You're Top-10 Movies/Shows based on Games

[Clint_L]

For shows, The Last of Us is fantastic!

My favourite board game movie is Clue.

I thought DnDHaT was good fun and captured the spirit of the game well.

 

[Aeson]

It took me awhile to figure out what DADHAT is. I tried to figure out why I hadn't heard of a game or movie with such a terrible name.

There was a straight to video D&D movie I enjoy.
DADHAT
DAD: Wrath of The Dragon God
Wing Commander
Original Mortal Kombat and remake
The Last of Us
Fallout
Borderlands
Resident Evil
Final Fantasy The Spirit Within

 

[GreyLord]

The first Mortal Kombat (1995) movie was surprisingly entertaining. Eh, but I can't look you in the eye and say it's good. I'm looking at a list of movie adaptations on Wikipedia and nothing looks good. Keeping in mind I haven't seen Detective Pikachu or the new Mario movie.

I forgot about Detective Pikachu. That actually was a pretty good movie. I wasn't all that interested in it and very skeptical, watched it because a grandchild wanted to watch it, and was pleasantly surprised. I have no idea on how it is related to or even consistent with the source material. I don't know anything about the base material the movie is based on.

The movie itself was a decently good movie.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Hmm, in no particular order:

• Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
• D&D (original cartoon)
• D&D (Honor Among Thieves)
• Silent Hill
• The Last of Us
• Fallout
• The Gamers series
• Record of Lodoss War

Oh, if we're including sports?

Rocky. Top of the list. DADHAT doesn't come even close.

Rocky is a great movie. Everyone remembers Gonna Fly Now playing as Rocky triumphantly runs up the steps, but they don't remember him failing to do so earlier, or that he doesn't actually win the big match. It's a grittier movie than most people remember.

 

[Tonguez]

Hmm, in no particular order:

• Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

Oh, I hadnt heard of that one - where can I find it?

 

[Morrus]

Rocky is a great movie. Everyone remembers Gonna Fly Now playing as Rocky triumphantly runs up the steps, but they don't remember him failing to do so earlier, or that he doesn't actually win the big match. It's a grittier movie than most people remember.

I’m sure most people remember just fine.

 

[Clint_L]

Hmm, in no particular order:

• Cyberpunk: Edgerunners
• D&D (original cartoon)
• D&D (Honor Among Thieves)
• Silent Hill
• The Last of Us
• Fallout
• The Gamers series
• Record of Lodoss War

Rocky is a great movie. Everyone remembers Gonna Fly Now playing as Rocky triumphantly runs up the steps, but they don't remember him failing to do so earlier, or that he doesn't actually win the big match. It's a grittier movie than most people remember.

It's one of my favourite films of the 70s, which is saying something, and the grit is what makes it great!

A lot of people probably do tend to focus more on 80s Rocky. Which is a whole different tone.

Edit: Getting back to the OP, I'm not sure that sports movies have much in common. Films and shows about games are by necessity an interpretation, whereas sports films can use direct depictions.

I wanted to add the best video game film I've seen in recent years, the documentary The Remarkable Life of Ibelin. It's a Norwegian film from last year that tells the story of a young man, slowly dying from muscular dystrophy, who increasingly lived his life through World of Warcraft. It is beautiful, inspiring, and raises some profound questions about the nature and value of virtual life.

I can't recommend it highly enough. But...keep some kleenex handy. Something kept happening to my eyes while I was watching it.

 

[Willie the Duck]

I’m sure most people remember just fine.

But how are we going to feel special if others know this thing we know (...which is the entire point of the thing in question...pertaining to one of the largest and most mainstream movie properties of all time)? This is kind of like the 'what's your favorite nerd property no one else remembers' threads we get occasionally where everyone lists the same 1-3 dozen things but treat them as divisive/rebellious hot takes.

But in all seriousness, I think there's a plausible argument that at least the series itself loses sight of the original theme. Later installments definitely lean pretty heavily instead into the theme that Rocky will take a licking, but then underdog his way into a full victory. The same happened with Stallone's other huge series, Rambo, in that the later movies in the series tend to ignore the personal-struggle aspect of First Blood and the surrender-to-make-a-point plot in favor of turning Rambo into an invincible action character. The audience remembers, but the series maybe doesn't.

Anyways, to the thread topic --
Among actually good movies or shows, I think there are:

• Clue
• D&D:HAT
• The Last of Us
• and Jumanji, which I think maybe shouldn't actually count. When the movie was released (or the 1981 book before it), there wasn't an actual game upon which it was based. The plot centered around a game, but the game was entirely fictional. If we include this, I'd think we'd have to include things like War Games and The Last Starfighter.

 

[Morrus]

But in all seriousness, I think there's a plausible argument that at least the series itself loses sight of the original theme. Later installments definitely lean pretty heavily instead into the theme that Rocky will take a licking, but then underdog his way into a full victory.

Well, they condense it. Rocky I-II together is that. Then each of the subsequent movies is individually. Well, except for V and Balboa.

 

[Gradine]

If we're combining both TV and Movies we've actually got a lot of options.

1: Clue - This one feels obvious, it was very, very good. A classic.
2: D&D: Honor Among Thieves - This movie had everything going against it, and it ended up still being so damn good
3: Last of Us - Season 1 is incredible, perhaps even better than the first game, which was also incredible. The second game was so unbelievably miserable that I can't imagine they did much better by the show though.
4: Castlevania - Season 1 was dicey, but the rest of the show delivered in spades. Maybe Ellis got editors to weed out his worst impulses? I'm glad as hell that I gave it a second chance, though.
5: Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - I am still flabbergasted by good these movies turned out to be. They absolutely should not have worked, at all. And yet... they're great? Incredibly fun? With great humor? And actual heart? Bewildering
6: Sonic the Hedgehog - Turns out I was nostalgic for two things from the 90's; Sonic the Hedgehog and Jim Carrey making me laugh
7: Tomb Raider (2018) - This movie flopped and people hated and I cannot, for the life of me, figure out why? This movie was great. Tense, fun action flick. Should've made at least two more.
8: Mortal Kombat (1995) - What used to be the gold standard. Incredibly fun, music slapped hard, kinda goofy, everything it needed to be.
9: Street Fighter (1994) - Was this a great movie? No. Was this a good movie? Also no. Was this a bad movie? Surprisingly also no. It was a terrible film. What it was, however, was a work of joy and love from a cast and crew who knew they were making a terrible movie and put their hearts and souls into it anyway. The legendary Raul Julia gets most of the flowers, and deservedly so, but so much of the supporting cast is also absolutely outstanding in their scenary-chewing, most notably Andrew Bryniarski and Miguel Nunez Jr. as minions Zangief and Dee Jay, respectively. Name one movie with worse writing that is still so damn easily quotable. I'll wait.
10: Furious 7 - Until DADHAT this was the best Dungeons & Dragons movie ever created, by a decent margin (over the runner-up, Fast Five).

Honorable Mentions:
Tomb Raider: The Angelina Jolie ones - These were still good fun. Or at least the first one was
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle: Not sure if this counts, but people have been putting the original on the last and as much of a classic as that was (and worth an honorable mention as well), this one managed to surpass. Jack Black as one of the most heartwarming portrayals of a teenage girl in a film comedy was not on my 2017 bingo card. Neither was The Rock making me laugh. On purpose! And yet, there we were