This month, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie may set another high benchmark for video game movies.
That film’s predecessor, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, went a long way towards changing the reputation of films inspired by video games.
There were plenty of bad video game movies before that, as well as a handful of films that actually do right by their source material.
To celebrate the debut of the latest Mario movie, Watch With Us is sharing the five best video game movies, as ranked by IMDb.
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5. ‘Mortal Kombat’ (1995)
The original Mortal Kombat was one of the first video game movies to actually be entertaining. Director Paul Anderson made the right choice by treating it like a kung fu movie, and it’s a better representation of the games than the most recent Mortal Kombat film from 2021.
A demigod named Raiden (Christopher Lambert) personally arranges for three martial artists — Liu Kang (Robin Shou), Johnny Cage (Linden Ashby) and Sonya Blade (Bridgette Wilson) — to take part in the Mortal Kombat tournament held by the malevolent Shang Tsung (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa). If one of those three fails to defeat Shang or his champion, Goro, then Earth will be overrun by an invasion from the alternate realm known as Outworld.
Mortal Kombat is streaming on HBO Max.
4. ‘Uncharted’ (2022)
The Uncharted film kind of cribbed on its homework by directly lifting several action sequences from the games. Although Tom Holland caught a little flak for being too young to play Nathan Drake, he does pretty well in the role opposite Mark Wahlberg‘s as Victor “Sully” Sullivan.
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Think of the film as an alternate origin for Nate and Sully, as they embark on their first adventure together. This unlikely duo is in a race with the wealthy and ruthless Santiago Moncada (Antonio Banderas) to find a hidden treasure first. And Moncada won’t hesitate to have Nate and Sully killed if they get in his way.
Uncharted is streaming on Hulu.
3. ‘Pokémon Detective Pikachu’ (2019)
Pokémon Detective Pikachu is one of the most visually impressive titles on this list for the way it faithfully translated the classic Pokémon designs to 3D animation. The film’s primary setting, Ryme City, is a haven for Pokémon because it’s one of the few places where it’s illegal for them to be captured and used to fight each other. Justice Smith has the leading human role as Tim Goodman, a young man who has come to Ryme City following the disappearance of his father, Detective Harry Goodman.
While going through his father’s things, Tim meets Harry’s partner, Detective Pikachu (Ryan Reynolds). Pikachu has lost his memories, but he’s convinced that Harry is still alive. But as Tim and Pikachu pursue their investigation, they discover a plot that will twist Ryme City’s harmony between humans and Pokémon into something unexpected.
Pokémon Detective Pikachu is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.
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2. ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ (2024)
The first two Sonic the Hedgehog films made several big changes, including bringing Sonic (Ben Schwartz), Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) and Knuckles (Idris Elba) to Earth. But the third film, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, finally seemed to get a grip on how to use its source material.
Keanu Reeves joins the cast in this film as the voice of Shadow, a hedgehog who is even faster than Sonic and tougher than Knuckles. For the first time, Team Sonic is truly outclassed by a villain. That’s why Sonic reluctantly turns to his old foe, Ivo Robotnik (Jim Carrey), for help against Shadow and his ally, Robotnik’s grandfather, Gerald Robotnik (Carrey).
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is streaming on Paramount+.
1. ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ (2023)
The live-action Super Mario Bros. movie from 1993 apparently scared Nintendo away from Hollywood for three decades. But as comebacks go, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is everything fans wanted from the first film and more. Illumination’s animation brings the Mushroom Kingdom and other areas from the game to life in vivid detail, while also presenting the cast of characters in their most recognizable incarnations.
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Mario (Chris Pratt) and Luigi (Charlie Day) are just a pair of hardworking plumbers who are accidentally sent to another world. The evil Bowser (Jack Black) quickly captures Luigi and plans to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom. To stop Bowser and rescue his brother, Mario has to team up with Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy), Toad (Keegan-Michael Key) and even Donkey Kong (Seth Rogen). This film was a massive hit in theaters, and the sequel is already poised to match or even exceed the original at the box office.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is streaming on Peacock.
