / National Treasure / Tomb Raider hybrid. The game is based on movies like those, and like Silent Hill, i think it is definetly possible to make a good movie out of it. A wisecracking treasure hunter that climbs alot of walls and jumps alot of buildings, on the McGuffin seeking adventure. How can they screw it up?

[xellos2099]

I got a good example, Final Fantasy: Spirit Within and Final Fantasy Advent child. Spirit Within was inspired by game and it was a total flop because it has NOTHING to do with the game and the plot was boring. On the other hand, Advent Children was based on the game was originally release to dvd and it got so popular that they reedit it and release it as complete on theater and later blu ray.

[EricJ]

Originally Posted by Monterey Jack

There has never been, nor will there ever be, a good movie based on a video game.

Not even "Doom". (Although it does come close.)

[Atreyu]

Maybe I am in the minority. but I love the Tomb Raider films, with the first being a bit better than the second.

[Thomas Guycott]

Originally Posted by LegacyCosts

Make a big budget mass effect trilogy with a director who isn't Michael bay or someone similar. The script should follow the video game relatively closely, and makes a better ending in the third film. Then all of my hope will be restored in video game filmmaking

We all already played that movie trilogy, thanks though.

[Optimus]

I enjoyed Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn

[Booker Dewitt]

Edge of Tomorrow was pretty good, for films based on novels inspired by video games go. Or just movies in general.