Time after time, Hollywood fails to craft great films based off popular video game franchises. Why are Batman and Harry Potter successful transitions to the big screen, while Mario and Chun-Li let us down?
Since the early 90's, Hollywood has been trying to create successful film franchises based on popular video games. With few exceptions, most of these have been poor films. While they can be enjoyable for their 'so bad they're good' factor, its hard to argue that many of them are more than obvious cash grabs by film studios who have little respect for the source material.
So why do movies based on video games almost universally suck?
Lost In Translation
Most video game adaptations stray too far from the source material. Stories and characters are changed to the point where fans of the games are served something vastly different from what they expect.
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was almost universally hated by fans of the Final Fantasy franchise because it was seemingly Final Fantasy in name only. It felt like a bait-and-switch; with the name tossed on an unrelated project to fill the seats with gullible fans of the franchise.
This does not still well with us. We want to see the games we love represented, not re-interpreted. The most faithful video game to film adaption I've seen has been Silent Hill, and it was apparent that the people involved had a respect for the games from the beginning.
Low Expectations
Its obvious that many video game movies are rushed out to capitalize on the popularity of the game they're based on, and that the studios assume that standards gamers are willing to accept are really low. Look no further than the cinematic diarrhea we've gotten from Uwe Boll, with bombs like House of the Dead, Alone In the Dark and Bloodrayne.
We expect more and we deserve better.
Reliance On Fan Support
I have no doubt that the studios believe that gamers will see adaptations of their favorite games, regardless of the quality. Last year's Warcraft should have been a massive success, based on the massive built-in fanbase of the worldwide phenomenon. However, the movie was a flop, earning $47 million and suffering massive week-over-week drops. By its 3rd weekend, it was dead in the water. Why did this happen?
I have to assume word of mouth killed it. While it looked like a beautiful and faithful adaption from the trailers, it ended up having the same sorts of problems that other video game films have. The story was confusing and boring. The human characters felt miscast and forgettable. The orcs were awesome and completely overshadowed the characters we should have felt the stronger connection to.
How can film studios start getting it right?
Pretty simple. Respect the film's intended audience.
Give us video game movies that are faithful to the source material, are well written, acted and produced and don't coast on a popular property. Treat it with respect and we'll come see it.
We've been waiting to get good video game films for over 2 decades now. We're starting to lose faith that Hollywood will ever serve us good video game movies. If you want us to keep buying tickets, you need to start getting it right.