Game News Mass Effect: the Motion Picture

[SerratedBiz]

making the film—as Činčera intended—a satire of democracy."

... this explains so much.

 

[Mister Arkham]

I'd be fairly interested in this as a project if they were just going to do a film in the setting. Because the setting isn't halfway bad really. It draws from a lot of other things (yeah, yeah, rips off, fuckinwhateverguys) but it also manages to be pretty cohesive as an overarching space-opera setting. Doing the proper Mass Effect Shepard trilogy presents a number of problems as films, but to use that setting and tell a smaller, single-shot story set in this universe could make for solid space opera, which is something we haven't gotten in theaters in a while.

The unfortunate downside is that we're unlikely to see any such thing. Even if they don't go for the Shep overstory, they're still going to go the Fallout 3 route and try to jack-knife every last element into the story out of a misguided attempt to please the fanboys. A decent writer could turn out a pretty strong script about a Turian C-Sec officer getting stuck with a human partner and having to cope with the mutual latent racism there while also having to deal with some sort of terrorist plot against the Citadel Council, for example. A studio though, will want SPECTREs and Cerberus and Reapers, and Tali, and a character of every race, and all of the other shit from the games, because that's what the fans know and is thus what they "want" and they are the most important butts to get in the seats.

It's preposterous and unfortunate, but it's also what we're most likely to see. And in that case...well, in that case we're better off with no movie at all.

 

[Hamster]

Name one successful game-to-movie concept that did not massively fail.

I am pretty sure Prince of Persia is goint to be a success.

 

[circ]

Of course it is. Jerry Jewheimer can't fail.

 

[Dezzy]

Mass Effect(THE MOVIE!) will surprise us all and use the female Shepard.

 

[Lesifoere]

Better yet: a black female Shepard. Two birds in one go!

Not fucking likely, though. Hello generic white male.

 

[Jim Profit]

Mass Effect the motion picture?

You mean Mass Effect 2? >: 3

 

[kris]

Better yet: a black female Shepard. Two birds in one go!

Not fucking likely, though. Hello generic white male.

The guy from Avatar came to my mind now.

 

[denizsi]

Not fucking likely, though. Hello generic white male.

I tried to think of movies that take place in the west (Europe/Kwa) or centered around western people and or culture with non-white protagonists that didn't look pathetic and out of place. Apart from black people, I can't remember any. Pointers, anyone?

The guy from Avatar came to my mind now.

Official male Shepard have always reminded me of this guy from Prison Break:

 

[denizsi]

That's creepy and disturbing.

 

[Hamster]

Btw, i watched Prince of Persia today and it was not that bad. Yes, all the bs you can expect from Jerry Jewheimer film is there, it's overcomplicated and too long, but it was interesting to see a fantasy film in oriental setting for a change. Story was also somewhat interesting when they were not rambling about saving the world, i actually suspect saving the world bs was not in the original script and was added later on.

 

[Sceptic]

Yes, all the bs you can expect from Jerry Jewheimer film is there, it's overcomplicated and too long

wat

 

[Clockwork Knight]

complicated != complex

 

[Hamster]

Yes, all the bs you can expect from Jerry Jewheimer film is there, it's overcomplicated and too long

wat

Overcompicated as "too many random shit and unnecessary plot elements put into the movie" not as "deep".

 

[Sceptic]

I read it as "difficulty to follow" (so more complex than complicated), but "random shit and unnecessary plot elements" sounds like Bruckheimer alright. Thanks for clearing it up.

 

[CrimHead]

Samuel L. Jackson for renegade Shepard.

 

[M_I_C_K_E_Y_M_O_U_S_E]

I'll concede that I Am Legend was a waste of an IP, especially if you have ever read the brilliant Matheson short story. That said, 300 was a very literal and almost page-for-page translation of the original Miller comic so it's one of the those instances where you either like the source material or you don't because what was on screen is what was also on the page. Personally, I loved the comic and enjoyed the film even more.

Watchmen was simply brilliant and the extended cut is even more so; Snyder made a very accurate and inclusive adaptation with only the smallest, necessary alterations and omissions for the sake of bringing the seminal work to the screen. It's probably the most underappreciated film released in the last ten years and frankly, it soared over the heads of same critics who praised the vapidity of something like Avatar.

Clash is the weakest thing to come out of the studio but even that was fun if nothing more. Personally, I think having Legendary Pictures producing the Mass Effect film is a step in the right direction, though we obviously are at the inception phase where so many things can go wrong. Regardless, it strikes me as an IP with some potential so I'll keep my fingers crossed that the execution doesn’t falter.

And I hear Casey from Bioware will be supervising. It's possible that an ME motion picture will be alright.

 

[Elzair]

There's more than a few that fit that description unless you define 'massively fail' = 'i personally disliked it'.

Volourn is right. There have been a few game->movie successes if you look at box office revenue. Here is a partial list of movies based on video games. I only included movies that had a box-office release in the United States of America. I used Total US Gross Sales because the movie business has greatly expanded in the last twenty years, and I wanted to make an apples-apples comparison. This list is still somewhat sketchy since it only measures nominal sales that does not account for inflation and fluctuations in average ticket prices. I would have preferred to compare the movies based on the total percentage of the US (or better yet global) population that went to see the movies, but c'est la vie!

Alone in the Dark $5,178,569
Dead or Alive $480,314
Doom $28,212,337
Double Dragon $2,341,309
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within $32,131,830
Hitman $39,687,694
House of the Dead $10,199,354
In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale $4,775,656
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider $131,144,183
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life $65,653,758
Max Payne $40,687,294
Mortal Kombat $70,433,227
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation $35,927,406
Pokemon: The First Movie $85,744,662
Pokemon 2000 $43,746,923
Pokemon 3: The Movie $17,052,128
Pokemon 4Ever $1,732,301
Pokemon Heroes $744,928
Resident Evil $39,532,308
Resident Evil: Apocalypse $50,740,078
Resident Evil: Extinction $50,648,679
Silent Hill $46,982,632
Street Fighter $33,423,000
Super Mario Bros $20,844,907
Wing Commander $11,578,022

This list seems to indicate that the only real successes were Mortal Kombat 1, Pokemon 1, Tomb Raider 1, and Resident Evil 2&3.

 

[Volourn]

"This list seems to indicate that the only real successes were Mortal Kombat 1, Pokemon 1, Tomb Raider 1, and Resident Evil 2&3."

Wouldn't it make snese to use how much a movie cost to make, and produce. Also, how money they made back int total includinbg vdeio reklease before making a, game a failure or success?

Hitman made $40mln but how much did it cost?

Remember, most 'successful' horror movies tend to make 30-50mil but are cheap to make so they keep getting made.

You don't need to be a blockbuster to be a success. You most certainly don't need to be a blockbuster to not be a 'massive fail'.

A movie like the Dungeon Seige can be made to be considered a major fail since it cost a lot to make, and it had some well known actors yet only grossed $5ml.

 

[Micmu]

So tomb raider made the most... while being utter crap like the rest.
Go figure. :boobs:

 

[Sceptic]

Remember, most 'successful' horror movies tend to make 30-50mil but are cheap to make so they keep getting made.

This. An amateur movie that costs a couple of millions to make then rakes in 50 millions has made just as much profit as one that cost 200 millions then made 250 millions. Ratio-wise the first movie is much better off too, as it made 25x its cost whereas the 2nd made only 1.25x its cost.

 

[Mister Arkham]

Remember, most 'successful' horror movies tend to make 30-50mil but are cheap to make so they keep getting made.

This. An amateur movie that costs a couple of millions to make then rakes in 50 millions has made just as much profit as one that cost 200 millions then made 250 millions. Ratio-wise the first movie is much better off too, as it made 25x its cost whereas the 2nd made only 1.25x its cost.

Million, Sceptic. The word you are looking for is million. Your use of couple of, 50, 200 and 250 modify the word and remove the necessity of a plural form. It really isn't hard, man.

 

[Sceptic]

I use "millions" as a shorthand for "million dollars". This remodifies the word and by virtue of two negatives making a positive readds the necessity. Hence the plural.

writing is teh hard and my engrish sux