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Axel Strohm
European Correspondent

Games Turning Into Movies

I'm surprised and disappointed by the predominantly negative response that the recent Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy feature films have received from video game players.

Yes, we all share bad, nearly traumatic memories of previous video game movies like Super Mario Bros. or Street Fighter. But those were also the days when big companies like Time Warner tried to step into the games industry. Such efforts ended in disaster--the games industry was too ambitious when it came to bringing games to the silver screen. The big film and entertainment companies like Time Warner eventually accepted that they couldn't be successful in this industry by simply buying other companies. It takes more than money to get into the games industry, and the same goes for turning games into good movies. However, at the same time, it's important to consider that movies like Super Mario Bros. were early attempts at turning games into movies. I'm surprised that some people seem to think Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy were no better. People think these movies tarnished the reputations of their favorite games.

Did she know it wasn't going to bomb?

I can't imagine why they'd think so. Games are an entertainment industry. Over the last few years, the games industry has collectively fought very hard to gain recognition as a legitimate entertainment medium and be more accepted and respected in the public at large. Particularly in light of issues that have come up over violence in video games, it's been a tough battle. Meanwhile, movies have the distinct advantage of being able to reach a huge audience that still isn't familiar with video games--movies can bring video game worlds and characters to new people.

Exploring the video game content differently: Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within.

Now, when we look at Tomb Raider the movie, which seemingly everyone thought would be dead in the water, we must accept that it's the first movie based on a game that featured competent actors, marketing, special effects, and overall quality. Sure, no one thinks it's the best movie ever made--Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy aren't Indiana Jones and Blade Runner, but still, they're an essential step in the right direction.

Hironobu Sakaguchi took the best possible approach for Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, which was to go with totally new characters set in a totally new world that had nothing in particular to do with the games. In some ways, there was no question whether the movie did the games justice, because it wasn't based on them. But the movie did share some of the themes and the basic sensibility of the games. So while the movie could have easily been called something other than Final Fantasy, it undoubtedly served to get some people interested in the Final Fantasy games (and, in turn, in video games in general) and therefore helped give the games industry more, better exposure.

Milla Jovovich playing Alice in the upcoming Resident Evil movie--seductive.

	Axel's Now Playing Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec, Operation: Flashpoint, Twisted Metal: Black Recent Favorites Escape From Monkey Island, Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare, Red Faction All-Time Favorites Perfect Dark, Twisted Metal 2

Paul Anderson, director of the upcoming Resident Evil movie, has taken the same approach regarding the story and setting of the movie. He said in interviews that he wants to maintain a sense of tension throughout the movie, and in order to be able to do so, he had to come up with new characters and new story elements--otherwise gamers would know what happens in the end. Specifically, Paul Anderson said in an interview with a British film magazine: "There was no point in using the Jill Valentine character from the first Resident Evil game, as the fans would know she wasn't going to be killed because she pops up in the later games. The suspense dynamic of who is going to live, who is going to die, and what people's allegiances are was only going to work with new characters." That makes a lot of sense.

Still, for some reason, people seem to want movies based on games to be exactly the same as the games they're based on. But I'm excited to see that games, their characters, and their stories are finally pushing into other media. They deserve to.

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