Street Fighter beats the box office: are video-game movies finally good?
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Welcome to RoundTalk. Street Fighter just crashed at the box office after a huge opening. Can video-game movies actually be good? Today with Marcus, arcade expert; Tasha, film critic; David, game designer. Let's go.
Marcus, you ran fighting-game tournaments back then. Did you want to see Street Fighter on screen?
No. I will not pay full price for it. A film cannot give you that room feeling. In my place, ten kids stood around one machine. All talking at once. That was the game.
Tasha, does a movie have to feel like the arcade to be good?
No, that is the wrong test. A film is not a machine. Look at the Mario Galaxy movie. It made a billion. It works as a story. Street Fighter put in too many fighters.
David, you ship games. Does a movie need fewer characters to work?
No, the number is not the problem. The game has many fighters too. People love that. That's a choice they made, and here's why it matters. They dropped the fight ladder.
No, no, wait — the ladder was never the point.
Tasha?
No. The ladder is a game rule, not a story. Zelda is going with an original story, and that is right. Mario did the same. Street Fighter failed on people, not on structure.
No, the ladder is not only a rule. It is why you care. Each fight is harder, so each win means something. Drop that, and the fights are just fights.
People and structure are the same thing here. The fights make the people. Ryu matters because you watch him beat someone harder. This reboot gives you faces, then nothing happens to them.
Key vocabulary
- critic — person who analyzes and judges films
- arcade — place with coin-operated game machines
- mature — intended for adults; not for children
- reboot — new version of an existing film or game
- friendly — pleasant and easy to like
Comprehension questions
- Why does Marcus not want to pay full price for the Street Fighter movie?
- What does Tasha think is the wrong test for a video-game movie?
- According to David, what did the Street Fighter movie drop that is important?
- Why does David think the fight ladder matters in a movie?
- What does Marcus say is the main problem with the Street Fighter reboot?
True or false?
- Marcus ran fighting-game tournaments and wanted to see Street Fighter in the cinema. T / F
- Tasha thinks the Mario Galaxy movie was successful because it worked as a story. T / F
- David says that video games have only a few fighters, but the movie added too many. T / F
- Tasha believes the ladder is a game rule, not a story element. T / F
Fill the gaps
- Today with Marcus, arcade expert; Tasha, film ; David, game designer.
- Tasha, does a movie have to feel like the to be good?
- This gives you faces, then nothing happens to them.
Discuss in pairs
- Do you think it is good or bad when movies change things from video games? Why?
- What is more important in a movie: good characters or good action scenes?
- Would you like to see a video-game movie? Which game do you think would make a good film?
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Comprehension- Because a film cannot give you the feeling of playing in the arcade with other kids.
- The test that a film must feel like the arcade machine.
- The fight ladder, which makes each fight harder and each win mean something.
- Because each fight is harder, so each win means something.
- It gives you faces of characters, but then nothing happens to them.
- False
- True
- False
- True
- critic
- arcade
- reboot
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