4. Ang Lee
Why's it a good idea? No, we didn't pick Ang Lee because he's Asian, we picked him because he's a solid director. Although, the fact that he's Asian isn't exactly a bad thing, if you get my drift. What's that supposed to mean, you say? Well, it's supposed to mean that Lee isn't a Hollywood stooge,
actually, and is
actually in it for the art,
actually. The Taiwanese director has shown the world that he can tackle a whole host of genres, and although his sensitive adaptation of the
Hulk made a lot of teenagers cry with all its attempts to tell a human story and stuff, it's actually a more interesting version of the big green transformation than that generic Edward Norton fare. Although fans weren't prepared to see a Hulk movie in which the colossal beast spends a fair amount of his time staring at Jennifer Connelly with watering eyes (more smashing is what the kids want), it ultimately made for a richer filmgoing experience. Because when you look at it, that's not a bad way to go with the
Metal Gear Solid movie franchise, since, you know, Hideo Kojima embedded the games with all kinds of deep, meaningful statements about the nature of... well, we don't need to go into all that, do we? What we're saying is that there are some serious issues at hand that might suit a director of more sensitive tastes.
Why's it a bad idea? Although
Metal Gear Solid has bundles more intelligence in a single Codec conversation than your average slice of controller-based escapism, it's also a stealth-happy murder game. You kill a lot of people and you kill them good. You strangle them and you shoot them and you trick them into walking into explosives. For fun. Which sort of, kind of, maybe, doesn't sound like something Ang Lee would go for without trying to explore the issue at every turn. You know, the
consequences of the violence (consequences often results in long periods of "boring" with these artier filmmakers). Throw in the chance that Lee might spot something we've all apparently missed in Snake and Liquid's tense relationship, and you've got a
Metal Gear Solid movie going places we never thought possible. In a tent. With two cloned brothers having sex. We're just saying. Be careful.