Film breeds incompetent adaptations
I find it somewhat odd how our culture likes to retell stories in different mediums, specifically in movies. Just look at the new releases. See how many films have been adaptations of one medium or another? “Scott Pilgrim” is based on a graphic novel, the upcoming “Resident Evil: Afterlife” is based on a video game (loosely,) and “Eat, Pray, Love” is based on a book (or so the Internet tells me.) It seems that any halfway original idea must be thoroughly milked or it’s deemed a failure.
Whatever the fascination is, it appears adaptations are here to stay. The question then becomes: Why are some mediums riper for adaptations than others?
Books and graphic novels seem to make the easiest transition to film. It’s understandable as both film and literature are linear mediums. The experience is always the same however many times you choose to read or watch.
Music-inspired films are a bit of a tougher sell, but they do happen. Any of the old Beatles movies are good examples, such as the 1968 “Yellow Submarine.” My fingers remained crossed director Robert Zemeckis’ 2012 re-make of the film will be awesome. The issue with music is it’s hard to stretch a three-minute song into an hour and a half feature.
But the worst adaptations, historically, have been video game movies. Consider skipping this list if you are feint of heart: “Super Mario Bros.,” “Doom,” “Bloodrayne,” “Far Cry,” “Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within,” (Oh God, I think I threw up a little.) Why is it that these are so horrifically – and universally – awful?
It could be due to the obvious lack of talent associated with these films, specifically behind the camera. Can you name a director of a video game film. If you said Uwe Boll, you’re only proving my point. The one ray of hope may have been Neill Blomkamp’s "Halo" movie, which was scrapped and modified into “District 9,” leaving the "Halo" franchise missing in action.
It could be that games just haven’t grown up enough to have stories worthy of adaptation. The games’ industry is only about 30 years old where film has been around for 130 years -- Not to mention literature, which is thousands of years old. These older mediums have had plenty of time to sharpen their craft, whereas games are still learning.
It could also be that the medium of games just doesn’t translate well to film. Games biggest selling point is their interactivity and how the player is able to affect the action on-screen. When that control is taken away by a movie, it leaves only games’ paper-thin plots.
And it very well could be all of these things. But Hollywood appears determined to make game adaptations work – "Gears of War," "Mass Effect," even arcade classic "Asteroids" films are currently in development. Only time will tell if any of them will be any good.
