Getting movie ideas from video games is expected at this point, kind of like them coming from books. There are some that should never be filmed, some that have the potential to be good, and some that just fall completely flat due to one thing or another. There are some that don’t turn out too bad, but that’s rare. Here are seven movies based on video games that should have remained on the cutting room floor. Oh and they are in no particular order.
1. Hitman – Released in 2007, this movie was based off the game of the same name. The main character, called Agent 47, was raised since birth to be an assassin, something he was very good at. The movie had a love interest of sorts but really wasn’t that interesting. I have to admit I never played the game so I can’t compare the two but as something I would ever watch again, this is one that won’t be on that list.
2. Doom – Loosely based on the game of the same title, this released in 2005 with The Rock as one of the main characters. If I remember right, this was back when people still wondered if he could act after wrestling (I think the acting question is still up in the air) and they still called him The Rock, instead of Dwayne Johnson. In the film the scientists on Mars are attacked and the RRTS is sent to take out the threat, secure the facility, and get back the property the scientists were working on. For the most part it didn’t do the game any justice except where Pinky ends up a monster in the wheelchair (that was in later versions of Doom) and Reaper’s first-person shoot-out with the monsters once he is injected with Chomosome 24. The rest of the film was nothing more than Aliens with a different name. Even watching Sarge (Johnson) change to a monster wasn’t cool.
3. BloodRayne – Truth be told, I liked it in the beginning. However as the movie went on, I just wanted it to end. The fight scenes were bland and sometimes, I thought, not realistic in any way. I know, I know most action movies have unrealistic scenes especially when fantasy is involved but this one really made me think of movies the actors in it had done better. It does boast some very famous names; Sir Ben Kingsley, Meat Loaf, Billy Zane, and Michelle Rodriguez; although even Kingsley thought the movie was crap once he saw it.
4. In the Name of the King: Dungeon Siege – A fantasy movie from 2007 I don’t remember much about other than I don’t know why I finished it. I have seen some bad fantasy movies but none as bad as this. The plot was so typical it was boring. The characters were outrageous (Ray Liotta as a wizard, um I don’t think so). Even Jason Statham, who I think does great action movies, was out of his element with this.
5. Double Dragon – One of the many fighting games that have been made into a movie. Yes, I know that action and fighting are exciting but some things should be left alone. Done in the mid-90’s, this one might be forgivable because its time period did not give it the chance many other gaming movies get these days as far as special effects go. The film even went as far as making the two Lee brothers have the same color outfits of Players 1 and 2 in the game. From what I do remember of Double Dragon, the movie really didn’t fit other than lots and lots of fighting.
6. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within – Can someone out there tell me how this is based off a video game other than the title? Don’t get me wrong, I actually like this movie, but I never did figure out how it’s related to a FF game? Because of that, I say watch once and then avoid. Unless you don’t think of it as a video game related movie, then you might like it.
I’m sure many of you will disagree with me and even more of you will think I missed some on this list. So tell me what you think is an avoidable video game movie.
