Video Game Films

[gmfuss]

I need some help... I got into a drunken argument tonight with a friend on films based on video games. Can anyone name a movie that was based on a video game that was actually good. I mean, I enjoyed Super Mario Bros., Street Fighter, and the Mortal Combats for what they were, and as great really bad movies, but was there actually a good film based on a video game??????

 

[BIG]

Sorry man,no suchthing.

BIG-

 

[Buro Destruct]

I guess you could argue Tron, but I never remember if Tron came about before or after the game. I'm assuming before.

Your only other strong argument would be The Last Starfighter.

 

[Kid Aphex]

I really don't see a single problem with the first Mortal Kombat movie, considering it was a film based on a videogame.

I mean, really, its leagues above everything else in the game-movie genre.

 

[SouthtownKid]

I mean, really, its leagues above everything else in the game-movie genre.

Which doesn't really help. I know a lot of people saw it when they were young, and it was a fun time... but by any objective standard, Mortal Kombat was a chunk of shit. Doesn't mean you can't like it.

 

[Kid Aphex]

Which doesn't really help. I know a lot of people saw it when they were young, and it was a fun time... but by any objective standard, Mortal Kombat was a chunk of shit. Doesn't mean you can't like it.

Bullshit. I'd argue Mortal Kombat was a DECENT/ABOVE AVERAGE movie by HOLLYWOOD standards --- not just by Videogame Movie standards.

One of the best soundtracks, to DATE.
Decent acting, story that stayed pretty true to the videogame while standing on its own outside the videogame universe.
MIND BLOWING EFFECTS [for its time]
Great direction, great atmosphere, decent budget.
I mean, really, what's the problem?

 

[Tron]

I guess you could argue Tron, but I never remember if Tron came about before or after the game. I'm assuming before.

Your only other strong argument would be The Last Starfighter.

Yes the moive, Tron did come befor the game.So that doesn't count for the most part.I don't think there's been a decent...moive game since, MK period.

 

[Average Joe]

Mortal Kombat is a decent movie, by any standards.

It's the only videogame-based movie that's actually enjoyable, and not just for the sake of nostalgia.

 

[Amano Jacu]

What about Tomb Raider?

 

[SouthtownKid]

Bullshit. I'd argue Mortal Kombat was a DECENT/ABOVE AVERAGE movie by HOLLYWOOD standards --- not just by Videogame Movie standards.

One of the best soundtracks, to DATE.
Decent acting, story that stayed pretty true to the videogame while standing on its own outside the videogame universe.
MIND BLOWING EFFECTS [for its time]
Great direction, great atmosphere, decent budget.
I mean, really, what's the problem?

I've only seen the movie twice, but my impressions were not as favorable as yours.

Soundtrack: depends on taste. In its favor, it did set a standard followed by many after it.

Acting, story: in my judgement -- not decent. Same level as Street Fighter. Take that as you like it. Followed the story of the game? I wouldn't know.

Mind blowing effects: okay, but only for a few minutes total running time. The only effect that stands out in my mind was Scorpion's "C'mere!" which he did at one point in the film for one scene. I don't remember any other particularly great effects, even for its time.

Great direction? Here, you are really overestating things. I don't have an argument; I just don't see where you get that from.

Great atmosphere : I'll give the movie that.

Budget: I've seen much better movies made for less, and I've seen much worse movies made for more, so I'll leave that out of it.

Finally, I would say that even if the movie did reach "decent Hollywood standards" (and I wouldn't say that), that is not really such a lofty acheivement in and of itself. I think you're looking at the film a lot with the eyes you first viewed it. I do that with plenty of movies, myself. In 10 years, there will probably be a group of 20-somethings talking about how the second Resident Evil movie was shit, but the first was a work of art. It is the unavoidable order of things.

 

[Zeekade Zarathos]

Bullshit. I'd argue Mortal Kombat was a DECENT/ABOVE AVERAGE movie by HOLLYWOOD standards --- not just by Videogame Movie standards.

One of the best soundtracks, to DATE.
Decent acting, story that stayed pretty true to the videogame while standing on its own outside the videogame universe.
MIND BLOWING EFFECTS [for its time]
Great direction, great atmosphere, decent budget.
I mean, really, what's the problem?

Decent to Above Average by ANY movie's standards created within the Hollywood system? Let's take a look, shall we? *Play the Reading Rainbow theme here for maximum effect*

The soundtrack was pure kitsch, the equivalent of Paul Anderson stopping the movie, walking through the screen like The Purple Rose of Cairo and saying to the audience, "Are you guys Pumped or WHAT?! I mean, listen to that bass!". Fun to listen to in the car, yeah, ridiculous in context ("Test... Your MIGHT!" soundbytes looped through the soundtrack made the ten-year old me giggle; now it makes me shrink into the couch with embarrassment).

The acting's... forgivable. Bridget Wilson's the only one that could make me really cringe, but then again, acting's one of the last things I pay attention to when I watch a movie. The rest of the cast is pretty wooden, Liu Kang doing the best. Unless it's really noticeably bad, though, it's all good to me.

The story of the video game is ridiculous, as it was just an excuse to rip some guy's head off. The story in the movie, a narrative art form, is just as stupid, almost identical, this time without an excuse. I'm a firm believer that a talented writer can take ANY story and craft a good movie out of it (Kaufman's script synopsises sometimes read like he lost a bet...), but Kevin Droney (who also wrote Wing Commander, generally considered the worst video game movie of all time) wasn't up to the challenge.

To say the effects were mind-blowing is being awfully nice. Jurassic Park came out two years prior, and if you want a more comparable film, effects wise, with more rubber and stunts then CGI-creatures, Aliens came out almost a decade before, and still holds up today, while Reptile looked like a piece of shit then and looks like a PS1 cut-scene creation now.

I have the most problem with saying that this movie has great directing. Great is better than Above Average, Great is approaching Spielburg on a bad day. Mortal Kombat came out the same year as Heat, an action movie that had honestly Great directing. It also came out the same year as Die Hard: With A Vengeance, a movie I would think had Good directing. Mortal Kombat has Passable directing. I can't think of one shot, one directing choice that propelled the movie, even for a moment, past NBC Made-for-TV "Special Event" territory. The ending, when Shao Kahn explodes through the Buddhist monastery like Godzilla was hysterically awful when I watched it back in 1995. It hasn't aged well.

Like Southtownkid said, a movie can be absolute trash and you can still like it (I really do like Mortal Kombat, for the record - I watch it randomly for fun - Hell, I'll probably watch it right now), but I understand that, objectively, when you put it up against other movies, it falls short on almost every level.

 

[djrconsoles kr1]

Does Manga count? I personally really like the manga street fighter movie, that is a class film with one of the best opening sequences around

 

[kobylka68]

I thought the resident evil movies were pretty good.

 

[SML]

I mean, really, what's the problem?

Liu Kang, bucket of water, Sub Zero. It's hokey.

 

[Kid Aphex]

when you put it up against other movies, it falls short on almost every level.

In your opinion.

Hey man, it's all relative.

I disagree with everything you just wrote, especially about the soundtrack.

But no big deal.

 

[abasuto]

If it counts, the movie to Final Fantasy was pretty cool.

 

[Garland Russell]

Yeah, the first MK movie rocked. The second one sucked major ass. The MK2 movie characters sound like they were off of power rangers(Like Shao Kahn for example), for christ's sake. Let's hope that the third one will be good as the first.

 

[super-saiya-jin]

Double dragon the movie is pure shit

 

[FeelGood]

lets see:

mortal kombat movies
tomb raider movies
resident evil movies
double dragon
super mario bros
street fighter

of those i have only seen mk1, tomb raider 1 and 2, resident evil 2. i saw mk when i was like 13 or 14 and i remember being embarassed back then. really korny and my bros and i made fun of it all the time. i remember tomb raider 1 being passable but if it was anything like pt 2 (god awful) then i may be mistaken (i mean she punches a fucking shark in the nose to make it swim away for christ sake). resident evil 2 was pretty dumb.

so imho no good video game movies. nothing worth buying, nothing worth seeing a second time. and the mk soundtrack was pretty gay with its trance, drum/bass and mk sound bytes.

 

[aria]

The movie that was looking for a video game to be based on?

The Quest.

 

[Buro Destruct]

I enjoy campy films a lot. So for me Double Dragon, Super Mario Bros, and Mortal Kombat are fantastic films. Although within the realm of STRICTLY game movies, I'd have to say that Resident Evil: Apocalypse and Mortal Kombat are the top nods. Granted, they offer nothing in the way of innovative cinematography or direction, nor do they really push the boundaries of the CG medium or cinema in general.

But oftentimes its getting everything right and not getting almost everything perfect that makes a great movie.

Oh, and I still say The Last Starfighter is a great choice, and even though it spawned a (shitty) game, it's great for shmup fans.

 

[syringe]

There aren't any.

MK was alright and so were the Resident Evil movies but I'm not sure if there are any that I would actually call good.

 

[gamejunkie]

I liked Final Fantasy: The Spirt Within but I've never played a FF game. Does it matter?

 

[genjuro1]

The first MK movie was real entertaining for me. The fights were choregraphed very well. Story was decent considering it's source material.
Is it the best video game to live action movie translation?.....I think so.

 

[norton9478]

http://imdb.com/title/tt0087578/

Is this based on the game or was the game based on the movie?

And the worst has to be: House of teh Dead...

I rented it after watching Resident Evil because I figured "Wow They finally made a kick ass movie based on a Game".
WRONG WRONG WRONG WRONG......