The Firing Squad has taken on a tired-and-true topic -- the quality of video game movies. The article, "From CPU to Cinema: Why Unforgettable Games Make Unforgivable Films", hits... all the same bases. Here's the trick: this one is part of a contest to decide who the popular gaming site's next editor should be. What does it say about our favorite series?
Take for instance the cinematization of Wing Commander a series of games whose major strongpoint was the gripping storyline that played itself out in a series cut-scenes as you progressed through the games. You grew to care about the characters, brought to life in later installments by such wonderful actors as John Rhys- Davies and Mark Hamill, as they battled alongside you tooth and nail( or mass driver cannon, and heat-seeking, missile as the case may be) against the relentless Kilrathi, while each dealing with the harsh realities of war in their own ways. The story driven action is what made the Wing Commander games a hit, yet when Wing Commander the movie arrived in theaters the storyline followed in the games was completely discarded and replaced by a helter-skelter plot about a long lost tribe of discriminated space navigators and a one dimensional, evil alien, crew obsessed with getting their paws on a human navigational computer. None of the games’ actors were even present and those that reprised their roles came off as second rate at best.
None were present and those that reprised their roles? Regardless of your feelings about Wing Commander in particular, we have... seen... this... before. Vote accordingly!
Follow or Contact Us