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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, like Borderlands.
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
Image via 20th Century Studios
Unfortunately for the Assassin's Creed film, it's relatively close to the source material, but simply 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 an Assassin's Creed live-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 director Justin Kurzel actually attempted to make it a faithful iteration.
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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.
Release Date December 21, 2016
Runtime 116 Minutes
Writers Michael Lesslie , Adam Cooper , Bill Collage
Budget 125000000.0
Studio(s) New Regency Pictures , The Kennedy/Marshall Company , Ubisoft Film & Television , DMC Film
IMDb ID tt2094766
TMDB User Rating 5 .422
9 'Silent Hill' (2006)
Directed by Christophe Gans
Image Via TriStar Pictures
Like a chunk of other video game movies, Silent Hill finds 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 that fans 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.
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Silent Hill
Release Date April 21, 2006
Director Christophe Gans
Runtime 127
Main Genre Horror
Writers Roger Avary
Franchise Silent Hill
Sequel Silent Hill: Revelation
Cinematographer Dan Laustsen
Producer Samuel Hadida, Don Carmody
Production Company Konami, Silent Hill DCP Inc., TriStar Pictures, Davis-Films, Eggplant Picture & Sound
Sfx Supervisor David Gauthier
Budget $50 million
8 'Uncharted' (2022)
Directed by Rubed Fleischer
Yes, there was a bit of controversy with the casting of Tom Holland as Nathan Drake, due to the fact that he doesn't necessarily fit the game's version of the character. However, this did not keep the film from being pretty faithful in a lot of other ways. Uncharted captures 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 also takes 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.
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Uncharted
Release Date February 18, 2022
Runtime 116 minutes
Writers Art Marcum , Rafe Judkins , Matt Holloway
Franchise Uncharted
Characters By Amy Hennig
Cinematographer Chung-hoon Chung
Producer Alex Gartner, Avi Arad, Ari Arad, Charles Roven
Production Company Arad Productions, Atlas Entertainment, Columbia Pictures, Playstation Productions
Sfx Supervisor Uli Nefzer, Juan Ramón Molina
7 'Sonic the Hedgehog 2' (2022)
Directed by Jeff Fowler
Interestingly enough, the first Sonic the Hedgehog film was received very well, but was barely faithful to the world and stories of the games. So, fans knew that if director Jeff Fowler could 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 in Sonic 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 it incorporated 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.
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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.
Release Date April 8, 2022
Runtime 122 minutes
Writers Josh Miller , John Whittington , Pat Casey
Budget $90–110 million
Studio(s) Paramount Pictures
Distributor(s) Paramount Pictures
Prequel(s) Sonic the Hedgehog
Franchise(s) Sonic the Hedgehog
6 'Tomb Raider' (2018)
Directed by Roar Uthaug
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Much like Uncharted, 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 that Alicia Vikander does 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 for Tomb Raider fans that they could one day get a faithful adaption that's good in every way.
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Tomb Raider
Release Date March 16, 2018
Director Roar Uthaug
Runtime 118 minutes
Writers Geneva Robertson-Dworet , Alastair Siddons , Evan Daugherty
5 'Warcraft' (2016)
Directed by Duncan Jones
Image via Universal Pictures
The World of Warcraft franchise 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 and Warcraft released, critics ripped it apart, but fans found a lot of solace and genuine enjoyment in the way the world was brought to life.
Director Duncan Jones paid 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.
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Release Date June 10, 2016
Director Duncan Jones
Runtime 123 minutes
Main Genre Fantasy
Character(s) Anduin Lothar , Garona Halforcen , Medivh , Llane Wrynn , Khadgar , Durotan/Antonidas , Orgrim , Blackhand , Karos , Gul'dan , Draka , Moroes , Lady Taria Wrynn , Callan , Varis/Caged Frostwolf , Compound Guard , Grommash Hellscream , Draenei Mother , King Magni , Aloman , Warrior , Officer #1 , Officer #2 , Officer #3
Writers Duncan Jones , Charles Leavitt , Chris Metzen , Jesse Wigutow
4 'Mortal Kombat' (2021)
Directed by Simon McQuoid
Image via Warner Bros
Everyone knows the 1995 Mortal Kombat film, 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 Kombat found 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.
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Mortal Kombat
Release Date April 23, 2021
Runtime 110 minutes
Characters By John Tobias, Ed Boon
Production Company Broken Road Productions, New Line Cinema, Atomic Monster Productions
Studio(s) Atomic Monster Productions , Broken Road Productions , New Line Cinema
Distributor(s) Warner Bros. Pictures
Sequel(s) Mortal Kombat 2
3 'Sonic the Hedgehog 3' (2024)
Directed by Jeff Fowler
Image via Paramount Pictures
Being only released under a week ago, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 already has the entire world in a chokehold. It gave fans pretty much everything they asked for with the third film, serving as a wonderful adaption of the Sonic Adventure 2 storyline and bringing a plethora of new lore into the film universe.
Not to mention, it also included a ton of references to the original game, like the 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 announced Sonic the Hedgehog 4. Audiences are so in love with the film that there are videos leaking from theaters across the world of viewers having genuinely Avengers: Endgame-level reactions to the film.
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Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is the sequel to the 2022 comedy-adventure movie that featured the Blue Blur and his companions on an adventure to stop Dr. Robotnik from taking over the world. The new film sees the new antagonist Shadow the Hedgehog, arriving to cause trouble for the newly formed trio of heroes, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, as they adjust to their earthly lives.
Release Date December 20, 2024
Runtime 109 Minutes
Writers Pat Casey , Josh Miller , John Whittington
Studio(s) Sega Sammy Group , Original Film , Marza Animation Planet , Blur Studio
Distributor(s) Paramount Pictures
Prequel(s) Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Franchise(s) Sonic the Hedgehog
2 'Pokémon Detective Pikachu' (2019)
Directed by Rob Letterman
Being a franchise that is so deeply catered to video games and animation, many were very unsure about bringing the world of Pokémon to live-action. Whether it be the fear 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 Pikachu was 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 what Rob Letterman and 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.
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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.
Release Date May 10, 2019
Runtime 104 minutes
Budget 150million
Studio(s) Warner Bros. Pictures
Distributor(s) Warner Bros. Pictures
Franchise(s) Pokemon
1 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie' (2023)
Directed by Aaron Horvath
Image via Universal Pictures
There may not ever be a video game movie adaption that will be 100% faithful, but if there were a project to be a borderline perfect adaption, it would be The 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 the best animated films of 2023.
While many were super unconfident about the casting of Chris Pratt as 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.
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A plumber named Mario travels through an underground labyrinth with his brother Luigi, trying to save a captured princess.
Release Date April 5, 2023
Director Aaron Horvath , Michael Jelenic
Runtime 92 Minutes
Writers Matthew Fogel
Studio Universal Pictures, Illumination, Nintendo
Website
Characters By
Producer
Production Company
Sfx Supervisor
Budget $100 Million
Studio(s) Illumination Entertainment
Sequel(s) The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2
NEXT: The 10 Best Sonic the Hedgehog Transformations, Ranked
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