The 5 Popular Video Game Movies To Watch

In the past decades, video game movies have become a genre with a broad audience. Viewers come from different generations and various ages. Although it is not exclusively targeted at the gaming community, many people enjoy this genre as it serves a unique storyline and great visual that most movies don’t have.

Video game movies are one of a kind. They don’t share the plots just like the other novel adaptation movies in which readers expect the moviemakers to visualize what they read in the book.

In video-games based movies, on the other hand, had the script director created a storyline that would fit the original games. This sometimes results in divergent opinion, especially to avid gamers. If the movies don’t satisfy them enough, becoming a flop is something unavoidable.

However, not a single movie can entertain the whole population. Even the top 10 highest-grossing movies cannot pass the eye of critics when it comes to plot and cinematography. Video game movies are not any different, there will be various reception on the media and viewers.

But, here is a list of the five video game movies that are popular among gamers and non-gamers viewers.

The 5 Popular Video Game Movies To Watch

Detective Pikachu (2019)

Detective Pikachu is one of the most highly anticipated video game movies in 2019. Fans lost it when they showed a yellow fuzzy figure in Warner Bros’ YouTube thumbnail trailer. It was finally the time to experience a live-action Pokemon movie in today’s technology.

The plot follows the story of a 21-year-old adjuster who gave up his dream to become a Pokemon trainer. Tim Goodman later found himself teaming up with an amnesiac talking Pikachu to find his father who was believed to be dead. He then partnered with an aspiring journalist, Lucy, and her Pokemon, Psyduck in searching for the city’s biggest lie.

Overall, Pokemon Detective Pikachu garnered $433 million gross around the world with a mixed review from critics. However, this movie has enticed both the gaming and non-gaming community to visit the movie theater. With Ryan Reynold stars as the voice-over and facial motion capture of Pikachu, this video game movie is undoubtedly worth watching.

Warcraft (2016)

Although it was received poorly by critics, Warcraft had successfully grossed over $439 million globally and had been deemed as the highest-grossing video game movie adaptation all the time. It surpassed Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time that was a major success for nearly six years.

Warcraft focused on the conflict between humans and orcs who fight for their land. It started when the strong warlock Gul’dan created a portal to the world of Azeroth after Draenor, the dying homeland for the orcs, was destroyed. Gul’dan then used the fel magic to enter Azeroth and capture the natives to keep the gate opened. The people of Azeroth fight back the intruders to decide the fate of their family.

Starring Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper, and Daniel Wu; the film didn’t initially succeed at the domestic box office. Warcraft was projected to gross around $25 million in its opening weekend, however, it finished second at the box office behind The Conjuring Part 2 that garnered a whopping $40.1 million.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010)

This video game adaptation movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Prince Dastan, Gemma Arterton as Princess Tamina, Ben Kingsley as Nizam, Toby Kebbell as Garsiv, and Alfred Molina as Sheik Amar. It is set in ancient Persia following the empire after the Islamic conquest. The movie shows architecture building from the Islamic era with the presence of geometrical shapes and domes.

Prince Dastan, an adopted Persian King, defeated a royal guard in an attempt to capture the Holy city of Alamut. He acquired a sacred dagger which later revealed its ability to turn back time. Prince Dastan was in a fleed with Princess Tamina of Alamut after being accused of murdering the king. The pair partnered to reveal the king’s assassin.

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time was the highest-grossing video game movie adaptation in 2010. It stayed on the top until after Warcraft surpassed the number in 2016. Just like the movie Warcraft, Prince of Persia wasn’t well welcomed by critics saying the leading actors were not inspiring.

Resident Evil (film series: 2002-2017)

It is a lie if any moviegoers don’t find these movie series amusing. Resident evil movies have caught the attention of both gamers and non-gamers for their quirky plots. This film series has grossed over $1.23 billion worldwide making it the highest-grossing film series based on a video game.

Resident Evil begins with a stolen T-virus that contaminated the Hive, a genetic research facility in Raccoon City. The Umbrella Corporation who owned the Hive sealed the facility by activating the Artificial Intelligence (AI) called Red Queen. This AI, however, ended up killing everyone inside the facility. The commando team was then set on a mission to close the Hive before the virus goes outside the facility.

After a big success with six films, a reboot movie is expected to theatrically air in 2021. The new resident evil movie will focus on the origin story that sets in 1998.

Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

Before debuting as the highest-grossing superhero movie of 2020, Sonic the Hedgehog was initially disappointing fans due to its awful trailer. It shortly became a good meme of a failed attempt. The first Sonic the Hedgehog was super meh that even non-fans cannot resist leaving a bad review.

It begins with a probably not-finished animated Sonic design. It shares a humanoid appearance with less to no similarity to the video games. The first Sonic lacks animation approaches that people began comparing it with exceptional Detective Pikachu design. After receiving a universal backlash, a Japan-based Marza Animation Planet led Sonic redesign that closes to the original Sega.

Sonic the Hedgehog becomes the fifth highest-grossing movie of 2020 and sets to have a sequel in 2022. This success is more likely coming from the redesigned character that finally grabs the fans’ hearts. Sonic also breaks the box office for the video game movie genre surpassing Pokemon Detective Pikachu.

Wrap It Up

The video game movie genre is not going anywhere soon as it brings a broader audience every year. Most viewers, especially moviegoers, don’t pay attention to a movie’s origin as long as the trailer serves good. Or the promotion makes a huge deal to show the upcoming movie everywhere.

Many video game movies offer a good storyline that fits the original game but, most of them don’t sound interesting for the non-gaming community to watch the movies. However, these are the five popular movies that go beyond fandom. So, whether you are an avid gamer or not, these movies are worth to re-watch.

Author

Andre Oentoro is the founder of Breadnbeyond, an award-winning explainer video company. He helps businesses increase conversion rates, close more sales, and get positive ROI from explainer videos (in that order).

Twitter: @breadnbeyond
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