5 Great Video Game Movies That Aren't Based On Video Games

John Wick is a film that is brilliant because it knows exactly what it is, and isn't ashamed. What sucks about revenge-based action films? Simple: they spend far too much time focusing on love-interests and ham-fisted backstories. Well fluff that noise because John Wick is on a revenge tour because Russian mobsters killed his puppy. Revenge stories are plentiful in video games, but for the sake of case-studies let’s call John Wick Hollywood’s Kratos, cinema’s ‘God of War’. Let’s examine.

Between both franchises we have a protagonist moulded by war and bloodshed, both are very, very good at what they do, perhaps… too good. One day, they’re served s*** on toast and then the screen gets coated in claret. What makes the God of War franchise so enjoyable is the absurdity of Kratos’ feats. It doesn’t even become a question of whether or not Kratos can kill something, it becomes a matter of how and when. The fear his enemies show from knowing that impending doom gives Kratos so much power and allows us to feel so dominant because we’re on his side. The actual Gods of Olympus are watching the game’s story unfold, reclining back and saying, ‘oh blimey!’.

So how does this connect to John Wick? Well, much like Kratos, John is conveyed as a man of few emotions, hence casting Keanu Reeves, I assume. Throughout the film we’re treated to cutaway scenes of Wick’s future victims shitting themselves because of what they’re in the crosshairs of. We love over-powered characters, and John Wick might as well be invincible or the Grim Reaper in a fine suit. He exists in this world so much better at shooting and hitting people than anyone else. That over-powered nature means we’re allowed to just sit back and enjoy the mayhem unfold. It’s such a stupid film, but fluff me is it brilliant.