Video Game Movie Adaptations Ranked

Welcome to "Ranked"-where I rank a franchise or filmography from worst to best and hand out related accolades . In honor of "Mortal Kombat"-which debuts in theaters and on HBO Max on April 23rd, this week's edition focuses on video game movie adaptations.

Video Game Movie Adaptations Ranked:

20.House of the Dead (D-)

19.Super Mario Bros. (D)

18.Mortal Kombat (1995) (D+)

17.Max Payne (D+)

16.Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (C-)

15.Monster Hunter (C)

14.Pokemon Detective Pikachu (C)

13.Hitman: Agent 47 (C+)

12.Resident Evil: Apocalypse (C+)

11.Resident Evil: Retribution (C+)

10.Hitman (B-)

9.Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (B-)

8.Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (B-)

7.Resident Evil (B-)

6.Resident Evil: Extinction (B-)

5.Doom (B)

4.Tomb Raider (B)

3.Rampage (B)

2.Need for Speed (B)

1.Sonic the Hedgehog (B)

Top Dog: Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)

The lightning quick blue alien hedgehog's first trip to the big screen is a fun, colorful adventure comedy that has an infectious energy level, some surprisingly clever jokes and a welcome revival of Jim Carrey's nutso goofball routine.  

Lowlight: House of the Dead (2003)

My only exposure to the work of the infamous Uwe Boll certainly validated his reputation as an iconic hack. Thanks to a wretched cast that makes the average Syfy Channel Original Movie ensemble look like Julliard-trained thespians and his stunning lack of understanding of filmmaking basics (storytelling, what camera angles to use, when to cut, etc.), Boll managed to turn a mindlessly fun arcade game property into a disjointed, joyless action horror movie that's only saving grace is its occasional bursts of unintentional comedy gold. 

Most Underrated: Need for Speed (2014)

When Fast and Furious transitioned from the humble world of street racing to massive action blockbusters, somebody needed to step in and fill the void. Enter Need for Speed-a fittingly absurd, entertaining crime saga that features plenty of electric racing sequences, dumb jokes and a rock solid ensemble cast (Aaron Paul, Dominic Cooper, Imogen Poots, Michael Keaton, Rami Malek, Kid Cudi, Dakota Johnson, Ramon Rodriguez) that would likely generate a lot of excitement in the industry if it was attached to a more prestigious film in the present day. 

Most Overrated: Pokemon Detective Pikachu (2019)

Ryan Reynolds' terrific voicework as the sleuth version of Pikachu and the loving odes to the noir genre are almost enough to power Detective Pikachu to a win. Unfortunately, the convoluted mystery at the center of its story sucks enough fun out of this genre mashup to downgrade it to the dreaded realm of mediocrity. 

Best Honorary Entry Into Warner Brothers Monsterverse: Rampage (2018)

The lighthearted tone, purposeful overacting and fun, surprisingly gruesome monster destruction makes Brad Peyton's Rampage the perfect spiritual companion to Monsterverse success stories Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla vs. Kong.

Biggest Waste of an Excellent Marketing Campaign: Max Payne (2008)

The trailer for Max Payne made it look like it was going to be this stylized noir action epic a la Sin City with crazy slo-mo shootouts and surreal detours into a demonic underworld. By the time I caught the film on home video in early 2009, I was extremely disappointed to discover that it was actually a dull, poorly-written revenge story with very little action and the shots of the demonic underworld were merely hallucinations brought on by an experimental drug. In hindsight, the failure of Max Payne did teach me that high quality marketing material doesn't always translate to a high quality product, so thanks to director John Moore for dropping the ball and the trailer editors for somehow making it look like he made something really cool for teaching me a valuable lesson about the movie industry at a pretty young age.