China will be helping to produce a live-action film adaptation of the Konami classic "Contra." Wei Nan, who created the 2012 science fiction film "Soul Transfer Station," will be behind it. If proven successful, we might see it in North America under probably a very different name. The working title so far is "Gryzor."
If it works well, it will be a sign of things coming completely full circle.
The title itself was based on Reagan's last-minute headache, the Iran-Contra scandal. The gameplay and tough-as-nails difficulty made it an instant classic and a role model for side-scrolling shooters to come. It was only outdone by its own sequel, titled "Super-C," a shooter which took the formula and expanded on it for a semi-3D perspective.
The 'Contra' characters were based on United States action stars
Back in the 80s, two men usually came to mind when you thought of a muscle-bound hero on the big screen. It's no coincidence, then, that the two characters in "Contra" were based on them. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone were the models for these characters, in case the hair didn't give it away.
Like many Video Games, the enemies were also derived from popular cinema. If those aliens looked familiar to you, it was because they were based on the late H.R. Giger's creations. Of course, that begged the question of why there wasn't a female option to play as a Sigourney Weaver look-alike.
Video game movie adaptations usually don't do well
The unfortunate fact is that at least in the United States, most movies based on video games are either guilty pleasures or an example of how not to make a movie. Among the few exceptions are "Silent Hill," "Prince of Persia," and "Assassin's Creed," and even they strayed from their origins enough to destroy the connection with their video game counterparts.
Most of the time we get duds like "Angry Birds," "Doom," and "Street Fighter." The movies are often intended to cash in on the game's success, and they are rarely any good at it. You may have noticed that "Angry Birds" almost went directly to Netflix, a medium where Adam Sandler is finding a new audience.
The 'Contra' movie might just surprise us. If the film makes it to the United States, it could end up being a surprise hit. Keep in mind that what entertains China probably won't entertain North American audiences so easily.
Do you think Konami's "Contra" movie will do well enough to break the curse of the video game-based movie?