'Mass Effect' scifi videogame In Film development deal

[JonathonWally]

Owain Taggart wrote:

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Well, this actually might work considering it's more of a story driven game with a good script in the first place. Movies based on videogames that have the most trouble are the ones that don't have much of a story to begin with, like Doom for instance. I suspect they'll have an easier time making a movie out of something that already has a well fleshed out universe.

Final Fantasy 7 had one of the best stories in a video game, of all time. Advent Children isn't that great on it's own merits as a movie, and Spirits Within flat out sucked.

Resident Evil is an epic series of games, one of my all time favorites, and while I do enjoy all three live actions, and anticipate the fouth this year, I'll be honest and admit how they're aren't really that great of flicks.

So you're pardon me if I can't muster excitement for a Mass Effect movie.

[Deckerd]

FordSVT wrote:

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This is going to need an absolutely huge budget to pull off successfully. Like Halo.

There's a Halo film?

[bullethead]

Deckerd wrote:

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There's a Halo film?

It's in development hell after Neil Blomkamp and Peter Jackson left due to Microsoft telling the studios to fuck off instead of letting Fox and/or Universal (IIRC) to get some creative control over the movie. Now Steven Spielberg is said to be interested in it, but considering that he's made some bad choices in the past few years, I don't like that fact.

As for the Mass Effect movie, I think the best bet would be to go for a prequel or something occurring around the time of the games, but not involving Shepard. Stuff like Garrus's past in C-Sec, the First Contact War, and other things would be a lot better than trying to adapt the game's plot.

[jefferiestubes8]

Sheep wrote:

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Mass Effect does a better job being Star Trek than anything Star Trek has put on the screen in more than a decade.

Interesting.

another commenter CrispyLog mentioned:

Mass Effect is all about the depth of the universe making it feel tangible and giving weight to your actions making it truely epic; in a short movie form it's just a film with spaceships and aliens and probably very little context. The only way it would work is if the followed the blueprint of the recent Star Trek film.

and luckily here's commenter knucklix also mentions what the Exec.s at Bioware have apparently said:

I watched a documentary wherein the big boys of Bioware said they'd like a Mass Effect film, but what they're after is a kind of Star Wars-esque wide, canon-rich franchise where everything fits into the continuity - they wouldn't tell the story of the games, because that story's already been told; they want to tell a different story, as they've done in the books or the comics.-

[John Clark]

On the one hand, I'm a big Mass Effect fan and will see the flick if released. On the other, I can't see it being that great.

I hope I'm wrong and that it turns out to be good though.

[Owain Taggart]

firehawk12 wrote:

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Yeah, I guess so. The only really unique thing about ME was when they went retro with ME1 (something they abandoned in 2, curiously enough) and that's the one thing they probably can't translate to film without turning it into a big gag/parody (and we got that with Galaxy Quest, the best Trek movie ever).

I'm not sure what you mean by retro, but maybe it's just the fact that I'm not seeing it. I felt the aliens were like aliens in B5. Anyway, fact is, ME has a more developed plot and universe than most games, so it should be easier to make something that already has story to begin with. My only concern about a prequel is that we wouldn't get the Normandy on screen. It would have to more or less deal with how Shepard becomes a war hero. If they can tap the original script writers for the game, I could see this one being pretty good.

[firehawk12]

^
Mostly the camera filter, the very unnatural camera angles and of course, the soundtrack. Even the awkward sex scene had an 80s vibe to it.

All of which they pretty much removed from/toned down in the sequel game, actually. In fact, if ME1 was 70s/80s scifi, ME2 felt like bland 90s/00s scifi - where people have sex with bras on and music can't have any synth in it.

[Owain Taggart]

Oh, you mean the grittiness? That could be turned off in the settings, at least with the PC version. In fact, I had to in order to get more framerate.

I kind of felt the game had a BSG vibe to it. I guess kind of due to the way people would salute in this game and how they ship was layed out.

[-Brett-]

JonathonWally wrote:

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The only exceptions are when you take the universe and tell a different story.

Problem with that is that ME3 will be out long before a movie could be.

After destroying the Reapers and stopping their cycle of extinction, whatever conflict driving the movie will seem mundane by comparison.

[firehawk12]

Owain Taggart wrote:

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Oh, you mean the grittiness? That could be turned off in the settings, at least with the PC version. In fact, I had to in order to get more framerate.

Yeah, the film grain. It broke the game, but it was a nice touch.

[jefferiestubes8]

-Brett- wrote:

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ME3 will be out long before a movie could be.

After destroying the Reapers and stopping their cycle of extinction, whatever conflict driving the movie will seem mundane by comparison.

I haven't played Mass Effect yet.

Reapers are a hyper-advanced machine race and creators of mass relays and the Citadel,

At the end of Mass Effect 2, Harbinger is seen activating the dormant Reaper fleet which appears to consist of hundreds of thousands of ships which share Sovereign's basic cuttlefish-like appearance. The fleet then appears to be moving towards the galaxy thus setting the stage for Mass Effect 3.

Brett that 3rd game sound like The Matrix Revolutions (2003) human city of Zion defending itself against the massive invasion of the machines.
This kind of story cannot and will not be told within a 120-140 minute feature film. A much simpler story is needed for a scifi action genre film. A first feature film has to be made to see if this will become a film franchise...

[-Brett-]

jefferiestubes8 wrote:

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Brett that 3rd game sound like The Matrix Revolutions

Let's hope it's at least a little better than that.

[Mr Light]

Mass Effect movie would be awesome. I hate the way they spoil the shocking ending plot twist in the description of the damn game, though.

[Arrqh]

Owain Taggart wrote:

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I'm not sure what you mean by retro, but maybe it's just the fact that I'm not seeing it.

The design ethos of ME has a definite 80's scifi flare to it. IMO, it gives it just enough visual uniqueness without going overboard and I can't think of any reason why this wouldn't translate to film.

The only really unique thing about ME was when they went retro with ME1 (something they abandoned in 2, curiously enough) and that's the one thing they probably can't translate to film without turning it into a big gag/parody (and we got that with Galaxy Quest, the best Trek movie ever).

Uh, it definitely wasn't abandoned in 2 with the exception of the weaker soundtrack (and I don't think that was the intent). In any case, it's no more risky then the design ethos of the new Trek movie and audiences seemed to buy that pretty easily.

[firehawk12]

It's risky in so much that if you go too far with it, it turns into camp rather than homage but if you don't emphasize it enough, people won't get the reference.

For example, it's probably why JJ didn't want to invoke the 60s Trek in any real meaningful way because seeing Kirk pull out a communicator the size of a brick or watching Sulu push giant square illuminated blocks on his screen-less console would have made it all seem like a big joke.

Like, Galaxy Quest did it when they had Tim Allen/Taggart take off his shirt to fight that rock monster... and while I think Pine went shirtless in JJ's Trek, it wasn't played for the same effect.