I often think about how cool it would be if games were made into movies. But when these movies come out, they end up being disappointing. It feels like the director didn’t even play the game before making the movie.
Today, I will discuss some games whose movie adaptations turned out to be quite disappointing. Of course, everyone’s opinion may differ, but in this post, I am sharing my thoughts only.
Hitman: Agent 47
The Hitman series has been around for 25 years, delivering over ten hit games. However, its movie adaptation didn’t live up to its legacy.
The 2015 film, highly anticipated, ended up resembling John Wick more than Hitman. Fans of the series know that stealth is crucial to the franchise. The objective is to eliminate enemies as discreetly as possible and escape without being noticed. Unfortunately, in the movie, Hitman constantly engages in action.
In the games, Hitman is a contract killer, receiving new targets and eliminating them without any emotions. The movie, however, explores his emotional and personal side, and the those who enjoy action movies might find it exciting and entertaining. But as a Hitman fan, it feels lacking in many aspects.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
The Prince of Persia franchise has created countless childhood memories for gamers. In 2010, the movie adaptation hit the screens, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as the Prince.
The movie’s story was inspired by ‘Sands of Time,’ but it introduced new elements, such as giving the Prince a name and exploring his background further. Because of this, many viewers felt it had a Pirates of the Caribbean vibe.
The movie offered action, thrill, and adventure but lacked the unique ‘Sands of Time’ essence. Our hero didn’t seem Persian, and the movie’s environment didn’t capture an authentic Persian feel. Despite the authentic costumes and efforts to adapt the characters from the game, the movie turned out to be just average.
Resident Evil
Many people might remember watching Resident Evil movies since childhood. I recall how they aired on UTV Action, featuring the same female protagonist in all the films, each showing different but interconnected stories.
These movies weren’t directly connected to the video game but were executed in a way that created a well-loved live-action universe. Over 14 years, six movies were released, concluding this universe.
In 2021, a new movie titled “Raccoon City” was released, attempting to base its story on the game’s characters, Leon and Claire. This movie recreated the dark secrets and locations very well. The zombies even had characteristics similar to those in the game.
However, the main problem was with the characters. Many actors struggled with their performances and didn’t convincingly portray their roles. Specifically, they depicted Leon as very timid, which didn’t align with his character from the games.
Max Payne
Max Payne, released in 2008, five years after Max Payne 2, is widely considered one of the worst video game adaptations by both gamers and movie critics.
Mark Wahlberg stars as the protagonist. The story and character backgrounds remain quite similar to those in the game, involving themes of revenge, crime, and the underworld.
The film heavily features supernatural elements like demonic creatures, which were not present in the game. The movie also portrayed the demons as almost real without proper explanation.
Although a movie adaptation can’t be an exact copy of the game, it should at least capture the same vibe to do justice to the game and satisfy the audience who loved it.
Key villains were not portrayed correctly, and character arcs were poorly developed. Additionally, the murder of Max’s family, a crucial plot point, was not shown at the beginning, making the audience wait unnecessarily. These execution flaws led to the movie being poorly received by viewers.
Assassin’s Creed
Assassin’s Creed is a game series that taught us more about history than school ever did.
When the movie was announced in 2016, gamers were thrilled, expecting awesome action and a deep story. However, by the time they left the theater, about 8 out of 10 were likely disappointed.
The title suggests that we should explore the life of an assassin more, but the movie focused heavily on sci-fi tech and the hero’s present-day world, giving little screen time to the actual assassin. This was a major injustice to the game’s essence.
While it’s understood that a movie’s story should have some uniqueness and not be an exact copy of the game, it doesn’t mean the entire concept should be changed.
The movie did have action, and the ending was satisfying and filled with goosebumps moments. However, overall, it didn’t stand out and was probably not well-received by Assassin’s Creed fans.
Far Cry
Did you know there’s a movie based on the Far Cry game? Probably not, since it flopped. Released in 2008, the same month as Far Cry 2, this German movie was also translated into English. In short, it was a boring film with a very weak storyline.
When making a movie based on a game, even if you don’t copy the story, it should at least feel like part of the game. Instead, this movie served up something completely unrecognizable.
The actors performed well, but the characters lacked depth, much like the story. It wasn’t entertaining enough to be enjoyed even as a regular movie. Both gamers and non-gamers gave it low ratings and poor reviews.
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Tomb Raider is considered one of the most iconic gaming characters of all time. However, the 2001 movie, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, did not receive the same level of praise.
Fans were unhappy with the casting because Angelina Jolie is American, not British, and she wore padding to achieve Lara’s figure.
IGN even gave the movie a score of 0.1 out of 10, the lowest score possible.
Despite this, Lara Croft had become such a big name by then that the movie made an impressive $274.7 million in sales, making it the highest-grossing video game adaptation at the time.
Doom
Doom is another movie that tried to introduce new elements instead of following its source material, which left gamers unimpressed when it was released in 2005.
First, they changed the demons into mutants, which was a poor decision because it caused the movie to lose an important element. It also included many first-person view scenes to mimic the game’s feeling, but it neglected other crucial aspects like character development, storytelling, and dialogue.
This lack of proper research and execution resulted in the movie receiving significant criticism.
House of the Dead
Who remembers House of the Dead? Those who had a laptop or computer before 2010 will know it was an epic game. In fact, it was as scary as modern games like Outlast.
In 2003, a movie based on this game was released. The makers probably shouldn’t have bothered.
The “house” in the title was just a namesake, as the characters spent most of the movie wandering around an island, fighting off zombies. It was a terrible movie with terrible acting.
The same director who later made the Far Cry movie created this one, too. After delivering such terrible movies based on popular games, he earned a reputation for making the worst video game movies.
Halo
In 2022, Paramount released the Halo series, which had high expectations but received mixed reactions. The series deviated from the game’s story, introducing new relationships and character arcs.
Problems arose when many core elements were changed. For instance, in the games, Master Chief is portrayed as a tough soldier who also exhibits human qualities in various situations. However, the series depicted him as a cold warrior.
The creators also experimented by introducing a character named Marky, a human member among a full alien species with special powers, which many fans disliked.
One area where the series excelled was its visuals. The textures, world designs, suits, and aliens were all colorful and flawlessly designed, bringing joy to viewers with their stunning appearance.
So, these were some of the worst video game adaptations. But hey, I have also shared video game movies that I enjoyed watching.
