Thoughts on Video Game Movies

 

Video game movies tend to have a poor reputation, due to either the fact that the self-insert interactive nature of video games doesn't always translate well to a linear third-person narrative, or that they get the goofy "big budget Hollywood treatment", where things are changed to the point of being almost unrecognizable. I fell like I haven't actually watched a lot of these, but I thought it would be fun to briefly write about the ones I recall:

The 80s Super Mario Bros Movie:

This one is definitely a classic example of "big budget goofy Hollywood" treatment. They changed so much that there is little left of the Mario world beyond character names and vague visual similarities. Despite this, I recall enjoying the film as a kid and teenager - I liked all the weird sci-fi stuff and gross looking fungus effects. But, to be fair, I haven't watched it since I was a teenager, so it's hard to say if I would enjoy it now.

- Sonic The Movie (90s Anime OVA):

This one has a lot of nostalgia for me, but looking at is an an adult I can say that most of the appeal it has is simply in the cool visuals, badass soundtrack and some nice fight scenes. The story feels very vague and simple, mostly just a vehicle to move through a series of cool looking set pieces and action moments - it really does feel like the script to a Sonic video game rather than a film. There's also some of the squicky stereotypical creepy anime stuff, like Robotnik trying to coerce a seemingly very young girl into marrying him, and having moments of her being sexually degraded for laughs (an accidental boob grab and a scene where Metal Sonic looks up her skirt). Definitely could have done without that shit.  Interestingly, it's said that that this was originally going to be an ongoing series, but it only made it to two episodes, so the American release of it merged the two episodes into a standalone movie. It's a good thing they titled this "Sonic The Movie" so that it wouldn't have the same name as the more recent "Sonic The Hedgehog" live action film. (yet, googling "Sonic The Movie" brings up the more recent one anyway...you're stupid, google. )

- Red Faction: Origins:  

now here's a more obscure one. I loved the Red Faction game on PlayStation 2, so when this was on TV in 2011, I was excited to see it.  Unfortunately, i can barely remember anything about the film today, so it clearly didn't leave much of an impression on me. I don't think it even had any of the characters from the game (such as Parker, Hendrix, etc).

- Donkey Kong Country: The Legend of the Crystal Coconut:

 - This was another I recall experiencing, but very little details about it. As a kid, I was having a friend over, and my parents let me pick out a movie for us to watch at Blockbuster or something. I chose this and we put it on that night, but my friend and I eventually lost interest and just started playing with LEGOS with the movie running in the background. I couldn't tell you anything about the story, but it was nice and colorful looking, at-least - faithful to the same 3D CGI look of the SNES games. At-least it made nice background sound for a fun childhood night with my friend? 

-Wreck-It Ralph:

This one might be cheating a little, because it's more about the general concept of video games, but it has so many cameos from real game characters I think it's fair to add it to this list. This is probably gonna be the best one here, too -  as it's just a fantastic film. Moving, funny, looks great, lovable characters, super catchy soundtrack. Definitely one I recommend watching if you've never seen it! 

- Pixels:

Speaking of games about movies - here's one I never watched. So why is it on my list? Well, it's one that bothered me just from seeing the ads for it. Unlike Wreck It Ralph, which feels like a love letter to the world of gaming, this movies TV ads just felt so cynical, snarky and negative. It DOES feel like I'm being a little unfair by judging it without watching it, but I can only live so long (unless perhaps medical science finally defeats superstitious bullshit within my lifetime), so I'm not in a hurry to try  a movie I couldn't even enjoy the ads for.


As a bonus note...I also actually have a copy of the Ratchet & Clank movie in my collection, which I haven't gotten to watching yet. Perhaps when I get around to it, I can update this list with my thoughts on that one, as well.