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Last time, we discussed the piss-poor quality of movies that were adapted from video games. It seems that these movies are destined to be relegated to the bargain bin at your local Price Chopper (or Piggly Wiggly, or what have you). Why is it so? Movies have been adapted from lots of different sources: books, comics, real-life events, etc... and have all had success. So what's the problem with video game movies? Better yet, instead of asking what is wrong with them, perhaps the more constructive question might be, "what can be done to make video game movies better?" The question at the core of it all is this: no matter how good video game-based movies may be, will there ever be an audience outside the age and gender of video gamers that want to watch B-list actors blow up aliens? Maybe not, but if it is ever to be so, the movies must be improved a great deal in terms of story, complexity of character, and skill level (of the cast and crew, not the game it was based on). Previously, I lumped Final Fantasy with the scores of treacherously bad movies based on video games. The response was overwhelming (proportional to my readership) that Final Fantasy was worth the price of admission. Why was that? Perhaps Final Fantasy was able to rise above the fray because of its innovations in technology ('look at Aki's hair! It's so cool!'), while its story, given time to form into something more complex than "hero sees bad guys, hero kills bad guys", was something that audiences were interested in. Alec Baldwin is in this? Sign me up! Story is as important an aspect as any other element of a movie. What's the enjoyment of watching a movie play out as something you've already seen and lived? The exception of course may be books and short stories converted into movies, seeing as they are subject to interpretation. However, the Final Fantasy games have such a deep story that goes through its many editions, it's not surprising that it was more well-received than other video game based movies. Just once, I'd like to see a video game movie directed by James Cameron, or Steven Spielberg, or someone that knows what the hell they're doing. I'm tired of looking up movies and seeing the name of the director and only having two reactions to his or her name: 1. Who? or 2. Why? Having people with little experience behind the camera only serves to make the movie even more juvenile feeling, never mind that it's based on a video game. With all of this bashing going on, you may be thinking that I won't ever admit there can be a good video game movie. Erroneous! I would love to see a movie adaptation of a video game that is just kick-ass good, yet, doesn't make me feel like 5 year old watching it. I need a little more maturity. I think we all do, both with regards to the story, and the people making the movie. Here's a little homework for you. Look up the name Neill Blomkamp. Find out what up-and-coming video game movie he's set to direct. Ask yourself this question: does this movie sound at all like the previous failed attempts at decent game-adapted movies? Would I even bother going to see it? What if this movie was, in term of production values, more like Jaws and less like Deep Blue Sea? More like Indiana Jones and less like Sahara? Next Time: A new video game movie: What can we expect?

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