Games Into Movies

So apparently David Russell, the set writer/director of the upcoming film adaptation of Naughty Dog's Uncharted games, has left the project.  This is reportedly due to "creative differences on the project."  I assume that's the nice way of saying, "Sony wanted an actual adaptation of Uncharted, not just a movie named after it."

For those not in the loop, Uncharted is a series of games (soon to be a trilogy) exclusive to the PS3.  They are developed my Naughty Dog, the previous creator of the Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter games (the good Crash games, not the recent ones).  The series follows the adventures of Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter who believes himself to be a descendant of the explorer Sir Francis Drake, as he searches for ancient treasures and protects them from being delivered into the wrong hands.  Essentially, the series is a very well-produced, technologically and artistically impressive interactive equivalent to Indiana Jones.  And it's awesome.  I know some people don't like it, but each title has been well-received critically and commercially, and the series is one of my personal reasons for owning a PS3 (the others are Heavy Rain and Metal Gear Solid 4; other than that it's basically just my Blu-ray player).

So naturally, I'm actually happy about this.  It means if we get an Uncharted movie, it may actually be a movie based on Uncharted.  When I heard about how Russell envisioned the film as similar to The Sopranos, saying it's about "a crime family that metes out justice in the world of art and antiquities," I wasn't particularly happy.  Because that's not what the game is about at all.  That is, as most game-to-movie adaptations tend to be, some guy making up his own story and using the profitable name of a video game.  That's not okay, I'm tired of it, and I hope whoever picks it up actually respects the source material. I know Russell said he enjoys playing it and has respect for it, but he followed that by saying he had to create "another amazing world that's more cinematic."  That should be a huge red flag for any adaptation of anything, but for these games, out of all games, that statement simply is not valid (particularly the word "cinematic").  If you've played them you know what I mean.  

He should be Drake, gorramit!

It also looks like Mark Wahlberg will be reconsidered as well, which I am happy about because, as much as I'm sure he would do well, I'm glad Nathan Fillion may get another chance at a role he simply belongs in.  Yes, I admit to being an avid Nathan Fillion fan, I like pretty much everything he's been in, and Drake looks very similar to him (though perhaps a bit younger), not to mention Nolan North (Drake's voice actor) sounds almost exactly like Fillion.  

Game-to-film adaptation (adaptation in general, for that matter) is a complex issue; you can bet a full article will be coming on the subject at some point, and there will be much to discuss.

In other news, the delay of both The Last Guardian and the high definition Ico/Shadow of the Colossus Collection gives me sad, but I look forward to the resulting more highly-polished final products.  That said, I will be listening to the Shadow of the Colossus soundtrack constantly until I can finally play one of the most epic games ever made in HD.