Tom Clancy’s brand of storytelling is suited to many genres, and long before games like Splinter Cell, Rainbow Six and Ghost Recon, his works were adapted from book to film. Some of the franchises that started in games have even been adapted into books, and now, Ghost Recon has received the full transmedia franchise treatment with the short film Ghost Recon Alpha, a prequel to the upcoming game Ghost Recon: Future Soldier.
The Ghost Recon games are set in the near future, but have more science fiction to them than some of the other Tom Clancy franchises. This movie follows a four-man team of “Ghosts” as they try to prevent an arms deal in Russia, and it showcases many of the futuristic gadgets that are seen in the game, such as an “optic camouflage” invisibility cloak, remote drones and backpack rocket launchers.
The mission turns out to be a much greater danger than previously thought, and soon the team finds themselves up against heavily-armed Russian soldieries, enemies using their own optic camo, and even a robot. The production team behind it is quite impressive, boasting some Oscar winners, and nominees from movies like Children of Men, District 9 and The Bourne Ultimatum, plus the military weapons specialist who consulted on blockbusters like Thor and Iron Man.
The co-directors Herve de Crecy and Francois Alaux (Who Directed Logorama) have made more than an extended commercial for the game; they’ve made an exciting action film that utilizes elements of the game for dramatic effect. The special effects are terrific (With the exception of one painfully bad sequence right at the end) and the overall cinematography is effective, especially scenes that depict the team stealthily making their way through an abandoned Russian industrial complex. Reflections, shadows and mist are used to give the Ghosts a stealthy appearance as they sneak up on their targets.
As a prequel to the Future Soldier game, this movie does end with a cliffhanger, leaving viewers in a situation where the movie can’t be seen as a self-contained experience on its own, and playing the game will be more or less required for closure.
The whole movie is available for free online, so the true meat of this DVD is the special features. There’s no director commentary, but there are 25 minutes of behind-the-scenes material, including some funny shots of the actors trying to master their military training.
Noteworthy among these extras are the scenes detailing the weapons and equipment used by the actors. It’s gun porn, basically, and gamers who’ve played Future Soldier’s beta test know the sort of tremendous customization that is available for weapons in the game. Firearms enthusiasts should enjoy seeing the real-world weapons and mods used for the movie (Keep an eye out for a bullpup mod made to an AK-47).
Members of Ubisoft’s Uplay service already have access to the video online now, but it will launch on DVD and Blueray on May 22nd alongside the Ghost Recon: Future Soldier game. It’s short, without many extras, but it’s definitely among the best video game tie-in movies out there.
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