If you’re reading the title and are expecting something akin to me pouring my heart and soul out about films like Ready Player: One and Free Guy, then I’m sorry to disappoint all two of you. After the most recent releases of both the Uncharted movie and the Sonic the Hedgehog sequel (of which I reviewed), it had me contemplating the long and terrible history of video game adaptations. Quite infamously, since the first game adaptation, these types of films have almost always been some of the worst pieces of money-grubbing products that we’ve been forced to endure. I’ve been an avid gamer for quite some time, with only in the more recent years have I slowed down to focus on my film passion, but know that I am part of the intended audience. I wanted to look back on just a small handful of these films.
I originally went in with the intent of handpicking a random assortment of films from each decade since the nineties, but after struggling to narrow down the overwhelming amount of just pure garbage, I decided to streamline it down to franchises represented in the Super Smash Bros. game series. I stayed away from the Sonic movies, as I’ve already reviewed both, and not all movie adaptations have the time to be talked about (no Fatal Fury or the first Pokemon movie, I’m afraid), but there’s enough here that I could easily talk about. I’m mainly looking at how closely they follow the games, and if I even remotely enjoyed them, ’cause there is some positive in this sea of awfulness. Get ready for my most dismissive Contemplation yet.
Super Mario Bros. (1993)
I’m starting with the film that inspired this exhausted trend: Super Mario Bros. In some ways, it’s fitting that this was the very first game adaptation, given the impact of the original game, but right from the get-go, the idea of adapting this bright, cartoony world of the games into a grittier, futuristic fantasy world seems like a doomed concept. Throw in a married couple who had never directed a film before as the leaders of this cynical project, and you get one of the messiest and downright disrespectful takes on such a beloved franchise ever. And yet, it’s fantastic.
The story does try to mesh together much of the early titles that had made up the series at that point. Mario (Bob Hoskins) and Luigi (John Leguizamo) are brother duo running a plumbing service in Brooklyn (much like the original Mario Bros. arcade game) against a rival, money-hungry company. Luigi’s life is shook up by a fossil excavator by the name of Daisy (Samantha Mathis), a character we saw in Super Mario Land that takes Peach’s position)), who quickly becomes smitten with the simple plumber. Things begin to take a turn for the weird when Daisy is kidnapped and taken to an alternate world that lives below the real one named the Mushroom Kingdom. In this world, humans have evolved from dinosaurs, and they live in an authoritarian hell-scape ran by the tyrannical King Koopa (Dennis Hopper), who believes that Daisy is the princess and daughter to the original ruler, who Koopa has imprisoned. It’s up to the Mario brothers to save the day.
The words “authoritarian hell-scape” are ones that I’d never think of to describe the world of the Super Mario franchise, but this movie felt the need to make it so. This film simply reeks of studio mismanagement, and you can tell that the inexperienced directors had no idea what they were doing. From a face-front perspective, this has no resemblance to the original games, so imagine my shock when I found a number of connections, some that were even deep cuts, to the source material.
While the choice to cast British and Latino actors in the lead roles of Italian Americans is something questionable in its own right, there is a level of accuracy to how their portrayed. Bob Hoskins is especially good as Mario, very similar to how he was portrayed in the various cartoons that were running at the time. I liked seeing Daisy being a romantic interest for Luigi, it’s something that the later games would actually do. Hopper is far from the Bowser in the games, but his clearly phoned-in performance makes the film so much more entertaining. I appreciated that they felt the need to incorporate the jumping mechanics, by having these electronic spring boots; it looks goofy, but it’s something they could’ve stayed away from entirely and I admire it.
The world of the Mushroom Kingdom is nothing like the colorful world portrayed in the games, but I did appreciate how they tried to pepper references to the various enemies with signs referencing Fry Guys and Thwomps, or the appearance of a Bob-omb and Bullet Bill that actually contribute to the story. Even the two lackeys being named Spike (an enemy) and Iggy (one of the Koopalings) was a nice reference. These are only small things, but it showed some level of appreciation outside of the studio-enforced reasons for the film being made.
Outside of the references, this film is definitely a mess, but it’s a fun mess. Say what you want about the awful story and questionable choices, but it’s so much fun. The film can’t seem to make its mind up on anything, being a tonal mess that tries to be dumb and entertaining, while also presenting a muddy looking, industrial world with creepy looking imagery. The behind-the-scenes of this film are infamous, with Hoskins and Leguizamo being absolutely plastered throughout, many injuries being occurred and on-set fights with the directors. All of this makes the film so incredibly fun. It’s a terrible movie, don’t get me wrong, but it fits nicely into that realm of guilt pleasures. If you wrapped the entire realm of nineties family films in a coat of chaos, then you get this awful masterpiece.
A scene that I didn’t expect to see: Mario motor boating an obese woman so he can obtain a crystal.
Street Fighter (1994)
Continuing on this train of guilty pleasures from the nineties, we get the infamous Street Fighter movie. With the success of Street Fighter II blistering through arcades all over the world, it only makes sense that it would get an adaption around the same time as the Mario movie. I, myself, have been an avid fan of the franchise for quite some time, with the SNES version of Street Fighter II being one of my first gaming experiences. I heard the infamy of this film for the longest time before I finally sat down and watched it. This obviously muddled mess fell into many of the same traps as the other game adaptations of the time, but one cannot help but appreciate the attempt at making something that has more than a passing resemblance to the game its based on.
Taking it’s outwards appearance from Street Fighter II, it sidelines main character, Ryu, into being a supporting role. This film instead focuses on William Guile (Jean-Claude Van Damme), an American (with no attempt to hide Van Damme’s accent) air force soldier that must go up against the tyrannical war-lord, Bison (Raul Julia in his last ever performance) and his criminal organization, Shadaloo. Alongside the strenuous efforts of our main protagonist are a crew of varied fighters that band together to take down this sadistic madman. Overstuffed with characters and a plot that jumps all over the place, Street Fighter is a cautionary tale of how less is always more.
It’s sort of wild just how many similarities I can pull from the Super Mario Bros. movie. Both were clearly made for the sole purpose of marketing of a hit game franchise, both have very troubled productions, both try their hardest to incorporate as many references to the source games as possible, and both are simply terrible. This film’s biggest issue comes from how hard it tries to incorporate almost every character from Super Street Fighter II (except for Fei Long) with little to know consideration for how it would effect the plot.
Many liberties are taken in how they portray the characters. I’ve already mentioned Van Damme in the lead role and how Guile usurps Ryu’s original title as main character, and I can only assume this was so the film had an all-American hero leading the fray…played by a Belgium actor. They turn Interpol officer Chun-Li into a news reporter, with sumo wrestler, E. Honda, being made the same, and also changed to being of Hawaiian nationality. Some characters, such as T. Hawk and Zangief, are portrayed as villains, when they are much heroic or slightly neutral in the original game. The biggest change comes with Dhalsim, who is portrayed as a captured scientist, rather than being a mystic Yogi. I could go on and on about the other inaccuracies, but the film should also be judged on its own merits, if there even is any.
By far the greatest element of this film is Raul Julia’s performance as M. Bison. Even though he only did this film for his kids, and with the script being as terrible and bare as it is, Julia doesn’t hold back. His scenery-chewing portrayal is endlessly entertaining, usurping Hopper performance as King Koopa in the previously mentioned film. Many of the fight scenes are poorly executed, but their frequently fun to watch, with obvious wire-work and overly elaborate choreography. The script is full of terrible and cheesy dialogue, but it only adds to that guilty pleasure charm that made up Mario. It’s another film that I can confidently add to that list of guilty pleasures. From Van Damme’s drug-addled performance to the terrible set pieces to the wonderfully awful script, I’m never not going to love this.
A scene that I didn’t expect to see: Everything Raul Julia does. Very unpredictable.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005)
I considered not putting this film in the article due to it not being a direct adaptation of any game in the Final Fantasy series, but rather, a direct sequel, but with how infamous it is amongst hardcore fans, I had to talk about it. Tetsuya Nomura, who had worked as a concept designer for a few Final Fantasy titles had been given the lead on the series after the success of the Disney-Square crossover, Kingdom Hearts. What came of this new leadership was the aforementioned sequel. An animated film that was directly made by Square Enix and Nomura himself makes for one of the most unique directions on a game-inspired movie I can think of.
Set two years after Final Fantasy VII, much of the civilization that was left after the destruction of the industrial city of Midgar had been reduced to poverty-stricken streets and an unknown virus that is slowly killing a select number of people, one such person is protagonist, Cloud, who mostly lives a life of solitude after the tragic death of Aerith. One child that Cloud and friend, Tifa, are looking after is slowly succumbing to the virus, but Cloud is soon cornered by a group of mysterious, silver-haired foes that are looking to bring about the return of the game’s defeated antagonist, Sephiroth. Turns out that these enemies contained the DNA of Sephiroth, and the virus that is infecting many people is this very DNA that holds the blood of Jenova, the reason the villain even existed.
My history with the Final Fantasy franchise is rather basic. I never had the privilege of growing up with any games in the series, being introduced to it through the Kingdom Hearts games, but I do recall discovering specific titles through the constant scouring through the internet. Final Fantasy VII is infamous, and Advent Children is close to that infamy. I recall watching the final fight scene countless times, enjoying the animation while also poking fun of the tropish anime style. Watching this as a grown adult definitely changed my perspective.
As there is much more of a direct involvement with the story for this one, you’d expect it to largely remain loyal to the characters and what made them so interesting. Cloud is reduced to being the pinnacle of edgy 2000’s sensibility, accentuated through his cold, distant demeanor and relentless attempts to make him seem cool. This characterization feels like a tumble backwards, ignoring much of the development he went through in the game. The villains are radiated with this same edgy veil that it’s hard to take anything seriously. The story is so pathetically convoluted for its own good, highlighting many of the issues I’ve had with Nomura’s writing style.
I will say that this film is very entertaining to watch. The animation stands up incredibly well and the action scenes are brilliant all the way through, but there is far too much of that purposely vague story-telling overshadowing these stronger parts. Nomura’s coyness has always irritated me, it is something he has improved upon in more recent games with Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy VII Remake, but this film came out in his era of pepped up pretentiousness. It shows that his style of storytelling doesn’t translate well to the format of film, but if you’re looking for some fun visual eye candy, then you’re in for a treat. This is definitely one for the fans that aren’t looking for anything more than a bit of fan service.
A scene I didn’t expect to see: So. Many. Motorbike. Scenes.
Tekken (2010)
This may be the most obscure film I’ve listed here, to the point where I don’t think even the most avid fans of the Tekken series are that aware of its existence. There were a few Tekken films I could’ve talked about, like the 1998 anime adaptation or the 2011 CGI film, Blood Vengeance, which was made, similar to Advent Children, by the series directors. I went with the 2010 live action adaptation because I wanted to show how not to do a Tekken movie.
This film sort of meshes together the events of the first three games in the franchise. It focuses on young fighter, Jin Kazama (John Patrick Foo) who lives in the not-too-distant future where the world is governed by a corporation known as Tekken. The leader of this totalitarian organization is Heihachi Mishima (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) and his son Kazuya (Ian Anthony Dale). Heihachi views what he does as honorable, but Kazuya wants to see the world under his violent fist. Jin’s life is thrown into dismay when his mother is killed by the Tekken organization, and he sets out to kill Heihachi. He becomes part of the Tekken fighting tournament, consisting of the greatest fighters in the world. It’s during this tournament that he meets Christie (Kelly Overton), who, besides being a fellow combatant, becomes a love interest for Jin. We soon learn a disturbing truth about Kazuya’s relationship to Jin, and the Mishima son sets out to assassinate the young warrior, all the while, trying to overthrow his father.
An avid fan of the games can certainly see the similarities. Simply describing the events does not really give you the full picture, however. While the conflict between the Mishima’s is certainly something from the games, there are many differences, such as Kazuya willingly working alongside his father, rather than being completely against him, wanting the murder the man who abused him in his childhood. Heihachi is portrayed as rather benevolent, while in the games, he’s very sadistic and actively tries the seep a devilish power that lives in his son. Kazuya is typically portrayed as even more sadistic in the games, but he also utilizes supernatural powers that can transform him into a devil. This film steps away entirely from the devil gene, despite its overall importance. Kazuya is also far more monstrous in his personality here, even stating that he raped a woman in his prime.
There’s so many liberties taken here that I have to dedicate another paragraph. Jin is probably the most accurate to the games here, but he also lacks the devil gene that he has in the games. His mother Jun is more stern than her more angelic personality in the games. Fans will notice I mentioned a romance between Jin and Christie, but the two lack any connection in the actual games, never meeting once. Christie is the character in name only, lacking her connection to Eddy Gordo. Many fighters from the games make cameos, and while their appearances are mostly accurate, many are far too different in backstory. The Williams sisters are portrayed as assassins hired by Kazuya, and are also portrayed as sexual partners to him. Characters like Eddy, Raven and Law all make appearances, but are either given no personality at all, or are drastically different from their game counterparts (Law is treated as a deadly, serious fighter, not a complete goofball.)
All of these drastic departures wouldn’t matter as much to me if I felt like they didn’t take away from what made the games’ stories so fun. Fighting games typically have very basic stories, but Tekken has always had a strong narrative that manages to balance dark themes of family conflicts that have sons trying to kill their fathers and a hefty amount of dumb goofiness that betrays its realistic artstyle. This film only goes for the basic outwards appearance of the franchise, and I think it would have benefited from trying to adapt that balance. I’m not expecting to see boxing dinosaurs or giant Cthulhu monsters, but embrace the supernatural elements and just have fun with the bat-crazy concepts.
If this film has any salvageable moments, it comes from its fight scenes. Though the editing can feel a little choppy, you can tell that a lot of time was spent emulating the various fighting styles of the characters. Fighting games are, obviously, at their most enjoyable when you’re actually playing the game, and comparing this to the Street Fighter movie, the scenes are far more cathartic and game-accurate. Aside from this one major positive, the film is severely lacking in good direction, with only Tagawa’s Heihachi feeling well performed (Mortal Kombat fans will appreciate the connection to Shang Tsung). The film is shot poorly and cheaply, and the story feels so rushed.
I feel like this film could thrive more today, now that we’re past that era of films having to be super-serious, and now embracing the goofiness of the games these movies adapt. I never remember the stories of Tekken games for their deep lore (though there is plenty of that in later games), but more for their exaggerated silliness. This film just feels far too early, and I would like to see someone have another crack at it.
A scene that I didn’t expect to see: Kazuya having a threesome with the Williams sisters. Someone clearly had some pent-up energy when directing.
Detective Pikachu (2019)
Pokemon has had a plentiful history when it comes to film adaptations. The popular anime series that began in 1997, which is still going today, has had many film tie-ins, but in all those years, we never had a live action film. 2019 came to deliver with an adaptation of a 3DS spin-off title named Detective Pikachu. This film is a bit of an oddity, being based off an obscure spin-off title, casting Ryan Reynolds in the lead role and even the mere notion of translating the stylized looking Pokemon into a more realistic environment feels like a major mistake. It’s a film that I feel most brushed off, especially with the Sonic movie coming out the following year, but I’m here to be one of its very few defenders. I should start this by saying that I do have a history with the Pokemon franchise, but I’ve never played the specific game that this film is based on, not that it seems to matter.
Set in the bustling, almost-futuristic city of Ryme City of which is inhabited by many iconic Pokemon, the son of an acclaimed detective tries to discover what happened to his seemingly deceased father. Tim (Justice Smith) is forced into the path of a Pikachu (voiced by Ryan Reynolds) who mysteriously has the ability to talk, but only Tim can understand him. Pikachu has lost his memory of how he got here, but agrees to team up with Tim to solve both of their mysteries, while also teaming up with a girl named Lucy (Kathryn Newton) who is trying to expose a major conspiracy from behind the scenes.
There really isn’t much to the story, it really is a rather basic mystery story, but I don’t think it’s trying to be anything more. I can’t compare it to the original game, but I can compare it to how accurately it portrays the various Pokemon and the logic of the world the games had created. Something that’s hard to get used to is the uncanny look of all the Pokemon. Pikachu looks good, but this attempt at fusing together this detailed realism with game-accurate looks can feel very unnerving. Pokemon like Jigglypuff, Mr. Mime and Greninja look downright terrifying. I do appreciate the effort to not deviate from the iconography of these Pokemon, and the technology looks very impressive, but it’s entirely hard to get past that uncanny valley.
There are small things here and there that hardcore fans can appreciate. There’s clearly a lot of love for the games, whether it be how the opening of the generation one games is the literal starting point for the film, only to transition into a live-action recreation featuring Red himself, or perhaps it comes from game mechanics being integrated, like how Pikachu gets knocked out by a piece of ground (referencing electric types being weak to ground) or Gyarados causing both Pikachu and Charizard to be intimidated by its mere appearance (referencing the intimidation ability), there’s clearly a lot of admiration for the source material.
It’s easy to sit here and be cynical towards a film that’s manned by a major film studio, making it hard to believe that they could make anything more than a quick cashgrab, but the director clearly cares a lot for the games. The story is rather basic and the characters aren’t the most interesting, but it’s a fun, easy to watch movie that kids could easily sit down and enjoy. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t gushing at all the small details and even excited at the bigger action scenes. The cage fight between Pikachu and Charizard is great, and the one scene where the characters are running through a rumbling forest, only for it to be revealed that their running on the shells of gigantic Torterras are major highlights. As distracting as it is that Ryan Reynolds is voicing Pikachu and simply playing himself again, there are some great comedic moments that keeps the film engaging. It’s not a great movie, but it’s entirely harmeless.
A scene that I didn’t expect to see: Pikachu straight up saying “hell.” Surprised Nintendo even allowed it.
Dragon Quest: Your Story (2019)
In a lot of ways, I can’t think of a more fitting end to this article. To the average person, Dragon Quest is probably not a franchise that you may have heard of. Even to an avid gamer, it’s a franchise that has swept over many a western audience’s head. This franchise is considered, in Japan, to be the grandfather of the RPG genre, and is far celebrated over there. I can’t say I’ve been a fan of this franchise, only ever having played the most recent title (of which I’ve immensely enjoyed), but I’ve admired it from afar. With how legendary this franchise is, it’s only fitting that it should receive a film adaptation, and one from Japan itself. A Netflix original, Your Story is a half-adaptation of Dragon Quest V.
This film starts off in similar vein to Detective Pikachu: using actual footage from the original game, but here, it’s literally used to set up the entire prologue. Centering itself around a young boy named Luca, we see him trained to fight by his father, joined by a Sabrecub companion that he names Purrcy. Luca’s life is thrown into dismay when he witnesses his father murdered by the evil wizard, Ladja. Imprisoned until he reaches his early adulthood, he manages to escape and embarks on a quest to not only defeat Ladja, but also to find his imprisoned mother. He encounters an old friend, Bianca, who he falls deeply in love with. The two eventually marry and have a son, but this is short-lived when the two are left seperated from their child.
From what I’ve come to learn through researching the game, the film basically condenses the entire second half of said game into this two hour journey. The film accurately retells much of the most major parts of the game, and all the while, telling a traditional fantasy story. This is another instance where it appears as though the original game’s creators were much more directly involved, which certainly leads to a lot of passion thrown in. The opening is not the only instance where direct game references are made. Various text boxes in the style of the original Super Nintendo title appear to mark the passage of time, and there’s a particular dream sequence that replicates the look of game coding in a more fantastical way. Even aside from all these incredibly meta elements, the artstyle tries to imitate the Toriyama look of ever game in the franchise. While not one-to-one, the facial expression feel very dynamic and fitting to the iconography of the Dragon Ball artist’s style. These moments shine more with the enemies and giant monsters, with battle scenes feeling satisfying and beautifully dynamic.
I definitely felt like an outsider to this film. It’s hard for me to draw direct parallels, but I can appreciate it for how it tells its story and from its animation. I do think this is something that would have benefited from being a series, rather than a movie. You can really tell how condensed everything feels. I did enjoy many of the characters, but the obligatory romance and the taped together friendships felt far too fleeting. I’m not sure why exactly they chose the fifth game to pull from (III and IV seem more iconic), but I think it may have come from the jump in timelines. There’s some interesting things done with the passage of time. The animation only heightens everything around it. The CGI doesn’t always look great, and I think it would have felt more dynamic in the traditional hand-drawn style, but there’s some truly great set pieces.
I cannot talk about this film without going into the final act; I’ll try to stay away from spoiling too much. If the incredibly meta opening wasn’t enough for fans to feel that flicker of joyous nostalgia, the entire final act goes in a direction that I could not have possibly expected. It’s something that is done as if the film makers are speaking directly to the fans. I was absolutely flabbergasted by how much they doubled down on this idea. It ran the risk of making everything in the film feel inconsequential, but it more than makes up for it in how loving the entire message is. It can feel very corny, but you can feel the 33 years of appreciation being poured over its audience. I don’t think I’ve seen a video game movie go this far with its love for the source material, and while the film certainly isn’t the best film I’ve talked about, it’s clearly a labor of love. The ‘Your Story’ in the title has never felt more fitting.
A scene that I didn’t expect to see: The entire third act…
Written by Conor Johnson.