Videogame-to-Movie Adaptation

Surfing ign.com, I often hear about the latest movie news. And every so often I hear about a movie adapted from videogame sources. For some reason, these movies always fail (and I wonder why). Is it because they have the wrong director? Or is it the wrong screenwriter? Maybe just interference from the studio executives? I don’t think so. My opinion. I think many of these movies should never have been made, because something that was written for a videogame isn’t necessarily adaptable to the screen. The first people you have to appease in the film are always the fans, who can never be appeased because there is just not enough time for the plot. You can never appease a fan of the original source unless you do a straight adaptation of the video game (and then there is no point in the first point). The second people you must appease are the movie goers, those that are there just to enjoy the movie. The plot that worked well for a videogame is not always the most interesting subject to watch in a movie, especially if you have to leave out certain plot points. If you don’t adhere to at least one of these groups, the film is doomed to failure (and it seems they always do).

To prove my point here is a quick list of the videogame adaptations that I can recall right now:

Super Mario Bros.
Double Dragon
Mortal Combat
Mortal Combat: Annihilation
Street Fighter
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li
Hit Man
Doom
Postal
The Resident Evil Trilogy

There are probably a lot more but I am getting tired and very forgetful.

Note: This is only a list of movie based on video games and not an opinion by the author.