This is not the first time a studio has attempted to adapt video-games into movies; with the recent influx of video game adaptations, fans notice that there’s something wrong with these movies. Oftentimes, these movies come out and leave fans and moviegoers scratching their heads wondering what they just watched. Time and time again, video-game adaptations always come to theaters and they seem to have trouble transitioning from the gaming console to the silver screen.
Here’s a list of some video-game adaptations that are notably bad.
Super Mario Brothers
Yes, they adapted the Italian plumber into a film, released in 1993 and starring a younger Bob Hoskins, the movie lacked a coherent plot and was nothing like the video game; it had a dark atmosphere (as opposed to a family friendly atmosphere), characters were extensively modified, and it was nothing like the game aside from the costumes and the characters from the game.
Hitman
Starring Timothy Olyphant, the movie had been panned by critics for the bad acting and for a confusing plot. In the film, the protagonist Agent 47 is portrayed as an expendable orphan that has been trained to be an assassin. After killing a politician, the whole movie turns into a train wreck and it becomes too confusing to follow.
Max Payne
The movie was bland and had little action sequences; the videogame had gun fights frequently and this didn’t compromise the story. The writers tried to do something different and put more story elements into the franchise, but they fail to remember that Max Payne was the video game that made “bullet time” popular.
Gamers who were expecting the revenge tale from the game to animate with stylized action were disappointed and got a noir film with less than impressive performances from the cast. “Bullet time” was featured in the film, but the director’s idea of “bullet time” was to slow the film to the point where bullets are visible; to the point where you can leave the theater for a bathroom break and come back without missing much.
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li
Starring “Smallville’s” Kristin Kreuk, the film passes off as a low budget kung fu movie. Fight scenes with excessive wire use? Check. Dull plot that centers on justice? Check. The game features freakishly muscular characters that fight in a tournament; trying to tell a practical story while pleasing fans and people who are unfamiliar to the Street Fighter canon will be difficult to sell and the movie falls short despite hinting other Street Fighter characters in the film. The movie tries real hard to stick to the games; you get Taboo from the Black Eyed Peas running around in a Vega-costume jumping all over the place.
So one of the main reasons why video game adaptations fail is because the writers switch up and modify too many things to the point where it becomes something else entirely. The Prince of Persia games were really violent and filled with gore, now it’s a Disney film. Will it have a place among the other adaptations, or will it come through and be a hit? The creator of the franchise is over-looking the productions and it is being produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, the same Jerry Bruckheimer that turned a simple Disney ride into the successful “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise. So it is uncertain if Prince of Persia will do well, we’ll have to wait for its release on May 28.
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