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After noticing a severe-lack of movie themed threads around, I decided to make this with Video-Games in mind. This is the list of the greatest video game themed films of all time, ranging from adaptations, documentaries and simply just those with games integrated to the plot. The majority of the movies on this list aren't the most well-known films; however they are all well worth watching. Sorry to those of you who were expecting films like Resident Evil or Tomb Raider to pop up.
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6. TRONTRON is the second movie on this list that is not specifically about any games, but is themed in the same way as a game. This movie barely needs a description. The plot is inspired by Pong, which may explain a lot. The plot focuses on a game designer who intends to use a program called TRON to monitor communications. It's a weirdly engaging look on video games. It visualizes technology in an obviously ridiculous manner, however it is a visual delight. It's a sound and light show full of wonder and very easy to appreciate; triumphant in style. The video game themes are well integrated into the story, though now thinking about it, it seems like the concept that the inside of a computer looks like a video game is preposterous. It's not really a big deal though, you'd probably just chuckle at it. The film made me want to put Christmas lights on a plate and throw it at balloons.
5. Second Skin
Second Skin is a documentary about MMORPG's and the subculture of people that it has formed. It also shares the stories of people who's lives have been affected by MMORPGS, for better or worse. The movie is incredibly impartial; it depicts the games in both a negative and a positive light. That just shows how much ground this movie covers. It shows the human side and how it affects people, the technical side, the issues pertaining to it, and the history behind the games. It's extremely informative and entertaining. It shows a world that is somehow different from our own, and how it clashes with ours.
4. Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the ArcadeThis first acts as somewhat of a companion piece to the first place film which you will see later on. Chasing Ghosts is a documentary about the video game craze of the early 80's in which Walter Day, an eccentric businessman/arcade owner, decides to national high score table. The film showcases a wide variety of faces, the majority being either the current or previous holders of arcade-game high score records. It's a compelling film. We see the whole dynamic behind the frenzy, the lives of those people who have been hooked, how the entire mania ensued, and the games themselves. Through the film, we see that even then, video games could be a big deal. The film is an essential for any video game fan, most especially those who want to reminesce that certain age of gaming.
HONORABLE MENTIONS:
6. Clannad - It works for fans, however it doesn't work for anyone else really.
5. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - It's an action packed film featuring Angelina Jolie at her sexiest. That's the primary thing in this movie.
4. Silent Hill - It's not as scary, or as effective, as it should be. It is very good in capturing a nice atmosphere though.
3. Gamer - A very action packed film in which Gerard Butler plays a controllable character. It's watchable.
2. TRON: Legacy - A lackluster sequel to the first movie, but still as gorgeous, this movie's main pro is the excellent score from Daft Punk.
1. House of the Dead (or better known as The Uwe Boll Show) -In order to find out how funny this movie is, you just have to watch it. It's just so amazing. It's amazing.
10. Mortal Kombat
Mortal Kombat is a film that is ridiculously cheesy and relatively brainless, but overall good fun. It is an adaptation of the popular fighting-game series of the same-name. The film is, as would be expected from the source material, laughably plotless. However, the film becomes watchable because of its good and funny action scenes, the fun dialogue, surprisingly serious and effective visuals, and a good stunt-oriented cast. The special-effects are, surprisingly enough, good, and look attuned to the theme. A movie you should watch if only for the heck of it. It's nothing special, but it's not bad actually. If you don't find it good, it's likely you'll find it on the 'It's so bad, it's good' spectrum of these.
9. Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
While Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children is, I believe, ridiculously over-hyped, it's also a fairly good film. The movie depicts the aftermath of the events that occurred in Final Fantasy VII. That already says so much about why this movie is often considered great by gamers. While the plot had an enormous amount of potential, it screwed itself up by entangling too many elements and it ended up being a convoluted mess. It's virtually impossible to understand for anyone who hasn't played FFVII yet. The visuals however are where it really shines. The CGI is extremely polished and the action scenes look dazzling. Each scene looks and sounds pitch perfect, and the coloring is possibly some of the best I've seen. Besides that, they also kept the integrity of the characters which preserves the nostalgia. I certainly had some. You'll probably have it too.
8. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
While not directly mentioning video-games or even showing any, this is very much a video-game movie. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World stars Michael Cera in the titular role as Scott Pilgrim, a guy who must defeat his girlfriend's seven evil ex-boyfriends (or exes.) The film is brimming with invention and extremely bright. It's quirky, wired, and hell of a lot of fun. It's sort of reminescent of old Nintendo games, which is why a lot of gamers (ahem, everyone on this website) enjoyed it heavily. It makes the old feel young, the middle-aged feel young, and the young feel younger. One such scene that I found humorous is when Michael Cera defeated an enemy (that enemy merely disappearing) and picked up coins that he dropped. It was hilarious. I immediately pictured what Mario would really look like doing that.
7. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
The Spirits Within is frequently overlooked for the next FF film, regardless of the fact that it may actually be better. Instead of trying to talk about the story (that of which is average), let's talk about what really makes it incredible. The effects. Aki Ross may as well be the most amazing looking CGI created character ever. Until now; which is fascinating considering that it was made nearly 11 years ago. The movie looks and feels incredible; its effects are the best on this list. Even #6. It's worth experiencing if only for the visuals. The movie should've taken off with ease; unfortunately the movie proved (surprisingly) to lack audience compatibility. It really is worth a watch. Even Roger Ebert, who has well known disdain for games, was on the side defending the film (albeit a small side that is.) That says quite a lot.
6. TRON
5. Second Skin
Second Skin is a documentary about MMORPG's and the subculture of people that it has formed. It also shares the stories of people who's lives have been affected by MMORPGS, for better or worse. The movie is incredibly impartial; it depicts the games in both a negative and a positive light. That just shows how much ground this movie covers. It shows the human side and how it affects people, the technical side, the issues pertaining to it, and the history behind the games. It's extremely informative and entertaining. It shows a world that is somehow different from our own, and how it clashes with ours.
4. Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade
3. Playing Columbine
The most serious game on this list. By far. As is obvious from the title, Playing Columbine is primarily related to a game about Columbine, which for those of you who for some reason do not know about it, is a massacre that occurred when three high school students embarked on a massacre, killing 13 people. The game, called Super Columbine Massacre RPG! was subjected to widespread controversy. The documentary is dramatic. It's extremely compelling. From someone who has played the game (and, surprisingly enough, appreciated it) it's a very good story to be told. The game, the ensuing murders that followed (The Dawson College Murders), and the wild reaction from the press, all speak about how video games ought to be treated much more seriously. For better or for worse, they can severely affect lives. It's a movie that will take you to somewhere you'd never expect video games to be. For the heck of it, I have to say this is my favorite from this list. There's a lot to get from it.
2. WarGames
What a sudden change of tone, huh? WarGames is an undeniably entertaining thriller about a teenage hacker who, in his hacking ventures, accidentally manipulates games that feed false war information to the US Military. Because of this, NORAD, a defense group, nearly launches World War III. It's very compelling, geniune, and a near classic of the genre. It's intelligent and has an ending that seems both philosophically accurate and clever. It's not the most game-themed film, but the film does heavily involve concepts from games. "The Only Winning Move is not to Play."
1. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
There's a reason why this is on top: it captures the gaming spirit beautifully. Not only in the theme of competitive gaming, but in terms of how the story between them is too. A classic redemptive story is present here, somewhat similar to how your character starts out tragically in a game, and ends up evenentually reaching the evil villain. It's clear that this story, about Steve Wiebe trying to take the Donkey Kong high score record from superstar Billy Mitchell, will capture any gaming nerd's heart. It's a documentary that shows how much people can care about these games, how strongly they can feel for it, and what they would be willing to do to prove their worth even in an (admittedly) trivial matter such as this. He trains hard, for hours and hours, and somehow, this becomes the most interesting thing possible. The ending isn't the happiest, but it's clearly trying to point something out. You decide what that is.HONORABLE MENTIONS:
6. Clannad - It works for fans, however it doesn't work for anyone else really.
5. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - It's an action packed film featuring Angelina Jolie at her sexiest. That's the primary thing in this movie.
4. Silent Hill - It's not as scary, or as effective, as it should be. It is very good in capturing a nice atmosphere though.
3. Gamer - A very action packed film in which Gerard Butler plays a controllable character. It's watchable.
2. TRON: Legacy - A lackluster sequel to the first movie, but still as gorgeous, this movie's main pro is the excellent score from Daft Punk.
1. House of the Dead (or better known as The Uwe Boll Show) -In order to find out how funny this movie is, you just have to watch it. It's just so amazing. It's amazing.
