Thanks to China and other overseas box offices, Warcraft has become the most successful video game movie of all time. This may come as a surprise, considering the poor turnouts and reviews in the US. However, considering the previous holder of the title was Prince of Persia, it raises the question: is it even possible to make a good movie based off a video game?
Gamers have seen a great number of titles based off of video games – Resident Evil, Super Mario Brothers, and Doom to name a few. The primary consensus on these titles has been resoundingly negative, a major reason as to why the genre hasn’t taken off like the superhero genre. In order to understand the potential (if indeed there is any) for video game movies, the elements that form them must be examined.
The Storyline
While the cinematic industry exists to create profit, there is no denying that movie making is an art. A part of the process is creating a story, though most of this step is done when it comes to video game movies. Characters, backstory, and a plot typically exist already, leaving creators with a problem of originality. Often, this might mean altering one of the elements to avoid recreating the original idea less the interactive play.
That said, it is difficult to determine how much of the original content should be incorporated. This also calls to question which games have the capacity to be converted into movies without “dumbing down” the source material. Would we really be satisfied to see Metal Gear Solid all over again, compressed to 2 or 3 hours?
The Audience
Different audiences hold different expectations, as any collection of reviews might reveal. Just as individuals play the same game for different reasons, the gaming community holds different expectations as to what should go into a movie adaptation of their favorite game titles. Some may be more interested to see Doom’s story on the big screen, while others are more interested in the action sequencing.
The Measurement of Success
The value of art is difficult to measure when all elements are taken into account. Primarily, however, there are three bases for measuring: monetary, casual viewers, and critics.
As Michael Bay has taught us, a movie doesn’t have to be good to make money. Unfortunately, this is the primary factor when it comes to making sequels. On the other hand, movies can do very well among casual and critical reviews and poor in box office numbers. Very rare is it for all three to reflect high positive results – in fact it is non-existent in the video game genre.
Do you think it’s possible for video game movies to achieve another level of success, or is it doomed to mediocrity? What factors are most important to you?
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