Woo and Spector Collaborate on Movie/Video Game

The transformation of movies into video games continues. Recently, action auteur John Woo and game guru Warren Spector announced they would be collaborating on a movie/game called Ninja Gold; needless to say, Spector will handle the game side, while Woo will direct the movie. This isn't the first time an idea like this has been propounded: Microsoft had earlier announced plans for a Halo movie to be directed by Peter Jackson. It would not be surprising if the idea of movies based on (or marketed in tandem with) video games were eventually to gain some sort of legitimacy. After all, who would have thought, twenty years ago, that a movie based on the Batman comic would be greeted by the press as a masterwork? Right now, however, nobody is even pretending that video-game movies are an artistic step forward, even if directors like Peter Jackson and John Woo still command a certain amount of critical respect. The movie as video game is, however, the all-too-logical culmination of the action blockbuster, with its tiresomely convoluted plot, its obscenely huge budget and market tie-ins, and its utter lack of depth.