11 Movie Moments that Deserve the VR Treatment, Ranked
Virtual reality would make these iconic scenes even more mind-blowing.
Virtual reality games like The John Wick Chronicles, I Expect You To Die and Star Trek: Bridge Crew are giving us a taste of what it’d be like to interact with the characters and settings of some beloved movies. Developers are rushing to get new games and ideas into the headsets of VR users everywhere, but sometimes the best way to showcase a new technology is to use it to show something classic in a new way. So we put together this list of our favorite movie scenes that deserve a virtual reality translation.
11. The Matrix: Neo’s Training
From the moment Neo proclaims he “knows kung fu” until he realizes he actually busted his mouth on some cold pavement, the training scene in The Matrix has become a personal fantasy where fists fly and we can slough off the shackles of gravity. We don’t expect to be enslaved by a machine-made virtual world anytime soon, but we’d willingly don a VR headset if it meant going toe-to-toe with Morpheus. (Hey, maybe they can time it to the totally unnecessary reboot!)
10. Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith: Obi vs. Anakin
Lots of Star Wars moments would be worthy of translation into VR—Yoda training Luke comes to mind—but the fiery lava of Mustafar sets the backdrop for what was, easily, the best fight scene in the prequels. Plus, at that point in the films, we’d all grown to hate Anakin so much, that plenty of people would jump at the chance to dismember him in VR… over and over and over again.
9. Forrest Gump: Ping Pong
Forrest goes through a lot in his movie, but run-ning or showing the president his ass probably wouldn’t make the most compelling VR experience. However, with motion control technology in VR making it possible to feel like you’re holding anything, why not pick up Forrest’s ping pong paddle and set out to take down those commie Chinese pong players? We’ll call you when we figure out how to make a VR shrimping boat seem like a better idea.
8. Bullitt: The Chase
We’d gladly accept any movie chase scene recreated in VR, but we’d give an appendage to take on the Steve McQueen role in Bullitt. Roaring through the gears of the iconic fastback Mustang, weaving through oncoming traffic, dodging gunfire and, ultimately, sending the bad guys to a fiery death, Bullitt’s chase has everything we want in a VR experience.
7. The Big Lebowski: Bowling Dream
Lebowski is about as weird as a cult movie comes and it’s hard to imagine reliving most of it in VR, but the one scene that we would love to experience would be The Dude’s dream. Part musical, part bowling alley with a healthy dose of Julianne Moore in a Brunhilda outfit on top, Lebowski fans and Wii bowlers alike could jump into this one to get their ten pin fix. The Dude abides.
6. Pulp Fiction: Dance Off
There’s so much potential in the Vincent Vega/Mia Wallace dance at Jack Rabbit Slim’s from Pulp Fiction. It could be the best kind of Just Dance offshoot. You could play as either character solo, or you could grab a partner and share the spotlight. You could even skip the dancing and just bitch about a five dollar milkshake or explain the ins and outs of a Royale with Cheese instead. We could even see a bonus round where you have to stab a hypodermic needle into Mia’s heart at the end of the night for extra points.
5. The Dark Knight: Joker’s Interrogation
Arkham VR is one of the best experiences on Playstation’s VR platform right now, proving that it’s great to be Batman, especially if you don’t have to be orphaned to do it. Still, of all the things you can do in Arkham VR, none of them are as enticing as a one-on-one with Mr. J himself. It’s a scene we can watch ad nauseum in The Dark Knight but one we’d jump to enter into ourselves, sitting across from Ledger’s Joker, slamming him onto the table, jamming a chair under the door. Every element of it begs for the VR treatment.
4. Reservoir Dogs: The Ear
The Mexican standoff at the end of Reservoir Dogs is a fun moment to imagine in VR, but if any scene in the Tarantino classic deserves a virtual reality playthrough, it’s Mr. White shuffling around to Stuck in the Middle with You while doing a hack job on a captive cop’s ear. Moving this scene out of cinema and into VR would probably make it the reigning champion of VR gore, and we’re perfectly fine with that.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mqT66AVml48
3. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: Holy Grail Trials
We can’t think of a scene more perfectly suited for us to experience in VR than the trials Indy goes through to gain access to the holy grail. First, the duck and cover to save your own head, then the deadly hopscotch, the leap of faith, the fight with the dusty, old knight and, ultimately, choosing wisely when presented with all the fake grails. The real challenge wouldn’t be making this a fun experience—that would be automatic. The real challenge would be figuring out how to wear Indy’s fedora on top of a VR headset.
2. The Shawshank Redemption: Andy’s Escape
The best moment in one of the best movies of all time combines hope and victory unlike any other movie ever. We want to feel like Andy Dufresne did and would gladly crawl through a (virtual) river of shit to do it. The Shawshank VR experience could have everything from tunneling through prison walls to stealing the warden’s shoes—for authenticity—and would end with a lightning storm and some glorious freedom; conveniently skipping the prison assault, the beatings and the solitary confinement.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=laMIEas7OuA
1. Black Swan: Sexy Times!
We’re leaving the dancing to Pulp Fiction, but that doesn’t mean we wouldn’t want to… errr… dive in on this ultimately sexy moment from the film that got Natalie Portman an Academy Award. VR users already know there’s tons of porn out there to simulate any fetish you could imagine, but none of it delivers the eroticism that Portman and Mila Kunis did in Black Swan. If Oculus and HTC really want to make their VR headsets best-sellers, they need to make this one happen stat.