Good and Bad!

Movie studios have always looked to video games for film ideas. If a video game was so popular, why can't it work on the big screen? With nearly 30 years to crack the formula, Hollywood still hasn't managed to tame this beast. Many game to film transitions have yet to work, ET for example in an earlier post, Jaws, Super Mario, and Street Fighter as other examples. There have been a few decent films, and I think this blog has yet to regard the rare good films. Tomb Raider, Mortal Kombat, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, and Silent Hill all did relatively well.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - This is, perhaps, the best movie ever inspired by a video game. Granted, that's a short list with cruddy company, but Lara Croft: Tomb Raider stands out among today's action movies in general. Lara is a unique heroine with just enough of a comic-book flair to make her interesting without going too far over the top, which is crucial in the transition from game to film. The James Bond and Indiana Jones combo works very well in the spirit of the game series, and that vibe translates very well onto the screen with Ms. Jolie in the part. This movie remains true in essence to the source material while still delivering an engaging story. Angelina is wonderful in her portrayal of the ferocious and sensual Lara Croft, and she is fun to look at! She breathes life into Lara's polygonal origins, and nice for Angelina that she gets to work with her dad.

Mortal Kombat - This film may have not been great in the critical sense of film study. The time invested in producing this movie, and the skill of the actors/actresses is what made this film a good watch. The martial arts in this movie are particularly interesting, as there were many highly trained martial artists in this film. The story is told quite well, and the film in general is based highly on martial arts.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children - This was an excellent film, although it was completely animated. I think the animation portion was necessary, at least from doing research, to fully illustrate the things needed to make this film. There are many scenes are fights that would have been extremely difficult to reenact with actual actors and actresses. The only bad part about this film is if you have not played through the game itself, the movie is a bit pointless. The movie itself is not long, and bases heavily off the storyline of the game. If you're not familiar with the actual storyline of the game, you will be incredibly lost throughout the duration of the movie. The only good part will be the action scenes and the beautiful cinematics, which I believe would still be worth watching.

Resident Evil - Another example of a well done transition from game to film. The resident evil series is based heavily on suspense and puzzle solving. Only one of these two really work in film. The suspense in this film is what makes it work well, and gladly there is not someone walking around a mansion for 2 hours solving puzzles. The actors and actresses do a good job with the overall acting, which is a downfall for many video game movies, since the budget is not usually that great. With a poor reputation from video games to film, it is hard to find the proper funding, which is another reason perhaps the switch does not work that well. Resident evil did a good job of this, without just throwing zombies in your face with a side of poor acting. Good film all in all.

Silent Hill - This movie was crazy! Moved a bit from the game story line and the end was a bit cheesy, but definitely a thriller and will keep your attention. The movie opens with music lifted straight from the game itself - in fact, the entire movie contains original tracks from the game as well as some remixed score. This was a very nice touch, as it kept the movie to its roots even though the story line itself underwent a bit of a change. Aside from the story line changing, the visuals held on to the game quite well. The main villain in it, a huge pick carrying "thing" (for lack of a better word), was recreated beautifully! Some of the other enemies of the game were put into the movie quite well, the little girl without her mouth, and the contorted body all added to the horror and suspense of the film.