The Extraction director’s adaptation of a 37-year-old video game actually makes sense

Sega is known for being behind several classic video game franchises including Sonic the Hedgehog, Streets of Rage and the Yakuza/Like a Dragon Series. The latter is now becoming an Amazon Prime Video TV series, while Sonic has found fame on the big screen with a successful film series. Now Sega is expanding its reach with an upcoming adaptation of a now-obscure retro classic, but the idea makes more sense than it sounds.

Seen in arcades and on Sega consoles back then Shinobi The series was a kind of beat ’em ups in the same vein Ninja Gaiden. Time has largely forgotten it, and most modern gamers aren’t even aware of it. Still, this ambiguity and the nature of the series could actually be useful. The director behind it Shinobi The project also brings high hopes for the film.

Shinobi isn’t the most adaptable video game

Originally published in 1987, the first Shinobi The game was a product of its time. The film tapped into pop culture’s fascination with ninjas, martial arts, and all things East Asian, and focused on protagonist Joe Musashi, a black-clad ninja. Musashi used his training in the art of ninjutsu Shinobi attempted to defeat the criminal ninja organization Zeed, which had attacked the Oboro clan by kidnapping its children.

A later backstory revealed that Zeed intended to return Japan to the culture of the Sengoku period by putting the ninjas in control of things while eliminating Western influences. The last part of the backstory was an interesting addition, but mostly Shinobi Games focused less on storytelling. They are based more on the era of arcade gaming and emphasize action more than anything else.

There have been several since the original title Shinobi Games that mostly had a similar premise. Zeed frequently returned in the form of the reborn Neo-Zeed, with later games focusing on either Joe Musashi or his descendants. The most varied game was 2002 3D Shinobi reboot and its spin-off Nightshade (which focused on a female ninja) as these made the supernatural a more important aspect. Even then, there is neither a rich mythology nor a cast of characters Shinobi Series.

This is the exact opposite of popular franchises such as: halo or even the Konami hack-and-slash horror series, Castlevania. Therefore, the story and characters are less rigid for the coming year Shinobi Film. As long as it shows Joe Musashi fighting Zeed, the upcoming one Shinobi The film is already consistent with the source material. This makes it a narrative example of “less is more,” where the fewer points to adjust also means a lower chance of something going wrong.

Shinobi can bring out old-school action hits

As already mentioned, the Shinobi The video game series was very similar to many films and video games from the 1980s and 1990s. The focus was on martial arts, ninjas and dark action, often in (for most viewers) distant countries in Asia. Examples of this are several films by Jean-Claude Van Damme, such as: Blood sport or Kickboxer. Likewise, ninjas were particularly prominent, and several dark action films were made around them.

It was this ninja obsession that brought this about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtleswith Shinobi And Ninja Gaiden both are video game representations of it. The Van Damme films mentioned above or other gory action films of the time with actors like Steven Seagal are considered by many to be old-school classics. With the 2024 movie, they just don’t make action movies like that anymore Monkey man and the first John Wick are the next examples.

These films emphasized action above all and were characterized by their brutal and hard-hitting fight scenes. If the Shinobi If the film succeeds, it will reach far beyond nostalgic video game fans and become an action classic. Given that this style of filmmaking isn’t as common anymore, it shouldn’t be a difficult niche to fill. By focusing on hard-hitting fight scenes with a somewhat nostalgic touch, Shinobi shows young and old cinemagoers what action films used to be like.

The era of good video game adaptations is here

Years ago, the idea of ​​a film based on a video game (new or old) raised concerns. Before the 2020s, there were very few good video game adaptations, and even anime and cartoons were hit or miss in this regard. The bad reputation of video game movies finally began to change with the release of Detective Pikachuwhich made it successful Pokémon Live-action franchise.

This has since been followed up with the Sonic the Hedgehog Film series, now releasing its third installment and introducing fan favorite character, Shadow. There was also animation Super Mario Bros. Moviethe moderately successful Unexplored and television shows like The Last of Us And Stand out. Even with less well-received projects such as: Mortal Kombat And Five nights at Freddy’stheir themes were like films, with most finding them more than adequate as adaptations.

One of the few misfires was the most recent one in 2024 border areas movie, and even that movie was visually similar to the games. So it’s clear that the time when video game adaptations were afraid of the source material is over. There is more love for the medium the films are based on and it shows in the final product. Likewise, the proportion of projects that are actually good is much larger than the proportion of bad ones.

That bodes well Shinobiand as mentioned, it’s much easier to adapt to the big screen (at least on paper) than some of the other now well-known video game franchises. Of course, this would mean nothing if the creator of the project was not up to the task. Luckily for fans of the old-school Sega series, Shinobi has already secured perhaps the best person for the directing job.

The Shinobi film has the perfect director

A problem with any kind of adaptation is the fact that many of these films and series are treated with less than respect in many ways. This means that the directors chosen to direct were rarely chosen specifically for their talent, and are essentially warm people hired by the studio to make a cheap, money-making project. Such a potential shortage of talent will no longer exist in the future Shinobi However, an acclaimed action director is bringing the upcoming adaptation to the big screen.

Sam Hargrave, the director behind that extraction Film series, Sega will shoot Shinobi into a live-action film. extraction was itself an adaptation and was based on a graphic novel titled City. The focus was on the mercenary Tyler Rake (played by Thor Actor Chris Hemsworth) as he tried to rescue the kidnapped drug lord in Bangladesh, with the film focusing on tough action and violent scenes. The film and its sequel were definitely throwbacks to classic action films of the 1980s and 1990s, which only increased their charm and made them ratings hits for the streaming platform Netflix.

Now a third extraction Sam Hargrave film is on the way, and if the Shinobi The film is like Hargrave’s other films, the action will be nothing short of incredible. extraction worked so well because the fight scenes never let up and even children were mercilessly knocked down and beaten while Tyler Rake unleashed callous violence. It wasn’t sanitized in the slightest as the films were just as sharp as that in the action department John Wick Films.

That’s what you have to do Shinobi a success and stands out from the series of slightly “softer” PG-13 action films. While the film’s rating is still unknown, Hargrave has a tough lead extraction shows that he is a candidate for the development of Sega’s video game Shinobi achieve a critical high score if it is made into a film.