J.J.Abrams plans to direct Portal and Half-Life films

[Legion]

A Portal movie would be funny, if only to hear all of the people saying "Hey, that robot in Portal stole the voice from Pacific Rim!".

Personally I think game to films should only be done if they are as faithful as possible, or if they are a part of the extended universe and do not follow the story of the game. Mass Effect, Halo, Dragon Age and other games could be made into decent movies if enough effort was put in, but games such as Half Life and Portal don't really have a whole lot going on outside of the games story, at least not to the extent that a decent film plot could be created.

 

[Kyber]

Is it me or does he have a bit too much on his plate? Star Wars, Portal AND Half-Life? All beloved series, that need to be made carefully to not upset the large fanbase. And it probably doesn't make it anymore easier that the protagonists of two of those don't speak.
I'm also betting that the film will come before Episode 3.

 

[Ldude893]

I liked Star Trek 2009.

I also liked its sequel.

I liked Cloverfield even though he just produced it, I enjoyed Super 8 despite the tinge of cheesiness of its story, and while I never watched the movie I heard Mission Impossible III was pretty good. And for all the nonsensical plotlines and unanswered mysteries, I had a thing for LOST.

So to be very frank, I'm not bothered. Sure there hasn't been such thing as a good video game movie (with the closest being Silent Hill, and while it was true to the source material it was still a bomb), but I've yet to hear of a video game movie that completely ruined the franchise it was based on. The public will move on if a movie based on Half Life and Portal ever falls flat, but it would be incredible if it actually turns out well.
Considering Abram's resume, I think it'll be at least a decent watch, which is more than I could say with many other film adaptation of video games. The biggest worry I have is whether he can capture the spirit and story of the games without sacrificing too much, and without alienating people who hadn't played the games.

 

[RaginDrage]

(Insert witty and unexpected joke regarding excessive lens flare usage here)

OT- Half Life and Portal were always games I really wouldn't expect to translate to film very well. The Fascination and fun found in Portal is directly tied to the 'game' aspect of it. Trudging the depths of Aperture is better played than watched in my opinion. The same goes with Half Life, however the amount of world building in Half Life 2 might be able to hold itself well as a movie, maybe from the prospective of a different(and talkative)protagonist aside from Gordon Freeman,who stands high among the list of mute heroes.

 

[Casual Shinji]

One day we will look back at this and laugh...-and laugh...-and laugh.

 

[Ov3rdose]

They wouldn't make the films same as the games. I am sure they would just set a movie in the hl/portal universe.

 

[Vivi22]

JJ Abrams needs to stay away from anything that geeks love and hold dear.

Honestly, I think what we need more of is geeks to shut the hell up and quit whining when anything new or different at all is done to some franchise they hold sacred. The new shit doesn't undermine the old, and if you don't like something, don't watch it and wait for it to go away. There are few things more annoying than people constantly making the same tired complaints about how someone just raped their childhood because some piece of media didn't meet their exacting requirements.

 

[Kerric]

IMO portal would work better as a 15-30 minute short rather then a 3 hour "epic blockbuster" that Im sure he wants to do.
(Text elided).

You probably were aware of this, then:


It's not very long, but it's pretty well done.

 

[Lilani]

Both Half-Life and Portal would need some major re-tooling to make a feature-length film. I'm sort of doubting either of them would revolve around Chell or Gordon, but perhaps other times and places in their storylines. Like Aperture before and during its fall, or Earth as the Combine take over. In which case, it might be interesting to see what a less-than-expected director does with it. I don't think they key is to capture them accurately, as in retrace the stories the games have already told. And I'm rather confident they won't try to go that route, simply because neither of those stories is very accessible to the medium of film. The silent protagonists are a huge roadblock as far as structure, and while a feature-length movie that features only one human and one mad robot AI would be very interesting, I don't see Abrams going for that. And trying to retell the story of Half-Life would be a bit of a farce at this stage since the original story the game started isn't even complete yet. His best shot is to find a part of each story that hasn't been covered yet, and to flesh that out with his own characters.

I am a bit worried about Portal, though. Half-Life could do "gritty and real" very well, but Portal has always been more on the "silly" side, and only got more silly with Portal 2 (especially if you read the comics). I just don't think Abrams would be able to balance quirkiness within the realm of a homicidal robot taking over a research facility. It's a very specific kind of humor, and I really don't think Abrams is up to the task of capturing it.

 

[RedDeadFred]

STAHP!

I really don't mind your movies. Heck, I even enjoy some of them.

But seriously, this is waaaay too much power for one man to have. Can't you leave it at Star Wars and Star Trek?!

 

[ThePenguinKnight]

I can easily see Uncharted and Mass Effect being adapted into pretty good movies, but Portal and Half-Life?

 

[Innegativeion]

I gotta say, I'd be pretty stoked to see a Half Life movie.

To echo everyone else, though; they'd have to get pretty DAMN creative in order to elegantly translate Portal to movie format.

And lastly;

"Asteroids," "Missile Command,"

What.


...


You know, what? I shouldn't jeer. They have a battleship movie. It was shit, but they did it.

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

From what I recall it was more of a "what if" conversation than anything definite. Still I would love to see a half life movie, maybe featuring the 8 hour war.

Or better yet make a video game about it. As for Portal, I just can't see it.

 

[Windcaler]

IMO portal would work better as a 15-30 minute short rather then a 3 hour "epic blockbuster" that Im sure he wants to do.
(Text elided).

You probably were aware of this, then:


It's not very long, but it's pretty well done.

Actuall I was aware of that short and as you said its short but very well done. Its also an excellent example on how a short can make a great movie and still be faithful to its source material.

 

[Rblade]

aren't both main characters in those games mute? giving gordon freeman a voice would probably not make it better for me