Quote from: Hudson on Sep 06, 2019, 07:27:15 PM
Good Lord. Seems like anything with "Colonial Marines" in the title is either destined to be total garbage, be helmed by a scumbag, or both.
Well, let's be honest... The basic concept of the Colonial Marines has been copied into infinity in films and computer games, ever since 1986, but virtually every attempt has been incredibly superficial, forgetting what made Cameron's attempt work so well was the sense of realism. It worked in spite of the one-liners and cocky grins, not because of them. This was also why the '
Colonial Marines Technical Guide' was written so memorably well.
It's also why their successor, the United Systems Military, was portrayed as hopelessly inept. Whedon later again tried his hand at writing the military in the fourth series of '
Buffy The Vampire Slayer' and it was just as hopelessly cheesy and comical in tone. The same goes for the idiotic tone of the '
Starship Troopers' and '
Doom' film adaptations.
It's the difference between Michael Bay's '
Pearl Harbour' and the classic '
Tora! Tora! Tora!'.
So, even if it's an officially licenced Fox product, such a concept's odds are rarely going to be in its favour unless you get someone relatively well versed at believable portrayals of military life. Doesn't have to be an attempt at a contemporary military classic, but it does need someone who understands what does and doesn't work (as with any other occupation a story might possibly revolve around).
Otherwise, it runs the risk of becoming a '
Team America' without the humour - as Pitchford's game proved.