Best movie based on a videogame ever made.
Really, I'm not kidding. I was rather surprised. My wife & I saw "Halo: Forward Unto Dawn" recently, and it's shockingly good. The production values are fairly high, the acting is solid, the story is interesting & not all that predictable. It's also fairly intelligent and does not deal with all issues in a simplistic Hollywood fashion. It's also lore-respectful for those familiar with the Halo Universe.
If you've played the games, this is the 'bridge' between Halo 3 & Halo 4. If the film has a weakness, it might be that someone going into it completely blind would likely be confused about the context. But most of the story is self-contained enough that I don't think it would be a huge issue.
Anyway, when I saw this was actually made by Microsoft without any direct Hollywood involvement, I realized that's likely why it doesn't even come close to sucking. Tinseltown has proven over the decades that they are utterly incapable of adapting good game stories to the big screen.
If you've played the games, this is the 'bridge' between Halo 3 & Halo 4. If the film has a weakness, it might be that someone going into it completely blind would likely be confused about the context. But most of the story is self-contained enough that I don't think it would be a huge issue.
Anyway, when I saw this was actually made by Microsoft without any direct Hollywood involvement, I realized that's likely why it doesn't even come close to sucking. Tinseltown has proven over the decades that they are utterly incapable of adapting good game stories to the big screen.
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http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/news/a374278/angry-birds-animated-series-confirmed-for-2012-movie-after-2014.html
That's gonna be a gem.
Flawless victory!
Also it's Mortal Kombat.
The movie, the first one, was pretty good. The soundtrack kicked ass and it introduce me to that great metal band, Fear Factory.
Yeah, this was probably the best one I've seen.
Seems like they are all given to guys like Uwe so they can f*** them up completely.
PS. Actually, if we count the first Resident Evil movie (the rest of them sucked -so- bad) in this, then I certainly vote for it as the best movie based on a video game!
PPS. OP - You talk about that new Halo movie. I personally didn't like it. Horrible actors, horrible acting and only thing going for it in my books was good CGI. But that wasn't enough to save it. That Silent Hill movie was also quite terrible.
I didn't think anyone sucked and there were many good performances. Max Carver as Cadmon Lasky gave a particularly nuanced performance as the main character's older brother. When he was relaying on a vid his engagement with some insurrectionists, though his words were all 'Rah Rah, we're fighting the good fight', his eyes and his body language conveyed his pain & confusion at what he had actually done. I thought Tom Green as Cadet Lasky not only had a solid American accent (in the outtakes he talks in his normal voice & it's British), he brought across the conflict the character was going through very well.
Story wise, his reveals were done very well, the intro with Cortana was engaging ("I've got to think..." "Thinking is what's *killing* you!" Great line.), and even with as familiar as I am with the Master Chief & his character, his first introduction is gripping & dramatic. I could go on & on, but I'll avoid TL;DR territory.
Suffice to say, next to 2009's "Moon" and 2010's "Inception" it stands out as one of the better Sci-Fi films of recent years.
Good point! If I remember right, I would agree with you! That "brother" pulled his role more than well, but the rest of the cast was bad. Come on, I facepalmed when I saw that poor effing.. girl from "The hunger game" or what was it?
Also, their acting squad leader was just terrible to watch/listen to. If we go into the action, then I will say that it was quite bad too (especially the slow-mos.)
Off-topic: Moon was awesome! I would not say the same for Inception though...
1. The reactions the kids/soldiers have when they see the Master Chief - like they never saw or heard of a Spartan ever. This is also strengthened from the reactions they have from the classified vid they watch, when they are asking themselves "what is that?" when they see glimpses of Master Chief. If this was taking place between Halo 3 and 4, Spartans wouldn't be so rare and unknown.
2. When the Covenant attack, the overall feeling and atmosphere is that they are a completely new threat to humanity - nobody seems to know what they are or where they came from.
The only evidence that the movie takes place around Halo 4, is that one of the main characters is Thomas Lasky as a child - the Captain of the UNSC Infinity in the Halo 4 game. For the story it was trying to tell, it seemed completely off-base.
As for best video game movie in my opinion - The Resident Evil movies proved to be the most entertaining. I also enjoyed TRON, especially Legacy. I still think a Starcraft and Half Life would make excellent films, along with WH40K. and am hoping the Warcraft movie is actually still going to be released. Looks like Blizzard approaches development time and release dates with with films, the same way it does with games...
And of course the movie would have a new version released every month for story corrections, although Hollywood actually seems to be following this practice already. Just check how many versions of Blade Runner and Starwars have been released over the years
1) Resident Evil (first 3)
2) Silent Hill
3) Mortal Kombat
I think this is probably also close to matching how well they did in theaters as well. Horror films based on video games seem to make the easiest transition to film. For Halo to top the first 2 would be incredibly surprising for me. I do love a good sci-fi film though, so I'll have to check it out.
I suppose Dungeon Siege wasn't terrible, especially when you consider it's a Boll flick.