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'Resident Evil: Afterlife' and Five Video Games We Want to See on the Big Screen
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Action/Adventure, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Sequels
"Resident Evil: Afterlife" hits AMC theatres tomorrow in standard, 3D and IMAX 3D. This will be the fourth film in the "Resident Evil" franchise.
The "Resident Evil" films are interesting, we think, because they represent the dawn of the modern era of films based on video games. Prior to "Resident Evil," (or really, "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider," if you want to be more specific) most films that attempted to adapt video games were disasters both cinematically and financially.
The early 1990s gave us such bombs as "Super Mario Bros,." "Mortal Kombat" and "Street Fighter," and for a time, it looked like a solid video game adaptation might never actually surface. To be fair, video games based on movies have a pretty lousy track record too.
While most films based on video games don't have the success of the "Resident Evil" series, the tide is turning for studios to take adapting video games more seriously. In the last few years we've seen films like "Max Payne," "Hitman" and "Prince of Persia" all do solid jobs of bringing the ethos of the underlying game to the big screen. "Kane & Lynch," starring Bruce Willis and Jamie Foxx is slated to hit the big screen next year.
Part of the reason that the "Resident Evil" films are successful is because of the underlying story and artful cinematics in the games themselves. I remember playing the original "Resident Evil" for PlayStation back in 1997 or 1998 and jumping out of my skin at 3 am when the pack of rabid Rottweilers jumped out from behind some shadows.
Keeping that in mind, here are five of our favorite video games that we think should be given the big screen treatment. I mean, hey, if "Rollercoaster Tycoon" can be a movie...
Watch the trailer for Red Dead Redemption and I think you'll understand why one of the hottest games of 2010 is on our list.
Set in 1911 in the American Old West, the game is about former outlaw John Marston. When his wife and son are taken hostage by the government, he has to work for the government in tracking down his old gang members in order to bring them to justice.
To us, this is what "Jonah Hex" should have been.
Grand Theft Auto is a famously controversial game, this is true. It also has a great storyline and is insanely addictive. Sometimes playing the bad guy, sometimes playing a cop pretending to be a bad guy, the games take place in different cities and different scenarios.
The storyline is perfectly ripe for the big screen, as you can see from the trailer for GTA: IV. Although there have been rumors in the past about a big screen version of the game, nothing concrete has ever been finalized.
Mafia II was just released for consoles and PC and the game might as well be a movie in and of itself. Featuring voice acting from well-known Italian actors and a total "Goodfellas" vibe. In Mafia II, you play as Vito Scaletta, the son of Sicilian immigrants who rises up the ranks of the Falcone Crime Family, finally becoming a made man. The game is set from 1943-1951 in the fictional town of Empire Bay.
As we said, the games might as well be movies already, but a proper "Mafia" film would be fantastic, if only because frankly, we need another mob movie. "Casino" was a long time ago and as great as "The Departed" was, that was the Irish mob, not the Italian mob.
Considered by some to be the best video game of all-time, the cyberpunk-themed action RPG Deus Ex is a first-person shooter and a role-playing game rolled into one. It takes place in 2050 in a dystopic society and follows a rookie UN agent as he tries to stop terrorist forces.
Deus Ex: Invisible War, which we've embedded the trailer of above, is equally good and this time follows the aftermath of a terrorist attack that has destroyed Chicago.
The games are gritty, have compelling storylines and do something that very few games can claim: Make you think.
Last, but certainly not least, we come to The Legend of Zelda. First appearing on the NES in 1987, the Zelda series has watched Link trek through Hyrule in search of Princess Zelda.
Sounds silly, but play some of the games -- especially The Ocarina of Time and The Twilight Princess and the lore and game goes a lot further and a lot deeper.
Our only fear with a Zelda game is that it would end up like "Final Fantasy" and totally not get the basic underlying story.
What video games would you like to see as movies? Let us know in the comments!
Don't forget you can get tickets to see "Resident Evil: Afterlife" in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D now!
