The recent premiere of the Paramount film adds a new video game franchise that goes through the cinema. Which are the most remembered?
When the trailer for Sonic The Movie was posted on the net, the reaction was unanimous: the character's design had not liked. Given this situation, director Jeff Fawler announced that the premiere would be delayed until February 14, with the aim of being able to address the redesign, something that finally materialized in a protagonist closer to that of video games. Criticism has been divided between the defenders and detractors of a film, which however has garnered 95% in Rotten Tomatoes (user criticism).
At the speed of vertigo, SEGA's blue hedgehog has taken all the rings and has become the number 1 box office, and not just in the United States. According to the first figures, the real action tape starring Sonic has been the most watched in Spanish cinemas, above great premieres such as Parasites, which won the Oscar for Best Film and has the honor of being the first film of He doesn't speak English to take that award.
Movies based on video games have not had it easy in the awards, since few have gone down in history for their quality. Even so, in one way or another, some have been recorded in the memory of the spectators, not always for the same reasons. The oldest ones, like the classic Super Mario, stood out for their extravagant style, while works like Silent Hill did capture the atmosphere of video games. As films, the films of the German director Uwe Boll stand as the example that should not be followed. But beyond that, the production has been vast and prolonged. Next, we offer a selection of these films.
Sonic The Movie
Super Mario in flesh and blood
No, Super Mario Bros. did not succeed at the box office or in criticism. However, after a while, he acquired a kind of cult status. It was released in 1993 and is considered the first movie based on a video game. Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo were responsible for embodying Mario and Luigi respectively. On paper, the story is typical of Mario's titles. Princess Daisy, played by Samantha Mathis, has been kidnapped by Bowser (Dennis Hopper).
The two Italian plumbers will have to risk their lives to save her. The production stands out for the strange design of characters like Bowser, which in no way resembles that of Nintendo titles. The context is also extravagant, pointing to the fact that the meteorite that extinguished the dinosaurs was the architect of the creation of a parallel world in which the king of the koopas governs with the evil that characterizes him.
Bowser in Super Mario Bros.
Street Fighter, one last battle that remains
That Jean-Claude Van Damme is the protagonist of a Street Fighter movie is the first point to consider, but it is not the only feature of the film. Singer Kylie Minogue made a stellar appearance in this production, daughter of the nineties and premiered only one year after it was made by Super Mario Bros. Like the plumber's film, it stands out for its extravagance and for its ninety-style. It was conceived as an action movie that starts from the premise that the evil Mr. Bison (Raul Julia), kidnaps and holds more than seventy civilians hostage. Its objective? May the Allied Nations do what he demands.
In the movie, well-known characters from the Capcom game fight to end Mr. Bison's threat. Thus, Guille (Jean-Claude Van Damm), Chun Li (Ming-Na), Ken (Damian Chapa), Ryu (Byron Mann), Vega (Jay Tavare) and company set off to start the fight. As in the case of Super Mario, he shared the devastating reception by critics and users, since it was considered one of the worst films of 1994. Over time, the situation was sweetening, so there is still a lot people who remember her today.
Street fighter.
Final Fantasy: The Inner Force, the movie that almost ruined Squaresoft
In the heat of the good moment that lived the Final Fantasy saga, the old Squaresoft opened a new division known as Square Pictures, destined to shoot films based on its franchise. With Final Fantasy: The Inner Force, Squaresoft and Hironobu Sakaguchi, creator of the saga, put all the meat on the grill. They spent about 137 million dollars to create a three-dimensional experience that had not been done until then. However, the premiere in 2001 was not the desired one. In addition to the bad reviews, the followers of the saga did not find recognizable elements of the video games in the film, beyond that it was a fantasy with touches of science fiction.
Final Fantasy, the franchise that had saved Squaresoft from bankruptcy, repaid the loan with interest. It only raised about 85 million euros, so it put the company in a real squeeze, which eventually became absorbed by Enix. Already under the name of Square Enix, the company began a new stage in which Sakaguchi would not last long. During the development of Final Fantasy XII, he announced his departure from the company he had been in for a lifetime. Anyway, The Inner Force was not the last movie. Tetsuya Nomura directed Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children, sequel to the Squaresoft classic.
Final Fantasy The Inner Force
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
The adventure cinema fit the universe Tomb Raider, a video game starring an archaeologist in the style of Indiana Jones. It was in 2001 when Angelina Jolie sheathed herself in Lara's suit and began to pursue her father's mysterious past in fiction. On his journey through the world, he must recover the Triangle of Light, an artifact capable of altering time. How could it be otherwise, Croft is not the only person actively looking for the device, as the dangerous Illuminati also await their moment.
This film was successful enough to give the green light to a sequel in 2003, also starring Jolie. Later, the saga was fallow until they recovered the figure of Lara Croft, this time from the hand of Alicia Vikander, who will play the character again in a sequel.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Silent Hill, very faithful to video games
Frenchman Christophe Gangs was responsible for adapting Silent Hill to the big screen in 2006. Inspired by the first game, the film features Sean Bean (Christopher) and Radha Mitchell (Rose) in the role of protagonists. Their daughter, Sharon (Jodelle Ferland) falls victim to terrible nightmares, in which she often pronounces a name: Silent Hill. His parents, very worried, have different opinions about what to do next. Rose, meanwhile, will take the initiative and take her daughter to Silent Hill.
Shortly after setting foot in the town you will notice that something is wrong. An alarm sounds, the city changes, is filled with blood and horrific creatures. Ash falls from the sky, as if it were snow. The film manages to capture the essence of the video game, includes the soundtrack of Akira Yamaoka, recovers classic enemies (nurses, Pyramid Head, etc.) and opts for a visual design that, curiously, was imitated in later video games of the franchise. Silent Hill received an official sequel, but it will not be the last, as Christophe Gangs himself has acknowledged working on a third film.
Silent hill
Resident Evil, the reverse path to Silent Hill
If Silent Hill was a feature film very close to video games, at least in essence, Resident Evil quickly slipped away from them. Paul W.S. Anderson, who will also be responsible for the Monster Hunter adaptation, relies on Milla Jovovich (Alice in fiction) to move this zombie story to the cinema. It is a saga focused on unbridled action, which incorporates characters known as Jill Valentine or Claire Redfield, throughout a very prolific series of films, which includes Resident Evil (2002), Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Resident Evil: Extinction (2007), Resident Evil Afterlife (2010), Resident Evi: Retribution (2012) and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016).
The criticism was not especially benevolent, but the first film got a nomination for the Saturn Awards in the category of best horror film.
Resident Evil.
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, a curious mix
There are many movies based on Pokémon, although they all start from the official anime. However, Detective Pikachu (2019) is different. Rob Letterman's film moves these creatures to the real world and brings them together with flesh and blood actors. Tim Goodman (Justice Smith), son of coach and policeman Harry Goodman, lives sadly the disappearance of his father. A day like any other, upon returning home, he bumps into a talkative Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds). The truly mysterious thing is that Tim is the only one able to understand it, since the others hear the usual little voice of the Pokémon, that is, the characteristic “Pika-Pika”.
Detective Pikachu.
According to IMBD Box Office Mojo, the film has triumphed at the box office, with a collection of more than $ 433 million worldwide. The adventure, full of action elements, is enriched by the appearance of many different Pokémon, all of them represented with great detail.
The cinema has given many more productions on video games, tapes of all kinds that have rarely met expectations. Need for Speed, Warcraft, Prince of Persia, The King of Fighters, Phoenix Wright, Tekken, Max Payne, Hitman, Dead Space, Doom or Dead or Alive are just some of the titles that have passed through the cinema screen. Surely, in the future there will be many more franchises that join the already extensive catalog of movies based on video games. Uncharted, who lives his particular curse, will be one of them. According to Tom Holland, who will play Nathan Drake, the script is very worthwhile. Time will tell.
