Ask Pappy #15: Are Video Game Movies Finally Good, or Are We Just Getting Better at Losing?

Reader Letter: Dear Pappy, Mortal Kombat 2 looks great. The new Street Fighter movie looks awesome, so far, cast-wise at least. After years of being burned by lackluster adaptations that missed the mark, it finally feels like the tide might be turning for fans who just want to see their favorite pixelated heroes treated with some respect. Do you think this is a resurgence for video game movies or should we just appreciate the good ones?

Well, kid, if video game movies are making a comeback, then I guess I’ve been stuck on the loading screen since 1993.

Let’s be honest, most game adaptations used to play like a broken controller: all flash, no response. They’d promise “faithfulness to the source,” then forget the story halfway through level one. But something’s changed lately. Maybe it’s nostalgia. Maybe it’s that the folks making these pictures grew up playing them instead of just licensing them.

“Mortal Kombat,” “Sonic,” “The Last of Us,” even “Detective Pikachu” all figured out the cheat code: stop treating the game like homework and start treating it like heart work. Turns out, gamers don’t want perfection. They want respect. They want to see the worlds they love treated like cinema, not merchandise.

Now, does that mean we’re in a golden age of game movies? Not yet. We’re more in the “save point before the boss battle” stage. For every solid adaptation, there’s still a dud hiding behind the next green pipe. But that’s okay, progress takes practice.

And between you and me, I think we’re finally outgrowing the guilt of loving the silly ones. There’s joy in camp, and there’s art in passion, even when it comes covered in pixel dust.

So yeah, appreciate the good ones. But don’t stop rooting for the bad ones, either. They’re part of the fun, like losing to the final boss for the fifteenth time and laughing anyway.

Stay kind, stay curious, and don’t spill the butter on your way out.

— Pappy Hull, The Popcorn Philosopher

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