Modern-day Hollywood is currently going through a stage of growth where big studios are running out of good ideas. It is very difficult for a film to succeed in today’s theater scene, needing to pull off blockbuster numbers in order to break even. Studios try to manage what will make money by just putting out titles that audiences are already familiar with from previous media. A lot of this is sequels of series both new and old, remakes of movies both new and old, and adaptations from various other forms of media. A lot of books and Broadway shows have always been remade into a film format, but there is also a long history of video game adaptations. The reception of these video game films always seems to depend on how accurate they are to the source material, but it is impossible to get it perfect. This is due to the sheer difference in the time it takes to consume the two different types of media. Films are usually no longer than 3 hours on the higher end, but a lot of short games can still take a minimum of 10 hours to complete. It is a balance that filmmakers have to tread carefully in hopes of condensing the story in a meaningful way so that it is still enjoyable without losing what made the games so great to begin with. I’m going to review a few video game-to-film/television adaptations that I have seen recently and go into where I think they succeeded, and where I think they failed.
The Last of Us
I had an Xbox growing up, so I still have not been able to play it in its entirety, but the story is undoubtedly one of the best video game stories. Just the intro alone has you so hooked on what they are telling you that I can’t imagine anyone having an easy time putting the controller down for hours. I found that the show was extremely entertaining even for those that were not familiar with the game before watching. There were many things from the first game that were not included in the show, but there were also things from the game that were much more fleshed out in the show than in the original content. They did a wonderful job of condensing a very long video game into a nine-episode season and the next season should not be too far off in the future, which leaves me very excited for more. The show remained mostly faithful to the source material, while also being engaging and digestible for new fans.
Detective Pikachu
I was a huge Pokémon kid, so when the trailer for this movie came out, I was very excited. I was also quite skeptical, it seemed very cheesy, and I was afraid there would be nothing there for me to enjoy as an older fan. I was very pleasantly surprised to see a film with some mature themes, though still very suitable for kids. There were tons of easter eggs and nods to the games that made me happy, and the humor was pretty good for the most part. It was a beautiful film to watch as well, they did a fantastic job with the CGI. Pokémon is such a fun world to watch and see stories in, that I can imagine it would be hard to make a story that is just downright bad. It has been a while since I have watched it, but it deserves a rewatch. I hope there will be a Detective Pikachu 2 (I think it has been confirmed, but I don’t remember).
Sonic
When this film got announced it got turned into a huge meme. They made Sonic look so stupid that the fans bullied them into redoing the movie with a different 3D model, and thank God they did. I think this came out at around the same time as Detective Pikachu, and they were compared a lot. While I enjoyed Pikachu a lot more, this was still quite an enjoyable film. They did the trope where the video game character gets sucked into the real world, which has been done a million times. It was still well done though, and while the story was very campy and cheesy, the acting was good, and the jokes were funny. The audience that the studio had in mind for the film was obviously much older than me, but I can still appreciate it for what it is. It is hard to be faithful to the source material when you are throwing the character into a world where he shouldn’t exist, but I don’t think the Sonic Games lore is deep enough for that to even be something to worry about. I have not seen the sequel yet, but I heard that it was also quite good. It must have been successful as well because there is a third installment coming out shortly.
Silent Hill
The things I have reviewed have all been positive so far. This one will not be. This film was a STINKER. It was barely recognizable as a Silent Hill movie with the exception of some Pyramid Head appearances. That would be somewhat excusable if the film itself had any substance so that it could stand on its own, but that was not the case either. The story was predictable in some ways, and nonsensical in others. The game’s story is nonsense and imagery-based anyway, so I see how it would be hard to translate into film, but the way they did it was ineffective, to say the least. Visually the film seemed to be Saw-inspired with its grainy visuals and grungy coloring. I would not recommend this film to anyone watching it sober, but it could be quite funny if viewed under the influence of your legal substance of choice.
Fallout
I have only seen the first two episodes of the show so far, but it has impressed me with what I have seen. Visually it looks straight out of the game. They really nailed that post-nuclear alternate history look, and the visual effects are awesome. The weapons and power armor suits look sick as hell, and the violence is BRUTAL. I don’t have much to say about the story just yet since I haven’t finished it, but I have heard rave reviews from many sources. A lot of super fans are upset at continuity errors of certain things in the show, but I don’t know if they were enough for those fans to deem the show bad. Most importantly, the soundtrack is incredible. It has always been the most iconic thing about the games, and they brought back a lot of old songs and included new ones that fit the vibe perfectly. I’m excited to finish it!
Borderlands
I love this series, and I hope the film is good as well. Things are not looking good for people who share that sentiment with me. The executive clearly prioritized star power over hiring actors who would play the characters well. A lot of people are upset of Kevin Hart as Roland, but he is one of the least of my worries. Kate Blanchett as Lilith just seems so strange to me from what we have been shown in the trailers. I do not want to badmouth Jamie Lee Curtis, but I don’t think she is a great pick for Tannis. I hope she surprises me though. The girl they got for Tiny Tina just does not match the energy of the original character. Jack Black seems to be a mandatory casting for video game adaptations because so far he has been in three recently if you count the upcoming Minecraft movie. I think he is a solid pick for claptrap though. The story seems to be a strange mix of the first two games, while not getting either of them right. I hope this movie ends up surprising audiences like Mario and Sonic did, but I will not be placing my bets on it. Best case scenario is that they use the film’s release to announce Borderlands 4.
Cyberpunk Edgerunners
It is a rare case for the adaptation to be undeniably better than the source material. In my opinion, this show succeeds in that. This is one of my favorite shows to come out in a very long time. The story is tear-jerking, the action is crazy, the visuals are gorgeous, the music is awesome, and the ending made me want to see even more stories told in this world. The video game, Cyberpunk 2077, launched in such a terrible state that it was nearly unplayable on certain platforms. After the show’s release, the game had a surge in popularity and people found that most of the game-breaking bugs had been patched months ago, and the game is actually quite good. Shortly after the show came out, they also released an expansion, starring Idris Elba, which was quite good as well from what I heard. Watch the show, play the game, do both at the same time.
