Half the reason these adaptations of popular media end up so souless is that capitalism sucks out all the politics that might upset their rich shareholders
I don't even know if it is that much. These often feel like screenplays written for completely different films/shows that have simply been skinned with the trappings of the video game franchise. Like someone picks up a knock-off of Hacksaw Ridge and says "Ok, this is no longer The Battle of Okanawa, it takes place on Mars. And you're not fighting the Japanese, you're fighting Space Bugs. And we're going to swap out the angry sergeant character for a cyborg girl with an eyepatch that shoots lasers. And we're good to go."
Half the reason these adaptations of popular media end up so souless is that capitalism sucks out all the politics that might upset their rich shareholders
I don't even know if it is that much. These often feel like screenplays written for completely different films/shows that have simply been skinned with the trappings of the video game franchise. Like someone picks up a knock-off of Hacksaw Ridge and says "Ok, this is no longer The Battle of Okanawa, it takes place on Mars. And you're not fighting the Japanese, you're fighting Space Bugs. And we're going to swap out the angry sergeant character for a cyborg girl with an eyepatch that shoots lasers. And we're good to go."