Summary
Ghost of Tsushima, developed by Sucker Punch, was heavily influenced by samurai cinema, and now it is becoming a part of it. The movie adaptation has a strong concept to work with, but it will need to follow in the footsteps of its source material to live up to it. Sucker Punch Productions is an American studio, but the team took the necessary steps to makeGhost of Tsushimarespectful of the Japanese history and culture it was based on. The film adaptation, helmed by Chad Stahelski, must do the same and more to live up to its potential. There are several things theGhost of Tsushimamovie can do to be both a great adaptation and a strong entry in the samurai movie genre.
5 Things That Would Make Ghost of Tsushima Great
Beautiful Environments Evocative of Tsushima
Sucker Punch Productions’Ghost of Tsushimais one ofthe most beautiful open-world gamesever created. The island of Tsushima is immersive and larger than life, making the space feel worth exploring and protecting. TheGhost of Tsushimafilm needs to create a similar ambiance. Constant movement in the environment helped to make the game feel alive, like a Kurosawa film, and is a technique that the movie should utilize as well. The game’s world is also filled with elegant temples and shrines that lend a sense of majesty to its locations, and the movie would benefit from doing the same.
Make the Ghost of Tsushima Movie in Japanese
After its announcement, the film’s director expressed a desire to makeGhost of Tsushimawith Japanese actorsand to write it in Japanese. It is unconfirmed whether or not he has been able to do so, but making the movie in English would certainly take away from the experience.Ghost of Tsushimais a historical drama, so using the Japanese language would be more immersive.
Samurai cinema has also been predominantly made in Japan, and involving industry veterans with experience in the genre would likely make for a better film. Foreign directors working in Japan’s film industry aren’t common, but Wim Wenders recently madePerfect Daysthere, and it is certainly possible.
That said, many players probably did not indulge in Japanese voice lines while playing the game, and therefore it may not be that disagreeable if the movie is in English instead, even if it would make it decidedly less authentic to the setting.
Reference The History of Samurai Cinema
Samurai cinema has a lengthy history in Japan, dating back to the early 1910s. The genre was highly influential on the American film industry, and movies likeStar Warsowe a lot of their inspiration to prominent works in the genre.Ghost of Tsushimafeatures a Samurai Cinema Modeendorsed by Akira Kurosawa’s estate, and the filmmaker’s influence can be seen in the game’s use of movement and visual language. The movie would be remiss not to reference his work as well.
Ghost of Tsushima’s Great Fight Scenes
Before Stahelski was a film director, he was a stuntperson. The influence of his time in that role can be felt in his later work behind the camera in theJohn Wickmovies. Given the director’s pedigree in the action genre, it would be a surprise forGhost of Tsushimanot to feature outstanding combat and action sequences. Jin Sakai’s story sees him fight as both a samurai and a ninja, and the game features a great parkour system. Jin is the perfect character to create compelling action scenes around, so Stahelski and his crew should have a lot of freedom to work with.
A Tighter Story Than in Ghost of Tsushima’s Game
Ghost of Tsushimahas a lengthy runtimedue to its wide array of side content and its highly explorable world. The film adaptation will need to be more limited in scope due to the medium’s constraints. Because of this, the filmmakers should focus primarily on Jin’s transformation into the Ghost to defend his home and the resulting family drama with his uncle.
Narrowing the scope of the story would allow for the narrative to have room to breathe and could let the film flesh out the elements it focuses on more than the game did. Good game adaptations, like HBO’sThe Last of Us, add something new to a story rather than simply recreating it. TheGhost of Tsushimamovie will need to bring something new to the table as well.
