From 'Sonic the Hedgehog' to 'Detective Pikachu': 10 Best Movies Based on Videogames, According to IMDb – Collider

Movie adaptations of video games get a bad rap, but the users of IMDb think these ones did just fine.
Videogame movies are a decidedly mixed bag. For every success like Detective Pikachu, there are plenty of duds like Need for Speed that make Warcraft look like Citizen Kane. This is par for the course for a subgenre largely made up of low-budget direct-to-video adaptations. However, in recent years game adaptations seem to be improving.
RELATED: 10 Best John Carpenter Movies, According to IMDb
Warcraft was immersive and faithful to the source material if not especially inspired. Uncharted features committed performances from first-rate actors (though they are often let down by middling scripts). The new Sonic the Hedgehog movies are fun entertainment for young viewers. Not to mention, more promising video game adaptations are currently in development, including Gran Turismo and a Mario movie starring Chris Pratt as the mushroom-eating plumber.
Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg star in this action-adventure based on the game series by Naughty Dog. Holland plays game hero Nathan Drake who is enlisted by Victor "Sully" Sullivan (Wahlberg) to track down the treasure from the Magellan expedition before nefarious billionaire Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas) can lay his hands on it.
RELATED: 10 Best Horror Movies of the '90s, According to IMDb
Uncharted doesn't quite capture the action or pure entertainment of the games. Nevertheless, it was a box office success, grossing over $400 million to become one of the year's highest-grossing movies and the fifth-highest-grossing videogame adaptation ever.
Final Fantasy is one of the most successful game franchises ever, with 16 entries in the main series alongside several spin-offs, including the Disney crossover Kingdom Hearts. The franchise also produced an influential videogame movie in the form of The Spirits Within, an animated epic directed by the game's creator Hironobu Sakaguchi.
RELATED: 10 Best Horror Movies of the 2010s, According to IMDb
The Spirits Within was a major step forward for videogame adaptations, boasting impressive animation and a cast of big stars like Alec Baldwin, Donald Sutherland, and Steve Buscemi: the character of Aki Ross (voiced by Ming-Na Wen) was especially praised for her character and realistic model. However, despite its positive reviews, the film was a major box office bomb, grossing only $85 million against a $137 million budget.
In the world of Pokémon, aspiring trainer Tim Goodman (Justice Smith) comes across an unusually intelligent Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds) who dreams of being a detective. Together, they set out to find Tim's father, who is said to have died in a car crash but who Tim believes is still alive. In the process, they unearth a deeper conspiracy involving a gas that makes Pokémon turn rabid.
Detective Pikachu is one of the most charming video game adaptations in years, and it succeeds in capturing the appeal of the game it was based on. The best part is the hilarious performance from Reynolds. He brings an infectious, madcap energy to the role.
Sonic the Hedgehog was the first live-action entry in the classic Sega franchise after two animated series and several direct-to-video movies. Ben Schwartz plays the titular lightning-fast mammal, alongside Jim Carrey as his nemesis Dr. Robotnik.
The initial trailer drew a tidal wave of negative comments, with many fans shocked at the protagonist's appearance, which they dubbed 'Ugly Sonic'. This prompted Paramount Pictures and Sega to rework Sonic's design for the final release, which was much more warmly received. Fortunately, the final product feels true to the original Sonic. If you enjoyed the many animated adaptations, odds are you'll also like this film.
Sega quickly delivered a sequel following the success of Sonic the Hedgehog. Schwartz and Carrey reprise their roles, joined by Colleen O'Shaughnessey as Talis and Idris Elba as Knuckles the Echidna. The heroes seek to thwart Dr. Robotnik before he can pull off his latest evil scheme.
Carrey is even wilder this time around, in the best way. His performance is a clear highlight. The film doesn't offer anything particularly new regarding its storylines or characterization. However, it's still a fun, fast-paced, and family-friendly movie that will appeal to the game's legions of fans. Stans craving more will be happy to know that a Knuckles miniseries is currently in development.
1999's Silent Hill game was an important milestone in the survival horror genre. It ditched gore and mayhem for a more psychological approach focused on atmosphere and a slow-burning story. Director Christophe Gans captures the game's tone with his film adaptation, written by Pulp Fiction co-writer Roger Avary.
The film follows Rose (Radha Mitchell) as she attempts to find her adopted daughter Sharon (Jodelle Ferland), who has gone missing in the town of Silent Hill. She discovers a mysterious cult and explores the horrors hiding in the mines beneath the town, where a decades-old fire still rages. It's a solid horror flick, with some memorably creepy images in the form of Pyramid Head and the freezer full of undead nurses. It works not just as a game adaptation but as a film in its own right.
The most recent Resident Evil movies have been disappointing, so it's easy to forget how entertaining the first one was. It introduced Milla Jovovich as Alice, an amnesiac trying to recover her memories while battling a virus that turns people into zombies. There is gore and action aplenty, including several acrobatic shootouts.
Sure, it's a little goofy, and yes, the characters are not much more fleshed out than they are in the game, but Resident Evil nails the vibe of the games and crams a lot of horror set pieces into its 100-minute runtime. James Cameronpraised the film, describing it as his biggest guilty pleasure.
The Prince of Persia franchise began in 1989 with a super basic, rotoscoped computer game and expanded to become a major action-adventure console series. The high point for the franchise was the trilogy of games released between 2003 and 2005, which influenced Assassin's Creed heavily. The first entry in the trilogy served as the basis for the film adaptation starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, and Ben Kingsley.
It's far from any of the stars' best work, but as far as swashbuckling fantasy goes, you could do much worse. Plus, it boasts plenty of awesome visuals from the mind of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire director Mike Newell.
Blizzard's flagship game series finally got a film adaptation in the form of this action fantasy directed by Duncan Jones and starring Vikings' Travis Fimmel. It follows a war between humans and orcs, and the leaders on either side who try to set aside their people's differences to focus on the true threat: the warlock Gul'dan (Daniel Wu), who is plotting an invasion.
The crew does an excellent job of translating the rich fantasy world of the game to the screen. They're aided by an excellent score by Ramin DJawadi, who made the music for Game of Thrones. Warcraft received mixed reviews but became the highest-grossing videogame movie of all time. Hopefully, Legendary Pictures follows it up with more movies because the Warcraft universe has plenty of rich lore ready to be adapted. It would be great if other Blizzard titles got the film treatment, like Starcraft, Overwatch, or Diablo.
Ex-mercenary Cloud Strife (Takahiro Sakurai/Steve Burton) is enlisted to rescue three children who are kidnaped by a trio of villains named Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo. The children suffer from a disease called Geostigma, and Kadaj plans to use them to resurrect the villain Sephiroth (Toshiyuki Morikawa/George Newbern).
This animated movie is hard to follow for viewers who haven't played the games, but the initiated should have a blast. It dishes up several terrific action sequences alongside significant character development for Strife, who is also a protagonist in the games. The next Final Fantasy games would attempt to match the CGI and animation of Advent Children. The storyline from the movie is set to be explored again in the upcoming mobile game Final Fantasy: Ever Crisis.
KEEP READING: 10 More Underrated Movies Recommended by Edgar Wright
Luc Haasbroek is a writer and videographer from Durban, South Africa. A lifelong movie nerd, he’s written for sites like Paste and Briefly. Luc has also worked behind the camera on short films and other projects. When not writing or watching LOTR marathons, Luc hangs out with his cats and generally forgets where he’s left his keys.
Sign up for Collider's newsletter for exclusive news, features, streaming recommendations and more

source