Adapting a video game into a movie is more than a little tricky, as plenty of studios have discovered over the years.From the 1980s to today, we've had our fair share of really poor video game movies, some so bad that they've gone down in history among the worst movies of all time.It isn't all doom and gloom, though.
While it definitely feels like there have been more bad adaptations than good ones, occasionally we get a gem that reminds us just how good a video game movie can feel when it is done right.Add How-To Geek on Google Add as Preferred Source Follow on Google Discover I take a look at some of the best video game adaptations that have hit the big screen, taking reviews and audience scores into account.Going down memory lane, I also force myself to relive some of the worst movies that I've ever seen, and hopefully prevent you from exposing your eyeballs to those messes.
The good: Resident Evil (2026) The best video game movie we've had in a long time What is so impressive about Zach Cregger's is that it feels so incredibly faithful to the games without really leaning on canon or characters that we've come to know and love.Rather than putting someone like Leon Kennedy at the center of the action, the movie follows Bryan (Austin Abrams), a courier who just happens to get caught up in the chaos that ensues after the outbreak in Raccoon City.Bryan fills the role of an everyman, embodying the panic and claustrophobia that the games make you feel.
Cregger also really successfully captures gameplay elements within the film, making things like ammunition, tight resource management, and environmental puzzle-solving key themes.Resident Evil R Horror Sci-Fi Adventure Release Date September 18, 2026 Where to watch Close WHERE TO WATCH RENT BUY Powered by Expand Collapse The good: Sonic the Hedgehog 3 Getting better with every installment Considering the amount of controversy that surrounded the first film before it was released, the movies have all done fantastically well.The worry with sequels is that they tend to never be as good as the original, but that hasn't been the case here.
In fact, is the best of the bunch so far, building on the elements that worked while at the same time trying new things that land well.The introduction of Shadow the Hedgehog brings a heavier, more emotional story to the franchise that contrasts really well with Sonic's upbeat personality.It also has more than enough fan-service throughout, bringing in some cool elements from the games, such as the Eclipse Canon.
Best of all is that we get twice as much Jim Carrey, with him playing both Ivo and Gerald Robotnik.Sonic the Hedgehog 3 PG Action Science Fiction Comedy Family Release Date December 20, 2024 Where to watch Close WHERE TO WATCH Streaming RENT BUY Powered by Expand Collapse The good: Gran Turismo My dream come to life Critics rated the movie fairly conservatively, with it receiving fairly mediocre scores from several different platforms.Fans, however, had a different experience.
Many of us dreamed of leveling up from our PlayStations at home and racing real cars around a track as kids, and getting to see this dream play out on screen, all while being based on a real racing driver, really hit home.The movie may take quite a few liberties in its adaptation of real life events, but it shows how Jann Mardenborough (Archie Madekwe) fights his way up the ranks to achieve a legendary result at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2013.It is an epic tale that brings childhood daydreams to life.
Gran Turismo PG-13 Adventure Action Drama Release Date August 25, 2023 Where to watch Close WHERE TO WATCH Streaming RENT BUY Powered by Expand Collapse The bad: Mortal Kombat: Annihilation The worst of a pretty rough bunch The first movie might not have been peak cinema, but it had its moments.The plot was pretty thin and the violence was heavily watered down, but the martial arts and the great soundtrack gave it some redemption., however, undoes everything good about the first film and delivers an absolutely disastrous movie that is just hard to watch.
It might have some high-paced action, but the visuals are awful, the plot is disjointed, and the handling of the source material is really poor.It is a movie I don't see myself revisiting any time soon.Mortal Kombat: Annihilation PG-13 Action Fantasy Science Fiction Release Date November 21, 1997 Where to watch Close WHERE TO WATCH Streaming RENT BUY Powered by Expand Collapse The bad: Super Mario Bros.
(1993) Mamma mia! There are few things as joyful as booting up a game and hearing the iconic jingle, alongside a cheery "yahoo!" from our protagonist.It's so strange that the 1993 movie decided to take such a dark and industrial path.Instead of Mushroom Kingdom, we got a cyberpunk dystopia called Dinohattan.
Watching this movie back in the day felt like a genuine fever dream.Beyond the really odd story-telling choices, the depiction of such iconic characters was executed incredibly poorly, and the movie was a visual mess.Don't even get me started on the nightmare-inducing Koopas.
Super Mario Bros.PG Adventure Fantasy Comedy Family Release Date May 28, 1993 Runtime 104 minutes Director Annabel Jankel Powered by Expand Collapse The bad: Borderlands A pointless cash-grab gone arwy Those that have played the games will know that is all about chaos and R-rated violence.At its core, these two things underline everything that makes the games fun.
The first sign that the movie was not going to be nearly as good was the fact that it got a PG-13 rating.It was a poor adaptation that felt watered-down and soulless, with a lot of the budget going towards attaching star actors to the project rather than building something genuinely entertaining.Considering cost well over $100 million to produce and grossed under $35 million worldwide, it is one of the biggest commercial failures of any video game movie ever.
It might not be as poor as some of the other movies on this list, but it really is a nothing sandwich with very few redeeming qualities.Borderlands PG-13 Action Science Fiction Comedy Release Date August 9, 2024 Where to watch Close WHERE TO WATCH Streaming RENT BUY Powered by Expand Collapse The source material is there, and studios just need to trust it We've seen that the best video game adaptations, both in terms of ratings and commercial success, are the ones that treat the source material with respect.The ones that go totally off the rails and try to do their own thing usually end up bombing.
The video games being adapted are popular for a reason, and studios need to learn that fans really do just want a cinematic retelling of their favorite games, and things don't need to get any more complicated than that.
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