Metal Gear Solid.
Lets be completely honest. The all time 'great' action films of mankind have all come and gone - with the exceptions of 'Alien' and 'Predator': which came in a blaze of glory during the eighties and have slowly, painfully been milked to death ever since.
The main problem with these woeful re-incarnations, (aside from the sudden obsession with CGI and the need to water down scripts and gore - "WILL SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE CHILDREN??!!") is that these films were relevant to a bygone era, long before Nixon showed the world that modern warfare could not be resolved with muscle-clad mercenaries with vest tops and rucksacks of ammunition.
With this in mind, the question I put to you is simple.
We are at a point in history where the exploits of one man (or small team of men such as the SAS or US Deltas) are capable of turning the tides of war both quicker and faster than any Blitz or Normandy invasions of times gone by.
Never before has public image and media exposure played such a vital part in the way the super-powers wage war with one-another also, hence the need, no, insistence on covert operations being carried out the the National interest on a daily basis without Joe-public ever knowing whats happening.
Why, why, WHY does Hollywood insist on re-resurrecting by-gone franchises when it comes to making a high-budget action film?
"You going to kill me Snake?"
"Not now.. im to tired. Maybe later."
With Russian-American relations at an all time amicable public level, the events of the Iraq war highlighting the need for a new generation of military weaponry to adapt to the modern battlefield, and the impending depletion of the Earths fossil fuel resources.. the plot for Metal Gear Solid is already set perfectly, and needs no more explanation than can be fitted into the opening scene of 'Sons of Liberty' (where Snake abseils onto a Russian cargo boat of Hudson Bridge to gather intel on the ships cargo.)
I love David Hayter. I really do. But im sorry, a movie with the potential to re-launch the action genre into the 21st Century should also produce the next great pioneering action superstar.
The next Shwarzenegger.
The next Stallone.
The next Eastwood.
Thats it for tonight folks, will finish this post in the coming days.
Thanks for listening.
As much as I'd love to see Metal Gear made into a film, I really don't think any studio would have the balls to do it right. It would need an astronomic budget and as the failed Halo movie has proven, Hollywood wont risk big cash on an untested franchise.
ReplyDeleteAlso, that plot... I love the MGS games, MGS2 is definitely in my top 5... but the plot is a crazy mess. It would need a top talent script write to make sense of it (then again, Hayter is a script writer...)It would also need a director capable of handling a film of huge magnitude and sadly, those sort of directors just arnt attracted to computer game adoptions.
Then again, MGS could well be the 'game to film' equivalent of 'X-Men', the one that makes people realise that games CAN make good films if handled with the respect they deserve.
I feel MGS is perfect as a game. I love BEING Solid Snake, infiltrating a base, sneaking up on a guard, snapping his neck and hiding his body in a locker. All before putting the pad down for 30 mins whilst I watch a cut scene. I dont think it needs to be a film...but if Sony knocked on my door and offered me the job of directing, I certainly wouldn't say no.