credit: MCU
Now let’s get this straight before going forward. Not every comic book and video game movie has failed, especially in recent years when many comic book movies have seen such success. But when they do fail, there’s a very good reason for it, and the reason differs from person to person depending on what they see. For instance, one reason why such movies can and do fail at times is that the source material is dealt with in a manner that doesn’t fit what the fans want to see. It could be said that the MCU has done this with a couple of very powerful and meaningful storylines, but that would be inaccurate since the box office numbers and the soaring popularity of the franchise have made it clear that success is the only way forward, and any failures are simply going to be absorbed. But messing with the source can be a little problematic, as some movies and series have proven.
credit: Assassin’s Creed
There are stories laid out for the writers to follow, so it’s hard to reason why these movies, on average, are reviled by fans.
An explanation that has been given that there’s no desire to follow a story that’s been set word for word is all well and good, and the MCU has done well with this since they’ve introduced their characters in an updated manner when needed and kept their origins mostly intact. But when it comes to the average movie or series based on a comic book or video game, the bones of a story are still there to be utilized, and in a lot of cases, they appear to be scrapped so that a completely different story can be given to the fans. This isn’t a big issue and should be something that’s pushed for, but at the same time, it appears to fall flat a lot of times for reasons that are too abundant to easily list. People who have read comic books have been wanting to see those same stories come to life on the screen and have been cheated just a bit. If they’re sore about it, though, their voices are often drowned out by the adulations given to the movies that have been rolled out over the last decade and more.
Change is necessary by all means, but sometimes change comes at the expense of the story.
Change can be a very good thing when it comes to telling a story, and it can bring about new stories that are absolutely needed when it comes to advancing pop culture and the many tales that people enjoy reading about and watching on screen. But there are times when change does come along that might tip the balance of a story and therefore make it less worthwhile simply because it erases the likeness of the core story that started the whole thing. To be honest, it’s hard to argue against change since, without it, we wouldn’t have the stories that we have now. But while change is needed and definitely meant to happen, it needs to be watched carefully
credit: Super Mario Bros.
This isn’t a new development. Unfortunately, it’s been going on for a while.
The failure of comic book and video game movies was worse back in the day since a few movies really didn’t get the gist of what the game was all about, and comic book movies, well, yikes. For whatever reason, it took a long time for filmmakers to get to the point that presenting the source material in a way that could be easily recognized was a better idea than freestyling it. There’s always something to be taken from various games and comics, but there are usually only a few storylines that people want to see, at least initially, since this can kick off a lot of different storylines that can help to bring the type of change that might broaden the story and create something that is far greater than the original story from which it came. That’s the hope at least.
There’s not much of a code to crack since following the source material should give writers a lot of worthwhile ideas.
Messing with the source material is one of the easiest ways to screw up a story when it comes to making a movie, and despite this knowledge, many filmmakers have made that mistake over the years and continue to do so. By sticking close to the source material and feeding off of it rather than seeking to be independent of it, more comic book and video game movies might find that their box office numbers would be even higher as people would be getting what they wanted and what would help to leave plenty of openings for new stories to come. It’s a thought anyway, but one that Hollywood doesn’t appear to want to entertain that often.