Looks like Columbia Pictures will be bringing the characters and mystical lands in the epic game Shadow of the Colossus (or the Japanese title ‘Wander and the Colossus’) to the big screen. This makes me happy and sad at the same time. The idea of it becoming a film gives hope that this will be the greatest and most successful video game translation ever. The reality of this (since they are having Justin Marks write the script) makes me weep for another failed attempt, and this one is closer to my heart than another game.
Now a little back story from my perspective. Here at GCT we all love movies but we have our niches and hobbies aside from our first love: I am into architecture, Rob is into video games and Pete is into music. We all share things that interest us with each other so we’re more in the loop about things outside of our focus. Anyway that being said, I’m not a big gamer. But I spent 2 weeks in Japan visiting Rob in 2006 and for almost a week straight (at night after the karaoke bars) I would play this game til the sun came up. That was so much fun – sight seeing in the day, drinking and singing in the evening and playing games like a kid again all night long.
This game is probably my all time favorite, and I would, if I could, buy a ticket today based on this news (regardless of what the outcome would be). The quality of that game was significant enough to illicit a knee jerk reaction like that. I think (hope really) that Columbia (and whoever they bring on this project) knows that this game is very loved and they can’t mess this up. But I know that all the best of intentions can’t make a great movie because something always ruins a movie…budget, script, acting, take your pick. If one falls, so suffers the rest. I think the main hesitation I find in bringing this film (which I’ve written about before) is that there’s no dialogue (aside from the monologue narration at the beginning of a ‘level’ and the clues you’re given if you can’t take down the Colossi fast enough) so they’ll make up their own (possibly awful) and alter the plot.
So I’m going to say I’m on the fence about this one and hope that this goes in the right direction – I think a good reference of how this can be played out successfully is the scene in the Lord of the Rings film where Legolas takes down the battle elephant. I just hope Columbia looks at that same scene for inspiration and doesn’t cast Zac Efron as Wander. For now I eagerly await more news.
Are the rest of you excited about Wander’s big screen debut?
