10 Most Underrated Video Game Movie Adaptations, Ranked

Video game adaptations have long been a dirty concept for fans, with Hollywood productions of such source material routinely missing the point of the games while cheapening the title. For fans of the games, it is an immensely disappointing yet repetitive cycle, while interested newcomers to such stories have grown accustomed to leaving video game films underwhelmed. However, the tide is turning on such adaptations, with series like The Last of Us and Fallout proving that game stories can translate well to film and television.

While this onset of quality feels revolutionary, the fact is, there have been a handful of underrated gems which have delivered enjoyable viewing experiences only to be dismissed by the masses. From horror to fantasy adventure, from console classics to fan-favorite phone games, these 10 films offer emphatic proof that the history of video game cinema hasn’t always been completely disastrous, despite what many may think.

10 ‘Hitman’ (2007)

Directed by Xavier Gens

One of the most prolific video game franchises, one that dates back to 2000 with its debut entry Hitman: Codename 47, the Hitman games have long been a staple of stealth gameplay that thrives in its open world setting. Given the meticulous, calculated appeal of the gameplay, it was little wonder Hollywood seized an opportunity to turn it into a slick action movie. While the later 2015 adaptation missed the mark entirely, the original 2007 film was more fun than it was ever given credit for.

Timothy Olyphant plays Agent 47, a professional and emotionless assassin who is left stranded in the middle of a political conspiracy after a botched job in Eastern Europe. After fighting off Interpol agents and the Russian military, he treks across Europe to discover the truth about his assignment. It’s a standard shoot-em-up action movie done well. While critics were harsh on it, it offers enough to present a fun viewing experience for action buffs who like their fight sequences mean and slick and their antiheroes as cold as ice.

Watch on Starz

9 ‘Lara Croft: Tomb Raider’ (2001)

Directed by Simon West

Given the star power of Angelina Jolie in the prime of her career, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – and its, admittedly, disastrous sequel – represent something of a poster child of video game adaptations in the early 2000s. Sadly, this means the films have often blindly copped the brunt of the ire from the gaming community for how frequently Hollywood adaptations end up as insulting misrepresentations of the source material. The shame in that is Lara Croft: Tomb Raider was far from abysmal.

The eponymous archaeologist seeks an ancient artifact that has the ability to control time. She races against a secret society who want the device for their own schemes, while having to make uneasy alliances to further her hunt. It’s cheesy at stages, and rife with overly ambitious action sequences that work through enthusiasm more so than craft, but Jolie excels as the action heroine and the spectacle is genuinely enjoyable even if flawed.

Watch on AMC+

8 ‘Super Mario Bros.’ (1993)

Directed by Annabel Jankel & Rocky Morton

Too often reduced to just being a bad joke, 1993’s Super Mario Bros. is a genuine cult classic of video game adaptations that, for all its cheesy pitfalls, is one of the few adaptations that has earnestly captured the fun and whimsical joy of gaming. It follows Mario (Bob Hoskins) and Luigi (John Leguizamo), two Italian-American plumbers from Brooklyn who set off on an interdimensional adventure when Mario’s girlfriend is abducted by residents of Dinohatten. In their perilous journey, they cross paths with King Koopa (Dennis Hopper) and join forces with Princess Daisy (Samantha Mathis) to stand against the tyrannical leader.

It is ridiculous in the greatest sense of the word, a divine absurdist comedy that sprawls into the realm of fantasy entertainment while delivering laughs en masse. Despite being a complete commercial failure and a critical disaster, Super Mario Bros. has endured as a cult classic defined by its novelty appeal.

7 ‘Silent Hill’ (2006)

Directed by Christophe Gans

An anthology horror game series from Japan that originated in the very late 90s and early 2000s, Silent Hill made a name for itself through its mixture of supernatural and psychological horror, exceptional character development, and a rich atmospheric gaming experience. Admittedly, the 2006 film didn’t even scratch the surface of the games’ poignant narrative depth or subtle yet haunting terror, but it does still present an eerie and intriguing viewing experience.

Rose (Radha Mitchell) is a desperate mother who takes her dying daughter to a faith healer as a last resort, only to find herself stranded in the surreal town of Silent Hill following a car accident. With her daughter missing, Rose ventures through the horrors of Silent Hill to find her child and encounters a group of survivors fighting against the dreadful darkness. The film is genuinely creepy, flaunting ambitious production design and eerie visuals to make an impression on viewers. It perhaps doesn’t deliver the same thrills as the games, but it does mimic their aura to be a bold adaptation as well as an engrossing horror movie.

Watch on Hulu

6 ‘Tomb Raider’ (2018)

Directed by Roar Uthaug

Whereas the aforementioned Lara Croft: Tomb Raider is harshly judged given what it represents, 2018’s Tomb Raider is genuinely an underrated action-adventure film. Hastily dismissed as yet another miserable video game adaptation, it functions nicely with a more grounded approach to its source material that is complemented by Alicia Vikander’s assertive lead performance.

The film sees Lara Croft embark on a voyage in an attempt to find answers pertaining to her missing father, which sees her trek to his last known location, an ominous tomb on a mythic island near Japan. While some of the plot points are more formulaic than one would like, Tomb Raider still delivers in its action sequences, as does Vikander who embodies the video game heroine with exceptional grit and determination. Despite mixed reviews, it proved to be a box office success, though plans for a sequel have been dismissed in the ensuing years.

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5 ‘Resident Evil’ (2002)

Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson

Based on the hit video game series that has been at the forefront of action-horror gaming throughout the 21st century, 2002’s Resident Evil strays quite wildly from its source material though it still strikes a similar balance between shoot-em-up thrills and eerie suspense. Designed as a prequel to the games, it sees Umbrella’s Corporations’ underground genetic research facility known as The Hive contaminated by the T-virus. In response to the outbreak which has reanimated the dead as zombies, Alice (Milla Jovovich) and a strike team venture into the facility to clear out the infected.

While critics were quick to dismiss the film as another overly loud and lazy video game adaptation, the general public were more forgiving of its shortcomings and embraced its pulsating mixture of aggressive action and zombie horror. Resident Evil became a box office success and launched an extensive film series, one that has helped make the overall Resident Evil brand the most financially successful horror multimedia titles ever.

Rent on Apple

4 ‘The Angry Birds Movie 2’ (2019)

Directed by Thorup Van Orman

Sometimes it seems the only thing people are hastier to disregard than video game adaptations are sequels to movies that were initially disappointing, a fact that has seen The Angry Birds Movie 2 go undiscovered by many despite being a fun-loving improvement on its predecessor. With Bird Island and Piggy Island both under threat from the same force, the two feuding factions enter into an uneasy truce to unite against their common enemy before it is too late.

Irreverent and gumball bright, The Angry Birds Movie 2 is a surprising, refreshing and free-spirited animated comedy that presents an enjoyable story capable of landing plenty of laughs along the way. Like the games that brought plenty of fun to so many, the film is both slapstick and silly as it provides a thoroughly amusing experience. It was recently announced that a third film has entered production.

Rent on Apple

3 ‘Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time’ (2010)

Directed by Mike Newell

By far the video game movie with the biggest budget to that point in time, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time genuinely attempted to bring about a new dawn of blockbuster video game adaptations. It follows the adopted son of a great king who is assassinated following his successful attack on Alamut. Framed for the murder, Prince Datsun (Jake Gyllenhaal) goes on the run and must figure out who the real killer is all while working with Princess Tamina of Amulet (Gemma Arterton) to prevent the time-altering Sands of Time from being used in an evil scheme.

Based on the Prince of Persia video game franchise which has been active since 1989, Mike Newell imbues the film with an adventurous, swashbuckling appeal that delivers when put into a snappy story that doesn’t outstay its runtime. It has some pitfalls, that much is undeniable, but it also broke the record for the highest grossing video game adaptation at the time and represented a significant uptick in studio commitment to adapting games as genuine blockbusters.

Watch on Disney+

2 ‘Warcraft’ (2016)

Directed by Duncan Jones

In a cinematic landscape that has long been crying out for a new fantasy saga to come along and enchant moviegoers, 2016’s Warcraft hit theaters as a surprisingly earnest attempt to answer the call. Based on the popular video game brand of the same name, it sees heroes of humanity join forces with an army of dissenting Orcs to stand against an invading Orc force launching an attack on their planet through a portal.

With Industrial Light & Magic handling the CGI while Weta Workshop did the practical effects, Warcraft is a surprisingly appealing visual feast. While the source material has unwieldy elements when it comes to condensing it to a two-hour story, Duncan Jones does a solid job of boxing in the relevant information efficiently while identifying subsidiary lore and scrapping it. Despite being a critically derided box office failure, the film became a hit on streaming services, though it remains an overlooked adaptation as one of the better fantasy epics in recent years.

Watch on Netflix

1 ‘Werewolves Within’ (2021)

Directed by Josh Ruben

Hollywood studios tend to target big-name franchise games, believing that an established IP will automatically generate box office success. While they have sadly been proven right several times, 2021’s Werewolves Within offers ample proof that some quieter gems of gaming can be translated to the screen with rewarding results. The 2016 Ubisoft game is derived from social-deduction games like Mafia and Werewolf and sees villagers having to identify who the werewolves are before they are killed.

The film takes place in a small town where residents are trapped in a local inn during a snowstorm, with the new forest ranger and the postal worker having to work together to uncover the truth behind a series of violent attacks by a mysterious creature. With a welcoming balance of horror and comedy and a well-earned R-rating, Werewolves Within feels like if Scooby-Doo and the gang were investigating the monster of an 80s horror movie. It’s charming and fun-loving genre mish-mash that thrives on its perfect performances and taut story to be a hidden gem, not only of video game adaptations, but of horror-comedy cinema at large.

Watch on Shudder

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