If you were a big-ticket, Hollywood screenwriter, one of the toughest gigs you could get is the task of turning a video game into a coherent movie. First of all? Video game stories are, you know, meant to be played. Interacted with. It’s literally changing the medium that the concept was built on to adapt for film. Second, most games run about 30 to 60 hours. Third of all, most video games are inherently ridiculous. It says something if Hollywood can’t even get Mario right. (And we’re not sure if Chris Pratt will change that.)
But perhaps most daunting? People love their video games. The characters, the storylines, the visuals: they’re all subject to insane scrutiny because you invest your time and energy and 3 a.m. bags of Doritos to be part of these worlds.
That’s all to say, if you come up with a decent video game film? Kudos to you, because there are only a handful out there. One shining example of video game adaptation brilliance? Sonic the Hedgehog, which was aided by the one and only Ben Schwartz’svoice acting performance. With its sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, releasing in theaters, here are the best video game movies of all time.
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Temple of Life (2003)
Fine. Lara Croft Tomb Raider wasn’t very good. Neither was its slightly-better sequel, 2003’s The Temple of Life. (This list is kind of a low bar, OK?) But we have to give some props to Angelina Jolie for making one of the first watchable video game movies. You walked so future movies could jog at a conversational pace.
Pixels (2015)
Bet you didn’t think Pixels would be on here, huh? 2015 probably told you to hate anything and everything Adam Sandler. Well, it’s 2021 and we like the Sandman again. Pixels is a loving, if… uneven ode to the arcade classics of the ’80s (think: Pac-Man and Centipede). Plus, it stars Brian Cox and Peter Dinklage. And Michelle Monaghan. Yeah. Pixels deserves a replay.
