Cinema and TV: the 5 best and worst adaptations from the world of video games
Cinema and TV
The recent release of The Last of Us collided directly with a typical stereotype that unites the dimension of video games to that of cinema and TV series. Basically almost all the adaptations coming from the videogame dimension have disappointed both the general public and the fans. The main fault of this vision can be found in all those films and products that over the years have tried to unite the two realities without ever really succeeding, generating transpositions that have not been able to restore the same sensations felt by the players, expanding them through expressive means different. Yet not all transpositions have gone bad in this sense, which is why we have decided to collect the 5 best and worst adaptations ever made from the world of video games.
Basically the world of video games and that of cinema and TV series they never got along too well, resulting in adaptations that many considered among the best and worst things ever made. The new HBO series has therefore reopened this debate by generating two distinct factions: on the one hand those who are still embittered by the previous experiments, and on the other the confident ones aware that not all the products released have garnered negative reactions.
So let's start with this new list, opening the dance with what are considered the 5 worst adaptations ever made by the world of video games, and then follow with the best. Reminding you that not everyone has Peter Jackson's talent, for example, in adapting things.
Cinema and TV: the 5 best and worst adaptations from the world of video games
1993 Super Mario Bros. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Assassin's Creed movie Hitman: Agent 47 Street Fighter The Witcher Cyberpunk: Edgerunners Arcane Castlevania Pokémon: Detective PikachuSuper Mario Bros. 1993
Directed by Rocky Morton and Annabelle Jankel, from a screenplay by Parker Bennet , Terry Runte , Ed Solomon, Super Mario Bros. del 1993 is the very first experiment ever made of contact between the world of video games and that of cinema, as well as the first attempt to transpose a video game to these levels. Starring Rob Hoskins as Mario and John Leguizamo as Luigi, the film was a huge flop at theaters with box office takings of around $38 million on a $42-48 million budget.Why didn't the general public appreciate such an attempt? Simple, this film even having the name and rights of the historic Nintendo character has taken a lot of liberties in the writing and adaptation phase, returning an adventure very far from what fans would have expected to find. The basic story is built on a rescue, but the biggest question mark is the context in which everything happens.
best worst video game adaptations After a meteorite crashes into Earth, two parallel realities are formed. So Mario and Luigi will find themselves having to carry out a particular mission in a sort of cyberpunk dystopian world, very far from the carefree and colorful context of the famous video games. The film, in fact, deviates from the infantile aura that we all know to implant the narration in a sort of context that hybridizes Blade Runner, Ghostbusters, with obvious contaminations also from the Wizard of OZ. A mix of chaotic and 90s elements that disturbed fans and the general public.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Released in 2010 and directed by Mike Newell, even Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was not appreciated at all by video game fans. While it didn't do badly at the box office, audiences turned up their noses at the set of elements that made up the film. Many did not digest the casting of Jake Gyllenhaal in the role of Prince Dastan (since he did not have the "right" features for a boy of Persian origins, getting closer to the stereotype of the Westerner who pretends to be what he is not), furthermore a series of fundamental changes in the story have moved the narrative towards an unprecedented direction that fans still today have not been able to fully understand.Thus from the dark story of a kingdom in ruins, they have drawn a sort of "fairy tale ” in which the balance of power within a royal family is destroyed by the existence of a legendary magical dagger. Not darkness and light, but human beings and greed. Unfortunately such an approach did not convince.
best worst videogame adaptations
The Assassin's Creed movie
It wasn't the first time that the Assassin's Creed saga moved away from its videogame origins, also because we're talking about a set of stories which over the years have also invaded the paper dimension with novels and books of various types. Its arrival in cinemas, therefore, could not but attract everyone's attention, fueling a hope that, in the end, did not satisfy those who saw it on the big screen.best worst video game adaptations The problem with Assassin's Creed wasn't so much the plot and the various differences, as much as the general aesthetic appeal. Many complained of a certain coldness in its composition and in the way in which they chose to carry out some narrative and action developments. All the differences with the legendary elements that have defined the saga on consoles have alienated fans, fueling harsh criticism and complaints even from the specialized press, which hasn't been slow to crush it.
