Sony PlayStation’s highly anticipated HBO/Sky adaptation of The Last of Us starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey received rave reviews ahead of its release next week.
Adaptations of video games for the big screen and TV have a checkered history. For every The Last Of Us, there are at least a dozen that have not been uploaded by viewers or critics, such as Doom, BloodRayne, or Alone In The Dark.
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So now is a good time to consider which video game adaptations are the best and worst to date.
The best video game adaptations
Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)
The high-speed, blue hedgehog series of games has been a favorite of games for decades, but there has been a lot of concern about a movie adaptation, especially due to backlash against Sonic’s appearance in the first-look trailer. The backlash was so violent that Paramount delayed the film for three months to ‘fix’ Sonic’s design. It was worth it.
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Starring Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic, as well as James Marsden and Jim Carrey as the villainous Doctor Robotnik/Eggman, the film was a success at the critical and box office, grossing $320 million, followed by an even more successful sequel. in 2022.
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019)
Pokémon is one of the world’s best-known video game brands, producing a number of games and finding success in other environments.
2019’s live-action Detective Pikachu features some of the series’ best-known creatures, including the famous yellow hero voiced by Ryan Reynolds, where Pikachu and Justice Smith’s Tim Goodman investigate a series of bizarre events and a conspiracy in Rhyme City. contains.
The film received solid reviews, with an impressive 68% on Rotten Tomatoes and an impressive $433 at the global box office.
Uncharted (2022)
Following Nathan Drake’s journeys around the world on multiple PlayStation platforms since 2007, the Uncharted games have garnered legions of fans. The long-running film adaptation finally came out in February 2022, with Tom Holland as Drake and Mark Wahlberg as Sully.
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While not as acclaimed as some adaptations, this is far from the worst review and the audience Rotten Tomatoes score is 90%. The Netherlands has proven itself to be stellar and box office power away from Spider-Man, making $401 and arguing if it ever became a franchise for Sony.
Angry Birds Movie (2016)
Angry Birds, one of the biggest mobile games of all time, won its own movie adaptation in 2016 and was a financial success, grossing $352 million from a $70 million budget. A sequel followed in 2019, but failed to repeat the success of the original. The success of the movie demonstrates the games’ enduring appeal despite a simple premise.
Tomb Raider (2018)
After two movies starring Angelina Jolie in early 2013, the Tomb Raider movies were loosely rebooted as Alicia Vikander Lara Croft in the movie based on the 2013 video game reboot.
The film grossed $274 million and had an audience rating of 54% on Rotten Tomatoes, proving to be successful enough for a sequel in production with Vikander. This was back recently after MGM waived the rights.
Battleship (2016)
World of Warcraft has an ardent fan base, so expectations were high for Warcraft, the 2016 movie in the series directed by Duncan Jones of Moon fame. The film was a modest success, grossing $439 million at the box office, and was clearly a hit with fans, boasting a Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 76%.
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A planned trilogy will unfortunately never see the light of day.
Halo (2022 to present)
The Halo series has been an important game for Xbox and expectations were high for the 2022 Paramount+ series. It received strong reviews with a 70% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a second series in development, meaning we’ll be seeing more of Master Chief on our screens.
The Witcher (2019-present)
It is worth mentioning the success of The Witcher on Netflix while adapting more book series.
Two series, two on the way, an animated prequel and a live-action adaptation, The Witcher: Blood Origin is currently streaming on Netflix, and the series has proven to be one of Netflix’s most successful IP captures to date.
Worst video game adaptations
Assassin’s Creed (2016)
The Assassin’s Creed series has been a huge success for Ubisoft since 2007, with clear cinematic potential. A movie adaptation starring Michael Fassbender was released in 2016, but the elements that made the games so popular weren’t fully present and brought in poor box office results of $240 million against a $120 million budget. Any continuation plans were promptly cancelled.
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Netflix announced in 2020 that a live-action series, an animated series, and an anime series are in development for the platform, but so far none of them have seen the light of day.
Ratchet and Clank (2016)
You could be forgiven for forgetting that one of the recent video game adaptations is a movie adaptation of the long-running adventures of mechanic Ratchet and his sidekick Clank.
The movie grossed just $14 million out of a $20 million budget and received some pretty harsh reviews. On the plus side, the movie’s gameplay was a success.
Resident Evil (2022)
Netflix, which had success with The Witcher, could not repeat the success it had with the Resident Evil series. Previously adapted as a long-running film franchise starring Mila Jovovich, the series aimed to be a more faithful adaptation of Capcom’s long-running survival horror franchise.
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The series received moderate reviews, and Netflix eventually canceled the series after just one season.
The Last Of Us will air on Sky Atlantic and air NOW starting January 16 with an Entertainment Membership. Watch a trailer below.