The history of video game adaptations into film has an incredibly rocky reputation, and that’s being generous. But as time goes on, the desire for and potential of seeing classic and iconic characters and worlds given new life on the big screen increases. Resident Evil has already had its shot in this regard multiple times, though that hasn’t stopped the franchise from persisting to show up in multimedia. After all, there’s a supposed live-action Netflix series on the way on top of an animated one, and the latter, Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness, was confirmed as canon.
Metal Gear Solid, meanwhile, has been in a state of limbo for years (not unlike the Uncharted movie). This is especially ironic given director Hideo Kojima’s love for film and clear desire to work within the medium. The series is known for its lengthy story sequences, lavish production values, and complicated plot with melodramatic and insane action scenes (in cutscenes, that is). In many regards, it would even make more sense for Kojima to direct a film adaptation of MGS and take a break from making games, though it’s more likely he’ll be overseeing things from a distance, not unlike Miyamoto with the upcoming Super Mario film.
Between these two upcoming reworkings of popular Japanese classics, which one might have the better shot at success? The Resident Evil CGI films have been a mild success, at least, but the big-name Hollywood Anderson movies (starring Milla Jovovich) have generally been panned all around. What was first a fine enough concept – adding a new protagonist, Alice, to the mix to spice things up – turned out to be the franchise’s biggest downfall as it more or less abandoned everything and everyone tying the movies to their source material. This new reboot, however, reportedly will star all the main characters from not only the first but also the second original game: Jill, Chris, Claire, and even Leon. This already bodes well in concept, and seeing photos of the iconic mansion portrayed as a real movie set is enticing. Fans could be getting a dual-natured narrative, with the events of the mansion and those at ground zero in Racoon City unfolding in one movie.
Despite blowing up Twitter when confirming it (again), Kojima hasn’t revealed much about the Metal Gear Solid movie. Especially with how long this has been in the works, it’s hard to know for certain if it’s even getting filmed. Fan-favorite actor Oscar Isaac has at least been reported to star in the iconic boots of David, aka Iroquois Pliskin, aka Solid Snake. If Kojima is indeed helping direct the film or at least in a position to influence and oversee it, there’s a good chance fans could get something special. The original PS1 era classic is small enough to be contained within a single film and old enough that seeing it reimagined for the medium could be fun even for non-fans of the franchise, especially if it’s handled with some more subtlety.
And this brings up a big question: will these films be getting made for fans, or in spite of fans? The recent Monster Hunter film seems like it did a lot of the latter, without bringing in new fans, according to reviews. And even if they aim to please fans, as a big budget movie, either will surely be trying to tweak and adjust things to be palatable to audiences who don’t know these iconic, campy stories inside and out. In which case, will it be better to play things serious, or embrace the camp? Either movie could absolutely go all-in on spectacle, zaniness, and camp and actually come out shining, but such an art takes a careful approach. Knowing so little, it’s safer to presume they will both treat the source material earnestly, and localize things to be less zany. This will probably be for the best, all around, but only if the teams creating these films can tap into what pieces of these games are truly meaningful and edifying.
With Resident Evil, there are bits of cultural questioning, especially with regards to how people collectively put so much power into the hands of big corporations like Umbrella, but at the core they are really more about tension. The recent reboots of RE2 and RE3 highlight that intimate tension in a struggle for survival, which is what put the franchise on the map to begin with. In the case of Metal Gear Solid, the series does many things, but perhaps its most earnest and recurring theme is the critique of the military, the dominance of power the few hold over the many, and the political greed involved in how the military is used. Despite what some may try to say, MGS is perhaps the most political game franchise of its old guard, AAA pedigree, incorporating many real-life concepts as inspiration. A film aiming to be serious should certainly try to work this core theme into its movie form.
Which of these two movies has more potential to outclass the other? It’s difficult to say with so little seen or heard. Resident Evil has had many shots at this, both live-action and in animated form, and even when played closer to the series’ true identity it hasn’t exactly wowed audiences. Perhaps Metal Gear Solid has an edge in this regard, partly because of Kojima’s sincere passion for the medium of film and partly because it has more raw narrative materials to draw from. It may still be some time yet before audiences learn more about these movies, and some healthy skepticism is advised, but as the director of the MGS film pointed out, Detective Pikachu has certainly broken a curse of sorts (and even the Sonic movie seems to have pleased people well enough after the hero’s re-design), so it remains to be seen if either or both of these movies can keep up the momentum. The Resident Evil reboot is supposed to come out in 2021, so we may have a better idea on that one sooner rather than later.
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