The formula seems perfect. Take a popular video game, turn it into a movie, and legions of video games will flock to see their favorite characters come to life on film. Unfortunately, most video games make for lousy movies.
Here’s an article to read about “why video games make lousy movies“. The basic argument behind the failure of video games to translate into hit movies likes solely with the inability to create a compelling story.
Many video games have stories, but most movies based on video games tend to focus solely on action and special effects. There’s only so much mindless action you can watch before audiences want to see the next spectacle in 3-D, SurroundSound, or any other gimmick designed to freshen up the dreariness of special effects that no longer amaze by their existence alone.
In the early days of film, people were amazed at just watching a movie of a train pulling into a station. No story, just something they’ve never seen before.
Special effects are like that. You have to keep showing something people haven’t seen before and when that runs out, then you don’t have any interest. On the other hand, if you create a compelling story, the quality of the special effects can be average, yet still tell a great story.
The bottom line is that Hollywood keeps failing to realize how important a story can be. Omit a compelling story and everything becomes one visual spectacle after another like “Clash of the Titans.” Take a good story without any special effects and you’ll create a more interesting story than a movie with special effects and no story whatsoever.
The lesson is simple. Create a story. Even Hollywood keeps forgetting this basic lesson over and over again.
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