Top 15 Best Video Game Movies

With last weekend’s release of Gran Turismo, now is a good time to talk about what I consider to be the best video game movies ever made. Despite all the constant negative reputation surrounding films that acts as adaption of well-known gaming franchises, I think most would agree that there has been an enormous quality leap for those in recent years. While I still believe there was always a solid video game movie flick every now and then, it was sometime between the late 2010s and early 2020s which saw much better and more faithful video game adaptions in movie forms. Perhaps it has to do with more cast and crew involved with these projects nowadays that actually have a knowledge and respect towards the property it’s based on but, it’s definitely nice and refreshing to see better video game flicks come out as of late, especially after several years of folks claiming that video game just can’t work in movie form whatsoever.

Now that another video game movie in Gran Turismo is now out in theaters, I’m gonna talk about 15 video game films that I believe are legit good and are worthy of their source material. A friendly reminder that I am only referring to movies that are STRICTLY adaption of video games and not just ones that have video game elements to them. That’s why you won’t see movies such as Wreck-It Ralph and Free Guy on here. I’m also not going to include tv show or series on this list as I have a plan to make my own list for those whenever that Knuckles series comes out later this year. Right now, let’s talk about video games films that actually got it right!

15.) Mortal Kombat (2021)

The most recent Mortal Kombat that was released in 2021 was able to deliver the R-rated blood, gore, and carnage that fans have always been wanting to see. The action scenes are very well done and feels as if it’s ripped straight out of the games along with the very mature tone that stays true to the spirit of the franchise. If only the script was more polished and the character development felt more prominent, then this could have ranked higher on the list and even be on par with the original 1995 film. Even so, for those that want that Mortal Kombat flick that delivers the goods in terms of action, intensity, and plain mature content, this should do you nicely.

14.) The Angry Birds Movie 2

As someone who found the 2016’s Angry Birds to be aggressively mediocre and forgettable, I was thoroughly surprised how much better The Angry Birds Movie 2 was in about every way. It’s able to deliver more heart and humor than the original with beautiful animation, some decent character moments, and a voice cast that seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves the whole way through. Director Thurop Van Orman is able to bring the amount of energy and creativity he provided with his other work in animation to make an enjoyable Angry Birds movie this time around. It’s certainly by no means great but better than it has any right to be.

13.) Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within

This is one that gets a ton of flack from fans but it’s much better than it’s haters would want you to believe. While this is certainly a departure from the games themselves with a setting that takes place on Earth in the year 2065, it still succeeds on it’s own merits of telling a new and original story. Instead of trying to awkwardly cram an entire plot of a RPG game into a single film with all of the famous fantasy elements of the game shoehorned in, it puts more on an emphasis on blending the sci-fi and fantasy genre together with a more straightforward and different plot that can stand on it’s own merits. Yeah, the CGI animation hasn’t aged particularly well (especially with eerie eyes of the characters) and those that were expecting a complete “easter egg” fest will be disappointed, but Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within is still a fairly interesting adaption overall from the creator of Final Fantasy himself.

12.) Tomb Raider (2018)

While I always had soft spot for the two prior Tomb Raider movies with Angelina Jolie, the 2018 film with Alicia Vikander is still the best and most faithful film adaption of Lara Croft to date. Borrowing heavily from the recent rebooted video game series by Crystal Dynamics, we get to see the origin of Lara Croft’s early adventures where she’s much younger, less experienced, and more reckless. Alicia Vikander is great in the role and does a good job on portraying the version of Lara that is confident but still having to constantly question herself. It certainly does acquire a certain suspension of disbelief, kinda like with the games, and there are times where there’s a bit too much fan service for it’s own good, but for what’s it worth, it’s still an enjoyable time and I would certainly be open for a sequel with Vikander’s return.

11.) Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City

This is another one that gets a lot of hate from both critics and fans. While I can somewhat understand critics not digging it, I don’t understand the reasons for fans rejecting it. Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City is about the biggest love letter to the Resident Evil franchise that has been on film to date. Many of the references and call-backs to the games are very well utilized here with a cast that are very comfortable in their roles, kills that are gruesome and effective, and has the same kind of tone, style, and feel that the games provided. The plot is a bit overstuffed with an attempt to combine the plot of the first two games into one movie and there definitely are changes to the material that are presented here but that shouldn’t be enough to dismiss this one entirely, especially for longtime fans of the series. If you were someone that was deeply infuriated by the Resident Evil films from Paul W.S. Anderson, Johannes Roberts’s Welcome to Raccoon City might just give you the Resident Evil movie fix you’ve been waiting for.

10.) Professor Layton & The Eternal Diva

If you want a video game flick that can provided an intriguing mystery and a puzzle that you won’t be able to solve in a heartbeat, look no further than Professor Layton and the Enteral Diva. For a gaming franchise where puzzles are it’s main point, this adaption is one that has more than enough brain teasers to satisfy longtime fans and even get more newcomers interest in it. You also have some well-done animation, an art style that fits very well with the games it’s based on, a talented voice cast, and a story about memory and mortality that stands well on it’s own. To say any more will be spoiling but there’s plenty to like here from both fans of the series and those that enjoy a good mystery thriller.

9.) Detective Pikachu

A Pokémon movie had all the potential to work as a feature film, especially since there had already been several straight-to-dvd films that had come before this. However, there had never been a well-known live-action Pokémon movie until 2019’s Detective Pikachu. Thankfully, it is able to deliver a good time that fully embraces the world that Pokémon is established in while maintaining a good sense of humor throughout. Ryan Reynolds works very well as Pikachu and has good chemistry with Justice Smith’s Tim, forming the perfect kind of bond ship I imagine players always saw themselves with their own fellow Pokémon from their favorite installments in the series. It doesn’t break any new ground but Detective Pikachu has plenty of heart, laughs, and amusing set pieces that will likely leave any die hard Pokémon fan with a smile on their face after watching it.

8.) Rampage

It’s a monster movie with The Rock! What else could you possibly want?! In all seriousness, Rampage acts as an adaptation of a very popular arcade game that was also released on the original Nintendo back in the ’90s. The results is basically a feature film that plays like a straight up monster movie where monsters attack the city and the main character has to attempt to save the city. Does it follow every trope for these kind of movies to a t? Sure, but it’s still a lot of fun for those that have a fondness for these kind of movies and of course, have a fondness for the Rock. And it might just be even better than the majority of the current Monsterverse films.

7.) Sonic The Hedgehog

This was a film that everyone and their mother was determined to hate the moment the very first trailer dropped with the fugly Sonic design. But then, the film was delayed to change up the design and things looked more promising. Then we all saw it and it was pretty damn good. Sonic the Hedgehog is one of the very films to take the whole “cartoon characters in the real world” gimmick and actually make it work. Even if it didn’t film didn’t act as a proper adaption for Sonic, it works very well as a story about a young kid that’s trying to find his place in the world. Ben Schwartz is great as Sonic and plays off of James Marsden very well but it’s Jim Carrey that steals the show as Robotnik as everyone expected. It certainly does hit plenty of the notes that these “family movies but for kids” flicks do but for what it’s worth, Sonic the Hedgehog got something for everyone to enjoy.

6.) Gran Turismo

The newest video game movie directed by Neil Blomkamp is much better than it had any right to be. Gran Turismo follows the (shockingly) true story of an expert gamer turning into a full-time racer. Despite the actual story being something you can see coming a mile away with the inclusions of many of the typical cliches for sport movies, it’s able to overcome all of that thanks to superb directing, incredibly tense and well-done racing sequences, sound design that’s off the charts, and having a surprising amount of heart throughout. At it’s core, it’s basically a story of someone being able to make their dreams come true once they are able to get their one shot at it. And of course, David Harbour is always welcome in anything! Keep your expectations in check and you might be find yourself surprised at how much fun of a ride this is!

5.) Silent Hill

Back then, the best kind of video game movies weren’t so much the ones that felt the most faithful to the games but more of the ones that’s able to fully embrace the subgenre that the games were a part off and build a stand alone story out of that. 2006’s Silent Hill was able to deliver exactly that by going into full horror and thriller mode with the exact kind of mood and atmosphere that the games themselves embraced. The monsters themselves are great, the tension and suspense is felt completely throughout, and it’s somehow able to bring the sleepy town of “Silent Hill” to life. Despite initially getting panned by critics at the time of it’s release, fans of Silent Hill have come to love and appreciate this film adaption. Just skip the sequel entirely!

4.) Mortal Kombat

Despite this being the Mortal Kombat movie with the PG-13 rating with practically no gore to speak off, the 1995 version is still the best MK movie release to date. It’s able to capture all the fun, camp, action, and over-the-top-ness that the game series provided. It’s able to provide the entire cast of characters with their own arcs and personal moments to shine along with a plot that’s surprisingly very functional with no useless filler to speak of. Even if it does strip itself from the gore and certain elements from the games, it’s still able to work incredibly well as an adaption by fully capturing the spirit of the 90s and the central essence that the franchise has embraced since the beginning. While this has been surpassed in recent years as being the best video game movie ever made, it’s still stands comfortably as one of the very best.

3.) The Super Mario Bros. Movie

To be honest, if we are going by video games in terms of straight up faithfulness to the games themselves, this would likely be #1 easily. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is the one video game movie that feels like it was 100% ripped straight from the games in terms of it’s animation, style, world building, and amount of fan service throughout. It even works quite well as a simple story of a complete zero turning into a complete hero along with the importance of brotherhood. It’s just so much fun seeing characters such as Mario, Princess Peach, Donkey Kong, and Toad kicking butt together on the big screen for the first time ever. Not even the tropes from Illumination Animation that brought down their prior movies such as an obvious celebrity heavy voice cast and awkwardly inserted song tracks are able to bring this one down. If only Luigi didn’t get done dirty and Yoshi played any role whatsoever that this could have been ranked higher. And yes, Chris Pratt was just fine as Mario and Jack Black was as perfect as Bowser as you would expected. I’m gonna go listen to Peaches again.

2.) Werewolves Within

Here’s one that very few people know is actually a video game movie or even are aware of it’s existence. That needs to change ASAP because Werewolves Within is an absolute slam dunk of a motion picture and is one of the very best video games films ever made. Despite making significant changes to the source material, it’s able to remaining very true to the entire point of the game, which of course is guessing who is suppose to be the werewolf among a certain group. At the end of the day, all that matters is getting the core appeal of the series you are adapting along with crafting a film that can stand well on it’s own two feet. It’s very well made, the characters are very entertaining, everyone from the cast and crew is clearly having a blast, and the mystery of the werewolf will keep you guessing and on the edge of your seat until the very end. Just like with Professor Layton and the Enteral Diva, it works greatly as a mystery thriller for fans of the source material and for newcomers as well.

1.) Sonic The Hedgehog 2

Some out there might call it personal bias but to this day, I can’t think of a better overall video game movie than Sonic the Hedgehog 2. While there’s certainly an argument to be made about The Super Mario Bros. Movie being a more faithful adaption and Werewolves Within being an objectively better movie overall, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is able to find that perfect balance of being faithful to the source material while also staying strong as it’s own film. It’s able to expand on the themes of the first film very well with Sonic wanting to come into his own as a hero along with learning to accept Tom as a father figure. You also have more elements from the source material thrown in here that work wonderfully here. Tails is cuter than a bag of kittens and a complete fanboy for Sonic, Jim Carrey is back and better than ever as Robotnik, and Knuckles whose played perfectly by Idris Elba, has never been cooler and more badass than he has been here. Not to mention, the final 30 minutes is everything that any Sonic fan could possibly dream off seeing in a Sonic movie. Even if you don’t care for the wedding subplot (which I actually liked and found it pretty funny), there is plenty for anyone to enjoy here. If you are a fan of Sonic, someone who enjoyed the first movie, or just want to have a good and fun time overall, then Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the video game movie for you! Bring on the third movie and the Knuckles series!