I believe at this point, we all have at least seen one video game adaptation. Video game adaptations, or adaptations in general, are simply adapting things like books and other media to the big screen. Adaptations are extremely common, mostly because it’s cool and fun to see something you love on the “silver screen.” Video game adaptations are no exception; in fact, video games are actually the second-best thing to adapt into a movie, with books being number one. However, just because video games are so popular, it doesn’t mean their adaptations are always good. This article will go over why some are good and why some are downright terrible, and use examples from older and newer adaptations.
The Good: The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, and Detective Pikachu
Not every video game movie is bad; in fact, some of them are pretty good! 2024’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a good example of an adaptation done right, putting in fan service and making a good movie for fans and general audiences alike. The reasoning behind this is that even though there is fan service and things fans would love, the film also has a core narrative that focuses on universal themes that don’t require hours of gaming knowledge. According to AZ Family, the film “…goes above and beyond compared to before, with the visual spectacle in the action sequences and fan service, but never too much to lose the general audience.”
Another movie that has things gamers would adore while also having a good story that general audiences will find enjoyable is 2023’s The Super Mario Bros Movie. Despite its questionable casting and a pretty low critics’ score, this movie is loved by audiences. It prioritizes nostalgia and fan service over complex storytelling. Similarly to Sonic 3, it maintains being a “love letter” to fans, while also being fun to a general audience. And honestly, I can’t wait for its sequel to be released this April.
A movie that was quite mixed in reviews, but is now beloved, would be 2019’s Detective Pikachu. This movie was both a critical and box office success; it made $450 million worldwide on a $150 million budget, according to WatchMojo BoxOffice. Despite its mixed reception when released, the film, over time, went on to be one of the favorites among gamers because of its amazing CGI work, an excellent performance from Ryan Reynolds as Pikachu, and its standalone story that appeals to both nostalgic fans and newcomers.
The Bad: Mario Bros. (1993), Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, Resident Evil, A Minecraft Movie
Unlike the movies mentioned in the last category, it’s an unfortunate reality that most adaptations of a video game are terrible. A major example of a badly rated adaptation is 2025’s A Minecraft Movie. Fans of the video game have speculated that instead of focusing on making a good and fun movie for everyone, the people behind the Minecraft movie thought it would be more important to shove the story out of the way and focus on making the most meme-ified movie ever. This was obvious, since most of the movie’s popularity came from the lines Jack Black’s character, Steve, says throughout the movie. The lines were specifically made to become viral memes, rather than a part of a good story. The movie suffers from not trying to make its movie interesting or unique, but rather being a viral, popular movie.
Daily Bruin said, “Even with a vast amount of talent and resources to mine from, the minds behind ‘A Minecraft Movie’ have crafted nothing but soulless corporate slop.”
A movie that suffers from a lack of substance just to please fans would be 2025’s Five Nights at Freddy’s 2. Despite its Box office being a commercial success, with it making $237 Million worldwide according to WatchMojo Box Office, and its praise among fans, FNAF 2 was no Critical Success; the film was given a 16% on Rotten Tomatoes, showing how badly this film was received. One of the reasons the film suffers is it relies on fan service too heavily. According to MovieWeb, the director, Emma Tammi, said, “It really was a choice from the get-go to try to really put fan service first and foremost as we were making these films.” I believe that this is why the film fails; it puts FNAF fans first and the general audience second. Wanting to make a movie that fans will love instead of making a movie that helps the viewer understand the lore.
But despite their extreme negativity, both the Minecraft and FNAF film adaptations have their fans, and some gamers and general audiences will find enjoyment in them regardless of the quality.
There are two adaptations that are still considered the worst of the genre, and that is 1993’s Super Mario Bros and 2002’s Resident Evil. These two movies are considered to be two of the worst video game adaptations ever. But why are they hated among both players and the general audience and considered to be the worst? Well, the answer is very simple: they ignored the source material and made a movie that felt incoherent. The 1993 Mario Movie strayed away from the source material by a lot. Iconic characters like Bowser and Toad were just turned into humans, the goombas were turned into tall, pin-headed, lizard-like soldiers, and Yoshi was traded in for just a real dinosaur, removing their iconic designs from the games. The setting changed by a lot as well, trading the Mushroom Kingdom for just a replica of New York City. The reason all these changes were made is that Nintendo and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto had zero Creative Control, which led to all of these changes. People have gone on to say that this movie is even the reason why Video Game movies are so hated.
2002’s Resident Evil film is also credited as one of, if not the worst, video game movies as well. Even though they were Box-Office success and went on to spawn a multi-movie franchise, general audiences and die-hard fansof the games despise it so much. Just like Mario, they completely stray away from their source and just make up things just for the film, such as the character Alice, played by Milla Jovovich, who is a completely made-up character and never appeared in the games. Unlike in the game, where it was a “slow burn, murder mystery” type game, the movie was a “Matrix- style action flick.” And one of the worst problems is how generic the movie was, like it was a “by-the-numbers” zombie movie only made for a cash grab, instead of being a cool retelling of the game’s story.
Conclusion
The best I can describe a video game movie adaptation is like finding a diamond in the rough. There are going to be bombshell, terrible video game movies with some good and even amazing ones. Even in recent times, video game adaptations are often still considered really bad. Return to Silent Hill opened this year and is being hated on, with critics and gamers hating the new film. Even still, video game movies are being made almost every year. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie comes out in April, Mortal Kombat 2 comes out in May, Street Fighter comes out in October, and Minecraft Movie 2, Five Nights at Freddy’s 3, and Sonic 4 are all set to be released in 2027, plus so many more. If video game movies stop ignoring their story for viral memes, stop making their movies with a lack of substance, and stop making movies that stray from their source material, video game movies have the potential to be amazing films. Until these problems are fixed, however, video game films will continue to be critical failures.
