Live data from Hacker News

Why Can't Hollywood Make a Good Video Game Movie?

washingtonpost.com

11–20 of 357 posts

Re: Why Can't Hollywood Make a Good Video Game Movie?

#12
I just wanted to say that this article displayed quite nicely on my phone and was nice to read through.

On the topic, I do believe that there are worthy stories in video games that can be translated to the screen not just for those who don't play games, but also for gamers who want to relive some of the story without the tedious bits in between (like farming for XP or upgrading).

The new tomb raider was probably the closest so far. I liked the tie-ins with the game and the actress did a great job of bringing the game character to life. The few things I didn't like were some of the acting and one-dimensional supporting characters. Also some scenes were just contrived, but I suppose that creeps in according to budget and timing.

Re: Why Can't Hollywood Make a Good Video Game Movie?

#13
There have been good video game movies, but the number is vanishingly small. Many are "so bad it's good" such as anything Uwe Boll makes, but there are a couple that seem to be created by directors who genuinely love the source material and take it in interesting directions (e.g. the first Silent Hill film, the first Resident Evil film, arguably Final Fantasy: The Sprits Within).

Also, Mortal Kombat (1995) is a good film.

Re: Why Can't Hollywood Make a Good Video Game Movie?

#14
This is an easy answer I’m sure I’ve given on here before; when you adapt a book to a movie you have an excess of story and character development. You boil it down to its essential ingredients. Sometimes it still turns out bad but this is why book adaptations are far more successful than video hames.

Video games get away with a lot less plot and character development because of their interactive nature and because they are graded on a curve. Many classic games have basically no character development at all.

People think adapting a game into a movie should be a natural transition but it isn’t at all. They are totally different forms.

Re: Why Can't Hollywood Make a Good Video Game Movie?

#19

I guess I'll be the odd ball who thought that Mortal Kombat was a decent movie. The fact that it seemed to use existing martial arts movies (Enter the Dragon and Game of Death, in particular) as a template rather than the game itself seemed to help.

Gene Siskel gave it thumbs up, so you're not that much of an odd ball.

Re: Why Can't Hollywood Make a Good Video Game Movie?

#20

There have been good video game movies, but the number is vanishingly small. Many are "so bad it's good" such as anything Uwe Boll makes, but there are a couple that seem to be created by directors who genuinely love the source material and take it in interesting directions (e.g. the first Silent Hill film, the first Resident Evil film, arguably Final Fantasy: The Sprits Within). Also, Mortal Kombat (1995) is a good…

    > Many are "so bad it's good" such as
    > anything Uwe Boll makes[...]
I tried finding this again, but I think it was when Postal came out that I downloaded a version of it with a director's commentary, and it was Uwe Boll railing against his detractors non-stop, claiming he was a true artist and idiot critics just didn't understand him. It made it even more hilarious.
Post reply on HN