But despite this, video game films are released almost too often and some of us aren't even aware of it. Its likely because for the most part these films are released straight to home media so therefore only the fans would know of it. Of course we also have to remember that some of the most beloved game franchises all come from Japan so most of the films based on those games would be considered Anime if nothing else.
Now in recent years, the film industry has decided to try it again based on how well the superhero genre is doing because many of us may not know this, but that genre was once not taken as seriously as it is today. So maybe there is hope for video game films to be at the standard of other films and actually be as good if not better than the actual video games themselves.
2016 which itself was a controversal year overall, saw the release of four video game films that many thought would actually be good. None of them ended up being good in the end, but some good came out of some of them. In The Angry Birds Movie (which itself was just an exteneded version of the trailer) it felt very much like the original game to the point where they use the slingshot and give the birds and pigs some faithful designs with the addition of limbs. In Ratchet & Clank, the whole film looked and felt like the games but just ended up being too generic and recycled for its own good which ironically made the game based on the film that was released at the same time to be better. In Assassin's Creed, the casting was good and they actually did something original with the Animus technology so that it can't be too much like The Matrix and in its defence it was the least bad film of that year. It was just too dull and boring and failed to get a grasp on the historical element that the video games do a much better job at.
But that was in 2016 and I consider Warcraft to be the worst of those four films purely because of it being CGI overkill and something that fans will like but everyone else won't get at all. Two years later and we would get two films that at the time of their release, were considered the best reviewed video game films of all time. The first was Tomb Raider which already had some films made of which weren't too bad, but many will agree that the games are better all day long. The film was based on the more recent trilogy in the video game series (itself being a prequel to the first game in that trilogy) and many thought it was great, but still needed a fair bit of work. The second film was Rampage which was only loosely based on the video game and was ok, but again needed some work (especially on the villains).
But if films like Wreck-It Ralph and Ready Player One can do gaming well, then surely the films based on one video game can be done well right? Except the difference is that both those films had the advantage of not being based on a video game and instead using original characters (though technically this isn't true for the first film, but the story is more about life within the arcade than in the world of the game itself) thus meaning that the film makers could do anything while making sure the pop culture in those films are well represented.
So who knows, maybe this year's video game films will be great. Though as I said, there is a fine line to what we want and what the film makers want. And knowing that Sonic the Hedgehog is being made by Paramount (who have had a history of not doing well with many films based on beloved franchises) is a sign that it probably may not be good. But knowing that they are devoted to make it the best film it can be, can only mean good things I'm sure. We will just have to wait and see.
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