'G' is for "Gamers," as in those who play Video Games for this addition to the A to Z Challenge. This letter also represents "Genre" since I realized that a lot of movies based on video games are not created equal, yet they still get slammed by critics. Oddly enough, these movies still do well at the box office, which seems to be a trend across many genres of film.

"Resident Evil" starring Milla Jovovich (The Three Musketeers) and Michelle Rodriguez (Girlfight, The Fast and the Furious) is based on video games of the same name. It is categorized as a horror movie and packs enough blood and violence to fit right in with this genre. The first one was too creepy but the sequel, "Resident Evil: Apocalypse" wasn't too bad. Movies in the entire Resident Evil franchise have been a commercial success, despite negative reviews from critics on, well, just about (if not) all of them.

"Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" starring Angelina Jolie is far from scary. It sits among movies such as "Harry Potter" and "The Dark Knight" in the action-adventure and fantasy genres. Critics were not pleased with the film and some of the reasons why it received negative reviews had more to do with it's lack of depth with regards to the plot and less to do with the Lara: Croft Tomb Raider video games so there seems to be a mixture of disappointment on both sides....movie lovers and gamers.

Still, the movie was a success at the box office and I'm not surprised. My reason isn't because I was one of the many people who went to the theater to check out this movie, but, because the popularity of the video game combined with the international attraction to Angelina Jolie stirred in with cool special effects make for some pretty satisfying entertainment. Even Roger Ebert called this movie "silly, yet wondrous to look at" so hey, Lara Croft probably killed in DVD rentals and sales too.

"Max Payne" went all Film Noir in its movie adaptation of the video game. Let's see....does Hitchcock and "Mission Impossible" mix? How about Otto Preminger and "Die Another Day" or other James Bond films? Well, I wouldn't know because "Max Payne" is the only movie on this list that I still have not watched. Just like the other video game movies, "Max Payne" got a bad reaction from critics, who believe it has a confusing plot...but wait...there's more. The star of this movie, Mark Wahlberg, received a Razzie nomination for Worst Actor. None of the bad reviews or Razzie listings stopped "Max Payne" from generating more than $80 million worldwide.

So, what is the problem? Do film critics just not like movies based on video games? I'm pretty sure that it's not that simple and there are concrete reasons that these movies are getting a bad rep from press, gamers and maybe even a portion of the general movie going public. Still, there has to be a way to put films in a better position to be championed by the people who rate them.

If these movies based on video games are so successful despite negative reviews from critics, what would give them a better chance at gaining favorable reviews in the future?

Are the producers and/or directors of these video game movies focused on replicating the game so much that they neglect to create a story behind it for movie goers to follow?

or

Would producers be better off focusing more on creating a good plot and less on making sure that video game related elements are in place?

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