With the recent news that Paul W.S. Anderson is looking to press on with a film adaptation of the popular Castlevania video game series, and given that his involvement almost guarantees that it will be awful, we got to thinking – what are the worst video game adaptations to date? Putting together a list is a harder task than you’d think, if only because there’s too big a heap to choose from.
Indeed, good or even merely passable adaptations are hard to come by (Mortal Kombat, Silent Hill), with the overwhelming majority of these films being recieved poorly by not only critics but the fanbase they so insultingly pander to. Unsurprisingly, the modern-day Ed Wood himself, Uwe Boll, fills out the top four spots on our list, an astounding feat given Paul W.S. Anderson’s sacrilegious contributions in recent years to this cinematic canon.
Here are the ten worst video game adaptations that’ll nevertheless have you chortling your way from start to finish…
10. Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009)
As if the 1994 Street Fighter didn’t cause enough damage, studio execs thought it a good idea to take another crack fifteen years later with The Legend of Chun-Li, a more boring – if not quite as genuinely terrible – effort that was nevertheless packed with the same unintentional comedy that made the first one such a popular rental. Probably the worst offense is that the film is horribly boring, telling the tale of Chun-Li (played by a hilariously miscast Kristen Kreuk) looking to avenge the murder of her father.
The chief spot of hilarity comes from Chris Klein, playing a cop tasked with investigating the case, delivering a performance that is either legitimately genius, or some of the worst acting this side of The Room. Klein’s cop is played so absurdly idiosyncratic and over the top that it’s either the mark of an actor who knows he’s in a flaming piece of shit and completely going for broke, or the sign of an actor who is absolutely trying too hard. Not even the presence of the late Michael Clarke Duncan can help elevate this turgid adaptation which has little bearing on the video game namesake that influenced it.
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4 Comments
According to RT the best film based on a video game is Prince of Persia – Sands of Time with 35%!!!!! The best one has a negative rating, according to that there has not been one good film based on a game, but I’m hoping the new Mortal Kombat reboot is different based on the rebirth short film.
Good article btw.
Paul W.S Anderson adapting CASTLEVANIA? WTF!?!?!?!?! This pariah of cinema really needs to be stopped asap.
Street Fighter is getting a series called Street Fighter Assassin’s Fist with Joey Ansah the Street Fighter Legacy creator is helming the series,Kevin Tancharoen is renaking Mortal Kombat and why Paul WS Anderson doing a Castlevania movie. What if Hollywood would do a Virtua Fighter movie and it will be cheap I would see Virtua Fighter becoming a movie with lame plot and characters wearing their signature costumes from the game.
How was ‘Dead or Alive’ or even ‘Tekken’ not mentioned? I disagree that the 1994 street fighter movie is ranked higher in the worst section then the legend of chun li, firstly the film did make money, econd was it was fun to watch, bad yes but the director clearly knew this wasn’t going to be taken serious. Of course it annoyed fans who belived that a street fighter game can be made to a serious movie.
Then came legend of chun li. It is boring, shreds gaming story characters were based on AND was a flop. In my opinion it should be in the top four due to how a $50 million movie had messed up. It is a good list but I disagree with the postion of legend of chun li and that this article could come up with ‘honourable mentions’