Why Video Game Movies Don't Work

[@MovieFlame]

The amount of research that went into this video 🔥 I love how you not only went over the history but explained why they suck and how to fix them. Another banger in the books for MixedUpMedia😎

[@MixedUpMedia21]

Thanks bro, I’m trying out here😂

[@carlenscharles2903]

@@MixedUpMedia21 LOVE 💗 your videos! One thing I realized is that video game movies suck but video game tv shows don't.(Arcane, Edgerunners etc). I mean look at the Overwatch animated shorts! Me personally I have a bias but in general TV SHOWS ARE JUST BETTER THAN MOVIES. Or maybe it's just that the animators happen to be better idk but man it's kinda true if you think about it. Also the list got longer. Akumetsu, Monkey peak, Berserk, Failure frame,Study group,true education,Ushijima,Funouhan, Unemployed Concentration camp, kemono jihen,Chronicles of Heavenly Demon, Reaper of the drifting moon,Aku no kyouten, revival man,Kuro no tantei,ijimeru aitsu, Shokuryou Jinrui, Denjin N, Juujika no Rokunin, Yokokuhan, Notorious talker,FFF Trashero, Omniscient Reader,Holyland, Fire punch,Mount hua sect ,Neon Revenge & I Grow stronger by eating, Disaster class hero,Blue lock,Talent swallowing magician, Yomotsuhegui,Madou no keifu,Your talent is mine Mahwah and manga Definitely read Juujika and Yokokuhan.

[@odysyr]

I really like this analysis, it crystallises my feelings on game adaptations way better than I could express. I also liked the "pokemon smash or pass" thumbnail sneaking in!

[@MixedUpMedia21]

It was a lot of fun to put together so I’m glad you enjoyed, thanks for watching!

[@electricgecko8997]

I saw that Mario Bros. Movie in the theatre. Honestly, at the time, I loved it. It was so horribly conceived, so ridiculous that it kind of curved around and became awesome.

[@MixedUpMedia21]

I honestly think if the movie wasn't supposed to be a Mario movie that it would have been a lot better. I still enjoyed it when I rewatched it, honestly.

[@JazzyByDefalt]

Glad you mentioned Castlevania, never played a Castlevania game in my life but I adore that series.

[@MixedUpMedia21]

They can be a bit difficult. I used to watch my parents and older siblings play them on the Nintendo when I was little. Then I played the DS games, but Symphony of the Night is definitely a must play if you ever get the chance. Even if you don’t, the soundtrack for it is amazing. I haven’t played all of the games, but I have spent a few hours watching lore videos lol

[@GatewaytoAnime]

Agreed! Cyberpunk 2077 is another game that worked surprisingly well as an anime series. If you haven’t watched Cyberpunk: Edgerunners check it out!

[@Eric4presidente]

First off, subscribed. Good stuff. I personally think the story should be whatever best serves the film best. Adaptations are tricky but if you make a good film, not many people would care if it’s close to the source material or not (see Game of Thrones).

[@Eric4presidente]

Also, seriously great video. I’m currently binging your stuff

[@MixedUpMedia21]

Appreciate the subscription, man. Thank you!

[@mohamadafifazizizaidi5625]

THE WINNERS, so far: Game-to-MOVIE: *•Detective Pikachu* *•Sonic the Hedgehog Movies (1 & 2)* *•The Werewolves Within* Game-to-TV Shows: *•Castlevania* *•Arcane* *•Cyberpunk: Edgerunners* Quite a progress, don't ya think? 🤔😏

[@zulmar5655]

Its not live action but I really like the Mortal Kombat animated trilogy. I do prefer animated stuff I will admit but I would actually love to see a live action Borderlands movie too. Overwatch would actually make a pretty good movie also, especially because it has established worlds and characters and an overall story but does kind of lack in like feature entertainment (besides a few comics and stuff). This was an awesome video and super fun to watch by the way!

[@MixedUpMedia21]

The animated Mortal Kombat movies are awesome, I can’t wait to watch Snow Blind, but I’m even more excited that the Johnny Cage movie is on the way too. I wish I could say when the Borderlands movie was coming out but it’s been finished filming since June last year and we’ve gotten no more info. As for Overwatch, I was kind of looking forward to seeing the lord being expanded with the launch of 2, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see if they still release the PvE mode. Also, thank you for watching!

[@rajackisback]

Fighting games could work as live action movies if u go the cinematic universe route. Let's take Street Fighter for example... That movie Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist, or a movie like it, would've been a great starting point for a Street Fighter Cinematic Universe since it focused on introducing characters and concepts that were specific to Ryu and Ken's story only. After a movie like that, u could do a action/army film for Guile, a kung-fu flick styled cop film for Chun-Li, and then use all the same actors for a "tournament film" based on the events of the SF2 game.

[@cat_jk00]

Great stuff bro, keep it up

[@MixedUpMedia21]

Appreciate it, man. Thanks for watching!

[@swoletimeappareltv9655]

Sonic was dope as you stated in the video.

[@Emeruld1]

Interesting takes 💜

[@Chibason]

Oooooooh so cool that 'Mafia' was mentioned. That was my jam in the 2000s. I played in dozens of themed games on Narutoforums and even hosted 4 of my own

[@MixedUpMedia21]

That's awesome! It was the first thing that came to my mind lol.

[@Chibason]

@@MixedUpMedia21 Yeah the first time I saw that VR game I realized it was Mafia based(which of course was based on a party game originally known as 'werewolf')

[@MixedUpMedia21]

@@Chibason Oh that's cool, I've never heard of Werewolf

[@leahime]

Yo! I get so excited when you upload new video essays!! Keep it up, I selfishly say❤

[@MixedUpMedia21]

This one took a while but it was really fun to make lol. I didn’t even plan on making it at first but I’m glad I did and there’s definitely more on the way. Thanks for watching!

[@ka1iban]

Nice Ted Sturgeon reference!

[@HyphenatedHistoryUK]

I really love this channel! I wonder, what do you think of Silent Hill? I always thought it was fairly well received but then I never played the game

[@MixedUpMedia21]

I think there are some important details from the games that are missed in the movie, but I still really enjoy both. It’s a classic series for sure and supposedly, there are new games on the way so I’m looking forward to those as well. Also, thanks for watching, I’m glad you’re liking the channel so far!

[@JMonkey222]

Excellent video. You are far too correct about the Borderlands movie. The casting choices are a little off in my opinion.

[@MixedUpMedia21]

Maybe if we ever get more news on the movie, I’ll make a video about it. Everything about its production is confusing to me, starting with the director choice. I know they got big names to draw interest from people that don’t play the games, but I feel like everyone is decades older than the character they’re playing. Except the guy playing Hammerlocke, who is decades younger. I guess we’ll see how it is if it ever comes out. They’ve been done filming since last June. Thank you for the compliment by the way, I’m glad you enjoyed the video!

[@thatoneguy3284]

Yo im appriecating this channel ✊🏾🤝🏾

[@MixedUpMedia21]

I appreciate you stopping by🙌🏾

[@joshuahecht6866]

Both Sonic movies are great hopefully The last one in the trilogy gives Jim Carrey a final farewell to Cinema. And they get the sonic adventure 2 story right

[@MixedUpMedia21]

Yeah, I am actually really excited to see Shadow. It's also crazy to think that Jim Carrey is retiring with this franchise. Thanks for watching!

[@joshuahecht6866]

@@MixedUpMedia21 Your Welcome

[@karkussthesupreme7343]

I'm so glad they never tried to portray the Doom Slayer in either film.

[@MixedUpMedia21]

Seriously. I don't think they ever should either. The only interesting thing about him is that you can control him and kick ass lol. Thanks for watching!

[@theparadoxicaltouristtrave9320]

I'd adapt a fan favorite minor character to be main character. If I were to do donkey Kong. I'd focus on Jr. Have it a heist.

[@MixedUpMedia21]

Woah, Donkey Kong jr. heist movie. In all honesty Man, sign me up

[@beardlyinteresting]

To your point on making them longer running shows rather than being constrained to a two hour movie; You have the adaptations of League Of Legends: Arcane Castlevania Cyberpunk: Edgerunners DoTA2: Dragons Blood Now Arcane is the standout from those, absolutely fantastic. Doesn't have much to do with the game other than character names really as they even change up the designs; for the better if you ask me. Castlevania and Edgerunners are basically tied for second in my opinion, both really fun, both are based on the games wider world/lore such as it is. Dragons Blood is the weakest of the four, though that is more due to the pacing and writing. They had a good story somewhere in there but at times it felt both rushed and soul crushingly slow and plodding, which is a shame. It definitely would have benefited from a few more episodes allowing the story to breath, but also needed some episodes to spend a bit more time at the writers desk. Each of these were great fun to watch and while all based on video games, didn't actually just translate the games story, for three of them there isn't even really a story in the source material. Just bits of lore that are there if you care to look for them but otherwise not needed to be able to play the game. Having them tell their own stories and simply using the games as set dressing allows both fans of the games as well as people who've never even heard of them enjoy them. They also include various nods and homage to the source material which can be a nice detail for fans but if you don't recognise them they don't detract from the overall narrative. This worked particularly well for Edgerunners as it is based off of a Story Rich RPG that is based off of a TTRPG, this is a story that could run parallel to or before the games story but neither interferes with the other. Longer form content tends to work better due to the length of games but if you're adapting a video game plot, it better be one damn good plot because video game writing isn't the strongest in a lot of the older titles. Though a lot of RPGs by the nature of their gameplay are very story rich and can have very compelling narratives. However for narrative light games like sonic, those movies worked pretty well, not ground breaking but a decent viewing experience. I suppose one to kind of bring up is The Witcher adaptation, though that's a video game based on a book and I believe the show is also based more on the book at least until the plot diverged. Now I noticed all the series I mentioned are netflix shows, and I promise I'm not a netflix shill. So while I enjoy the recent selection of game adaptations to film and TV the best ones tend to be those that tell an original story, which I think is what most people actually want rather than the glut of low effort adaptations, rehashes, and reboots. But that's an entirely different essay on TVs and movies as a whole in the 21st century.

[@MixedUpMedia21]

This is an awesome comment and I agree with pretty much everything you wrote. I really enjoyed Arcane, Edgerunners and Castlevania and I've only played Castlevania. The best of the adaptations usually do just stand alone and do their own thing as you said. The worst are usually in your face about the fact that it's based on a video game rather than just being a good piece of media. It's crazy to see how few story-driven games have been picked up until now. There are some games getting movies that have no business being adapted like Minecraft, Rabbids and Saints Row tbh (all live action btw). I have high hopes for The Last of Us, but I wonder how the show is going to improve upon an already great story. Thanks for watching!

[@beardlyinteresting]

@@MixedUpMedia21 Yeah an adaptation of Tyranny could be amazing. You already have an amazing story and world/lore, given the diverging nature you could more or less copy the plot of the game or even have like a prequel or side story of one of the many historical events mentioned. There's a lot of room there for a straight adaptation or new story in the setting.

[@mohamadafifazizizaidi5625]

My fav. video game movie adaptation, which also a 'bad movie', IS *Silent Hill (2006)* . I am always grateful for the movie that introduced me to the first 4 SH games. The sequel, *SH: Revelation (2012)* , however...... We're not gonna talk about that 🙄

[@MajorMarlon]

Tekken deserves at least 1% on RT just for the hilarious double knee finisher at the end of the movie. Great vid as always man.

[@MixedUpMedia21]

Lmao bro Jin slowly running all the way up the statue is what get me. Also, Thank you!

[@MajorMarlon]

@@MixedUpMedia21 Haaa exactly that, it felt like if Ong Bak had been pushed for every character to be a sellable toy.

[@MixedUpMedia21]

@@MajorMarlon Wow that's an incredibly accurate take LMAO

[@MajorMarlon]

@@MixedUpMedia21 I ask for only a shout-out when you a do 4 hour video essay on this inspiration ;)

[@MixedUpMedia21]

@@MajorMarlon Dude I'll shout you out for absolutely no reason in my next video lmao

[@protojager]

I think a video game adaptation shouldn't be an adaptation, have it be a reimagining or just take place in the game's universe with only small overlap in characters. Have the character visit a location from the games but not while any of the game's events are taking place, that's why Edgerunners was such a good anime despite how short it was, they used in-game locations but only had background cameos of characters from the game. They never outright had someone show up like "hey yeah, I'm the guy you meet in the game, doing that thing that was mentioned in some dialogue in that one mission, when I brought up my past? Whacky callback right?"

[@yellowpencil5233]

They need take another shot at the silent hill series but instead of movie make horror tv show.

[@MixedUpMedia21]

I agree 100%. I honestly think Netflix would do a good job with it

[@2kBofFun]

Saying Mario Bros 93 was first is kind of weird... The granddaddy of video game movies is Tron from 82. Which is a great movie, same as Tron Legacy. This video is from before the release of Mario Bros 23, but that sucks as much as the old one, it maybe even elevated the old one into a cult classic. Rampage on the other hand was awesome, and another very good video game movie. Wreck it Ralph, which kind of turned Rampage upside down was garbage, it was 50% Mario Kart wannabe. I also think Pixels was pretty decent. They had Toru on board and that was hilarious.

[@Magicghost23]

What would video game series would you like see as animated show mine would be the legend of Zelda.

[@MixedUpMedia21]

Legend of Zelda would make a great series! I can see a movie happening if Mario does well and it most likely will lol.

[@comicbookking3446]

What did you think of the new Mairo movie and the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie ?

[@MixedUpMedia21]

I think they are both really fun movies tbh. Mario was super nostalgic, but I do think there are some things that could be done a little better. For a first entry, it was really solid. MK95 is so 90s and I actually watched it like last week with some friends. Meh, but it's so campy and I like how epic the fights feel.

[@bobbyologun1517]

TL:DR Brawl In Cell Block 99 is the best video game movie! woooooo

[@MixedUpMedia21]

I’m gonna have to check that one out. I on out focused on theatrical releases for this one because there are a lot more out there lol

[@paulhancock9942]

Mortal Kombat 95 is good and you cannot convince me otherwise

[@Oxxyjoe]

I don't know if there is a light at the end of this, sadly. You are completely right that video game movies subtract the thing the fans of those games love the most. If they made movies of games that are already story-driven, rather than adrenaline-pumps, these movies would succeed more because the audience of the source material is already one that wants to hear a story. And,(or, another approach is) if they first made a good movie, based upon the lore of the video game, they could do it with even the most story-void franchise, be it Doom or Minecraft or Candy-Crush. The secret ingredient is imagination. So what I'm saying is, the philosophy of the movie cannot be the philosophy of the game. The game is a "reality" that you put yourself into. The movie, however, is a story. Alright yeah Candy-Crush or something else idiotic would be a bad investment out the gate because nobody's got time for that. They have instead followed the misguided impulse to follow hype, I suppose. And, these movies are thrown together rather than made intelligently

[@MixedUpMedia21]

Exactly! I think a pretty good example of making a gem out of nothing is Angry Birds 2 tbh. There's no reason why the movie should be as fun as it is. Also, it's funny you mention Minecraft, because there's a live action movie on the way lol. Thanks for watching!

[@Oxxyjoe]

@@MixedUpMedia21 LOL oh what. I had no idea. Live action minecraft huh.. OK so it could be decent? I mean I have very little hope that it'll be good but that doesn't mean that the potential isn't there. oh and angry birds is one I never saw but I'll remember it. The second Sonic movie was much better than I expected. Sonic in general has a lot of coolness. The original was so kick-a**, kinda like, SEGA flexing its processor at the NES. The music bopped, the gameplay was exciting. Them making new 2-D sonic games that follow the original recipe is/was a huge missed opportunity. I appreciate all your videos I've seen so far.

[@Wyione]

Dragon ball was not on this list I’m sad

[@MixedUpMedia21]

You want another live action Dragon Ball movie?

[@Wyione]

@@MixedUpMedia21 yea with the technology we have today I feel like we can make it work

[@joshuahecht6866]

It’s anime Not Video Game Dragon Ball franchise is an anime series a manga series before anything else.

[@swoletimeappareltv9655]

I was like #100 😊

[@slipperytummy5532]

Thoughts on a smash Bros movie? It seems like something that could fall prey to the mortal kombat traps, but on the other hand, some part of my brain thinks it could be good??

[@MixedUpMedia21]

I don’t think it’s necessary, but if it was to happen, I think they should go the long term route with setting up the sub space Emissary from Brawl. The original plot is a kid playing with their toys, so they’d have to have a reason for all of these characters to exist in the same universe as well. It could be good, but I would have 0 expectations until I was in the theatre watching it lol