Top 8 Best Movies Based on Video Games of All Time

Mortal Kombat (1995)

Sure, if you sit down and watch Mortal Kombat as a movie buff looking for every edge of the film’s existence to be coherent and logical, you’ll be disappointed. If you’re looking for a movie that embraces the violent silliness of the Mortal Kombat video game, this old movie isn’t too bad. Yes, it’s pretty cheesy. Yes, some of the combat makes absolutely no sense. But as far as movies based on video games go, Mortal Kombat was pretty solid and rather enjoyable.

Warcraft (2016)

Critics hated it. World of Warcraft fans and casual movie goers enjoyed it for the most part. Warcraft became a viral sensation on social media as fans of the film adamantly disagreed with critics’ poor reviews and insisted that Warcraft was a solid film. Many gamers argued that the movie actually did a decent job of bringing the massively popular video game to the big screen in a way that was fun and pretty engaging.

Hitman (2007)

Hitman was another movie that received extremely harsh words from critics despite the fact that everyday movie goers enjoyed it. It did a solid job of adapting the video game to a movie format without coming across as corny. While the action scenes have received some less than favorable feedback, Hitman is one of the few video game movies that actually had some good writing and great story direction.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005)

Good writing. Beautiful animation. Captivating fighting scenes. When Final Fantasy came to the big screen with this 2005 film, it was hard to look away. Granted, there were some unfortunate narration missteps along the way but the story ultimately unfolded in a way that did the Final Fantasy franchise justice and it proved to be a great directorial debut for Tetsuya Nomura.

Silent Hill (2006)

The Silent Hill movie does an excellent job of recreating a truly eerie and hair raising environment. For those who haven’t played the game, it’s hard to understand the movie and the lackluster writing certain doesn’t help. Outside of the cheesy dialogue, however, the entire first half of the film was just as frightening and disturbing as a Silent Hill movie should be.

It suffered from a relatively weak ending but in a sea of frighteningly awful video game adaptations, Silent Hill emerges as a pretty decent viewing experience.

Ratchet & Clank (2016)

Before you immediately scoff at the idea of Ratchet & Clank being one of the best video game adaptations, remember that this movie was made for a relatively young audience. Sure the animated flick had some major cliches and a relatively predictable plot, but it was all for the sake of making it digestible for a young viewer. With that in mind, Ratchet & Clank excelled when it came to bringing a beloved video game duo to life and making a sizable audience fall in love with them all over again.

Resident Evil (2002)

The first Resident Evil movie seemed to be the main title made with gamers in mind. While the sequels tend to feel more like exaggerated, over-the-top action thriller flicks, the first movie focused on appealing to Resident Evil fans’ addiction to fear. The 2002 release felt more faithful to the games than its successors while also hitting an enjoyable balance between the action and horror genres.

Though the sequels certainly declined in quality, the first entry is one of the best movies based on video games we’ve seen so far.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)

To be completely honest, this movie wasn’t an exceptional film but it’s a solid enough adaptation that it proved to be an enjoyable viewing experience. It’s only fair to note that half of the joy comes from seeing Angelina Jolie take on the role of Lara Croft being a straight up boss for 100 minutes…. But sometimes that’s all you can ask for from a video game adaptation. Until filmmakers really tap into how to take the magic of a video game into the theaters, we will all have to simply celebrate the little victories.