Dead Rising: Watchtower

There is a rule in Hollywood, if a video game become successfull, we need to make a film based on the game. This have happened many times in history. One of the biggest problems while making a film based on video games, is that it is hard to capture the feeling of the game itself. If you grew up in the 90´s, did anyone of you see the film adaptations of Super Mario Bros and Double Dragon ? Both films flopped at the box office, and we even got one film adaption Street Fighter. Compared to Super Mario Bros and Double Dragon, at least Street Fighter captured some details from the video game right. Could have been a lot better of course, but a fun action film if you just want to see Van Damme kick ass. More films were made based on video games, and i remember especially one who got panned by critics worldwide. Have anyone of you seen Uwe Boll´s film House Of The Dead, based on the popular arcade game ? This film did actually manage to get a profit, but the critics were furious of why Uwe Boll decided to make a film adaption. I have seen it, and i can at least say it is not as bad as Catwoman, with Halle Berry. But in 2006 we actually got a good film, based on the video game Silent Hill. I was surprised to see that we finally had a film that managed to capture the feeling of the game, and for that i think director Christophe Gans did a great job, We have all the Resident Evil films with Milla Jovovich, some are ok, some are just average. My personal favourite of all the Resident Evil films, is without a doubt Resident Evil: Extinction. Directed by Russel Mulcahy, the same man who directed the classic film Highlander, he gave the Resident Evil a different look and a concept that the film series needed. If you are curious to see one of these films in the Resident Evil series, i suggest you choose this one. When i can, and when i feel like it, i play video games both on xbox360 and PS3. I try and buy some when i get the chance, and i have played some good ones over the years. One of my favourites, is a video game called Dead Rising. The story of a journalist, stuck in a zombie invasion, had both great action, and video graphics. I played this game for days, even weeks when i was stuck. So of course when i heard that Dead Rising 2 is coming out, i had to make sure to get myself a copy. This game was even more crazy, with more guns, more enemies, and a lot of fun details. I still play these games still today, because they are so good. About 6 months ago, i read online that an film adaption of Dead Rising was on the way, i was a bit skeptical. Was it possible to capture the feeling of the video games on screen ? I decided to take a look, and see if i would be suprised. Is Dead Rising: Watchtower a great adaption of the classic video games, or just another worthless try of making films of video games ? 

All across America, the governemnt is running an organisation called FEZA – Federal Emergency Zombie Authority. This organisation is trying to contain an viral outbreak , that turn humans into zombies. An anti-viral drug called Zombrex, is being given to infected people, just to help them from transforming. Online reporter Chase Carter ( Jesse Metcalfe ) and his camerawoman Jordon ( Keegan Connor Tracy ) are both working to cover stories along an infected area in Oregon. When the outbreak becomes unstable in this area, Chase and Jordan try to find a secure location. They run into Maggie ( Virginia Madsen ), who just killed her own daughter, who was infected. Since there is nothing else Maggie can do, she joins Chase and Jordan on the run from the outbreak. They also meet Crystal O´ Rourke ( Meghan Ory ), who also managed to stay alive. As they continue their journey, the group finds out that Crystal have a dark secret. Who is she really, and why is there an hidden agenda in the army ?

If you were hoping that you would see big action stars in the leading roles, with a massive budget on special effects, this may not be what you expected. This is more of a B movie, and you can tell they have used more handmade make up, than CGI zombies. And this is a good thing. There is nothing worse than a CGI zombie attacking, you need to make some nostalgia feeling by bringing in zombies with real make up. Since i am a big fan of zombie films, and zombie games, i was hoping that Dead Rising: Watchtower would capture the feeling of the well made video games. You can tell that director Zach Lipovsky have tried to find a way to make this look like Dead Rising. My problem with this film, is that it feels too light. If you are going to do a Dead Rising film, make it disturbing and fun, just like another version of Zombieland. Or they could have chosen to make it more darker, with more make up effects, because some of the zombies look way to simple. You do get to laugh, especially when you recognize scenes that remind us of the game, where you hit zombies with toasters, or anything you can find to use on them. There is a feeling of Dead Rising here, but in the end it all feels like too many details makes this film adaptation, loose the right strings to make it work. Lead actor Jesse Metcalfe is not so bad, he tries to portrait the character Chase Carter, as good as he can. He is probably one of the reasons why Dead Rising: Watchtower, manage to stay alive. I am surprised to see legendary actor Virginia Madsen here, always nice to see her show up in films. This may not be one of her better performances, but she is a legend, and it is hard not to like her. Overall, this is only a film for those who plays the video games of Dead Rising. I know that there is a sequel on the way, and i am hoping that they get things right next time. This first film have a few good moments, but feels way too simple to care about. If you love zombie films, i suggest you give Maggie a try instead, with Schwarzenegger. I have not played Dead Rising 3 yet, so i better buy myself a Xbox One, so i can spend a week, or 4 weeks, just slashing zombies apart. I have a feeling that game will be more fun than this film.

Rating: DD