Video Game Movies

I could be interested in Prince of Persia, but it just looked like a standard-grade action movie to me. Do any of those films really rise above the pack? Are they "entertaining" or "great"?

I haven't seen FF: Kingsglaive. I did enjoy the other two FF movies I've seen, Spirits Within and Advent Children. I didn't include Advent Children on my earlier list, though, partly because I don't think people who haven't played the game would like it terribly much. It's kinda hinging on already having an emotional investment with characters like Cloud and Aeris, so I'm not sure how it would play for somebody coming to it "fresh". Does Kingsglaive (in your opinion) work on its own, or do you need to play the gave first?

Elder Scrolls and Fallout are rich worlds, so hopefully Amazon can pull off the latter. I think Fallout has a lot of potential as a series. If I was developing it, personally, I'd do almost an anthology show, although probably with recurring characters and references tying stories together a bit. But I think I'd want to emphasize the anarchic, gonzo, hilarious, tragic, brutal, and wild chaos of the Fallout universe; so, I think an anthology series would do that best. That's not the only way it'll be great, but I think that'd just be straight-up fun.

I forgot that they did The Witcher. I'll check that out; I did like the look of the show from some still shots I saw.

I used to joke with my friends and say man Sin City is the best Max Payne movie we never got. If you make Max Payne Sin City is what should be your inspiration. That and think super Scorsese style atmosphere with a splash of Michael Mann. That is my dream Max Payne film. I hate how the film was such trash and not even fun bad just dreadful.

I think you can but often times they hire the wrong directors for the job. You need to know which person's style will strengthen your film. Also do not give fan service simply for the sake of it. The newest Mortal Kombat had that issue. Put in as many characters as possible without a narrative purpose. Just to say see we got this person in here look! I always thought Bioshock had loads of potential to be a great film! Guillermo del Toro or Bong Joon-ho I think would absolutely crush a Bioshock film! The Host, Snowpiercer, Shape of Water and Pan's Labyrinth showcase why I think both could kill Bioshock! I love the atmosphere of Bioshock. The period peace, the setting the music all are right up my alley. It is Blade Runner mixed with a 1960's and 1940's setting. Make it rated R and give either one of them full creative control. I think both would murder it. See that is my issue with the upcoming Last of Us show coming out. The game is great but what is new about that for film? The setting? The relationship between the characters? I love the game I just do not see it being as rich of an experience as Bioshock could be.

Doctor Thirteen down there also mentioned Silent Hill... interesting... I've never played those games, so it sounds like some of the charm might be lost on me. Then again, Doctor Thirteen said he wasn't a gamer.

CGI can age badly, and I haven't seen The Spirits Within in a long time. I'd kinda like to revisit it. When it first came out, I was disappointed, but I feel like if I re-watched it I might wind up liking it a lot more.

What are your thoughts on the recently released extended cut?

That one's a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. There's something mesmerizing about watching Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo run around the fever dream (nightmare) of a creative person in the art department while battling their way out of a script written by a guy who clearly just did a lot of 'shrooms while playing NES. They green-lit that sucker without any consideration as to whether or not Super Mario Bros. even has what can loosely be considered a "story" and they never, ever looked back.

i find that Video Games do not at all translate on the big screen.

I'm actually working through the Dragon Quest series right now, so maybe when I get to No.5 I'll fire up Netflix after. Thanks for the recommendation.

I was mostly thinking of films that were based on video games, not so much stuff that just happens to feature video games. That said, I'm open to a wider discussion about them. I was mostly wondering if there was a video game movie that was really great. Not just a fun movie, but one that would make somebody excited to re-watch it and like they feel like they're getting more out of it than just a momentary distraction. In other words, something not just diversionary, but truly a great cinema experience.

I haven't seen Cradle of Life, but I have seen the first Tomb Raider film, and I mostly remember it as being a run-of-the-mill action movie. I think I remember it as "bad" because it's mostly forgettable - for me, anyway.

TRON is a pretty great movie, and I would count it as a quality film. Legacy was underrated, and although I don't think it's quite as good as the original, it's still a lot of fun and managed to carry on the religious subtexts of the first film.

The Last Starfighter is a tonne of fun. I'm not quite sure I'd call it a "great movie", though. But it's a lot of fun, and to any fan of the genre, I'd recommend it.

Haven't seen Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, but I did hear good things. Ditto Wreck-It Ralph and Ready, Player One. Rampage I haven't seen either, but "not great, not terrible" is not really a glowing review.

SF2 I didn't know about. The fighting game genre is a strange one for film adaptation to begin with. I'm not really sure why they're trying. The way that RPGs lend themselves to great cinematic potential - they're story-driven - fighting games, I think, are the dead opposite of that. The stories are often loose excuses for "these characters are in a tournament!" and because any character could win, they can't tie in a lot of themes or arcs in a way that feels like the sweeping narrative a film requires. There are some interesting worlds that fighting games have created - Tekken and Soul Edge come to mind - but narratives are thin.