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Dumpshock Forums _ Shadowrun _ The ONE Movie
Posted by: Socinus May 31 2011, 08:18 AM
There have been threads aplenty regarding Shadowrun-style movies.
I'm starting a new game soon with someone who has never played Shadowrun and she's not interested in watching fifty movies. Plus I'm a little curious for myself.
If you had to pick one movie, one single movie, that would be "Shadowrun", what would it be?
I'm leaning very Johnny Mnemonic.
Posted by: LurkerOutThere May 31 2011, 08:33 AM
Hmmmmm after some deliberation...Ronin.
Posted by: Socinus May 31 2011, 08:52 AM
Perhaps I should clarify, what is the one movie you would pick that gives you a sense of the Shadowrun world?
Posted by: Fatum May 31 2011, 08:54 AM
Johnny Mnemonic.
Posted by: hermit May 31 2011, 08:58 AM
+1
Posted by: LurkerOutThere May 31 2011, 09:49 AM
Errr Hellboy 2, maybe.
Lots of movies have done the cyberpunk route with various success, but non have nailed the tolkein races in a modern society with any level of success that I can think of. Of the cyber side I would say Johnny Mnemonic.
Posted by: Machiavelli May 31 2011, 09:54 AM
Blade Runner?
Posted by: phlapjack77 May 31 2011, 10:46 AM
When I was a kid, I held the belief that FreeJack was a really good example of a Cyberpunk movie. Then I saw it again as an adult.
Ronin +infinity. Only thing missing is magic.
Posted by: Bodak May 31 2011, 10:55 AM
I still vote for http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber_City_Oedo_808. It is three episodes rather than a single film, but it's spot on. "Just Johnny" Mnemonic comes a close second, though.
Posted by: hermit May 31 2011, 11:41 AM
Too much on the loony side for my tastes, but I liked Prince Nuada and the Otherworld elves. So, reluctantly +1 (would that be +0,5?).
While there are many urban magic movies and many cyberpunk movies, I have yet to come across one where that actually mixes in the right way.
Posted by: LurkerOutThere May 31 2011, 11:47 AM
Oh yes, i said that knowing full well it was an imperfect choice. I still think the best answer would be to make her watch Ronin and then explain the implications of the matrix, ware, magic, and the dystopia.
Lets face facts folks, to get a true Shadowrun movie it's going to need to be a Shadowrun movie.
Posted by: Makki May 31 2011, 01:09 PM
In the following order, all mentioned before:
1. Ronin, no Magic and Cyberpunk, but they do what the GM wants the team to do.
2. Johnny Mnemonic
3. Blade Runner
that's one nice movie night.
Posted by: nezumi May 31 2011, 01:23 PM
I don't know why people keep saying Ronin. There's no cyberware, magic, dystopia, special races ... Not saying it's not an awesome movie, and it does describe a shadowrun, just not the shadowrun movie.
Regarding the setting, Johnny Mnemonic probably has the best mix of cyber, matrix and crazy that is Shadowrun. Unfortunately, it's also a pretty terrible movie, so I'd recommend Blade Runner to my friends. That or that movie where someone is making snuff BTLs. Freejack is also a fantastic movie (and a strangely accurate representation of 2009 NYC) which (in combination with Ronin) I require all my riggers to watch, but it's also missing the magic and cyber.
Posted by: Tymeaus Jalynsfein May 31 2011, 01:27 PM
I have a hard time picking just one. So I give you my short list, in no particular order, and all previously mentioned...
Blade Runner... Classic Cyberpunk, unfortunately no Cyber or Magic (though Bio is obvious)...
Ronin... No Magic or Dystopia, But hte Professionalism of Shadowrunners is there.
Johnny Mnemonic... No Magic, but the tech and dystopia are there.
Combine all 3, add in the magic, and you would have the perfect Shadowrun Movie.
Posted by: Ascalaphus May 31 2011, 01:28 PM
1. Ronin, no Magic and Cyberpunk, but they do what the GM wants the team to do.
2. Johnny Mnemonic
3. Blade Runner
that's one nice movie night.
Yeah, it's hard to choose, but those are all my primary candidates too. Ronin for the Job, Johnny Mnemonic for Corporate Scheming and Blade Runner for the stunning visuals.
Posted by: Bigity May 31 2011, 01:30 PM
Why would Freejack be a rigger movie? He drives a race car for like 5 minutes before they never come back to it again? Or has my mind blocked out bits of that movie? (which honestly, is probably to my benefit).
EDIT: I mean I guess there are plenty of chase scenes, but nothing seems unique enough to consider it a 'rigger' type movie.
Posted by: baronspam May 31 2011, 01:39 PM
I would take the above list of Ronin, Johnny Mnemonic, and Blade Runner, and throw the Dresden Files on top (not a movie I guess, but there were tv shows). The Dresden Files has a nice mix of magic and modern, as well and being an example of how to blend magic with generes like noir detective.
Posted by: Tymeaus Jalynsfein May 31 2011, 02:11 PM
Very True... Never considered the Dresden Files. Good Choice though.
Posted by: James McMurray May 31 2011, 02:48 PM
Anyone seen Hardwired with Cuba Gooding Jr. and Val Kilmer? It's like someone overheard half of a Shadowrun session and wrote a movie about it.
* Corps run the world? Check.
* Ex-special forces guy with amnesia, mysterious cyberware, and a cortex bomb? Check.
* Paraplegic bed-ridden hacker that gets into everything wirelessly? Check.
* Augmented Reality? Check.
* Loose cannon gun guy and socially aware cute chick driving around in a van trying to save the world from the corps? Check.
It's closer to 2020 tech than 2070, but other than that (and the lack of magic) it could easily be the first run in someone's campaign. It's not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but it captures the Shadowrun feel (sans magic) very well.
Repo Men is another recent one that captures a lot of the dystopian feel, and does the cyberware line the best.
As for "the one"? I couldn't tell you. Blade Runner and Johnny Mnemonic are good for their own reasons, but unless you add magic into the mix there isn't going to be only one.
Posted by: Doc Byte May 31 2011, 04:22 PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nirvana_%28film%29
Posted by: nezumi May 31 2011, 04:25 PM
EDIT: I mean I guess there are plenty of chase scenes, but nothing seems unique enough to consider it a 'rigger' type movie.
His crazy-driving a hot dog van through downtown NYC while chased by a hot pink APC I would classify as a fairly rigger move.
Posted by: James McMurray May 31 2011, 04:26 PM
I only read the summary, but I think I have the next run idea.
Posted by: Bigity May 31 2011, 04:30 PM
Just a chase scene. Rigging is about being the vehicle. I mean, a good chase scene definitely has a place in SR, but it's not 'rigging' really.
Posted by: Stahlseele May 31 2011, 04:38 PM
Johnny Mnemonic
Knight Rider 2010 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knight_Rider_2010
Beowulf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf_(1999_film)
Oh hey, how can we forget Robocop? O.o
mix and you are done.
Posted by: James McMurray May 31 2011, 04:41 PM
http://www.colugo.org/jmcmurra/generators/index.php?pageId=5&pageType=1
Posted by: suoq May 31 2011, 04:51 PM
For Shadowrun version 1. Streets of fire http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJGo2rvfSuA - It has no magic. It has no cyber. However, it captures a run perfectly. You got the gangs, underpowered cops, rocker, and a team with a face, street sam, and rigger. It's the dregs of society doing their thing their way. Besides, Willem Dafoe looks like he's half troll in the movie anyway.
For Cyberpunk Dystopia : Blade Runner. No magic, but your character could be any of these characters all the way down to the guy with the origami signature and it makes a perfectly good backstory.
For Modern Fantasy: Dresden Files.
Honorable mention: The 5th element.
Posted by: Tymeaus Jalynsfein May 31 2011, 04:53 PM
Super Green?
Posted by: sgtbarnesKY May 31 2011, 04:55 PM
Johnny Mneumonic +1
I'd also would recommend watching any of the Oceans movies with Clooney/Pitt/Damon as well as Leverage/Burn Notice for how a shadowrun should be planned and implemented. I know thereks no tech/magic/distopian future, but they still feel very shadowrunny.
Posted by: Fortinbras May 31 2011, 05:04 PM
Blade Runner.
Johnny Neumonic is William Gibson, but if you can get through it without laughing you're a better man than I am, Gunga Dean.
Posted by: CanRay May 31 2011, 05:04 PM
The books, maybe.
Posted by: James McMurray May 31 2011, 05:08 PM
I'd also would recommend watching any of the Oceans movies with Clooney/Pitt/Damon as well as Leverage/Burn Notice for how a shadowrun should be planned and implemented. I know thereks no tech/magic/distopian future, but they still feel very shadowrunny.
Burn Notice definitely. They typically do some legwork and then work up a good plan, but when the plan fails they don't immediately fall apart or start shooting (unless it's the right thing to do).
Ocean's 11+ or Leverage rely way too heavily on extremely complicated plans that get pulled off thanks to deus ex machina at the end. I highly recommend watching them for how not to plan a run unless the GM is willing to implement some sort of plot control on the PCs' part so they can have the agent turn out to be their mom, have already planted the misleading evidence, or pull off whatever other random twist will be needed for the plan to actually succeed.
Posted by: James McMurray May 31 2011, 05:10 PM
I haven't listened to the books yet, but I'm going through The Codex Alera now and it's pretty good. I liked the Dresden TV show. I take it the books are better (books usually are)?
Posted by: CanRay May 31 2011, 05:18 PM
The books are infinitely better.
Mr. Butcher is literally counting the days until he has control of the TV Rights again.
Posted by: KCKitsune May 31 2011, 05:26 PM
I tried to watch the Dresden Files on TV, but I couldn't stand it. For the main character, he didn't do much magic and was getting beaten by almost everything. It was rather pathetic.
Posted by: CanRay May 31 2011, 05:42 PM
Unlike the books, where he does a fair amount of magic, and is beaten up by almost everything.
Posted by: Medicineman May 31 2011, 05:46 PM
There is not only one single Movie but there are some (Blade runner,Ronin and Johnny Mnemonic amongst them)
But what about Robocop ?
Minority Report ?
Bubble Gum Crisis ?
Ghost in the Shell ?
with 4 lost Dances
Medicineman
Posted by: redwulf25 May 31 2011, 06:08 PM
To be fair, he's a PI. Getting beaten up by everything is part of the job. At least according to Hollywood. Hollywood would never lie to me, would they?
Posted by: nezumi May 31 2011, 06:08 PM
All good movies, but if I had to choose the one that describes Shadowrun BEST, they would all be second tier. I mean, what does Minority Report have in the cyberpunk or magic department that Blade Runner doesn't? And how much stuff is included in Minority Report that is NOT part of Shadowrun?
Posted by: CanRay May 31 2011, 06:10 PM
Considering that most P.I. work is spying on spouses to get dirt for Divorce Lawyers... That's not that far away from the truth.
Posted by: hermit May 31 2011, 06:12 PM
Or BGC, for that matter.
Posted by: KCKitsune May 31 2011, 06:45 PM
I would say Ghost in the Shell for the tech/Matrix side and Big Trouble in Little China for the Magic/Adept side.
BGC is a little too much over the top tech wise. Ghost in the Shell tech can be done with SR4 tech. You even have brains in a jar controlling a mech body.
Posted by: Bigity May 31 2011, 07:03 PM
Thanks, now I gotta put BTiLC on my queue again. Despite having it memorized.
Pah! Peasant magic!
Posted by: EKBT81 May 31 2011, 07:06 PM
For the corporate scheming aspect by itself, I'd look at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rising_Sun_%28film%29. However, just like Ronin no cyber or magic.
Or maybe Disclosure. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFkyV7d5t8o. With VR gloves and goggles. Very 1994.
Posted by: Ghost_in_the_System May 31 2011, 07:12 PM
Sucker Punch maybe?
Posted by: KCKitsune May 31 2011, 07:17 PM
From what I've seen in the trailers, Sucker Punch can be used for a Metaplane quest. Not so much for a regular 'Run
Posted by: Stahlseele May 31 2011, 07:30 PM
Sucker Punch sucked like a Punch to the sucker . .
Posted by: Makki May 31 2011, 07:39 PM
that's actually a pretty nice idea.
Posted by: KCKitsune May 31 2011, 08:31 PM
Glad I didn't see it in the movie theater then. Also very glad Red Box is so easily accessible.
Glad to be of assistance. I hope it works out OK.
Posted by: Doc Byte May 31 2011, 08:54 PM
Now that we add TV series to the list: Did anyone mention Dark Angel?
Posted by: TheFr0g May 31 2011, 09:28 PM
If your player is new to the genre, don't force Johnny Mnemonic down their throat. I love the movie, and it does capture the world, but it is a terrible movie and may well turn them off of the whole experience.
Go with Bladerunner, it captures the dystopian world perfectly while also managing to be a damn good film.
Posted by: KCKitsune May 31 2011, 09:50 PM
Go with Bladerunner, it captures the dystopian world perfectly while also managing to be a damn good film.
Yup. Blade Runner/Ghost in the Shell and Big Trouble in Little China would be my two movies to introduce new players to Shadowrun. You need BTiLC to somewhat explain the Magic part.
Posted by: Maxwell Silverhammer May 31 2011, 10:42 PM
I think A big one that no one has mentioned is Strange Days. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_Days_%28film%29 Although set in 1999, and no Magic. It is probably the second best Shadowrun style movie next to Johnny M... The main character is basically an ex-cop BTL dealer who stumbles onto a major conspiracy. I really liked it, maybe you will to
Posted by: James McMurray May 31 2011, 10:46 PM
nezumi mentioned it, but not by name. It's definitely a good one for getting the feel of the world.
Posted by: MJBurrage May 31 2011, 11:19 PM
Shadowrun by its very nature is cross genre, and so no single live action film fits the bill. But going with the goal of the fewest possible...
Ronin is what runners do. I have never seen a better film for this purpose.
Blade Runner crossed with Lord of the Rings is the world they do it in. Both of these films were clearly inspiration for the game's writers, and are well known, so a new player has probably seen at least one.
Posted by: Udoshi May 31 2011, 11:38 PM
My wallet certainly felt sucker punched after i saw it. One of those movies where the trailer is better, i felt.
For very pink mohawk shadowrun games, I'd volunteer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K48rZmNlQ0Q&playnext=1&list=PL45814428B7D62007as a theme movie.
It has a lot of necessary plot elements. Advanced technology, competitors trying to use your innovations for their best interests, poaching researchers, inadvertently unleashing pandemonium on the city, a frantic dash to fix it, and a remote controlled robot army.
Plus, its absolutely ridiculous.
Posted by: baronspam May 31 2011, 11:50 PM
I had forgot about Strange Days. Its a pretty good film. Much better than Johnny M. , unfortunatly. Although based on a Gibson story, Johnny M. just isn't that well written/made a film. It has the classic cyberpunk elements, but its implementation is just shakey. It comes off low budget and full of cheese. I caught it on cable recently. YMMV, but I was a bit dissapointed.
Posted by: ravensoracle Jun 1 2011, 02:19 AM
I agree that there is no one movie that truely captures Shadowrun. But for Runner's actions I like to show movies like The Saint, The Score, Italian Job, I'm not as much of a fan of the Ocean's series unless it is the original old school, and for a little pink mohawk the Smokin' Aces Set. That's not all of the list but some that I haven't seen here yet.
Posted by: Fortinbras Jun 1 2011, 05:40 AM
I'm equally surprised no one has said Heat.
Michael Mann is where it is at. Well, except for Manhunter.
Posted by: Ghost_in_the_System Jun 1 2011, 06:51 AM
Oh! I've got it!
Harry Potter!
No really, just replace Muggle with Joe Average, Voldemort with Dragon, Ministry of Magic with Government, Hogwarts with Sponsoring Company... Snape with Mr. Johnson (Or maybe Dumbledore, on their side, but never gives them all the info). They go through the classic mission steps, including legwork, attempted mission, wrench in mission, alternately hindered and helped by Mr. J. Okay, setting is a bit more light hearted and lacks the tech, but it fits better than you might think at first glance.
Okay, so it isn't a perfect fit, but it is something the person is likely to have already watched/read
Posted by: Machiavelli Jun 1 2011, 07:06 AM
Do we have some multimillionaires at dumpshock? Could PLEASE somebody with sufficient financial backgrounds simply MAKE an SR-Movie? The users could make proposals which actors would fit etc.
Posted by: raben-aas Jun 1 2011, 07:28 AM
Cast A Deadly Spell.
A classic Film Noir from the Nineties in a end-1940s setting where magic returned to Earth and everybody's using it. You follow the steps of an old-fashioned private eye who refuses to dabble in the new arts. You meed a construction site that employs zombies, vampire hookers in a police station, a sinister mage with a giant black voodoo zombie, a plot revolving around a spellbook, a girl on horseback hunting unicorns for sport ... the movie has it all. Minus the Cyber.
http://www.zimbio.com/watch/BiF735YjFgX/Cast+A+Deadly+Spell/Clancy+Brown
AAS
Posted by: hermit Jun 1 2011, 08:33 AM
O_O
And I din't know this movie. Shame on me. I'll so get me this from somewhere. Perfectly legally, naturally.
Posted by: Machiavelli Jun 1 2011, 08:41 AM
Of course.^^
Posted by: Eimi Jun 1 2011, 10:05 AM
I would posit that Robocop is a vital SR movie experience for numerous reasons: the clash of urban decay and futuristic chrome in one city, entertainment aimed at the lowest common denominator crafted by corporate interests, a police force that has been privatized but still thinks of themselves as police first and foremost, super-criminals run amok, and an honest to god Cyberzombie.
But first, and foremost, the single most important of those reasons (and setting aside that it's a brilliantly crafted piece of satire and of filmmaking in its own right): OCP *IS* Ares. You want to understand Ares, you watch Robocop (and to a considerably lesser extent the sequels) to understand what the Ares corporate culture is. And to a lesser degree, Megacorp culture in general.
Posted by: Ascalaphus Jun 1 2011, 11:44 AM
Cast a Deadly Spell definitely fits SR magic/noir shenanigans.
I personally rather liked Sucker Punch. Precisely because it was completely and ridiculously over the top; that's what I came for. I had no expectation that there would be a plot that did anything more than hold action scenes together in the flimsiest way possible. The action scenes were pretty
Posted by: Ed_209a Jun 1 2011, 05:46 PM
I think all of the movies above are good choices (well, the ones I have seen) , even though they each only represent selected elements of the setting. I'd like to add Equilibrium into the mix for the dystopian setting, the greyscale morality and what can only be gunslinger adepts.
Of the movies above, I want to give +1s to Ronin (for the feel, if not setting) and Blade runner (for the feel and setting, though mundane).
Posted by: redwulf25 Jun 1 2011, 06:42 PM
I'll let you know after tonights power ball drawing.
Posted by: Mr. Unpronounceable Jun 1 2011, 07:07 PM
Geez...nobody said Strange Days for the snuff BTLs?
Posted by: Crazy Ivan Jun 1 2011, 07:18 PM
Amen to that Raven. Smokin' Aces (at least the first one, I haven't seen the second one yet) definitely captures the nature of a run that goes sour and the general feel of a shadowrun. Whether it be the kick down the door style of the Tremor brothers, the sniper and spotter team, the cops, the disguise dude, Morris the Blade (I think that was his name), and the bail bondsmen, it does showcase how many different people can be playing at the same thing.
Sure Aces doesn't have cyber or magic, but all in all, it is a fine movie (if by fine movie, we are talking over the top goofy fun).
Equilibrium works to an extent for the SR feel. By no means perfect, but still good for the combat.
Posted by: James McMurray Jun 1 2011, 07:18 PM
At least two people did.
Posted by: Mr. Unpronounceable Jun 1 2011, 07:35 PM
Missed it then, sorry.
How about Gattaca for the high-but-still-ineffectual security and eugenics?
Posted by: nezumi Jun 1 2011, 07:56 PM
Smokin' Aces Two is the same as Smokin' Aces One, except turn up the pink mohawk and add just a pinch of the Usual Suspects.
It had exploding clowns. It was fun. It definitely describes SR for some groups I've played with.
Posted by: ravensoracle Jun 2 2011, 05:35 AM
I am not sure what was funnier about the midget clowns. The scene of them getting fired out of their own cannon or the little fast forward scene of them being nabbed to begin with. Not to mention the hiest on the military base. How many people that saw that scene did not immediately think that the writer had been at a gaming table at some point in his life.
Posted by: Stahlseele Jun 2 2011, 09:18 PM
What about Judge Dredd?
Posted by: James McMurray Jun 2 2011, 09:20 PM
http://emotibot.net/pix/444.gif
Posted by: suoq Jun 2 2011, 09:23 PM
I'll see your Stallone and raise you a Westley Snipes.
Demolition Man. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFiDoOgRTpk "Taco Bell was the only franchise to survive the Franchise Wars"
Posted by: Stahlseele Jun 2 2011, 09:32 PM
nnnggg . . maybe for running in a corp enclave, but otherwise, the feeling is just plain wrong <.<
Posted by: CanRay Jun 2 2011, 10:40 PM
I don't know, the rat burgers nailed things down pat for me.
Posted by: lordnth Jun 3 2011, 02:02 AM
FF7 Advent Children
Magic, car chases, adept fighting. gun play. There's even a dragon and cyberware. Urban decay. and a MegaCorp (Shinra) is behind it all. Just needs a less fantasy setting and more modern.
Rock a Rolla has the same problem as Ronin (and Smoking Aces) seams the film was inspired by SR but it's missing one or two elements
Posted by: Ghost_in_the_System Jun 3 2011, 02:09 AM
Ooo, that's a really good suggestion. Watch that and say "Now switch the fantasy and sci-fi settings and you've basically got it." I don't remember a dragon though, unless maybe it was part of a summons.
Posted by: lordnth Jun 3 2011, 02:24 AM
the big summon. everyone was fighting it through the ruined highrise. it was before the Sepiroth fight scene (would that be when Harliquin comes into the picture??)
Posted by: Medicineman Jun 3 2011, 07:54 AM
the "Big Dragon" was the Bahamut Summoning
Great Anime, Great Game (one of my all time Favorites,gonna watch it again soon )
with one of his favorite Dances
Medicineman
Posted by: hermit Jun 3 2011, 08:54 AM
No, but it's just perfect for a Dark Heresy campaign focusing on Enforcers (Mutant Chronicles for Guard, and the much-persecuted Damnatus for the average DH campaign).
Posted by: nezumi Jun 6 2011, 05:28 PM
Neuromancer?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1037220/
Posted by: Vuron Jun 6 2011, 05:37 PM
Ugh Hayden Christiansen as Case 
Anyway I think if you are playing a very Pink Mohawk game something like Buckaroo Banzai might be a good inspiration. Buckaroo Banzai and the Hong Kong Cavaliers make for great scientist/rocker/samurai action heroes. Plus the end credits!
Posted by: DMiller Jun 6 2011, 11:53 PM
Here's a good one on how a team should work, again no magic/cyber but perfect interaction and "shadow" teamwork...
"Sneakers"
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105435/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105435/
-D
Posted by: Christian Lafay Jun 8 2011, 01:35 AM
Anyway I think if you are playing a very Pink Mohawk game something like Buckaroo Banzai might be a good inspiration. Buckaroo Banzai and the Hong Kong Cavaliers make for great scientist/rocker/samurai action heroes. Plus the end credits!
I still think the "sequel" was better, Big Trouble In Little China. But not really a SR movie. Though a good example of "urban magic".
Posted by: phlapjack77 Jun 8 2011, 02:15 AM
I had never seen BTILC, but everyone has always hyped it as a cool / interesting / fun movie. So I saw it recently, and didn't like it at all. Maybe it's one of those nostalgia things, since I didn't see it as a kid or something.
Posted by: nezumi Jun 8 2011, 01:03 PM
It's a movie you can't take too seriously (but can take with plenty of alcohol). Unfortunately, yes, if you approach it being hyped up, it doesn't work.
Posted by: Mr. Unpronounceable Jun 8 2011, 04:31 PM
Eh? Big Trouble in Little China had no connections to Buckaroo Banzai.
It was, however, originally written to be a period piece...kinda like Cowboys & Aliens.
Posted by: Christian Lafay Jun 8 2011, 05:57 PM
It was, however, originally written to be a period piece...kinda like Cowboys & Aliens.
I was always under the impression that it was meant to be the sequel mentioned at the end of Buckaroo Banzai, "Buckaroo Banzai Against The World Crime League". And then when that went no where they kicked it around a lot and came up with BTILC. But, urban legends run rampant so.... Still, both good films.
Posted by: Wordman Jun 8 2011, 09:05 PM
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107668/. Best example of style over substance ever. It also tends to be closer to how Shadowrun is actually played rather than some idealized notion of how you might want it to be played (i.e. Ronin).
If doing a double feature, I'd add in http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119642/.
These two point at very different types of Shadowrun, though. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
If you like your Shadowrun a bit... out there, you might try http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314063/ instead.
Posted by: Stahlseele Jun 8 2011, 11:18 PM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Machine
Posted by: wusselpompf Jun 18 2011, 07:47 AM
As for the feel of SR 1-3 I would agree with Johnny Mnemonic and Strange Days
As far as SR4 is concerned, I wonder why nobody mentioned Babylon AD, which for me captures the SR4-feel perfectly.
Also as a Runner up, Rennaissance should not go unmentioned.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386741/
Posted by: Daddy's Little Ninja Jun 23 2011, 04:32 PM
Robocop
Posted by: Archunter Jun 23 2011, 05:32 PM
As mentioned above...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386741/
It doesn't have much in the way of cyberware or magic but it does put you in the shadows of a corporate world.
Posted by: WolfgangGrafVonBek Jun 28 2011, 07:41 AM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Rose_Hotel_%28film%29 Is the most obscure film I've seen that feels like a Shadowrun, Christopher Walken and Willem Dafoe are a pair of fixers trying to extract a R&D scientist* from a Japanese Megacorp.
*played by Final Fantasy and Vampire Hunter D character designer Yoshitaka Amano
Posted by: nezumi Jun 28 2011, 01:56 PM
It's obscure because it was kind of cruddy. The actors, setting, and even the plot of what they actually did is awesome, but the story is a pair of old dogs sitting in a safehouse bellyaching about how things *should* be, and the movie was just as engaging.
Posted by: Bushw4cker Jun 28 2011, 08:48 PM
New Syfy series Alphas.
Posted by: nezumi Jul 2 2011, 12:15 PM
If doing a double feature, I'd add in http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119642/.
These two point at very different types of Shadowrun, though. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle.
If you like your Shadowrun a bit... out there, you might try http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314063/ instead.
Okay, I'm charging you four hours for your two really cruddy movies (immortal was too weird for me to say whether it was 'cruddy' or not) and I'm charging Stahsteele four hours for his one doubly-cruddy movie.
This is what I get for following dumpshock's movie suggestions. I just hope Dhoom doesn't disappoint.
Posted by: Stahlseele Jul 2 2011, 12:41 PM
Desthmachine? *snickers*
yeah, it's pretty bad, i'll admit that ^^
But it still very much is shadowrun, aside from the missing magic of course.
Posted by: Psikerlord Jul 2 2011, 12:48 PM
The Cowboy Beebop movie/series isn't too bad as an example of a runner team, it's got cyber, but no magic. Also I really like Firefly, again as an example of a runner team, I guess. They have psychic powers, if not magic per se, and hmm guess they don't have cyber. I'll also throw the Matrix 1 in there - in terms of the moves they pull off as what a "real world" cyberguy might do. Also.... star wars? It's got magic. It's got cyber. It's got guns. And little runner like teams.
Posted by: DuckEggBlue Omega Jul 2 2011, 11:17 PM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4tiLcbo3pw
So bad it's good, kinda. Definately in Pink Mohawk territory, it has just about everything from earlier editions: distopian setting, gangs ruling the streets, evil mega corp, cyber/bioware and magic (no augmented reality, and though the matrix isn't VR, it does seem to be arranged in PLTGs), even if the cyber and magic are rare rather than common.
Not than I can actually recommend watching it, not with a clear conscious anyway.
Posted by: CanadianWolverine Jul 3 2011, 12:22 AM
Doc Byte has the correct answer, just try this some time, watch the two seasons back to back, no commercials. Its like watching a movie series, almost like as if Johnny Mnemonic or Bladerunner became a trilogy.
It has the dystopia, the corps, what remains of Seattle and the surrounding area, corrupt cops, thieves, hackers, drones, gangs, slums, secret groups, cybertech, biotech, social "niceties" towards different people, and yes, even IMHO magic which expresses itself as cults, adepts, some "out of body experiences" (see: Astral) and UGE (helped along in some cases by biotech) that spans eons. The main character certainly led the double/triple life of a shadowrunner and did dirty deeds which would range between Pink Mohawk and Ice Cold depending on the make up of the team she would get stuck with/pick.
The only things I can think it was missing from Shadowrun and who knows, it was probably on purpose so they weren't sued, was dragons and other awakened creatures and the NAN rise to power. Instead there was a Biotech/UGE rise to power, which we didn't get to see because as usual, something good comes along and Fox can't fight its compulsion to cancel it.
Posted by: LurkerOutThere Jul 3 2011, 02:19 AM
Ok i take it all back, the 80's were awesome.
Posted by: nezumi Jul 3 2011, 03:00 PM
Hah, I read this while listening to "In Love with the 80s" on Rhapsody*. Yeah, the 80s rock.
*This isn't quite as huge a coincidence as all that. Most of my playlist is from or about the 80s. But I still thought it was pretty funny.
Posted by: JanessaVR Jul 4 2011, 03:23 AM
As no one's mentioned it, I'll list Gunhed (1989). The first part of the movie especially, witnessing the team interaction, struck me as pure Shadowrun. I watched it thinking "This is a runner crew, no question about it."
Posted by: HunterHerne Jul 4 2011, 03:35 PM
For more recent movies, especially the pink mohawk crowd, although not really distopian future, it does have a corporation (CIA, but still counts in my book) influence, as well as the runner group dynamic, The Expendables.
Posted by: CanRay Jul 4 2011, 09:35 PM
Hey, the CIA is basically a Non-Cartel Aztechnology in the making.
Posted by: Traul Aug 28 2011, 06:25 AM
Has anyone seen the Lincoln Lawyer? Nice example of leveraging on the contacts to pass messages in jail, get some muscle, guns, hack the police tracking system,... with a great line when he passes his order to a biker gang:
"Remember: I said hospital, not morgue."
Posted by: Infornography Aug 28 2011, 08:35 AM
Cyberpunk: Blade Runner, Strange Days, Brazil
Anime: Akira, Armitage III, Bubblegum Crisis, Serial Experiments Lain
Shadowrun: Johnny Mnemonic, Super Mario Bros
Even though it's not a bad movie I have to disagree with Ronin.
Not cyberpunk-ish and certainly not shadowrun-ish at all.
Posted by: LurkerOutThere Aug 28 2011, 09:26 AM
Errrr if you don't think Ronin is Shadowrunish at all we're really not playing the same game:
They have their initial meet in a bar after being sent their by a nebulous fixer.
They are given the job and must suss out each others skills and attitudes, conflict occurs.
Edit: They also negotiate price.
They must get gear, perform recon, and do some hacking.
They perform the job, gunfire and explosions ensue.
There is a betrayal.
There is a visit to a street doc.
There is dealing with contacts and legwork.
There is an end resolution that deals with, but goes beyond basic wealth.
With the exception of the lack of magic and no full VR computer related scenes that's a Shadowrun.
Posted by: Archaic Aug 28 2011, 09:43 AM
One movie... would be Split Second (1992). In the grim future of the year 2008, Rutger Hauer works as gung-ho police, hunting a mystical killer...
Honorable mention goes to Alien:Resurrection. Just set it on earth and switch the aliens to insect spirits...
And for my own, upcoming street-level barrens-hellhole campaign, our group watched the documentary The Vice guide to Liberia.
Drugs, check.
Guns, check.
Corruption, check.
A former cannibal warlord, called General Butt-naked who now works as a preacher, check.
...Yes, Butt-naked, that's how he fought. He's also friends with General Rambo and General Bin Laden (not the Osama dude, though...).
Posted by: Infornography Aug 28 2011, 10:02 AM
I have to admit I don't remember it like you described. Maybe I'll watch it again sometime.
But to be honest, Sneakers and Mission Impossible felt more shadowrunny, but even those not that much.
It's probably because Shadowrun is way too cheesy to take seriously. At least that's the case for me.
I'd rather imagine the Turtles live action movie than Ronin when thinking of Shadowrun.
Drugs, check.
Guns, check.
Corruption, check.
A former cannibal warlord, called General Butt-naked who now works as a preacher, check.
...Yes, Butt-naked, that's how he fought. He's also friends with General Rambo and General Bin Laden (not the Osama dude, though...).
And I totally forgot Black Rain. Feels a little cyberpunkish too.
Posted by: Infornography Aug 28 2011, 10:09 AM
Streets of Fire and The Warriors for old-school feel.
Burst City, too. It's kinda exhausting to watch, though.
Hardware Mark 13 and Gunhed for more late 80s / early 90s cheese.
Posted by: Mistakil Aug 28 2011, 10:28 AM
I agree that there are lots of movies that have Shadowrun elements to them. As has been pointed out nothing hits REAL close, certainly nothing with high production values, not that I've seen.
I have been hoping, almost since I discovered and started playing Shadowrun several years ago, that someone would make a movie from one of the novels or write an original screenplay that truly is Shadowrun - and make it edgy and R-rated and have All of the SR elements to it. Skip the big names unless deemed absolutely necessary to draw a wider audience.
If it looked like it was NOT going to suck I would venture out to the theater. If it was in fact good or great (like Matrix, LOTR, V for Vendetta, Blade Runner...) I would go multiple times. I would buy the the DVD/BD unless it was horrible.
That means that I would risk my "sanity" (or at least relaxation) by virtually guarantying my exposure to rude ignorant self-centered morons that talk during movies, text in dark theaters, kick the seats in front of them, etc. Understand that I would prefer to never set foot in another movie theater ever and that I only break down to support the most promising and awesome of movies every 2-3 years or so.
I look forward to researching and watching a number of the flicks mentioned above.
Posted by: Krojar Aug 28 2011, 12:30 PM
At least the way I run SR (lots of underworld organizations rather than megacorps, paranoia, and Game of Thrones level backstabs and double crosses) The Usual Suspects is a great movie. A top notch criminal teeth-clenched team is brought together by a mysterious and powerful man (Keyser Soze) through his Johnson (Kobayashi) through a mix of bribery, blackmail, and force. Each have their expertise, quirks, and they have to navigate an increasingly complex maze of twists and turns as they are lied to, betrayed, and set up. I actually hadn't seen this movie until one of my players, who acted like Benicio Del Toro from that movie IC btw, suggested I watch it after playing a few of my games. My game then ratchetedup a notch or two in the paranoia department after that.
Posted by: Method Aug 28 2011, 03:05 PM
Its funny to me how these threads always degenerate into the same sprawling list of movies, but they keep popping up every few months.
And for what its worth: Ronin. blah blah blah.
Posted by: Kingboy Aug 28 2011, 06:03 PM
I personally recommend a strong Max Headroom chaser (at least the original British movie), but that's just me perhaps.
I was prepared to make some snarky comment about the Magicrun bellyaching that occurs on occasion, and that if you want to watch the adventures of a plucky band of Adepts of various Ways and their pet Technomancer you should give this series a look, but I suppose there's no way it wouldn't have been mentioned 4-5 pages into the thread.
But if plucky adventures, yada yadda appeal to you, it's not half bad for a SciFi original series...
Posted by: Saint Hallow Aug 28 2011, 10:43 PM
Parts of the movie, The Town. Blade Runner. Beowulf (with Chris Lambert). Ronin. Nemesis. Equilibrium.
Posted by: Neurosis Aug 28 2011, 11:37 PM
roninroninroninronin
(I know the guy who wrote it, kind of.)
Posted by: Infornography Aug 29 2011, 09:22 AM
Once at a con a gm ripped off ronin.
I was playing a rigger and he left out the car chases.
Worst session ever.
Posted by: CanRay Aug 29 2011, 12:04 PM
I was playing a rigger and he left out the car chases.
Worst session ever.
The car chase scenes where part of what made that movie!
Posted by: Neurosis Aug 29 2011, 05:42 PM
They are pretty legendary. Why would you leave them out?
Still if the session had even anything close to the tone/tension/mood of Ronin, the GM didn't do that badly. (Of course, I kind of doubt it did. That tone is mighty hard to accomplish even at a home setting, let alone at a con table with six to eight strangers to wrangle.)
Posted by: Mile High Dwarf Aug 29 2011, 07:01 PM
Has no one mentioned "The Losers" at this point? I know the grit isn't there (it's such a goofy film) but the team dynamic is perfect. Everyone has a basic archetype from the game...
And I'm seconding Strange Days and Ghost in the Shell.
EDIT: Now that I think of it I have a little anecdote that might interest the "Ronin" crowd. My prof. in college wrote that film and was discussing to us a movie he wanted to write called "Privateers". He started off his explanation with, "Okay, so, it's in the future, and megacorps rule the world... and they need to hire criminals, called privateers, to perform corporate espionage...". I had to raise my hand at that point and ask him if he'd heard of Shadowrun. He wrote it down and said he'd check it out
Posted by: Infornography Aug 29 2011, 07:16 PM
Still if the session had even anything close to the tone/tension/mood of Ronin, the GM didn't do that badly. (Of course, I kind of doubt it did. That tone is mighty hard to accomplish even at a home setting, let alone at a con table with six to eight strangers to wrangle.)
No police, no drones, no magic and half of the group didn't even do anything. The group were two over-the-top orc samurais, two dwarfs of which I have no idea what they were supposed to be and my buddy and me. Everyone was around 500 BP, while both of us were 350-400 and we ran the thing pretty much by ourselves. Anyhow when we had the suitcase and I started the car for our escape, while popping some jazz to compensate for the missing rigger control of our car, the orc sams who had done nothing (all targets were sniped by my buddy) entered, knocked me unconsious (the player even said he knocks me out without rolling or anything) and then the GM said we're back at the hideout.
Worst session ever.
Worst players ever.
Worst GM ever.
Posted by: Ascalaphus Aug 29 2011, 11:05 PM
Sounds interesting... Privateers is a very nice term for what shadowrunners do, really. Did anything come from it?
Posted by: Grinchy McScrooge Aug 29 2011, 11:10 PM
Just to go a little left-field, I'll add me 0.02 
Blade Runner (style, setting), Dark Angel (setting, style, teamwork), Batman Beyond (setting, teamwork), Transmetropolitan (setting, style), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altered_Carbon (style, setting, Murphy's Law), The Losers (teamwork), Red (style, teamwork), Kiss Of The Dragon (Murphy's Law), Hudson Hawk (Murphy's Law, style), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Frequency (teamwork), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravel_%28comics%29 (magic, style)
I know they're all over the place, and some have been mentioned before, but those are some of my influences on the tone of my games/plots/etc. I'm sure there are a lot more, but my aging brain can't seem to conjure them at the moment.
Posted by: suoq Aug 29 2011, 11:15 PM
I'm trying to figure out how to tell if the scenario being described is Ronin or Pulp Fiction.
What makes Ronin, Ronin and Shadowrun, Shadowrun isn't the mission pretext or the two dimensional NPCs. It's the characters and how they react with the world and the other characters.
In Ronin, "Sam" isn't called "Sam" because it's just a name. The name says who he really is, as opposed to who he is pretending to be, similar to the difference between who Ōishi (47 Ronin) was and who he pretended to be. Both Sam and Ōishi had the same end goal and employed deception to get close to their target and achieve their goal.
Ronin is a great Shadowrun movie, not because it sets up a great mission (Leverage sets up much better ones), but because it sets up great characters and great character interaction with each other and their environment. There are a lot of classic archtypes and memes in the movie. If the table wants to play that sort of grit and interaction, it's a great model. If they want Ghost in the Shell instead, it's a different table.
Posted by: CanRay Aug 30 2011, 12:59 AM
People are going to hit me, but, you gotta think on this a bit...
The Dirty Dozen.
Posted by: CanadianWolverine Aug 30 2011, 01:06 AM
The Dirty Dozen.
Why would I hit you? I am just surprised it hasn't been mentioned sooner.
Posted by: CanRay Aug 30 2011, 01:23 AM
A bunch of anti-social drekheads crammed together and forced to do a nearly impossible job for a small reward.
It's Shadowrun in WWII! Apparently there's been some sequels, which I'll have to see now. If I can find them.
Posted by: Psikerlord Sep 1 2011, 11:09 AM
Saw Smokin' Aces coz of this thread. Great movie! Highly recommended.
Then saw Smokin' Aces 2. Very bad. Stay away!
Posted by: nezumi Sep 1 2011, 05:51 PM
Smokin' Aces 2 is a drinking movie and a comedy. It's a fun movie to watch while folding laundry. The ending scene also had me rolling.
It also nicely sums up SOME Shadowrun players I've run with.
Posted by: ravensmuse Sep 2 2011, 03:10 AM
Starting up a game set in magic-drenched Denver in a few weeks to introduce a newbie to gaming to Shadowrun.
Thinking of making it a two movie night - The Fifth Element (the over-the-top and exotic) with Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (little grit, a little grime, and working for one of the most powerful Johnson's in the Sixth World).
Don't know if it would fly with the other players though,
Posted by: Czar Eggbert Sep 2 2011, 04:08 AM
With all the talk of Anime, I'm surprised nobody has mentioned http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0266171/, nix the space aspect and you have Magic, high tech, cyberware, adepts, riggers, AI, Ancient Conspiracies, drones, and a plucky team of adventurers .
The Eggman
Posted by: Daishi Sep 2 2011, 06:28 AM
That is a really fun movie and it has the whole "team of outsiders" bit down pat.
I wouldn't say it's the singular Shadowrun movie, but http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0360009/ is the movie that gets me the most amped up to play Shadowrun. It hits on legwork, interrogations, cons, cons turning to sudden violence, extractions, fixers, conspiracies, half-truth telling Johnsons, and how professionals end up in the shadows. Plus it has classic Mamet dialogue (see the sig.)
Posted by: CanRay Sep 2 2011, 06:35 AM
The Losers comic is better at being Shadowrun than the movie.
Although, that might be because of the scene where the hacker is working in his boxers and a newspaper pirate hat.
Posted by: ravensmuse Sep 2 2011, 10:46 AM
I own the second volume (need to get the first on the cheap); my favorite has to be where they go to Seadonia for their free satellite uplink, talk the skipper into handing them his rifle...and then it hits the skipper why.
Silly popcorny fun with American politics as written by two British men. Not a bad combination.
Posted by: SleepMethod Sep 2 2011, 12:03 PM
Has anyone mentioned cowboy bebop yet? For me at least it's very shadowrunish
Posted by: Saint Hallow Sep 2 2011, 06:03 PM
Cowboy Bebop has been mentioned numerous times. Anime tends to offer the cyber + magic schtick very easy in terms of media. While I used to be a big anime fanboy/otaku, I never saw any series having the gritty/dystopian feel that SR has (or had, depending on your edition & viewpoint).
Certain episodes of Avatar, Last Airbender... guy with metal arm & blew things up with his 3rd eye. The Earth city with the secret service guy brainwashing people.
Serenity (aka Firefly the movie). Some episodes of the tv show Sliders. Babylon AD. Children of Men. Doomsday. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalon_(2001_film), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_City.
I think some of what I have listed has been posted before. I'll double check & edit this later after confirming.
Posted by: TP13 Sep 2 2011, 06:04 PM
Since someone already mentioned Dirty Dozen, I would add Kelly's Heroes as a great old school shadowrun.
Posted by: EKBT81 Sep 3 2011, 12:15 AM
Then I submit The First Great Train Robbery. My old school is older than your's! 
Posted by: Saint Hallow Sep 3 2011, 05:59 AM
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolis_%28film%29
Beat 1927 buddy...
Posted by: CanRay Sep 3 2011, 06:42 AM
Beat 1927 buddy...
Ah, but that's made well after 1927, right? It's based on When The Sleeper Awakes by H.G. Wells (1898).
Posted by: Tymeaus Jalynsfein Sep 3 2011, 04:27 PM
Ah, but that's made well after 1927, right? It's based on When The Sleeper Awakes by H.G. Wells (1898).
Not just an explosives geek, I see, but a Literary geek as well... I am Impressed.
Posted by: CanRay Sep 3 2011, 05:29 PM
I'd be better read if my so called "Teachers" hadn't taken my books away from me because "It was reading time" and "you have to read the designated book."
Moby Dick was ripped out of my hands for My Darling, My Hamburger. Which took me less than two hours to read the previous night.
Posted by: Saint Hallow Sep 4 2011, 01:29 AM
Would you say Ceaser's Column is also possible as a SR type of novel?
Posted by: Tymeaus Jalynsfein Sep 4 2011, 03:44 AM
I'd be better read if my so called "Teachers" hadn't taken my books away from me because "It was reading time" and "you have to read the designated book."
Moby Dick was ripped out of my hands for My Darling, My Hamburger. Which took me less than two hours to read the previous night.
I do feel your pain...
Posted by: CanRay Sep 4 2011, 05:17 AM
F***ing ghetto welfare school.
"Why bother teaching the little bastards, they'll just end up on welfare like their parents." was something I heard more than once. I was a sneaky and quiet little SOB.
Back to movies before I get angry.
Posted by: PeteThe1 Sep 4 2011, 06:11 AM
Anyone mentioned the anime Black Lagoon yet? City run by various criminal syndicates, dozens of freelance mercs and hitmen with insane personalities, and your main protagonists are a Face, a Gunslinger Adept, a Hacker, and a Smuggler. All its technically missing is the cyber, but the people are so absurdly skilled they may as well be chromed. And just generally the series is both very funny and very bad ass ala Cowboy Bebop.
Posted by: Saint Hallow Sep 4 2011, 06:19 AM
A point I see many folks are facing due to trying to find the perfect SR movie is the lack of "cyber" element. There are tons of action films/tv shows that have gun-bunnies, hackers, face/con men, drivers/pilots, & criminal elements. Do these things itself make them viable as an SR movie or do we really need the cyberware/bioware aspect? What about the magic element? I don't think there's any non-Anime, live-action film that has ever been made that combines gunplay, martial-art, magic, cyber/bioware, & dystopian themes.
As for Anime/Animated movies/tv shows... Silent Moebius has magic, cyberware, future society (not quite dystopian, but some elements are there), gun play, martial arts, & spirits/demons.
Posted by: suoq Sep 4 2011, 09:03 AM
I think it takes more than an hour and 20 minutes to even get the setting explained. By the time you're done you end up with even less plot than Sukiyaki Western Django.
Posted by: Stahlseele Sep 4 2011, 11:42 AM
No?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86on_Flux_(film)
Posted by: suoq Sep 4 2011, 01:01 PM
I'm trying to figure uot where you're going with Aeon Flux since you seem to be disagreeing with my statement by linking to an article about a different movie that mentions it's 10% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and discusses how even the creator of the series described the film as making him feel "helpless, humiliated and sad".
Note that this movie didn't just expect it's audiences to get it from the movie. It had a series of animated shorts to introduce the universe and a comic book that was put out for the express purpose of introducing the universe and still most people didn't enjoy it.
To a certain extent, the mishmash of cyberpunk and fantasy fails even in Shadowrun. In almost any fantasy world there's a rich difference between orcs, trolls and dwarves. From a Shadowrun perspective they're all metahumans in small, large, and supersized. At least elves are given some form of heritage and their own private country. The end result of all this stuff is that it just becomes generic filler to the point where trolls, orcs, and dwarves are so normal that we've gotten into the social aspect of intelligent ghouls.
It's simply too much stuff thrown into a blender and in the end one can only focus on so many things. A chord is much better than a single note, yes, but one can only jam so many notes in a chord before it just becomes someone slamming their hands down on a piano.
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