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The History of Video Game Movies (By Tomatometer)

by Alex Vo | April 26, 2016 | Comments

Ratchet & Clank: Recently re-imagined for your PlayStation 4, now appearing on the big screen for the first time. The movie invites viewers back to see the origin team-up of the duo (one a robot, the other a bobcat-ish thing, probably a descendant of prolific serial killer Bubsy), which inspires this week’s 24 Frames gallery: a history of video games-based movies by Tomatometer!

*Super Mario Bros.* (1990)
Tomatometer: 15%

Critics Consensus: “Despite flashy sets and special effects, *Super Mario Bros.* is too light on story and substance to be anything more than a novelty.”

*Double Dragon* (1994)
Tomatometer: 8%

Critics Consensus: “*Double Dragon*‘s clever use of special effects cannot mask the film’s overly simplistic storyline and cheesy dialogue.”

*Street Fighter* (1994)
Tomatometer: 12%
Critics Consensus: “Though it offers mild entertainment through campy one-liners and the overacting of the late Raul Julia, *Street Fighter*‘s nonstop action sequences are not enough to make up for a predictable, uneven storyline.”

*Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li* (2009)
Tomatometer: 6%
Critics Consensus: “The combination of a shallow plot and miscast performers renders *Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li* a perfectly forgettable video game adaptation.”

*Mortal Kombat* (1995)
Tomatometer: 33%
Critics Consensus: “Despite an effective otherwordly atmosphere and appropriately cheesy visuals, *Mortal Kombat* suffers from its poorly constructed plot, laughable dialogue, and subpar acting.”

*Mortal Kombat: Annihilation* (1997)
Tomatometer: 3%
Critics Consensus: “With its shallow characters, low budget special effects, and mindless fight scenes, *Mortal Kombat: Annihilation* offers minimal plot development and manages to underachieve the low bar set by its predecessor.”

*Wing Commander* (1999)
Tomatometer: 10%

Critics Consensus: “The low budget may explain *Wing Commander*‘s cheesy special effects, but can’t excuse the lame dialogue or the movie’s obsessive reliance on sci-fi cliches.”

*Pokemon: The First Movie* (1999)
Tomatometer: 14%
Critics Consensus: “Audiences other than children will find very little to entertain them.”

*Pokemon: The Movie 2000* (2000)
Tomatometer: 15%
Critics Consensus: “Despite being somewhat more exciting than the previous film, this kiddy flick still lacks any real adventure or excitement. What is does contain is choppy animation and poor voice acting. Doesn’t match up to virtually anything out there.”

*Pokemon 3: The Movie*
Tomatometer: 22%
Critics Consensus: “The third *Pokemon* movie has a better plot than its two predecessors, though this is not enough to recommend it to those not already fans of the franchise.”

*Pokemon 4Ever* (2002)
Tomatometer: 14%
Critics Consensus: “Only for diehard *Pokemon* fans.”

*Pokemon Heroes* (2003)
Tomatometer: 16%
Critics Consensus: “This series isn’t getting any better.”

*Lara Croft: Tomb Raider* (2001)
Tomatometer: 19%
Critics Consensus: “Angelina Jolie is perfect for the role of Lara Croft, but even she can’t save the movie from a senseless plot and action sequences with no emotional impact.”

*Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life*
Tomatometer: 24%
Critics Consensus: “Though the sequel is an improvement over the first movie, it’s still lacking in thrills.”

*Final Fantasy* (2001)
Tomatometer: 44%

Critics Consensus: “The movie raises the bar for computer animated movies, but the story is dull and emotionally removed.”

*Resident Evil* (2002)
Tomatometer: 33%
Critics Consensus: “Like other video game adapations, *Resident Evil* is loud, violent, formulaic, and cheesy.”

*Resident Evil: Apocalypse* (2004)
Tomatometer: 21%
Critics Consensus: “*Apocalypse* has lots of action, but not much in terms of plot or creativity.”

*Resident Evil: Extinction* (2007)
Tomatometer: 22%
Critics Consensus: “*Extinction* is more of the same; its few impressive action sequences unable to compensate for the pedestrian plot.”

*Resident Evil: Afterlife* (2010)
Tomatometer: 23%
Critics Consensus: “As dim-witted and lifeless as its undead antagonists, *Afterlife* is a wholly unnecessary addition to the franchise.”

*Resident Evil: Retribution* (2012)
Tomatometer: 30%
Critics Consensus: “Another predictable entry in the franchise that seems to get more cynical and lazy with each film.”

*House of the Dead* (2003)
Tomatometer: 4%

Critics Consensus: “A grungy, disjointed, mostly brainless mess of a film, *House of the Dead* is nonetheless loaded with unintentional laughs.”

*Alone in the Dark* (2005)
Tomatometer: 1%

Critics Consensus: “Inept on almost every level, *Alone in the Dark* may not work as a thriller, but it’s good for some head-slapping, incredulous laughter.”

*Doom* (2005)
Tomatometer: 19%

Critics Consensus: “Sure to please fans of the video game, but lacking in plot and originality to please other moviegoers.”

*Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children* (2006)
Tomatometer: 33%

*BloodRayne* (2006)
Tomatometer: 4%

Critics Consensus: “*BloodRayne* is an absurd sword-and-sorcery vid-game adaptation from schlock-maestro Uwe Boll, featuring a distinguished (and slumming) cast.”

*Silent Hill* (2006)
Tomatometer: 29%
Critics Consensus: “*Silent Hill* is visually impressive, but as with many video game adaptations, it’s plagued by inane dialogue, a muddled plot, and an overlong runtime.”

*Silent Hill: Revelation* (2012) Tomatometer: 5% Critics Consensus: “Mediocre effort even by the standards of video game adaptations, *Revelation* features weak characters and an incomprehensible plot with a shortage of scares.”

*DOA: Dead or Alive* (2007)
Tomatometer: 34%

Critics Consensus: “With a ridiculous plot and comical acting, checking one’s brain at the door is required.”

*Postal* (2007)
Tomatometer: 8%

Critics Consensus: “An attempt at political satire that lacks any wit or relevance, *Postal* is nonetheless one of Uwe Boll’s more successful films — for what it’s worth.”

*Hitman* (2007)
Tomatometer: 14%
Critics Consensus: “*Hitman* features the unfortunate combination of excessive violence, incoherent plot, and inane dialogue.”

*Hitman: Agent 47* (2015)
Tomatometer: 8%
Critics Consensus: “*Hitman: Agent 47* fails to clear the low bar set by its predecessor, forsaking thrilling action in favor of a sleekly hollow mélange of dull violence and product placement.”

*In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale* (2006)
Tomatometer: 4%

Critics Consensus: “Featuring mostly wooden performances, laughable dialogue, and shoddy production values, *In the Name of the King* fulfills all expectations of an Uwe Boll film.”

*Max Payne* (2008)
Tomatometer: 16%

Critics Consensus: “While it boasts some stylish action, *Max Payne* suffers severely from an illogical plot and overdirection.”

*Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time* (2010)
Tomatometer: 36%

Critics Consensus: “It doesn’t offer much in the way of substance, but *Prince of Persia* is a suitably entertaining swashbuckler — and a substantial improvement over most video game adaptations.”

*Need For Speed* (2014)
Tomatometer: 23%

Critics Consensus: “With stock characters and a preposterous plot, this noisily diverting video game adaptation fulfills a *Need for Speed* and little else.”

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Nicelander

My personal favorites out of these would be the first Mortal Kombat and Dead or Alive. However, I must admit the first Silent Hill movie is a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine. Crossing my fingers for Ratchet & Clank and Warcraft. 2016, please don’t let us down.
- drd7of14
  
  Assassin’s Creed this year as well. Quite a big year for video game movies, we don’t typically get 3 in one year.
- Nose Goblin
  
  Forget about Warcraft… It looks like it’s going to be horrible.
jgames111 .

Pokemon is the only good movie, and Final Fantasy 7 being okay.
vincent

i felt the tomb raider wasn’t great, but felt it did well in giving me the vibe of the tomb raider universe. And I actually enjoyed Doom lol. it’s one of those movies i don’t mind checking out if it’s on tv on a slow day.
Almight

it boggles my mind that they mess up adaptations that have an already defined, logical and dare i say, interesting story and set of characters… granted it’s easy to hire a decent actor and make the movie look nice and you’ll almost certainly make money, but in the case of silent hill and mortal kombat it should be so easy to make them good. on the other hand it would be nearly impossible to make a good semi faithful movie of RE or doom… 95% of the time the player is completely alone and not a complicated character at all so theres nothing to work with.
Richter Belmont

The best video game movie is Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva.
The Creature Keeper

I totally forgot what a plague Uwe Boll was. Glad he’s been out of the business long enough that I did actually forget about him.

Fingers crossed that Ratchet and Clank is the first excellent video game movie. The main series has already earned acclaim for feeling like the experience of playing a Pixar movie instead of watching it, so the translation to full on cinema shouldn’t be hard at all, at least in theory.
- Superior Spider-Man
  
  and then you look up to see Uwe Boll directing Devil may Cry.
  
  I agree. Outside of FFVII:AC, there hasn’t been a great Video game movie. I mean I feel that Mortal Kombat and Resident Evil 1 (I know, I know…) were ok, but they were not great.
  - The Creature Keeper
    
    I’m looking for a single franchise to be done justice on the big screen, but I suppose you could fudge the rules a bit and say that Wreck-It Ralph was the first truly excellent video game movie too, barring the way the ending tried to be extra happy.
    
    Part of the problem may be that most video games are too big to be condensed into movies. Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga is practically a movie already, with the Mario Bros. being a pair of Charlie Chaplins in a kingdom that’s all about jokes, but how much of that content would they have to cut to make it a feature film? That kind of reduction surgery would almost definitely result in a lobotomy, internal bleeding, or some other gruesome disaster.
    
    Based on the early reviews, that may have been what happened to Ratchet & Clank. Either that, or the critics aren’t very good. The negative reviews cite issues like attitude and lack of originality, which don’t sound like substantial gripes.
FlixtheCat

Soooooo many bad movies.
Claudio

the silent hill score ist totally undeserved. it’s a tense horrorfilm and a great and honest videogame adaptation.
- KomariVolta
  
  The sub-plot with Sean Bean’s character drags it down quite a bit from being as good as it could have been. Stupid studio mandated male character.
  - Monica Tiffany
    
    You know, the reason why almost all the characters are female is pretty sexist. Christophe Ganz stated that when he first saw the original material, he thought that Harry Mason is more like a woman. It’s as if in his mind a man shouldn’t be that worried or care about his missing kid.
- Tyler Yaeger
  
  Yeah, one of like 2 that are decent on here. That and most of the first Resident Evil movie were OK. After that, RE was a mess.
- Josh Evans
  
  I really appreciate the tone the first Silent Hill film set, but outside of that it really lacked the emotional depth and symbolism of the game. It tried to be both serious and fanservice at the same time which really dragged it down in my opinion.
- Vausch Abendroth
  
  Except for changing the main character into a woman just to force in “Mother is god in the eyes of a child”, adding in Sean Bean doing nothing because they felt they needed a male lead too, using all the wrong monsters (seriously every monster is from Silent Hill 2), having no subtlety about the reasoning to go to the town, making the cultists witch burners instead of trying to birth their god in physical form, adding in an unnecessary additional antagonist, having almost all the bad guys be cultists instead of monsters, Cybil’s pointless sacrifice, and changing the names of the leads, yeah it was totally honest and faithful.
  
  I can appreciate that the effects of the film were nice, but it was overall just a really bad movie. Especially to fans of the franchise. If they’d made it an original story then it would’ve gone over much better, but as it stood it was just pissing on the original. The sequel went even worse when they tried to fix it by shoehorning the story of Silent Hill 3 into a messed up version of SH1, which caused so many contradictions. Fun fact: because of the attempts to tie in the two and creating all these extra characters they didn’t need, they accidentally made Heather and her…ugh, love interest, Vincent cousins!
Psyonikx

I love how the Hitman frame is referencing the 2007 movie, but the image is from Hitman: Agent 47 from 2015.
Psyonikx

Be prepared to add Shinobi to the long list of legendary video game movie adaptations.
Bad Voodoo

“Sure to please fans of the video game.” Yep, and that’s what they set out to do. The Doom movie doesn’t deserve as much flak as the rest of these. Neither does the first Silent Hill movie. It’s a great movie for the fans, and if they can satisfy the fans of the game that should count for something.
Dima Taras

Here at rotten Tomatoes rating is set by a few people.
Imo more accurate rating is on imdb. Movies like DoA, Prince Persia and Silent Hill are really good
Guy Dudebreaux

Why do they keep churning out video game movies? The average score is hovering around 18%.

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