Comingsoon.net is getting ready for The Angry Birds Movie 2 by taking a look at the absolute best video game movies. Check out our selections in the gallery below!
The concept of a video game movie is a highly-contested one in this day and age, especially as the definition continues to shift. The Angry Birds Movie was the first movie to be based on an app, but it kicked off an avalanche that continued with The Emoji Movie and the upcoming release of The Angry Birds Movie 2—this changes what a video game movie can be, which marks a huge change for an industry that previously relied on consoles for their source material.
Still, even with an ever-expanding definition, video game movies almost never turn out well. Critics hate them, video game players would prefer to play the game instead of watch a movie based on it, and general audiences unfamiliar with the game itself are practically alienated from the experience because they lack the general knowledge of the world on-screen. However, there are exemptions—some video game movies actually prove to be worth seeing.
video game movies
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Ace Attorney (2012)
Directed by one-of-a-kind filmmaker Takashi Miike, 2012’s Ace Attorney is easily the very best video game movie ever made. All the excitement, all the style, and all the action of the video game is present in the film, made all the better by Miike’s inimitable sheen on every inch of the screen. It might be hard to track down, but it’s definitely worth the search.
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Mortal Kombat (1995)
One of the very first video game movies ever, Mortal Kombat doesn’t disappoint. It delivers exactly what fans of the games would expect: a bunch of fights and some brutal finishing moves.
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Pokemon Detective Pikachu (2019)
Despite having a real hold on the video game market for decades, Nintendo just started to get into the film business again. There have always been animated Pokemon films, but 2019’s Pokemon Detective Pikachu marks the first live-action take on the series. By giving Pikachu the Deadpool treatment, transforming the cute and cuddly character into a sarcastic and wise-cracking lead (who also happens to be voiced by Ryan Reynolds), Nintendo managed to actually succeed with this one.
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Rampage (2018)
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is unstoppable right now. It’s unclear how he handles so many demanding roles one after another, but he knocks it out of the park time and time again. Rampage might not be his best movie, but it’s certainly one of the most notable video game movies.
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Tomb Raider (2018)
Not to be confused with the Angelina Jolie films, 2018’s Tomb Raider stars Alicia Vikander as the world-famous video game character Lara Croft. Walton Goggins in the role of the villain would help even the worst film be a little bit better, so it certainly elevates this already-watchable version of Tomb Raider.
