Video Game Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer (Five Nights at Freddy’s 2)
The latest: Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is now in theaters!
It was in 1993 that Hollywood realized the dream of putting a video game movie up on the big screen with Super Mario Bros., and setting the stage for a long legacy of questionable choices, troubled productions, and gamers’ pixel tears left in their wake. But like the kid who just has to pump in one more quarter to reach for that high score, the studios keep on trying (while the fans just keep on hoping), and we’re celebrating that sort of sheer tenacity with this guide to the best video game movies (and plenty of the worst) ranked by Tomatometer!
Here, you will find the near-decent (Rampage, Resident Evil), the should’ve-been-goods (Assassin’s Creed, Warcraft), the ridiculous-but-we-love-thems (Mortal Kombat, Silent Hill), and the ones made by Uwe Boll, who deserves his own category (Alone in the Dark, House of the Dead). We’re using a 20-review minimum cutoff for inclusion from theatrical releases only, because it’s not just enough to make a questionable movie, critics need to witness the aftermath, too.
And in May 2019, Detective Pikachu became the first video game movie to go Fresh! And in another surprise 2019 development, the second Angry Birds movie has slingshot the naysayers by racking up plenty of critical praise, toppling Pikachu mere months after its release.
Then in 2020, when it didn’t seem it had a chili dog’s chance in hell, Sonic the Hedgehog to general critics enthusiasm, marking three Fresh video game movies in two years. And then, in 2021, Werewolves Within went Certified Fresh, establishing it as by-far the best-reviewed video game movie!
2023’s The Super Mario Bros. dives back to familiar territory for this genre, which seems like it will perpetually dance on the edge of Freshdom. Also from that year: Gran Turismo, based on the long-running hardcore sim from Sony, and which the poster really, totally wants to make sure you know it’s BASED ON A TRUE STORY. Then Five Nights at Freddy sliced up some horror for Saw-lite thrills.
And then R.I.P. video game movie curse (1993-2024): Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is Certified Fresh! While the cracks on the seal began appearing with 2021’s excellent Werewolves Within, that comedy is based on a virtually unknown VR gaming property. With Sonic 3 ringing up Certified Fresh with critics, it becomes the first major video game movie to ever hit this special stage, going all the way back since they started coming out the pipe with ’90s cult disaster Super Mario Bros.
See all the high scores (and lots and lots of the lows) with our guide to video game movies ranked by Tomatometer, with Certified Fresh film(s) first!
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