ROTTEN TOMATOES: BioShock Movie in the Works? Comments

BioShock Movie in the Works?

by Jeff Giles | January 11, 2008

Summary

Ah, videogame adaptations. Critics hate them, audiences mostly ignore them...and yet the studios can't seem to get enough of them, which is why -- if the latest rumors are correct -- BioShock could be coming to a theater near you. Back to Article

(41-60 of 77 posts) | Reply

bulldog_mcgee writes:
on Jan 11 2008 02:26 PM

In reply to this comment (#1452780)
Well, I think Bioshock might actually be a wise film investment, since the story has so much in common with LOST. Also, I don't think they should green-screen it, and I think the logical director (if he would ever get involved in this sort of project) would be James Cameron--the king of non-green screen underwater filmming.

Also, the story is a bit more cinematic and literate than most other games, so I think there is potential for a good movie, if the adapters reinvent, rather than just translate.

(Reply to this)

u1sart writes:
on Jan 11 2008 02:30 PM

In reply to this comment (#1452601)
Yup i am with you on that.. yes sir, They just had us all hyped up about Halo and then blam dead stock... can we say they THAT SUCKED.

(Reply to this)

Introducing.. writes:
on Jan 11 2008 02:32 PM

I think given to the right hands, BioShock could actually work as a film...

(Reply to this)

u1sart writes:
on Jan 11 2008 02:42 PM

WHY LORD, WHY.. why everytime someone comes with a videogame besded movie it sucks... now the idea with BIOSHOCK, what the f@#k! the came with D.O.A. total ****, DOOM the worst movie ever, NOW THIS BIOSHOCK ****, the only movie i guess i'd love to see which is video game based is Prince of Persia directed by bruckheimer YEEAAA!!!!!.. or lets just say, lets keep our hands crossed, come on guys u all need to be serious with these GAME based movies no being committed to produce a well exciting movie that game players can be more at ease for enjoying both the game and the movie..
I heard they coming with Castle Wolfenstein, Castlevania, tekken, mortal kombat & prince of persia lets just hope they make these chosen few a change in Gamebased movies

Hey Peter Jackson, please pretty please, consider beginning "HALO"

(Reply to this)

nathanpoitras writes:
on Jan 11 2008 03:24 PM

What a Bioshocker! Another video game movie, should suck pretty hard.

(Reply to this)

A Tension Whore writes:
on Jan 11 2008 03:48 PM

Considering how much of an artistic masterpiece it is, where the action comes second to the breathtaking art deco, avant garde atmosphere, there's no way they won't screw this up. They'll treat it like it is a video game, when it's really quite different from the Hitman's and Dungeon Siege's that they keep piling on us.

(Reply to this)

rgallitan writes:
on Jan 11 2008 05:23 PM

In reply to this comment (#1453646)
SlyDante makes a great point. In the past video game stories pretty much filled three paragraphs in the manual, plus a few in-game nooks and crannies and crudely rendered cut-scenes. The exciting thing about a video game movie was to see those crude outlines and potentially vibrant characters "brought to life."

But with the incredible advances in game technology and design, that is frequently no longer the case. Games like Bioshock and Halo and Sands of Time don't need a film crew to fulfill their dramatic potential. Their storytelling is already fully realized. Rather than an upgrade, a film adaptation of those games would be a "side-grade" at best. And for ICO and Shadow of the Colossus - which do such an exquisite job of playing to the strengths of the video gaming medium - a movie version would unavoidably be a huge downgrade, because interactivity is so critical to the emotional experience.

This is why I'm glad that Jordan Mechner chose the path of "re-imagining" for the Sands of Time film - he's smart enough to know that the story told in the game is perfect just the way it is. Better to tell a different story than cloud the original.

(Reply to this)

LowBalls writes:
on Jan 11 2008 07:35 PM

Jack should be played by Clive Owen or Jason Statham, Andrew Ryan should be played by Anthony Hopkins. Atlas should be played by Billy West.

(Reply to this)

onepiece226 writes:
on Jan 11 2008 08:24 PM

Bioshock would make a good film if done the right way!

(Reply to this)

ipisking writes:
on Jan 11 2008 10:08 PM

In reply to this comment (#1452601)
Agree!!! with Ghost!!

(Reply to this)

ipisking writes:
on Jan 11 2008 10:10 PM

In reply to this comment (#1453072)
Humm!!!!

(Reply to this)

Ruckas356 writes:
on Jan 11 2008 10:58 PM

Bioshock is perfect for a movie, it really is. Great story great setting and completly original. Get a good director and good actors and this could be a brillent film. The next generation of bladerunner. Yes it could be that original!

(Reply to this)

Skates forJersey Dude writes:
on Jan 11 2008 11:46 PM

Cool whats weird is me and my friends were just talking about this like a week ago. Weird conisendence I thought. But I would go see it the game was great! just hope they do it right.

(Reply to this)

Skates forJersey Dude writes:
on Jan 11 2008 11:48 PM

Cool whats weird is me and my friends were just talking about this like a week ago. Weird conisendence I thought. But I would go see it the game was great! just hope they do it right.

(Reply to this)

lpbreeze writes:
on Jan 12 2008 12:24 AM

yah System Shock could work. I would love to see that. It could be very creepy. I would love to see the Cohen Brothers direct it for something different

(Reply to this)

curlybob writes:
on Jan 12 2008 12:40 AM

I don't think this game can be made into a movie with out a serious rewrite. In the game the hero doesn't discover anything but merely survives until everything is revealed to him. In the game this works because you are the hero and your actions are what determine if he survives or not. In a movie you know that Jack isn't going to die in some random splicer fight. Actually I think that you need to tell this story from a different characters point of view such as proffesor tennanbaum.

(Reply to this)

rgallitan writes:
on Jan 12 2008 10:11 AM

In reply to this comment (#1456113)
A Coen Bros. sci-fi movie? I love it! Whether System Shock or something else, they have the craftsmanship to bring us back to the heyday of Ridley Scott.

(Reply to this)

Hans Gruber writes:
on Jan 12 2008 10:25 AM

Too bad Orson Welles isn't around anymore. He would have been a perfect Andrew Ryan. I know he was a bit heavier than Ryan, but still.

(Reply to this)

Runawayrunaway! writes:
on Jan 12 2008 10:35 AM

Bioshock does have a good story and is far more sophisticated than the vast majority of games. (Can any other game claim to be an ultraviolent critique of Ayn Rand?) I don't think the story is perfectly presented in the game itself, which generally is too busy, has too much noise and enemies popping up, to effectively use the diary format to fill in the majority of the story. Plus I think the fairly brilliant core concept of the game is diluted by the way they decide to layer a lot of sci-fi mumbo jumbo over it instead of developing the main concept in depth. Plus I'm sure there are more sophisticated ways to critique Objectivism than to just have its implementation in a society result in a lot of loud, macabre carnage. While it's likably subversive to play a game that basically lets you kill the people that voted Atlas Shrugged as the greatest novel of the 20th century on a Modern LIbrary reader poll, it's still not a very mature approach.

But a good movie could be made. It would probably be better than a Halo movie since it isn't such a generic game story as "Lone space soldier battles aliens." I doubt, however, that a good movie will actually be made, since it is a total given that video game adaptations will be cocked up by mediocre-and-worse hacks. Even a faithful, unusually well made one like Silent Hill got cocked up because the writing was so terrible and Christophe Gans couldn't produce substance from the *** of a pig.

(Reply to this)

Ocyron writes:
on Jan 12 2008 01:15 PM

Am I the only one that thinks that a Bioshock movie would be best if it didn't concentrate on the events of the game, but was more of a prequel to it? You know, the beginning of Rapture and its descent into madness? That strikes me as though it could make a great movie if done properly.

(Reply to this)

Related Links

Related Articles

Most Discussed

Latest News

Latest Interviews

Latest Features

Sponsored Links