Top 5 worst game-based movies (MSNBC)

[Brian Damage]

'Super Mario Bros.'

“Super Mario Bros.” is a case study in what not to do when making a movie out of a video game. If a character is supposed to be an Italian with a mustache, don’t have him be clean-shaven and played by the Latino actor John Leguizamo. Or if a character is a reptile like King Koopa or a mushroom like Toad, then don’t make them into humans.
But most of all, don’t take a fun and colorful game, loved by kids and adults alike, and make it into a dark film with a confusing storyline and PG rating, which basically stopped a big portion of the fan base from seeing the film.

This movie’s big claim to shame is that it was the first major motion picture to be based on a video game, clearing the way for all the stinkers that followed.

[Brian Damage]

'Doom'
“Doom” is a great video game, one that spawned legions of imitators. Unfortunately, it also spawned a really boring movie, too.

The premise of the game is simple: A portal to Hell has opened up on Mars and you, a space marine, have to kill everything that came out of it. But the movie focuses on killing zombies and forgets about the whole “demons from Hell” part, making it feel more like “Resident Evil” than “Doom.”

The filmmakers also forgot that the game was fun. The movie, regrettably, doesn’t even come close.

[Brian Damage]

'Street Fighter'
Oh boy, this is a classic for the ages. And by “classic” we mean “piece of crap” because there are just so many things wrong with “Street Fighter.”

For a movie based on a classic bare-knuckle fighting game, there’s a real lack of cool fighting moves and way too much gunplay. The plot is rice-paper thin, with barely enough there to keep the movie afloat. And why is Raul Julia, a well respected theatre-trained actor, going head-to-head against Jean-Claude Van Damme, an action star not known for being a master thespian? That’s one on-screen mismatch that should never have seen the light of day.

But the worst part of “Street Fighter” is that this colossal crap-fest was Raul Julia’s final major motion picture. He deserved a better swan song than this.

[Brian Damage]

'House of the Dead'
No list of bad game-based movies would be complete without mentioning German director Uwe Boll. The man could practically have his own “worst of” column with the films he’s made: “Alone in the Dark,” “BloodRayne” and “House of the Dead” -- a film that takes awful to a new level.

This is a horror movie with few scary moments. The bad acting is so laughable that the movie’s an unintentional comedy, and the plot has pretty much nothing to do with the game’s storyline. About the only things the game and the film have in common are the title, the fact that both are filled with zombies, and the real in-game footage that was spliced into the film -- bad graphics and all.

[Brian Damage]

'Resident Evil: Apocalypse'
“Resident Evil: Apocalypse” does kind of follow the main plot point of Capcom’s “Resident Evil” franchise (flesh-eating zombies are in control of the city and you have to make your way out of it alive). But the movie misses all the reasons why people love the games: it isn’t scary, it isn’t fun, the plot is weak and there’s absolutely no character development.

The sad thing is that “Resident Evil: Apocalypse” is a sequel. Instead of building upon the passable “Resident Evil,” the filmmakers just gave us a brain-dead action thriller with no thrills. Gee, thanks.

[waichingliu81]

streetfighter and super mario brothers would rank in my top two most least favourite video game movies list ever. they just sucked big time. although adding to your list, DoA- dead or Alive, double dragon, mortal kombat: the second one, final fantasy, which looked great but the film was just so boring to watch. wing commander would also join that list as well

[catlover79]

Of all those movies, the only one I saw was the Mario Bros. flick. It was indeed pitiful.

[TJL]

All horrible films. Uwe Boll's movies are the worst of them all.

[GARFIELDKOOL]

I remember wasting my money on seeing "Mortal Kombat" in 1995. That was so bad, I left the theatre in the middle of the movie.