Top 5 Rare games that would make great movies!

by Paul on Nov 12th, 2013

Video games based on movies are nothing new and we’ve all been tempted by their allure over the years, only for them to unleash the bitter sting concealed within their colourful boxes as what seemingly held so much promise dissolves into bad gameplay and shoddy mechanics. Such is the appeal to play as our big screen heroes we just can’t fight the urge to see sense and stop buying them. To be honest, only Rare’s own GoldenEye 007 can stand tall and proud in the “I’m based on a movie” cavalcade. Movies based on games though are another matter entirely as their number is a lot thinner on the ground. Hollywood execs are always on the hunt for new and interesting properties to transfer to the big screen so it’s odd that we haven’t seen more video games making the move to celluloid with movie producers looking to capitalise on their success on consoles. Maybe it’s because what we’ve seen so far have all been pretty awful? We’re looking at you Super Mario Bros. Anyway, join us as we present in no particular order Rare’s best cinematic games. Games that, should they fall into the hands of some of the world’s best screenwriters and directors, would surely be in contention for blockbuster status. It’s our Top 5 Rare games that would make great movies!

Blast Corps

Picture the scene; Chris Pine is strapped in to a J-Bomb, rapidly descending towards the outskirts of a city with skyscrapers looming in the distance. Behind him roars the engine of the unstoppable nuclear device transporter. Further behind, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson approaches within a Thunderfist with quips and overactive eyebrows aplenty, ready to deliver a stinging uppercut to the nearest building. Yes, a big screen outing based on the N64 smash Blast Corps definitely has us excited. There’s plenty of action and tension to be had here as the Blast Corps team try to clear a path for the rogue carrier, obliterating anything that lies in the way of the unapproachable truck and its nuclear payload. Add in Michael Bay as director, who’s work on the Transformers movies gives a great demonstration of how our favourite Blast Corps mech vehicles will be depicted, and all of a sudden this explosion-fest suddenly becomes a pyrotechnical marvel. Mr. Bay is already renowned for his special effects but a Blast Corps movie would be like your birthday and Christmas rolled into one as entire cities fall and our heroes will rise. Time to get moving!

Jet Force Gemini

The story for this galaxy-spanning adventure seems custom-made for a big screen outing, with the heroic star twins Juno and Vela setting off on a mission with their trusty sidekick Lupus to thwart the evil machinations of the insect overlord Mizar. This film would have it all; action, adventure … and Floyd! How’s about Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Dakota Fanning as the Jet Force siblings, with Lupus being a solely CG creation with the vocal talents of the one and only Simon Pegg? Their quest to save the Tribals and put an end to Mizar’s plan to wipe out the earth with an asteroid would be an awesome film to watch, if only to see the potentially jaw-dropping sight of hordes of drones swarming towards our brave trio. Their planet-hopping exploits would allow the film-makers to present a truly varied and beautiful display of locations and the very idea of seeing Mizar recreated on the big screen gives us chills. Give us a 4D option where we can watch the film whilst armed with a light gun so that we can interactively join in with some random Tribal sniping and you’ve got Oscar-winning status right there.

Sabrewulf

Taking our favourite treasure hunter Sabreman and tasking him with a globe-spanning mission to retrieve the Sabrewulf’s golden amulet, then bringing it back to safety before the ‘wulf can catch him would make an excellent afternoon matinee adventure movie. Jon Favreau, director of Iron Man and Cowboys & Aliens, would be an ideal fit to bring this Indiana Jones-style romp to the screen and Sabreman’s ‘merry olde england’ persona leaves plenty of scope to deliver humour and cries of “wot wot!” amidst all the running around. Who to play the wily old adventurer? None other than Patrick Stewart of course, complete with bristly handlebar moustache. The Sabrewulf itself would make for an amazing CGI beastie antagonist and I think the dulcet tones of Jason Isaacs would bring the lupine fiend to life beautifully. I can see the tagline now; “The chase is on!”.

Perfect Dark

I’ve long thought that the world is in dire need of a decent female action heroine, and who better than the Carrington Institute’s own Joanna Dark, as portrayed by Kate Beckinsale, to headline a suspenseful action thriller? See the recent Total Recall ‘re-imagining’ for evidence of Beckinsale’s ability to totally own the part of Miss Dark. Add in Sam Neill as Daniel Carrington, Meryl Streep as Cassandra DeVries and True Blood’s Alexander Skarsgard as Mr. Blond and you’ve got a stellar cast who would do an amazing job of bringing these characters to life. You can also use the new Total Recall film as a great example of what this future world dominated by corporations would look like. Sign up Alex Proyas, director of the excellent iRobot, and you’ve got the makings of a dark, intelligent, sci-fi thriller. The Skedar would look brilliantly menacing and imposing once the CGI has done its thing and everyone loves a good conspiracy movie; all the more-so when you’ve got an alien called Elvis involved (voiced by Frank Oz naturally).

Grabbed By The Ghoulies

Sure, we’d be joining in at the tail end of the recent zombie fad, but Grabbed By The Ghoulies has real potential to bring something new to the genre. Not only are we talking about an exciting romp through a haunted house, but there’s not just one ‘ghoulie’ on the loose here; you’ve got a whole host of horrific monsters and ghosts to terrify and threaten our hero Cooper as he searches Baron Von Ghoul’s mansion for his beloved Amber. Seeing all of these brought to life as Cooper moves from room to room would be an amazing sight. There’s a particularly English comedic streak running through GBTG mixed in with plenty of violence so we can think of no one better than Matthew Vaughan, director of Kick Ass, to bring Cooper and Co. to life. Cooper himself would be portrayed on the big screen by Michael Cera, star of Scott Pilgrim and Superbad, whilst Emma Stone would be perfect as Amber. Add in Sir Ian McKellen as Crivens and Jim Carrey as the Baron and you’ve got an excellent cast, ideally placed to bring shocks and laughs in equal measure.

What Rare games do you think would make great movies? Do you agree or disagree with our picks? Let us know in the comments.

Categories: Top 5 Lists