As Hollywood continues to scour the globe for content to sell to us the topic of video game movies has been a hot topic for many. The general consensus is that they don’t work. With more examples of that rule than exceptions we turn our gaze to the long awaited, by some, movie adaptation of the Uncharted franchise. Speaking in a video interview with GamesNewsOfficial about the project that was announced in 2009, voice actor Nolan North had this to say:
“My opinion on this–from what I’ve heard from fans–is they don’t want a movie, no matter who’s the star of it,” North said. “Maybe it’s because [the Uncharted series] is such a cinematic experiences in and of itself.”
“I don’t know if it’s financially feasible for the studios to make this film anymore. Personally, that’s just my feeling. Hitman wasn’t received very well and others have not done very well. Some have, I know Resident Evil did ok, but that’s a different genre.
“My other opinion about this game is I think the emotional investment people have with Nathan Drake is so high that it would be very difficult for them to accept somebody else, even me with my face as Nathan Drake. They’d recognise the voice, but I don’t know if they’d accept me.”
Check out the video here:
Obviously North is talking solely about the Uncharted movie but I can’t help but feel that the same applies to video game movie adaptations across the board. There is a much more intimate bond with the characters of a well written video game than a movie, more like a book and players spend much longer with the characters that they control and develop over the course of a game. This bond creates a sense of ownership over the characters and that’s why the backlash is so fierce when Hollywood gets it wrong.
As video games continue to generate more cinematic experiences within themselves do we need to see them on the big screen? Can they be made in a way that suits fans or, as North points at, are the fans just not interested? Let me know your thoughts on the Uncharted movie and other video game movies in the comments below!!