My opinion of any movie based on a video game is this: If you can't surpass the quality of the game's cut scene animations then don't bother. Since most video games now have budgets that exceed Hollywood productions, this is a harder task than you might think. While we've known that a Gears of War movie was in discussion, details have been few and far between. No script, no cast, nothing as of yet. Judging by the sound of it, they're not even sure what direction the story should go in. In an interview with Making Of, producer Wyck Godfrey let slip a few details. Thanks to Slashfilm for the below quote....
The hard part is how to make it into something that doesn’t feel like a world torn asunder and people just in battle. I think we really want to focus on the idea of a world that’s running well, and then it’s Emergence Day and kind of make it impactful and immediate and the survival of those 48 hours as people survive Emergence Day. It’s more like ‘Cloverfield’ or something like that. Because trying to tell the epic story of an alien planet that’s living in a horrific environment just feels like the wrong mood right now.
I can see what he's trying to say by comparing it to Cloverfield, but I hope it's far better than that. Gears of War is basically Starship Troopers minus the tongue in cheek humor and cynical outlook. It's a man's war movie, and should be treated as such. For those that don't know, Emergence Day is the day when the aliens known as the Locusts emerged from the ground and began attacking humanity. Basically the start of the war.
Starting the film off with Emergence Day and turning it into some sort of survival horror film, or even worse turning it into a Roland Emmerich disaster road trip would be the biggest slap in the face to GOW fans. I think showing Emergence Day is fine, but only in flashback. This should take the approach of the game, drop us into the middle of the firestorm and sweep us along for the ride. No breaks, all adrenaline. Anything less will be a letdown. Whether or not director Len Wiseman can pull that off is anyone's guess. His track record is spotty at best.
