Movies adapted from games = bad movies? Deep thoughts on movies adapted from games

In recent years, China has introduced a large number of Hollywood commercial films, which rely on special effects to attract attention and win high box office, but the weak plots are also criticized. However, commercial films have their own operating rules. You can't say that Hollywood doesn't have good scripts, but as commercial films, investors always hope to have a sufficiently commercial topic before filming, as a guarantee of capital.

It is no longer new to use famous game IPs to adapt movies. After all, the film and television industry is one of the most effective ways to exploit well-known IPs. With the upcoming release of the "World of Warcraft" movie, which has been brewing for ten years, the topic of game-adapted movies has become popular again. Although many people are eagerly looking forward to it, there are more controversies about game-adapted movies. Because there have been many problems with game-adapted movies over the years, which has led to the films not being satisfactory, naturally the public is not optimistic about movies adapted from games.

Are all game-changing movies really bad?

Indeed, most of the movies adapted from games have a very bad reputation, and are even called bad movies. However, among the many movies adapted from games, there are still some outstanding masterpieces, such as "Resident Evil". The entire "Resident Evil" movie series has indeed changed the original work beyond recognition, and has been complained by many game players. But it did not stop it from achieving good box office results. "Resident Evil" persisted in its tough style of subverting the original work to the end, and completely subverted the game in the third part of the movie. What is most rare is that it has once again refreshed the box office results of the movie. As a purely commercial "Resident Evil" movie series, it is undoubtedly a success.

From the mixed reviews of the first film, to the purely commercial structure of the second film, to the box office myth of the third film, regardless of whether players like it or not, the Resident Evil movies have gradually separated from the games and developed independently into a film series with certain box office appeal and audience influence.

It started out as a game movie, but eventually it was completely separated from the game. It was called a game movie, but it completely subverted the game. Perhaps for the movie "Resident Evil", the name of the game was just a gimmick and a springboard. Its ultimate goal was to create a unique movie series. As long as the audience is willing to go to the cinema, it doesn't matter whether the players buy it or not. Most of the audiences who like Resident Evil are not game fans. They may not have played the original game, and what attracted them to the cinema was just the movie itself. It can be said that as far as game movies are concerned, Resident Evil has indeed achieved the ultimate in restoration, but it is not a restoration of the game but a restoration of the essence of the movie.

Doom is a typical example of copying the original work. It is almost absolutely faithful to the original work. The movie and the game do not hide the violence at all. Even the shooting technique is exactly the same as the first-person perspective in the game. Copying the original work is a winning magic weapon for movie adaptations. It does have its advantages: there is no need to innovate or worry about being criticized. Just copy the original work and you will get a lot of box office revenue. Even if the movie fails, the director can put the blame on the original game.

But is it really foolproof to copy the game completely? Not necessarily. As a veteran first-person shooter game, Doom was not adapted to the screen until the third installment. In order to maintain its important position in the minds of players and attract more players to the cinema, should we completely copy the game? After all, movies and games are different art forms and require different expressions. If we copy the game movie, it will become an overlong trailer for the game and it will be meaningless.

However, I personally think that movie adaptations of games are not a good idea. Because no matter whether they respect the original or use a shell to adapt. It is not easy to satisfy picky players, and it is easy to cause a bad word-of-mouth effect. Therefore, the "Resident Evil" series has a good box office but a bad reputation. After the release of the movie adapted from the original plot, many players will feel dissatisfied and disappointed because of the discrepancy with the original. It will become a failed work similar to "Street Fighter Chun-Li", "The King of Fighters" and "Dead or Alive". When the movie adapted from the game respects the original, it is often criticized by players because the movie and the game are too similar, even similar to the same. Just like "Doom", I went to the cinema to watch a very long trailer of the game that was nothing new. Of course, this conservative idea of ​​not seeking no success but no mistakes. Will have a certain guarantee for the movie, but is this kind of movie that is completely consistent with the game really what players want?

Indeed, the game movie market is like a huge cake, and everyone wants a piece of it, but game movies are not the same as interpreting the game in movie language, and they are not game translators. Game movies are not the same as movie versions of games. After going through the stages of original, semi-original, and completely copied, there are also relatively successful works such as "Silent Hill". Finally, let's look forward to the "World of Warcraft" movie that Duncan Jones will bring us on June 8! I hope it can make a breakthrough and bring us a big surprise!

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.