So the Shadow of the Colossus movie adaptation seems like it's finally in motion with Andrés Muschietti reportedly having been cast as its director last last week. Muschietti's only notable piece of work is last year's Mama, a horror film that got quit a lukewarm response, but I liked it well enough. The movie is reportedly set to follow the same plot line of the PS2 classic, but really I think this is all a futile endeavour because a film adaptation would completely miss what makes Shadow of the Colossus such a revered title.
Not that the movie is necessarily going to be bad. Muschietti seems like a competent enough director and I think there is actually quite a lot of merit to adapting the game to the big screen, I personally would love to see the Colossi rendered in high definition CGI and I think the story, given a minimalist approach would work well enough.
But the film adaptation will inevitably fall short because it lacks the principle element that drives such a high degree of emotional investment in the game: participation. The mere act of toppling a single Colossus exposes the player to such a range of emotions and it would be damn near impossible to match that in a medium that is static by its very nature, not requiring any input from the viewer whatsoever.
It starts with the simple task of finding a Colossus takes time, this in-itself is such a large part of the game as it forces you into getting familiar with the game's world. It's a foreboding place and its made undauntedly clear that you are an outsider here. You very much feel at all times like this is a place where you don't belong, a place where no human is supposed to set foot in again after the events that scar the land to this day.
Once you find the particular Colussi's location each of them get introduced in quite a spectacular manner. These scenes serve to convey so much of the game's aforementioned theme and tone. The way each Colossus in there opening moments make's it clear just that you've awakened something that's been asleep for a long, long time. In addition to showcasing each one's unique mechanics it also just hammers home perfectly the sheer scale and force at play with each Colossus.
While these elements mentioned above can more or less be translated into a movie quite well, its what follows that would prove the challenge to even the most credited of directors: the battle. It starts off slow with you and the Colossus feeling each other out but inevitability the two of you start trading blows,with the Colossi trying to crush you with their massive weapons and you by way of targeting the Colossus's glowing weak points.
Scaling a Colossus is like climbing a mountain, but one intent on fighting back. The climbing itself is very much like an act of dance, both you and the Colossus get a feel for each other and its the final few moments of that dance, just before its lethal conclusion, that the majesty of these beasts really becomes clear to you. And its in the moments that follow that final blow that that it sets in what you've done.
Slaying a Colossus is one of the most feel bad acts in any game out there. These design of these creatures, both in mechanics and aesthetics make them feel unlike anything else. There as much a force of nature as they are meticulously designed war machines and killing one them makes you feel like you've destroyed something the world will never see again. Engines of pure force and will, but beings who never deserved to be unearthed again.
Its the act of slaying and the sorrow that follows it that makes the game so unique and its that element that I believe will prove impossible to translate to film. Shadow of The Colossus is one of the best examples of how the gaming medium can use mechanics to evoke emotional storytelling. Film is going to have to play to a whole host of different strengths in order to evoke a similar magic with the story, but I'm holding out hope nevertheless.
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