Top 5 Most Underrated Video Game Movies
4) Max Payne (2008)
The trailers for Max Payne looked good and many gamers were anticipating great things out of this movie despite already being skeptical of video game movies to begin with. Although it features some recognizable faces like Mark Walhberg, Mila Kunis, and Olga Kurylenko (who was also in Hitman the year before) most fans expressed extreme disappointment and even called it one of the worst video game to movie adaptations ever made.
The movie was quite different from the game and that's usually a bad thing. One of the biggest changes was the drug Valkyr made people see demonic creatures in the movie. This never happened in the game. Considering how big of a role Valkyr plays both in the game and the movie, this change alone was significant enough to alienate hardcore Max Payne fans. Another change had to do with the scene where Max comes home from work to find his family had been murdered. The scene doesn't get shown until the middle of the movie whereas it was at the beginning of the game. If you have never played Max Payne, you're simply left wondering why Max is so hell-bent on revenge until the “big reveal.” Was this supposed to be some sort of shocking twist? If so, it didn't work.
All that aside, Max Payne wasn't too bad if you go into with low expectations. Perhaps that is the key to enjoying movies based on video games. Go into the movie expecting the worst and then you won't be disappointed. If you completely forget the fact the Max Payne video game series exists, then the movie can still be seen as a good film albeit a little slow paced and with several flaws. There are plenty of gun fights, exploding buildings, and Olga Kurylenko in a slinky red dress. How can you hate it?
I feel like this post could have been titled "If You Have Really Low Expectations, These Video Game Movies Are Okay." And, that's frustrating. Low standards are one of the biggest negative influences in the video game industry. For example, the author all but directly states here that you can't expect a video game to have a high quality story.
Why not? Where is it written that video game writers undergo mandatory lobotomies? One of the main reasons there's yet to be a truly great video game movie is because video games are not respected as a medium. 42 years after Pong and the Magnavox Odyssey were released, people are still debating whether or not the medium counts as "art." To put that in perspective, less than 40 years after the very first image was captured on a video camera, Sergei Eisenstein had released The Battleship Potemkin. 12 years later came Snow White.
If we don't start expecting better quality from our video games, we should get used to a lot more lists like this.
Tomb Raider came out when I was sixteen. I'd already been such a fan of the video games, and I really liked it. It was nice to have a female role model to look up to. I enjoyed it and will still defend it to people who didn't like it today as a positive movie for young women.
Max Payne is one of the worst videogame adaptations ever made imho.
Mortal Kombat is one of the worst movies ever made period imho.
..Doom? not even a mention? come onnnn
Silent Hill was great. True to the atmosphere of dread the game instilled and true to game monsters. Plus the ending was actually satisfying. How they made such a horrible sequel is beyond me.
None of these movies are underrated. They got what they deserve.
I liked the Mortal Kombat movies. Yes I said I liked them both. Yes they weren't perfect but i never expected perfect from a Mortal Kombat movie. For one thing they didn't follow the games exactly. But I can deal with that. My only complaint was the 2nd game was entirely skipped over opting for the storyline based off 3. But I liked that storyline in the games anyways so I can deal with it. Even though they had their faults they were still enjoyable and I am glad to own them on dvd.
tekken was pretty good
I would put Mortal Kombat ahead of Tomb Raider as I was always a MK fan and never really played the TR games.
I would have left Max Payne off the list, I wanted to like it but I thought it was terrible.
Tomb raider got 8 on ign
Silent Hill is a terrible movie. With all the changes done to the story it's not even Silent Hill anymore. Was a big fan of the series and I was appalled with all the changes made.
The Cult being changed over to religious people trying to kill the witch, rather then being a cult to harness Cheryl's powers. Pyramid Head being in the movie didn't make any sense, he's a manifestation of another character that's not in the movie. That whole nurse scene, where the mom is dodging knives. Why did they switch it over to the mom? Is it unrealistic for a dad to care about this daughter? The town being abandoned? It is not an abandoned town, it is full of people! The abandoned version exists in a pocket dimension! That little girl couldn't act!
Its like they didn't even try!
what about the Resident Evil movies? if its because you haven't seen them, then i highly recommend them. the special effects are high end, the plots are good if not very complicated, and the acting is pretty great, especially if you are comparing it to other video game movies out there.
Silent Hill 2 wasn't bad at all IMHO.
I love Mortal Kombat! I heard good things about the Tekken movie... But I'll wait to see it. Those were $500 sunglasses a...
Anon 1, understated means people didn't like them.
How are these movies underrated, everyone knows them and has seen them.
I really liked Prince of Persia. It's one of the few movie I bought in Blu-Ray.