There’s always been a huge problem with making video game franchises into movies, the situation handled so badly it’s never come out well. Over the past few years, we’ve heard a whole plethora of intellectual properties in the video gaming world are being churned out into money grabbing movies. Below is a list of video games and video game franchises that I think could make fantastic movies.
Duke Nukem
Okay, hear me out. It seemed like Duke Nukem had died a slow unpleasant death until the last few years when he saw a revival in the form of the Duke Nukem Forever, a game twelve years in the making. Needless to say, it didn’t live up to the hype. I think the character needs a proper send off in the form of a film exploring the death of the macho character, the removal of the 90s badass from the cultural zeitgeist.
Dark Souls
Dark Souls is known for two things: its grueling difficulty and its wealth of backstory. In the game, the huge tapestry of narrative created for it is left behind the action, only really there for those who want to seek it out. A film could bring out the story, exploring the dark fantasy narrative. They’d probably have to ruin it, dumb it down so they could let kids in.
The Binding Of Issac
This one is screaming out for an animated short, something to explore the hugely open ended, almost entirely silent narrative. There are a lot of ways to interpret this game and I think a film would be another great way of doing so.
Manhunt
A game that has never been far from controversy, Manhunt could make a terrific film. Either some sort of standard thriller, a lone man forced to snuff people out for the sick pleasure of a chain of people that goes right to the top, or a suspenseful horror that explores the effect of mass killing on a reluctant mind.
Broken Sword
As an adventure game, this one is already heavily story focused. A Broken Sword film could feature the trademark style and humour of the game while placing it all in a non-interactive context. It could hail a revival of the noir archetype, the detective and femme fatale exposing huge levels of corruption they’ve somehow been dragged into.
Devil May Cry
This one’s easy. A balls-to-the-wall action film featuring insane ninja-esque fighting/gunplay and a story satirising modern American culture. Think The Matrix but better and with more demons.
Lollipop Chainsaw
This one could either be taken at face value, using the approach of the Devil May Cry film above and pairing it with a clueless blonde. Or, it could attempt what the game did, turn the blonde archetype on its head while bringing some comedy zombie gore to the table as well.
Bulletstorm
With some impressive directing (I’m thinking Edgar Wright) and cinematography, I feel like this could be made into a very funny action movie. The points system could be used to highlight the silliness inherent in watching a movie where wave after wave of people are easily destroyed by the main anti-hero.
Dishonoured
While I wouldn’t suggest attempting this movie in first person like the game (although that would be cool if pulled off correctly) Dishonoured has a huge amount of style and atmosphere that I adored. Hopefully the second game will be able to utilise it better, or maybe a film could.
Red Faction
This one is prime and ready for the movie treatment. Red Faction could be a brilliant movie exploring the politics behind the rebel vs. government archetype. That, and it would have plenty of explosions.
What do you think about this? Is it just physically impossible to turn something you experience yourself through a controller into a compelling movie or are we just doing it all wrong, completely missing what could be a great thing? Sound off in the comments below to let us know what game you think could make the perfect movie.
