A movie out of an actual video game? That's what Shenmue: The Movie is, and a film made out of the most expensive video game ever made. Can it work?

Shenmue the game was one of its kind in simulating real life with such attention to detail at its time and set some new industry standards. The game that was so expensive that each Dreamcast owner should've bought the game at least 3 times to make it profitable. Due to not being profitable, the third part of the game series went into development hell for 20 years. Now, against all odds, Shenmue III is coming out in November 2019.

But does a film made out of video game cut scenes work at all when inspected as a proper film? It certainly is an interesting case study of what works and doesn't, and why.

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Shenmue: The Movie on IMDb

/ Directed by Yu Suzuki. Starring Corey Marshall, Ruth Hollyman, Paul Lucas, Robert Jefferson.