| 1 | SpiritualSuccessor in {{Film}}s. |
| 2 | ---- |
| 3 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 4 | |
| 5 | [[folder:N]] |
| 6 | * Some fans of Music/WeirdAlYankovic are convinced that ''Film/NapoleonDynamite'' is an AdaptationExpansion of the song "That Boy Could Dance" (from ''Music/WeirdAlYankovicIn3D''). After all, both involve a clumsy, geekish outcast who dazzles everyone at school with his amazing dance skills. [[https://youtu.be/8VWbuDYpMC0?t=60 Watch the video]] and decide for yourself. |
| 7 | * Creator/RayLiotta's ''Film/Narc2002'' has quite a bit in common with ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'', moreso than the actual ''Film/MaxPayne'' film did. |
| 8 | * ''Film/NationalTreasure'': |
| 9 | ** Several critics and moviegoers called it a better movie of ''Literature/TheDaVinciCode'' than its actual film adaptation, which made it to theaters two years after ''National Treasure'' did. [[note]] The former currently has a 44% critical rating on Website/RottenTomatoes to the latter's 25%, and a 76% audience rating to ''The Da Vinci Code'''s 57%.[[/note]] It might have helped that ''National Treasure'' doesn't [[FalselyAdvertisedAccuracy pretend to be historically accurate]], it wasn't [[OvershadowedByControversy dogged by religious controversy]], and it overall [[LighterAndSofter doesn't take itself nearly as seriously as]] ''The Da Vinci Code'' did. |
| 10 | ** It also feels like something out of a point-and-click AdventureGame, what with the plot progression, strange puzzling devices, the clues, and the key items. |
| 11 | * ''Film/TheNeonDemon'', about a young model who becomes target of beauty-obsessed stylists, jealous competitors, [[StalkerWithACrush a creepy boyfriend]] and unpredictable criminals, plays like a westernized take on [[Creator/JunjiIto Junji Ito's]] ''Manga/{{Tomie}}'' series, including a gore-filled third act. |
| 12 | * ''Film/NeverBackDown'' is basically, a UsefulNotes/MixedMartialArts take on ''Film/TheKarateKid'', with a little bit of ''Film/FightClub'' thrown in for good measure. Jake is Daniel, Baja is Ali, Ryan is Johnny, and Roquoa is Mr. Miyagi. |
| 13 | * ''Film/TheNightComesForUs'' and ''Film/HeadShot'' are both follow-ups to ''Film/TheRaid'' and ''Film/TheRaid2Berandal''. |
| 14 | * ''Film/{{Nightcrawler}}'' (2014) is the SpiritualSequel to ''Film/TaxiDriver'' (1976), two dramas inspired by the decline of human mental health in the wake of society. |
| 15 | * ''Film/{{Nine Lives|2016}}'' is one to the '''''bizarre''''' Creator/ChevyChase movie ''Film/OhHeavenlyDog'' in being talking animal comedies suffering from UncertainAudience involving a human dying [[BackFromTheDead and]] [[ForcedTransformation becoming]] [[KarmicTransformation a pet]]. |
| 16 | * ''Film/NinjaAssassin'' is pretty much the best and closest one could get to a ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden'' movie. |
| 17 | * ''Film/NonStop'' has one in the form of the 2018 movie ''Film/TheCommuter''. Both of them star Creator/LiamNeeson and are directed by Jaume Collet-Serra and are also DieHardOnAnX movies. The only difference is that ''Non-Stop'' takes place on a plane while ''The Commuter'' takes place on a train. |
| 18 | * Creator/RobReiner made ''Film/{{North}}'' with the intention of it being the spiritual successor to ''Film/TheWizardOfOz''. [[CreatorKiller It wasn't]]. To add insult to injury, many critics pointed out Reiner already had his spiritual successor with ''Film/ThePrincessBride''. |
| 19 | * The 1922 film ''Film/{{Nosferatu}}'' is an unofficial German adaptation of Creator/BramStoker's ''Literature/{{Dracula}}''. It was originally going to be an official one, except Stoker's widow Florence Balcombe wouldn't sell the filmmakers the rights, causing them to [[SerialNumbersFiledOff change all the character's names]] (Dracula became Orlok, Jonathan and Mina Harker became Thomas and Ellen Hutter, Abraham Van Helsing became Professor Bulwer) and made a few alterations to the plot to distance itself from the source material. It didn't work, and Balcombe successfully sued to have the film banned for copyright infringement, though by that point prints had already been distributed worldwide and KeepCirculatingTheTapes took effect. |
| 20 | [[/folder]] |
| 21 | |
| 22 | [[folder:O]] |
| 23 | * ''Film/{{O}}'' is a high school version of Shakespeare's ''Theatre/{{Othello}}''. |
| 24 | * Creator/WalterMatthau and Creator/JackLemmon made a handful of movies that were all spiritual successors to the original ''Film/{{The Odd Couple|1968}}'' film. The spiritual successors began with ''Film/GrumpyOldMen'' and included ''Film/GrumpierOldMen'' and ''Out To Sea''... the actual sequel, ''Film/TheOddCoupleII'', was largely considered a lesser effort than all of the above. |
| 25 | * ''Film/OfficeSpace'', Creator/MikeJudge's satire of office jobs and the culture therein, is most likely the closest thing to a live-action ''ComicStrip/{{Dilbert}}'' movie ever made. |
| 26 | * The indie horror film ''Offseason'', about a woman trapped in a [[TownWithADarkSecret resort town with a dark secret]] who had been drawn there by personal family business, has been [[https://kevinsreviewcatalogue.blogspot.com/2021/08/popcorn-frights-2021-day-3-cryptozoo.html compared]] to the ''Franchise/SilentHill'' games, albeit set in [[OnlyInFlorida Florida]] with a SouthernGothic tone rather than [[LovecraftCountry New England]]. Many elements of both the aesthetic and the story, from the OminousFog to the seemingly abandoned setting to the crackling radios to the [[AlienGeometries shifting landscape]] to [[spoiler:the townsfolk worshiping a malevolent (and implicitly demonic) supernatural entity]]... they're all here. |
| 27 | * Ever wondered what if ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' was set during [[MediaNotes/FallOfTheStudioSystem the twilight of Hollywood's Golden Age]], with the player getting to drive in 1969 Hollywood with the radio blaring period music, with a mission of getting to [[spoiler:fight the members of [[UsefulNotes/CharlesManson the Manson Family]]]]? Look no further to ''Film/OnceUponATimeInHollywood'', specifically the day-to-day life of Cliff Booth. |
| 28 | * ''Film/OnlyStwpdCowzTxtNDrive'': The film could be considered one to ''Lucky Luke'', an educational film that Gwent Police made in the 1980s, in which a boy causes a terrible accident while joyriding. In the United States, one candidate could be ''Joy Ride: An Auto Theft'', a 1976 driver's education movie also about a deadly accident while four teenagers are joyriding in a stolen vehicle. |
| 29 | * ''Film/OutOfDarkness'': The film feels a lot like an adaption of the classic William Golding's novel ''The Inheritors'', with the prehistoric setting, eerie atmosphere, and [[spoiler:being about the displacement of neanderthals by homo sapiens.]] |
| 30 | * ''Film/Overlord2018'': |
| 31 | ** It's an action-horror movie about a team of four paratroopers in Normandy (plus a photojournalist and a female French villager) the night before D-Day who discover [[StupidJetpackHitler Nazi mad science experiments]] to create [[NaziZombies undead]] {{Super Soldier}}s. In other words, it's ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyZombies: The Movie''. |
| 32 | ** The film's pulp sci-fi take on UsefulNotes/WorldWarII can also make it seem like a film adaptation of ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein}}'' that they couldn't get the rights to. Tiago Svn and Ed Stevens of ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' made note of it in [[https://www.cracked.com/article_26970_6-scenes-movies-shows-borrowed-from-gaming.html this article]], pointing out everything from the castle setting to the protagonist having a very similar facial scar to BJ's to specific plot and aesthetic elements right down to the fact that the title font is almost identical to that of ''Wolfenstein''. |
| 33 | ** If anyone remembers the Platform/Xbox360 game ''VideoGame/OperationDarkness'', which had ThoseWackyNazis involved with the supernatural, then this is the closest to a movie adaptation of that game. |
| 34 | * ''Film/OzTheGreatAndPowerful'' is pretty much a non-musical movie adaptation of ''Literature/{{Wicked}}'' since it serves as an origin story to a prominent character in the Oz mythos (specifically Oscar Diggs) and the Wicked Witch of the West plays a big role throughout the story even going so far as to show her backstory of how she became evil just like the novel. |
| 35 | [[/folder]] |
| 36 | |
| 37 | [[folder:P]] |
| 38 | * ''Film/PacificRim'', being Creator/GuillermoDelToro's love letter to classic HumongousMecha anime, has been compared to many works in that genre. |
| 39 | ** Humanity building giant robots to combat an alien threat. While this may be a common plot in the mecha genre of anime, ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' is probably the first show to come to mind for many, at least younger, anime fans. To specify: TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture (as opposed to the more common "far into the future" and "another world entirely" settings), aliens that are specifically interested in human extinction arrive, not from space, but from the depths of the Earth itself. These aliens are giant monsters who fight humanity directly, instead of using robots themselves. To combat these, humanity creates equally gigantic robots that requires the pilot to mentally synch not only with the robot, but also with a co-pilot. (While this is only done literally in ''[[Anime/RebuildOfEvangelion Evangelion 3.0]]'', in the original series [[spoiler: the "robots" had to have a human soul implanted in them to function and both this soul and the actual pilot had to synch with each-other and the "robot"]].) The monsters also appear one-by-one instead of organizing in an army. Oh, and let's not forget the yellow fluid and the journeys into characters' minds. The sequel ''Film/PacificRimUprising'' takes the similarities even further, introducing a counterpart to Shinji Ikari in the form of Jake Pentecost, the son of a war hero who was neglected growing up and is now in charge of piloting the mechas needed to save humanity, as well as [[spoiler:sending the teenage rookies out in the mechas during the climax (albeit in this case after the adult pilots are killed or incapacitated)]]. |
| 40 | ** ''Alternately'' alternately, it's the best ''Manga/GetterRobo'' movie we're ever gonna get. |
| 41 | ** Go back a bit more, to the beginning. Rocket Punch. Breast Fire. Pilots in the head docking with the body. Hell, the whole drivable robot concept. It's ''Anime/MazingerZ'', all the way. By extension to almost all the above, this makes ''Pacific Rim'' the closest to a live-action ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWars'' film ever. |
| 42 | ** The movie has several (coincidental) similarities to the ''VideoGame/XCom'' franchise as well. Alien threat that forces the nations of the world to band together and form an organisation dedicated to fighting them? Check. Council of nations that threatens to pull their funding because they're not getting results? Check. The alien-fighting organization forced to sell alien components on the black market to make ends meet? Check. Researchers vivisecting alien corpses in order to better understand what they're fighting against? Check. [[spoiler: A final assault on the aliens' homeworld? Check.]] |
| 43 | ** "Mysterious giant monsters are rising from the sea, and the nations of the world combat them by fielding stylish, two-pilot giant robots whose pilot teams all have a close relationship. On a tragic mission several years ago, our hero lost his trusted partner, and with a renewed crisis, he has to get back in his revived mecha with a new rookie girl who also serves as a love interest." Why, that sounds rather like ''Anime/{{Godannar}}''. |
| 44 | ** Not mention it has been referred once or twice as an "adult" ''Franchise/PowerRangers''. |
| 45 | ** It's also the best screen-adaptation of ''VisualNovel/MuvLuvAlternative'' we could ever get. |
| 46 | * ''Film/Paddington2014'' to ''Film/MaryPoppins'' and ''Film/NannyMcPhee''. Instead of a magical nanny bringing harmony to a British family, it's a adorable little magical bear from Peru looking for a new home. Furthermore, while both Mary Poppins and Nanny [=McPhee=] eventually leave their respctive families, Paddington stays. |
| 47 | * ''Film/{{Pandorum}}'' to ''Film/EventHorizon''. Two tales of cosmic terror, many see ''Pandorum'' as this century's ''Event Horizon''. |
| 48 | * ''Film/ParanormalActivity'' to ''Film/TheBlairWitchProject''. Just replace the search for a legendary witch with a demon haunting a young couple and they pretty much are the same movie. |
| 49 | * Despite being based on a book series that was previously adapted as ''Film/PointBlank1967'' and ''Film/{{Payback}}'', ''Film/{{Parker}}'' could be seen as an ultra-violent remake of the Creator/AudreyHepburn film ''Film/HowToStealAMillion'' as the two films share similar elements of a heist of priceless artifacts, the pairing of a gentleman thief with a female accomplice and stylish locales as their backdrops (Paris in ''How To Steal a Million'', West Palm Beach in ''Parker''). |
| 50 | * ''Series/ParkerLewisCantLose'' is seen as the SpiritualSuccessor to the movie ''Film/FerrisBuellersDayOff''; aside from the obvious grammatical parallels in the titles, both feature the [[HighSchoolHustler same type of protagonist]]. In fact, it captured the feel and spirit of the movie much better than the mercifully short-lived series which was the official TV follow-up to the movie. |
| 51 | * Creator/MelGibson's ''Film/ThePatriot2000'' is this to his previous film ''Film/{{Braveheart}}''. |
| 52 | ** ''Film/WeWereSoldiers'' is another such historical war film with Gibson as the lead where he was reunited with the writer of ''Braveheart'' Randall Wallace who would also serve as the director that time around. |
| 53 | ** ''The Patriot'' is also one to ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' from the perspective of being an American-themed war film by Robert Rodat and was also scored by Music/JohnWilliams. |
| 54 | * ''Film/{{PCU}}'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/AnimalHouse''. |
| 55 | * Moving backwards, ''Film/PhantomOfTheParadise'' is considered by many to be a spiritual predecessor to ''Film/TheRockyHorrorPictureShow'' and ''Film/ShockTreatment'', both of which it shares quite a large number of similarities with. |
| 56 | ** Though "Phantom" came first -- just barely - its scene of a muscular, gay Frankenstein monster with a blond pudding-bowl haircut being born inside a tank is so similar to "Rocky Horror" that some screenings of the latter have edited this sequence into the film as a joke. |
| 57 | ** A small number of fans feel that ''Film/ShockTreatment'' was intentionally harking back to "Phantom" - in a number of ways, the new Brad and Janet ARE Winslow and Phoenix, complete with Creator/JessicaHarper damn near playing the same role again. |
| 58 | * ''Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean'': |
| 59 | ** The series is sometimes thought of as The Movies Of ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland''. If one were to see the trailer for [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanTheCurseOfTheBlackPearl the original]] ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' while being unaware of what it was ''actually'' based on, it wouldn't be a huge leap to expect it to be a straight-up ''Monkey Island'' movie. This isn't surprising, as both were inspired by the same [[Ride/PiratesOfTheCaribbean theme park ride]] (after which the movie is named). The [[Film/PiratesOfTheCaribbeanDeadMansChest second]] ''[=PotC=]'' especially features a few uncanny similarities to the ''Monkey Island'' games, such as Jack using a casket as a rowboat and a voodoo priestess hiding in a swamp. ([[OlderThanTheyThink Both borrow the casket thing]] from ''Literature/MobyDick'', though.) |
| 60 | ** The films also bear a strong resemblance to the marine horror stories of Creator/WilliamHopeHodgson, especially ''The Ghost Pirates'' and "The Derelict". |
| 61 | * ''Film/PitchPerfect'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/BringItOn''. Both movies focus on an uncommon competitive "sport" (cheerleading and a cappella singing). At the start, the former Senior/Head ("Big Red"/Alice), who is an AlphaBitch [[ThreateningTropes threatens]] the new one. Pretty soon, the new Senior/Head, who is an [[{{Housewife}} uptight blonde]] (Torrance/Aubrey) is determined to [[GoodOldWays do things the old way]]. Along the way, they bring in a [[IneffectualLoner quirky new person]], who is also an [[AloofDarkHairedGirl introvert]] (Missy/Beca). The new person has a [[MovesetClone similar]], but not identical skill (being a DJ instead of a cappella singing; gymnast instead of cheerleader). Eventually, the group [[CurbStompBattle washes out]] in early stages of competition. Then, the [[TheHero main girl]] and her cultured male friend (Cliff/Jesse) have a big fight. After a [[TooQuirkyToLose fluke]] allows the group back into competition, they must completely change their routine to win. From there, the new girl's alternative [[ChekhovsSkill skill]] set is crucial to the change. Ultimately, they blow everyone away at the [[BigGame finals]]. Finally, the female lead and her edgy male friend have a [[BigDamnKiss big kiss]] at the end. |
| 62 | * ''Film/PineappleExpress'' is a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Film/{{Superbad}}''. Both being written by Evan Goldberg and Creator/SethRogen, produced by Creator/JuddApatow and Shauna Robertson, and distributed by Columbia Pictures. In fact, ''Pineapple Express'' was greenlit based on the early positive reaction to ''Superbad'' footage. |
| 63 | * ''Film/ThePlaceBeyondThePines'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/Drive2011'': Both characters were stuntmen who used vehicles as part of their employment, both were taken in and given a job in a low paying mechanic job where they found them selves doing a crooked sideline to make extra cash, they were also pretty soft spoken but had an air of understated charisma, they both ended up in a precarious predicament due to their criminal activity as well as getting angry with their boss/friend. |
| 64 | * ''Film/{{Polaroid}}'' is the closest thing to a film adaptation of the ''Literature/{{Goosebumps}}'' book ''Say Cheese and Die!'' we're going to get -- both center around a cursed camera that does horrible things to anyone it takes a picture of, and both have major characters named Bird. |
| 65 | * ''Film/PowerRangers2017'': |
| 66 | ** While the movie is an adaptation of the original ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' season, its plot beats and casting choices have also been compared to ''Series/PowerRangersDinoThunder'', another ''Franchise/PowerRangers'' season: |
| 67 | *** Both stories star a RagtagBunchOfMisfits who meet in detention and become FireForgedFriends while fighting against evil with dinosaur-themed powers and weapons. |
| 68 | *** The Rangers in the 2017 movie have powers in human form just like the Dino Thunder team. |
| 69 | *** In the original show, the Mighty Morphin team were recruited by Zordon because of their fighting skills and moral fiber. In the movie, they discover Zordon's base and [[TransformationTrinket the Power Coins]] completely by accident and Zordon has to make do with them despite them being far from his first choice as heroes. This makes the movie Mighty Morphin team much more similar to the Dino Thunder Rangers who became heroes the same way. |
| 70 | *** The Power Coins [[PowerCrystal look more like crystals than coins]] making them more similar to the Dino Gems from Dino Thunder. |
| 71 | *** The villain has a personal connection to the BigGood and mentor. |
| 72 | *** The BigGood[=/=]mentor is a former Ranger himself. |
| 73 | *** Jason is reinterpreted as a JerkJock with a HiddenHeartOfGold just like Conner, the Red Ranger from Dino Thunder. |
| 74 | *** [[TheSmartGuy Billy]] is played by [[RaceLift a black actor despite having been white in the original show]]. In short, we have a BlackAndNerdy Blue Ranger with a Triceratops zord just like Ethan from Dino Thunder. |
| 75 | *** Trini's more confrontational and irreverent personality is very similar to Kira. |
| 76 | ** The film arguably works much better as an adaptation of ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' than ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers''. It's about five mismatched teenagers (a quietly competent leader, his wisecracking friend, an empathic nature-loving tomboy, a girly-girl with an edgy streak, and an outcast loner from a broken home) developing superpowers and fighting an alien invasion following a fateful encounter in a construction site, the characters get their powers from an alien mentor who suffers DeathByOriginStory, the BigBad has the same superpowers as the heroes, and the climax features an important location hidden under a RealLife fast food restaurant (Krispy Kreme instead of [=McDonalds=]). The film was criticized by many ''Power Rangers'' fans for being considerably DarkerAndEdgier than the original show, but it has many of the elements that made ''Animorphs'' stand out: the characters have believably clashing personalities, it offers a (mostly) realistic portrayal of teenage issues, and it's ultimately a fairly grim and somber story about teenagers forced to become soldiers against their will. It even features a scene set on prehistoric Earth, where it's revealed that [[PhlebotinumKilledTheDinosaurs the dinosaurs were wiped out by aliens]]--which was a major plot point in one of the ''Animorphs'' books. |
| 77 | * ''Film/{{Predator}}'' is ''Literature/{{Beowulf}}'', adapted to the 1980s and with an alien as Grendel. A group of elite warriors are called into a foreign land, where a mysterious creature is killing the locals. They manage to wound it once, but are slowly killed off until the leader sheds his armor and weapons to hunt down the beast. |
| 78 | * ''Film/PrideAndPrejudice'', directed by Joe Wright and starring Creator/KeiraKnightley, was highly touted and received a couple of Oscar nods. The two got together for ''Film/{{Atonement}}'', [[OscarBait a serious attempt at the awards]]. |
| 79 | * ''Film/{{Prisoners}}'' is likely the closest (and [[VideoGameMoviesSuck best]]) we'll get to a live action ''VideoGame/HeavyRain'', as its own film adaptation is seemingly locked in DevelopmentHell. |
| 80 | * ''Film/TheProphecy'' series can be seen as a spiritual successor to the ''Film/{{Highlander}}'' franchise. As it like its predecessor was created by Gregory Widen and has a mythos that centers around a secret conflict between immortals of mystical power not known to the masses. (Immortals and Angels respectively) Not to mention that there is only one very specific way that any members of these groups can be killed that involves removing a key body part (heads and hearts respectively). |
| 81 | * ''Film/TheProfessional'' is a Spiritual Successor to ''[[Film/{{Nikita}} La Femme Nikita]]''. Both movies were directed by Creator/LucBesson and involve a "cleaner" hitman played by Creator/JeanReno not to mention a young woman who trains to become an assassin. Likewise, ''Film/{{Colombiana}}'' can be considered a successor to ''The Professional'' (it was supposed to be a sequel to that film titled ''Mathilda'' but it eventually became a DivorcedInstallment instead). |
| 82 | * Years before Creator/LoisDuncan's novel ''Literature/IKnowWhatYouDidLastSummer'' got [[Film/IKnowWhatYouDidLastSummer an official adaptation]], ''Film/PromNight1980'' could be said to have been the best film version of it out there. (Duncan would probably say it's a ''better'' film, in fact, as [[DisownedAdaptation she hated]] the ''I Know'' movie.) Both stories deal with a group of teenagers who had previously covered up an AccidentalMurder, and are now being harassed and attacked over it by somebody who knows their secret. |
| 83 | * ''Film/{{Prometheus}}'': |
| 84 | ** Creator/GuillermoDelToro has [[http://www.joblo.com/movie-news/guillermo-del-toro-says-at-the-mountains-of-madness-is-dead remarked]] that ''Film/{{Prometheus}}'' is a close enough adaptation of Creator/HPLovecraft's ''Literature/AtTheMountainsOfMadness'' that his own planned adaptation of ''ATMOM'' [[DevelopmentHell will have an uphill battle]] [[WhatCouldHaveBeen entering production]] -- at this point, it would likely come off looking like a ripoff of ''Prometheus''. Later on, though, he went back on his decision to give up on his adaptation of ''ATMOM'', [[http://www.chud.com/122289/madness-guillermo-to-reattempt-the-lovecraft-mountain-climb/ saying]] "screw it, Lovecraft was there first." |
| 85 | ** While it's quite far from the spirit of ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', the black goo is generally considered the only movie depiction of the most iconic villain faction, Phyrexia. |
| 86 | ** WebVideo/DiamandaHagan argued that the film is a film adaptation of ''Series/{{Bonekickers}}''. See [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hvlb36nWjY here]]. |
| 87 | * ''Film/ThePurge'': |
| 88 | ** Some critics consider it to be ''Literature/TheHungerGames'' but with adults. |
| 89 | ** The sequels, ''Film/ThePurgeAnarchy'' and ''Film/ThePurgeElectionYear'', are this to ''VideoGame/{{Manhunt}}'' minus the SnuffFilm elements. A person (or a group of people in this case) try to survive the night against various gangs of masked psychopaths in a lawless city, including GasMaskMooks that look nearly like [[EliteMooks the Cerberus]]. ''Anarchy'' even has a plot line of [[spoiler:the wealthy capturing victims to hunt for sport]]. |
| 90 | ** The character of Leo from ''Anarchy'' and ''Election Year'', a VigilanteMan played by Creator/FrankGrillo who serves as a protagonist in both films, has been called a better translation of ComicBook/ThePunisher to the big screen than many of that character's ''actual'' film adaptations. Both films as a whole have also been seen as {{Genre Throwback}}s to '80s dystopian action films like ''Film/EscapeFromNewYork'' and ''Film/RoboCop1987''. |
| 91 | ** [[http://www.movies.com/movie-news/the-purge-bioshock/12109 One writer]] has compared the films to the [[VideoGame/BioShock1 first]] ''VideoGame/BioShock'' game. To wit, while the films don't have that game's underwater city or genetic splicing, they do take place in a similar dystopian world where ultra-libertarian [[TheSocialDarwinist social Darwinism]] has caused society to degenerate into violent chaos for its own sake, justified by a MightMakesRight attitude. The masked psychos roaming the streets also resemble and behave like some of the more eccentric Splicers. |
| 92 | ** On a similar level, the series can also be seen as ''VideoGame/DeadRising'' minus the zombies, such that Daniel Dockery of ''Website/{{Cracked}}'' has [[http://www.cracked.com/blog/5-terrible-movies-that-would-be-awesome-as-video-games/ suggested]] (at #1 on the list) that the films would work a lot better as video games drawing influence from ''Dead Rising''. Both works take place against the backdrop of [[AnarchyIsChaos a breakdown of law and order]] that causes people to let their primal urges run wild, as seen with ''Dead Rising''[='=]s psychopaths and ''The Purge''[='=]s more colorful participants, many of whom see the collapse of society as an opportunity to throw off its shackles and fully embrace [[ADarkerMe who they "really are"]]. The action operates on a CosmicDeadline; in the ''Dead Rising'' games (until [[VideoGame/DeadRising4 the fourth one]] got rid of the timer), you only have a certain amount of time to complete the story before the military destroys the city, while participants in the Purge have only twelve hours to let loose and/or survive before the final siren. They also serve up highly cynical satire of [[{{Eagleland}} American society]], portraying it as a land where people are [[GunNut obsessed with guns and violence]] and [[KillThePoor can't be bothered to care about the dispossessed]]. The only difference is in how it happens: ''Dead Rising'' uses a ZombieApocalypse as the catalyst, while the titular event in ''The Purge'' is an annual, government-sanctioned holiday. |
| 93 | ** James [=DeMonaco=], the creator of the series, has [[https://birthmoviesdeath.com/2013/06/06/the-purge-director-admits-which-star-trek-episode-influenced-his-movie cited]] as inspiration the ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' episode [[Recap/StarTrekS1E21TheReturnOfTheArchons "The Return of the Archons"]], in which the ''Enterprise'' visits a planet holding a "Festival" where the HiveMind temporarily relaxes its control over the populace and allows them to act out their most violent urges. |
| 94 | [[/folder]] |
| 95 | |
| 96 | [[folder:R]] |
| 97 | * ''Film/TheRaid'' unintentionally becomes a movie adaption of the ''[[VideoGame/DynamiteCop Dynamite Deka]]'' series, aka ''Die Hard Arcade'' and ''Dynamite Cop'', by Indonesia (with a Welsh director). The movie has it all: a SWAT team infiltrating the building, a bad guy barking orders on the top floor, and waves upon waves of mooks on each floor. Even some movie critics said the movie feels like an adaption of arcade [[BeatEmUp beat'em ups]] from the '90s. |
| 98 | * Uwe Boll's ''Film/{{Rampage|2009}}'' is a better adaptation of ''{{VideoGame/Postal}}'' (particularly [[DarkerAndEdgier the first game]] in the series) than [[Film/{{Postal}} his own movie adaptation]] (which was based more on [[LighterAndSofter the second game]]). |
| 99 | * The live-action adaption of ''Film/Rampage2018'' was for a while the closest the a Franchise/KingKong vs Franchise/{{Godzilla}} movie for the 21st century until the Film/MonsterVerse reached that [[Film/GodzillaVsKong point]]. |
| 100 | * ''Film/RatRace'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/ItsAMadMadMadMadWorld''. |
| 101 | * ''Film/ReadyPlayerOne2018'' is known right now to be an adaption of several works: |
| 102 | ** It is not hard to imagine this as a film version of ''VideoGame/GarrysMod''. The premise, of being able to play and mess around in player-constructed environments and use iconic fictional characters as well as real historical people, is very similar to the game, just without the mechanics. |
| 103 | ** Others have compared it to ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory''. This is helped by the usage of a SuspiciouslySimilarSong of "Pure Imagination" in the trailers (later confirmed to be an outright cover) and the fact that Creator/GeneWilder himself was approached with the role of Halliday. |
| 104 | ** Some people, especially anime fans, also compared it a bit with resident MMO-gone-serious series ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'' due to its premise, an opinion that seems to be shared by [[https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2018-01-18/sword-art-online-creator-one-punch-man-murata-come-out-for-ready-player-one-event/.126614 its own creator]]. Curiously enough and for enforcing this, Creator/YoshitsuguMatsuoka, who voiced the main hero Kazuto Kirigaya/Kirito, works in the Japanese dub of the film. |
| 105 | ** The battle portion could be compared to ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark''[='=]s [[Recap/SouthParkImaginationland Imaginationland]] trilogy/compilation movie, which culminates in a gigantic battle between good and evil armies consisting of hundreds of characters from pop culture and beyond. |
| 106 | ** The film can also be considered this to [=VRChat=] to some extent when it comes to modified avatars. |
| 107 | ** It could be also the closest thing to a ''Franchise/{{Neptunia}}'' movie, but minus the sexual content. |
| 108 | * The movie ''Film/RealSteel'' had been called ''Rock'em Sock'em Robots: TheMovie''. It's actually an adaptation of the 1956 story and 1963 ''[[Series/TheTwilightZone1959 Twilight Zone]]'' episode "Steel", which in turn is said to have been the inspiration for Rock'em Sock'em Robots. |
| 109 | * ''Film/RebelMoon'': Just based on its aesthetic alone, it didn't take long for people to call this the closest live-action adaptation of ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'' we have so far. |
| 110 | * Some critics have described ''Film/RebelWithoutACause'' as a 1950s ''Theatre/RomeoAndJuliet'' of sorts. Both deal with teenagers grappling with romance, violence, and alienation from the older generation and from society in general; James Dean's character Jim can be seen as the Romeo character, his love interest Judy as the Juliet, [[spoiler: doomed]] friend/[[HoYay semi-love interest]] Plato as the Mercutio, and Judy's [[spoiler: equally doomed]] original boyfriend Buzz as both Tybalt and Paris. Creator/NicholasRay actually cited ''Romeo'' as a strong influence on ''Rebel'', calling it "the best play written about juvenile delinquents." These parallels may have helped pave the way for ''Theatre/WestSideStory'', a more direct transplant of ''Romeo'' into the world of 1950s "juvenile delinquency," the 1961 film version of which starred [[Creator/NatalieWood the same leading actress]] as ''Rebel'', no less. |
| 111 | * The ''Film/{{REC}}'' movies have been compared to what the ''Film/ResidentEvil2002'' and ''Film/{{Doom}}'' movies ''should'' [[InNameOnly have been]]. |
| 112 | * ''Film/RedRocket'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/TheFloridaProject'' because it's set in the far South of the USA (Texas and Florida) among lower class characters in midsummer where the protagonists (or co-lead in Halley's case) are sex workers - Halley is a prostitute and Mikey is a (technically ex) porn star. ''Red Rocket'' can also be seen as the SpiritualAntithesis to ''Florida'' because for all of Halley's jerk behavior, she is a vulnerable girl and StrugglingSingleMother with sympathetic traits. Mikey, on the other hand, is charming, but is ultimately a manipulative and misogynistic predator. |
| 113 | %%* ''Film/RedSonja'' to ''Film/ConanTheDestroyer''. |
| 114 | * When it was announced, ''Film/RedSparrow'' was frequently described as "the unofficial ComicBook/BlackWidow movie", albeit with Creator/JenniferLawrence instead of Creator/ScarlettJohansson and a general lack of superheroes. The film's director Francis Lawrence even [[https://screenrant.com/red-sparrow-black-widow-comparisons-director-comments/ commented]] on the comparisons. |
| 115 | * [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in ''Film/ReservoirDogs'', where the guys have a SeinfeldianConversation about the 1970s cult TV show ''Get Christie Love!''. Nice Guy Eddie incorrectly recalls that Creator/PamGrier played Christie Love, and Mr. Pink clarifies that Pam Grier was exclusively a film actress, while ''Get Christie Love!'' was meant to be "the Pam Grier TV show without Pam Grier". |
| 116 | * Due to copious amounts of {{Gorn}}, grim tone, and similar time period, some have felt that ''Film/TheRevenant'' is about the closest we have gotten to a film version of Creator/CormacMcCarthy's ''Literature/BloodMeridian''. |
| 117 | * The film ''Literature/RevolutionaryRoad'' is an interesting subversion of SpiritualSuccessor status. It's set in America, it starred Creator/LeonardoDiCaprio and Creator/KateWinslet (as husband in wife) in their first film together after they'd co-starred in ''Film/{{Titanic 1997}}''. Some people initially thought it therefore as ''Titanic'''s spiritual successor. The storyline, however, is, if anything, entirely the opposite of ''Titanic'' and only gets worse from there. Plus, it's based on a completely unrelated novel. |
| 118 | * The 2015 zombie film ''Film/TheRezort'' is about an island resort complex built after a ZombieApocalypse where tourists can come to hunt zombies for sport. While the ''[[Film/JurassicPark1993 Jurassic Park]]''-with-zombies inspirations are obvious, it can also be seen as a film version of ''VideoGame/DeadIsland'', although in this case, the zombies are supposed to be there. |
| 119 | * Creator/OrsonScottCard, author of ''Literature/EndersGame'', the [[Film/EndersGame adaptation]] of which [[DevelopmentHell took decades to premiere]], considers ''Film/RiseOfThePlanetOfTheApes'' to be [[http://www.hatrack.com/osc/reviews/everything/2011-08-11.shtml "the first truly successful adaptation of my novel... to appear on the screen."]] In the past, he'd made similar statements about ''Film/{{Serenity}}''. |
| 120 | * Graham Dury of ''ComicBook/{{Viz}}'' considers the 1987 British comedy ''Rita and Sue and Bob, Too'' to be a better film adaptation of ''Fat Slags'' than the [[Film/FatSlags eponymous film]]. |
| 121 | * ''Film/TheRoad'' can be seen as an unintentional spiritual successor to ''Film/RoadToPerdition'' as they share many similar themes (apart from the title involving "road" that can easily be confused). Both center around the relationship between a father and son who have nothing left but each other (in both cases he had a wife but she's dead) who through events beyond their control are forced to travel down a "road" both literally and metaphorically trying to survive whilst bringing up questions about morality- the father trying to be a good man doing what's best for his son, trying to find a place for themselves and running into problems on the way, including people who want to kill them. [[spoiler: Even the endings are similar, as they both involve them coming to the end of their journey with the father dying but the boy seemingly going off to a better life (although how much better his life becomes in ''Film/TheRoad'' is debatable, given the apocalyptic setting)]]. |
| 122 | * ''Film/RobinHoodPrinceOfThieves'' has two films that are spiritual successors. Ironically enough the two follows-ups are based upon an Creator/AlexandreDumas story, each was produced by Disney, and all three films feature Michael Wincott in the role of a major supporting antagonist... |
| 123 | ** ''Film/TheThreeMusketeers1993'' gives off the vibe of deliberately aiming to be a spiritual successor to ''Prince of Thieves'' which came out two years prior. Both were re-iterations of classic stories of swashbuckling heroism, taking several liberties in the process, that center around a rag-tag group of heroes. Both star an awesomely over-the-top antagonist who has received a "Villain Upgrade" of sorts, given how the Sheriff and Richelieu now plot to take over their respective nations with plans that involve them getting with a woman of nobility. Both films also have scores by Music/MichaelKamen and have a pop song attached featuring Music/BryanAdams. |
| 124 | ** ''Film/TheCountOfMonteCristo2002'' was a following swashbuckling adventure film based on a classic European tale from the same director of ''Prince of Thieves'', Kevin Reynolds. Both films featuring a few similar plot elements like centering around a lead hero who after a long time imprisoned returns home to find his life in shambles including the death of his father, the hero decides to fight to seek justice/revenge against those responsible, has a sidekick in the form of a man who owes him a life debt, etc. |
| 125 | * ''Film/RoboCop1987'' is basically an adaptation of ''Comicbook/JudgeDredd'', being the story of a visor-wearing supercop hunting criminals in the dystopian metropolis of the future, complete with political satire and BlackComedy. In fact, there were plans for a film adaptation long before [[Film/JudgeDredd the 1995 Stallone version]], but the release of ''[=RoboCop=]'' scuppered it. |
| 126 | * ''Film/TheRocketeer'': |
| 127 | ** The film is the spiritual successor to the ''Franchise/IndianaJones'' series. |
| 128 | ** The film is for all intents and purposes the Art Deco ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' or ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'' movie people have been crying for. |
| 129 | * ''Film/{{The Rookie|1990}}'' is essentially this to ''Film/DirtyHarry''. In both movies, Creator/ClintEastwood plays a veteran cop whose partners are killed. The movie is also directed by Clint Eastwood. |
| 130 | * Right after directing ''Film/TheOutsiders'' Creator/FrancisFordCoppola made a movie based on another SE Hinton novel, ''Literature/RumbleFish'' with many of the same cast and crew. The movie came out months after ''Film/TheOutsiders''. |
| 131 | * ''Film/RunawayBride'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/PrettyWoman'' (shared lead couple, same director). |
| 132 | * ''Film/RunHideFight'' is about as close as anybody is ever going to get to making a film adaptation of the Platform/{{Newgrounds}} game ''[[VideoGame/{{Pico}} Pico's School]]'', albeit with a [[GenderFlip gender-flipped]] protagonist. Both are unabashedly pulpy DieHardOnAnX stories about [[AxesAtSchool school shootings]], in which the protagonist is a student who fights back against a gang of four nihilistic, antisocial classmates who represent contemporary {{teen|sAreMonsters}} {{delinquent|s}} stereotypes ({{goth}}s in ''Pico's School'', [[PhoneaholicTeenager social]] [[AttentionWhore media]] [[SocialMediaIsBad addicts]] in ''Run Hide Fight''), all while [[PoliceAreUseless the police outside do nothing to stop them]]. |
| 133 | * ''Film/RurouniKenshin'' would make for a good live-action epilogue for ''VideoGame/TotalWarShogun2: Fall of the Samurai''. |
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| 135 | |
| 136 | [[folder:S]] |
| 137 | * The 2015 disaster film ''Film/SanAndreas'' is essentially the first act of ''Film/TwoThousandTwelve'' stretched out into a feature film, even containing many of the tropes that Creator/RolandEmmerich used in his disaster flicks. |
| 138 | * ''Film/LeSamourai'' has influenced numerous filmmakers over the years so naturally there have been some movies that serve as unofficial remakes: |
| 139 | ** ''Film/TheDriver'' is an Americanized version of the movie [[JustForFun/RecycledInSpace but with a getaway driver]]. |
| 140 | ** Creator/JohnWoo cited the film as a major inspiration for ''Film/TheKiller1989'' in terms of plot and characters. He even admitted in an interview that "Melville is god to me" and it's no surprise that he's been attempting to remake ''Le Samourai'' for years but his efforts never came to fruition so in the meantime fans of the film can look to ''The Killer'' as the closest that they'll get to the director's vision of a modern, setting-shifted reboot |
| 141 | ** ''Film/TheProfessional'' is a [[TheNineties 90s]] themed version of the film set in UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity. Not only is the protagonist a very skilled hitman who's always dressed well for his assassination missions but he adheres to a rigid [[CodeOfHonour Code of Honor]] and lives as an outsider who has no other friends or companions other than a thing that he keeps at his apartment. He also has to protect a young girl and eventually sacrifices himself to save her from death. And much like that movie, the director Creator/LucBesson is French. |
| 142 | ** Similar to ''The Killer'' example above, ''Film/GhostDogTheWayOfTheSamurai'' is a deliberate homage to the movie complete with an AntiHero contract killer as the main lead who follows the Japanese code of Bushido and uses a special key to steal other cars. He even dies at the end to project a young woman much like Jef Costello. |
| 143 | ** As the film's [[Website/TVTropes own page on TV Tropes points out]], ''Film/TheAmerican'' is ''Le Samourai'' in UsefulNotes/{{Italy}}. |
| 144 | * In Creator/RogerEbert's review of ''Film/TheSandlot'', he proposes that the movie is this to ''Film/AChristmasStory''. A real sequel, ''It Runs In The Family'' came out the next year, and most people don't even know its exists. ''The Sandlot'', on the other hand, is considered a classic. |
| 145 | * ''Film/{{Savages}}'', like ''Double Impact'' listed above, also has the basic plotline of the first ''VideoGame/DoubleDragon'' game. Criminals have kidnapped the girlfriend of two guys who now have to battle their way to get her back. |
| 146 | * Creator/StevenSpielberg's ''Film/SavingPrivateRyan'' (1998) is at least partially one for his earlier film ''Film/SchindlersList'' (1993). They're both dramas about UsefulNotes/WorldWarII that use the subject as a vehicle for examining the value of human life, and both of them are famous for their uniquely stylized visual presentations (''Schindler's List'' is [[DeliberatelyMonochrome filmed entirely in black and white]] save for [[SplashOfColor a single girl in a red coat]], and ''Saving Private Ryan'' uses ShakyCam and a [[ColorWash desaturated color palette]][[note]] Both techniques [[OnceOriginalNowCommon were considered fairly revolutionary when the films were released]], and it's credited with helping to popularize them[[/note]]). The chief difference between the two films is in their perspectives: ''Schindler's List'' is a film about UsefulNotes/{{the Holocaust}} told from a German perspective, while ''Saving Private Ryan'' is a film about the invasion of France told from an American perspective. |
| 147 | * The eighth ''Franchise/{{Saw}}'' film, ''Film/{{Jigsaw}}'', has been [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97pFUTFvuEg seen]] as a surprisingly close adaptation of Creator/JeanPaulSartre's ''Theatre/NoExit'', which it gives a highly prominent ShoutOut to. While it's not actually set in {{Hell}}, the main game, like the story of ''No Exit'', revolves around a group of criminal people who can be redeemed from their suffering by simply confessing their sins to [[PoeticSerialKiller Jigsaw]] in front of the people around them -- yet all of them are too proud to do, afraid of the shame that this would cause them and the judgment that they would receive from those around them, resulting in them paying the price. There are even very close parallels between the crimes committed by Estelle in ''No Exit'' and [[spoiler:Anna]] in ''Jigsaw'', [[spoiler:the two of them having both killed their infant children in such a manner that [[DrivenToSuicide drove their lovers to suicide]]]]. |
| 148 | * ''Film/ScoobyDooMonstersUnleashed'' is considered by many as a film adaptation of ''VideoGame/ScoobyDooNightOf100Frights'' due to how similar the plot is and how faithful they are to the cartoons. |
| 149 | * ''Film/TheScorpionKing'' is considered to be a better adaptation of ''Literature/ConanTheBarbarian'' due to costuming, style, and story than [[Film/ConanTheBarbarian1982 the first Arnold Schwarzenegger film]]. Considering that Creator/JohnMilius was interested in making a Viking movie instead of a Conan movie, it's not that hard. |
| 150 | * ''Film/ScottPilgrimVsTheWorld'': |
| 151 | ** Despite being an adaptation of [[ComicBook/ScottPilgrim a comic]] that came out years before, the film has been said to be the closest thing to a movie adaption of ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes''. |
| 152 | ** Some fans would argue that this is the closest thing they could have a live-action adaptation of ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena''. While the original comic book also made a reference to the anime, the franchise share the similar theme with it as well. |
| 153 | * ''Film/Scream1996'': |
| 154 | ** It can be considered the spiritual successor to the obscure '80s slasher film ''Film/ReturnToHorrorHigh''. Not only does the killer in both movies have a black cloak and a white featureless mask, but ''Return to Horror High'' was very post-modern for a film of its age: it is about a director making a horror movie about a series of unsolved murders happening in a high school, set in that same school, where the actors playing the parts of the students are getting murdered in "real life"; there's the conflict between the scriptwriter of the film and the director who only wants tits & blood, and the actresses that complain of being used only as fanservice... |
| 155 | ** It was a more overt successor to ''Film/WesCravensNewNightmare'', a 1994 slasher by ''Scream''[='=]s director Creator/WesCraven that explored similar [[PostModernism metatextual ideas]] about the relationship between horror movies, their fans, and their creators. Both are about a massacre straight out of an '80s SlasherMovie happening in [[ThisIsReality the "real world"]], though ''Scream'' was a more grounded, GenreSavvy take on the concept compared to the supernatural, [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou fourth-wall-breaking]] ''New Nightmare''. |
| 156 | * ''Scrubbers'', a drama set in a girls' prison, is mostly a GenderFlip of ''Film/{{Scum}}'', a drama set in a boys' prison. Roy Minton wrote ''Scum'' and co-wrote ''Scrubbers'', but the stories are not connected. The two films are sometimes packaged together. |
| 157 | * ''Film/TheSecretOfMySuccess'' can be seen as a sequel to ''Series/FamilyTies'', since Brantley is pretty much the same character as Alex P. Keaton. Brantley's family can be seen as a severely {{Flanderized}} version of the Keatons. (In fact in Family Ties' take on ''Literature/AChristmasCarol'' it's revealed that in one possible future the Keatons actually became farmers after a downturn in the economy.) It helps that the last episode of ''Family Ties'' ends where ''The Secret of My Success'' begins (even though the movie was released two years before the last episode aired!) |
| 158 | ** ''Film/WorkingGirl'' meanwhile, could be seen as a female version of ''The Secret of My Success''. It's also about a working class person who pretends to be someone they aren't in order to get ahead in the corporate world. ''Working Girl'' all in all, could be seen as a film that combines the setting of ''Film/WallStreet'', the workplace ensemble ethos of ''Film/BroadcastNews'', the plot of ''The Secret of My Success'', and the women-get-one-over-on-the-boss mentality of ''Film/NineToFive''. |
| 159 | * ''Film/TheSevenUps'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/TheFrenchConnection'' in that it stars Roy Scheider as a New York detective similar to the one he played in the latter movie and had the same producer and composer and even had a car chase like the one in ''The French Connection''. |
| 160 | * According to director Creator/DannyBoyle there's a sly connection between ''Film/ShallowGrave'' and ''Film/{{Trainspotting}}''. Keith Allen portrays a drug dealer in both films -- with the intention that we think he may be the same character in both, as Trainspotting was suppose to take place in the late 1980s ''before'' the occurrences in ''Shallow Grave''. |
| 161 | * ''Film/ShaolinSoccer'' to the Creator/YuenBiao film ''Film/TheChampions1983''. Both movies are soccer-themed sports comedies about a country bumpkin who is an expert in martial arts but out of a job, then ends up using his skills participating in soccer games and making it big. |
| 162 | * As admitted by the writer / producer David F. Friedman, ''She Freak'' is an unofficial remake of ''{{Film/Freaks}}'' - it shares a circus setting (albeit updated to the 1960s), the same basic premise of a cynical woman marrying someone involved with a circus freak show for money and having an affair with another man, and the exact same ending. |
| 163 | * ''Film/ShesAllThat'' is a high school version of Creator/GeorgeBernardShaw's ''Theatre/{{Pygmalion}}''. |
| 164 | * ''Film/ShinGodzilla'' is the best big-budget crossover between ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}'' and ''Series/TheWestWing'' never made. If you've ever wanted to see how President Bartlet and his band of {{True Companions}} might deal with an attack by a city-destroying monster (and you don't mind them speaking in Japanese), this movie gives you a pretty damn good idea. |
| 165 | * ''Literature/TheShining'': |
| 166 | ** ''Film/Batman1989'' feels like if Creator/TimBurton made a crossover with ''ComicBook/{{Batman}}'' and ''Film/TheShining''; while Creator/JackNicholson reprise his role as Jack from the Kubrick version, the black-haired, creepy, pale-faced Creator/ShelleyDuvall is replaced with [[AdaptationDyeJob blonde]], [[AdaptationalAttractiveness more beautiful]] Creator/KimBasinger as IntrepidReporter version of the novel's Wendy (Vicki Vale). |
| 167 | ** 1991's ''Film/{{Deceived}}'' is also the closest can get to a early 90s version of the novel with Creator/GoldieHawn played a [[AdaptationDyeJob blonde]], [[AdaptationalAttractiveness more beautiful]], more faithful version of Wendy (despite being named her as Adrienne Saunders) than the black-haired, creepy, pale-faced Creator/ShelleyDuvall in the Kubrick version, with Creator/JohnHeard gives good performance as FaceHeelTurn husband (Jack), but it lacks the supernatural/horror elements that the 1977 novel, 1980 film, and the 1997 mini-series had; both blonde actresses (Creator/KimBasinger and Creator/GoldieHawn) wears a turtleneck sweater with a skirt (or a long-sleeve dress) and tights (or stockings or bare) and both blonde actresses (Creator/KimBasinger and Creator/GoldieHawn) can show their legs pretty well (Creator/ShelleyDuvall and Creator/RebeccaDeMornay mostly wears long overall skirt or jeans). |
| 168 | * ''Film/ShortCircuit'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/WarGames''. Both films are directed by John Badham and starred Ally Sheedy as a person helping a military AI (the Joshua/WOPR supercomputer/Johnny Five) learn the importance of life. |
| 169 | * ''Film/ShowdownInLittleTokyo'' and ''Film/BlackRain'' is as close one can get to a movie version of {{Creator/SNK}}'s ''Burning Fight''. |
| 170 | * ''Film/SideEffects'' is the closest you'll ever get to seeing the ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' mod ''VideoGame/AfraidOfMonsters'' in film. |
| 171 | * ''Film/{{Slither}}'' is essentially a CGI-era version of ''Film/NightOfTheCreeps'' in a more rustic setting. |
| 172 | * ''Film/{{Sleepers}}'': |
| 173 | ** It can be viewed as the spiritual predecessor of ''Film/{{Spotlight}}'' in that it deals with sexual abuse of young boys carried out by men in a position of power, which is covered up by those in the know. It helps that Billy Crudup appears as one of the adult sleepers in this movie and as an attorney in ''Spotlight''. A major dissimilarity between the two films, however, is that in ''Sleepers'' the catholic church is a safe haven and a place of comfort and security, and the priest they interact with the most is a protective father figure. |
| 174 | ** The way Michael and Shakes communicate during the trial, and the secrecy involved with the whole operation, brings to mind ''Film/AllThePresidentsMen''. Creator/RogerEbert even compared the two of them. |
| 175 | * ''Film/{{Snatch}}'' is such a picturesque thematic follow-up to ''Film/LockStockAndTwoSmokingBarrels'' (having the same writer/director, Creator/GuyRitchie, focusing on British gangsters, and snarky quick-written humor) that it can almost be thought of as more of a SpinOff than anything. |
| 176 | * ''Film/SnowDay'' was originally written as a film adaptation of ''Series/TheAdventuresOfPeteAndPete'', and it shows. |
| 177 | * ''Film/SnowDogs'' could be considered such to ''Film/CoolRunnings''. Both are live-action family films from Disney that are fish out of water tales that involve one or more people going from their warm/comfortable environment to a cold and snowy place where they engage in some sort of winter sport. Both films also share some screenwriters. Those being Tommy Swerdlow and Michael Goldberg. |
| 178 | * ''Film/{{Snowpiercer}}'' |
| 179 | ** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1utJKkMEXE This video]] by [=CrayTrey=] argues that it is the best ''VideoGame/BioShock1'' film adaptation ever made, specifically the kind of ''[=BioShock=]'' movie that Creator/TerryGilliam would make. (It even has a character named Gilliam as a possible ShoutOut.) Even discounting the fact that the protagonists' journey to the front of the train is structured like a video game, both are set in hermetically sealed environments filled with claustrophobic corridors where escape is made impossible by hostile conditions outside, with stratified societies overseen by the eccentric billionaires who created these places in line with their flawed personal ideologies ([[Creator/AynRand Objectivism]] in the case of ''[=BioShock=]''[='=]s Andrew Ryan, [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecofascism Ecofascist]] [[FeudalFuture feudalism]] in the case of ''Snowpiercer''[='=]s Wilford). Curtis Everett, the protagonist of ''Snowpiercer'', can also be seen as a more heroic version of Frank Fontaine from ''[=BioShock=]'' in his rebellion against Wilford. It even has a climatic scene very similar to Andrew Ryan's big speech to Jack in ''[=BioShock=]'', a FantasticDrug that has driven many people insane, [[spoiler:the [[PoweredByAForsakenChild exploitation of children]] being a key component of the systems that keep things running, and society going down in flames by the end]]. Furthermore, while ''[=BioShock=]'' sought to {{deconstruct|ion}} the Objectivist themes of Rand's ''Literature/AtlasShrugged'', one could see the villains here as the kind of bad guys that Rand herself could have written. Wilford is a fascist tyrant who preaches that salvation comes from serving him, [[spoiler:Gilliam is a socialist tyrant who preaches that salvation comes from serving each other (at his command, of course), and the two of them are ''working together'' to maintain the train and its oppressive system.]] |
| 180 | ** Similarly, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEX52h1TvuA this video]] by Rhino Stew calls it a DarkerAndEdgier sequel to Creator/RoaldDahl's ''Literature/CharlieAndTheChocolateFactory''. Specifically, he pegs Wilford as a grown-up Charlie Bucket who took Willy Wonka's (or rather, ''Wilford'' Wonka's) name after he inherited the factory, along with numerous shout-outs and similarities in the supporting cast and in various plot details. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygYlxTxSaCM This video]] by Nomadic Kong builds on the theory, arguing that the plot of ''Snowpiercer'' draws direct parallels and homages to ''Charlie''[='=]s 1971 film adaptation, ''Film/WillyWonkaAndTheChocolateFactory'', right down to specific scenes that are nearly identical and even the use of "Pure Imagination" in the score. |
| 181 | --->"They're both two movies about groups of people that work their way through a large, fantastic structure. One by one, a person from the group is removed in each room, until one person makes it to the very end, who then found out that [[spoiler:the entire thing was a test because a wealthy industrialist needed to find a new successor]]." |
| 182 | * The ''Film/SpeedRacer'' film is just as viable an adaptation of ''VideoGame/FZero'' as it is of the ''Anime/SpeedRacer'' anime. |
| 183 | * ''Film/TheSpirit'' may not have captured the, uh, spirit of [[ComicBook/TheSpirit the comics it came from]] very well, but it's a much better adaptation of an entirely different superhero: ComicBook/TheTick. Just compare how often they run across rooftops while monologuing about "MY CITY!" and invoking tortured metaphors. |
| 184 | * At times, ''Film/SpringBreakers'' feels like either the best ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity'' adaptation ever made, or a {{deconstruction}} of such. It's got the UsefulNotes/{{Florida}} setting (albeit set in St. Petersburg instead of a pastiche of UsefulNotes/{{Miami}}), the neon-drenched style that heavily evokes TheEighties (despite being set in the present day), the {{sociopathic|Hero}} {{Villain Protagonist}}s running headfirst across the MoralEventHorizon because "spring break, bitches!", and a winking self-awareness of its own "gangsta" attitude that's used to satirize [[DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster pop culture's obsession with cool criminals]]. By extension, it also has some of the ''GTA'' series' few female protagonists, and the only ones with any defined personality.[[note]][[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoClassic The original game]] let players select from eight different player characters, evenly split between men and women, while the online component of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV'' let players create their own avatar. None of them have any voice acting, however, and in the original game their sprites were largely indistinguishable outside of their hair and the fact that the females wore red pants instead of blue.[[/note]] |
| 185 | * Another attempt at a ''Blade Runner'' sequel (written by Creator/DavidWebbPeoples, co-writer of ''Blade Runner'') became the blueprint for the Creator/KurtRussell film ''Film/{{Soldier}}''. |
| 186 | * Some fans have argued that ''Film/{{Solo}}'' is a better successor to ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'' than the actual [[Film/IndianaJonesAndTheKingdomOfTheCrystalSkull most recent]] Franchise/IndianaJones film. Both movies open with a Creator/HarrisonFord character in his teenage years and show us how he got to be who he is, and feature him allying with an older father figure (Henry Jones/Beckett), his brave and warm-hearted sidekick (Sallah/Chewie), and his lovely female companion (Elsa/Qi'ra) to retrieve something priceless for a villainous rich guy (Donovan/Dryden), while being pursued by an elite band of brigands who [[spoiler:turn out to be [[GoodAllAlong good guys]]]] (Kazim and the Brotherhood of the Cruciform Sword/Enfys Nest and the Cloud-Riders.) There's an action sequence on a train at one point, and both films end with [[spoiler:the girl killing the rich guy, who turns grey as he dies, the father figure being shot, and the hero [[DidNotGetTheGirl not getting the girl]] when she ultimately abandons him too]]. |
| 187 | * ''Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020'' is regarded by fans as a LiveActionAdaptation of Anime/SonicX. Both are about Sonic getting put into the human world and ends up befriending some humans in order to hide from the government. |
| 188 | * ''Film/{{Spartacus}}'' was a major influence on what are arguably the two most popular historical epics of the modern era, and has been cited as such by their respective directors. Both coming off as being quite similar in spirit... |
| 189 | ** ''Film/{{Braveheart}}'' is structurally quite similar to ''Spartacus'', though many of the details are quite different. Each is the story of a low-standing man within an oppressed group who manages to rise up and become a great leader in battling the foreign group seeking to oppress them. Both doing so after a major loss. The lead villain is an extremely high ranking man who seeks to consolidate and expand his own power. His side however early on does not take the rebellion seriously and thinks lowly of them, which is something that both the Romans and the English pay for. The two leaders manage to find great success and even start up a (new) romance. After a major betrayal at a key moment however, facilitated by the lead villain buying off important allies, things turn south with the hero's losing and eventually being captured. The hero never submits however, and thus winds up being sentenced to a cruel execution. (Both ending up dying on a cross of some sort no-less) However both have managed to succeed in sending their message to the world, and the audience is left knowing that they actually have conceived a child who will get to live on past him. |
| 190 | ** ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' in many respects is a lot like ''Spartacus'' in reverse. One character starting out as a slave/gladiator who manages to rise up into a great, powerful, and respected military leader. While the other starts out as a great, powerful, and respected military leader who winds up being torn down into being a slave/gladiator. However the share certain elements, including a lead villain who is seeking to manipulate the people (though through drastically different means) in order to consolidate his power and essentially supplant the Senate with a lot of political subterfuge and intrigue ensuing as a result. Both also having supporting characters in a gladiator school owner who starts out focusing on making a profit but becomes a key player in the main conflict, as ''Gladiator'' having what appears to be a deliberate shout-out to the previous film in the form of having a major character called Senator Gracchus. The Gracchus' in either film being the chief antagonist's main political rival who is fighting for the rights and continued authority of the senate. And again, like ''Braveheart'' as well, the lead heroes of both films ultimately die as martyrs. |
| 191 | * ''Film/SpecialFemaleForce'' is a spiritual successor to the ''Film/TheInspectorWearsSkirts'' film series, the theme being a GirlsWithGuns action comedy film about an all-female police squad. |
| 192 | * ''Film/SpeedZone'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/TheCannonballRun''. |
| 193 | * ''Film/StarshipTroopers'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/RoboCop1987''. Released ten years apart from each other, both are directed by Creator/PaulVerhoeven, share similar themes and are structured around mock broadcasts of news and information. |
| 194 | * ''Franchise/StarWars'': |
| 195 | ** Creator/GeorgeLucas originally wanted to do an adaptation of ''Film/{{Flash Gordon|Serial}}'', but couldn't afford the rights. Instead, he decided to make his own original story, influenced by ''Flash Gordon'' and the stories that influenced such in turn, particularly Creator/EdgarRiceBurroughs' ''Literature/JohnCarterOfMars''. Interestingly, the success of ''Film/ANewHope'' led directly to a proper ''Film/{{Flash Gordon|1980}}'' adaptation three years later. |
| 196 | ** Hari Kunzru, [[https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/jul/03/dune-50-years-on-science-fiction-novel-world writing]] for ''The Guardian'', called it the best ''Literature/{{Dune}}'' adaptation ever made, between its UsefulNotes/NewAge-inflected ScienceFantasy setting, the similarities between the Jedi and the Bene Gesserit, and Tattooine, the desert planet full of hooded tribesmen where TheChosenOne emerges from, being remarkably similar to Arrakis. Creator/FrankHerbert himself [[https://historyofyesterday.com/when-frank-herbert-saw-star-wars-85156b40b243 noticed the similarities]] and had mixed feelings. His son [[Creator/HerbertPropertiesLLC Brian]] said that, after watching ''Star Wars'', his father "picked out sixteen points of what he called 'absolute identity' between his book and the movie" and, together with other writers who saw similar inspiration from their own stories in ''Star Wars'', formed a joke organization called the "We're Too Big to Sue George Lucas Society". |
| 197 | ** ''Film/RogueOne'' is effectively what ''VideoGame/DarkForces'' would be like if it had been a movie. An unusual example of this trope in that both works are part of the same franchise, albeit [[AlternateContinuity Alternate Continuities]]. It also draws elements from the ''Han Solo'' trilogy of novels, given that Jyn Erso has parallels to Han Solo's former flame Bria Tharen, who became a significant Rebel officer [[spoiler:who died stealing the Death Star plans]]. Likewise, the second part of the movie could be a live-action adaptation of ''VideoGame/XWing'', since the game also depicts space battles in which parts of the Death Star plans were stolen even if the participants are different. |
| 198 | ** ''Film/TheLastJedi'': |
| 199 | *** To ''VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight''. Both have the protagonists get tracked and chased by the antagonists even as they perform FasterThanLightTravel, with the latter being a galactic supremacist group whose fleet vastly outnumbers the former's. |
| 200 | *** It can also be considered a film version of ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublicIITheSithLords'', as a {{Deconstruction}} of ''Star Wars'', particularly the Jedi-Sith conflict, that stars a female main character[[note]]The Exile is canonically female[[/note]]. Both the film and the game follow installments that played franchise-wide tropes relatively straight and hit familiar story beats. |
| 201 | * ''Film/SteveJobs'' to ''Film/TheSocialNetwork'', another {{biopic}} written by Creator/AaronSorkin about an [[InsufferableGenius abrasive]] tech pioneer with a troubled love life, who has a falling-out with a close friend who accuses him of {{stealing the credit}} for his big breakthrough. Funnily enough, the two films were [[WhatCouldHaveBeen almost]] directed by the same person, but Creator/DavidFincher passed on directing ''Steve Jobs''. |
| 202 | * ''Film/StrangeDays'' is essentially an unofficial sequel to ''Film/{{Brainstorm}}'', showing the effect on society after the thought-recording technology invented in ''Brainstorm'' becomes mass-produced. |
| 203 | * By [[WordOfGod Steven E DeSouza]]'s [[http://www.polygon.com/features/2014/3/10/5451014/street-fighter-the-movie-what-went-wrong admission]], the ''Film/StreetFighter'' movie was more of a Franchise/GIJoe movie than a ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' one, due to to the heavy military elements (which are not ''nearly'' as prevalent in the games), as well as Creator/{{Hasbro}}'s involvement with the merchandising. |
| 204 | -->''Capcom had forged a partnership with Hasbro long before production began to warp the G.I. Joe toy line into ''Street Fighter: The Movie'' licensed dolls, just in time for Black Friday. "You can look at this movie as the first G.I. Joe movie," says De Souza, "Because G.I. Joe was in a swamp at this time. It was not selling. So Hasbro wanted to reboot the G.I. Joe line by thinly disguising it as ''Street Fighter''."'' |
| 205 | * ''Film/StreetKings'': |
| 206 | ** The film feels a lot like ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'', only set on a hot night in Los Angeles rather than a cold night in New York. |
| 207 | ** The film has been compared to ''Film/TrainingDay''. In fact, if you just alter the final 20 minutes of ''Training Day'', it would be a direct sequel. |
| 208 | * ''Film/StreetsOfFire'' to ''Film/TheWarriors''. Both are directed by Creator/WalterHill and feature heavily stylized versions of street crime at night. |
| 209 | * ''Film/StrictlyBallroom'', ''Film/WilliamShakespearesRomeoAndJuliet'', and ''Film/MoulinRouge'' form [[Creator/BazLuhrmann Baz Lurhmann’s]] ThematicSeries The Red Curtain Trilogy. Each film is a Spiritual Successor to the last one, as each focuses on a different element of theatre: dance, poetry, and song, respectively. |
| 210 | * ''Film/SunsetBoulevard'' grew out of Creator/BillyWilder's attempt to do a film adaptation of Creator/EvelynWaugh's ''Literature/TheLovedOne''. Wilder couldn't secure the rights for the novella, so he concocted a different HorribleHollywood tale with a similar tone and a few of the same motifs. ''The Loved One'' finally got a film adaptation [[Film/TheLovedOne 15 years later]]. |
| 211 | * ''Film/{{Sunshine}}'' to ''Film/{{Supernova}}''. Two scifi sun-related adventorous movies. |
| 212 | * A good number of online reviewers, including WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic, have argued that the true spiritual successor to ''Film/SupermanTheMovie'' is ''Film/{{Wonder Woman|2017}}''. Both are highly idealistic DC Comics superhero films about a dark-haired, non-human protagonist who is sent to the world of men from "the world of the gods" by a parent or parents to fulfill their destiny as a savior of mankind, and both take steps to emphasize that the hero's true power is their idealism and belief in the goodness of human beings. The main character disguises their identity with [[ClarkKenting a pair of glasses]], has a snarky BadassNormal love interest, and there's even a scene where Diana catches bullets fired at Steve as a [[MythologyGag direct]] [[ShoutOut reference]] to ''Superman: The Movie''. A major theme involves the protagonist learning humility and shedding their naivete while confronting a campy middle-aged man as the villain (with a female sidekick), and the climax has features [[spoiler:the love interest dying]], although unlike Superman, Diana [[spoiler:is unable to turn back time to save Steve Trevor. Till the sequel, at least.]] |
| 213 | * The western comedies ''Film/SupportYourLocalSheriff'' and ''Support Your Local Gunfighter'' were made by more-or-less the same production crew and cast, and share much in terms of theme and tone, but the second is not a sequel to the first, and no characters reappear. |
| 214 | * Creator/TimBurton's version of ''Film/SweeneyToddTheDemonBarberOfFleetStreet'' could be the spiritual successor to ''Film/SleepyHollow1999'' - When Creator/JohnnyDepp's character brings his gorgeous blonde wife back to the city things [[FromBadToWorse go horribly wrong, and then they get worse]]. |
| 215 | [[/folder]] |
| 216 | |
| 217 | [[folder:T]] |
| 218 | * ''Film/{{Taken}}'': |
| 219 | ** Before the film had actual sequels, there was the film ''Film/Unknown2011'' which also starred Creator/LiamNeeson as a badass fighting his way through a European city to try and save a family member and during the marketing phase seemed to actually be often mistaken for a ''Taken'' sequel. |
| 220 | ** A lot of viewers have noted that the first ''Film/{{Taken}}'' movie as the closest thing there is to big screen adaptation of ''Series/TwentyFour'', minus the more political aspects. Similar to the show, it involves an ex-government agent having to jump back into action to save his daughter (who coincidentally is also named Kim) [[RaceAgainstTheClock within a time limit]], and said protagonist has a thing for employing methods of PayEvilUntoEvil into the crooks who come his way, especially the poor misguided idiots who dared to harm his loved ones. A few actors who appeared in the show even have roles in the film. Bonus points for the fact that the time limit of hours the protagonist of is given, 96, is a multiple of the number 24. |
| 221 | * ''Film/TalesFromTheDarksideTheMovie'' is regarded as the spiritual successor to the ''Film/{{Creepshow}}'' series (while ironically, ''Creepshow 3'' is disavowed by fans as an InNameOnly work). After all, it's a macabre horror anthology with writing by Creator/StephenKing and George Romero, and work by Creator/TomSavini (who in fact went on record as saying that ''Film/TalesFromTheDarksideTheMovie'' is the "real" ''Creepshow 3''), and was originally going to be the third ''Film/{{Creepshow}}'' installment until producers decided to cash in on the ''Series/TalesFromTheDarkside'' name. |
| 222 | * ''Film/TalladegaNightsTheBalladOfRickyBobby'' is the SpiritualSuccessor to ''Film/AnchormanTheLegendOfRonBurgundy'' (and indeed was described by Ferrell as the third of his "[[SmallNameBigEgo unreasonably confident people]]" series). |
| 223 | * ''Film/ThreeFlavoursCornettoTrilogy'': |
| 224 | ** ''Website/{{Cracked}}''[='=]s David Wong once expressed this opinion about ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'', opining that it was one of the first movies ever to successfully bring Creator/DouglasAdams' unique brand of humor to the big screen, even if Adams didn't actually have anything to do with it. Adding to the irony, he argued that the movie captured Adams' style far better than the actual ''Film/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy2005'', which was released exactly one year after it. |
| 225 | ** ''Film/ShaunOfTheDead'', ''Film/HotFuzz'' and ''Film/TheWorldsEnd'' form a ThematicSeries called the ''Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy''. They're written and directed by the same people, feature similar cast members (drawing from an extended ProductionPosse), and combine violence and "genre" storylines with comedy. Most importantly, they each feature a prominent Cornetto ice cream flavor. |
| 226 | * Creator/GerryAnderson has actually said that ''Film/TeamAmericaWorldPolice'' is a better adaptation of his ''Series/{{Thunderbirds}}'' than the actual live-action ''Film/{{Thunderbirds}}'' film, though he also felt that ''Team America''[='=]s raunchiness hurt it, since it meant his kids couldn't watch. |
| 227 | * ''Film/ThisIsTheEnd'', a Hollywood satire about a bunch of [[ThePrimaDonna rich, pampered, obnoxious celebrities]] (failing to) [[CelebritySurvivor survive the apocalypse]] in their fortified mansion, is the best adaptation of the Long Island chapter of ''Literature/WorldWarZ'' ever made, albeit with the apocalypse in question being [[Literature/BookOfRevelation Biblical]] rather than [[ZombieApocalypse undead]]. |
| 228 | * [[Creator/BlumhouseProductions Blumhouse]]'s ''Film/Thriller2018'' on Netflix is a blatant ripoff of ''Film/PromNight1980''. Both slasher films open with a child falling to their death due to a DeadlyPrank, with the kids responsible vowing to keep the secret. Both films skip ahead to the kids' senior year of high school before a big dance (the senior prom in ''Prom Night'', the homecoming dance in ''Thriller'') before someone who saw the prank targets them all at the dance. There's also an extended chase scene that's almost an exact duplicate. The films have so many similarities in fact, that ''Thriller'' is a far more faithful adaptation of ''Prom Night'' than [[Film/PromNight2008 its own official remake]]. |
| 229 | * ''Film/THX1138'' is what would've happen if Creator/JeanLucGodard made a film adaptation of ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' or ''Literature/BraveNewWorld''. |
| 230 | * ''Film/ATimeToKill'' is a spiritual follow-up to the preceding Creator/JoelSchumacher directed film based off of a Creator/JohnGrisham legal thriller novel ''Film/TheClient''. |
| 231 | * Three of the early IMAX space films fit together in a loose sort of way-- ''To Fly!'' (1976) summarizes history of air and space travel up to that point in time, ending with the launch of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. ''Hail Columbia!'' (1982) covers NASA's next human spaceflight after the ASTP-- STS-1, the first launch of the space shuttle, highlights the transition from the Apollo program to the space shuttle era, and features astronaut Robert Crippen taking his first spaceflight as STS-1's pilot. ''The Dream Is Alive'' (1985) shows the shuttle in its first flush of success [[HarsherInHindsight ending just before the Challenger disaster]], as it carries full crews and launches and repairs satellites, with two of the missions followed showing Crippen having advanced to Shuttle Commander, teaching the ropes to new pilots who are where he was in ''Hail Columbia!'' |
| 232 | * ''Film/ToLiveAndDieInLA'' is this to ''Film/TheFrenchConnection''. Most notably, both films have the same [[Creator/WilliamFriedkin director]], feature lengthy car chases and have protagonists determined to take the villain down no matter the cost. |
| 233 | * The movie ''Film/{{Tomboy}}'' can be seen as a SpiritualSuccessor to the ''Film/MaVieEnRose'' movie released 14 years earlier. They both center around children, the first explicitly an 8 year old trans girl, the other around a possible 10 year old trans boy, while if not that a cross-dressing girl who may be lesbian), are French language, and have the "Just moved to a new town" premise. |
| 234 | * ''Film/TombRaider2018'' is obviously based on [[Franchise/TombRaider the video game franchise of the same name]] (specifically its [[VideoGame/TombRaider2013 2013 reboot]]), but with the changes made to the story in the translation to the big screen, it also works as a solid adaptation of ''VideoGame/UnchartedDrakesFortune''. Whereas Lara Croft's goal in the 2013 game was to rescue her friend Sam and get off the island, with discovering the tomb of Himiko being simply a means to that end, here she's racing a team of men led by Mathias Vogel to find Himiko's tomb, just as Nathan Drake was racing a team of men led by Gabriel Roman to find El Dorado in ''Uncharted''. [[spoiler:The twists on the true nature of the treasure they're seeking are also nearly identical. In a case of DoingInTheWizard, it turns out here that Himiko wasn't a supernatural villain like she was in the game, but rather, an immune carrier of [[TheVirus a disease that turns people into rampaging psychopaths]] -- not unlike what El Dorado turned out to be in ''Uncharted''.]] |
| 235 | * ''Film/TommyBoy'', a disastrous road trip starring a mismatched OddCouple and the gradual destruction of a car, owes a lot to ''Film/PlanesTrainsAndAutomobiles''. |
| 236 | * The box office disaster ''Film/{{Torque}}'' was a spiritual successor to ''Film/TheFastAndTheFurious'', even having the same producer and featuring the crime and racing genres. |
| 237 | * A sequel was planned for ''Film/BladeRunner'', and after the script was rewritten and handed down through several different creative teams, it eventually reached the screen as ''Film/TotalRecall1990''. The same process led from ''Film/TotalRecall1990'' to ''Film/MinorityReport''. The ''actual'' direct sequel to ''Blade Runner'', ''Film/BladeRunner2049'', would not come out until 2017. All three movies are based on works by ''Creator/PhilipKDick''. |
| 238 | * ''Film/TourDePharmacy'' is this to ''Film/SevenDaysInHell''. Both of them are ''very'' raunchy Creator/{{HBO}} sports mockumentaries about a fictional sporting event with an AllStarCast, Creator/AndySamberg in a leading role, and feature several celebrities [[AsHimself playing themselves]]. They're also both period pieces[[note]] ''Tour de Pharmacy'' is set in 1983, while ''7 Days in Hell'' is primarily set in 2001 [[/note]] that base its humor off of the sheer absurdity of the event they're documenting. |
| 239 | * ''Film/TrainToBusan'' can be the closest thing South Korea can have their own adaptation of Creator/StephenKing's stories as both share similar allegory, themes, and tones with his body of works (Literature/TheStand, Literature/{{The Mist}}, {{Literature/Cell}}, and Literature/{{The Langoliers}} to name a few). |
| 240 | [[/folder]] |
| 241 | |
| 242 | [[folder:U]] |
| 243 | * The Dutch film ''Film/UndercoverKitty'' is very much in the same vein as some 1960s Creator/WaltDisneyPictures family-oriented films such as ''Film/MaryPoppins'' and ''Film/ThatDarnCat'', what with a supernatural lady who talks to animals and makes the life of a few people (including children) much happier (complete with a dance number) in regards to the former and using cats as spies for the latter. |
| 244 | * The ''Film/Underworld2003'' film series is a better adaptation of the ''TabletopGame/OldWorldOfDarkness'' than the official adaptation, the TV show ''Series/KindredTheEmbraced''. It was ''so'' close, in fact, that Creator/WhiteWolf and Creator/NancyACollins (writer of the Sonja Blue vampire novels and the ''[=WoD=]''-set novel ''Love of Monsters'') [[http://www.geeknative.com/3773/rpg-news-white-wolf-sues-sony-for-underworld-echoes-13/ sued the films' producers]], claiming copyright infringement. |
| 245 | * ''Film/Ultraviolet2006'' is intended to be this to ''Film/{{Equilibrium}}''. Both are directed by Kurt Wimmer, and ''Ultraviolet'' has several scenes that pay homage to ''Equilibrium''. Both movies also co-star Creator/WilliamFichtner. |
| 246 | * ''Film/{{Upgrade}}'': |
| 247 | ** Being a {{cyberpunk}} story about a formerly disabled man who, upon being given an almost omnipotent technological replacement, uses it to seek revenge against the ones who caused his disability, the film is probably the nearest to a movie adaptation of ''Manga/GokuMidnightEye'' we will ever get. |
| 248 | ** It is also considered by some comic book fans to be a TruerToTheText movie adaptation of Comicbook/{{Venom}} than either ''Film/SpiderMan3'' or the actual ''Film/{{Venom|2018}}'' movie, especially with the interaction between Grey and STEM and how the latter turns the former into a superhuman fighting machine upon [[GrandTheftMe taking control of his body]][[note]]Doesn't help this film's lead Creator/LoganMarshallGreen has been called a PoorMansSubstitute for ''Venom'' star Creator/TomHardy[[/note]]. WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic concurred at the end of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j5sYgwHMWQ his review]] of ''Venom'', telling everyone to go see ''Upgrade'' instead. |
| 249 | * ''Film/UrbanCowboy'', starring Creator/JohnTravolta as a young working-class man who gets involved in his city's music scene, was often compared to a {{country|Music}} version of ''Film/SaturdayNightFever'', especially given that it came out as {{disco}}'s popularity was crashing while country was enjoying a huge boom. |
| 250 | [[/folder]] |
| 251 | |
| 252 | [[folder:V]] |
| 253 | * It's been said that ''Literature/ValleyOfTheDolls'', ''Literature/MommieDearest'', and ''Film/{{Showgirls}}'' form a loose trilogy of campy films about women attempting to climb their way to the top in show business. All three films were intended to be serious dramas, but suffer from serious [[ChewingTheScenery scenery chewing]] and were critically panned upon release, but found new followings as [[CultClassic cult classics]]. |
| 254 | * ''Film/VictoriaAndAbdul'' is a spiritual successor to ''Film/MrsBrown'', both being the story of UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria, played by Creator/JudiDench, and her friendship with a male servant. In fact the only thing stopping it being an ''official'' sequel is that it was made by a different production company. |
| 255 | * The little-known Canadian sci-fi/horror flick ''Film/TheVindicator'' is a spiritual predecessor to ''Film/RoboCop1987''. Both films involve a man who is murdered and then resurrected as a cyborg. |
| 256 | [[/folder]] |
| 257 | |
| 258 | [[folder:W]] |
| 259 | * ''Film/WarInc'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/GrossePointeBlank''. They both feature Creator/JohnCusack as a hitman having doubts about his career choice with Creator/JoanCusack as his assistant and Creator/DanAykroyd in a supporting role. |
| 260 | * ''Film/{{Wasabi}}'' is a spiritual successor to another spiritual successor ''Film/TheProfessional''. It was written and produced by Creator/LucBesson with Creator/JeanReno playing a badass killer in a big city who has to protect a young girl from crooks and has a favorite dish that he craves to eat/drink. |
| 261 | * ''Film/WhatWeDidOnOurHoliday'' is a SpiritualSuccessor to ''Series/OutNumbered''. It was created by the same people - Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin - and features three adorable and unwittingly wisecracking children (with a generous helping of HarpoDoesSomethingFunny and ThrowItIn to their dialogue), put-upon parents, and comedy from unexpected situations. |
| 262 | * ''Where Hands Touch'' is this to ''Film/AUnitedKingdom'', which is this to ''Film/Belle2013''. All are directed by Amma Asante and all focus on a little-known, but significant race story--the plight of the so-called "[[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhineland_Bastard Rhineland Bastards]]" (mixed race children born to German women and French/African soldiers who are among the lesser-known victims of the Holocaust), the love story of [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seretse_Khama Seretse Khana and his wife Ruth]], and the story of [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dido_Elizabeth_Belle Dido Elizabeth Belle]], respectively. |
| 263 | * ''Film/WhereTheSidewalkEnds'' is very much this to ''Film/{{Laura}}''. Both directed by Creator/OttoPreminger and starring Creator/DanaAndrews as a disillusioned New York cop named Mark who falls in love with characters played by Creator/GeneTierney. Mark Dixon in ''Where the Sidewalk Ends'' could easily be Mark [=McPherson=] from ''Laura'', ten years later and now more jaded, cynical, and violent. |
| 264 | * Preminger's ''Film/{{Whirlpool}}'' was described by Jose Ferrer as "like a sequel to ''Laura'' -- it had the same star, the same mood and atmosphere." |
| 265 | * ''Film/WhiteChristmas'' serves as this to ''Film/HolidayInn''. Both are classic holiday centric musicals that star Bing Crosby as an established musical performer who finds love. And both films have an inn serve as a primary location, as well as music by Irving Berlin. Both prominently feature the song ''White Christmas''. The connections were fully intentional, and Crosby's ''Holiday Inn'' co-star Fred Astaire was actually offered the part as the other male lead but declined. Leading to the role going to Danny Kaye. And it would even turn out that the two films use the same set for their respective inns. |
| 266 | * ''Film/WildThings'', a [[BlackComedy darkly comic]] erotic thriller set in [[OnlyInFlorida Florida]] about [[GambitPileup a complex web of lies and betrayal]], is widely considered to be a much better Creator/CarlHiaasen adaptation than many of the ''actual'' adaptations of his novels. It came out just two years after the critically panned ''Film/{{Striptease}}'', which actually '''was''' based on one of his novels. |
| 267 | * ''Film/WillysWonderland'' is blatantly a ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' movie all but in name with the exact same premise of a silent, average protagonist that has to deal with demonic animatronics out to kill him at a decrepit family restaurant that has a dark past. The only differences are that the protagonist is a janitor who only agreed to take up the job to fix his car instead of a security guard who willingly signs up for the occupation and rather than being alone, he has help from a group of teens to fight off the animatronics. And compared to ''Film/TheBananaSplitsMovie'', ''Willy's Wonderland'' is even more similar to ''FNAF''. [[spoiler:The movie even shares the same plot twist of demonic animatronics possessed by serial killers just like William Afton/Springtrap in the game]]. |
| 268 | * In South Korea, the film ''Windstruck'' is considered to be the spiritual successor to the wildly popular romantic comedy ''Film/MySassyGirl''. Both were written and directed by Kwak Jae-Yong and starred Jeon Ji-Hyun. Of course, ''Windstruck'' should almost be considered a spiritual prequel, as [[spoiler:its end is a painfully obvious allusion to its predecessor, with two future lovers meeting at a train station]]. |
| 269 | * Screenwriter Terence Winter and director Creator/MartinScorsese have essentially noted that ''Film/TheWolfOfWallStreet'' does with white-collar crime what ''Film/{{Goodfellas}}'' and ''Film/{{Casino}}'' do with organized crime. ''Wolf of Wall Street'' has also been compared with ''Film/WallStreet'' and ''Film/WallStreetMoneyNeverSleeps'' , with many calling Jordan Belfort a modern day Gordon Gekko, this being a ThematicSeries trilogy called by fans as The Wall Street Trilogy. |
| 270 | * ''Film/TheWomanOfMyDreams'': There are some striking similarities between this 1944 film made in UsefulNotes/NaziGermany and the 1935 American film ''In Person'' with Creator/GingerRogers: RomanticComedy concerning a famous female singer who ends up staying incognito in the mountains for some time, with songs of said singer being broadcast on the radio. |
| 271 | * ''Series/TheWonderYears'' is reasonably seen as a SpiritualSuccessor to the movie ''Film/StandByMe'', both coming-of-age tales about boys on the cusp of adolescence, with voice-overs by the adult versions of the protagonists. |
| 272 | ** It's also seen as a successor to ''Film/AChristmasStory''. |
| 273 | ** And don't forget ''Series/BoyMeetsWorld'' which stars Ben Savage, the younger brother of Fred Savage, who was the main character in ''The Wonder Years'', though without the voice-overs but similar concept. |
| 274 | ** ''Series/EverybodyHatesChris'' could be seen as the African-American version of ''The Wonder Years''. |
| 275 | ** Don't forget ''Film/TheSandlot'', either. |
| 276 | [[/folder]] |
| 277 | |
| 278 | [[folder:X]] |
| 279 | * The 1980 musical film ''Film/{{Xanadu|1980}}'' is a spiritual successor to the 1944 movie ''Film/CoverGirl''. In ''Xanadu'', Creator/GeneKelly plays an older version of Danny Mcguire (his character in ''Cover Girl''). His character doesn't make any direct references to the story or characters in the older movie except for the mention of once owning a nightclub. Danny also remembers meeting Kira before somehow. Creator/RitaHayworth's role in the older film doesn't really suggest any connections to Kira or the muses. But In the 1947 film ''Down to Earth'' (the direct inspiration for Xanadu), Hayworth actually does play the muse "Terpsichore". And ''Down to Earth'' does make references to ''Cover Girl'', however. |
| 280 | [[/folder]] |
| 281 | |
| 282 | [[folder:Y]] |
| 283 | * ''Film/YesMan'' can be seen as spiritual successor to ''Film/LiarLiar'' - two comedy movies starring Creator/JimCarrey as a man whose live is taken in a new direction when he's forced to react a certain way to other people and becomes a better person in process - now always answering yes instead of always telling the truth. |
| 284 | * ''Film/YouveGotMail'' is the spiritual successor to ''Film/SleeplessInSeattle'', both featuring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan moving toward a romance in spite of a physical separation. |
| 285 | [[/folder]] |
| 286 | |
| 287 | [[folder:Z]] |
| 288 | * ''Film/{{Zathura}}'' to ''Film/{{Jumanji}}'' -- both feature a differently-themed board game (space and the jungle, respectively) that brings those elements to life, often to the danger of the players, who are aided by a grown up player who's been trapped inside the game for years. Incidentally, the original ''Literature/{{Zathura}}'' book was a direct sequel to ''Literature/{{Jumanji}}''. |
| 289 | * ''Film/{{Zookeeper|2011}}'' to ''Film/PaulBlartMallCop''. |
| 290 | * ''Film/{{Zoolander}}'', about a vapid male model who gets caught up in a conspiracy by international terrorists, can easily be seen as a stealth adaptation of Creator/BretEastonEllis' ''Literature/{{Glamorama}}'', except PlayedForLaughs. Apparently, Ellis agreed and considered suing Creator/BenStiller over it, eventually reaching an out-of-court settlement on the matter. |
| 291 | [[/folder]] |
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