VIDEO GAMES TO FILM
Angelina Jolie + Daniel Craig in Tomb Raider, Mortal Kombat +
Last week unveiled a sneak peek inside the much-anticipated Mortal Kombat film. Starring Lewis Tan and Jessica McNamee, the film will reboot the 1990s adaptation of the film (spun-off from its infamous game franchise.) this April.
Sub Zero, Liu Kang, and over favorites were on hand for the trailer. And while fans await how the revamped version of the franchise goes, the attention that it drew highlights the many game-to-film series’ over the last couple of years.
Game-to-film transitions aren’t new, as game franchises have long been made into films. The difference? It’s a lot better. To fans and critics alike.
The aforementioned Mortal Kombat franchise offered two films in the ’90s. The first film sported a 46% review on rotten tomatoes. The second? 2%. Ditto for films such as Street Fighter and Mario, despite the following, failed to live up to the hype.
At points, the films were only made prominent by the names that were in them. Action star Jean Claude Van Damme played Guile in the Street Fighter franchise and Angelina Jolie played the lead in the original Tomb Raider films.
So for gaming enthusiasts, there’s been a hesitance to accept the films due to miscasting, animation errors, and storyline continuity.
Last year on Valentine’s Day, we saw the release of Sonic The Hedgehog, a film that drew many negative reviews even before its official release date. This film came after Detective Pikachu, a film that dropped at the peak of PokémonGo. A long way away from its iconic TV show.
Today, we now have many games that are in the works for the big screen. Two of Naughty Dog’s landmark games, The Last of Us and Uncharted will both turn live action.
With notable stars like Tom Holland and Pedro Pascal entering the rich history of video game lore, the entertainment industry rests in good hands, as concepts from the gaming universe are now unveiled for the world to see.
