Favorite Video Game Movie Adaptation?

[Diablo4485]

Granted, many of them have been less than satisfactory, but that doesn't mean we can't enjoy them. So, which one is your favorite?

I'd have to say that the original Mortal Kombat is mine. Yes, some big points in the story were changed and they seriously neutered my favorite character (Sub-Zero), but IMHO this is the video game adaptation that's made the most solid transition to film. That, and I've got a definite soft spot for martial arts movies.

[Froggore]

I would have give my vote to the Final Fantasy movie: Spirits Within. I know it's not one of the greatest movies, but it's leaps and bounds over Super Mario Bros. or the Resident Evil movies. I'm a fan of the first Mortal Kombat movie too (but not the second, good god not the second) so that would have to get second place.

[Diablo4485]

True, Final Fantasy was also good, but I felt that it lacked the feeling of extravagance that the series always offered. Not putting down the visuals at all, but having everything take place in a wasteland setting wasn't at all what I was expecting when I first heard they were making it.

Doubly agreed on the second Mortal Kombat movie. They tried to cram too much story and too many characters into it and seemingly didn't give a carp about the story, resulting in what was essentially an elongated Power Rangers episode. I won't lie, I wept openly when I first saw it. :(

[Froggore]

Yes, I would've liked more of a fantasy setting for the FF (Final Fantasy in this thread) movie. Something more like FF9, with mages and airships and such.

The thing I remember most about the second MK movie is that I didn't like that the different actors for Johnny Cage and Sonya. But I only had to deal with half of that for the whole time because Johnny died within the first 5 minutes.

I just wish that the powers that be would pick a more cinematic game to make into a movie. That's just what makes the most sense to me. Take a game that already feels like a movie, and make a movie. It's got to be easier than trying squeeze dialogue and a decent story out of a fighting game or a Mario game. I think Half-life(1+2) is the perfect example of a game that should be made into a movie. That game just feels like a sci-fi action thriller. Not only was the gameplay excellent, but trying to uncover the plot was what really kept me going. The Metal Gear Solid series would make an excellent movie too.

[Diablo4485]

I think that adapting a game with a cinematic feel to it into an actual movie would be a bit redundant. If you already feel like you've watched a movie, why make a movie on top of it? True, there's merchandising and ticket sales and whatnot, but in the end I think it'd just end up harming the credibility of the involved parties.

As for it being difficult to squeeze enough of a story from a fighting game in order to make a feature, I'll have to disagree. While I'm not familiar with ALL fighting games I know of several that would make spectacular movies with the proper care. Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat (seriously deserve remakes), and Soul Edge/Calibur are the only ones I'm at all familiar with plot-wise, but I definitely see a lot of potential in them for story and character development. I'm by far the most familiar with Mortal Kombat out of these, and I can picture a huge story arc spanning multiple movies for Sub-Zero and associated characters alone (Sub-Zero I and II, Smoke, Scorpion, Noob Saibot, Sektor, etc.), but of course that's all nothing but the delusions of a somewhat disappointed fanboy. The point: there's a great deal of potential in the more standard games to make a great film, but like any other project it requires the proper care in order to be properly developed.