This article contains spoilers for Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Read at your own risk.
Movies that are adaptions of video games have gotten a very bad reputation over the years. While it’s certainly gotten a lot better as studios have slowly, but surely, become more open to being stronger in their faithfulness to the game they’re adapting. Which is a big part of the bad reception they’ve collectively gotten over the years.Fans hate to go into a production that is nothing like what it’s trying to recreate.Or is just overall bad, likeBorderlands.
There will most likely never be a video game film adaption that’s a perfect, one-to-one to the story it’s trying to tell. But, what would be the fun in that, anyway? So,being faithful doesn’t have to just mean being close to the story,but it can also mean keeping the tone and vibe of the source material, too. While there aren’t many, there are a good handful of video game movies that pay great respect to the projects they’re trying to bring to film.
10’Assassin’s Creed' (2016)
Directed by Justin Kurzel
Unfortunately for theAssassin’s Creedfilm, it’s relatively close to the source material, butsimply a poorly made movie.Even though the film is overall considered pretty bad,it is pretty accurate to the source material and the world that the team over at Ubisoft has built over the years.Which makes the failure of this film even harder to swallow.
Thankfully, though, it proved that it is possible to make anAssassin’s Creedlive-action adaption that can stick close to the games, which, hopefully, spells good things for the television adaption coming to Netflix. So, while it may not be a particularly good movie, fans rest easily with the fact that directorJustin Kurzelactually attempted to make it a faithful iteration.
Assassin’s Creed
Callum Lynch explores the memories of his ancestor Aguilar de Nerha and gains the skills of a Master Assassin, before taking on the secret Templar society.
9’Silent Hill' (2006)
Directed by Christophe Gans
Like a chunk of other video game movies,Silent Hillfinds itself not being received well by critics but better by general audiences. What would have made it a challenge to bring this franchise to life is the fact that the games have a very distinct feeling and vibe that essentially define them from the other horror games out there.
The 2006 movie brings this tone to life in an excellent manner both in the ambiance of its sound design and score, but (especially) visually.Silent Hill’s story isn’t perfect, but, at the end of the day, didn’t need to be. Horror movies typically don’t have masterful plots, regardless, but it can be assured thatfans most likely appreciate a mid-tier film that captures the feeling rather than a better one that doesn’t understand the mood of the source material.
Silent Hill
8’Uncharted' (2022)
Directed by Rubed Fleischer
Yes, there was a bit of controversy with the casting ofTom Hollandas Nathan Drake, due to the fact thathe doesn’t necessarily fit the game’s versionof the character. However, this did not keep the film from being pretty faithful in a lot of other ways.Unchartedcaptures the feeling, story and visuals of the games quite well, actually.
It’s most faithful in the action sequences. It carries the same tone and fast-paced nature that the games do, but alsotakes entire set-pieces from the source material and adapts them to the movie.This not only allows the film to have incredibly unique action in the general audience’s eyes, but it pleased fans everywhere, as well. Seeing the action scenes they loved from the games in live-action was a massive treat, Tom Holland or not.
7’Sonic the Hedgehog 2' (2022)
Directed by Jeff Fowler
Interestingly enough, the firstSonic the Hedgehogfilm was received very well, but was barely faithful to the world and stories of the games. So, fans knew that if directorJeff Fowlercould impress them with a movie that isn’t very accurate, he would blow them away if he brought more of the lore from the games into his universe. When he did inSonic the Hedgehog 2, that exact thing happened.
Many claim the lack of faithfulness in the first film to be studio mandates, because the inclusion of a lot more game material in the second film, in which Fowler most likely got more creative freedom, made it pretty obvious. Not only did it bring in two absolutely essential characters from the Sonic mythos, but itincorporated the Master Emerald, Chaos Emeralds and entire game set-pieces in it,as well. It also heavily toned down the inclusion of the human characters, which was one big downside of the first film.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
The iconic blue hedgehog is back in Sonic the Hedgehog 2, eager to prove himself as a hero. And when Dr. Robotnik escapes his prison, it seems he’ll have his chance. This film introduces viewers to beloved characters Tails and Knuckles, in another mad dash for adventure.
6’Tomb Raider' (2018)
Directed by Roar Uthaug
Much likeUncharted, while it isn’t a perfect adaption (and certainly isn’t a perfect movie), it adapts certain moments from the games excellently. It also has to be stated thatAlicia Vikanderdoes a phenomenal job bringing the character of Laura Croft to life.It was definitely torn apart by both critics and audiences, but it can’t be denied that it’s not a complete stranger to fans.
Bringing in full sequences from the games to the big screen is a great sight to behold. This allows it to be an incredibly thrilling ride that, while not great in the story department, it’s a very entertaining movie. The vibe of the games is captured in a serviceable manner, too, making this a glimmer of hope forTomb Raiderfans that they could one day get a faithful adaption that’s good in every way.
Tomb Raider
5’Warcraft' (2016)
Directed by Duncan Jones
TheWorld of Warcraftfranchise is one of the largest video game series ever. So, one would assume that there was a plethora of pressure and stakes that came with bringing it to the big screen. When 2016 came around andWarcraftreleased, critics ripped it apart, butfans found a lot of solace and genuine enjoyment in the way the world was brought to life.
DirectorDuncan Jonespaid a ton of respect to the game when adapting it to live-action. Whenever a video game adaption gets announced, even with the more enjoyable ones in the modern day, fans get very nervous. Thankfully, Jones seemed to know what fans wanted, which may not have pleased critics,but the people who really mattered seemed to enjoy it.
4’Mortal Kombat' (2021)
Directed by Simon McQuoid
Everyone knows the 1995Mortal Kombatfilm, as it’s become a bit of a “so bad it’s good” movie that has gained quite a cult following. However, in 2021, the studios decided it was time to bring the game back to the big screen.With the aid of modern day visual effects and camera technology,Mortal Kombatfound itself being a great adaption of the original game stories.
It captured a wide array of great things from the games, like the fighting styles (full finishers included), world and character designs, powers and overall tone. Fans were incredibly pleased with this new adaption of the franchise because, while not perfect, it paid a lot of respect to the source material and that had to be respected.
Mortal Kombat
3’Sonic the Hedgehog 3' (2024)
Being only released under a week ago,Sonic the Hedgehog 3already has the entire world in a chokehold. It gave fans pretty much everything they asked for with the third film,serving as a wonderfuladaption of theSonic Adventure 2storylineand bringing a plethora of new lore into the film universe.
Not to mention, it also included a ton of references to the original game, likethe fan favorite song, “Live and Learn” by Crush 40 playing over the final battle.The post-credits scene also made the leap of introducing the likes of Metal Sonic and Amy Rose the Hedgehog as a teaser for the recently announcedSonic the Hedgehog 4. Audiences are so in love with the film that there are videos leaking from theaters across the world of viewers having genuinelyAvengers: Endgame-level reactions to the film.
2’Pokémon Detective Pikachu' (2019)
Directed by Rob Letterman
Being a franchise that is sodeeply catered to video games and animation, many were very unsure about bringing the world ofPokémonto live-action. Whether it be thefear that the character designs wouldn’t be translated well, that the story would not live up to the video game projects or simply that the writing would be sub-par, fans were not sure what to think.
From the very first trailer, though,Pokémon Detective Pikachuwas clearly, at the very least, going to be visually faithful to the franchise. This alone made fans of the series very happy and excited to see whatRob Lettermanand the rest of the crew would do with the property. When the film released in 2019,people were very happy to see that the faithfulness didn’t end with the visuals,but kept the story (especially that of Mewtwo (Rina Hoshino&Kotaro Watanabe)) very near and dear to what the games had done.
Detective Pikachu
Ace detective Harry Goodman goes mysteriously missing, prompting his 21-year-old son, Tim, to find out what happened. Aiding in the investigation is Harry’s former Pokémon partner, wise-cracking, adorable super-sleuth Detective Pikachu. Finding that they are uniquely equipped to work together, as Tim is the only human who can talk with Pikachu, they join forces to unravel the tangled mystery.
1’The Super Mario Bros. Movie' (2023)
Directed by Aaron Horvath
There may not ever be a video game movie adaption that will be 100% faithful, butif there were a project to be a borderline perfect adaption, it would beThe Super Mario Bros. Movie. The respect it pays to the source material and the sheer incredibly accurate depiction of the entire Mushroom Kingdom made this one of thebest animated films of 2023.
While many were super unconfident about the casting ofChris Prattas Mario, it ended up turning out great. Pratt delivered a good performance alongside the rest of the phenomenal cast. This gave a lot of hope for viewers everywhere that video game movies can be close to one-to-one in faithfulness and be good.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
A plumber named Mario travels through an underground labyrinth with his brother Luigi, trying to save a captured princess.
