Video game movie adaptations have not always been the best, especially not when compared to novels and comic books film adaptations. It shouldn’t be any harder, but somehow many video game adaptations have resulted in films that bear almost no resemblance to the game in mind. Still, there are some that have managed to satisfy gamers by bringing their favorite games to life. The genre seems to be getting better with time, and here are some of the best adaptations so far:
Assassin’s Creed (2016)
The Assassin’s Creed film released in 2016 managed to do justice to the game series, maybe especially because Ubisoft, the game studio, took charge of the creative aspects. It also made a great choice in casting Michael Fassbender for the main role. Fassbender was a major part of the film’s success, bringing out its potential and portraying the game’s sci-fi elements. In addition, the stunts and action were well done.
The Resident Evil Series (2002-2016)
The Resident Evil Series which spanned fourteen years do stray away from the original storytelling found in the games, but it was still so captivating and a notable video game adaptation. Mila Jovovich who played the lead role may as well be the one reason why the game’s fans don’t mind the blatant divergence from the original game plot. Her long tenure as the main heroine and her portrayal of Alice together with the excellent world-building in the film makes it one of the best.
Warcraft (2016)
The video game World of Warcraft has a huge fan base, spanning across generations as it has been around for decades. It’s undoubtedly one of the most favorited video games of all time, and the movie version did not disappoint. Then again maybe that was because it was left in the hands of a huge fan, Duncan Jones. The CGI was excellent, and for the fantasy loving fans, the human against orcs plot was a bonus.
Detective Pikachu (2019)
When it was confirmed that a Pikachu movie was on the way, many did not take it seriously. Pokémon has been a huge part of pop culture for so long, and a Detective Pikachu game didn’t sound to many like the angel from which the franchise should get into movie adaptation. The movie was released and frankly, it’s one of the best video game film adaptations ever. Detective Pikachu impressed and set new standards for video game films to come.
Mortal Kombat (1995)
Even after more than two decades, the Mortal Kombat movie remains to be the most brilliant video game adaptation so far. This is in the sense that it did a great job of capturing just exactly what the game franchise is about. While it may be lacking in the quality that more modern video game film adaptations have, it makes up for it with great cinematography, crazy fight scenes and as far as gamers are concerned, is a true representation of the game.
Like comic book and novel film adaptations, video game movie adaptations already have a ready multitude of critics in the form of eager fans awaiting to see whether they portray the original source well or not. Mostly, this is what determines whether it will be considered a success or not.
