Kikouken!

See, this is what I'm talking about. This is what we don't need.

Street Fighter has never been something I was all that interested in. I was more of a Mortal Kombat guy (I even liked the movie). The games were fun enough, but I only played 2 briefly. So when the new Street Fighter movie featuring Chun-Li (along with Street Fighter 4, which actually looks good) came out, I paid it no mind. As most video game movies are, I assumed it would be bad. And, bad it is, racking up a 0% favorable rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Considering the movie also wasn't screened for critics, I doubt the studio expected anything less.

Now, I'd argue that a fighting tournament game is probably not the best genre to make a movie out of. While most video game narratives aren't exactly robust, fighting games are even less likely to have a story anyone cares about. Unfortunately, that seems to be true for the rest of the video game world as well. I can't think of any video game movies that are even halfway decent, and most are absolutely terrible. It's a shame, too, because I think there are a bunch of games that would make great movies.

The problem, as I see it, is three fold. First and foremost, game narratives are not set up like movies or books. Often, the story only takes place in between bouts of action. One of the newest narrative forms is to scatter story "material" throughout levels, in the form of audio recordings, notes, etc. I assume this is to make the story feel more organic, as well as to let players who just want to play skip the story entirely. The problem, though, is that it certainly relegates the story to the background of the game. If you can choose to skip it, why make it all that compelling to begin with? It is the rare movie that depends on something other than plot, yet video games can exist entirely outside of plot (with a few exceptions). When the game experience is memorable mostly for instances of action, does story really stand a chance?

Second, the games with great stories often don't need movie adaptations. Unlike the static images of a comic book, when story is an important part of the game, it is played out on screen. For a game like Metal Gear Solid, why bother with a movie since the game already essentially is one? GTA has an amazing, movie-like presentation and storyline, so why bother adapting it/ Role playing games with sprawling worlds and intricate dialogue options face the same issue, but on a different level. Those stories are designed around player choice and actions, and often would not have the same resonance if the choice was removed from the equation.

Finally, many main characters in games don't really speak. They are supposed to be your avatar, a virtual representation of the player. Through almost a dozen Legend of Zelda games, Link hasn't spoken. How could you make a movie where your main charactern doesn't speak? And if a Zelda movie was made, and Link started talking, the fan boy outrage would threaten existence as we know it. In many ways, the main character of a game, though the most important part of the action, if often ancilary to the story being told. You are merely a conduit through which the story reveals itself, and that doesn't make for a particularly engaging film.

The challenge, then, is to create films around games with a good story that is not entirely fleshed out. Forget the Resident Evil bullshit, and focus on games where a movie would add to the mythos rather than slap a recognizable name on and go in a completely different direction than the game. At the same time, don't be a slave to the game. Make a Half Life movie that doesn't feature Gordan Freeman. Use the rich world that Bungie created with Halo, but have Master Chief play a supporting role. Make the movie a seperate part of the same franchise, one that is as important as the games but not merely a hackneyed re-hash of what we've already played. If you make a movie based on a first person shooter, don't have first person sequences in the movie (Doom, I'm looking at you). And, above all, choose the right games. Oh, and don't let Uwe Boll out of his cage. Ever.