Metal Gear Solid – The Movie?
Why a Film Based on the Famous Video Game Series is a Bad Idea
Jun 16, 2008
When it was released in 1998, Metal Gear Solid revolutionised gaming with its focus on stealth and a story about retired army hero Solid Snake returning to action to stop a terrorist group from launching a nuclear weapon.
Its popularity spawned three further sequels, including the recently released ‘Guns of the Patriots’, and talk of a movie version has been bouncing around cyberspace for years. However it has been announced this year to be in the early stages of pre-production.
Although it’s a gamer's dream come to life, realistically there are certain obstacles preventing it from living up to expectations and being nothing more than a bad film.
Call Me Snake
Firstly the main character Solid Snake is based very much on his namesake (played by Kurt Russell) from John Carpenter’s influential action film Escape From New York - all the way down to the no-nonsense attitude and gruff voice. Any would be by-passer unfamiliar with the game may interpret a film version as a poor Escape From New York rip-off.
However there have been some promising names linked to the project, such as Christian Bale and Viggo Mortensen, and there early rumours of David Hayter, the voice of Snake, making the move to the big screen. Whoever it turns out to be they will have a hard task of living up to the PlayStation counterpart.
Metal Gear’s Amazing Story Made Simple
Secondly, and most importantly, with the story in Metal Gear Solid lasting upwards of 15 hours a lot of the plot developments will have to be cut and simplified for timing. Perhaps the main attraction of Metal Gear games, apart from the gameplay, is the intricate story full of interesting characters and genuinely shocking twists.
Kojima’s games have played out more as interactive movies, with some cutscenes and story sequences in the game lasting almost an hour, making the idea of a big screen version somewhat redundant.
With that in mind, the prospect of the wonderfully complex narrative being dumbed down for the mass film audience is a little hard to swallow.
Directed By Uwe Boll?
Therein lies the problem with any film adaptation of a video game, the fact that tens of hours gaming time is cut down to less than two hours. This means it would take a very skilled visionary to pull it off correctly without ruining the pace and doing the story justice – the current rumour puts Equilibrium director Kurt Wimmer at the forerunner.
But as the game-to-film market restricted to people with bold ideas and very little talent (Paul WS Anderson and the world’s worst director Uwe Boll spring to mind), nothing turns out as well as hoped. Although Kojima has been rumoured to be producer, the amount of involvement he'll have in the project is unknown at this point.
Just Another Post-Bond Spy Film
For the film to actually succeed it needs to contain as many elements from the game as possible, much like Robert Rodriguez’s Sin City which was brilliant because it didn’t differ much from the source material.
To be truly faithful, Metal Gear Solid: The Movie would have to cover Snake’s origins (including the story of his father and early adversary Big Boss), the real motives of antagonist Liquid Snake, the triple-crossing antics of villain Revolver Ocelot and the manipulative Illuminati-style government group called the Patriots.
Somehow it’s doubtful, as it will most likely turn out like every other post-Bond spy film, with some corny one-liners and over-the-top action scenes replacing any real story telling, just so it will attract an audience. Sounds riveting.
