The Formula

April 24, 2026


The Formula

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32 Comments
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Robert
Member
Robert
2 months ago

Free Guy is the best video game movie ever made. Fight me.

Franky
Member
Franky
2 months ago
Reply to  Robert

I’d agree. Perhaps because it’s about a fictional game.

Arcanum
Arcanum
18 days ago
Reply to  Robert

Why would we fight you when you’re so obviously right?

Now if you want to talk about TV shows, I’d go with Fallout.

Shiva
Shiva
18 days ago
Reply to  Robert

All hail Commander Robert!
Free Guy, rocked!

Morrigan
Morrigan
18 days ago
Reply to  Robert

Mortal Kombat (1990s) was a GREAT movie, because it FELT like Mortal Kombat and was well written. A lot of Special Effects look cool too. Honestly the only issue was that Annihilation the Sequel was BAD!

Dagroth
Dagroth
17 days ago
Reply to  Morrigan

I liked it back then, but rewatching it years later, with the change of some modern sensibilites, some things are glaring, like why did Sonya suddenly became a helpless woman in need of rescuing by the (of course) male heroes when Shang Tsung captured her, etc.

TomB
TomB
17 days ago
Reply to  Morrigan

That’s the pattern: We’ve built a decent movie. We don’t really have a good idea, but if we put out something poor, most won’t realize it is crud until we’ve got their money…..

octav3k
octav3k
13 days ago
Reply to  Morrigan

The new ones are surprisingly good (I’d even call the second one, the one released this year, amazing). Serviceable story and lots of good fan service.

scottsmom
scottsmom
18 days ago
Reply to  Robert

Counterpoint: “You still refuse to ACCEPT my God-hood? Keep your own God! In fact, this might be a good time to pray to Him. For I beheld Satan as he fell FROM HEAVEN! LIKE LIGHTNING!”

Ashe Frostwyrm
Ashe Frostwyrm
17 days ago
Reply to  Robert

ready player one was nice too

21stCenturyPeon
21stCenturyPeon
17 days ago
Reply to  Robert

Somebody hold Scott Pilgrim’s beer, will you?

Dean
Dean
16 days ago
Reply to  Robert

The Last Starfighter would like a word…

Ryan
Member
Ryan
2 months ago

This is definitely what happened with Assassin’s Creed.

Kasaix
Kasaix
18 days ago
Reply to  Ryan

I actually liked the Assassin’s Creed movie. Then again, I’ve been playing AC from the start, and that might be my bias showing.

MSM007
MSM007
18 days ago

I fear this is how Helldivers movie will be made.

Arcanum
Arcanum
18 days ago
Reply to  MSM007

What else are they going to do with it? Make Temu Starship Troopers?

Cypher
Cypher
16 days ago
Reply to  Arcanum

The projector could crash 10 minutes in for realism

Last edited 16 days ago by Cypher
Robert
Robert
18 days ago

At some point down the numbered sequel line it becomes completely self referential, without the necessity of any plot.

Paul
Paul
18 days ago

Every time I hear about a Mass Effect movie/series I have this exact panic.

Austin
Austin
18 days ago

If you’re struggling with a video game movie script, just ask Markiplier. He single-handedly made one of the best video game movies ever. But I guess Hollywood still hasn’t learned to trust a property with people who actually care about making a good movie.

Fartsy
Fartsy
18 days ago

Basically Minecraft the movie.

Ashe Frostwyrm
Ashe Frostwyrm
17 days ago
Reply to  Fartsy

not rly

Differemt Tim
Differemt Tim
17 days ago

Why do I have an urge to play Katamari now?

GUNnibal
GUNnibal
17 days ago

Ah yes, the eBALLitarian approach to filmmaking.

Nono
Nono
17 days ago

I mean, video game movies don’t need complex stories. But they don’t need to be soaked in references, either. Most non-kids going to watch it are going to have their nostalgia brains doing half your work for you, you just need to not mess it up.

Ambaryerno
Ambaryerno
17 days ago

Still a better approach than Uwe Boll.

Figgly
Figgly
17 days ago

Meanwhile neither of them nor any of their employees thought to even consider playing the game itself to understand the plot.

Soeroah
Soeroah
17 days ago

Hot take, this is basically how I feel about BotW and TotK. Fans will say the games connect to older Zelda games through the timeline because place names reference older characters/locations and you can see the ruins of Lonlon Ranch in Hyrule Field, but all I can see is empty nostalgia bait. There’s no way the ruins of Lonlon Ranch are the same ones from Ocarina of Time, not after 10,000 years, it only looks similar because reference to old game for nostalgia. And all the place names make no sense after such a long time, either. It’s just pandering… Read more »

HarlequinGnoll
HarlequinGnoll
17 days ago

After reading just the first panel my head went with Messy Tie Guy saying “maybe you should hire actual writers instead of interns, maybe even ones that enjoy the product?”

JozMk.II
JozMk.II
17 days ago

And frankly, it works. Both of the recent Mario movies took this approach, and they’re genuinely fun, enjoyable rides. And while the Sonic movies have overall more developed storylines, they still rely on a lot of references sprinkled throughout to appeal to the fans who like the games, like myself.

DerGrimmigeZwerg
DerGrimmigeZwerg
16 days ago

Fortunately, they didn’t add the worst of all references: Uwe Boll

Jim
Jim
12 days ago

He lost the tax loopholes that were the reasons for making his movies.