Video game movies are numerous, and rarely any good. In the TV realm, The Last of Us and Twisted Metal have shown that with the right creative team and storytelling, you can have successful live-action video game adaptations, but it’s not always the case. Nonetheless, even the most poorly reviewed video game movies and flops can still outshine the worst video game from the series they’re based on.
When you think of popular series like Silent Hill, Borderlands, Doom, and Mortal Kombat, they have some pretty great games overall, but then you can find a few bad apples among the bunch that have tarnished their reputation, where even the mediocre films adapting them can seem like solid hits. Here are some of those cases.
Eli Roth
Main Cast
Ariana Greenblatt, Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Jamie Lee Curtis, Édgar Ramírez, Florian Munteanu, Janina Gavankar, and Gina Gershon
2024
4.7
10 percent
Where To Stream
Starz
Despite what critics had to say about Borderlandsand that it bombed hardin its theatrical run, this is a movie you should definitely check out for yourself. It’s from Eli Roth, a horror director known for Cabin Fever, Hostel, The Green Inferno, and Thanksgiving. He only sets out to make entertaining movies, and Borderlands is quite enjoyable, action-packed, visually pleasing, and humorous.
Not only is it better than the failed mobile game Borderlands Legends, or even 2022’s New Tales from the Borderlands, but it even feels more akin to the atmosphere and vibe of Mad Max: Fury Road than 2024’s Furiosa, which was a far bigger disappointment. Jack Black is great as Claptrap, Cate Blanchett delivers a stellar performance as Lilith, Ariana Greenblatt is a perfect Tiny Tina, and Kevin Hart is a memorable Roland.
M.J. Bassett
Adelaide Clemens, Kit Harington, Sean Bean, Carrie-Anne Moss, Radha Mitchell, Martin Donovan, Deborah Kara Unger, Malcolm McDowell, and Roberto Campanella
2012
4.9
8 percent
Peacock, Tubi, Plex, Pluto TV, Xumo Play, The Roku Channel
The Silent Hill series has had its ups and downs over the years, with Bloober’s Silent Hill 2 Remake really bringing it back, and hopefully also Silent Hill f. But then you havethe utter disaster of a title like Silent Hill: Ascension, a bizarre hybrid of a TV series and a choice-based game that somehow won an Emmy when it can make Silent Hill: Book of Memories seem like a masterpiece.
2012’s Silent Hill: Revelation is a sequel to the original Christophe Gans movie, which wasone of the best horror game adaptations, and it also infuses elements from Silent Hill 3. The storyline follows Harry and Heather Mason, along with Claudia Wolf and the Order of Valtiel. Sean Bean and Radha Mitchell reprise their roles, and enemies like the Nurses, the Spider Mannequin, and Pyramid Head are spot-on.
Andrzej Bartkowiak
Dwayne Johnson, Karl Urban, Rosamund Pike, Deobia Oparei, Richard Brake, Razaaq Adoti, Al Weaver, Ben Daniels, Dexter Fletcher, and Doug Jones
2005
5.2
18 percent
VOD
Developer id Software has always iterated the Doom series to get it to the modern-day masterpiece level of Doom 2016, and the follow-ups, Doom Eternal and Doom: The Dark Ages, are both great outings with the Slayer as well. While some consider Doom 3 to be the worst of the series, it would actually be a 2009 mobile game called Doom Resurrection to take that crown.
If you played Doom Resurrection, you probably would have rather suffered through a second round of 2005’s Doom movie led by Dwayne Johnson. It’s also probably not as bad as you remember. There’s a star-studded supporting cast, the demons are well-designed and even haveGuillermo del Toro’screature actor Doug Jones, and the film makes sure to use the first-person POV during the combat.
David F. Sandberg
Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Odessa A’zion, Belmont Cameli, Ji-young Yoo, and Peter Stormare
2025
5.8
52 percent
Supermassive Games' Until Dawn was a breakthrough horror game that blended the atmosphere, jump scares, and suspense of the horror genre withthe choice-based interactive gameplayof Life is Strange and Quantic Dream titles. However, it then went the VR route and delivered a mediocre prequel, The Inpatient, and received one of the worst and most unnecessary remakes in 2024.
The Until Dawn movie makes up for that. While it was never going to match the story and quality of the original game, it does aim for a fun horror experience about a group of friends trapped in a time loop, with each loop bringing a variety of different creatures (including Wendigos), like a gory Supermassive roguelike buffet. Peter Stormare also reprises Dr. Hill, and it’s from the director of Annabelle: Creation and Lights Out.
If you’re wondering how the movie connects to the video game,check out this Ending Explainer for Until Dawn.
Simon McQuoid
Lewis Tan, Mehcad Brooks, Jessica McNamee, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tadanobu Asano, Josh Lawson, Joe Taslim, Chin Han, Ludi Lin, Max Huang, Sisi Stringer, Mel Jarnson, and Nathan Jones
2021
6.1
55 percent
Hulu with Live TV
Mortal Kombat: Special Forces is an MK game best left forgotten. Not that the 2021 Mortal Kombat film was any better than Paul W.S. Anderson’s more underrated 1995 adaptation, but it will still prove more enjoyable than Special Forces. And since Special Forces saw you play as Jax, you definitely won’t be disappointed with Mehcad Brooks' take on the character in this live-action version.
2021’s Mortal Kombat also creates a new protagonist, Cole Young, who’s definitely not the best part of the movie. However, what really makes up for the campy writing and lackluster story and character development is the costumes, set designs, VFX, and fight sequences that bring a ton of brutal gore, a key element that’s now been rectified from the PG-13 movies.
Johannes Roberts
Avan Jogia, Kaya Scodelario, Robbie Amell, Tom Hopper, Hannah John-Kamen, Donal Logue, Neal McDonough, Lily Gao, Chad Rook, and Nathan Dales
30 percent
The Paul W.S. Anderson Resident Evil movies are all fun zombie action-adventure outings despite their reviews, but one Resident Evil movie that tried to stay as faithful to the games as possible is 2021’s Welcome To Raccoon City. Despite some flaws, it’s still nowhere as bad as the Netflix show or the dreadful Resident Evil multiplayer games like Umbrella Corps and Resident Evil Re:Verse.
Welcome to Raccoon City mashes together the first and second games of the series, seeingnew actors playing the roles of the beloved Resident Evil characters, most notably Victorious' Avan Jogia as Leon S. Kennedy, The Gentlemen’s Kaya Scodelario as Claire Redfield, and MCU star Hannah John-Kamen as Jill Valentine. The main villain is also William Birkin, who’s one of the highlights.
Mike Newell
Jake Gyllenhaal, Gemma Arterton, Ben Kingsley, Alfred Molina, Steve Toussaint, Toby Kebbell, Richard Coyle, Ronald Pickup, and Reece Ritchie
2010
6.5
37 percent
Disney+
Battles of Prince of Persia was a 2005 gamethat launched for the DS, and without its name and the protagonist being on the cover art, you might not even be able to tell it’s in the same universe. That’s because it does away with the traditional platforming and action-adventure themes to be a card-based game with turn-based strategy. Thus, it resulted in one of the lowest review scores for the series.
The 2010 Disney movie starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Ben Kingsley is an often overlooked action-adventure movie with overall decent reviews from fans. It may ultimately be a forgettable movie that doesn’t quite live up to the cherished video game it’s named after, but the environments, VFX, characters, and seeing the dagger being used in live-action are epic.
Chuck Patton
Nika Futterman, Kelly Hu, Jim Cummings, Kevin Michael Richardson, Bruce Boxleitner, Keith Szarabajka, Lia Sargent, Hal Sparks, and Grey DeLisle
2008
6.3
42 percent
Tubi, Plex
The Dead Space series deliverssome excellent sci-fi horror, even the third installment and Wii rail shooter-style game, Dead Space: Extraction. However, there was also Dead Space Ignition, a prequel to Dead Space 2 that is based around a series of hacking puzzle minigames with no true survival horror elements and some questionable writing and voice acting.
You should instead watch the animated Dead Space: Downfall movie, which itself is a prequel to the 2008 game that shows the events that led up to the USG Ishimura’s terrible Necromorph fate with the Marker. Familiar characters like Captain Benjamin Mathius and Dr. Terrence Kyne are there, along with some new ones, like protagonist Alissa Vincent, the Ishimura’s Head of Security.
Justin Kurzel
Michael Fassbender, Marion Cotillard, Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, Michael Kenneth Williams, Charlotte Rampling, Ariane Labed, Denis Ménochet, Khalid Abdalla, and Callum Turner
2016
5.6
HBO Max
Assassin’s Creed is a series that really doesn’t have a bad game, even Valhalla and Mirage,and more underrated AC gameslike Unity, Rogue, Liberation, and the Nexus VR game. However, in 2014, there was the launch of an atrocious mobile RPG game called Assassin’s Creed Identity, which, let’s say, is now “Requiescat in pace.”
In 2016, you had the live-action AC movie adaptation starring Michael Fassbender as both modern-day assassin Callum Lynch and his ancestor during the Spanish Inquisition. It was actually a solid outing with a terrific cast that’s grossly overhated by fans. The storyline is compelling, and the Templar villains were as good as any in the games, and the change to the Animus was also creative for a PG-13 film.
Jared Hess
Jack Black, Jason Momoa, Sebastian Hansen, Emma Myers, Danielle Brooks, Jennifer Coolidge, Rachel House, and Matt Berry
5.7
48 percent
VOD, HBO Max (After theatrical release)
The OG Minecraft will always be cherished as a smash-hit iconic game, but it did eventually stretch out into a series that would include the Minecraft: Story Mode games from Telltale and also Minecraft Dungeons and Minecraft Legends. As in the case with Borderlands, adding ‘Legends’ to your title probably spells a bad game, but A Minecraft Movie is far from a bad movie.
Sure, A Minecraft Movie is highly memeable and full of cringeworthy Jack Black songs and dialogue. Still, these moments are ultimately super fun and memorable, and there’s a litany of quotable lines you’ll be repeating. ‘Steve’s Lava Chicken’ is probably playing in your head as you read this, and let’s not forget “First we mine, then we craft” and “Chicken Jockey!” The visuals for the Minecraft world itself are also fantastic.
