7 worst video game movies of all time
Uwe Boll/Universal/Walt Disney Studios/20th Century Fox/CapcomIt’s no secret that video games and cinema have a turbulent history. With Uncharted the movie just finishing production, and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 currently in development, we’ve delved into the archives to find the worst game to movie adaptations of all time.
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The world of cinema is far from short of video game movies, but none of them have been particularly great. Still, they keep on coming, with hopes that someday one might actually do the game justice.
Below, we’ve gone through some of the worst to have hit the big screen, looking at what they did wrong and the reaction they got from audiences.
Hitman (2007)
Starting us off is Hitman, which not only had a weak storyline but was also full of cliches. In that sense, there’s no surprise that it failed to live up to the popular video game.
The movie revolved around a genetically-engineered ‘Hitman’ known as Agent 47, who is trained as an assassin from birth, but the organization he works for soon turns on him.
The movie was labeled a ‘missed opportunity’ by critics.
Doom (2005)
Next up is Doom. With Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson on board, along with Karl Urban and Rosamund Pike, it’s hard to believe the movie was as bad as it was.
Loosely based on the game, and mostly adapted from Doom 3, the movie followed a group of marines as they went on a mission to Mars, facing genetically engineered creatures.
The script majorly let the movie down, which Dwayne Johnson later realized, telling MTV News: “We are an example of trying and failing.”
Alone in the Dark (2005)
It seems 2005 was the year for failed video game movies, as joining Doom was Alone in the Dark, a thriller following a supernatural detective as he investigated paranormal activity with his sixth sense.
The game has been seen as an influence for the likes of Resident Evil, yet the movie failed to deliver anything up to the same standard.
It was named one of the worst movies of all time by Rotten Tomatoes, achieving a 1% score.
Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li (2009)
The Legend of Chun-Li acted as a spin-off prequel movie to the original Street Fighter.
Based on the origin story of the protagonist, who was played by Kristin Kreuk, this movie lost sight of the original game’s purpose, providing dull action scenes and a mediocre screenplay.
The movie was widely panned, with it just about reaching a 5% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Walt Disney Studios/Hollywood PicturesSuper Mario Bros. (1993)
Though much more loosely based on the video game compared to others, this movie undeniably let the popular franchise down, only making around $35 million worldwide.
It followed the two brothers, Mario and Luigi, on their quest to save Princess Daisy, who had been taken to a parallel universe.
The lack of connection to the game and questionable narrative meant a widely negative response from both audiences and critics.
Bloodrayne (2006)
Directed by Uwe Boll, who is infamous for his video game to movie adaptations, Bloodrayne was based around a half-human, half-vampire ‘dhampir’.
Once again, it was the weak plot and fighting scenes that left viewers wanting more.
The movie only got a 4% Rotten Tomatoes score, confirming disappointment among audiences.
In the Name of the King (2007)
Boll hasn’t had great success with his work, with In the Name of the King being another of his projects to add to the list.
The movie, based on the Dungeon Siege series, grossed $10.3 million worldwide, being branded as ‘an awkward Lord of the Rings knockoff’ by The New York Times.
We weren’t short of choice, but it’s these movies that really lowered the bar for video game to movie adaptations.
There is a possibility that series are the way forward, especially as Netflix has a live-action Assassins Creed in development and a Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness anime series set to come out in 2021, but if previous attempts are anything to go by, there isn’t much hope for those, either.