Monster Hunter director Paul W. S. Anderson reveals his secret behind the perfect video game movie

When it comes to video games and movies, they’re a combination that often doesn’t work too well. That certainly hasn’t stopped director Paul W.S. Anderson from trying though, as he is arguably the director most synonymous with the genre having adapted several video games into movies like Mortal Kombat, Death Race, and of course, far too many Resident Evil films. And while the overall quality of his movies is not great, you can’t argue with his track record of making most of those movies a box office success at least.

Anderson is returning to the genre he loves with the upcoming Monster Hunter film – based on the popular Capcom game – which will again star his wife Milla Jovovich, only this time she’ll be taking on a wide range of gigantic monsters as opposed to endless hordes of zombies. Given his vast experience on the subject matter, the director recently shared his formula with Screen Rant on what he believes it takes to make the perfect video game movie:

I think you need to stay true to the to the fabric of the game – which we have done, as I’ve kind of demonstrated. But also I think you have to be aware that you’re walking a very fine line because as well as making a movie for fans who know a lot about the source material, you’re also making a movie for people who don’t know anything about it. Mortal Kombat works for both audiences, and I’m always aware of that line. And that’s why sometimes hardcore fans take offence because we change some things.

But really, we’re trying to do our best to tell a story that doesn’t exclude anybody. I think that’s the thing you want to not do. You don’t want people to go, “Oh, I don’t play the game. Therefore, that movie is not for me.” You want people who both play the game and don’t play the game to go, “That is very cool.”

I do find his comments a little hard to believe. Especially the part about not trying to change things too much when his Resident Evil films were a massive departure from the video games. As someone who is not a big fan of most of his films, I would argue that he has yet to make a decent video game movie, let alone a perfect one. I do know his Mortal Kombat and first Resident Evil movie certainly have their fans though. He has also learned a lot over the years, although I don’t have high hopes based on what we have seen in the trailer so far.

Hollywood is slowly getting better at adapting video games into movies as of late, just not the ones directed by Anderson. Still, you cannot fault a man who is a real gamer at heart for following his passion, and for that, we should at least commend him.

Seeing as Hollywood struggles with it though, what do you think makes the perfect video game movie?

Last Updated: October 20, 2020