10 Video Games That Should Be Movies (And Who Should Direct Them)
7. Takashi Miike's Shenmue
The Game:
With a budget of $47 million, Shenmue was the most expensive video game ever developed at the time of its release in 1999, though, despite numerous positive reviews and the emergence of a dedicated cult following, the game was a commercial failure. Regardless, the story of Japanese teen Ryo Hazuki and the hunt for his father's killer remains a gripping one, and would most certainly make for a great movie in the hands of the right director.
The story begins in 1986 Yokosuka when Ryo returns home to his family dojo to find his father in a confrontation with a Chinese man named Lan Di over an ancient artifact named the Dragon Mirror.
After trying to intervene but being swept aside, Ryo watches as his father is murdered right in front of him by the intruder, who then steals the mysterious mirror and disappears. A devastated Ryo swears revenge, and, after learning that Lan Di has fled the country, works his way onto a boat and follows the killer to China.
Why Takashi Miike:
Shenmue is a revenge epic in the true tradition of Asian cinema, and there are a number of suitable directors for the job. South Korean Park Chan-Wook would surely be in the frame for his creepy classic Oldboy, as would Hong Kong-born Derek Lee for his recent work on gripping crime thriller One Nite In Mongkok. This is the story of a Japanese boy, however, and there is a Japanese director that tops them all in the vengeance department.
Takashi Miike films started to pop up more regularly in the west after his 2001 revenge flick Ichi the Killer got a reputation for being so violent that many people couldn't finish watching it - barf bags were handed out prior to the screening at the Toronto Film Festival.
Despite his preference for vengeance and violence, however, Miike has also made family friendly films and even has experience in adapting Japanese video games for the big screen. The director's long-time appreciation of the revenge genre mixed with his canny ability to appeal to wider audiences (Ryo isn't a cold-blooded killer, after all) make him the perfect man for the job.