Has there ever been a good movie based on a videogame? No, THE WIZARD with Fred Savage doesn't count. I'm just thinking about the list: SUPER MARIO BROTHERS, HOUSE OF THE DEAD, RESIDENT EVIL, WING COMMANDER, MORTAL KOMBAT, STREET FIGHTER, TOMB RAIDER, FINAL FANTASY. All terrible. I guess TOMB RAIDER was the best of that bunch, and that's not saying much. Almost forgot my personal favorite: anybody see DOUBLE DRAGON starring Scott Wolf??
Is there any point to it all?
(Right now they're making movies based on DOOM and BACKWATER)
I guess the more mainstream videogames become-and they are gradually taking over- the expectations will become higher and higher. One could have said similar things a few years ago about comic book based movies (or is that a stretch?)
quote: Originally posted by: Nerd "I guess the more mainstream videogames become-and they are gradually taking over- the expectations will become higher and higher. One could have said similar things a few years ago about comic book based movies (or is that a stretch?)"
I guess the more realistic that video games become, the better the likelihood you could make a decent movie out of it. I mean, hire the right writer and filmmaker, and I suppose you could make an entertaining movie out of something like GRAND THEFT AUTO. But you have to be careful about the property you choose and about the people involved in making it. So far they've only managed to churn out garbage. Another one I forgot to mention that's sure to stink: The Rock is attached to the movie version of SPY HUNTER that Universal is developing.
As far as comic book movies go, many of them have been extremely successful, so you can't blame studios for wanting to make them, but how many of them have actually been good? I'd say the first one (is it the first one? I'm not entirely sure but I think so), SUPERMAN, was perhaps the best one ever made (as well as SUPERMAN II). Then what followed is dozens and dozens of horrible attempts at recreating that same sensation. The only movies to come close, in my opinion, was the first BATMAN movie, the two SPIDER-MAN flicks, and the first X-MEN. But again, it comes down to a few things: you have to choose the property carefully. HELLBOY, SPAWN, STEEL and DICK TRACY just weren't good ideas. Then you have comic book properties which could make a good film but you involve subpar filmmakers and it's no surprise when the film turns out horribly (DAREDEVIL, THE PUNISHER). Hollywood at least been trying to be smart about it recently. THE HULK turned out poorly but they were smart to hire a quality filmmaker like Ang Lee. Promising young filmmaker Chris Nolan (MEMENTO, INSOMNIA) is finishing up a dark and (relatively) reality-based new BATMAN film. Michael Bay is said to be putting very careful preparation into making the new SUPERMAN flick (we'll see if that "careful preparation" actually pans out).
Anyway, to wrap this all up, you make a good point by drawing a comparison between videogame movies and comic book movies. I argue that both videogame movies and comic book movies tend to be really bad -- but they need to consider many of the same factors when deciding which property to choose and who should be involved. It's those decision that dictate whether there's a point or not.
