Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid video game franchise has been a huge success, and so of course there was going to be a movie adaptation. The movie’s IMDB entry states that it will be released later this year, but test audiences have already had a chance to see the film in select cities.
David Hayter, the voice actor who plays Solid Snake in the English version of the games and whose script for the movie was rejected, said that the movie should remind viewers of the feel of the games. “MGS is a very rich world to draw from, and to pick a single story to focus on for a movie was probably a difficult process for Hideo. I’ve only seen bits and pieces of it myself, but what I have seen is amazing!”
Hayter declined to comment on his role in the film, although Internet message boards are populated with fans who speculate that he will at least have a cameo.
Some fans were disappointed by the movie’s extensive use of interaction.
“I thought the movie was full of action, and I loved it and all, but I was a bit turned off by all the game-y parts”, says one test audience member. “Sometimes you just want to sit down and watch a movie, you know? I don’t want to have to press buttons for 20 minutes just to see one minute of movie followed by another 20 minutes of button mashing. Just show me the movie!”
“Seriously, the pacing of the movie would have been much better if I didn’t have to direct Snake myself so often,” agreed another member. “The point of movies is to let me watch it. I didn’t pay $10 to sit in a theater and play a video game.”
Still, even with all of the complaints, many more people seemed to love it. One fan said, “Dude, my friends and I loved this movie! It was all action-packed, you know? And it felt like you were there, you know? Like you were involved!”
The Metal Gear Solid film will be available for wide release in the summer of 2009.