When thinking of the worst video game movies ever made, it’s alarming how many titles spring to mind. It’s no secret that the practice of adapting games into movies has a truly terrible reputation. What’s more, this certainly isn’t without reason: more often than not, the results are less than impressive.
Exactly why this happens isn’t clear. Maybe it’s the leap from an interactive form of media to a more passive one, or maybe it’s something to do with translating a narrative. What is clear, however, is that video game movies generally suck.
To keep things objective, we’ve selected a handful of the all-time worst video game movies based purely on review scores. Of course, there’s an element of subjectivity when talking about the “worst” of anything, but all of the following are universally considered bad. So, from the utterly baffling to the outright laughable, here are 9 of the worst video game movies ever made.
9. Max Payne (2008)
Mark Wahlberg might be something of a Hollywood darling, but he’s certainly made a few stinkers in his time. Perhaps none are quite so stinky as 2008’s Max Payne, a neo-noir action thriller that utterly missed its mark. Following a New York police detective haunted by the loss of his family, Max Payne fell entirely flat with critics, earning just 15% on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Max Payne video game franchise is made up of several celebrated third-person shooters. With cinematic sequences and beautifully-designed visuals, the Max Payne games have a considerable following and solid reputation. It’s one of the few franchises that could clearly translate well to the big screen, so a Hollywood adaptation certainly didn’t seem like a bad idea.
Despite a star-studded cast featuring Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, and Beau Bridges, Max Payne was not a pleasant experience. The movie was riddled with plot holes concealed by Wahlberg’s uninterested performance, and was thoroughly underwhelming all-round. Failing to adhere to the excellent source material was also a wasted opportunity, making the Max Payne movie a huge disappointment.