Video Games That Should Become Full-Length Movies

After having completed my second movie script based off of a video game, I gave deep thought as to what my next video game movie should be. Well, I won’t start writing it right away (not until after Big Thunder, my murder mystery aboard a cruise, and perhaps my urban remake of Psycho), but I’ll definitely be giving it some thought throughout the writing process of the other movies. I am surprised the gaming industry has not translated that well into the movie industry, since there are so many spectacular ideas, setting the potential for some incredible movies. The only video game movie that was mildly, mediocrely decent was the animated Street Fighter II movies ions ago—which even then wasn’t that special. But Hollywood, I am here to help you. I have compiled a list of movies based off of video games that should happen. To add to that, I am also going to place which director should be involved in helming the script. Here we go:

Honorable Mention:
1) Halo (Come on, how would this NOT make money?)
2) Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (Not sure if a movie based off a game that is essentially remake of every crime time movie we’ve ever seen would be such a bright idea)
3) Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (This would be cool, with the speech bubbles popping up all over the flick)



#15: Viewtiful Joe
Director: Edgar Wright
Viewtiful Joe is a franchise that never quite lifted off the ground even though it has the potential of becoming something extremely special. Maybe it was the mix of the backstabbing Capcom performed on Nintendo back in the Gamecube days and poor marketing that led to no Viewtiful Joe gameplay this generation. Nonetheless, the idea of a superhero that works his superpowers within the confides of a movie would be awesome. Imagine that, a movie inside a movie. Also imagine all the genres that can be reworked and spoofed---from science fiction to action to even the good ol’ western. Edgar Wright, whose directing credits include Hot Fuzz and the upcoming Scott Pilgrim, has shown time and time again he has the creativity to pull off multiple genres in one flick, as well as overload it with fun little details for the experienced moviegoers to enjoy.

P.S. I would cast one of the X-Games athletes for the role of Viewtiful. They have the attitude for it.




#14: Devil May Cry
Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Who better than the director of Hellboy to helm a movie based off of a game about a demon hunter that sports a nifty swords and cool weapons? Devil May Cry’s signature frenzied and intense action can definitely be re-crated for the IMAX screens with the help of Del Toro, who has a knack for filming action sequences but also drift away from CGI in favor of advanced technology in make-up design.




#13: Guitar Hero III
Director: Liam Lynch
The premise is simple: band wants to rise to the top, eventually do, have a downfall, and the climax includes a guitar duel against the devil in Hell. The opportunity to bring the best of rock music past and present into one movie would make this a new generation Blues Brothers—except with rock. This sort of collaboration amongst rock bands has never really happened, and its about time that the Gods of rock and heavy metal work together in creating the ultimate musical experience of the big screen. Guitar Hero III’s playlist was the best, and also had the best storyline. On imagine the notes flying towards you in 3-D!! Totally kidding.

P.S. Liam Lynch directed the Tenacious D movie, as well as a few music videos



#12: Kingdom Hearts
Director: John Lasseter
Lasseter, time to get off your high horse, and start directing again. While Toy Story 3 was spectacular, it still lacked the humor that was undoubtedly present in the first two. Now if you are a true Disney fan, you would bring this to the big screen, and mix in all the lovely little details about old-school Disney that only true true true fans would know about. Lasseter is the head of Disney Animation and claims to really know the business of old-school Disney. With Kingodm Hearts and its massive variety of places to visit, this would be his ultimate test. If successful, then we would all reap in the rewards.

P.S. This movie should be computer animated



#11: Perfect Dark
Director: Michael Bay
I know. I am not the biggest fan of Michael Bay, but give him a good script and he will give you a good movie. Remember The Rock? That was Michael Bay at his best, because the screenplay was phenomenal, with even the likes of Tarantino working on it. If somebody can write a great screenplay about Joanna Dark then we have ourselves a potentially awesome sci-fi epic. Re-create the great soundtrack and eerie futuristic mood of the game and we have ourselves an instant winner. Just don’t put much emphasis on the alien part of the storyline.

P.S. Emily Blunt should be Joanna Dark. Just saying.



#10: Zombies Ate My Neighbors!
Director: Sam Raimi
Now, the director of the Evil Dead franchise would be absolutely perfect for this movie. Two kids blasting away zombies with squirt guns and soda cans while saving neighbors. Then don’t forget the hundreds of horror film references in the game itself—which can be translated into the screenplay and eventual movie. Imagine all the elements of horror in film history wrapped into one spoofy cinematic experience…directed by the man behind Army of Darkness. How can you fail?

P.S. Bruce Campbell should be cast as the villian.



#9: Uncharted
Director: Steven Spielberg
Nathan Drake is video game’s Indiana Jones. Now we haven’t had a cool Indiana Jones-like hero in the movies in a very long time, so its time to bring this to the big screen as well. The original video game has a great plot, involving a hidden island, rumored treasure, and mercenaries surrounding Drake within the island. Sounds like a nice plot for a cool action-adventure flick. Who better to direct this than Spielberg, who is responsible for the greatest adventure film of all-time? If you ask which one I was referring to, I may have to scream at you. But Spielberg, please lay off the CGI.

P.S. If Spielberg casts Shia as the lead star, I will denounce all his movies from here on out. Give the role to Jeremy Renner.




#8: Bioshock
Director: James Cameron
Just keep the script away from Cameron at all costs and there’s potential for a great movie. The storyline is absolutely spellbinding, and with Cameron’s experience with sci-fi, the combination would be seamless and epic. I also chose Cameron because he isn’t afraid of spending money, and to make this movie in particular, you definitely need a lot of money. An entire crazy civilization under the sea? Yep, give the movie to Cameron. $45344 million later, we have a good movie. Who cares if Fox went bankrupt? At least we don’t have to deal with their news………….



#7: Fallout
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Futuristic post-apocalyptic plot with a 1950s touch is a very odd combination, but that’s just what Fallout is; a fantastic series of games that mesh the futuristic-like hells of war and aftermath with the style of 1950s pulp magazines and comic books and subtle Cold War symbolism. I’d give this script to Blomkamp because his District 9 is not only a mesh of genres, but also touches upon the horrors of what humans can do to each other. His attention to detail would be perfect for a film of this magnitude. Fallout is a video game that would definitely benefit from a translation to the big big screen. Fallout in IMAX? I’m sold.

P.S. A nice 50s soundtrack would be the first of its kind since Forrest Gump's link to the past in its soundtrack back in 1994.



#6: Pokemon (Live-Action version)
Director: Alfonso Curaron
The animated movies of Pokemon were 497430890903 times weaker than the anime television show. But, imagine the best Pokemon fans banding together to write a script for a live-action counterpart. Imagine a real-life Ash ordering a CGI Pikachu to fight a CGI creation of a Charizard. This combination would be extremely tough to pull off without it looking cheesy, but the rewards would be phenomenal. I picked Alfonso Curaron because of his work on the third Harry Potter and Children of Men, and nice handling of special effects and cinematography. My second pick would be Gore Verbinski, but his latest Pirates movie definitely didn’t help his status.

P.S. There better be no talking Pokemon



#5: F-Zero
Director: The Wachowski Brothers
Speed Racer proved to the world that an F-Zero movie can indeed be done. Give the Brothers a better script, remove most of the flashy and eye-blinding colors, and maintain the fast and furious pacing of their races and an F-Zero movie would be a perfect fit for the brothers. Just the plot alone is enough to sell the movie: a bounty hunter participates in a deadly but extremely popular racing sport full of corruption, greed, and unpredictability. The Brothers have proven they have the creativity to create great race scenes, let’s just have better writers handle what happens outside the grand prix.

P.S. Give the soundtrack to Nine-Inch Nails and Daft Punk



#4: Splinter Cell
Director: Paul Greengrass
With his work directing the best installment in the Bourne trilogy, this man would be perfect in throwing his handheld style to a popular game series. Imagine using the handheld camera to capture the claustrophobic feel of the Splinter Cell franchise. If Greengrass can think smaller and focus the movie purely on anticipation, suspense, and sound effects (no music at all), then we would have a superb tense thriller on our hands. Bring back Tom Clancy, have him deliver a screenplay based off of his creation, and Splinter Cell could be one of the better espionage flicks this side of James Bond.

P.S. Sam Fisher = Christian Bale? Can anyone see it?



#3: The Legend of Zelda
Director: Peter Jackson
Of all the games in this list, I would feel most sorry for the man that has to direct Zelda. The Zelda fanbase is amongst the biggest and most detailed and pickiest of the entire gaming world, so bringing Link to the big screen would not only be a gamble, but quite a risk on the movie career. To start things off, Zelda has to be a trilogy; no way it can be condensed into one film. Second off, Link can’t talk much---so try making three movies based off of a character that is silent with words, but loud in action. Finally, the Zelda mythology is quite a detailed one so you better bring you’re a-game in terms of research. In spite of all this, with the right script, if Peter Jackson directs this with the love he gave to Lord of the Rings and reduce the running time (200+ minutes is ridiculous, I don’t care who you think you are), then the Zelda trilogy would be one for the ages.

One final note: give the musical score to Koji Kondo, the best composer in the gaming world.



#2: Metal Gear Solid
Director: Hideo Kojima
Now, my biggest gripe with Metal Gear Solid 4 was its hefty use of cutscenes, which seem to utterly throw gameplay out the window. While Kojima was a co-director, it definitely looks like he wants to helm a motion picture with all the cutscenes and camera angles he uses when advancing the story. So who better to give the Metal Gear Solid movie to than the creator of the original game that started it all? Kojima is much better at telling and showing the story as compared to creating the gameplay, and I honestly think he would give a Metal Gear Solid movie the edge it needs to become successful and memorable. Let him work on the script and directing, and hand the production to Jerry Bruckheimer. Love Jerry or hate him, he did produce some outstanding movies over the years.

P.S. Battle in the Base would be the perfect opening song for this movie.



#1: Metroid
Director: ?????????
My top pick for video game movie has no director, because I have no idea who would be best for this project. Metroid is a gaming franchise that has mixed elements of sci-fi, adventure, action, and pure horror all into one heavenly concoction. The premise of one female bounty hunter against the sinister creatures of an entire planet is intriguing enough for a movie, but vague enough for any director to add his or her special touches. The director would not only have to be fantastic with special effects and make-up, but has to be incredible in pacing because Samus literally has nobody else to communicate with. Metroid is an outer space version of I Am Legend, except in the third act Samus does not and will not run into other “survivors.” Metroid would be a tough tough film to create, in terms of writing and directing, but the payoff would be better here than any other video game movie out there. You can attract the horror crowd, the sci-fi crowd, and the gaming crowd. Because if there’s one thing Nintendo fans are good at, is paying money multiple times for essentially the same experience (ZINGGGGGGGGG!!!)

P.S. I am kidding Nintendo fans, just kidding.