VG Movies Take Two
I agree with much of what Juli said. I especially agree that Advent Children is a successful video game movie. I think it worked so well because it just picked up where the game left off. It didn’t bother dumbing down and retelling a narrative that was already experienced (and experienced is a key word here). The characters were already introduced so we just needed to see the logical progression of fallout from events in the game. The success of the movie is that it did just that. Such as Cloud still having some issues to deal with. There was also due amount of tasteful fan service.
I’ve seen the video game/movie sequel work in one other respect but in reverse. The PS2 era “The Thing” video game was a sequel to the movie. You play as a team sent in after the events of the movie. Rather than rehash the narrative as an interactive story, it tells a new one by building off what the original already did. In contrast, the 2011 The Thing remake/reboot/prequel was a pile of crap.
One of the first rules of making a film (after know your audience – the lowest common denominator being the audience Hollywood knows best) is to ask yourself the simple question: “Has this story already been told better in a different medium?” or more simply “why must this story be a movie?”
Video games are the next evolution of art. Not a “better” art form mind you. Just art that incorporates an interactive element beyond what other mediums are capable of. When it comes to the story, the art of our favorite video games, we’ve already experienced it in its best habitat.
Now when bad video games are made into movie there’s potential. Or when a video game movie is more a follow up to the game than a retelling they can succeed. But retelling a story that’s already been told better, is parody at best. The saddest part is that even non-gamers can sense the insincerity, the parody of video game movies.
There’s also something to be said for taking a game that has no story and trying to make one. We loved Doom because you were killing demons on Mars. It made no sense, and it didn’t have to. It was fun. Watching the Rock say “Semper Fi, motherfucker” with Demon make-up on is a type of fun. But it’s not worth paying for.