Video Game Movies - 100 Years of Movie Posters - 107
A Chronology of Video Game Movie Posters 1982-2012.
To view the posters at full resolution, click on the image to open, than right-click on the mouse and 'View Image'.
Tron (1982) Directed by Steven Lisberger. 96mins.
Jeff Bridges - Kevin Flynn / Clu
Bruce Boxleitner - Alan Bradley / Tron
David Warner - Ed Dillinger / Sark
Cindy Morgan - Lora / Yori
Also starring Barnard Hughes, Dan Shor and Peter Jurasik.
Kevin Flynn (Bridges) designs video games, he gets zapped into the video game world where he has to play games to survive. He teams up with some renegade programs led by Tron and escapes the game grid.
Enjoyable sci-fi fantasy which failed to score at the box office. The last hour of the film is set in the computer games world, created using CG effects which were state of the art then but look a little primitive now.
Oscar Nominations for Best Sound and Best Costume Design.
BAFTA Nomination for Best Visual Effects.
Cost $17m - Box Office $33m (US)
Tagline - Trapped in a fight to the finish inside the video world he created
IMDB rating 6.7
A successful sequel - Tron Legacy - was released nearly three decades later
Wargames (1983) Directed by John Badham. 114mins.
Matthew Broderick - David Lightman
Ally Sheedy - Jennifer Mack
Dabney Coleman - John McKittrick
Barry Corbin - General Jack Beringer
John Wood - Dr. Stephen Falken
Also starring Maury Chaykin, Eddie Deezen, John Spencer and Michael Madsen.
Teenager David Lightman loves playing video games and hacking into the schools computer, when an option to play 'Global Thermonuclear War' appears on his screen he can't pass up the chance. Unknowingly David brings the world to the brink of nuclear holocaust.
Nominated for 3 Oscars - Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Sound.
Cost $12m - Box Office $79.5m
Tagline - Is it a game, or is it real?
IMDB rating 7.0
The Last Starfighter (1984) Directed by Nick Castle. 101mins.
Lance Guest - Alex Rogan / Beta Alex
Dan O'Herlihy - Grig
Robert Preston - Centauri
Catherine Mary Stewart - Maggie Gordon
Also starring Norman Snow, Kay E. Kuter, Barbara Bosson and Chris Hebert.
Alex Rogan lives in a trailer park with his mother and brother. When he breaks the record on the arcade game 'Starfighter' he is whisked off into outer space by Centauri (Preston) who tells him that the game is used to recruit the best players into the Star League and turn them into real life Starfighters, who defend the galaxy from the evil Ko-Dan Empire.
Fun sci-fi adventure which was years ahead of it's time in using computer generated effects for the spaceships, planets and space battles, instead of modelwork.
Hugo Award nomination for Best Dramatic Presentation.
Saturn Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor (Robert Preston).
Cost $15m - Box Office $28.7m
Tagline - He didn't find his dreams... his dreams found him.
IMDB rating 6.5
Super Mario Bros (1993) Directed by Annabel Jankel & Rocky Morton. 104mins.
Bob Hoskins - Mario Mario
John Leguizamo - Luigi Mario
Dennis Hopper - King Koopa
Also starring Samantha Mathis, Fisher Stevens, Richard Edson and Fiona Shaw.
Based on the Nintendo platform game, first released in 1985.
Bad as it is, Super Mario Bros does have a place in movie history as the very first film to be based on a video game. Previously there had been films based on toys e.g. Masters of the Universe (1987) and board games - Clue (1985) but for video game movies this was the beginning.
Saturn Award nominations for Best Make Up and Best Costumes.
Cost $48m - Box Office $21m (US)
Tagline - This Ain't No Game!
IMDB rating 3.8
Double Dragon (1994) Directed by James Yukich. 96mins.
Robert Patrick - Koga Shuko
Mark Dacascos - Jimmy Lee
Scott Wolf - Billy Lee
Also starring Kristina Wagner, Julia Nickson and Alyssa Milano
Based on the 1987 arcade fighting game, home versions of the game were later released for Nintendo. Sega and Atari consoles.
Box Office $2.3m (US)
Tagline - Evil has just met its match.
IMDB rating 3.4
Street Fighter (1994) Directed by Steven E. de Souza. 102mins.
Jean-Claude Van Damme - Colonel Guile
Raul Julia - General Bison
Also starring Ming-Na, Damian Chapa, Kylie Minogue, Simon Callow, Roshan Seth and Wes Studi.
Loosely based on the popular arcade fighting game produced by Capcom in 1987.
Actor Raul Julia died following a stroke a few weeks before the film was released, he was 54. The film ends with the words "FOR RAUL - Vaya Con Dios" .
Saturn Award nominations for Best SF Film and Best Supporting Actor (Raul Julia).
Cost $35m - Box Office $99.4m
Tagline - The fight to save the world is on!
IMDB rating 3.5
Street Fighter II (1994) Directed by Gisaburo Sugii. 98mins.
Kôjiro Shimizu - Ryû (voice)
Kenji Haga - Ken Masters (voice)
Miki Fujitani - Chun-Li (voice)
Masane Tsukayama - Guile (voice)
Jôji Nakata - Mike Bison (voice)
Well made anime based on the Capcom Street Fighter II arcade game and was a lot more faithful to it's source than the live action movie.
Tagline - The ultimate anime fighter, uncut & unleashed!
IMDB rating 7.1
Mortal Kombat (1995) Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. 101mins.
Christopher Lambert - Lord Rayden
Robin Shou - Liu Kang
Linden Ashby - Johnny Cage
Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa - Shang Tsung
Bridgette Wilson - Sonya Blade
Talisa Soto - Kitana
Trevor Goddard - Kano
Based on the arcade fighting games first released by Midway Games in 1992 and later released to home consoles.
Cameron Diaz was set to play Sonya Blade but broke her wrist before filming.
Cost $18m - Box Office $122.1m
IMDB rating 5.6
Followed by a sequel - Mortal Kombat: Annihilation (1997) Directed by John R. Leonetti. 95mins
Pokémon: The First Movie (1998) Directed by Kunihiko Yuyama & Michael Haigney.
Starring the voices of Veronica Taylor, Philip Bartlett, Rachael Lillis, Eric Stuart. Madeleine Blaustein and Ikue Ôtani.
Animation based on the Pokémon game, produced by Nintendo and released on their Game Boy consoles in 1996. One of the biggest selling video games in history.
Cost $30m - Box Office $163.6m
Tagline - MewTwo vs Mew
IMDB rating 5.0
Followed by 14 sequels and a cartoon series.
eXistenZ (1999) Directed by David Cronenberg. 97mins.
Jennifer Jason Leigh - Allegra Geller
Jude Law - Ted Pikul
Also starring Ian Holm, Willem Dafoe, Sarah Polley and Christopher Eccleston.
Jude Law and Jennifer Jason Leigh fight for their lives inside a virtual reality game, played with 'organic' games consoles.
Saturn Award nomination for Best SF Film.
Cost $15m - Box Office $2.8m (US)
Tagline - Play it. Live it. Kill for it.
IMDB rating 6.8
Wing Commander (1999) Directed by Chris Roberts. 100mins.
Freddie Prinze Jr. - Lt. Christopher Blair
Saffron Burrows - Lt. Cdr. 'Angel' Deveraux
Matthew Lillard - Lt. Todd 'Maniac' Marshall
Also starring Tchéky Karyo, Jürgen Prochnow, David Suchet and David Warner.
Based on the space combat computer games first released by Origin Systems in 1990. Wing Commander III was one of the first games to include not only voice actors but also famous actors appearing in specially filmed 'Full Motion Videos' inside the game. Mark Hamill played the lead role of Christopher Blair in the game, which also starred John Rhys-Davies and Malcolm McDowell.
McDowell was asked to reprise his role for the movie version but was too busy filming Fantasy Island.
Cost $30m - Box Office $11.5m (US)
Tagline - At the edge of our universe, all hell is about to break loose.
IMDB rating 3.8
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) Directed by Simon West. 100mins.
Angelina Jolie - Lara Croft
Daniel Craig - Alex West
Iain Glen - Manfred Powell
Jon Voight - Lord Richard Croft
Also starring Noah Taylor, Chris Barrie, Richard Johnson and Leslie Phillips.
Based on the video game franchise developed by Core Design in 1996.
Jon Voight is Jolie's real life father.
Catherine Zeta-Jones was considered for the role of Lara Croft.
Saturn Award nominations for Best SF Film and Best Actress (Angelina Jolie).
Cost $115m - Box Office $274.7m
Tagline - Born into Wealth. Groomed by the Elite. Trained for Combat.
IMDB rating 5.6
Followed by a sequel - Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life (2003).
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001) Directed by Hironobu Sakaguchi. 106mins.
Ming-Na - Dr. Aki Ross (voice)
Alec Baldwin - Capt. Gray Edwards (voice)
Ving Rhames - Ryan Whittaker (voice)
Steve Buscemi - Neil Fleming (voice)
Peri Gilpin - Jane Proudfoot (voice)
Donald Sutherland - Dr. Sid (voice)
James Woods - General Hein (voice)
CG Animation very loosely based on the popular role-playing games created by Hironobu Sakaguchi first appearing in 1987 and developed by Square Enix.
The first animated movie to feature photo-realistic CG characters.
Online Film Critics Society Awards nomination for Best Animated Film.
Cost $137m - Box Office $85.1m
Tagline - Unleash a new reality
IMDB rating 6.4
Resident Evil (2002) Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. 100mins.
Milla Jovovich - Alice
Also starring Michelle Rodriguez, Eric Mabius, James Purefoy, Martin Crewes and Colin Salmon.
Based on the survival horror game created by Shinji Mikami and developed by Capcom, released for the Playstation console in 1996.
Milla Jovovich did most of her own stunts.
George A. Romero was interested in directing a movie version of the game.
Saturn Award nominations for Best Horror Film and Best Actress (Milla Jovovich).
Cost $32m - Box Office $102.4m
Tagline - Survive the Horror.
IMDB rating 6.6
Followed by 4 sequels and 2 animated movies.
House of the Dead (2003) Directed by Uwe Boll. 90mins.
Starring Jonathan Cherry, Ona Grauer, Enuka Okuma, Tyron Leitso, Will Sanderson, Clint Howard and Jürgen Prochnow.
Zombie horror based on the first person shooter arcade game released by Sega in 1997.
The film features 32 clips from the original game, appearing at intervals throughout the movie.
Cost $12m - Box Office $13.8m
Tagline - The Dead Walk... You Run.
IMDB rating 2.0
Lara Croft: The Cradle of Life (2003) Directed by Jan de Bont. 117mins.
Angelina Jolie - Lara Croft
Gerard Butler - Terry Sheridan
Ciarán Hinds - Jonathan Reiss
Also starring Chris Barrie, Noah Taylor, Djimon Hounsou and Til Schweiger.
Sequel to Tomb Raider which wasn't as successful and put an end to the movie franchise though the game releases are still going strong.
Angelina Jolie was the only person in the film born in America.
Saturn Award nomination for Best SF Film.
Cost $95m - Box Office $156.5m
IMDB rating 5.3
Spy Kids 3D: Game Over (2003) Directed by Robert Rodriguez. 84mins.
Daryl Sabara - Juni Cortez
Alexa Vega - Carmen Cortez
Also starring Sylvester Stallone, Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Ricardo Montalban, Salma Hayek, George Clooney, Cheech Marin, Danny Trejo, Alan Cumming, Steve Buscemi, Bill Paxton and Elijah Wood.
The third film in the Spy Kids series written and directed by Robert Rodriguez.
Carmen is captured by The Toymaker (Stallone) and Juni has to enter a virtual reality game to try to save her.
Ricardo Montalban's final film appearance.
Released in 3D.
Razzie Award Winner for Worst Supporting Actor (Stallone).
Cost $39m - Box Office $197m
IMDB rating 4.0
Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) Directed by Alexander Witt. 94mins (98mins)
Milla Jovovich - Alice
Sienna Guillory - Jill Valentine
Oded Fehr - Carlos Olivera
Also starring Thomas Kretschmann, Jared Harris, Mike Epps, Sandrine Holt and Iain Glen.
The 2nd movie in the Resident Evil series.
Saturn Award nomination for Best Make-Up.
Cost $45m - Box Office $129.3m
Tagline - My name is Alice and I remember everything.
IMDB rating 6.0
Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children (2005) Directed by Tetsuya Nomura. 101mins (126mins)
Starring the voices of Takahiro Sakurai, Ayumi Ito, Kenichi Suzumura, Showtaro Morikubo, Maaya Sakamoto and Toshiyuki Morikawa.
Based on the hugely successful role playing game Final Fantasy VII, developed by Square Enix and released in 1997. The best selling game in the series which has sold over 10 million units.
FF-VII has no connection to the characters and storyline of the first Final Fantasy movie but again uses state of the art photo-realistic CG animation.
Released straight to DVD in the US and UK.
Tagline - Is it for the children, for a memory, or for himself?
IMDB rating 7.3
Doom (2005) Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak. 100mins (113mins)
Karl Urban - John 'Reaper' Grimm
Dwayne Johnson - Asher 'Sarge' Mahonin
Rosamund Pike - Dr. Samantha Grimm
Also starring Deobia Oparei, Razaaq Adoti, Richard Brake, Al Weaver and Dexter Fletcher.
Based on the classic first person shooter developed by id Software which made it's first appearance in 1993.
Vin Diesel was considered for the lead role.
Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actor (Dwayne Johnson).
Cost $60m - Box Office $56m
Tagline - No One Gets Out Alive.
IMDB rating 5.1
Bloodrayne (2006) Directed by Uwe Boll. 95mins.
Kristanna Loken - Rayne
Michael Madsen - Vladimir
Ben Kingsley - Kagan
Michelle Rodriguez - Katarin
Also starring Matthew Davis, Will Sanderson, Geraldine Chaplin, Udo Kier, Meat Loaf, Michael Paré and Billy Zane.
Based on the hack and slash vampire game developed by Terminal Reality and first out in 2002.
Nominated for 6 Razzie Awards - Worst Picture, Worst Director, Worst Screenplay, Worst Actress (Kristanna Loken), Worst Supporting Actor (Ben Kingsley) and Worst Supporting Actress (Michelle Rodriguez).
Cost $25m - Box Office $3.6m
Tagline - Revenge never tasted so sweet.
IMDB rating 2.8
Silent Hill (2006) Directed by Christophe Gans. 125mins.
Radha Mitchell - Rose Da Silva
Sean Bean - Christopher Da Silva
Also starring Laurie Holden, Deborah Kara Unger, Kim Coates, Jodelle Ferland and Alice Krige.
Spooky horror based on the Playstation game, developed by Team Silent and published by Konami in 1999.
Directors Guild of Canada nomination for Best Sound Editing.
Cost $50m - Box Office $97.6m
Tagline - We've been expecting you.
IMDB rating 6.5
DOA: Dead or Alive (2006) Directed by Corey Yuen. 87mins.
Jaime Pressly - Tina Armstrong
Devon Aoki - Kasumi
Holly Valance - Christie Allen
Sarah Carter - Helena Douglas
Also starring Natassia Malthe, Kane Kosugi, Matthew Marsden and Eric Roberts.
Based on the fighting game developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo, first released in 1996.
40 bikinis were ruined while making the film! (according to Holly Valance)
Cost $21m - Box Office $7.5m
Tagline - The world's deadliest assassins will enter. Only the best will survive.
IMDB rating 4.7
Resident Evil: Extinction (2007) Directed by Russell Mulcahy. 94mins.
Milla Jovovich - Alice
Oded Fehr - Carlos Olivera
Ali Larter - Claire Redfield
Iain Glen - Dr. Isaacs
Also starring Ashanti, Christopher Egan, Spencer Locke, Matthew Marsden, Linden Ashby and Mike Epps.
The third Resident Evil movie. Based on the survival horror game by Capcom.
Russell Mulcahy is the director of the first two Highlander films.
Cost $45m - Box Office $147.7m
Tagline - Experimentation... Evolution... Extinction
IMDB rating 6.2
Hitman (2007) Directed by Xavier Gens. 94mins.
Timothy Olyphant - Agent 47
Dougray Scott - Mike Whittier
Olga Kurylenko - Nika Boronina
Also starring Robert Knepper, Ulrich Thomsen, Henry Ian Cusick and James Faulkner.
Based on the action game developed by IO Interactive and first published by Eidos Interactive in 2000.
Jason Statham was considered for the lead role.
Cost $24m - Box Office $99.9m
IMDB rating 6.2
Max Payne (2008) Directed by John Moore. 100mins (103mins)
Mark Wahlberg - Max Payne
Mila Kunis - Mona Sax
Also starring Beau Bridges, Ludacris, Chris O'Donnell, Donal Logue and Olga Kurylenko.
Action movie based on the third person shooter developed by Remedy Entertainment and published in 2001 by Gathering of Developers.
Wahlberg and Kunis recently reteamed in Ted, they both also appeared in the comedy Date Night.
Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actor (Mark Wahlberg).
Cost $35m - Box Office $85.4m
IMDB rating 5.3
Gamer (2009) Directed by Mark Neveldine & Brian Taylor. 95mins.
Gerard Butler - John 'Kable' Tillman
Michael C. Hall - Ken Castle
Amber Valletta - Angie Tillman
Logan Lerman - Simon Silverton
Also starring Kyra Sedgwick, Alison Lohman, Terry Crews and Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges.
New York 2020 and Kable (Gerard Butler) is the best 'soldier' in a third person shooter game played for real, invented by Ken Castle (Michael C. Hall), death row prisoners have their brain cells wired up and their movements physically controlled by online gamers.
Originally intended to be filmed in 3D but the budget wouldn't cover it. Gamer was converted to 3D for a 2013 re-release on Blu-ray.
Cost $50m - Box Office $40.8m
Tagline - Who's Playing You?
IMDB rating 5.7
Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li (2009) Directed by Andrzej Bartkowiak. 96mins.
Kristin Kreuk - Chun Li
Chris Klein - Charlie Nash
Also starring Neal McDonough, Michael Clarke Duncan, Moon Bloodgood, Taboo and Robin Shou.
Martial Arts action based on the Street Fighter series of video games developed by Capcom and first released in 1987.
Jean-Claude Van Damme was asked to reprise his role of Colonel Guile from the first Street Fighter movie, but he declined.
Cost $50m - Box Office $12.7m
Tagline - Some fight for power. Some fight for us.
IMDB rating 3.7
Tekken (2010) Directed by Dwight H. Little. 92mins.
Jon Foo - Jin Kazama
Kelly Overton - Christie Monteiro
Also starring Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Ian Anthony Dale, Luke Goss, Tamlyn Tomita and Gary Daniels.
Martial arts actioner set in the year 2039 and based on the fighting game franchise, first developed and published in 1994.by Namco.
Cost $30m - Box Office $1m
Tagline - Survival is no game.
IMDB rating 4.8
A CG animated movie - Tekken-Blood Vengeance - was released in 2011.
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (2010) Directed by Mike Newell. 115mins.
Jake Gyllenhaal - Dastan
Gemma Arterton - Tamina
Ben Kingsley - Nizam
Also starring Alfred Molina, Steve Toussaint, Toby Kebbell and Richard Coyle.
Fantasy action based on the third person adventure video game of the same name designed by Jordan Mechner and published by Ubisoft in 2003.
Orlando Bloom was considered for the lead role.
Cost $150m - Box Office $335.1m
Tagline - Defy The Future.
IMDB rating 6.6
Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010) Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. 97mins.
Milla Jovovich - Alice
Ali Larter - Claire Redfield
Also starring Kim Coates, Shawn Roberts, Spencer Locke, Boris Kodjoe, Wentworth Miller and Sienna Guillory.
The fourth Resident Evil movie, based on the survival horror franchise developed by Capcom.
Directors Guild of Canada nominations for Best Production Design and Best Sound Design.
Released in 3D.
Cost $60m - Box Office $296.2m
Tagline - Experience a New Dimension of Evil.
IMDB rating 5.8
Tron Legacy (2010) Directed by Joseph Kosinski. 125mins.
Jeff Bridges - Kevin Flynn / Clu
Garrett Hedlund - Sam Flynn
Olivia Wilde - Quorra
Also starring James Frain, Beau Garrett, Michael Sheen and Bruce Boxleitner as Alan Bradley / Tron.
28 years later a sequel to Tron finally gets released. The reviews were mixed, fantastic visuals, a great soundtrack but the story wasn't up to snuff. And Tron himself was a guest star?
Oscar nomination for Best Sound Editing.
Nominated for 7 Saturn Awards winning 2 - Best Actor (Jeff Bridges) and Best Production Design.
Released in 3D
Cost $170m - Box Office $400m
Tagline - The Game has Changed.
IMDB rating 6.8
Silent Hill: Revelation 3D (2012) Directed by Michael J. Bassett. 94mins.
Starring Adelaide Clemens, Kit Harington, Deborah Kara Unger, Sean Bean, Carrie-Anne Moss, Martin Donovan, Radha Mitchell and Malcolm McDowell.
3D sequel to Silent Hill (2008) based on the survival horror game 'Silent Hill 3' developed by Team Silent and published by Konami in 2003.
Cost $20m - Box Office $52.3m
IMDB rating 5.0
Resident Evil: Retribution (2012) Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. 96mins.
Milla Jovovich - Alice
Michelle Rodriguez - Rain Ocampo
Also starring Kevin Durand, Sienna Guillory, Shawn Roberts, Aryana Engineer, Oded Fehr and Colin Salmon.
The fifth Resident Evil movie starring Milla Jovovich and very loosely based on the Capcom Resident Evil survival horror game series.
Released in 3D
Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actress (Milla Jovovich).
Cost $65m - Box Office $240.1m
Tagline - Evil Goes Global.
IMDB rating 5.2
Two CG animated movies based on the game franchise were released straight to DVD - Resident Evil: Degeneration (2008) and Resident Evil: Damnation (2012)
Wreck-It Ralph (2012) Directed by Rich Moore. 108mins.
John C. Reilly - Ralph (voice)
Sarah Silverman - Vanellope (voice)
Jack McBrayer - Felix (voice)
Jane Lynch - Calhoun (voice)
Also starring the voices of Alan Tudyk, Mindy Kaling, Joe Lo Truglio, Ed O'Neill and Dennis Haysbert.
A fun CG animated movie. A twist on Toy Story and Tron, characters in the video game world come to life and interact with each other when no one is playing the arcade games.
Oscar nomination for Best Animated Movie.
Golden Globe nomination for Best Animated Movie.
Cost $165m - Box Office $471.2m
Tagline - He's smashing the game world wide open
IMDB rating 7.9
Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn (2012) Directed by Stewart Hendler. 84mins.
Starring Tom Green, Anna Popplewell, Enisha Brewster, Ayelet Zurer, Masam Holden, Mike Dopud and Iain Belcher.
SF adventure based on the first person shooter 'Halo 4' developed by 343 Industries and published by Microsoft Studios in 2012 for the Xbox 360 games console.
Originally a web series of five 15 minute episodes set in the Halo universe, they were later re-edited and released as a movie on DVD and Blu-ray.
Tagline - The story of Halo begins at Dawn.
IMDB rating 7.0
