Happy Friday everybody! This week we’re bringing back “Unpopular Opinion” and given it went down so well last time, we’ve got Luke back to give us yet another opinion for us all to argue over.
With the recent breaking news that an Eli Roth directed Borderlands movie is in the works alongside the recent Sonic the Hedgehog movie release, we thought now is a good time to discuss video game inspired films. Sonic the Hedgehog has been out in theatres for a week now and reviews have been a mixed bag as expected. But you know what? Turns out Luke actually loves video game movies and often describes them as simple mindless fun that lets him turn his mind off for a couple of hours and just enjoy some mindless, crappy fun. Yes, he agrees they aren’t ever going to win an Oscar but can’t see why people don’t like them for what they are… Fun. As you can expect this “Unpopular opinion” has caused a rift in the office and we are all here to argue the toss on either side of this and try explain why the boy’s an idiot… Sit back and enjoy – this one will be divisive.
“Video game movies are a good thing!”
3….2…..1……FIGHT!!
Nope, not having this one! I’m not saying that you can’t have fun with video game movies but I don’t think they’re a good thing. For the most part, they’re just big cash grabs which usually leaves me sat there wishing I was just playing the game instead. My main argument for video game movies being a bad thing is that during my thirty two years on this planet, I am yet to see a movie based on a game that is actually great. There are some average ones out there which I don’t hate such as Silent Hill, but when you have a collection of movies which doesn’t include one single great one, I think that genre can do one.
I will say though that I’d love to be proved wrong, give me a movie based on The Last of Us that captures the magic of the game and I’d probably change my tune. As it currently stands though, video game movies are a complete waste of time.
I am not against a video game movie. I saw Sonic at the weekend, and whilst I wasn’t blown away it wasn’t a terrible experience. I kinda like what they did with the film. I wholeheartedly agree with Luke, it’s just fun. But I think the trouble with movie or TV adaptations of things like books and games is that it’s never going to live up to that nostalgia of the source material. There’s almost always going to be something missing in there that you love, that made the game for you. Perhaps it’s a character trait or a relationship, sometimes an entire side character is missing. I think you just have to take a little step back and try and think of it as an expansion or as separate to the previous experience and take it for what it is.
Now, I haven’t watched many video game movies, probably limited to Pokemon, Sonic, Prince of Persia and like one of the Tomb Raiders. I don’t remember any crushing disappointment after watching any of them.
Oh, and to add onto Mikey’s comment, I think the Last of Us would be a disappointing movie. I’m sorry, but it is just a terribly cliché zombie story. Yes the relationship is heartwarming but the plot line is too obvious. I feel that the girl with all the gifts (book version although the film actually isn’t too bad either) is a far better play of this story line.
I am for video game movies. Historically they have been absolutely awful with the odd exception (though it’s a low bar) being what I would consider good, those being; Mortal Kombat, Tomb Raider (Jolie) and Mario Bros…I love the film don’t judge me! Even though most of them are bad they are a great source of entertainment, whether it’s a film to sit down and laugh at (most of use bolls films) or a film to tear apart and scrutinise (Doom…I kinda like Doom too). These films can play on fan service which can make for some fun and entertaining moments in movies, such as Van Damme doing Guile’s somersault kick or Raul Julia hamming it up as a maniacal, delusional M. Bison. Others not so much, Mortal Kombat Annihilation costumes were by far the most game accurate, but looked cheap and in an already cheap looking film, that spit on its fans by killing off Jonny Cage. It just wasn’t enough.
On the whole video game movies need to exist, I just wish one day we will get a truly good one… Sonic is alright by the way, the sequel will be better if the go down the route of staying away from earth.
I think it’s easy to run in and go “nah they’re all rubbish and not worth our time” – whilst this statement is pretty true for most video game movies out there, even those we thought were going to break the norm and actually be good (Tomb Raider, Assassins Creed for example) I do agree they can just be dumb, popcorn, fun. I personally really enjoyed the Detective Pikachu movie, which I wasn’t really expecting to and I am expecting similar from the Sonic movie. Most of the time they are aimed at kids, which is fine, and they usually have fan service in there somewhere.
A lot of them are not good movies but look at hero movies, they weren’t great for a long time…..
This hasn’t quite panned out as expected. I’m here to agree with Luke too. I love game movies. In fact I have two serious guilty pleasures in The Super Mario Brothers movie with Bob Hoskins and the previously mentioned Mortal Kombat. Whist neither of them are particularly good films, they cater to my nerdy obsession with games. And it’s just so cool to see a character I’ve used and played with in a game, brought to life. Additionally to that there is a new Mortal Kombat movie in the works. Although my contribution to this piece isn’t very long, I will leave you with some pictures of my favorite game movies, enjoy!
Video game movies are bad, so bad, just awful… buttttttt they’re also normally low budget whimsical fun. The only time they truly become terrible is when they take themselves too seriously, looking at you Tomb Raider reboot… I’m not going to sit her and call Mortal Kombat or DOOM a great cinema experience, but I don’t feel like I wasted my time with either of them. My personal highlight however is Rampage. Once again in terms of acting, story and visuals, it’s pretty damn awful, but its just a punch of chaotic fun and it has Dwayne Johnson being…well Dwayne Johnson. It gets the vibe of a movie because it doesn’t strictly stick to its subject matter which is where too many game movies go wrong! Have fun with the universe and go wild! Just not too wild…like Mortal Kombat Annihilation.
Editors Note: Well this didn’t exactly go to plan as an unpopular opinion, turns out most (other than miserable Mikey) actually agree with video game movies being a good thing! Make sure to check back in next week to see if we can get more of a fight going.
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