Summary
While there have been plenty of video game movie adaptations over the years, often a movie that looks and feels like a video game without being based on one can work a lot better. This was because movies that took influence from gaming without being burdened by the expectations set by a previously established work had the freedom to embrace what they were and create something special. Many action movies could learn a lot from video games' intensity and immersive nature, and some movies have fully embraced these lessons.
From the extraordinary kill counts seen in movies such asThe Raidto the try-and-die mentality of sci-fifilms likeEdge of Tomorrow, video games have been a major influence on filmmaking throughout the 21st century. As action movies embraced slow-moving stealth and top-down filming techniques, it’s easy to see that directors and writers have channeled the looks and feelings of video games into their work. This shift in action movie aesthetics toward a style more aligned with gaming showcased thatthe gaming industry has an incredible influence on cinema, and its popularity as a medium grew over the years.
8The Raid (2011)
The Indonesian action thrillerThe Raidwas an intense film-viewing experience akin to playing through a super difficult video game as the player was forced to take down an endless onslaught of enemies. With one cop named Rama (Iko Uwais) tasked with fighting an apartment complex full of criminals ruled over by ruthless crime boss Tama Riyandi (Ray Sahetapy),The Raidwas an immersive feat of consistently respawning enemies that would never end until the mission was complete. This basic structure gaveThe Raidthe feeling of a video game.
The similarities betweenThe Raidand video gameshave been pointed out by critics before, and the director and writer Garth Evans said on the movie’s commentary track that he took the comparison as a “huge compliment.” With a beat-em-style style and an incredibly immersive story,The Raidtook advantage of what was best about video game adaptations without being burdened to recreate an existing game. This effective video game style was carried forward into the equally impressive sequel,The Raid 2.
The Raid: Redemption
Cast
The Raid, released in 2012, follows an elite SWAT team as they attempt to infiltrate a fortified apartment block in Jakarta to apprehend a notorious drug lord. Led by martial arts star Iko Uwais, the team faces relentless adversaries in a battle for survival after their cover is blown.
7Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Edge of Tomorrow’s try-and-die mentality brought to mind video games
The sci-fi action filmEdge of Tomorrowhas often been compared toGroundhog Dogdue to its storyline of Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) being caught in a time loop until he found a way to defeat alien invaders. While this was an interesting comparison, it also brought to mind the nature of video games, where players must die and try again until they succeed. As Major Cage learned lessons from each defeat, this was similar to how a player gradually figured out how to get past a difficult mission.
Through the narrative itself,Edge of Tomorrowcaptured the essence of the video game-playing experience and applied it to the world of action filmmaking. As the true threat ofthe agile alien race known as Mimicswas unveiled throughCage’s multiple deaths, viewers became simultaneously enthralled and frustrated as he sought to try multiple tactics to emerge victorious. Once the time loop was finally broken, audiences breathed a sigh of relief, similar to how it felt when a gamer got past a level that they had continually died on.
Edge of Tomorrow
Edge of Tomorrow features Tom Cruise as Major Bill Cage, an officer unversed in battle, who becomes ensnared in a time loop during an alien invasion. As Cage relives the same day repeatedly, he teams up with a skilled warrior, played by Emily Blunt, to alter the course of the war.
6The Matrix (1999)
The Matrix took influence from video games and even referenced them in later installments
The main characters of video games often act as stand-ins for the players themselves, andThe Matrixused tropes like this incredibly well to deliver a movie that had the look and feel of a video game. Neo, as a protagonist, was an empty vessel looking for meaning, while the Agents all looked alike in the same way the core characteristics of video game villains were repeated within games. These were just some examples ofvideo game tropes littered throughoutThe Matrix.
From an empty subway showdown that mimicked the characteristics of a final boss fight to “Bullet Time” which felt directly out of a video game,The Matrixblended cinematic spectacle with gaming sensibilities. This connection became even more relevant considering thetheory thatThe Matrixtrilogy was a video gameinResurrections, the fourth highly self-referential film in the series. This development brought Neo back from the dead as Thomas Anderson, the creator of a video game calledThe Matrix, which gave extra credence to its sci-fi video game credentials.
The Matrix
The Matrix, released in 1999, is set in the 22nd century and follows a computer hacker, Neo, portrayed by Keanu Reeves. He joins a group of underground insurgents led by Morpheus to combat the domineering computers that control the earth, in a battle that blurs the lines between reality and illusion.
What An Original Matrix Game Could Have Been In 1999
The Matrix Resurrections recasts the film series as a gaming franchise. If the first Matrix game launched in 1999, it would have aged poorly.
5Ready Player One (2018)
Ready Player One’s virtual reality brought to mind modern video games
The future of video games will surely be heavily influenced by virtual reality, and nowhere else was this more effectively seen than in Steven Speilberg’sReady Player One. As much as this sci-fi action film was littered with allusions and references to iconic cinema such asBack to the FutureandGozilla, it was also a love letter to video games and their potential to create immersive worlds. Through the OASIS, a virtual reality simulation withinReady Player One, this film recreated the look and feel of playing a video game.
OASIS stood for Ontologically Anthropocentric Sensory Immersive Simulation, a massively multiplayer online simulation in which the teenage boy Wade Watts competed to win. WhileReady Player One’sstoryline was influenced by gaming, it also recreated the immersive experience of video games through its spectacular visuals and incredible sense of adventure. With non-stop action,Ready Player Onewas a treat for film lovers and gamers alike.
Ready Player One
Adapted from Ernest Cline’s novel of the same name, Ready Player One follows Wade Watts, an orphan who desperately wants to win a seemingly-impossible video game competition that would see him win ownership of the OASIS, a sophisticated virtual reality game that had revolutionized modern life. Helped by his friends and racing against time to find the hidden clues before the OASIS is claimed by an evil conglomerate, Wade’s love of the game is put to the test.
4One Shot (2021)
One Shot’s one-take style mimicked the immerse nature of a video game
One Shotwas a British action thriller edited to appear as one single, continuous take, similar to the World War I drama1917. This style of filmmaking worked incredibly well in the action movie realm, as it was an entirely immersive experience that made viewers feel like they were following Navy seal Jake Harris (Scott Adkins) through a mission gone awry. With a heightened immediacy,the one-take-style ofOne Shotgave the film the look and feel of an intense video game experience.
The stylistic choice to presentOne Shotas a continuous take brought to mind epic fight sequences in video games with endlessly respawning enemies that must be continuously faced. However, the style also captured the slow-moving stealth tactics needed to get through video game missions in series likeMetal Gear Solid. As a perfect mix of well-executed filmmaking and the non-stop action of gaming,One Shotfelt like it balanced these two experiences very well.
One Shot
One Shot is an action-thriller film that follows a team of Navy SEALs led by Lt. Blake Harris (Scott Adkins) and a junior CIA analyst Zoe Anderson (Ashley Greene), who must retrieve a prisoner from a CIA black site island prison. With the prison refusing to turn him over, things become more contentious when a team of unknown assailants breaks in to find the same prisoner.
3Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World paid homage to retro video games
Part of the charm ofScott Pilgrim vs. the Worldwas how much unique identity and quirky additions director Edgar Wright infused into it. This was primarily influenced by the original graphic novel series by Brian Lee O’Malley, but it was also littered with homages and references to video games of the past, particularly from the classic retro arcade era. This mishmash of gaming and comic book aesthetics gaveScott Pilgrim vs. the Worldthe look and feel of a classic video game.
But it was not just the style ofScott Pilgrim vs. the Worldthat gave its video game credentials, as the storyline itself brought to mind the experience of leveling up and progression through a series of missions. AsScott was tasked with fighting Ramon’s seven evil exes, this gave the story a structure based on boss fights that increased in difficulty. By the end, when Scott faced Gideon and gained the “Power of Self-Respect,” it felt like Scott Pilgrim had come to the end of a long game that the viewers had been watching him play.
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
Based on Lee O’Malley’s Scott Pilgrim series of graphic novels, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World follows the titular slacker musician (Michael Cera) as he strives to earn a record deal by winning the Battle of the Bands organized by music mogul Gideon Graves (Jason Schwartzman). After meeting and falling in love with Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), Scott learns that he must also defeat her seven evil exes. Chris Evans, Aubrey Plaza, Brandon Routh, Kieran Culkin, Anna Kendrick, and Brie Larson round out the film’s star-studded and quirky ensemble.
2Crank (2006)
Crank captured the spirit of open world, extremely violent video games
No film has more perfectly captured how it felt to play theGrand Theft Autoseries thanCrank, starring Jason Statham. As a high-intensity action film that continually upped the stakes to extreme levels,Crankwas like when a player went on a rogue rampage onGTAand kept playing until they were at the five-star wanted level, and it all came crashing down. As a film that reveled in its outrageous depravity,Crankwas highly effective.
Just through its storyline alone,Crankmimicked the over-the-top nature of video games likeGTA. Statham’s character, Chev Chelios, was a professional assassin injected with a poison that would kill him if his heart rate dropped. Considering this,Crankhad not let the intensity die down for more than a second, as if it had, its protagonist would have been forced to lie down and die. As a no-nonsense, reckless, and outrageous film,Crankperfectly encapsulates the experience of free-roaming wildness in video games.
Crank
Chev Chelios, a hitman, is injected with a lethal poison that threatens to stop his heart if he doesn’t keep his adrenaline levels high. To stay alive, Chev embarks on a relentless and chaotic rampage through the city, engaging in extreme stunts and violent confrontations to maintain his heart rate. As he hunts down those responsible for his imminent death, Chev’s quest for survival becomes a nonstop thrill ride, filled with explosive action and desperate measures.
1John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)
John Wick: Chapter 4 featured a top-down sequence taken directly from video games
The world of theJohn Wickfranchise felt like it came straight out of a video game, as the former assassin, played by Keanu Reeves, was constantly surrounded by enemies of increasing difficulty. Much of the narrative was presented in blocks with minimal dialogue during action scenes, similar to how cut scenes were used in video games. Of course, John Wick’s seeming invincibility also made him feel like a video game protagonist, as he was shot, stabbed, and even fell from buildings and survived.
However, more so than any installment,John Wick: Chapter 4featured the clearest video game inspiration due to the top-down overhead sequencewithin the film. In an interview withSlash Film, director Chad Stahelski explained that this sequence was inspired byThe Hong Kong Massacre, a 2019 action game controlled entirely from a top-down perspective. As a franchise that continually took inspiration from video games, it was refreshing to see theJohn Wickseries wear this influence on its sleeve in the fourth installment.
John Wick: Chapter 4
Following the events of Chapter 3 - Parabellum, John Wick Chapter 4 will see the titular character battle against some of his most dangerous foes yet. With a bounty on his head that continues to skyrocket, John decides to take the fight to the High Table on a global scale and battles across areas like Osaka and Paris to wipe out some of the strongest players in the underworld.
