I think the most important part about adapting games to movies and TV is to honor the spirit of the material. The Last of Us is a rather rare example in the gaming space that is naturally built for a story-heavy HBO series. TLOU games have great gameplay, visuals, creature design, and memorable characters, but also a remarkably well-written storyline with everything ready for an adaptation. The only compromise they had to do was to cut back on the action (aka gameplay) and the series didn't suffer at all. That's not the case for most games, including many of my favorites.
Something like Resident Evil isn't built for a similar approach, the storyline is far too generic, convoluted, and melodramatic yet emotionally distant. The newer games (and remakes) have switched towards a more emotional, cinematic approach in the storytelling, but that still isn't the main selling point. It's the gameplay, all the expertly designed creatures and fun villains, the iconic tone that is a mixture of camp and genuine suspense, the gunplay, and wild set pieces. For a really good film adaptation of Resident Evil, I'd streamline the story a little bit and invest everything in the creatures, set design, and great kills. Those games deserve an adaptation that's genuinely suspenseful and gory, that doesn't take itself too seriously, and the production value has to be on point since the games are nowadays some of the most polished horror games ever made. It's a little bit funny in that sense, the Resident Evil series has always been greatly inspired by B-movies, but they can't be adapted on a B-movie budget, not anymore. Back in the day, they could've easily adapted the first three games into a series of fun, campy b-movies, but that would require artistry and vision, instead of just churning the material into a bland action-horror format. I do enjoy it to a point, admittedly, but not in any way or form as a great adaptation of Resident Evil.
Mortal Kombat is another example that should be a no-brainer in terms of adaptation. It's all about the kills, the bone-crunching martial arts, and the iconography of the character designs, stages, and fatalities. I've said it before, a really good Mortal Kombat movie would approach the lore not unlike the John Wick movies do, with great care, but it's simplistic and more or less set-dressing for all the fight sequences. Mortal Kombat, or any fighting game adaptation, should have top-notch action and fight choreography and it's unbelievable that still isn't the case. When you're making a movie about a game that's heavily inspired by Enter the Dragon and Bloodsport, how is it possible that the end result has choppy editing and lackluster fight choreography? Once again, there are things I like about former and current adaptations of Mortal Kombat, but the true spirit of the game series hasn't been fulfilled.
The real issue about all of these bad video game movies and series is that these games are simply used as fodder, there's no real passion or creativity in the process. Video game is an entirely different art format and changes have to be made to transform it, but the spirit should always be intact. Just like the new Dune movies, the story is changed and streamlined, but the spirit, the texture, and the heart of the novel are intact. That's the respect given to an adaptation of a book, the same should be the case for an adaptation of a video game. The spirit, the texture, and the heart. That's why I'm not sure what the point is with the upcoming Until Dawn movie. Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to watch it because I love the game and I want to see what decisions the filmmakers have made, but that's the issue in itself. Until Dawn is all about decisions, that's what people remember about it, the branching storyline with countless possibilities. The way I would've approached it, I would have made it into one of those Netflix interactive movies. Recreating the entire game would be too expensive, so I'd write a new story with a new cast of characters, but it would be greatly inspired by the original game and retain what makes the game special and so beloved.
I don't know why this turned into an essay. Perhaps I'm just ranting like a lunatic, but I have a passion for adaptations, remakes, and reimaginations. They can be just as special as the original work if they're handled with care.
Enhancing the writing, that is. Unlike The Last of Us, something like Mortal Kombat isn't a complete package that's ready to go, a writer could (and should) add stakes, and emotional weight, and improve the characters. I love Mortal Kombat, but as it is, the lore and storyline is mostly convoluted gobbledegook that is held together by how much fun it is to play and how cool it all is audio-visually. The animated films are a good example of how excellent the fight sequences can be on film and they're fun to watch, but the writing doesn't instill much confidence. A lot of that comes with the vastness of Mortal Kombat lore and the huge cast. The first one is my favorite because it keeps it relatively simple. The second one is already lost in the lore, doing a cliff notes version of epic events that weren't particularly well-written in the first place. The third film is pretty cool and it does utilise some of the later games concepts nicely. I just prefer Mortal Kombat when it's simpler, like the first two-thirds of Mortal Kombat 1 with its more emotional storytelling and the excellent production value, but it gets completely lost in the muck by the end, further convoluting something that could've been a fresh start. I would prefer a rather simple take on the first tournament and see where that goes if it goes. Much like Enter the Dragon.
Agree with nearly everything in them. This should have been a big passion of mine but it really hasn't been well served since that SF II animated film. A lot more potential to deliver on for us fans if we can get skilled filmmakers who happen to be proper fans of the source material and know how to get the balance right (not an easy thing).
That balance truly is the hardest part. I'm feeling hopeful though, 2023 was the best year yet for Hollywood collaborating with the video game industry. Perhaps there's more good stuff ahead.
X-Men ‘97 X-Men 97 Episodes 8, 9, and 10 - Tolerance is Extinction Parts 1-3 SPOILER Thread (8 Viewers)
