One of the video-game world’s most cinematic offerings, Max Payne, has been re-imagined for the big-screen, joining an ever-growing list of game-to-film adaptations. And while the movie versions of games likes of Doom and Street Fighter proved disappointments, the quality has been getting better and better. Just consider…
1. Tomb Raider (2001 & 2003)
Since the release of the original Tomb Raider game in 1996, the series has developed into a lucrative franchise of related media, and Lara has gone on to become a major icon of the video game industry. In 2006, Guinness Book of World Records recognised Lara as the "Most Successful Human Videogame Heroine". The franchise was extended into film with the 2001 movie Lara Croft: Tomb Raider and the 2003 sequel Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life, both starring Angelina Jolie as the eponymous British archaeologist-cum-adventurer. A fair percentage of gaming fans argue that the movie adaptations are a poor tribute to their video game heritage, though Jolie, after some initial published criticism, made the role her own. Her English accent was half decent, and she certainly had enough, erm, front, to fill Lara’s ludicrously tight top.
2. Resident Evil (2002; 2004 & 2007)
Resident Evil has exploded into a fantastically successful media franchise, consisting of a survival horror video games series, comic books, novelizations, and a string of Hollywood pictures (a computer-animated movie, named Resident Evil Degeneration, which is set within the series' universe, is also due). The original computer games — there are now thirteen in the series — were heavily influenced by George A. Romero's Dead movies. There are currently three Resident Evil films, written by Paul W. S. Anderson - Resident Evil (2002, which he also directed), Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) and Resident Evil: Extinction (2007). The films feature Anderson’s wife, model Milla Jovovich, and reaction from fans has been mixed. The box office figures, however, with Resident Evil: Extinction taking almost $150 million worldwide, are impressive.
3. Mortal Kombat (1995 & 1997)
The first movie, released in 1995, received reasonable reviews from critics, most notably a "thumbs up" rating from Gene Siskel on the traditionally rather stuffy TV show Siskel & Ebert. Written and directed by Resident Evil’s P.W.S Anderson, it grossed roughly $70 million in the U.S., and an estimated $122 million worldwide. At the time, Mortal Kombat enjoyed the second-highest-ever August opening, after 1993's The Fugitive. The film was considered to be the first major success for video-game movie adaptations, coming out a year after the critically disappointing Street Fighter and two years after the disastrous flop, Super Mario Bros .A sequel to Mortal Kombat, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, was released in 1997, but is largely considered to be inferior to its predecessor: Empire magazine awarded it a one-star rating!
4. Hitman (2008)
A dark and violent action thriller from producer Luc Besson, who directed La Femme Nikita, The Fifth Element and Leon/The Professional, the 2008 film was based on the global video game phenomenon that has sold over seven million units worldwide. Directed by newcomer Xavier Gens, the film, like the game, follows the trail of Agent 47 (played by Timothy Olyphant from Deadwood, Die Hard 4.0, Gone in Sixty Seconds), as he bids for bloodthirsty revenge on those who have double-crossed him. Loaded with political conspiracy, murky machinations, and a whole heap of violence, the film also gave 007 fans a chance to see the new Bond girl, Olga Kurylenko, in action before Quantum of Solace.
5. Silent Hill (2006)
The Silent Hill movie, directed by Christophe Gans and written by Roger Avary, is an adaptation of gaming giant Konami’s series of survival horror games. The film, particularly in its emotional and aesthetic content, as well as its creature design, includes elements from the games Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2, and Silent Hill 3, as it follows a mother who takes her troubled daughter to a town (called Silent Hill, surprise, surprise), that the girl calls out for in her sleep. She takes her child to the town, loses her — careless lady — and while bidding to find her finally uncovers her daughter's connection to the town. Needless to say it is a dark and spooky secret.
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