Why Video Game Movies Fail
From Street Fighter to the Resident Evil series to anything directed by Uwe Boll, films adapted from video game franchises have a notorious history of being terrible. The reason is both simple and complex at the same time – obvious to any real gamer, and perhaps beyond the understanding of everyone else.
Actor Joey Ansah, who played the character Desh in The Bourne Ultimatum, known one of the best fight scenes in any film, has created a short film called Street Fighter Legacy. Regarding the project, he said:
It was clear to me, that given the way the movie industry worked, we would never see a super faithful, darker toned and more adult themed (or just plain good!) incarnation of Street Fighter unless a die-hard director or filmmaking team with game canon knowledge stepped up to the plate to helm such a project. [Emphasis added]
And this is really what it comes down to, not just for making a solid Street Fighter movie, but to adapt any video game property into a film. I would even take it a step further. Any serious writer or director can do their research – read up on the story and characters, and hopefully play the game. But there is a certain spirit contained within video games that only devoted players can tap into, that undefinable something that changes casual players into fans – or dare I say it: “hardcore”.
Rather than spending numerous paragraphs trying to pinpoint a definition of this elusive video game element – which fans already understand and non-players will not, regardless of how well I explain it – I will give you a perfect example.
The video below features two gamers playing Street Fighter III in a tournament. The main display shows the game itself, while the inset shows the players and the spectators. One of the players, Daigo Umehara, is regular competitor and made quite a name for himself as a master player. At the start of the video, Daigo – playing as Ken – is on the verge of losing in an upset. Watch what happens.
If you have no idea what you just saw, then the short explanation is simply that Daigo made an incredible comeback against very difficult odds. If you’re familiar at all with video games – fighting games in particular – then what Daigo did involved a series of precisely timed inputs, about 12-15 of them, with zero margin for error. With that he avoided defeat, and then followed up with another well-timed manuever to win the match. The reaction of the crowd speaks volumes. It was an incredible moment.
This brings us to a simple truth. If in watching the above video you don’t feel anything stir inside of you, any sort of excitement or marvel or amazement, then you would have no business making a Street Fighter movie. It is not enough to know who all the characters are, to memorize the entire franchise wiki, or even to play the game for hours and hours on end.
If playing or watching a game at no point illicits the kind of response shown by the crowd in the video above, then that “spirit” of video games escapes you, and you are not qualified to make a film adaptation.
A similar situation can be seen in the recent string of successful comic book films versus the endless series of terrible films from years past. The writers and directors chosen for these newer films tend to be fans of comic books, and those franchises in particular.
Video game movies fail because the writers and/or directors are merely looking to capitalize on a successful franchise, but do not have any personal emotional investment in the project. They are unable to tap into the “spirit” of games, and that disconnect manifests on screen with disastrous results.
Here’s hoping that Joey Ansah understands the spirit, lest another terrible Street Fighter movie be added to the endless series of awful video game adaptations.
UPDATE: Street Fighter Legacy is finished, and by “short film”, Ansah really did mean short – the whole thing clocking in at just over 3 minutes. But he does seem to capture the essence of the franchise in that time. There are some changes I’d make – like making the Sho-ryu-ken at normal speed, but overall I think it was well-done. Maybe if it gets enough of a following, and generates enough buzz, we’ll see it become something full-length.
Post is spot on. I remember watching that clip a couple years back now at least and my jaw was on the floor. An amazing moment indeed.
"Video game movies fail because the writers and/or directors are merely looking to capitalize on a successful franchise, but do not have any personal emotional investment in the project. They are unable to tap into the “spirit” of games, and that disconnect manifests on screen with disastrous results."
I cannot express how much I agree with this statement (and the entire post in general). In my opinion this fully applies to comic books as well. As someone who read Marvel and DC comics (pre-90's releases*) whenever I could find them in libraries and bookstores [where I could read them for free by sitting on the floor of course : ) ], I've been pretty disappointed by the big screen incarnations because they've all lacked that comic book flare/spirit you mention here. Comic books are an interesting blend of violent/action-packed and goofy/lighthearted (they ARE wearing spandex most of the time after all) that almost all the "superheroes" flicks have not been able to capture yet.
Usually when I voice such opinions most people say that I'm expecting a direct comic book to movie transition. That's not true. What I am expecting is to feel that comic book enthusiasm emanate from the big screen. So far, Spiderman 2 and Iron Man have come the closest (IMO, of course). All the ones that have failed? The X-men trilogy plus the latest wolverine crap nonsense, Spiderman 3, both Fantastic Four's, the 2nd Hulk movie (contrary to popular opinion, I thought the first one was better), Ghost Rider, both Dark Knight's (I know I know…even the 2nd one that made a bazillion dollars and got rave reviews), Catwoman, Daredevil, Elektra, Superman, ….and the list goes on and on. They could at least make Matrix/Bourne-level action if they don't even want to work on a plot. At least!
*takes deep breath*
Yeah yeah, I realize my comic book rage is bleeding through some…you'll have to forgive me
. With all that said, I still can't stop myself from watching the superhero movies, no matter how bad, anyway. I take comfort in knowing that I usually do so at a dollar theater (or..ahem..*borrowing* from the internet).
*I say pre-90's because after reading Marvel/DC comics from both before the 90's and after, the post-80's comics are absolute trash. The drawings look like barely defined sketches + photoshopped colors smeared on top + failed attempt to attract "emo-teen" audience + missing comic book "spirit" = not worth reading. The fun and imagination and skill and creativity just seems to have gone completely downhill. Look no further than the "Ultimate X-men" series. The series which started out barely average gets infinitely worse. Just…I'll end it here.
Great post!
Ha ha, yeah, I feel the same way about games. But I wonder, have you looked into the more independent stuff for your post-80s hankering? Y:The Last Man is excellent. And so is Runaways (same writer) – although that is a Marvel series.
And I'm gonna have to disagree with you about the X-men trilogy. Okay, well, just about X-2, which I thought was awesome. The other two I could've done without. Come on, man, you gotta admit that Jackman nails Wolverine, at least?
"But I wonder, have you looked into the more independent stuff for your post-80s hankering?"
Well I haven't heard of the Last Man (I've added that to my list to watch). As for the runaways, is that the one with the teenagers and one of them has some rainbow power or something? If it is what I'm thinking of, then yeah I started reading that but there was only one issue at the bookstore I found it at
I completely forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me.
"…you gotta admit that Jackman nails Wolverine…"
Eh, kind of. His face is a great match but he isn't…cool…enough. I don't know how much X-men you have read but it is that "spirit of wolverine" problem you mentioned. He is supposed to be one of the most dangerous (if not the most dangerous) mutant in the X-Men world. In one issue Professor X claimed that when fighting at his best, Wolverine is doing the mental equivalent of like 2 or 3 chess grandmasters/supercomputers? (it was in the arc where Magneto strips the adamantium from his bones) or something ridiculous like that (I can't believe I just quoted a comic book…*facepalm*). Anyways, combine that with years of fighting experience in the CIA, Weapon X, his Samurai training, etc. and his super fast regeneration powers and you have a package of pure bad-assery. Or at least that's the idea. All that to say that Jackman's onscreen presence just doesn't do it for me. His latest Wolverine movie was just…I won't even begin.
Anyhow, though some of my comic book frustration is showing, I don't really care that much anymore. I haven't read a comic book in years now (and given up on almost all fiction…another rant for another day) so this is just the echoes of my comic book rage from the past, heh.
"As for the runaways, is that the one with the teenagers and one of them has some rainbow power or something?"
Rainbow powers? Oh, Caroline, yeah, sort of. But one thing about Runaways is that you HAVE to start from the beginning. It's not like Spiderman or the other mainstreamers where you can jump in wherever because there is no continuity, anyway.
"Professor X claimed that when fighting at his best, Wolverine is doing the mental equivalent of like 2 or 3 chess grandmasters/supercomputers?"
It may be a bit unfair to hold Jackman (or the script writer) to that standard, though, because I don't even think all of his talent and dangerousness comes through in the comics. I haven't read a lot of X-men, but he gets his ass kicked on a regular basis, which doesn't make much sense, given what you described. And then the portrayals in the cartoon don't do him justice, either.
In my mind I think I compared Jackman's Wolverine to the one from the 90s X-Men cartoon, and so by those standards I thought he pulled if off well.
"You wanna shoot me? Go ahead, SHOOT me!" Ha ha.
"But one thing about Runaways is that you HAVE to start from the beginning."
Well the issue I found in that bookstore way back when was the first one so I did start at the beginning. I tracked the series down on the internet in .cbr format and rereading the first issue confirmed that this is what I had read. Again, thanks for the reminder.
"I compared Jackman's Wolverine to the one from the 90s X-Men cartoon"
Aaaah…I had forgotten about the 90's cartoon. We never had cable television growing up so it was comic books for me. However, we did manage to watch it here and there at friends/relatives houses. Not so long ago we downloaded a bunch of the seasons and watched them. Man, it was so much cooler when we were younger, lol. Though it now seems super cheesy, it's still the x-men in bright and juicy animated color with that great opening theme song so it still gets bonus points from me
But yeah from that standpoint I would have to agree that Jackman got pretty close to that representation of wolverine.
"But one thing about Runaways is that you HAVE to start from the beginning."
Well the issue I found in that bookstore way back when was the first one so I did start at the beginning. I tracked the series down on the internet in .cbr format and rereading the first issue confirmed that this is what I had read. Again, thanks for the reminder.
"I compared Jackman's Wolverine to the one from the 90s X-Men cartoon"
Aaaah…I had forgotten about the 90's cartoon. We never had cable television growing up so it was comic books for me. However, we did manage to watch it here and there at friends/relatives houses. Not so long ago we downloaded a bunch of the seasons and watched them. Man, it was so much cooler when we were younger, lol. Though it now seems super cheesy, it's still the x-men in bright and juicy animated color with that great opening theme song so it still gets bonus points from me
But yeah from that standpoint I would have to agree that Jackman got pretty close to that representation of wolverine.
Ha ha, yeah, I feel the same way about games. But I wonder, have you looked into the more independent stuff for your post-80s hankering? Y:The Last Man is excellent. And so is Runaways (same writer) – although that is a Marvel series.
And I'm gonna have to disagree with you about the X-men trilogy. Okay, well, just about X-2, which I thought was awesome. The other two I could've done without. Come on, man, you gotta admit that Jackman nails Wolverine, at least?