Video games and movies seemed to go hand in hand from the very beginning. Since the time when video games were no more than pixelated blobs on screen, Hollywood has tried to capitalize on them. For the most part, video gaಞmes and movies seem like a perfect fit. Both are visual storytelling mediums, and sometimes it even seems like movies are the better fit for the story the original game developers were trying to tell.
ꦐUnfortunately for fans, most video games-turned-movies aren't very good. In fact, many of them are just crap. Whether it's poor acting, 𝓀nonsensical scripts, terrible graphics, or —in many cases— a combination of all three, video game adaptations have struggled to get it right.
The terrible track record these movies have hasn't stopped investors and studios from trying though. With movies based on the Call of Duty franchise, The Division, Rampage, and many more in devꦯelopment, video game-t🍬o-film adaptations don't seem like they are going anywhere anytime soon.
꧒To help you sort through them all, here are 15 Amazing Video Games That Were Turned Into Horrible Movies.
15 House of the Dead
We're starting things off right with thi✅s list. For anyone who has been mildly paying attention to video adaptations over the past ten years or so, the name Uwe Boll should send a shiver through your spine.
Boll is a German filmmaker who focuses mostly on video game to movie adaptations. From Bloodrayne to Far Cry, Boll has done it all. House of the Dead is amongst his finest work. Sporting the great score of 3% on Rotten Tomatoes, House of the Dead is the kind of film that is better watched in a —shall we say— altered state with friends around so you can laugh at the paper thin characters, wood꧙en dialogue. Trying to follow along with a plot that makes almost no sense is a riot.
14 ꦬ ♏ Assassin's Creed
This is one that kills me to put on this list. It seemed to have everything going for it. Two of the best working actors today (Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard), an up-and-coming director in Justin Kurzel, and a trailer which seemed to show everything we loved about the Assassin's Creed games, but still this wasn't enough.
For me, I have always cared more about the gameplay in the Assassin's Creed games than I have for the overly complicated plots. I thought maybe this film would be ableꦅ to move past the convoluted storytelling of the games, but, alas, that wasn't to be. From the dull dialogue to fight scenes that never excite, this video game adaptation was dead from the get-go. Mark this one down as another video game to movie disappointment.
13 Alone In The Dark ꦗ
I had to do it. I'm sorry. I promise this is the last Uwe Boll film to make this list. After the pile of garbage that was House of the Dead, how do you possibly follow up with something worse? In the case of Boll, you make Alone in the Dark.
The original Alone in the Dark game was groundbreaking. It was amongst the first 'survival horror' game, and its use of 3D graphicꦍs was revolutionary at the time. Fast forward to 2005, and Uwe Boll gives us what, when historians look back on the history of cinema, might be the crowning achievement of 'Worst Movie of All Time.' Starring Tara Reid and Christen Slater, the film starts off with possibly the longest title scroll of all time. This beginning is so absurdly long, you begin to squirm in your seat, wondering if this is some kind of joke. Unfortunately, it is not, and the film doesn't get any better from there.
12 Mortal Kombat ♔ ♊
'Heresy,' I can hear you crying. 'The Mortal Kombat ❀movies were such an important part of my childhood!' I hear you, and I understand, but have you watch🍬ed those movies recently? They are terrible, god-awful even.
Now, I can understand why studios might be attracted to a game like Mortal Kombat. It was hot at the time not only as a game, but as a general topic of discussion. It was one of those games that wer𝕴e constantly brought up when people talked about violence in video games.
That controversy, however, doesn't lend itself to a good movie. Nor do fighting game plots in general. Think about it, when's the last time you sat back after having beat the single-player in a fighting game and thou꧋ght 'Wow, what a great story!' Yeah. I can't think of a time either.
11 🍰 ℱ Tomb Raider (series)
Angelina Jolie was the𒅌 perfect Tomb Raider. At least, she seemed so back when the video games still featured a ridiculous Lara — more eye candy than a real woman. These days, Lara's original portray (in both the gꦇame and movie) is laughable, almost embarrassingly so.
I've included this film series on the list not because they are terrible. In fact, compared to a lot of the films on this list, the Tomb Raider series is among the best. The reason I placed these films on the list is because of decidedly generic they both are. Nothing really stands out about them. They are about as vanilla a Hollywood action fil🎃m as you could possibly make with seemingly everyone phoning it in. Again, it's not a bad film just not a very good one either.
10 Doom
Doom has never been a plot-heavy game. Even in Doom 3, where developer Id tried to scrape together a more cohesive story, fell flat for many people. And while I have to admit, the idea of a demonic invasion 🎃on Mars sounds like a great idea for an action movie, this video game to film adaptation falls way short of even the lowest expectations.
Starring Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson before he was the mega-popular, star of a billion-dollar-franchise-Rock, Doom is a movie that doesn't seem to know what to do with itself. Based on a video game about shooting hordes of demons, instead, the filmmakers attempt to go for an Alien/Predator ripoff kind of film and fail miserably.
Then there's t🅷hat first-person scene. Don't get me started 🌺on that.
9 Street Fighter ꧙
I almost didn't want to add this film to the list. I mean 168澳洲幸运5开奖网🌊:it has Jean-Claude Van Damme in it after all. The Jean-Claude Van꧑ Damme. The Man. The Myth. The Legend. Anyone familiar with his movies, however, will know the kind of acting caliber he brings to them all.
But beyond Van Damme and the nonstop action, there is little to love about the film. The lone bright spot being Raul Julia's over-the-top performance as Bison, it's th♕e kind of film that has developed somewhat of a cult following for the overacting and cheesy one-liners, but those looking for a genuine piece of good entertainment should look elsewhere.
8 Max Payne
Another gr𒆙eat game series, another wasted opportunity.
Max Payne, perhaps more than any of the games we've talked about thus far, lends itself to the big screen. Developer Rocks💞tar Games was clearly inspired by noir films when they made the first two games. It's unfortunate then that the movie doesn't take more cues from the films that inspired the games in the first place.
Sure, the visuals are good, so🧔metimes great, and I don't hate Marky Mark as Max as much as I thought I would, but the plot just isn't there. Not to mention the fact the movie is based on M-rated games, and it sports a PG-13 rating. The filmmakers teased us with the good action, but never delivered a satisfying throughline.
7 Halo Series
The Halo series of films gets a spot on this list not because any of the films are terrible, but because they are just so mediocre. Microsoft's flagship title is a game series that screams to bꩲe made into a great film yet nothing has materialized over the years.
For a while, there was talk of an epic adaptation with everyone from Peter Jackson (director of The Lord of the Rings trilogy) to Neill Blomkamp attached to the project. That was years ago though. A proper Halo movie seems to be dead in the water. Instead, Microsoft has released several straight to DVD films that while, not bad, haven't lived up to the potential that Halo has as a series.
6 DOA: Dead Or Alive ๊
What is it about fighting games that makes movie studiosꦚ want to adapt them so badly? They are some of the least plot-centric games in the industry, yet they seem to draw so much attention from filmmakꦚers and investors.
But shhh....
Don't question it. The filmmakers have it figured out. The moment you begin to question anything in the film they inevitably cut to a boob or butt shot. It is without fail. I suppose this might have excited me when I was a 13 year old, but now that I'm older, these kinds of gratuitous shots j🤡ust don't cut it anymore, and they are more laughable than anything.
The film makes no sense, the CGI sucks, and the fight scenes are mediocre at bes❀t.