10 cool movies that feel like video game adaptations

Earlier we wrote about top movie adaptations of video games, about failures, about the tapes where gaming is at the heart of the storyand about future film adaptationssome of which have already been released (for example, the hit “Fallout”). Today, we would like to recall worthwhile films that have nothing to do with the favorite pastime of gamers, but look like their creators were inspired by a particular digital game. As always, we invite you to add to the list in the comments. Pour some tea, grab a cookie, and let’s dive into the interesting worlds of gaming.

“Cube”

Year of release: 1997
Director: Vincenzo Natali
Cast: Maurice Dean Wint, Nicole de Boer, Nikki Guadagni, David Hewlett, Andrew Miller, Wayne Robson, Julian Richings
Genre: sci-fi thriller, horror
IMDb rating: 7.1

A group of strangers wake up in a strange room with a bunch of rooms, each with a specific set of numbers engraved on them. Trying to find a way out, they stumble upon deadly traps, so now they need to understand the algorithm of numbers to determine which rooms are safe. At the same time, the heroes are trying to figure out how they got here and who organized these bloody math games — a bunch of cruel rich puppeteers, like those in “Squid Game”, or maybe even aliens who are eagerly experimenting on humans?

Vincenzo Natali’s claustrophobic horror/thriller, filmed for ridiculously low budget, has long since gained cult status, and its style of quest in a confined space will be used by filmmakers many times in the future — it is worth mentioning here “Saw”, Escape Room (2019), Spanish “Platform” etc. At the same time, this narrative refers to labyrinthine puzzle games where you need to find a way out of a particular location or situation, such as The Talos Principle (2014) or Portal (2007). This game is set in the universe of the legendary Half-Life.

The shocking opening scene, where Julian Richings’ character immediately falls into a trap and is cut into neat pieces, was inspired by Paul W.S. Anderson in his film adaptation of Resident Evil. A merciless laser did the same to the doomed commando.

“Saving Private Ryan”

Year of release: 1998
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore, Barry Pepper, Giovanni Ribisi, Jeremy Davies, Matt Damon, Vin Diesel, Adam Goldberg, Dennis Farina, Nathan Fillion, Paul Giamatti, Ted Danson, Bryan Cranston
Genre: war drama
IMDb rating: 8.6

After a grueling landing on the Normandy coast, a group of American soldiers led by Captain John Miller is ordered to find Private James Francis Ryan, for whom the war must end right now. The point is that Ryan’s three older brothers were killed almost simultaneously on the battlefield, and in order to somehow console the boys’ mother, the command decides to send the woman’s only surviving son home. Miller and his men are about to face a truly hellish test.

Of course, Saving Private Ryan is first and foremost a serious and extremely well-made war drama, particularly in technical terms, which clearly shows all the horrors of war and does not evoke any direct associations with carefree digital entertainment. But later on, the film noticeably affected the development of military shooters with a focus on visual realism, which is a clear indication of its video game DNA. It was while working on the movie that Spielberg got the idea to create a game dedicated to World War II. And as a result, the world will see the iconic Medal of Honor, which, in turn, will lead to the emergence of the equally outstanding Call of Duty (or Medal of Honor Killer on the sidelines).

Both game series will essentially change the landscape of the industry and set the gold standard in the FPS genre in the WWII setting, repeatedly referring to the masterpiece blockbuster with Tom Hanks and company. This is especially true for Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (2002), and the creators of Call of Duty 2 (2005) were clearly inspired by the stunning Omaha Beach landing scene in one of the missions.

But even without any reference to game projects, the title of Saving Private Ryan hides the main mission, within which the heroes are waiting for local missions, with breaks to set the next goals. That is, at the structural level, the movie is built on a principle that is familiar to every gamer.

“Crank”

Year of release: 2006
Directors: Brian Taylor and Mark Neveldine
Cast: Jason Statham, Amy Smart, Carlos Sanz, Jose Pablo Cantillo, Efren Ramirez, Chester Bennington
Genre: comedy action movie
IMDb rating: 6.9

One day, a tough mercenary, Chev Chelios, wakes up to find a DVD with the telling inscription “F*ck you,” from which he learns that his enemies have injected him with a poisonous “Chinese cocktail.” Death will come very soon, and now the doomed man has only a few hours left to take revenge on his offenders. The key is to maintain a consistently high level of adrenaline in the blood, which slows down the effect of the substance and buys Chev precious time.

Even the opening credits hint that Crank was inspired by video games, and the very first shot gives the viewer a first-person view of the protagonist. And it’s probably not hard to guess where the debut of the Taylor/Neveldine directorial tandem is coming from: the local dynamics, criminal showdowns, humor and atmosphere of complete chaos clearly hint at the popular GTA series of action-adventure games. The events take place in different locations in Los Angeles, which perfectly conveys the feeling of an open world, and the hero has a conditional health scale.

For Chev Chelios, it’s no big deal to throw a taxi driver out of the car and get behind the wheel, steal a motorcycle from a policeman, or cause a real mess in a hospital (his twin brother Deckard Shaw definitely approves of this approach). The scene of public sex deserves a special mention in this explosive celebration of madness and anarchy — as we can see, it is at such moments that a person can feel more alive than ever.

By the way, this year, a comedy action movie with a similar style was released “Novocaine”, where the irrepressible hero played by Jack Quaid also needs health points in the form of another dose of a physiologically active substance.

“Death Race”

Year of release: 2008
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Cast: Jason Statham, Natalie Martinez, Joan Allen, Tyrese Gibson, Ian McShane, Max Ryan, Jason Clarke, Robin Shue
Genre: dystopian racing action
IMDb rating: 6.4

In the near future, the global economy will collapse, causing crime to skyrocket. Prisons are overcrowded. Jensen Ames, a former race car driver, is imprisoned on charges of murdering his wife, which he did not commit. In jail, the man is forced to take part in a deadly car race in the guise of the public favorite Frankenstein in exchange for a deal with the local principal, Ms. Hennessy. But will Jensen be able to survive the hellish competition if all the odds seem to be against him?

“Death Race is nothing more than a cinematic version of racing games in the spirit of Carmageddon (1997—2000), Split/Second (2010), or Twisted Metal (1995—2012); the latter has already gotten a TV series adaptation starring Anthony Mackie. Statham’s character has to win a survival car race, thus moving towards the main goal — release from prison. The competition is presented in the form of a reality show, which brings the movie even closer to the aesthetics of video games.

By the same token, films where the plot is relegated to the background and coexists with other types of car racing are also related to the corresponding entertainment. For example, an early “Fast and Furious” is close in spirit to the Need for Speed series when it comes to the culture of street racing. And the recent “F1: The Movie” with its cameras mounted directly on the car, echoes the corresponding sports car simulators, such as the F1 series from Codemasters, which is the official licensee for the release of Formula 1 games.

“The Book of Eli”

Year of release: 2010
Directors: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes
Cast: Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Bills, Michael Gambon, Malcolm McDowell
Genre: post-apocalyptic neo-western
IMDb rating: 6.8

Thirty years after the nuclear apocalypse, amidst the wastelands scorched by the merciless sun and the ruins of megacities, a lone wanderer Eli is heading for the West Coast of the United States. His gaze is stern and his hand is strong, and he is on a sacred mission, the success of which will determine the fate of all mankind.

“The Book of Eli” boasts an expressive post-apocalyptic setting reminiscent of the ravaged lands of Fallout. No wonder the Hughes brothers’ film took a natural place in our material, dedicated to worthwhile projects if you liked the eponymous series based on the popular Bethesda game.

A strong argument in favor of the movie’s connection to video games is its plot. The lone protagonist has a clear mission, a set of skills necessary to fulfill it, and a number of obstacles and enemies that must be overcome.

“Sucker Punch”

Year of release: 2011
Director: Zach Snyder
Cast: Emily Browning, Abbie Cornish, Jena Malone, Jamie Chong, Vanessa Hudgens, Oscar Isaac, Carla Gugino, Scott Glenn, John Hamm
Genre: fantasy adventure action movie
IMDb rating: 6.1

In the 1950s, a young girl is sent to a psychiatric hospital by her abusive stepfather, where she is soon to undergo a lobotomy. Immersed in a world of bizarre fantasies, the beautiful girl discovers that she needs to obtain five items to escape and joins forces with other patients to realize her plan. Both in her own fantasies and in reality, the young heroine is gradually approaching her goal, but will she be able to escape her tragic fate?

Zack Snyder’s Sucker Punch is a cinematic experience as close to a video game as possible. Objectified characters draped in authentically frivolous costumes with nicknames like Doll or Marshmallow emerge from the sexual fantasies of pimply teenagers, not the main character. This content-empty and visually/auditively expressive creation, which is literally divided into game missions, lacks only interactivity to avoid turning into a digital toy.

There is also an example of a game where events take place in a girl’s imagination — there was one in American McGee’s Alice (2000).

This kind of movie had no chance of appealing to critics, who at the time were not very accepting of any kind of game play in films, and it was a complete flop at the box office. Nevertheless, Sucker Punch looks like a fun escapist nonsense that, like games, honestly wants to entertain. Especially in comparison with the last opuses Snyder on Netflix, this stylized movie attraction looks quite sane.

“Pacific Rim”

Year of release: 2013
Director: Guillermo Del Toro
Cast: Charlie Gunnham, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Rob Kazinsky, Ron Perlman, Max Martini, Bern Gorman
Genre: a fantastic action movie about kaiju
IMDb rating: 6.9

Humanity has faced a new threat — huge monsters that have emerged from the rift between worlds at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean and are destroying everything in their path. To counteract these creatures, the international Jaeger program created giant robots that were simultaneously controlled by two pilots. This helped to protect cities from unimaginable destruction, and later the program was closed. However, no one suspected that the worst was yet to come.

At its core, Pacific Rim is a mecha fighting game with kaizen, where the plot is nothing more than a link between spectacular battles. The movie also offers a “cooperative mode,” where at least two people control the mech, and the unique abilities of each Ranger. In the gaming context, we can mention the MechWarrior series (1989—2024), Zone of the Enders (2001—2018), or games dedicated to Godzilla. Also, let’s not forget that a game of the same name was released based on the movie.

Despite the conventionality of the plot, Guillermo Del Toro produced a first-class epic spectacle. Hideo Kojima, known as the creator of the series Metal Gear, who was still on Twitter praised with all his might movies: “I could never have imagined that I would be lucky enough to see such a movie in my life. The emotional surge I felt was the same as when I experienced outer space through 2001: A Space Odyssey and when I touched a dinosaur in Jurassic Park”.

William Gibson, the forefather of cyberpunk, also agreed with Kojima, describing the film as “a remarkable display of intelligent, often surprisingly witty visual design”.

“John Wick”

Year of release: 2014
Directors: David Litch, Chad Stahelski
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Mikael Nyqvist, Alfie Allen, Adrienne Palicki, Bridget Moynahan, Dean Winters, Ian McShane, John Leguizamo, Lance Reddick, Willem Dafoe
Genre: action movie
IMDb rating: 7.5

One day, the stupid son of a Russian gangster and his friends mistreat a respected retired hitman, John Wick, who is grieving the death of his wife. Without hesitation, he sets out to take revenge on the swampy fools, and nothing in the world can stop this desperate killing machine.

The creators of John Wick have always relied on action spectacle over content, and the further the series progressed, the more detached the story became from reality. Each time, the protagonist, who has a set of cool skills and does not shy away from using improvised means, goes through one mission after another and, accordingly, an absurdly countless number of enemies, while simultaneously meeting a number of bosses. The action is supported by a truly gaming mythology (all these ridiculous codes, rituals, etc.), which in reality looks ridiculous.

If we interpret the local unrestrained action in specific game titles, we can mention Stranglehold (2007), which is a sequel to John Woo’s Hard Boiled (1992) (and John Wick borrowed a lot from the Hong Kong director’s action movies), as well as the Max Payne series (2001—2012) with its use of the bullet time effect and the protagonist’s revenge for the death of his family. Of course, no one canceled the official film adaptation with Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis, but it is not customary to mention it in decent society.

The outstanding action scene from the fourth film, which was shot without editing splices and with an overhead view, is not to be overlooked. Chad Stahelski did not hidethat it was inspired by the shooter The Hong Kong Massacre (2019), which is another telling proof that John Wick has gaming DNA.

“Edge of Tomorrow”

Year of release: 2014
Director: Doug Lyman
Cast: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Charlotte Riley, Madeline Mantock, Jonas Armstrong, Noah Taylor
Genre: science fiction action movie
IMDb rating: 7.9

Earth has been invaded by aliens known as mimics. Europe is in flames. A carefree spokesman, Major William Cage, arrives in London, where the stern General Brigham, to Cage’s surprise, unceremoniously throws him into the heat of battle. Taking part in the landing in Normandy planned by the command (Private Ryan will definitely appreciate this reference), the grieving soldier is killed in the first battle, but later regains consciousness at a military base with a sense of déjà vu. Now this will happen after each of his deaths, until Cage finds a way to break the time loop.

The plot of Edge of Tomorrow is based on Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s All You Need Is Kill, who noted in the afterword to the novel that his inspiration for the story came from his experience playing video games. This can be felt in the movie, where Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt’s characters, starting over each time, go deeper and deeper into the mission until they reach the main goal through trial and error, with the experience they have gained earlier. Does not deny Doug Lyman, the director of the film, also noted the similarity of this approach to the gaming experience.

As for the concept of a time loop in games, it also takes place in them — for example, in the shooter Returnal (2019), the main character, astronaut Selena Vassos, is forced to start over after her death. The same thing happens to Zagrei in Hades (2020), where the player can use previously collected treasures to improve his or her characteristics or unlock new weapons. Colt Wan from Deathloop (2021) will also live the Groundhog Day.

How to tag noted Wired’s Angela Watercutter: “Edge of Tomorrow” is the best video game you won’t be able to play”.

“Ready or Not”

Year of release: 2019
Directors: Tyler Gillett, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin
Cast: Samara Weaving, Adam Brody, Mark O’Brien, Henry Cerny, Andy McDowell, Christian Bruun, Melanie Scrofano, Elise Leveque
Genre: horror, thriller
IMDb rating: 6.8

Immediately after her wedding, the young beauty Grace takes part in a long-standing tradition of her newlywed husband’s wealthy family. The trick is that each new family member has to play a game of hide-and-seek. But later, the seemingly innocent fun turns into a bloody hunt, and it’s not at all certain that the frightened girl will manage to make it to the saving dawn.

Of course, The Hiding Game is far from the first adherent of the manhunt plot, and we can recall a lot of narrative counterparts, from Hard Target (1993) with Van Damme to The Hunt (2020) or the Purge series (2013—2021). But it was the film with Samara Weaving that received the most favorable reception from audiences and critics, and it’s not fair to say that this result is unfair.

The story is a classic survival quest, during which the heroine uses the environment and naturally “stealth mechanics” to avoid being noticed by enemies. She is limited in resources, while the crazy hunters each have their own weapons.

As for the embodiment of a similar concept in games, something similar happens in the movie slasher-inspired survivor game Dead by Daylight (2016), or, for example, in the ultra-violent stealth action game Manhunt (2003), which was even banned in some countries. Outlast (2013) is also worth mentioning, where the player finds himself in an abandoned psychiatric hospital and has to escape from hostile locals without the possibility of fighting back, i.e. either hiding or running away.

For all those interested, Ready or Not 2 is scheduled for release next April.