Being an avid gamer, I’m always interested in seeing game’s being adapted for films. However, with the exception of the first Mortal Kombat film, I’ve yet to see a decent game to film adaptation. From the okay (Prince Of Persia) to the downright just bad (Street Fighter: Legend Of Chun Li, Doom) I could go on but I won’t.

Now the latest one that is apparently being touted is the PS3 game Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune. Having played and finished Uncharted 1 and 2, I absolutely loved both games and thought the potential to make this into a film was awesome. For those who haven’t played the game, the lead character Nathan Drake is a descendant of Sir Francis Drake. He’s a treasure hunter and the game basically plays like a modern day Indiana Jones, which is exactly how they should go about the film.

When I first heard that David O. Russell was directing, I wasn’t thrilled, but having seen what he has directed recently I’m willing to give him a chance. Then my enthusiasm was dampened even more when I heard they had cast Mark Wahlberg as Nathan Drake. Wahlberg is a fine actor and I’ve heard his work in Russell’s The Fighter is absolutely top notch, but I think Wahlberg works best in a ensemble film with a good cast around him. When he is the lead the film just seems to fail. He already has one bad video game adaptation to his name in the form of Max Payne, does he really need another? Personally and as a fan of Uncharted I hope he and Russell do this film justice. Perhaps if they surround Wahlberg with a good supporting cast it might turn out good. But with record of the video game to film adaptations not being good, I’m going to be watching this one with caution.

I think the problem with writing and making a comic book film is the material itself. The thing is if you take the original comics with all that camp-ness and so on, nobody is going to want to watch it. We’ll end up with a endless supply of Batman and Robins. In theory, Superman Returns should have been an awesome film. With it being a pseudo sequel to the Richard Donner films and that series, but it just never came together right. It was so freaking boring. I’d rather  have seen Tim Burton’s Superman Lives with the all weird stuff he was adding because at least it would have been something new to watch and from recently released test pictures it would have been very different which sometimes isn’t a bad thing.

Batman Begins was a great Batman film. It was good to finally see his full origin on the big screen. To be honest, I don’t like Christian Bale as Batman. I don’t even think much of him as an actor. I would have preferred Angel‘s David Boreanaz in the role. Everything was good about the film. In contract, I thought that The Dark Knight was just plain awful. The only parts that worked for me were the action scenes. I honestly believe, and I mean no disrespect, that this film wouldn’t have garnered the attention, money and great reviews had it not been the fact that Heath Ledger tragically passed away. His Joker didn’t work for me.

Trying to make DC Comics on film for Hollywood has never been a easy task. Hopefully that will change starting with Green Lantern and once they get Nolan and Bale finished with Batman and move on with a new actor and director. So we’ll finally get to see a long awaited Justice League of America film. Zack Snyder on Superman is a genius move and I long to see this film get made, so here’s hoping that us DC fans will finally get the movies we so longingly have wanted.

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The need for speed is back. After twenty four years and a lot of rumors, Top Gun 2 is apparently one step closer to a reality. The latest news is that the head honchos at Paramount have made an offer to producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Tony Scott and star Tom Cruise to make a sequel to what is arguably the film that made their careers and defined a generation. An offer has also been made to The Usual Suspects and Valkyrie screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie to pen the film which would have Cruises character Maverick in a smaller role.

Now lets rewind back twenty four years. Don Simpson and his producing partner Bruckheimer hot off their success with Fame were looking for a new project and Bruckheimer read an article in 1983 in California Magazine called “Top Guns”. His immediate thoughts were that this could be Star Wars on earth and set about purchasing the article. Simpson and Bruckheimer then hired newbie director Tony Scott to helm the film because he had actually worked with and filmed a jet for a commercial for the Saab car company. The three were all agreed on the one most crucial detail of them all: This film could not be done without the full co-operation of the U.S. Navy.

At the time relations between the Hollywood community and the U.S. Navy were not good. The Navy were very hesitant at getting involved in Top Gun as their last film collaboration on An Officer and A Gentlemen did not go very well to say the least. It was Bruckheimer and Simpson who personally met with Naval officers and officials that persuaded them to make it happen and they did. They set real life Top Gun Flight Instructor Pete Pettigrew to work with Jim Cash and Jack Epps on the screenplay and act as technical adviser on the production. That’s where the film started to become the hit it was.

Pettigrew made significant changes to the screenplay. The opening was changed to a Night “trap” which is known to be a pilot’s worst nightmare, but I doubt any pilot would admit that. Maverick’s love interest was changed from a fellow pilot to a civilian because relations between male and female officers are not allowed. The Top Gun trophy was invented for the film. The film took on its more real aspects under this trio’s writing. The decision to cast Cruise, a relative unknown at the time, was viewed by many skeptics as a risk, but the Producer and Director fought for it and won.

In fact most of the casting done at the time included a lot of up and comers. Val Kilmer and Tim Robbins are two that have made their careers a success, but there was the casting of a pivotal but small role in the film that stood out more than the others. That was the young Meg Ryan as Goose’s wife. In her limited screen time she showed why she deserved to make it to the big time.

Top Gun was released in theaters on May 16th , 1986 and took in a worldwide box office of $353,816,701. It was generally viewed among moviegoers as a film where you couldn’t help but like it. The quote “I feel the need….The need for speed” quickly became a hit. It was backed a hit soundtrack as well which included an academy award for best song with Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away” and provided another hit for Kenny Loggins of Footloose fame with “Danger Zone”, but the most impressive thing that it did was still to come.

When Top Gun was released in theaters the Navy and Air Force reported they had received a significant boost in its recruitment numbers so much so that the Navy set up recruitment booths in some theaters to capitalize on it’s success. Something that had never happened before. I think Top Gun was one of best films that came out of the 80’s. It was pure Americana. It made stars of its lead actors and redefined the action/war films.

If a sequel is to happen I would love to see Cruise’s character in a more mentor role to whoever they cast as the new lead. Top Gun 2 if handled right could be another great hit for cinema, but to me one thing they have to keep is the authenticity. No CGI. A film like this has to feel real and they should do everything in their power to keep it that way. Maybe Top Gun 2 could help the Navy and Air Force’s recruitment again especially in this date and time when they are needed. Only one thing is certain if this happens, the Summer of 2012 or 2013 will be one hell of a ride.