I am the most positive and forgiving person on the planet. When I got punched in the face by a bully in the 5th grade I actually apologized to him for hurting his fist on my large pumpkin head. Then I proceeded to check on him a week later to see if his hand was feeling better.
I’m not kidding.
So why, then, did I have such a negative reaction to the recent news that Sony was going to make a movie out of classic PlayStation 2 game Shadow of the Colossus? Am I just becoming bitter in my old age, or is there a reason for me running through the street nude and crying?
Hit the jump for the reasons why I think making a Shadow of the Colossus movie is a really bad idea.
Remind me: What needs to be fixed, again?
As much as I love being positive, my respect for true art and artists trumps all feelings of unbridled optimism.
It goes without saying that Shadow of the Colossus is an amazing piece of art -- there is a reason the PlayStation 2 classic is always brought up when anyone engages in an “are videogames art?” debate. The stunning visuals, combined with the game’s surprising emotional heft, truly create a unique and powerful experience.
Let me jump back on the positive bandwagon for a second and assume the upcoming Sony movie turns out to be incredible. Say the actors, the production design, the screenplay, the special effects, everything comes together and results in a truly outstanding film.
So what?
It's not really about whether the movie will be good or not. It's about why make it in the first place?
The original PlayStation 2 videogame is already so amazing, why even attempt to duplicate its perfection? In this scenario, the best the filmmakers can hope to achieve is a movie that is equal parts emotionally affecting as the videogame. The worse, and more likely, thing that can happen is the movie version is nowhere near as good as the original.
So why even attempt to remake something that definitely wasn’t broken to begin with?
Adaptation is not always a bad idea
I get that many different forms of art are brought to the big screen with stunning results -- one recent example of this is the breathtaking film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s novel No Country for Old Men.
But this is where some important specifics come in.
Turning an incredible book into a fantastic movie is tough, but I respect the effort. A book is, at its most basic form, a series of words typed on a page. The only visuals that can be formed while experiencing a wonderful novel or work of non-fiction are from the reader’s imagination. The transformation from page to screen is an exciting one, if only to see the creativity that is involved with bringing written characters and settings to life. The act of book to film adaptation is almost an art unto itself.
Shadow of the Colossus, the videogame, is already so cinematic that it is hard to imagine what could be done to change anything. Like I mentioned before, the best case scenario is an exact clone, while the worst case scenario is ... well ... I think we all know what the worst case scenario could be. And it’s not pretty.
It’s all about immersion
In a way, the videogame version of Shadow of the Colossus is even better than a movie could ever be. Not only is it remarkably cinematic, it is also interactive.
***MAJOR SPOILER AHEAD*** Take the scene when Agro falls from the bridge. This is one of the most haunting, heartbreaking scenes ever experienced in a videogame, and the player is completely invested in it due to the fact that they are controlling Wander and Agro before it happens. It’s like the player becomes Wander and feels an overpowering sense of guilt once his best friend in the world plummets to his supposed death. By directing Wander and Agro to jump over the broken bridge, the player feels directly responsible for what happens next. ***END OF SPOILER***
This scene could be sad in the movie version, but it will never achieve the same feeling of immersion established in the videogame.
So, again, I ask: what purpose does making this movie serve?
My snobby SotC fandom > Justin Marks’ snobby SotC fandom
As an (obvious) huge fan of Shadow of the Colossus -- something Justin Marks, the writer of the movie, claims to be as well -- I would rather everything stay as it is and encourage people to experience the original as it was meant to be experienced: as a videogame.
Granted, a lot of people out there don’t play videogames and, on top of that, would have a lot of trouble just “trying” something as complicated as Shadow of the Colossus, but I don’t think that should matter. I wouldn’t walk into a renowned chef’s kitchen and ask him to change his recipe for Venison Loin with Celery Root Puree to something closer to my tastes just because I am not a celery fan. The chef’s creation is his art and it should be taken for what it is. If I can’t handle it, I won’t eat it! Simple as that! (For the record, I would totally eat that -- it sounds delicious.)
On a similar note, I wouldn’t repaint the Mona Lisa on the side of a skyscraper just so more people could see it. If people want to experience the original, go see the original. It’s the way the artist intended.
Of course I will still see it -- I will just cross my arms in protest
Maybe I am just being crabby given the fact that my precious Shadow of the Colossus is being brought to the silver screen by the guy who wrote Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li. But I like to think it is much more than just a knee-jerk grumpy reaction to the surprising news.
If Shadow of the Colossus was a novel and someone wanted to transform it into a movie, fine -- like I said before, seeing words visualized is always an interesting experiment. If Shadow of the Colossus was a painting and a director wanted to recreate its vision into an epic film, go right ahead -- I respect the genuine form of inspiration. For me, it comes down to what Shadow of the Colossus is: a beautiful, heartbreaking, lyrical videogame that stands alone as a glorious piece of art.
A timeless piece of art that should be respected for what it is.
A videogame that should be experienced and not just watched.
It’s not too late, Sony: There are so many original ideas out there, why not create something no one has ever seen before? Attaching the name Shadow of the Colossus to a movie may sell a certain amount of tickets, but is it really worth it? True, the movie’s quality won’t affect the original videogame in any way, but why risk it? Is this what the original artists truly want?
Don’t punch me in the face, Sony. I don’t think I will have the heart to apologize this time.
***All “you are way too serious about this” e-mails can be directed to chad@destructoid.com.
Contest:
4:00 PM on 04.09.2009
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There's one good thing that can come out of it though. If it even achieve half the greatness of the original game, I can finally share my excitement about SotC with my non-gamer friends and family.
No you idiot, the VIDEO GAME.
But wouldn't it be better if the link to the spoiler wasn't red? lol. Its like SPOILER ALERT!! and ... heres the link for it, it is also in red :D
BTW, I still can't get over how gorgeous this game still is. It looks better than 80% of games from this generation.
If Fumito Ueda finally announces his new game at E3 (which we all know the announcement is coming anyways), I'm going to need to buy a new Mac because my monitor will be covered with rocket sauce.
I also think that the legal rights reside with the Sony headquarters and not as such with the entertainment division. If you look at the market goal they gave to entertainment (i.e. profit, profit, profit) this isn't really a surprising turn of events. They simply don't care about us and movies are still considered a sound investment.
My physical form cried out in sadness on it's own free will. My bpdy is my temple and my temple says nay!
This is Hollywood. They'll either add another character in the form of a wily wisecracking sidekick or the damn horse will talk.
"Agro and Wanderer on another whirlwind adventure!"
Just being realistic.
How does I completely miss the point of the game and become cash whore.
This is a project that has to become a permanent resident of DH.
That would free up Justin Marks so he could go write Max Payne 2: Payne Harder or Street Fighter: The Legend of the Asian Dude in the Background of Chun-Li's Stage.
I liked the game, it was fun and enjoyable. But the movie is gonna bomb. I would call it a puzzle game, and how are you going to convey that same sense of "HOW THE FUCK DO I KILL A MOVING BUILDING!? OH SHIT, HERE'S ANOTHER ONE AND I CAN'T DO IT THE SAME WAY!"
I was about to mention Reign Over Me. It features Adam Sandler in "serious actor" mode playing a guy who lost his family in 9/11. He subsequently goes bonkers, grows his hair to look like Bob Dylan and rides around on a little scooter. He mumbles about and plays Shadow of the Colossus throughout the movie although, in the end,his is redeemed by the love of Don Cheadle. I do not reccomend that anyone watch that movie, even on accident.
If you made that, you sir are awesome.
I've written about where I stand, but this was still a very good write-up.
To the point "why make it?" I say Watchmen film. It didn't need to be made, but was and (I thought) was highly enjoyable. Oh and also money. They'll make it because of money.
I couldn't get into the game, it bored the tits off of me by 10 mins in, which means it got spiralled into the 'if I become a shut-in' pile. The movie's probablly the only way i'm going to experience the story. I'm looking forward to it at this point.
One can hope that the movie will be so incredible that they may create more games like sotc
Also, I do understand all this anger toward Hollywood and this game coming together. Regardless, people WILL watch it...most of us will hate doing that and a couple more probably won't admit it, but we will watch it.
Sure, you can like the game but at the end of the day you still have to meet Hollywood expectations. It's like making a Naruto movie with Shia Labeouf.
Oh wait...
" I wouldn’t repaint the Mona Lisa on the side of a skyscraper just so more people could see it. If people want to experience the original, go see the original. It’s the way the artist intended."
Sums it up perfectly. The thought of making this into a movie is just gross and unclean.
You're actually not angry enough.
Good points made, the main one being this: The reason the story had any poignancy at all was the medium it was presented in. I think this goes for any game with a celebrated story, in which the narrative is expressed through gameplay and not through cutscenes or text. SotC stands next to games like Silent Hill 2 and (from what I've heard) Braid, using the interactive medium to it's fullest to convey emotion and depth.
Metal Gear Solid has achieved, as it matured, similar heights, with 4 being the pinnacle, where narrative became integrated into gameplay in ways the first three games just hinted at. You could not make a faithful adaptation of MGS4 as a movie, because it finally and faithfully embraced it's standing as a game, while MGS1 would be much easier to adapt because of it's narrative structure being significantly separated from gameplay, at least apart from the CODEC expositions. But should it be adapted to film? Like you've stated: No point.
I agree in spirit. The movie is a terrible idea for many of the points that you just raised. But I still have to go with Sterling on this one, the video game is always going to be there.
As time goes on the momentum of new people picking up and playing this game for the first time is going to decrease. But with the movie, that could change everything. Just yesterday I was at Border's and I heard someone ask about picking up "the book that The Watchman was based on". The movie brought in new readers that may have never gone back to the original. Why couldn't a Shadows movie do the same?
In fact, imagine this scenario: A non-gamer sees and enjoys the movie. (S)he has a PS2 lying around in their home (I mean who doesn't). This person decides to pick up a copy of the game on eBay for 15 bucks and is transported into a superior world of storytelling. This person becomes hooked not just on that game, but on videogames in general.
That doesn't sound too unlikely at all. In addition to all of the people who are already gamers that feel the urge to get a copy of the game while the movie's in production just so that they can say that they played it first.
But, really, I would love to see a guy climbing up onto the backs of giant monsters on a giant IMAX screen! I don't care if it sucks a ton, I would love to see those visuals. And then bitch about it like crazy afterward because Optimus Prime says "My bad". Whoops, wrong rant.
Taking the story to another medium where their fans may not be gamers, yes?
At best, this film will be like Final Fantasy: Spirits within or Advent Children - both weren't good films, but they weren't terrible either. At worst - you'll see brendan fraser fighting mini colossi statues, alongside tara reid, while quipping some lame one-liner, like "I HATE statues" or some other such bollocks.
Even though I wouldn't want them to touch it, if they did make a movie I'd be curious enough to watch it (which may or may not be a painful experience).
I would totally spend money on that!