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Film loves to adapt other forms of media, whether it be literature (Pride and Prejudice), TV shows (Veronica Mars) and even Radio (War of the Worlds). However, the world of film has never been able to successfully adapt one of the largest modern forms of entertainment, video games.
Hitman, the film coming out later this month based on the game of the same name via its trailers alone is under fire for it’s completely disregard for the source material and early previews don’t indicate a film that will be particularly memorable. Multiple unremarkable Resident Evil films and Silent Hills sequels later and we are still waiting for the, “great” video game film. But the question remains, why is it that we are still waiting on this prodigal film? Some people endeavor to complete these games like Resident Evil on the hardest difficulties and struggle too. Unfortunately, there is no shortcut to training your aim. It requires lots of practice. But services similar to Aiming.Pro can help.
Many when approaching this question often point their fingers at the inherent differences between the mediums. Unlike literature, TV shows and radio, video games are inherently interactive and each player’s experience is (marginally) their own. The story beats are the same for each player, but what happens between them usually differs, even if it is just down to the smallest degree. If you watch a film over again, it will be the same film again, scenes won’t change and different enemies won’t appear. This is in complete contrast to video games. Even players who have played the same game over and over countless times don’t have the exact same experience each time. This is one of the many differences between the two mediums.
Another point that is often brought up is that video games are by their very nature, games, and in accordance to this they have more focus on their gameplay than their narratives or other cinematic professions like cinematography, lighting and sound. I take particular issue with this criticism though, as those who have fired it have clearly never played narrative driven experiences such as The Last of Us, Bioshock or even some of the Assassin’s Creed games. The kicker is, every game I just mentioned have a film adaptation in the pipework, so we’ll soon see whether the proof is indeed in the pudding.
As for my own personal view, I’m not so sure it’s either of these. Although to varying degrees these two criticisms both contribute, I personally believe it’s a lack of interest from any of the best creatives in the Hollywood industries taking a personal interest. Looking back at video game films released in the last ten years, they certainly don’t lack stars, but they lack any of the influential directors and screenwriters, mostly with first timers.
One video game I think could be made into a fascinating film is League of Legends. There are so many different characters and the storylines that could take place would be really interesting. One of my friends is a huge LoL fan and even has a LoL pbe account so we would definitely be first in line to see a League of Legends film at the cinema.
We’ve been waiting years and years and film has chewed up so many beloved franchises. But the future looks bright, especially with the upcoming Assassin’s Creed film which is directed by the ever talented Justin Kurzel (Macbeth), and if you even have a look at the Wikipedia page for how many adaptations are on their way in the coming years, it looks like the mantra, “Video games can never make good films” will finally be proven, or in fact disproven.
By Alex Reid
