When video games go to the big screen
“Assasin’s Creed” and “Final Fantasy” are just a couple of the video games trending towards screen life. | PC: deviantart.org
Recently, more and more movie adaptations of video games are popping up. “Hardcore Henry” was released in April this year and “Assassin’s Creed” will be released this December. “Resident Evil,” “Final Fantasy” and “Mortal Combat” are also examples of video games made into movies previously.
However, Hollywood is having a hard time getting videogame based movies to accurately reflect the source material.
Sometimes Hollywood adaptations can have a large effect on the original material. After the movie “Hunger Games” was released, many people who wouldn’t have read the books before suddenly felt the urge to read the whole series. Movies have the potential to build up a fandom for the franchise or to dissuade newcomers.
“Prince of Persia” began as a video game franchise. It was made into a movie released in 2010. After the movie release, the video game suffered because the movie failed to include signature components of the games, like the all important parkour aspect, and fans were disappointed. “Prince of Persia” had never had the following that “Call of Duty” has, but after the movie came to theaters, the fan base dwindled into a small devoted cult following.
The “Tomb Raider” franchise was a beloved series of video games adapted into a movie in 2001 featuring Angelina Jolie as Lara Croft that fans enjoyed. However, Hollywood took it a step too far and made a second “Tomb Raider” movie. Fans of the franchise were incredibly disappointed with the second because it had no relevance to the storyline of the game series and was vastly under budgeted.The Lara Croft character from the movies wasn’t the one gamers had fallen in love with.
However, despite the horrible second movie, the “Tomb Raider” franchise wasn’t ultimately harmed. In 2013, a new “Tomb Raider” game was released, followed by another in 2015. These new games tell the story of Lara Croft before the storylines of the original games and the movies. “Tomb Raider” has survived beyond its movie adaptations.
Douglas Sheese, a senior general studies major, was surprised and glad to find that “Assassin’s Creed” is becoming a movie. He explained, “As long as they do a good job, I feel it’s a good thing.”
He feels even if the movie is bad, it can still attract newcomers. He went on to comment, “I also like [how] they incorporate history.” This is another aspect of the series, that if not emphasized in the movies, could lead to displeasure from its fanbase.
Jean Christian Toure, a junior computer science major, commented the movie is “going to be amazing.” He’s optimistic the movie will only serve to promote the game in the eyes of the public.
“Assassin’s Creed” is one of the most beloved and popular video game franchises. Its fan base is large and diverse. Even if the movie should do horribly in theaters, and fail to accurately portray the franchise, the video games aren’t likely to suffer much. The games have too much widespread appeal on their own to be influenced much by the movie. But lovers of the series are eagerly waiting to see how Hollywood has adapted this iconic franchise.
Sara Roberts is a junior studying business administration.