The Best (and Worst) Video Game Movie Adaptations Ever

The High Scores

All things considered, 2021’s Mortal Kombat reboot was a decent one-two punch. Staying true to the gore-filled gameplay, the film justifies its R-rating, with plenty of bloody fatalities and intricate fight choreography. The casting of badass Joe Taslim (who plays ice-cold villain Sub-Zero) was definitely a ‘flawless victory’ for the production team.

The contemporary rendition may be fresh in our memories, but the original Mortal Kombat film (released in 1995) remains, arguably, the most archetypal video game adaptation we’ve seen – in that, it’s so bad, it’s actually good. The PG-rated ‘blockbuster’ replaced the game’s notorious blood and gore with figurative cheese and corn, making use of tacky visuals and laughably bad one-liners (yes, we’re gonna do Bridgette Wilson like that). But fans actually liked it – a lot. 

The sequel Mortal Kombat: Annihilation tipped the balance in the wrong direction (with a 2 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes), but the OG remains one of the better-executed video game adaptations to date. Not to mention, it had a killer soundtrack – MORTAL KOMBAT!

As we know, the gaming community is zealously passionate. Finding this out first-hand was Jeff Fowler, the director of 2020’s sleeper-success Sonic The Hedgehog. Initially, Sonic’s ‘modernised’ character design for the film was met with gamer-rage, but kudos to the production team for righting those wrongs. Gamers love nostalgia, so the decision to re-do the entire film with a more recognisable animation of the speedy blue eulipotyphla proved to be a masterstroke, as was the casting of Jim Carrey as villain Dr. Robotnik.

Cute creatures are always a winning formula, as evidenced by Pokémon Detective Pikachu (2019). Taking the legendary ‘pocket monster’ franchise in a somewhat unexpected direction, the film adopts an energetic whodunit plot, supported brilliantly with well-crafted CGI and plenty of gags from Pikachu himself (voiced by Ryan Reynolds). Finessed with ample fan service for the die-hards, but still entertaining enough for the uninitiated, this film is one rare Pokémon.

Ready to Ragequit?

Alongside Mortal Kombat, Capcom’s legendary Street Fighter franchise has defined the smash-n-bash genre. The films, however, were thankfully only limited to two efforts: Street Fighter (1994) and Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li (2009). Even a peak-of-his-powers Jean-Claude Van Damme (and to a lesser extent, Kylie Minogue) couldn’t save the first SF adaptation. Casting a thick-accented Belgian as Guile, an All-American Air Force colonel, was just one of the many missteps.

Many of the stinkers have delivered double-doses, with initial Hitman, Silent Hill and Tomb Raider (the Angelina Jolie version) adaptations all receiving mediocre sequels. In the latter, Jolie was perfectly cast as adventurous archaeologist Lara Croft. Sure, the films lacked shape or form, but we’re watching them for the escapism...

Game Over.