Turning Mass Effect Into a Movie Won’t Be Easy

Prompted by the news that a Mass Effect movie is in the works, UGO takes us through six legitimate concerns they have with the shooter/RPG franchise being brought over to the silver screen. A couple of examples:

5. Hope You Read the 116 Companion Novels

Can Mass Effect’s main plotline be whittled down to a swift two hour stand alone movie without feeling forced?

The story revolves around Shepherd and the crew of his ship, the Normandy, fighting off the Geth (a race of synthetic aliens). And the rogue Turian, Saren Arterius. And a mysterious race called “The Reapers”.

We haven’t even started with the sub-plots.

The inherent problem with adapting an RPG? Too much story. The best film franchises don’t rely on three films to tell a story. Mass Effect will have to figure out a way to tell a compact, succinct film, without relying on future installments to gel it together. How is anyone’s guess.

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1. Trek Wars 5: Avatar Galactica

The biggest challenge a Mass Effect movie faces? Science fiction. In general.

No doubt Mass Effect is a thrilling space adventure, but it offers an immersive role-playing experience that classic films Star Wars and Star Trek only allow you to dream. So when it’s taken out of a player’s hands and filtered through the lens of a writer, director and Hollywood machine, what you have left is something we’ve seen before.

The creative force behind the proposed Mass Effect film will have to step up their game to create an experience audiences will find engaging…or else they’ll end up with a “been there, done that”, dead franchise.

Or Wing Commander.