Breja: The problem with some of those movies is not how bad they are, but how much better they could have been. Prince of Persia, Max Payne, Hitman- those are not terrible movies (not very good ones either, but serviceable), but they could have been great. Why Max Payne could not have been a faithful adaptation of the game's plot, instead of the inferior chep knockoff we got?
Do you mean the Max Payne movie should have closely followed the plot of the (first?) game? I can think of a few reasons why video game movies shouldn't do that:
- The biggest target audience is probably the people who know the game. It is better to offer them something new to see, rather than a replay of the exact same story they have already played.
- Sometimes a plot that works well for a game, might not work as well in a movie.
I think it works the other way too. I think the days of movie tie-in video games, where the game is merely trying to recreate the events of the movie, are a thing of a past. Games that have the same spirit as a movie or TV series, but a story of its own, maybe even completely new protagonists and enemies, is much more fulfilling.
For what it's worth, I also liked the Hitman movie. I had not played the games before seeing the movie (but I was full aware of the games, owning the first four games already; just never having played them yet), but I knew the protagonist was supposed to be more of a middle-aged baldie, than the 20s something baldie of the movie. Yet, I liked the protagonist of the movie.
It may be also the movies turn down violence and antisocial behavior. So if e.g. collateral damage or even outright murdering innocent bystanders is allowed in a game, a movie might not be able to allow it. Damn US censors! :)