10 Iconic Video Game Moments You Had NO Idea Were Taken From Movies
10 iconic game moments that secretly recreated scenes from classic movies - but did you notice?
Video games have always owed a debt to cinema, but sometimes that inspiration goes way deeper than just “feeling cinematic.” From framing and camera angles to full-blown set-pieces and story beats, game developers have been quietly lifting from Hollywood for decades. And honestly? We love them for it.
Because while some tributes are pretty on-the-nose (GTA: Vice City basically is Scarface and Miami Vice's lovechild), others are far sneakier - subtle recreations of iconic movie moments that most players never clocked, but that film nerds absolutely eat up. You might’ve thought you were blasting through a tense sniper duel or escaping a burning skyscraper for the first time… but in reality, you were walking in the footsteps of De Niro, Bond, or Bruce Willis.
These aren’t just references - they’re often straight-up recreations hidden in plain sight. Some serve as loving homage, some as sneaky easter eggs, and others are so brazen it’s a miracle they didn’t get sued.
So, let’s take a look back at ten iconic moments from video games that you probably didn’t realise were borrowed from the movies. And don’t worry - if you missed the reference the first time around, you’re not alone.
10. Uncharted 3 - Plane Chaos
Inspired by: The Living Daylights (1987)
Everyone knows Uncharted is basically Indiana Jones: The Game, complete with quips, ancient puzzles, and near-death set-pieces every 20 minutes. But one of Uncharted 3’s most iconic moments doesn’t come from Indy - it borrows from another cinematic globetrotter: Bond. James Bond.
In The Living Daylights, Timothy Dalton’s 007 finds himself mid-brawl in the belly of a cargo plane over the desert. The fight spills out the back ramp, with Bond and a henchman hanging onto cargo mid-air, before gravity does its thing. At the time, it was one of the most ambitious stunts ever put to film.
Nathan Drake looked at that scene and said, “Hold my beer.”
In Uncharted 3, the setup’s almost identical - cargo plane, desert, high-stakes freefall - but the chaos is dialled up to eleven. Debris blasts past as Drake dangles from netting, henchmen open fire mid-drop, and when he finally climbs back aboard, the plane rips itself to pieces, hurling him into a sandstorm with nothing but a parachute and a prayer.
It’s such a standout sequence, they recycled it for the Uncharted movie. The problem? On the big screen, it suddenly felt like a video game knock-off.