“Black Mirror: Bandersnatch” Review

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018) is a build-your-own-adventure sci-fi flick from Netflix, a spiritual successor to the highly-successful anthology series. It stars Fionn Whitehead (of Dunkirk fame) as a young programmer tasked with adapting a famous and lengthy sci-fi novel into a video game, which proves a more difficult assignment than advertised. It’s a unique and exciting format, allowing “players” (viewers) to choose how the story plays out for themselves. Is it just a gimmick? Or does the conceit work?

The Problem(s) with Video Game Movies

Hollywood has tried (and mostly failed) to adapt a video game to the silver screen several times now…34 times in fact, since 1993. The results have not been promising, ranging from just okay (this year’s Rampage and Tomb Raider) to mediocre (Warcraft, Assassin’s Creed) to just atrocious (Postal, Alone in the Dark). As an enthusiast of both video games and films, I want to explore the factors contributing to the shocking lack of quality in the genre, and what challenges are standing in the way of our first truly great video game adaptation.