Step Away From The Joypad

Nicolas Cage has embraced the game-to-film path for what may be his next project, an adaptation of violent videogame, Dead To Rights Based on the PlayStation hit, the film will cast Cage as the implausibly butch Jake Slate, a disgraced cop on a mission to discover who murdered his father. While no further plot details are available, the game itself sees Slate 'investigate' the mystery by mowing down hundreds of thousands of hoodlums with an increasingly devastating arsenal picked up along the way - somehow circumventing the usual 28 day waiting period. Truth be told we're not convinced this is a great move for Cage as history has taught us to be wary of game conversions, especially when the main draw of said title is wreaking bloody mayhem. Note to studios: it's not nearly as much fun watching the game's characters commit acts of mindless violence if you're not the one holding the joypad. "The videogame is so compelling because it has so many rich elements and the trick is to cut them down and get to the core story," producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura told Variety. "The central character is emotionally tortured and that always makes for a good movie and a good Nic Cage movie." Perhaps, but given that Dead To Rightsscreenwriter Kevin Broadbin's credits include naff Steven Seagal thriller The Glimmer Man, we'll remain sceptical for the time being.