I have heard and read a lot of bad reviews about this movie, and when my girlfriend wanted to watch it anyway, we feared for the worst. Glad to say: we feared in vain! Both of us have played the games, tho in my case I never managed to get hooked on part 2. No matter, since the movie just covers part 1.
A lot of reviews mention how things are missing from this movie, like bullet time slow-mo's, gore, and narration. But to be frank, we didn't miss anything really. In fact it HAS gore, slow-mo's (good ones even, without looking like a matrix rip-off) and narration. Just not through the entire movie, just like it doesn't have shooting through the entire movie. People.. a movie is not filming how some one goes through the game shooting people one by one. A movie actually tries to focus some more on the actual story! It's quite well compressed from the many hours of game-play to the few hours a motion picture can be.
And that story was done fine. It was faithful to the game safe for some minor acceptable liberties, and solid enough as stand-alone for those who didn't play the game as well. The only confusing thing was the '1 week earlier' flashback which starts the movie and lasts well over an hour of the movie's total time. The mention of the dead wife in the prologue's narration can put viewers on the wrong track thinking it's 1 week before those deaths. However, once the scene comes which clearly shows which part was actually the flashback, it suddenly falls into place.
The end of this flashback is the turning point of the movie from storytelling to solid action. I have no peeves with the action, aside of the endless clips of ammo. Never reloading is a common thing in movies, and by far not the worst to happen.
The atmosphere and build up was absolutely great. Grim, gritty and cold. The junks and bodies everywhere from the skipped plowing of the early stages in the game, makes place for visuals of how the drug Valkyr is being experienced. A slight change of scope from 'yet another gore movie' to actually elaborating more on the substance that's cause of everything. Had they kept the hellish scenes in junkie apartments, then they'ld have lost the contrast with the drug's effects, and therefor it's a perfectly good choice.
In closing, I'ld like to add that I've lost my confidence in the IMDb ratings and reviews as they've proved wrong yet another time. It's seriously better as many other action movies which get a 7+ rating like the failed Transporter 2.
A lot of reviews mention how things are missing from this movie, like bullet time slow-mo's, gore, and narration. But to be frank, we didn't miss anything really. In fact it HAS gore, slow-mo's (good ones even, without looking like a matrix rip-off) and narration. Just not through the entire movie, just like it doesn't have shooting through the entire movie. People.. a movie is not filming how some one goes through the game shooting people one by one. A movie actually tries to focus some more on the actual story! It's quite well compressed from the many hours of game-play to the few hours a motion picture can be.
And that story was done fine. It was faithful to the game safe for some minor acceptable liberties, and solid enough as stand-alone for those who didn't play the game as well. The only confusing thing was the '1 week earlier' flashback which starts the movie and lasts well over an hour of the movie's total time. The mention of the dead wife in the prologue's narration can put viewers on the wrong track thinking it's 1 week before those deaths. However, once the scene comes which clearly shows which part was actually the flashback, it suddenly falls into place.
The end of this flashback is the turning point of the movie from storytelling to solid action. I have no peeves with the action, aside of the endless clips of ammo. Never reloading is a common thing in movies, and by far not the worst to happen.
The atmosphere and build up was absolutely great. Grim, gritty and cold. The junks and bodies everywhere from the skipped plowing of the early stages in the game, makes place for visuals of how the drug Valkyr is being experienced. A slight change of scope from 'yet another gore movie' to actually elaborating more on the substance that's cause of everything. Had they kept the hellish scenes in junkie apartments, then they'ld have lost the contrast with the drug's effects, and therefor it's a perfectly good choice.
In closing, I'ld like to add that I've lost my confidence in the IMDb ratings and reviews as they've proved wrong yet another time. It's seriously better as many other action movies which get a 7+ rating like the failed Transporter 2.