From the classic Super Mario Bros to the mind-bending Final Fantasy, check out these top 21 best video game movies of all time!
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There have been a lot of video games that have been adapted into series, anime, and movies throughout the years. Unfortunately, not all of them are good. Turning a video game into an adaptation takes a lot, and they often need to catch up. Luckily for us, there are a lot of fantastic video game adaptations out there, and there are some amazing ones too. Here is a list of the best video game movie adaptations ranked from worst to best according to their rating on IMDb.
21. Dead Trigger (2017) 3.2/10
This science fiction, action, horror Film is based on a mobile game that goes by the same name. Unfortunately, it wasn’t well received, even by game fans. Many people think that there wasn’t enough source material for the directors to go off of for this film adaptation, and most of the criticism on Rotten Tomatoes says that the movie just played it far too safely.
The movie was directed by Mike Cuff and Scott Windhauser and stars Autumn Reeser, Brooke Johnston, Chris Galya, Dolph Lundgren, Isiah Washington, James Chalke, Jeff Lam Joel Gretsch, Justin Chon, Luciana Carro, Oleg Taktarov, and Romeo Miller.
20. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-li (2009) 3.7/10
It’s hard to imagine that a sequel did worse than the first film, but that is precisely what happened with this film. Most criticisms said that the movie had a shallow plot and that there could have been much better choices for the casting, which all left the film an unmemorable experience, sometimes even an embarrassment to the original.
The movie was directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak and stars Chris Klein, Edmund Chen, Josie Ho, Kristen Kreuk, Michael Clarke Duncan, Moon Bloodgood, Neal McDonough, Pei-Pei Cheng, Robin Shou, and Taboo.
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19. In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (2007) 3.8/10
Uwe Boll has a mediocre reputation regarding video game adaptations. In the Name of the King simply solidifies people’s opinions, unfortunately. The movie is criticised for “wooden performances”, a poorly written script, and not enough effort put into the film’s production. The movie was a box office failure and didn’t do the original game justice.
This movie was directed by Uwe Boll and stars some massive Hollywood names, but even that didn’t save the film. The cast consists of Brian White, Burt Reynolds, Claire Forlani, Colin Ford, Gabrielle Rose, Jason Statham, John Rhys-Davis, Kristanna Loken, Leelee Sobieski, Matthew Lillard, Mike Dopud, Ray Liotta, Ron Perlman, Tania Saulnier, Terence Kelly, and Will Sanderson.
18. Double Dragon (1994) 3.9/10
The critic’s consensus on Rotten Tomatoes is the best way to summarise why this film has such a low rating. “Double Dragon’s clever use of special effects cannot mask the film’s overly simplistic storyline and cheesy dialogue.” Although it was based on the game of the same name, it paled in comparison.
The film was directed by James Yukich and had a lot of really well-known actors in the cast, but this, unfortunately, didn’t save the movie from the poorly written script. The film stars Al Leong, Alyssa Milano, Cory Milano, Henry Kingi, Jeff Imada, John Asher, Julia Nickson, Kristina Wagner, Leon Russom, Mark Dacascos, Michael Berryman, Nils Allen Stewart, Robert Patrick, and Scott Wolf.
17. Street Fighter (1994) 4/10
Although the movie has non-stop action, the story is still uneven and predictable. When it comes to a feature film about a beloved arcade game, there are only a few ways the story can go. A good guy beats terrible guys after some difficulties and a development arch. As a result, the movie is on the lower spectrum of quality regarding a video game adaptation. Luckily, this movie did better than its successor, Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-li.
The film was directed by Steven E. de Souza. It was made famous because of its main character, portrayed by Jean-Claude Van Damme. But, unfortunately, this still didn’t save the film. The rest of the cast was made up of names like Andrew Bryniarski, Byron Mann, Damian Chapa, Gregg Rainwaters, Jay Tavare, Kenya Sawada, Kylie Minogue, Miguel A. Nunez Jr., Ming-Na Wen, Peter Navy Tuiasosopo, Raul Julia, Robert Mammone, Roshan Seth, Simon Callow, and Wes Studi.
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16. Super Mario Bros. (1993) 4.1/10
Although a new Mario movie is coming out soon with Chris Pratt in the role of the main character, there was a movie before. Unfortunately, the film was made before its time. The movie had pretty good sets and special effects but didn’t have a story that could substantiate the rest of the movie.
The film was directed by Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton. It starred actors like Bob Hoskins, Dana Kaminski, Dennis Hopper, Desiree Marie Velez, Fiona Shaw, Fisher Stevens, Francesca P. Roberts, Gianni Russo, John Leguizamo, Lance Henriksen, Mojo Nixon, Richard Edson, Samantha Mathis, Sylvia Harman.
15. Wing Commander (1999) 4.3/10
Unfortunately, one of the biggest things that held Wing Commander back was the low budget and the limitations of technology at the time it was created. This doesn’t mean that the dialogue was something to phone home about. The movie relied too much on science fiction cliches of the 90s, but had the film been created later, it could have had a better chance of being loved.
The film was directed by Chris Roberts and starred actors like Craig Kelly, David Fahm, David Suchet, David Warner, Fraser James, Freddie Prinze Jr., Ginny Holder, Hugh Quarshie, John Mcglynn, Jurgen Prochnow, Ken Bones, Kiernon Phipps, Mark Powley, Matthew Lillard, Richard Dillane, Saffron Burrows, Simon MacCorkindale, and Tcheky Karyo.
14. Monster Hunter (2020) 5.2/10
Based on the popular game of the same name, Monster Hunter is a movie filled to the brim with action but with a little story, which is (unfortunately) a trademark of a film with Milla Jovovich as one of its actors. Surprisingly, the movie did better than its animated counterpart created by Netflix, Monster Hunter: Legends of the Guild, but not by much.
The live-action movie was directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and stars Diego Boneta, Hirona Yamazaki, Jannik Schumann, Jin Au0Yeung, Josh Helman, Maegan Good, Milla Jovovich, Nanda Costa, Nic Rasenti, Ron Perlman, T.I., and Tony Jaa.
13. Assassin’s Creed (2016) 5.6/10
Even on Rotten Tomatoes, Assassin’s Creed is credited with being one of the “better made and certainly better cast” video game adaptations out there. However, the CGI still leaves much to be desired. Personally, I didn’t think that Assassin’s Creed was all that bad, all things considered, but it isn’t the best video game adaptation that is out there. I appreciated how closely the movie stayed to the source material, bringing in a bit more rebellion from the side of the assassins, but that was about it.
The movie was directed by Justin Kurzel and starred actors like Ariane Labed, Brendan Gleeson, Callum Turner, Carlos Bardem, Charlotte Rampling, Crystal Clarke, Denis Menochet, Essie Davis, Hovik Keuchkerian, Javier Gutierrez, Jeremy Irons, Khalid Abdalla, Marion Cotillard, Matias Varela, Michael Fassbender, Michelle H. Lin, and Michael Kenneth Williams.
12. Lara Croft Tomb Raider (2001) 5.7/10
Although it is widely agreed that Angelina Jolie was a perfect choice for the role of Lara Croft, even she couldn’t save the movie that was meant to be the adaptation of the long-running game series. Unfortunately, it has proven challenging to turn fighting games such as first-person shooters, third-person shooters and platformers into games, but this is one of the few games with enough lore and story to be the next Indiana Jones. Still, the movie just didn’t make it that far. Surprisingly, the sequel, Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, did even worse than the first.
The movie was directed by Simon West and starred Angelina Jolie, Chris Barrie, Daniel Craig, Iain Glen, Jon Voight, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Leslie Phillips, Noah Taylor, Richard Johnson, and Robert Phillips.
11. Mortal Kombat (2021) 6/10
Most people felt like Mortal Kombat was a movie made almost purely for the fan service of it. A violent movie, this isn’t one of the worst video game movies out there, but it certainly isn’t the best. That being said, it is still a good movie. However, it could have been made a lot better. The storyline is rushed, and there is too much action and fighting, leaving little room for anything else.
The movie was directed by Simon McQuoid and stars Chin Han, Daniel Nelson, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ian Streetz, Jessica McNamee, Joe Taslim, Josh Lawson, Laura Brent, Lewis Tan, Ludi Lin, Matilda Kimber, Max Huang, Mehcad Brooks, Mel Jarnson, Mia Hall, Nathan Jones, Ren Miyagawa, Sisi Stringer, Tadanobu Asano, and Yukiko Shinohara.
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10. The Angry Birds Movie (2016) 6.3/10
While the movie is considered one of the best movie adaptations of a mobile game, the film isn’t the best. Assuming they only had a little to go off of other than a loose story about saving other birds from the evil green pigs, the movie is perfect for children, but not much in the way of an adaptation of a game.
The movie is directed by Anthony Padilla, Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly. Voice stars Blake Shelton, Bill Hader, Billy Eichner, Charli XCX, Christela Alonzo, Danielle Brooks, Danny McBride, Hannibal Buress, Ian Hecox, Ike Barinholtz, Jason Sudeikis, Jillian Bell, Josh Gad, Kate McKinnon, Keegan- Michael Key, Maya Rudolph, Peter Dinklage, Romeo Santos, Sean Penn, Tituss Burgess, and Tony Hale.
9. Tomb Raider (2018) 6.3/10
Tomb Raider was applauded for rebooting the video game franchise in a far more grounded way than the previous movies. Still, unfortunately, the story used the same old cliches that the previous ones did, so it didn’t really manage to escape there. But, all that considered, it is the best out of the three movie adaptations.
The movie is directed by Roar Uthaug and stars Adrian Collins, Alexandre Wilaume, Alicia Vikander, Antonio Aakeel, Billy Postlethwaite, Daniel Wu, Derek Jacobi, Dominic West, Jaime Winstone, Kristin Scott Thomas, Michael Obiora, Roger Jean Nsengiyumva, Tamer Burjaq, and Walton Goggins.
8. Uncharted (2022) 6.3/10
I was surprised that this movie was rated as low as it was, as I enjoyed it. Understandably, video game fans were disappointed because the movie retold the games’ events without much that changed or made the film more interesting. The movie was well cast but ended up feeling generic.
The movie was directed by Ruben Fleischer and stars Alana Boden, Antonio Banderas, Joseph Balderrama, Mark Wahlberg, Pingi Moli, Rudy Pankow, Serena Posadino, Sophia Ali, Steven Waddington, Tati Gabrielle, Tiernan Jones, and Tom Holland.
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7. Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019) 6.5/10
Although the movie could have done a lot more with the fantastic premise that is the story of Pokemon, the movie is an excellent live-action adaptation of the long-running game franchise. This film was loved by fans of the game and those who knew little about it, but many anime fans found the film a little lacklustre. Altogether, it is one of the better video game movie adaptations.
The movie was directed by Rob Letterman and starred Alejandro De Mesa, Bill Nighy, Chris Geere, Josette Simon, Justice Smith, Karan Soni, Kathryn Newton, Ken Watanabe, Rita Ora, Ryan Reynolds, and Suki Waterhouse.
6. Silent Hill (2006) 6.5/10
Although the movie was visually impressive and instilled the same fear as could be felt in the video games, like many video game adaptations, the lacking dialogue and story that tried to accomplish the same thing as the games turned the movie into one that was overly long for seemingly no reason. The first movie scored much higher than its successor, Silent Hill: Revelation starring Adelaide Clemens and Kit Harington, which garnered a 4.9 on IMDb. The second film featured many actors reprising their original roles with a slightly different story. Still, it got a little further than the original.
The film was directed by Christophe Gans and stars Alice Krige, Colleen Williams, Deborah Kara Unger, Jodelle Ferland, Kim Coates, Laurie Holden, Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean, and Tanya Allen.
The second film was directed by M.J. Bassett. It starred Adelaide Clemons, Carrie-Anne Moss, Deborah kara Unger, Erin Pitt, Heather Marks, Jefferson Brown, Kit Harington, Malcolm McDowell, Martin Donovan, Milton Barnes, Peter Outerbridge, Radha Mitchell, Roberto Campanella, and Sean Bean.
5. Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) 6.5/10
Despite the IMDb rating, the movie was actually really well-received. A family movie that brings the happiness of the franchise to younger audiences that might not have been able to play the originals, the film has a higher rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In addition, it is an enjoyable video game movie adaptation.
The film was directed by Jeff Fowler and stars Adam Pally, Ben Schwartz, Frank C. Turner, James Marsden, Jim Carrey, Lee Majdoub, Melody Nosipho Niemann, Natasha Rothwell, Neal McDonough, Shannon Chan-Kent, Tika Sumpter, Tom Butler.
4. Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) 6.6/10
Surprisingly, this movie ranks higher on IMDb than others on this list. It was universally hated because it didn’t even try to live up to the games. However, it is still better than many video game movie adaptations on this list. Still, game fans saw little value and thought there were much better live-action films adapted from games.
The film was directed by Mike Newell and stars Alfred Molina, Ben Kingsley, Gemma Arterton, Jake Gyllenhaal, Reece Ritchie, Richard Coyle, Ronald Pickup, Steve Toussaint, and Toby Kebbell.
3. Resident Evil (2002) 6.6/10
It would be unfair to lump every Resident Evil movie into one category. Still, it has been almost universally decided that the first movie was the best, with the Final Chapter being one of the worst in the franchise. The film series was only loosely based on the original story of the games, with the animated movies being closer to the actual level of the games. However, this series was appreciated because it stuck to the lore and mutations of the T-virus while still bringing its unique flare to the films.
The original film was directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. It starred Anna Bolt, Colin Salmon, Eric Mabius, Fiona Glascott, Heike Makatsch, Indra Ove, James Purefoy, Jaymes Butler, Joseph May, Martin Crawes, Michelle Rodriguez, Milla Jovovich, Oscar Pearce, Pasquale Aleardi, Robert Tannion, Ryan McCluskey, and Stephen Billington.
The other movies in the film series saw the director coming and going while still staying on as a writer, as well as recurring characters like Milla Jovovich, Oded Fehr, Iain Glen, Sienna Guillory, and Ali Larter coming and going throughout the series. Unfortunately, the IMDb score for the movies that followed the first declined as the years passed.
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2. Warcraft (2016) 6.7/10
It is well-known how that many people thought of the Warcraft movie as a massive success, while others viewed it as a gigantic flop. Considering just how much there is to work within the Warcraft universe, it isn’t surprising that they could only please some. Still, they did a fantastic job of bringing the game to life. There have been a lot of hopes that there will be another movie that will redeem the flop of the first one. However, it is still the second-best video game movie adaptation on this list.
The movie was directed by Duncan Jones and stars Anna Galvin, Ben Foster, Ben Schnetzer, Burkely Duffield, Callum Keith Rennie, Clancy Brown, Daniel Wu, Dean Redman, Dominic Cooper, Paula Patton, Robert Kazinsky, Ruth Negga, Ryan Robbins, Toby Kebell, and Travis Fimmel.
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1. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005) 7.2/10
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that this is the best-rated video game movie adaptation out there, considering how wide the Final Fantasy universe has reached over the years. The video games have been some of the best out there, so it’s only fitting that they would make great movies for their fans to enjoy. With enjoyable fight scenes and a charming story, it’s easy to look past the bad CGI of the early 2000s.
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children was co-directed by Tetsuya Nomura and Takeshi Nozue. The English voice cast for the film comprised Arnie Pantoja, Austin Lee Matthews, Briana White, Brielle Milla, Britt Baron, Cody Christian, Gideon Emery, and Fred Tatasciore. James Horan, James Sie, John DiMaggio, John Eric Bentley, Jon Root, Matt Jones, Max Mittelman, Tyler Hoechlin, Vic Chao, William Christopher Stephens, and William Salyers. The original Japanese voice cast consists of Ayumi Ito, Keiji Fujiwara, Kenji Nomura, Maaya Sakamoto, Masahiro Kobayashi, Shogo Suzuki, Shotaro Morkubo, Taiten Kusunoki, Takahiro Sakurai, Yuji Kishi, and Yumi Kakazu.
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What video game movie adaptation do you think is the best?
Top 21 Best Video Game Movies of All Time Written by Megan Oosthuizen for Fortress of Solitude
