Gran Turismo (2023) - Movie Review

Video game movies tend to come in two flavours. They’re either about video game characters in their separate video game world, or they’re about those characters making in their way into the ‘real world’. On both counts, studios have historically struggled with making such movies worthwhile, although with the recent successes of The Super Mario Bros. Movie and Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (I specify the sequel because the original is still pretty naff), that tide has definitely been turning of late.

Dynasty Warriors (2021) - Movie Review

So I’ve been getting back into the Dynasty Warriors games recently. I’ve been playing them on and off since I was a kid, but over the last couple weeks, whenever I find any scrap of spare time in-between getting these reviews written up, I’ve been delving back in the world of Chinese military politics and fundamentally ridiculous weaponry. I love the hell out of these games (even if the more recent entries haven’t done much for me), and while the average for video game adaptations is still in the red despite recent efforts, I was quite looking forward to this film in particular. And sure enough, it delivers on all the bombast and astonishingly hammy fun that makes the franchise what it is.

Free Guy (2021) - Movie Review

After what happened with Red Notice, I feel the need to reiterate the point that I have no problem with Ryan Reynolds and what has become his schtick since reconnecting with his inner Deadpool. It’s just a matter of finding the right story to put him in, rather than just expecting his usual mannerisms to make things interesting. And that is most certainly the case with this film, as it’s basically a massive pisstake and deconstruction of modern video games, with Reynolds as an NPC that decides that he wants something more out of his digital life.

Mortal Kombat (2021) - Movie Review

This is likely the only time that a new film will have to meet the benchmark created by Paul W.S. Anderson. And I’m not even remotely kidding; the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie remains one of the best video game adaptations of all time. Yeah, it’s a dense slice of action cheese, but with that casting, that soundtrack and those one-liners… in all seriousness, I went into this actively hoping for that same level of all-out fun. And truth be told, that is exactly what I got.

Monster Hunter (2021) - Movie Review

Oh goodie, Paul W. S. Anderson has found another video game franchise he can milk dry. Yeah, suffice it to say, I wasn’t really looking forward to this one largely because of his attachment to it (although, as I’ll get into, his isn’t the only name that spells trouble for this whole thing). Having sat through his last film with Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, easily one of the messiest and incoherent action films of the 2010s, if not ever, I went into this expecting the same level of aggrandising clutter. And yet, while that is certainly what I got out of this, this is the first film I’ve seen from Anderson in a long time where I find myself debating if this film is still entertaining in spite of his… eccentricities, let’s say.

Sonic The Hedgehog (2020) - Movie Review

I don’t get Sonic The Hedgehog. No, I’m not talking about the ravenous fanbase, or even having a dig at the games themselves (although it must be said that the Sonic games aren’t the kind to do things small; when they’re bad, they’re really bad); I’m talking strictly in terms of the character himself. He’s a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog who can run faster than anything else, and he has a really cocky attitude. That’s pretty much it. I don’t claim to be the biggest Sonic afficionado out there, but I’ve gone through enough Let’s Play osmosis to have seen the games and, even considering the competition, this has to be one of the trickiest games to give the big-screen treatment. A trick that these filmmakers just didn’t seem to get right.

Jumanji: The Next Level (2019) - Movie Review

The formula that made Jumanji: Welcome To The Jungle work is so brain-crappingly simple, it’s still bizarre to think that the numerous video game-centric films to come before it hadn’t cracked it. It took one of the most common and innocuous aspects of video gaming, the act of playing as a pre-designed character, and used to deliver some of the best body-swap comedy I’ve ever seen. I still can’t get over that it featured Jack Black acting like a Valley Girl, a combination that should’ve soured me from the guy’s work forevermore, and still managed to bring out the belly laughs. And with its sequel, it doubles down on that same formula and manages to do even better.

Tomb Raider (2018) - Movie Review

The plot: Bike courier Lara Croft (Alicia Vikander), still coming to terms with the disappearance of her father Richard (Dominic West), is put in a position where she must take control of the family business. However, when she discovers that her father may still be alive, searching for the resting place of Japanese queen and sorceress Himiko, she sets out for the island of Yamatai to find him. But between the shadowy organization also looking for Himiko, and the perilous obstacles that stand between her and the island, she will have to keep her wits about her if she plans on making it back alive.

Rampage (2018) - Movie Review

The plot: In an alternate present where gene manipulation has become a prized asset in the development of medicine and biological weapons, a space station housing a number of mutated specimens has crashed into Earth… and had a rather monstrous effect on the animals that got near them. As Energyne corporate leaders Claire (Malin Åkerman) and Brett (Jake Lacy) race to recover the valuable specimens, primatologist Davis (Dwayne Johnson) is brought into the equation after one of the specimens affects George (Jason Liles), an albino gorilla in his care. It’s up to George and medical engineer Dr. Caldwell (Naomie Harris) to get to the bottom of this calamity before the overgrown George and the other affected animals reduce Chicago to rubble.

Wait A Minute!: The LEGO Movie

Time to shake things up a bit around here as I introduce a new segment to the blog: Wait A Minute! So, even though my penchant for listing every film I review may have provided evidence to the contrary, my opinions on films aren’t necessarily set in stone. In fact, the mental background processing that I do for every film I’ve covered here doesn’t stop once I put my thoughts in writing; sometimes, random thoughts concerning some films do crop up from time to time. With this in mind, in the cases of thoughts that are particularly interesting (to me, at least), I figure I’d make it a new feature on here where I re-discuss films I’ve already talked about once before. Only if something particularly noteworthy comes to mind though, so I don’t end up just repeating myself over and over and over again; I do that enough anyway. And so, to kick off this new segment, let’s get into something that I’m sure most of us have heard of before.

Assassin's Creed (2016) - Movie Review

Against every semblance of better judgement that I possess, and an understanding of the low standards of the genre, this is easily the film that I was looking forward to the most all year. And no, that’s not just because I’m a fan of the video games; I’ve had my fun with the Assassin’s Creed series, and I actually have to give credit to AC 2 for giving me the pen name that I still use to this day, but that’s not why I’m seriously looking forward to this one.

Instead, it’s because this film is being directed by Aussie filmmaker Justin Kurzel, who showed some serious skill last year with his excellent adaptation of Macbeth. Add to that how lead actors Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard are also returning as our leads here, and one of the most badass trailers we’ve gotten all year, and I am definitely anxious to check this one out… even though I am fully aware that it isn’t going to be a great work of art. That may seem at odds with my own personal hype but, as I dig into this thing, I’ll hopefully be able to clarify that.

Ratchet & Clank (2016) - Movie Review

Knowing the track record for video game adaptations by this point, I should have no right to be looking forward to any of them… okay, save for Assassin’s Creed, but all in due time. Until then, we have a theatrical version of a pretty heavily ingrained part of my gaming childhood, one which continues to be awesome to this day. Even considering the PS2’s track record when it comes to platformers, R&C is still one of the most beloved by the fans, myself included. Its creative weaponry, its memorable characters, its utter lack of shame when it comes to toilet humour; Insomnia Games made a serious gem of a series. Have to admit, knowing that most of the original voice cast as well as the writers of the games are helping bring this film to life, I’m genuinely hoping for something good this time around.

Hardcore Henry (2016) - Movie Review

Video game movies are hardly anything new in today’s day and age. We’ve had video game adaptations like Need For Speed and Warcraft, films centred on video games like Pixels and The Wizard, even films that take place within a video game like Wreck-It Ralph and Tron. However, even with that precedent, this film expects to be of a different breed than all of those. This is a film that incorporates video game tropes as a form of cinematic storytelling. Now, the success of any video game-related film is rather sporadic; adaptations are rarely if ever good and films set in and about video games often just translate into watching others do what we would rather be doing ourselves. So, with this step into a new direction, how does it fare?