Portal (also known as Portal The Movie) is a 2015 American science-fiction-action-adventure film. It is loosely based on the popular best-selling first-person puzzle-platform video game developed by Valve Corporation. It was directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak, produced by Joel Silver and distributed by Paramount Pictures on May 20, 2015. It starred Natalie Portman as Jane "Chell" Simmons.
In the distant future people are abducted by the U.S. Government, under the auspices of Aperture Sciences, and taken to a secret laboratory and forced to do tests under the supervision of a military scientist named Dr. Igor Dragomirov. Chell is one of 4 players, the testing comprises of a series of puzzles that must be solved by teleporting through portals located on walls and later using "the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device", a device that can create inter-spatial portals between two flat planes. After the other test subjects are eliminated Chell is left alone to figure out how to defeat Dragomirov.
The movie rights for the Portal video game was considered a hot property in Hollywood. However the Valve Corporation were particular about selling the license for Portal. Deals with Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. both fell through and then Valve signed a deal with Paramount Pictures with the stipulation that the movie would be greenlit within 12 months. Paramount Pictures immediately began production, hiring Joel Silver and his company and giving them the task of bringing Portal to the screen.
Wishing to save money, Paramount turned the film into an international co-production of the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Germany. In an interview with executive producer John Wells, he stated that a second film would be put into production if the first was a success at the box office.
A sequel is highly unlikely as ticket sales for the opening weekend totaled more than US$10.6 million, but dropped to $4.2 million in its second weekend.
Plot[]
In the distant future, Jane Simmons is an anti-government hacker and blogger going by the name of Danger Girl. One night she is abducted as she sleeps by government agents and awakens in a small cubed shape room with plain white walls.
Soon she is joined by three other people who have been determined to be dissidents. The blond and buxom Savannah, a diminutive scientist named Charles and Wesley, a fellow hacker with a bad scar on his face. They are introduced to the individual holding them captive, a Russian born scientist named Dr. Igor Dragomirov. He instructs them that if they past the tests set before them, they will be released.
Their tests are overseen by an artificial intelligence named GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System). The game's unique physics allows momentum to be retained through using the portals, requiring creative use of portals to maneuver through the test chambers. Each individual is given a code name and they begin the tests. Quickly enough Charles is killed, followed shortly after by Wesley. Finally Savannah succumbs to a test and Chell is left alone.
Chell manages to escape her testing facility by using the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device, or portal gun. She confronts Dragomirov, kills him and then escapes the facility. Realizing that she is in New York city, now with a powerful weapon, Chell vows to fight the people responsible for her suffering and stop the injustice of the world.
Cast[]
- Natalie Portman as Jane "Chell" Simmons
- Gary Oldman as Dr. Igor Dragomirov
- Clint Howard as Charles "Tin" Mann
- Wil Wheaton as Wesley "Finn" Smith
- Kate Upton as Savannah "Nix" Blakely
- Anne Hathaway as the Voice of GLaDOS
Production[]
The film's producers, Joel Silver and John Wells, admitted in an interview that "so many" past video game movie adaptations had been terrible and they were working slowly to get Portal right. Almost at once Paramount withdrew $25 million from the initial budget of 60 million and Silver was forced to get "a lot of financial support from outside investors." Polish director Andrzej Bartkowiak had signed on to be the director. Rosamund Pike had been initially cast as the star, but two months before filiming began she had dropped out of the project. It has also been revealed that production would start in mid-July 2014 with a January 2015 release date. Filming took place in Bulgaria, due to the lost costs of film making there and the script was not complete before the cameras started rolling. Production delays caused Paramount to push the release date forward to May, 2015.
Wells also revealed that if this first Portal is successful, a second one could be made, and that "we certainly have some ideas for the next one, if there is gonna be one. We'll have to wait and see: the audience will have to tell us ..."
The film was criticized for a scene with actress/model Kate Upton's character Nix waking up in her underwear, where her co-stars awoke fully dressed. The scene, which was called "wholly unnecessary" and "gratuitous", resulted in screenwriter Jeffrey Blanchard apologizing on Twitter for the scene: "I take full responsibility and be more mindful in the future. The scene was requested at the producer's request". Upton addressed the underwear controversy at the 2015 Comic Con and said, "I didn’t know it was such a big deal. I didn’t feel exploited at all."
Casting[]
Criticisms in casting began almost immediately when it was announced that Anne Hathaway would be cast as the voice of GLaDOS instead of fan favorite Ellen McLain who performed the role in both Portal and Portal 2. Producers would later offer McLain a cameo in a smaller role, but she turned them down.
The addition of characters Dr. Igor Dragomirov and Chell's cohorts was also widely criticized as unnecessary. In the games the player would act out the role of Chell and no other characters were utilized in the game narrative. Creating a new central villain in Dragomirov was equally seen as unfaithful to the game series, which saw GlaDOS regulated as comic relief and a secondary villain.
Reaction[]
Box office[]
The response from fans of the video game was easily negative. Many expressed disappointment because the film did not follow the plot of the game, adding new characters and converting GlaDOS from main villain to sidekick and comic relief. Another major issue was the fact that the "the Aperture Science Handheld Portal Device" or portal gun was not featured prominently in the film, and was used only in the last 15 minutes of the film and the ending differed from that of the original game. It did not do well on its opening weekend, taking only in $10.6 million. It quickly dropped in its second week in theaters and the final gross of the film was only $16.7 million domestically and almost $12.6 million worldwide, for a total box office of 41.9 million against a budget of $60 million.
Critical reception[]
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 13% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 37 reviews, with the critical consensus "Might possibly please hardcore fans of the video game, but lacking in plot and originality to please other moviegoers."
In 2015, Time listed the film on their list of top ten worst video games movies.
For the most part the cast and producers have since distanced themselves from the film. All plans for a sequel have been scrapped.
Distribution[]
Home media[]
The film was introduced to the home video market by Paramount Home Entertainment in August of 2015 on DVD and Blu-ray Disc, with little or no fanfare. The 1 disc set featured minimal special features and no commentaries.