Summary
God of Warwould have sufficed in its overhauled reimagining with a Norse landscape and an over-the-shoulder perspective alone. Rather, Santa Monica went the extra mile and decided its storytelling would be bolstered tenfold if it managed to have no obvious camera cuts.
It’s unlikely thatGod of WarandGod of War Ragnarokwould’ve suffered greatly had they not maintained this stylistic choice. Still, it’s now become a defining trait of the IP that is expected to play a role in anything elseGod of War-related in the foreseeable future. That includes whatever new adventure Kratos or Atreus go on, and yet it will be interesting to see if Amazon’s live-action adaptation ofGod of Waradopts that challenge for itself on a completely separate medium.
Amazon’s God of War Having No Cuts Would Be a Marvelous Challenge
God of War’s No-Cut Camera is a Herculean Feat
Amazon could mirror Santa Monica’s rigid storytelling techniqueand attempt to have the entire show captured in a series of no-cut shots. An impossible task on paper,God of Waris at least able to hand control over to players for periods of time, but while there’s always an over-the-shoulder perspective in moment-to-moment gameplay it never breaks away from the one-shot direction.
Gameplay seamlessly transitions in and out to cutscenes and cinematics, where the camera is free to revolve around Kratos and pan to whomever else before it returns to that fixed position behind the playable protagonist and control is handed to the player again.
God of War’s Adaptation Having Camera Cuts Shouldn’t Be a Deal-Breaker
No live-action adaptation of a game has ever been fully and perfectly faithful to its source material—not evenHBO’sThe Last of Us, which was remarkably faithful in its pilot before making wildly distinct choices in every episode thereafter. It’s unlikely thatGod of Warwill be adapted perfectly, either, especially with how much more effects and CGI it would require to create stunning Norse vistas and Jormungandr dwelling peacefully on Migard, let alone an entire Greek pantheon with colossal gods.
However, this one-shot approach might be doable if handled as tactfully as it is in the games, hiding cuts wherever necessary or advantageous. This wouldn’t be a make-or-break scenario for the Amazon show, though, and it would probably be bestif Amazon prioritizes how itsGod of Warstory will be retold narrativelyrather than choreographically.
God of War’s Amazon Show Can Afford to Ditch a Lot of Combat
Likewise, the advantage Amazon’sGod of Warwill have over Santa Monica’s is that it will undoubtedly feature fewer sequences with actual combat or spectacle.HBO’sThe Last of Usreduced its fight scenes to a bare minimumfor pivotal beats, which made sense considering the characters would constantly find themselves in combat otherwise and that wouldn’t necessarily translate well to TV where less time is spent with characters and world-building in the same way.
Similarly, Amazon’sGod of Warcan be expected to feature far fewer draugr, trolls, or dragons, if any at all. Amazon could center its tale solely on Baldur’s arrival at Kratos and Atreus’ home, inciting conflict with Norse gods and forcing Kratos to recount and reconcile with his past. Either way, less combat could make for a simpler time of filming scenes without cuts, though no-cut fight sequences would also be incredibly impressive if choreographed well.
In fact, the show itself could have traditional scenes and cuts, but if a fight scene or two hadlong, uninterrupted tracking shots a la Netflix’sDaredevilthat could be a lovely nod to the games themselves. The way the Norse saga entries forGod of Warare structured accommodates their no-cut techniques because Kratos and Atreus are wholly engrossed, and whoever is cast in Amazon’s adaptation will have a lot of work cut out for them if the show decides to follow the games wholeheartedly.
God of War Ragnarok
WHERE TO PLAY
Embark on an epic and heartfelt journey as Kratos and Atreus struggle with holding on and letting goFrom Santa Monica Studio comes the sequel to the critically acclaimed God of War (2018). Fimbulwinter is well underway. Kratos and Atreus must journey to each of the Nine Realms in search of answers as Asgardian forces prepare for a prophesied battle that will end the world. Along the way they will explore stunning, mythical landscapes, and face fearsome enemies in the form of Norse gods and monsters. The threat of Ragnarök grows ever closer. Kratos and Atreus must choose between their own safety and the safety of the realms.
