T5W#233-Top 5 Best Video Game Film Adaptations

Video Games and Movies aren’t exactly the best matched pair.  Hell this weeks Top 5 list was probably one of the hardest to assemble because…well a lot of them suck (and even then there’s too many to choose that I almost want to do a Top 10 next week).  I bring this up because next week, after a several month delay to correct a hideous wrong, Sonic the Hedgehog finally arrives in theaters.  Yes, yes, the first trailer prompted the aforementioned “delay”.  But while the new Sonic design is much, MUCH better, it doesn’t mean the movie is going to go the distance and become one of the rare few that breaks the “Movies based on Video Games” suck mentality.  To be fair…I assumed the same about Alita: Battle Angel and I ate my foot on that one so there’s a chance of greatness.  With all that said, we’ve got kind of a two part Top 5 Wednesday, beginning here with the Top 5 Best Video Game Film Adaptations.  I was going to keep this to live action…buuuuut there honestly aren’t enough of those to fil a Top 5 so there might be an Anime or two slipped in to balance the scales.  Could Sonic end up on this list in a later retrospect?  Probably, probably not, let’s get to the list anyway.

#5-Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie

Street Fighter is one of the most popular fighting game franchises in history.  So to capitalize on that popularity, a few film projects were put into the works.  One of the more infamous is the 1994 film starring Jean Claude Van Damme and Raul Julia (in his amazing final role).  While many claim it’s so bad it’s good (especially thanks to Julia’s performance as Bison), the Street Fighter II movie is a bit more true to it’s gaming routes.  The film follows Chun Li, Guile and Ryu, who are all on separate yet interconnected quests to take down M. Bison.  The film looks great and best of all, the action looks ripped right from the game.  You can tell the animators spent a great deal of time studying

#4-Resident Evil

This film series is kind of a guilty pleasure for me.  And while they get more and more ridiculous with each new entry, the first Resident Evil movie is probably the closest to the game there is.  And honestly, I can see why this one is considered the best of the series.  Focusing on fresh characters, led by the eternally bad ass Milla Jovovich and Michelle Rodriguez, the movie still retains the sense of dread and survival horror the video game franchise is known for, right down to the immense lack of ammo and overwhelming hallways of Zombies.  The problem most find is that the introduction of Alice in the movie and making her the face of the Resident Evil film franchise negated the original characters from the games themselves…maybe that could have been avoided had this been the only one.

#3-Mortal Kombat

Ok, ok, ok, this one is debatable but I freaking love it.  Yes it is the least bloody product to come out of the Mortal Kombat franchise…besides the sequel and DC vs. Mortal Kombat (and that’s the last we’re talking about that).  It is tame but it is still an awesome movie to watch.  The production design is great, the characters are all here and the fight scenes are very well choreographed and a lot of fun (Johnny Cage vs. Scorpion and Liu Kang vs. Reptile both stand out).  But let us not forget the true contribution this movie made to history…THAT KICK ASS TECHNO THEME SONG!!!!  Play it today and try not to get pumped…I dare you.

#2-Halo 4: Forward Until Dawn

Following the success of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, there was buzz about a potential Halo movie with big name directors like Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings) and Neil Blomkamp (District 9) attached.  Those sadly never materialized and, honestly, after watching Halo 4: Forward Until Dawn, that’s a shame.  Forward Until Dawn is a prequel to Halo 4, focusing on a young Thomas Lasky, who plays a vital role in the new trilogy of games, and his first encounter with the Master Chief.  Yes if feels like a SyFy movie of the week but this movie has better production value than needed for a tie in movie.  The visual effects, especially on the Hunters, are awesome and those are legit Warthogs being driven and Assault Rifles being fired.  And yes, it is a whole other level of thrill to see Master Chief in the flesh, armor and all.  This movie alone is proof why Halo is worthy of a bigger budget theatrical feature.

#1-Pokemon: Detective Pikachu

So…this movie isn’t perfect.  There’s definite holes in the plot and some leaps of logic.  So why is Detective Pikachu #1 on this list?  Because wherever it might fail, it succeeds at one particular thing: it gave us a living, breathing world with thriving Pokemon that look so goddamn real.  Never in a million years did I ever think I would see Pokemon thriving and interacting with humans in a ginormous city.  It’s enough to make any fan of Pokemon, no matter how much or how little you played the games, cry.  And yeah, Ryan “Deadpool” Reynolds as the most adorable little Pikachu ever is added win, in and of itself.  Like I said, it’s not prefect but this was a huge step in the right direction for a genre that hasn’t had much success in film history.  Let’s hope, beyond hope, that Sonic can follow in Detective Pikachu’s footsteps and learn from its mistakes and maybe succeed as a whole.