Top 5 Movies Based on TV Shows
Even though they mostly suck, Hollywood can't resist making movies based on TV shows. Anything with an established audience can and will be made into a movie, I suppose, as bean counters love perceived security. Right now, the Trailer Park Boys movie is in theatres, and the summer of 2007 will bring the much-anticipated The Simpsons movie. In between, I bet we'll get another half-dozen TV show movies.
I'll admit, I'm no authority on this subject, as I've missed quite a bit of movies based on TV shows, be it Charlie's Angels, The Dukes of Hazzard, Jackass, or The Beverly Hillbillies. But, when thinking about this subject, I realised that there has been enough quality movies based on TV shows to make a top five, even allowing me to leave a couple off the list. Can't say the same for movies based on video games (I've never seen one of those).
5. The Untouchables- I was going to put Batman: Mask of the Phantasm in this spot, but that's a dicey qualifier, as it is based on both the TV show (Batman: The Animated Series) and the comic. And the live action movies released around the time of the creation of the TV show. So, I decided to go with Brian De Palma's Untouchables, a flawed but fun faux-epic. Regrettably, it seems like De Palma is making a prequel for this movie. Prequels are an even worse trend than movies based on TV shows.
4. Star Trek: First Contact- This is my Star Trek entry for the list, which beats all the others for three simple reasons: 1) it is the one most like the TV it is based on (The Next Generation), taking storylines and villains from the series, 2) it is my favourite of the bunch, and 3) I hardly remember any of the earlier Trek movies.
3. Mission: Impossible- It's a toss-up between the original and the third version in the series, but I guess the first movie is closer to the TV show, as it has the Jim Phelps character in it. Of course, they destroy the character by making him a traitor and killing him, so I guess it's not that faithful to the show. This is De Palma's second entry on this list, making him the Uwe Boll of tv-based movies. I hope Uwe Boll doesn't kick my ass for that remark.
2. The Fugitive- In many ways, I think The Fugitive is the first big TV to movie translation, if you include the Star Trek films in a separate category (since The Fugitive is a remake, while the Trek films were continuations). So it may be to blame for all of the terrible movies to follow, like Miami Vice. Oh well, can't fault it too much, especially since it's a great movie.
1. Serenity- Sure, it had advantages other tv-to-movies didn't have, like maintaining the original cast and creative team (I can only think of the Star Trek films, Mask of the Phantasm, X-Files: Fight the Future, and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me as other movies that did the same), but it doesn't matter. Serenity is the best. Deal with it.
Related Reviews:
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
Miami Vice (2006)
Mission: Impossible III (2006)
Serenity (2005)
I'll admit, I'm no authority on this subject, as I've missed quite a bit of movies based on TV shows, be it Charlie's Angels, The Dukes of Hazzard, Jackass, or The Beverly Hillbillies. But, when thinking about this subject, I realised that there has been enough quality movies based on TV shows to make a top five, even allowing me to leave a couple off the list. Can't say the same for movies based on video games (I've never seen one of those).
5. The Untouchables- I was going to put Batman: Mask of the Phantasm in this spot, but that's a dicey qualifier, as it is based on both the TV show (Batman: The Animated Series) and the comic. And the live action movies released around the time of the creation of the TV show. So, I decided to go with Brian De Palma's Untouchables, a flawed but fun faux-epic. Regrettably, it seems like De Palma is making a prequel for this movie. Prequels are an even worse trend than movies based on TV shows.
4. Star Trek: First Contact- This is my Star Trek entry for the list, which beats all the others for three simple reasons: 1) it is the one most like the TV it is based on (The Next Generation), taking storylines and villains from the series, 2) it is my favourite of the bunch, and 3) I hardly remember any of the earlier Trek movies.
3. Mission: Impossible- It's a toss-up between the original and the third version in the series, but I guess the first movie is closer to the TV show, as it has the Jim Phelps character in it. Of course, they destroy the character by making him a traitor and killing him, so I guess it's not that faithful to the show. This is De Palma's second entry on this list, making him the Uwe Boll of tv-based movies. I hope Uwe Boll doesn't kick my ass for that remark.
2. The Fugitive- In many ways, I think The Fugitive is the first big TV to movie translation, if you include the Star Trek films in a separate category (since The Fugitive is a remake, while the Trek films were continuations). So it may be to blame for all of the terrible movies to follow, like Miami Vice. Oh well, can't fault it too much, especially since it's a great movie.
1. Serenity- Sure, it had advantages other tv-to-movies didn't have, like maintaining the original cast and creative team (I can only think of the Star Trek films, Mask of the Phantasm, X-Files: Fight the Future, and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me as other movies that did the same), but it doesn't matter. Serenity is the best. Deal with it.
Related Reviews:
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
Miami Vice (2006)
Mission: Impossible III (2006)
Serenity (2005)