July 28, 2011

Eye-Roll for Hollywood

First they came for the comic books. Then they raided old Saturday morning cartoons. Now, movie makers are going where Hollywood has never gone before …

Board games.

In 2012, Universal Studios will release Battleship, a movie adaptation of the famous Milton Bradley board game (now owned by Hasbro).

If you watch the trailer, it become obvious that this is basically a blow-em-up action flick, where the board game idea somehow meets Transformers or Independence Day, or some other sci-fi storyline with big honking alien spaceships.

It might be a fun movie, although I'm certain it is mindless and devoid of substance. (Not that there's anything wrong with that). But somehow I don't see forking over $8-$10 to watch it.

If Battleship succeeds, will that bring on a flood of new cinematic features based on board games? Sorry! Chutes and Ladders? Risk? Risk, now that would be an epic - you know how long it takes to play the game, can you imagine the movie?

I don't know that I'll bother seeing Battleship, but I might, if only to see if the script includes the line we all know by heart. Because if you are going to make a cheesy movie based on a game, at least go all out, and have Liam Neeson scream at the aliens saying:

"You sank my battleship!"

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