Games that could work as movies?

[KManX89]

I know games-to-movies are virtually never good, but what are some you feel could work if the filmmakers actually tried and/or cared about the material?

Max Payne has already been tried and failed spectacularly in 2008 under Tom Rothman's Fox. It was a boring mess that had very little to do with the games from a hack director, but there's a fan-made short film on YouTube called Max Payne: Retribution that does a much better job capturing the look and feel of the games and actually has some good ideas sprinkled in there to boot. It's a 45 minute short, but you can tell the ingredients for a good Max Payne movie are there from somebody who actually cares about the source material (it gained a lot of buzz on the internet):

I mean, come on, he's basically the Punisher, it can't be THAT hard to do right from someone who actually cares to do it justice, which this guy clearly does. I got a bigger feel of the games from the intro than all 100 minutes of the 2008 movie (it certainly helps that this one's not afraid to tackle the mature themes of the games).

 

[Steve]

I'll have to check out the fan film when I have more time. I remember being really fond of the earlier Max Payne games, back in the day.

I think that recent Tom Clancy games could make for great movies, given that both Wildlands and Breakpoint are pretty heavy on plot and action (gameplay). Splinter Cell has potential, also.

Going back soon years (and leaning heavily on my GOG playlist for ideas), The Curse of Monkey Island and Full Throttle may make for some solid pre-teen animated movies (Full Throttle perhaps being a little more mature... hmm)

Red Faction! Specifically Guerrilla as it seems a little more fleshed out than the older games. Not sure. The 'geo-mod' gameplay dynamic wouldn't be quite as unique in a movie setting... Michael Bay could probably put together something pretty spiffy.

Trine. Great all-rounder of a game. Could work.

Fallout? I realise there's a TV series in the works... money men somewhere think it's a banger of an idea, so perhaps it's not a stretch to imagine it making it to feature film heights. As long it isn't a complete decapitation gore-fest - yuck!

Dino Crisis. Right?

Crash Bandicoot. The darling of the PlayStation generation, with a sequel in the works. Not sure what if a movie adaptation would necessitate a voice for the character (I only played the earlier games, so am unaware if he would later be given a voice), but... could work.

Metal Gear Solid. Bring in Hayter, bring in Kojima, but maybe nix some of the trippy plot directions. I still can't even with the plot of MGS2 and anything afterwards.

Shining Force. If you haven't played it, and you're like me and Google Image-ify anything I haven't heard of, it likely won't make sense. But it's one of my favourite RPG games of all time and would make for a corker of a movie. Please, Sega!

Streets of Rage? Plot-wise, it's a little bare bones but the action is right on the money.

 

[bSTAR_182]

I feel like a lot of games could make for decent adaptations if the right amount of care and respect to the source material was utilized while adapting them into movies (or even a series of shows). This applies for many games that Hollywood has already attempted to adapt (ahem- Resident Evil). Hell this applies for any type of adaptation really (books, comic books, etc.). Look at the movie Joker and how the character that has been presented in many formats and acted out by multiple people in other films could be depicted in such a refreshingly artistic way that many loved. Granted there are those who didn’t care for this representation of Joker and maybe even feel like he wasn’t a true Joker at all. But I’d still say there was more praise for the dark direction this movie took.

One thing that I loath with most of these game adaptations is how filmmakers feel the need to explain every single detail rather than show and give clues or hints as to what something could mean, or why something is filmed the way it is.

Take the Silent Hill adaptation for example. The first movie was fairly enjoyable until it reached a point where the filmmaker decided to spell out everything about Alyssa and all the fine details about the town of Silent Hill in a matter of 5-10 minutes of one scene. They should have continued to build things up and depict the characters and scenarios in a way that the audience could decide/decipher for themselves.

Same goes for the Resident Evil flicks and how they rely on Alice to introduce herself and the entire film’s plot at the start and end of every. Single. Movie.


The art of creative filmmaking is what lacks with many of these adaptations. There is a reason why The Shining is such an acclaimed horror movie adaptation of a Stephen King novel. While it changed quite a bit of details from the book it’s based on, there is reason and purpose behind the filmmaker’s craftsmanship. What’s even more appreciated is that Kubrick chooses not to give you a blow by blow of why things are happening. He lets the audience figure it out for themselves.

 

[Jen]

Trine. Great all-rounder of a game. Could work.

Love the Trine games, and I agree, they definitely could make movies based on them.

Days Gone might be another good game to make into a movie. Though I guess the story of that game is practically a movie already.

 

[bSTAR_182]

I’d like to see a good Red Dead Redemption adaptation.

Also, as a kid I had always imagined someone doing a Grand Theft Auto movie based on GTA3. I had all this backstory on Claude floating around in my head while I played through the game, that I thought it could have made for a fun crime flick.

 

[Airaku]

We've had a few decent video game movies, but not many so far! I'm curious how the MGS movie will turn out given all the involvement and time going into that movie. Fingers are crossed that it'll be good.


I feel like a lot of games could have good movies if they can objectively just focus on the story and characters rather than trying to be something it's not. Games have narratives too and they need to be respected. Something like Splinter Cell should be simple to make a film adaptation of. Many games are just too long to condense into a 2-3 hour film.

 

[KManX89]

I feel like a lot of games could make for decent adaptations if the right amount of care and respect to the source material was utilized while adapting them into movies (or even a series of shows). This applies for many games that Hollywood has already attempted to adapt (ahem- Resident Evil). Hell this applies for any type of adaptation really (books, comic books, etc.). Look at the movie Joker and how the character that has been presented in many formats and acted out by multiple people in other films could be depicted in such a refreshingly artistic way that many loved. Granted there are those who didn’t care for this representation of Joker and maybe even feel like he wasn’t a true Joker at all. But I’d still say there was more praise for the dark direction this movie took.

One thing that I loath with most of these game adaptations is how filmmakers feel the need to explain every single detail rather than show and give clues or hints as to what something could mean, or why something is filmed the way it is.

Take the Silent Hill adaptation for example. The first movie was fairly enjoyable until it reached a point where the filmmaker decided to spell out everything about Alyssa and all the fine details about the town of Silent Hill in a matter of 5-10 minutes of one scene. They should have continued to build things up and depict the characters and scenarios in a way that the audience could decide/decipher for themselves.

Same goes for the Resident Evil flicks and how they rely on Alice to introduce herself and the entire film’s plot at the start and end of every. Single. Movie.


The art of creative filmmaking is what lacks with many of these adaptations. There is a reason why The Shining is such an acclaimed horror movie adaptation of a Stephen King novel. While it changed quite a bit of details from the book it’s based on, there is reason and purpose behind the filmmaker’s craftsmanship. What’s even more appreciated is that Kubrick chooses not to give you a blow by blow of why things are happening. He lets the audience figure it out for themselves.

The problem with game-to-movie adaptations is a lot/most of them either don't translate well to the big screen, have stories too big to condense into a 2 hour film (or even a 3 hour film in the case of Skyrim) or the filmmakers just don't care to do them justice because they don't like/play the games in question or games at all.

Even when a game is adapted that could easily be made into a movie, they often disregard the source material, anyway, in the case of the Max Payne example. His story is basically the Punisher: cop comes home to his dead wife and child and starts spraying hooker-boning gangsters in bullet time effects while tracking down a performance-enhancing, hallucinatory drug. Sounds pretty simple, right? The game's cutscenes are literally comic strips FFS! Sounds like it could easily fit into a movie, yet it was a complete mess of a film with almost no relation to the game whatsoever, miscastings aside (Mila Kunis as Mona Sax was laughable and as much as I love Marky Mark, he's not Max Payne). Characters walk around, explain things in a convoluted fashion then disappear with plot holes galore. Oh and there's no shootout until the last 20 minutes or so.

Compare the fan-made film, Max Payne: Retribution and the difference is night and day (the family flashbacks gave me "aww"s). One actually looks like a Max Payne movie (at a fraction of the budget no less), the other is a dumbed-down caricature of the game.

As for Alice and the live-action Resident Evil films, she's just an excuse for Paul WS Anderson to film his wife in total Mary Sue fashion. If she were a character in the actual games, it'd be like playing with a Game Shark on.

Oh and Mass Effect is another one that could easily fit into a movie, but only with the proper love and care for the material. It's basically Star Trek meets Alien(s), you'd have to TRY to f*ck that up. Then again, I said the same thing about Doom and Max Payne and look how those turned out. I also think it would be better-suited as a TV series, then again, you could say the same for pretty much every other game franchise with how big the plots are.

Speaking of game TV series', Twisted Metal is getting one. It'll be interesting to see how they pull that off, you can't exactly have everyone die then make it back for the next weapon-mounted car deathmatch in live-action. Hopefully they do Sweet Tooth's story justice like in the games.

 

[bSTAR_182]

The problem with game-to-movie adaptations is a lot/most of them either don't translate well to the big screen, have stories too big to condense into a 2 hour film (or even a 3 hour film in the case of Skyrim) or the filmmakers just don't care to do them justice because they don't like/play the games in question or games at all.

Even when a game is adapted that could easily be made into a movie, they often disregard the source material, anyway, in the case of the Max Payne example. His story is basically the Punisher: cop comes home to his dead wife and child and starts spraying hooker-boning gangsters in bullet time effects while tracking down a performance-enhancing, hallucinatory drug. Sounds pretty simple, right? The game's cutscenes are literally comic strips FFS! Sounds like it could easily fit into a movie, yet it was a complete mess of a film with almost no relation to the game whatsoever, miscastings aside (Mila Kunis as Mona Sax was laughable and as much as I love Marky Mark, he's not Max Payne). Characters walk around, explain things in a convoluted fashion then disappear with plot holes galore. Oh and there's no shootout until the last 20 minutes or so.

Compare the fan-made film, Max Payne: Retribution and the difference is night and day (the family flashbacks gave me "aww"s). One actually looks like a Max Payne movie (at a fraction of the budget no less), the other is a dumbed-down caricature of the game.

As for Alice and the live-action Resident Evil films, she's just an excuse for Paul WS Anderson to film his wife in total Mary Sue fashion. If she were a character in the actual games, it'd be like playing with a Game Shark on.

Oh and Mass Effect is another one that could easily fit into a movie, but only with the proper love and care for the material. It's basically Star Trek meets Alien(s), you'd have to TRY to f*ck that up. Then again, I said the same thing about Doom and Max Payne and look how those turned out. I also think it would be better-suited as a TV series, then again, you could say the same for pretty much every other game franchise with how big the plots are.

Speaking of game TV series', Twisted Metal is getting one. It'll be interesting to see how they pull that off, you can't exactly have everyone die then make it back for the next weapon-mounted car deathmatch in live-action. Hopefully they do Sweet Tooth's story justice like in the games.

I agree with a lot of your points. In most instances it boils down to filmmakers and filmmaking companies not respecting the original source material. It’s become a stigma with game-to-film adaptations and a lot of film companies know that it’s a quick cash grab. They know slapping on a popular title will automatically draw in the already established fanbase to go see the movie adaptation that they hardly invested money or talent in.

But I kind of disagree with the idea that some games can’t work in movie format due to length issues.

There’s a skill in finding that balance with determining what should be included and what should be cut. This needs to come with understanding that some things may not translate well and other things may not make it in the final cut because it’s not deemed a major aspect to the core of the story being translated into a movie. But this shouldn’t automatically make the film adaptation garbage.

A lot of games simply have the luxury of having more time to add in the extra fluff and interactions to help build on the characters and the story. Take Red Dead Redemption/Red Dead Redemption II for example. They are long games to play through but it’s a friggin western story. With the right amount of passion and talent they could do the story justice in a 2-3 hour long movie. Sure you won’t get every little line and detail from the game, but if they give you a proper gist and feel for the story and characters, it could work fine and allow for both fans of the game and those who don’t have the skills or interest for playing video games to also enjoy the story from the game.

That said, I know there are cases where stories are too big or complex to condense in the span of one movie. Proper sequel follow ups are always a viable option but even a series of shows is another great solution. Television series have proven to be worthy in terms of the quality of talent involved (i.e. Game of Thrones... sans the final season).
I haven’t played The Witcher games but the general consensus seems to be that the first season of the show does the story justice.

 

[KManX89]

I agree with a lot of your points. In most instances it boils down to filmmakers and filmmaking companies not respecting the original source material. It’s become a stigma with game-to-film adaptations and a lot of film companies know that it’s a quick cash grab. They know slapping on a popular title will automatically draw in the already established fanbase to go see the movie adaptation that they hardly invested money or talent in.

But I kind of disagree with the idea that some games can’t work in movie format due to length issues.

There’s a skill in finding that balance with determining what should be included and what should be cut. This needs to come with understanding that some things may not translate well and other things may not make it in the final cut because it’s not deemed a major aspect to the core of the story being translated into a movie. But this shouldn’t automatically make the film adaptation garbage.

A lot of games simply have the luxury of having more time to add in the extra fluff and interactions to help build on the characters and the story. Take Red Dead Redemption/Red Dead Redemption II for example. They are long games to play through but it’s a friggin western story. With the right amount of passion and talent they could do the story justice in a 2-3 hour long movie. Sure you won’t get every little line and detail from the game, but if they give you a proper gist and feel for the story and characters, it could work fine and allow for both fans of the game and those who don’t have the skills or interest for playing video games to also enjoy the story from the game.

That said, I know there are cases where stories are too big or complex to condense in the span of one movie. Proper sequel follow ups are always a viable option but even a series of shows is another great solution. Television series have proven to be worthy in terms of the quality of talent involved (i.e. Game of Thrones... sans the final season).
I haven’t played The Witcher games but the general consensus seems to be that the first season of the show does the story justice.

The other issue with adapting games to movies, besides condensing their stories into a 2 hour film, is the fact that they're completely different narratively-speaking: one is mainly action (running/walking around, collecting/shooting/destroying things, etc.) and the other is mainly cutscenes. For example, you can't just have a Resident Evil movie with Chris, Jill, etc. exploring the Spencer Mansion for 2 hours, it wouldn't work, though this Resident Evil fan film does a decent enough job with crafting a story around and leading up to it, it even has some nice fan service thrown in for good measure (pretty sure the long-haired guy with bangs Jill met at the R.P.D. office is Leon, something the games never touched on despite them being the 2 most popular Resi characters and fellow survivors of Raccoon City):

And yes, I know Dawn of the Dead took place in a mall for a large chunk of the film, but there was some well-tensioned build-up leading up to it (the nurse chick having a near-death experience with her infected daughter eating out a nice chunk of her husband's flesh and then him turning and almost getting her before {barely} escaping into the infected world) with an awesome climax taking place outside of it. It also wasn't all exploration, there were some exposition drops in dialog and them monitoring the outside for zombie break-ins during the mall portions of the film as well. I'm of course talking about the 2004 remake, but the 1978 original had a similar first act leading up to the mall refuge.

Mass Effect should be easy to strike a balance, though, in film medium since it's largely compromised of cutscenes that can easily fit into a movie AND planetary exploration. Hell, the template for this exists already: Star Trek. But again, I think it would work best as a TV series with all its lore (alien races, political/galactic feuds, etc.).

Speaking of which, Resident Evil (I know, homerism, but hear me out) is one franchise that could maybe work with the proper care because it also has a lot of film homages, but they'd have to stick to the game's horror roots first, which the upcoming reboot will reportedly dabble in and PWSA almost completely abandoned in his Resident Evil In Name Only (somebody had to say it) franchise along with the games' lore (PSA: inserting Wesker's "you've really become quite an inconvenience for me" line at Chris from RE5 doesn't work when they've barely SEEN each other in the Anderson films).

It also made the same mistake the previous series did of going from a horror master to an ill-fitted director. Johannes Roberts doesn't inspire much confidence coming off the 47 Meters Down films and Strangers: Prey at Night, and to make matters worse, Sony dropped friggin' James Wan, the modern day Romero/Craven for him. He was originally supposed to direct this, let's not forget, but they dropped him to a producer role in favor of Roberts much like they did Romero (the friggin' God of zombie movies) for Anderson and we all know how that turned out.