Video Game Movie Adaptions: The Best

So lets talk about video games that have been made into movies & the seemingly impossible task to make a half decent adaption. There are so many bad adaptions that it is hard to not cringe slightly when hearing of a possible future Assassins Creed film or a Halo film.

What has come before has given the video game movie adaptations a terrible reputation but its not all been so bad…

So I’ve created 3 posts based around this subject, The best, The worst & the guilty pleasures. Come-on, be honest….you like some of these!

This based on the movies that I have seen, the ones I happen to actually like & the ones that made a bit more effort.

Mortal Kombat

I really like this movie, I think it looks great & the fights are a load of fun to watch. The cast are really strong as well with Christopher Lambert doing a great job as Raiden.

The plot follows the Mortal Kombat tournament story with Liu Kang wanting revenge for the murder of his brother by Shang Tsung, Sonya Blade chasing down Kano & Johnny Cage wanting to prove himself to the world. They enter the tournament & much fighting ensues before the big end battle between Liu Kang & Shang Tsung.

The fights are plentiful & most are a blast to watch, my personal favourites are:

• Johnny Cage vs. Scorpion
• Liu Kang vs. Reptile
• Liu Kang vs. Shang Tsung

It’s a guilty pleasure movie..

Dead Space: Downfall

An animated movie set just before the events of the 1st game. I love because it is extremely gory & graphic!

The plot follows what we already know happened on the Ishimura, the marker was brought on board & all hell broke loose. The film follows many characters throughout showing there attempts to survive & fight but mostly their deaths.

The film ends as the game begins….

If you like you’re Dead Space, check it out!

Resident Evil: Degeneration

A motion capture CG animation Resident Evil movie that actually turned out to be quite good!

For starters it is actually set in the Resident Evil game world & stars Leon & Claire. In a nutshell Claire is arriving at an airport when a man on a plane who was infected by the T-virus goes full-zombie causing an outbreak. The few survivors in the airport that include Claire & a shift looking senator await rescue while trying to not to become zombie lunch.

Leon is part of the group sent in to rescue the survivors & it is a great scene when he is re-united with Claire. Anyway long story short, the company that should be giving out vaccines is actually holding the G-virus & caused the outbreaks. The head honcho eventually revealed to have been an Umbrella researcher that was part of the Racoon City outbreak.

The film ends with Tricell entering into the Resident Evil story.

A top movie that actually builds on the story that already exists, this films slots perfectly in amongst the games. Check it out!

Silent Hill

Now I know a lot of people don’t like this movie but I thought is was really good. I guess I really liked the way it looked mostly.

The plot sees a couple concerned about their adopted daughter who sleep walks calling out the name Silent Hill. Against the father’s wishes the mother takes her to the town where she is pursed by a cop. She swerves to avoid a child in the road & crashes, when she wakes up her daughter is gone & a mysterious fog has come up & ash is falling from the sky.

All good, all very Silent Hill. What begins is a mothers search for her daughter aping the plot of the first game. The introduction of the cult halfway through slows the movie down but it’s handled well enough. The ending involves an orgy of violence & blood, always a winner in my eyes.

Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

The nearest anyone has got to doing a Final Fantasy film that feels like a Final Fantasy game. Set 2 years after the events of Final Fantasy 7, AVALANCE has disbanded & set about living their lives. Filled with remorse & shame , Cloud is living a reclusive life working as a delivery boy until he is called upon. 3 men who bear canny resemblances to Sephiroth are causing trouble….

If you are like me & you hold Final Fantasy 7 up high then this movie is for you, it feels like it belongs.

Resident Evil & Resident Evil: Extinction

The only 2 of the 5 Resident Evil movies I like (although I haven’t seen the 5th yet, the plot reads like something I will hate). The first Resident Evil sees the main star, Alice waking in a mansion having no memory of who she is or how she got there. She runs into a group of special forces who are from Umbrella & are looking to gain access into the lab facility under the mansion. The lab is locked down as someone caused an outbreak.

Eventually Alice remembers that she worked for Umbrella & she can kick ass. Zombies, zombie dogs, lickers & humans being mean to each other make this a good movie. I loved the laser corridor sequence & liked the hint at the end in relation to the Nemesis.

A good attempt at a Resident Evil movie.

As for Resident Evil: Extinction….

Set many years after the mansion incident & the Raccoon City outbreak. The Earth is a barren wasteland where humans struggle to survive against the constant onslaught of the undead. Meanwhile Umbrella is hard at work trying to clone Alice as they believe she holds the key to a vaccine.

Flawed in many places, the reason why I like the movie though is because of the zombies. They look really good & they appear scary again. The crow’s scene is great & it doesn’t scrimp on the gore. I also have a soft spot for Oded Fehr.

….and err, that’s it I’m afraid. I wish there were more but this is all I can think of.

Next up? The worst.