Games on Which Movies are Based

The relationship between Hollywood and the video game industry is an uncomfortable one at best. These two different forms of entertainment media have produced cooperative projects that have varied in critical receptions. This page is dedicated to films that are based on video games.

However, note that only released films qualify for this page.

Movies

This list is incomplete. For the full list, look at the bottom of this page.

In reverse chronological order:

Warcraft

Directed by: Duncan Jones

Release date: 24th May 2016

Starring: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper

Plot:

Reception

Warcraft broke Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time's record as the highest-grossing film based on a video game. However, reviews were mostly negative, with a 32/100 on Metacritic.

The movie is based on the Warcraft franchise.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time

Directed by: Mike Newell

Release date: 28th May 2010

Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley and Alfred Molina

Plot: An adopted prince and a mysterious princess work together in order to protect a magical dagger that can reverse time from the evil forces who seek to use it in order to control the Persian Empire.

Reception

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time's reception, although tepid, was better than most video game movies. It stands at 50/100 on Metacritic.

The movie is based on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time.

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li

Directed by: Andrzej Bartkowiak

Release date: 27th February 2009

Starring: Kristin Kreuk, Chris Klein, Neal McDonough and Robin Shou

Plot:

Reception

The movie had mostly negative reviews and was considered by many critics to be one of the worst movies of 2009.

The movie is loosely based on the Street Fighter franchise, primarily on Chun-Li's backstory.

Max Payne

Directed by: John Moore

Release date: 16th October 2008

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis,Donal Logue and Beau Bridges.

Plot: Follow NYPD detective Max Payne, a man with nothing to lose, as he hunts down the murderers of his wife and daughter. His personal vendetta takes him through the criminal underworld, where he encounters the designer drug Valkyr, which helps him connect the dots.

Reception

The film was largely panned by critics, due to it's poor plot, acting and cast. Though some have commented positively towards the visual art direction. Despite the cold reception, the film was a modest success at the box office.

The movie is based on Max Payne.

Alone in the Dark 2

Directed by: Michael Roesch and Peter Scheerer

Release date: 26th January 2008

Starring: Rick Yune, Rachel Specter, Lance Henriksen and Bill Moseley

Plot: Edward Carnby is forced to join forces with a team of witch hunters to track down and fight his old nemesis, the dangerous witch Elisabeth Dexter.

Reception

The movie is loosely based on the Alone in the Dark franchise.

In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale

Directed by: Uwe Boll

Release date: 11 January 2008

Starring: Jason Statham, Burt Reynolds, John Rhys-Davies

Plot: A horde of monsters invades the land, and a unfortunate farmer loses his family. Desperate for revenge, he joins the King's army and starts his journey to their leader.

Reception

Like Boll's previous films, it was very negatively received and a box office bomb.

The movie is based on Dungeon Siege.

Hitman

Directed by: Xavier Gens

Release date: 21st November 2007

Starring: Timothy Olyphant, Dougray Scott, Robert Knepper and Olga Kurylenko

Plot: A gun-for-hire known only as Agent 47 is hired by a group called 'The Organization'. Agent 47 becomes ensnared in a political conspiracy, and runs throughout Europe and Russia with Interpol and military agents on his trail.

Reception

The film received largely negative reviews from critics. It was included in Time Magazine's list of Top Ten Worst Video Game Movies.

The movie is based on the Hitman franchise.

Resident Evil: Extinction

Directed by: Russell Mulcahy

Release date: 20th September 2007

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Oded Fehr

Plot: The third Resident Evil movie takes place years after the first outbreak. The world is nearly deserted and the remaining survivors are starting to lose their hope for a future.

Reception

Though it reviewed better than its predecessor, Resident Evil: Extinction still received poor reviews by critics. Like the two previous films, it was still a commercial success.

The movie is based loosely on the Resident Evil franchise.

Clannad

Directed by: Osamu Dezaki

Written by: Makoto Nakamura

Release Date: September 15, 2007 (Japan)

Starring: Kenji Nojima, Mai Nakahara, Ryo Hirohashi, Hoko Kuwashima, Daisuke Sakaguchi

Plot: ???

The movie is based on the visual novel Clannad, and is a part of the Clannad franchise.

DOA: Dead or Alive

Directed by: Corey Yuen

Release Date: 15th June 2007 (usa)

Staring: Jaime Pressly, Devon Aoki, Erick Roberts

Plot: A group of young martial artists are invited to the yearly secret DOA tournament where it turns out to be more than a tournament but a battle for their lives.

Reception

The reception was negative across the board due to poor marketing and a ridiculous story.

The movie is based loosely on the Dead or Alive franchise.

Animal Crossing: The Movie

Written by: Aya Matsui

Release date: 16 December 2006 (Japan)

Starring: Misato Fukuen, Yui Horie, Yu Kobayashi

Plot: ???

The movie is based on the Animal Crossing franchise.

Silent Hill

Directed by: Christophe Gans

Release Date: 21st April 2006

Starring: Radha Mitchell, Sean Bean, Laurie Holden

Plot: A woman seeks an explanation for her daughter's nightmares, which leads her to the abandoned mining town of Silent Hill. As she drives into the town with her daughter, the mother is knocked unconscious in a collision with a police vehicle, and she awakes to find her daughter missing. With no way back to civilization, she and the police officer have no choice but to venture into Silent Hill.

Reception

Silent Hill's reception was mixed. Many critics praised the visual style, but found the plot was too convoluted. However, the film was a success in the box office and is considered one of the better video game-based films.

The movie is based loosely on the Silent Hill franchise.

Bloodrayne

Directed by: Uwe Boll

Release date: 6 January 2006

Starring: Kristanna Loken, Michael Madsen, Matthew Davis

Plot: 18th century Romania Rayne is a star attraction of a circus side show because she is half vampire. She learns her father was the king of Vampires and raped her mother and decides to avenge her mother by killing her father. Along the way she meets up with a clan of vampire hunters called Brimstone who persuades her to join their society and agree to help her on her quest to destroy her father.

Reception

Uwe Boll's third video-game-based movie was universally panned and was a huge commercial bomb.

The movie is based loosely on the BloodRayne series.

Doom

Directed by: Andrzej Bartkowiak

Release Date: 21st October 2005

Staring: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Karl Urban, Rosamund Pike

Plot: Space Marines led by Dwayne Johnson are sent to investigate strange events at a research facility on a distant planet but find they are facing genetically enhanced killing machines. They must find the artillery and survive until they can be rescued.

Reception

The film did poor for fans and critics alike. The movie was chastised for it's poor script, laughable acting and goofy gimmick of a first-person-shooter sequence.

Movie based on Doom 3.

House of the Dead 2

Directed by: Michael Hurst

Release date: 14th October 2005

Starring: Emmanuelle Vaugier, Ed Quinn and Victoria Pratt

Plot: Taking place shortly after the original, two government operatives are sent to investigate a new infection that is rapidly spreading across a college campus. The operatives must find the first infected and take a sample of his blood in order to create vaccine against the virus.

Reception

House of the Dead 2 did not receive quite the excoriating reviews of its predecessor, perhaps because it never reached theaters. It premiered on the Sci-fi channel and later released on DVD. Reviews range from terrible to merely sub-par. It was not reviewd often enough to be scored on Rotten Tomatoes.

Movie based loosely on the House of the Dead franchise.

Alone in the Dark

Directed by: Uwe Boll

Release date: 28th January 2005

Starring: Christian Slater, Tara Reid, Stephen Dorff

Plot: A paranormal detective from Bureau 713 named Edward Carnby investigates his past and a strange artefact. During his research, with the help of archaeologist Aline Cedrac, he discovers that demons worshipped by an ancient cult called the Abskani are planning to return and take over the earth.

Reception

The film received almost entirely negative reviews. It is ranked 15th of the 100 worst reviewed films of the 2000s at Rotten Tomatoes and is currently ranked in the bottom 100 at IMDB.

Movie based on the Alone in the Dark franchise.

Resident Evil: Apocalypse

Directed by: Alexander Witt

Release date: 10th September 2004

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Sienna Guillory, Oded Fehr

Plot: The deadly T-virus has infected the whole city, and the military is putting Raccoon City in quarantine. To clean up their tracks, Umbrella unleashes a mutant with codename "Nemesis" to eliminate the remaining S.T.A.R.S. members.

Reception

The film was panned by audiences and critics due to a poor script, acting and direction. The film was still a success at the box office.

Movie based on Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.

House of the Dead

Directed by: Uwe Boll

Release Date: 10th October 2003

Staring: Tyron Leitso, Clint Howard

Plot: A group of kids go to a deserted island for a rave only to find out that everyone has been changed into zombies. Now they must survive the night and hope for rescue unless the doctor gets to them first.

This film is one of the most notable video game based movies as it marks the very first video game based movie that is directed by the now infamous Uwe Boll.

Reception

The movie was overwhelmingly panned by critics and audiences. It is considered one of the worst movies of the 2000s.

Movie based loosely on the House of the Dead game.

Resident Evil

Directed by: Paul W.S. Anderson

Release date: 15th March 2002

Starring: Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez, Eric Mabius

Plot: After a sabotage of the Umbrella Corporation's underground science facility, has lost her memory and with a team of military grunts she has to go into the facility to find out what happened and who she is, but nothing is ever as simple as it seems. The release of the T-Virus has turned all the workers of the facility into zombies and now not only do they have to find out what went wrong but they have to survive and try to shut down the facility.

Reception

The film received mixed to negative reviews from critics and fans alike. Fans were not pleased do to it heavily straying away from the characters of the franchise. Despite this, it was a commercial success and has spawned its own series.

Movie based on Resident Evil.

Mortal Kombat

Directed by: Paul W.S. Anderson

Release Date: 18th August 1995

Starring: Christopher Lambert, Robin Shou, Ashby, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa

Plot: Three top martial artists are summoned to a strange island where they must battle beings from an alternate dimension in which the outcome will decide the fate of the world, but with the help of a being from that dimension, Rayden, they may just succeed.

Reception

The movie has received mixed feelings among critics but has been generally positive amongst fans, citing its intent to stay true to the games. The film was a box office success as well as its soundtrack which also did extremely well. It is considered to be one of the best video-game-based movies.

Movie based loosely on the Mortal Kombat franchise.

Street Fighter

Directed by: Stephen E. de Souza

Release date: 23rd December 1994

Starring: Jean-Claude van Damme, Raúl Juliá, Ming-Na, Damian Chapa, Kylie Minogue

Plot: A military force named the Allied Nations has begun battle in the Asian nation of Shadaloo against the armed forces of a drug kingpin named M. Bison, who is now a General. Bison captures and holds hostage several AN workers and demands that AN Regional Commander William F. Guile secure a ransom of $20 billion within three days or else he will begin executing them. Other characters appearing from the game series include Guile's assistant, Cammy, captured AN worker Carlos "Charlie" Blanka, Dr. Dhalsim, a captured scientist, con artists Ryu and Ken, and several others.

Reception

The film was almost universally panned by critics and ended up grossing only $33.5 million in the United States.

This was also the last film that actor Raúl Juliá , who portrayed Bison, completed before his death in 1994.

Movie based on the Street Fighter franchise. Also had movie tie-in game called Street Fighter: The Movie.

Double Dragon

Directed by: James Yukich

Release date: 4th November 1994

Starring: Robert Patrick, Mark Dacascos, Scott Wolf, Alyssa Milano

Plot: Set in the future after a great earthquake ravages California, two brothers, Jimmy and Billy Lee, acquire half of a powerful ancient Chinese talisman. An evil gang leader named Kogo has the other half, and plots to take the other half in order to gain enough power to take over the world.

Reception

Reviews were largely negative in the US, but it went on to do well on video in several markets. It was included in Time Magazine's list of Top Ten Worst Video Game Movies.

Movie based on the Double Dragon franchise.

Super Mario Bros.

Directed by: Rocky Morton, Annabel Jankel

Release Date: 28th May 1993

Staring: Bob Hoskins, John Leguizamo, Dennis Hopper, and Samantha Mathis

Plot: This story is about two brothers with their own plumbing company who agree to help out a palaeontologist named Daisy who made a find on a construction site which turns out to be a portal to an alternate universe where dinosaurs have evolved rather than humans and its all reigned over by King Koopa who is trying to combine to two worlds and have total control. The only ones who can help are the Mario brothers along with Daisy, the lost princess of the dinosaur universe.

Reception

The film was universally panned for diverging so heavily from its source material in both premise and tone. It was a bomb at the box office.

The movie is based (very) loosely on the Super Mario franchise.

Only games with film tie-ins that have been released should be associated with this page.