I first became a fan of The Warriors via the videogame on Playstation 2, around five years ago. I'd been waiting a long time for a modern game that might capture the spirit of the old Streets of Rage series, and this brawling adventure from Rockstar Toronto seemed like it might be the answer. I'd never even heard of the movie till reading about the game.
Understanding that the first few levels served as a prequel to the events of the movie, which would then be recreated in the later stages, I bought the DVD and watched it when I reached that point in the game. So I had all the backstory going in, knew the characters to some extent, and was already caught up in the attitude and atmosphere of The Warriors. After watching the movie I then of course resumed the game and played through the chase across New York City before defeating Luther on the beach in the final level.
One effect this had on my experience of the film was a greater attachment to Cleon, who had been a central part of the videogame up until this point. So when he was killed early in the movie, I probably cared more about his death than audiences who came into the movie "cold" at the opening credits. After all, they'd only been watching him on screen for a few minutes before he snuffed it.
The PS2 game, also available on the original Xbox, was in my eyes the best film-to-game conversion of all time, narrowly outjockeying GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64. I'm glad however that I didn't get around to downloading the more recent Xbox Live Arcade game, The Warriors: Street Brawl, which by all accounts is a big letdown. There was really no need to develop a new sidescrolling beat-em-up for the franchise anyway, when Rockstar's original included its own Final Fight clone as an unlockable extra.
What's led to my current burst of enthusiasm for The Warriors is finally finding the time to read the novel by Sol Yurick, the source material for the movie. I didn't go into it expecting an exact blueprint for the screen version, fortunately, as browsing through this forum I think that has been the sticking point in a lot of people's judgement of the book. I had a fair inclination that the characters and plot would differ slightly, forming only the basis for what I'd encountered on the DVD. Still, even going in with an open mind, I was shocked by some of the plot developments that I hadn't anticipated - starting with the outcome of the meeting.
But I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, and I'm glad I stuck with it after finding the writing style initially hard to appreciate in the first chapter. I soon came to realise that Yurick's casual tone was a clever device that enhanced immersion and captured the scene better than a straight narrative could. He allowed me to see the world through the Dominators' eyes, even after some of their more outrageous actions had shattered the innocent and protective view I'd had towards them. And despite those serious transgressions, by the purposely anticlimactic end I had either maintained or regained a sense of understanding for these characters.
It seems a few people take issue with that ending, taking the view that the gang's journey has amounted to nothing and the challenges they've faced have been undermined without a satisfactory conclusion. But unlike the movie which was always building towards a final showdown as the focal point, I believe the intention of the novel is to reflect on everything that led to that "triumphant" return to Coney Island. It's about what the journey, not the destination, meant for each of the characters. To quote the topically named Miley Cyrus: "Ain't about what's waiting on the other side; it's the climb."
Yes, I just used Disney's Hannah Montanna to review a novel about rape and murder in the gangland streets of New York. I can see the pride bursting out of Mickey's round face while I type.
But now we're up to speed. That's what's brought me here to this forum and led me to impose this novel of my own upon your unsuspecting Proving Grounds. Hello. Nice site. Hope you can sort out the spammers, but good.
