Summary
Movie adaptations of popular video games struggled for a long time because they couldn’t recapture the magic of the original experience by condensing the journey down to a couple of hours or less. That reputation has begun to shift recently, though, as films inspired bySuper Mario Bros.and Minecraft have dominated the box office and inspired countless memes.
Since the beginning, one of the most important aspects of a video game adaptation has been casting. It’s challenging to find someone who embodies the traits of a fictional character, but occasionally, an actor or actress is given a role that seems perfectly suited for them. Video game movies still have a long way to go, but these are the best portrayals of iconic characters we’ve seen so far.
7Shadow The Hedgehog
Sonic The Hedgehog 3
Keanu Reeves has had a long and consistent career, but since 2014, the actor has been mostly known for his work in the John Wick series, where he plays a ruthless hitman who can somehow take down hundreds of henchmen with only a few weapons at his disposal. The character has a surprising number of similarities to Shadow the Hedgehog, so casting Keanu as the evil furball was a brilliant choice.
The casting throughout the live-action Sonic films has been great since the beginning, but having Keanu voice Shadow is almost too perfect. Like John Wick,Shadow is on a quest for revengeand is willing to use anything, including actual guns, to witness his version of justice. It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing the character, which only leaves more room for excitement as we wait to see who will appear in the next movie.
6Heather Mason
Silent Hill: Revelation
As the Silent Hill games started to wane in popularity, Konami decided to produce two live-action movies in 2006 and 2012 to help keep the series relevant. While neither of these films garnered acclaim from fans or critics, the second one, Silent Hill: Revelations, did receive some praise for casting Adelaide Clemens as Heather Mason.
The Australian actress looks just like the popular protagonist from Silent Hill 3 and did an excellent job bringing the character to life in a not-so-great movie. Silent Hill: Revelations doesn’t come close to touching much of the source material, but it did this one thing really well, and hopefully, the series cancontinue that trend with upcoming adaptations.
5Luigi
The Super Mario Bros. Movie
There was a lot of controversy around the voice cast for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, but the only thing that made a lot of sense to almost everyone was the decision to cast Charlie Day as Luigi. The energetic actor is mostly known for his role as Charlie in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, whose high energy and charisma fit perfectly with Luigi’s best qualities.
Turns out, fans were right to be excited about Charlie Day’s casting as Luigi. Aside from Jack Black’s Bowser, Day was praised for being one of the best characters in the movie, and certainly did a great job sounding just like Mario’s brother. The performance was so good that Nintendo could announce a feature-length Luigi’s Mansion movie, and fans would be genuinely excited to see it.
4Jill Valentine
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
Milla Jovovich starred in six live-action Resident Evil movies from 2002 to 2016 that mostly focused on original stories and ideas and rarely touched any of the source material from the video games. The first film featured completely new characters, but the second entry, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, brought a fan-favorite character on board as a main character.
Jill Valentine is the star of several Resident Evil games, so it was a relief for fans to see someone they recognized on the big screen. Sienne Guillory’s portrayal of the character was spot-on, and she was able to add a bit more depth to Jill that wasn’t really possible with the PlayStation. She returned in Resident Evil: Afterlife and Retribution, where Jill continues to steal almost every scene she is in.
3Shang Tsung
Mortal Kombat (1995)
The 1995 live-action film adaptation of the Mortal Kombat series was one of the first video game movies to receive praise for its commitment to the source material and for bringing iconic characters to life with excellent casting and even puppetry. Despite fun performances from everyone involved, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa's portrayal of the villainous Shang Tsung got the most recognition.
This movie came out before the character was rendered in full 3D, but Tagawa encapsulated everything fans knew about the shape-shifter and delivered an unforgettable performance that’s still a blast to watch. The actor did such a great job with the role that he eventually portrayed Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat 11, where his likeness was even used to make the character look like him.
2Lara Croft
Tomb Raider (2018)
Lara Croft was one of the most iconic characters of the original PlayStation era, and her many cinematic adventures were perfect for the game-to-movie treatment. While a lot of fans enjoy or prefer the 2001 and 2003 Tomb Raider films starring Angelina Jolie, Alicia Vikander feels much closer to the character, especially the one from the reboot of the game series in 2013.
The first two movies with Angelina Jolie focus on the action elements from the games, but they don’t really give her an opportunity for the character to shine on her own, like in the 2018 Tomb Raider with Alicia Vikander. Though she only had the chance to play Lara Croft once, Vikander embodied everything that has made the adventurer an icon for decades since her debut.
1Dr. Hill
Until Dawn
Until Dawn is an interactive adventure game for the PlayStation 4 that follows a group of friends as they try to survive the night atan isolated cabin in the mountains of Canada. Between chapters, you meet with a psychiatrist named Dr. Hill, played by Peter Stormare, who asks you specific questions that have a small impact on the story at large.
Almost a decade after Until Dawn first came out, it came back in a major way in 2024 with both a remake and a live-action film adaptation. Neither seemed to have made as much of an impact as the original adventure, but Peter Stormare returned to his role as Dr. Hill in the movie. The character is a little different from the one in the games, but the fact that they share the same actor is the best you can ask for.
