Image: Attack on Titan by December Larkham via Flickr
An animated franchise grown so popular for its unique plot and characters re-imagined as a live action film, what could possibly go wrong?
Well, plenty, as proven by the latest Japanese animated epic Attack on Titan.
The live adaptation of the popular Japanese manga series will hit Australian cinemas next week, yet scathing online reviews and unhappy Japanese fan reactions have dampened the hype of its overseas release.
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A review of the film published on Kotaku states that this adaptation “looks like Attack on Titan, but it’s not”, and asks fans of the series to forget about this adaptation of the franchise because “it doesn’t even work as a movie.”
Meanwhile, Japanese movie critic Yuichi Maeda claimed that the film was unrealistic with stupid characters and an awkward plot.
A user review made on the IMDB webpage also gave the film one out of ten stars, saying “the only good part about the movie are the titans and their brutality.”
These movie reviewers all agree the changes made to the characters, settings and plot was what made the film so absurdly bad.
The higher-ups omitted the character of Levi, a fan favourite, re-worked the personality of the protagonist, and forced a concept of romance into the adaptation (according to Yuichi Maeda, a sex scene in the middle of a titan outbreak. Really?!)
The movie’s rushed release date (and a sequel next month to boot) reveals the nature of filmmakers cashing in on an extremely popular franchises.
To herald the release of this fan-infuriating film, City Journal looks at the top 5 live film adaptations fans want to forget.
Dragonball Evolution
Image: Poakpong via Flickr
Here’s a fun piece of trivia. Japanese police had to ban the viewing of this film for fears that it would increase suicide rates in the country.
This live-adaptation of the mega popular franchise disappointed fans so severely, even the creator of “Dragon Ball” Akira Toriyama was left horrified.
This inspired him to revive the popular series with a new season and two more animated films, which is sort of a good thing I guess.
Although it’s based on the Japanese manga series, the film wasn’t shot anywhere near Japan, and just like the upcoming Attack on Titan, the characters in Dragonball Evolution were dull and racially inaccurate.
So in a nutshell, bad acting, bad casting, inaccurate portrayals and special effects that look like wind farts. It’s no surprise this adaptation is known as one of the the worst films of all time.
Batman and Robin
Batman & Robin (1997) Official Trailer #1 – George Clooney Movie HD
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In this film, Batman and Robin have rubber nipples. The acting’s also hilariously bad.
This classic Batman film starring famous actors like George Clooney and Arnold Schwarzenegger was described as a free-falling fiasco, leaving in its wake a twisted wreck of soiled reputations and ruined careers.
If you watch the film, you’ll notice there’s quite a bit of crotch and butt shots, cheesy one liners, and campy action sequences.
This live adaptation of the classic comic book hero was deemed so unwatchable, even the director Joel Schumacher had to issue an apology.
Here’s hoping Ben Affleck doesn’t mess up his role as the caped crusader in the upcoming Batman versus Superman.
Garfield: The Movie
Garfield (2004) Official Trailer # 1 – Bill Murray HD
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Everyone loves Garfield! The fat lazy Monday-hating lasagna-gorging ginger cat purred his way into our hearts with his famous misadventures in the daily paper.
In this movie adaptation, he’s even voiced by Bill Murray. What could possibly go wrong?
Besides only getting 15 per cent at Rottentomatoes.com, this film let its fans down because of its bland and uncreative script.
Criticised for being too simplistic and unoriginal, this film follows the trend of movies kids under the age of 8 would enjoy, such as Alvin and the Chipmunks and The Smurfs.
Expect lots of cringe-worthy jokes and over-used CGI if your’re not a kid, unless you enjoy that kind of thing.
Scooby Doo (2002)
Image: spadge6868 via Flickr
What happens when you adapt a cartoon into a live-action film while bringing materials that only makes sense in the cartoon to real life?
You get Scooby Doo, The Movie.
The CGI is bad, the characters have little to no development, and the plot is as predictable as any episode in the show. The movie is also quite dark and depressing for a Scooby-Doo film.
Spoiler alert: They even made Scrappy the villain, which isn’t so bad I guess.
If you want to switch your brain off and watch a ridiculous movie, here’s a good one.
The Last Airbender
Image: San Watanabe via Flickr
At this point, you were probably expecting this one already. Fans of the series were so annoyed with this movie, they refuse to speak or acknowledge its existence.
Image: AvatarNerd via Flickr
Instead of staying true to the show, director M. Night Shyamalan chose to take his own spin on the popular franchise and condense the rich storyline of the animated series into a rushed and badly-paced film.
The same problems that plague Dragonball Evolution and Attack on Titan also plague this film. The character casting for the movie was inaccurate and racially controversial, and by casting amateur child actors, funny fan favourite characters such as Sokka became extremely dull and hard to watch.
Image: AvatarNerd via Flickr
There’s also this hilarious rock scene.
Seriously, does it really take five earth-bending men to lift one small rock?
The Last AirBender Movie “FireBender VS EarthBender”
Avatar The Last Airbender – Book 1 Water, Vol. 1
