When A Video Game Becomes A Movie

Why is it that video games haven't made decent movies? Considering the formula for both is relatively similar. I think that, generally, the reasons why the games are being turned in to movies are for the wrong reasons. They are being created to capitalize on a fan base which will see the movie no matter what the quality is like, rather than create and independant piece of work which stands alone as another aspect of the game. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule. I have seen movies based on games which I will see again (the first Resident Evil movie was one of these). This seems to be the reasons behind cartoon/comic movie adaptations as well. These movies have been very hit and miss with the quality of the story and film adaptation. Once again there are exceptions to the rule and it appears that those comic adaptations which have been created by fans of the comic have broken the norm and created a higher quality movie. One of these has been the Xmen franchise and also Batman. Brian Singer (who directed the first two Xmen movies) was a childhood fan of the comics and he wanted to create a movie which would bring something to the Xmen franchise as opposed to bleed it dry. I believe the same happened with the original Resident Evil movie. A fan of the games made the film.

Otherwise there are a score of releases which are not really worth seeing. Doom was a terrible adaptation of the game (and something which could have offered a whole more). America's confusion over religion and portraying religion (especially Christianity) in any form of popular medium meant that the whole subplot to Doom (inwhich people opened a portal to hell) was scrapped. The Doom movie was recommended to me by some gamer friends who said, "If you loved the game you will love the film." And I watched it thinking well, I loved the game this film will be good. Only to be completely disappointed by what Hollywood had done to the game. First of all they killed of Sarge. This was in complete contradiction to the game. Sarge was and is the hero of the game. As for Mario Brothers movie, Mortal Kombat, Dead or Alive, and others I will probably never waste my money to go and see. They are nothing but money earning devices created to milk hard earned dollars from die hard fans rather than provide something unique and interesting which adds something to the franchise.

A game (which was created from a film) which breaks the mold was Chronicles of Riddick. Riddick is an interesting beast and I believe that the success of this franchise is driven by Vin Diesels fascination with the character. Vin Diesel (apparently a hard core gamer) has taken specific interest in making sure that Riddick is a successful franchise. Where the game picks up with a different part of the Riddick mythology and successfully blends beat em up, stealth, and first person shooter with an excellent gaming engine. I am a fan of the movie and the games in the Riddick franchise.

It is in these instances when you are left asking, "What will they do next with this?" You are left wanting more rather than thinking about the empty space in your wallet. Until actual fans of the games are behind the creation of the hollywood tie ins then we are probably going to be left with a lot more superficial offerings on celuloid of our favourite video games. Unfortunately, the success of a film is not judge on how good it is but how much money it makes. With a ready fan based prepared to pay money to see second rate movie tie ins of games then I don't think the trend of quality over quantity will change very quickly.