Empire Australasia – August 2019

Pikachu 1, Sonic 0

Games writer Keza MacDonald on what we can learn from

Detective Pikachu’s success(andonehedgehog’sfailure)

IT’SBEENA whirlwindfew

monthsforcinematicvideo

gameadaptations.Ontheone

handwehavePokémon

DetectivePikachu, thoughtby

sometobethebestvideogame

movieyetmade.Ontheother,

wehavetheupcomingSonic

TheHedgehog, thetrailerto

whichwasmockedsoloudly

thatdirectorJeffFowler

scrappedhisdesigncompletely,

tweeting,“Themessageis loud

andclear...youwantchanges.”

Peoplewholovevideo

gamesareusedtobeing

disappointedwhena beloved

seriesmakesit tothecinema.

Videogamemovieshaveonly

recentlymadethetransition

from“universallyawful”to

“sometimesokay”.Lastyear’s

RampageandTombRaider

adaptationsweren’tbad,but

PokémonDetectivePikachuis

stilltheonlyvideogamefilmto

go‘Fresh’onRottenTomatoes.

Videogamefilmshave

historicallybeensoawful

becauseit hasbeena meeting

oftwoalmosttotallyseparate

worlds:directors,actorsand

producerswhodidn’tplay

games,andvideogame

executiveswhoknewnothing

aboutwhatmakesa goodfilm.

If thelicensorshavetoomuch

sayovertheadaptation,you

usuallyendupwitha boring

movie;whengame-illiteratefilm

creativesgototallytheirown

way,it resultsinsomethingthat

eitherabandonsorbastardises

thesourcematerial(like1993’s

SuperMarioBros.movie).

Sowhytherecent

improvement?Inthe1990s,

gameswereplayedmostlyby

childrenandteens.Nowalmost

everyoneunder 40 hasgrown

upwiththem.Thishashappily

ledtoanemergingwaveof

videogamemoviesmadeby

directorsandwriterswho

actuallyplaythem,andwhoare

arguablybetterabletotranslate

thecoreappealofsomething

likePokémonorTombRaider

— thefantasyofit,thesoulofit

— intoa differentmedium.

PokémonDetectivePikachumay

beonlylooselybasedonthe

3DSgame,butit nailsthefeelof

a worldinhabitedbyPokémon.

It’sclearthesefilmswillonly

workwhenthepeoplemaking

themhavea passionforthem:

PokémonDetectivePikachu

directorRobLettermanandlead

actorJusticeSmithbothlove

Pokémon,andevenco-starBill

Nighydevelopedanunexpected

obsessionwithit duringfilming.

Forgamepublishersandmovie

studioslookingtofollow

PokémonDetectivePikachuin

breakingthecurseofthevideo

gamemovie,perhapsit’sall

abouthiringtherightpeople.

SONICTHEHEDGEHOGISINCINEMAS

FROM9 APRIL, 2020

IT’S RETHINKING WHAT A FEMALE-LED ACTION MOVIE IS

Kristen Stewart, who has stepped away from

big studio movies since Twilight, was enticed

back by the opportunity to make something

that wasn’t simply a classic male action

movie with the genders switched. “It’s really

important to have women as characters who

don’t feel like they’ve just had their name

changed from a male character,” she says.

“These girls have their strengths and a lot

of them are quite delicate strengths. Women

are team players, naturally. We understand

how to be greater in larger numbers.”

OLLY RICHARDS

CHARLIE’S ANGELS IS IN CINEMAS FROM 14 NOVEMBER

Above: As many

a wise person

has said, size

doesn’t matter.

Clockwise from

left: Jane (Ella

Balinska), Sabina

(Kristen Stewart)

and Elena

(Naomi Scott)

in the Charlie’s

Angels reboot;

“Look, another

sexist troll on

my Insta feed”;

Sabina, Bosley

(Elizabeth Banks)

and all manner of

spy-friendly tech

and gadgetry.

PLANET PHOTOS