Movies depicting or involving video games tend to fall dangerously close to product placement, which can be rife with immersion-breaking props and scenery. Or even worse, of pushing a pro-consumer message aimed at impressionable children. Sometimes, however, they just come off as lazy or pointless.
Although, there are thankfully quite a few exceptions to this trend — movies that capture the love of fans and the passion of game developers across the globe. It’s quite easy to tell the difference between excellent and awful video game movies, though it can sometimes be interesting to read the opinions of other fans and some respected critics, like on Rotten Tomatoes. This system has an average that one can use to gauge the general opinion. The Tomatometer is the average of scores rated by professional critics.
10 Worst: The Wizard (1989) – 32%
Things are a bit split on The Wizard. Many fans remember the final scenes of the movie fondly for the depiction of children enjoying video games; something many can relate to. Though, besides cool shots of Super Mario gameplay and some gratifying victory scenes at the end, there’s little behind the nostalgia. The majority of the movie is a dry lead up involving children wandering around places they should not be alone or at all, like highways. One of the few things to break up the monotony, however, was blatant, sometimes cringe-worthy, product placement.
9 Best: TRON (1982) – 72%
TRON represents a new step in computer animation for the movie industry, pioneering many new filming techniques and displaying the story with novel visual effects. It received decent scores from both critics and audiences, who praise its innovation. Those who grew up in the ’80s also get a nostalgia trip anytime they watch this due to numerous dated, yet comical, references.
8 Worst: DOOM (2005) – 19%
With an abysmal score on the Tomatometer, DOOM is a colossal flop of a film. One of the biggest failings in a video game movie is when they don’t represent the content they are based on. The story could be that of any universe, as can the characters. Few aspects accurately acknowledge the video game franchise it is based on, and when it does, it is executed soullessly and clearly with either minimal thought or by a team that was completely unfamiliar with the DOOM games.
7 Best: eXistenZ (1999) – 74%
Those familiar with director David Cronenberg‘s other work will likely be able to interpret the surreal imagery that can be found in this movie. A bizarre and exciting adventure where the organic and inorganic become one, eXistenZ entertains viewers with great acting, directing, and visual effects.
The unique story and generous helpings of slime make this movie stick out in the memories of many, even after two decades. This movie got fairly warm reviews all around.
6 Worst: Video Games: The Movie (2014) – 18%
This documentary would be considered laughably bad if it wasn’t so boring. The tone throughout Video Games: The Movie is one of dumbfounded awe at the marvel of gaming, though barely goes into why this sentiment matters. The directors and writers generalize achievements in the video game industry and remain as broad as possible throughout the runtime. Nothing can be learned from the contents of this documentary, which means it fails the minimum requirement of being informative. This is the opposite of what one wants from a motion picture intended to document a subject.
5 Best: The Last Starfighter (1984) – 76%
Like many movies in the genre, The Last Starfighter starts with the protagonist getting whisked away to a far more exciting setting. After this point, however, the similarities end. This movie is an action-packed spacefaring adventure full of spaceships and lasers, which is exactly what it promises audiences with its title and all the promotional content that surrounded it on theatrical release. Arcade alien-fighting games come alive and allow many to visually live out nostalgia-rich games of the ’80s.
4 Worst: Pixels (2015) – 17%
Despite a star-studded cast and huge budget, Pixels was a massive disappointment. This is another movie that misses the entire point of the video games it is using as integral parts of the film. Almost every reference is the result of some gaming icon getting portrayed as a generic movie monster hellbent on destroying human civilization.
The pixelated creatures in this movie could have been dinosaurs, zombies, or abhorrent Cronenberg slime monsters and it would be the same movie. One with poor performances and lazy writing that grabs at people’s wallets with grubby Hollywood hands.
3 Best: Wreck-It Ralph (2012) – 87%
Reaching the high 80s of both the Tomatometer and Audience Score, Wreck-It Ralph proves that video game movies with original characters don’t have to suck. This tale follows an antagonist of a fictional video game but they are surrounded and interact with real figures from gaming. This feels natural and allows viewers to become immersed in the world while simultaneously representing the core theme accurately and in a manner satisfying to gamers.
2 Worst: Stay Alive (2006) – 10%
The critics have given this a barrel-scrapping score on the Tomatometer. At least this movie falls into the category of one so bad that it is comical and enjoyable simply for being awfully thought up, produced, and executed. Nothing about this film works. The setting is not one that gamers can identify with as none of the characters seem to have ever played a multiplayer game using the internet before. The story makes no sense and the filming techniques used to convey elements that were supposed to be scary end up simply looking cheap and forced. Stay Alive not only fails as a video game movie but also as a competent piece of media.
1 Best: The King Of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters (2007) – 97%
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is a documentary that takes a look at arcade culture as well as the ugly side of record-holding. It rightly deserves its astounding Tomatometer rating for showing the world how much video games can mean to the individuals who enjoy them. Donkey Kong is an immensely important title in the video game world. In following a couple of people chasing the world record high score, viewers will witness a gripping tale of perseverance, underhanded tactics, and dedication to the love of video games.
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