Far Cry (film)

Far Cry
German-language poster
Directed byUwe Boll
Written by
Based onFar Cry
by Crytek & Ubisoft
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMathias Neumann
Edited byKaren Porter
Music byJessica de Rooij
Production
companies
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release date
  • 2 October 2008 (2008-10-02) (Germany)
Running time
95 minutes
Countries
  • Germany
  • Canada
LanguageEnglish
Budget$30 million
Box office$743,634[1]

Far Cry is a 2008 English-language German action film loosely adapted from the video game of the same name. The film is directed by Uwe Boll and stars Til Schweiger. It was a major box-office bomb and received negative reviews.

Plot

On a remote island off the North American coast, a mercenary squad is attacked and slaughtered by a lone aggressor during a nighttime operation. The encounter is a result of the efforts of a scientist named Dr. Krieger to turn soldiers into mutants who boast superstrength and resillience, but are uncontrollable. Valerie Cardinal, an American journalist, is secretly receiving information about Krieger's research. She agrees to meet with her informant on Krieger's island and hires Jack Carver, a retired special forces operative now working as a tour skipper, to take her there. During the trip she reveals to Jack that her informant is her uncle Max, who she claims served with Jack. However, Jack denies having known him.

Jack's boat reaches the island, and Valerie and Jack travel to the meeting point. However, Max was caught by Krieger's sadistic second-in-command Katia Chenov and turned into a mutant himself. Krieger's mercenaries ambush Jack and Valerie. Valerie is captured and the boat is destroyed, but Jack escapes and rescues Valerie. He insists that they leave the island, but Valerie refuses to leave without Max.

The pair hijack a mercenary vehicle and proceed to their main compound, where they are captured once again. Jack is locked in an empty cell with Emilio, a grocery deliverer who got caught up in the chase. While they attempt to escape, Valerie is forced to dine with Krieger, who orders the mercenaries to unleash Max on Jack and Emilio. After a brief fight, Jack manages to convince Max to reject Krieger's programming. Max then assaults the mercenaries and releases the other mutants.

The mutants, enraged by what Krieger did to them, attempt to kill all the humans on the island. After taking heavy casualties, half of the surviving mercenaries realize Krieger is insane, abandon him and team up with Jack to escape the island. The other mercenaries remain loyal to Krieger and attempt to help him regain control. The two sides fight each other and the mutants at the same time. As the battle goes on, the mercenaries are quickly overwhelmed and slaughtered by the mutants.

While Krieger moves to flee the island with Valerie and Katia, Jack tries to take Krieger hostage for Valerie's release, but is injured. Max arrives, and seeing Valerie threatened by Katia, he attacks her. Katia fatally shoots him, but Max musters enough strength to kill her before expiring. Jack and Valerie are picked up by Emilio in Krieger's boat. When Krieger arrives at the docks, he finds himself stranded and left helpless before the approaching mutants.

The film ends with Jack in a relationship with Valerie, having obtained a new boat so he can continue to work as a skipper, and Emilio has been hired to be part of his crew. Valerie turns out to be an undercover CIA agent, and continues her work for the agency while traveling with Jack.

Cast

Production

Uwe Boll gained the rights to a Far Cry movie from Crytek, purportedly before the game was released. In an October 2006 interview, Uwe Boll said that production on Far Cry would begin in May 2007.[2][3] The film was released on the 2 October 2008, in Germany.

Reception

Far Cry received negative reviews, with most critics saying that the film does no justice to the game it was based on. IGN gave it a 3 out of 10 and said "Perhaps one day game companies will learn to be more particular about the directors they choose to realize their products on the big screen. Fans of the game, and fans of movies in general, would be wise to avoid this one at all costs. Unless, of course, your purpose is to mock."[4]

Reboot

In 2013, Variety reported that Ubisoft was developing another Far Cry film (based on the video game Far Cry 3) along with a Watch Dogs and Raving Rabbids film,[5] this time produced by Ubisoft Motion Pictures. However, it was instead adapted into an animated Netflix series,[6][7] Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix, released in 2023 to generally favourable reviews.[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Far Cry".
  2. ^ "Far Cry Movie Coming Soon". IGN. 17 October 2006. Archived from the original on 29 October 2006. Retrieved 18 October 2006.
  3. ^ "Lazygamer Exclusive: Far Cry 2 Developers Show No Love for Uwe Boll". Criticalhit.net. 22 October 2008. Archived from the original on 21 May 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  4. ^ "Far Cry DVD Review". IGN. 24 November 2009. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  5. ^ Graser, Marc (12 June 2013). "Ubisoft To Make Movies Based on 'Watch Dogs,' 'Far Cry,' 'Rabbids' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety.com. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  6. ^ Otterson, Joe (11 June 2021). "'Far Cry' Anime Series Set at Netflix, Streamer Picks Up Adi Shankar's 'Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  7. ^ Stanley, Patrick (10 October 2019). "Ubisoft Planning Animated TV Adaptations of Popular Game Franchises (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 10 October 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  8. ^ Mears, Hayden (18 October 2023). "Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix – Review". IGN. Retrieved 18 October 2023.