8 Awful Video Game Movies That Got The Most Important Thing Right
Who says you can't polish a turd?
For so long now, it seems like it's an impossible task to bring a video game franchise to live-action, cinematic life.
Many have tried, and an extreme few have achieved even a modicum of success.
For those that have reaped box office rewards, they've largely had to veer from their source material *cough* the Resident Evil film franchise *cough* and have usually turned off the initial fan base that made the property so popular in the first purpose.
Amongst the duds and the stinkers, however, there are those times when a video game movie threatens to completely redeem itself by nailing one special thing that strikes hard to the heart of what people loved from the gaming world.
It may not always be enough to save a picture, but at least it gives the die-hards something to hold on to as they do their damnedest to cling onto the hope that one day their favourite 16-bit adventures will be done justice on the silver screen.
Here, we're spotlighting eight video game-based movies. And full disclosure, none of these are even close to being great. The thing is, it's not about necessarily being a good movie - these films are here because they get that one fundamental, that one basic correct that properly ties them to the games that they are based upon.
8. Need For Speed - Fast, Frenetic Energy
It may have gone a little too excessive – even for a movie based on the oft-nuts Need for Speed franchise – but the Aaron Paul-starring Need for Speed movie in 2014 at least got one pivotal piece of its puzzle correct: speed!
The film was panned by critics and the majority of fans, and the stupid plot and wooden performances on display ultimately resulted in a film that had few true redeeming features.
Away from essentially serving as a giant advertising campaign for some of the swankiest cars on the planet, Need for Speed did manage to convey the sheer adrenaline-inducing velocity of the video game series on which the film was loosely based.
Sadly, even the frenetic turned-up-to-11 chase sequences and energetic action couldn’t help the picture from feeling like a slow and painful viewing experience. Going really fast had never felt so nauseatingly slow.
To be fair, Need for Speed did turn a steady profit for Disney when all was said and done - $200 million return from a $65 million budget – but that thankfully wasn’t enough to warrant any follow-up outings for Paul’s Tobey Marshall.