Cut/Scenes: When bad game movies happen to good actors

Last week’s announcement that Jake Gyllenhaal will play the title role in the new Prince of Persia movie got our little hearts aflutter here at cut/scenes, and not just for obvious (read: shallow) reasons. Along with recent news that Gore Verbinski will direct the BioShock film, it’s a signal that serious, big name talent is beginning to flock to videogame adaptations. Better, bigger talent should mean better, bigger movies, right?

Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. Some incredible (and big name) performers have popped up in videogame movies so bad you’d swear they (and their agents) were inebriated during the whole contract process. Here’s a quick rundown of some of the lowest-blow career moves ever made in videogame flicks:

Ben Kingsley in BloodRayne-
Ben Kingsley played Ghandi in the 1982 epic of the same name. He’s an Oscar winner, an acclaimed actor with more critically praised credits to his name than nearly anyone shy of the late Marlon Brando. What on Earth he was doing in the shlockfest disaster that was Uwe Boll’s BloodRayne is the puzzle of the ages.

The rest of the cast of BloodRayne-
You have Michael Madsen, Kristanna Loken, Michelle Rodriguez, Billy Zane… these people are all talented A to B list performers. They open movies. They appear in big budget action flicks (Kristanna Loken in Terminator 3), Oscar winning weepies (Billy Zane in Titanic) and everything in between. These people weren’t hurting for money, and they certainly weren’t no-names. But, like Sir Kingsley up above they still inexplicably showed up in this film.

Raul Julia in Street Fighter-
This is another man with an illustrious career – starting with some meaty Shakespearean roles (and other acclaimed stage performances) and moving into movie star status with films like Kiss of the Spider Woman and fan favorite appearances in the Addams Family films of the ‘90s. Tragically, Julia died quite suddenly in 1994. The only thing sadder than that – one of his very last appearances was in the god-awful Street Fighter: The Movie. He really deserved better.

John Leguizamo and Bob Hoskins in Super Mario Brothers-
I’m honoring both of these actors in this entry. Leguizamo remains one of Hollywood’s most ubiquitous working actors, appearing in everything from indie fare (Spun) to primetime TV (ER and My Name is Earl) to voice acting in each of the Ice Age films. Bob Hoskins hasn’t had quite the same success, but he’s still a working actor, with decent roles in many a big film and TV show. Maybe they’ve both decided to strike that particular film from their resumes.

This is not to say that Mr. Gyllenhaal will encounter the same issues. The Prince of Persia: the Sands of Time is reportedly in the capable hands of director Mike Newell (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Donnie Brasco, Mona Lisa Smile). In fact, all signs point to Persia (and BioShock, for that matter) actually crossing over into decent-flick territory. Let’s just hope history doesn’t repeat itself – again.

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