There aren't many movies out there based on role-playing games, and the quality of what few there are is debatable -- DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, anyone? But then there is MUTANT CHRONICLES, which does not a thing to elevate the RPG-to-film genre.
The premise of the film is that, in a post-apocalyptic future, all the nation-states of the world have been replaced with four megacorporations constantly at war with each other. As the film opens, an ancient seal in the ground is accidentally broken during the latest battle and an army of zombie-like mutants is unleashed. The rest of the movie revolves around a team of warriors from the various megacorporations -- colorfully multicultural, of course -- questing to close the seal once more.
The universe of MUTANT CHRONICLES is one that is rife with rich storytelling possibilities -- which is precisely what made it such a good RPG in the first place. Yet the filmmakers either dumbed down or stripped away many of the things that made the universe unique, and instead crafted a rote action movie that takes itself way too seriously.
The aforementioned opening battle scene looks like a steampunk approach to World War I, which had the potential to be engaging and exciting. But the largely CGI-rendered battle is just sort of boring and grim and gritty, which doesn't work. This is a movie that could have greatly benefited from a subtle <i>wink-wink, nudge-nudge</i> approach, one where the actors don't seem to be having any fun. The movie tries to be more like SAVING PRIVATE RYAN in tone, when it should be trying for THE DIRTY DOZEN.
The CGI special effects don't do an already silly and boring action film any favors. Bright splashes of red, meant to be blood, look like they were quite literally Photoshopped onto the picture afterwards. The actors are clearly going through their paces against a green screen, but the quality of the computer generated sets is so poor at times that it makes the STAR WARS prequels look and feel completely realistic.
The casting is solid, but their talents are wasted. Thomas Jane plays the same basic hard-ass character as he did in the vastly underrated THE PUNISHER, but here he has no memorable dialogue to growl and his overly-serious portrayal seems markedly out of place. Ron Perlman's portrayal of a warrior monk is stiff and lifeless, lacking any of the gruff charm of one of his most memorable characters, the demon Hellboy.
And then there's John Malkovich who, in a small role that took reportedly two days to film, looks shockingly out of place. One would hope that he was well-paid for appearing in this waste of celluloid.
Or perhaps he just owed someone a favor.
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