In the young cinematic year that is 2023, the biggest hit has been THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE. Despite mixed-to-great reviews (read Reel Speak’s take HERE), it has managed a feat that most movies based on video games often fail at: to be true to your source material and still manage to deliver on the big screen. Ever since the first film based on SUPER MARIO BROS. arrived in 1993 and bombed hard, Hollywood has been trying to figure that out. There have been more disasters than triumphs, and finding ten (10) movies worthy of a mention is a challenge. But this Blogger has a pocket full of quarters and is ready to play. Here now are Reel Speak’s Top 10 Best Video Game Movies:
10. MORTAL KOMBAT (1995)
Based on the ever-popular and once controversial blood-spilling fighting game, MORTAL KOMBAT was a modest hit with fans and critics, and over time has earned a cult following. The acting and story are crap, but the spirit of the game is there…with some well-executed martial arts scenes and loyalty to the characters.
9. RESIDENT EVIL (2002)
The first of seven films in the action-horror franchise. While these films have seriously pissed-off fans with its liberties in the storytelling, they still managed to provide some thrills, accomplish some decent world-building, and make a minor action-icon out of actress Milla Jovovich.
8. WEREWOLVES WITHIN (2021)
The reason why so many VG movies bomb hard is because they forget to latch onto a genre of film. Not so for this screen adaption, which works just fine as a horror movie. Milana Vayntrub (the ATT&T girl), joins a group of people stranded in a small town surrounded by werewolves in a fun romp that often gets ridiculous, but it knows it and doesn’t try to be much more than that.
7. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (2020)
A common misstep in video game adaptations is to forget the human element, specifically the heart. This live action/animated hybrid of one of the most popular VG characters of all time frustrated audiences by moving the action away from Sonic’s fantastical universe and into our real world, but that allowed for some human elements to come into play, and it worked. The scene where Sonic gets his iconic sneakers as a gift from a little girl pulls all the right strings.
6. SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 (2022)
Where the first SONIC film kinda danced around its roots as a video game movie, the second goes full-speed ahead and delivers a knockout. Jim Carrey reprises his role as Dr. Robotnik and is electric, and Idris Elba is perfectly cast as Sonic’s other nemesis, Knuckles.
5. TOMB RAIDER (2018)
Angelina Jolie had two wobbly films in the early 2000’s based on another iconic VG character, Lara Croft. In 2018 Alicia Vikander stepped into the role in a film that was grounded and more realistic. Although it has a little too much of a prequel-thing going on (it’s Lara in her early days), it still delivers the action and the spirit of the games.
4. DETECTIVE PIKACHU (2019)
Based on the game that has defined an entire generation, PIKACHU was a box office monster; second-highest earning VG movie at the time. Latching onto the genre of a whodunit and a little bit of noir, this would still have worked if the characters were all human.
3. THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE (2023)
The newest addition to the VG movie catalog delivers on every front: characters, story, action, and loyalty to its roots. Mario has a rich and vast history going all the way back to the arcade era, and somehow his first big-screen adventure impressively worked it all into a 92-minute adventure.
2. SILENT HILL (2006)
This terror was smart enough to latch onto its early inspirations: horror movies. SILENT HILL ramps up the tension and scares with a creepy atmosphere and stunning visuals. Sometimes all you need is one iconic scene for a movie to be memorable, and no one can forget the coming of the fearsome Pyramid Head. Stuff nightmares are made of.
1. WRECK-IT RALPH (2012)
This may be a cheat (code) since this Disney gem isn’t based on a specific game, but as a movie about video games, no one has done it better than RALPH. John C. Reilly leads an excellent voice cast in this adventure that takes us through the inner workings of games and their characters. It’s a deep-dive into what makes the Big Bads tick, and we may never look at an arcade cabinet-style game the same way again. The film is also an easter-egg delight, including cameos from famed video game icons including Pac-Man, Sonic, and Bowser. It taps into not only video game lore, but basic cinematic principles; rooted in the classic heroes-journey and actually feels like a film.
REEL SPEAK'S TOP 10 VIDEO GAME MOVIES
- WRECK-IT RALPH
- SILENT HILL
- THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE
- DETECTIVE PIKACHU
- TOMB RAIDER
- SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2
- SONIC THE HEDGEHOG
- WEREWOLVES WITHIN
- RESIDENT EVIL
- MORTAL KOMBAT
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