Metal Gear Solid was a landmark moment in my gaming history. It was the first game I ever played that opened me up to the idea that video games could be more than fun diversions; they could be just as narratively compelling as a film or a book. That’s probably in part due to Metal Gear Solid being chock-full of cutscenes, but you know what I mean. But, even though it had this cinematic soul, it still delivered an experience that was unique to video games.
That’s why I’ve always been iffy about the ever-looming film adaptation of the property. Sure, there’s a lot of surface stuff that seems easy to adapt (espionage, stealth action scenes, iconic villains that offer lots of visual flair etc.), but it’s all the intricacies and the feeling of Hideo Kojima’s classic that most likely wouldn’t make it to the screen.
Well, Sony’s going to keep on trying to prove me wrong. According to Deadline, the leakiest company in the movie biz has hired Jay Basu as the film’s screenwriter. Basu is a pretty in-demand guy, coming off of Monsters: Dark Continent (didn’t see it, so I need your opinions Chewers) and recently being tapped as one of the writers to help Universal create their Monsters shared universe. I guarantee someone only saw he was involved with a movie with the word “monsters” in the title and said, “That guy must know monsters!”
Jordan Vogt-Roberts, who directed The Kings of Summer (another film I haven’t seen), is attached to direct. I hope he sees what I can’t in this possible adaptation. Creeping around in a cardboard box is fun in a video game, but would probably come off as doofy in a movie about trying to stop super-powered terrorists from launching a nuclear strike.
…I think I’m gonna go play Metal Gear Solid.