Video game movies have certainly come a long way. For years, it was a quick shorthand for bad movies. The 1990s saw multiple failed attempts with Super Mario Bros., Double Dragon, and Street Fighter. Things in the 2000s certainly did not get better with Doom, Max Payne, and House of the Dead. Even as video games were becoming more cinematic and well regarded, the adaptations of the early 2010s like Prince of Persia and Warcraft were disappointments that left a lot to be desired.

Yet there has been a turnaround in recent years regarding video game movies, partially thanks to the box office success of Sonic the Hedgehog and its sequel along with the surprise hit of Mortal Kombat on HBO Max. Video game adaptations have gotten more popular and more high-profile ones are on the way including Borderlands and a CGI animated Super Mario Brothers. Yet even in the realm of video game movies, there are a few underrated gems that are worth checking out. These video game movies do not get talked about enough but are underrated in their genre for many reasons.

5 Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life

Lara Croft Tomb Raider Cradle of Life (2)
Paramount Pictures

While not a great film, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life is seen as an improvement over its predecessor, the 2001 film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. With Speed and Twister director Jan de Bont at the helm, the film improves on the action scenes from the original (de Bont got his start as the cinematographer on films like Die Hard and The Hunt for Red October).

The second film plays up the globe-trotting adventure angle and feels very much inspired by Indiana Jones and a precursor to National Tressure which would be released the following year. While the first film did have its fair share of fans, the negative reaction to the first film likely turned audiences off to the sequel where it underperformed at the box office.

4 Alien vs. Predator

Alien and Predator stare at each other
20th Century Fox

Alien vs Predator is both a crossover between two established film series, but also an adaptation of a comic book series inspired by the movies. The success of the two separate movie franchises and the comic series led to a series of Alien vs Predator video games. One of those video games was inspired by a rejected script for a potential Alien vs Predator movie in 1994, and while the finished film went for a different story it does before a soft adaptation of the video game. Alien vs Predator director Paul W.S. Anderson is also notable as a video game director, having helmed 1995's Mortal Kombat, four of the Resident Evil films, and Monster Hunter, so Alien vs Predator very much fits his filmography.

Related: Alien Movies in Order: How to Watch Chronologically and By Release DateAlien vs Predator has the most fun with its premise, pitting the two sci-fi horror monsters against one another. It gives audiences a wide variety of battles between the Aliens and Predators, allowing for multiple different outcomes on who could be the winner. The pyramid setting very much captures the setting of a horror video game and the wide variety of Predator weapons does feel like the movie is very much in tune with the sensibilities of video games as it is in the original films in the Alien and Predator franchise.

3 Rampage

rampage
New Line Cinema

Based on the arcade game of the same name, Rampage sees Dwayne Johnson in a giant kaiju action film that sees a giant gorilla, wolf, and lizard have a destructive battle in the middle of Chicago. It is simple, effective, and was probably the best video game movie for a while simply due to the low bar of past attempts.

While something like Assassin's Creed or Hitman seems like it would lend itself to an actual film given their cinematic cutscenes and storytelling are closer to a film, they take the interesting part of letting someone play the story and what is left is basically watching the cut scenes. Whereas Rampage, despite not having a real linear plot in the games, works as a movie because it finds the connections between the classic B-movies that inspired the video game and reverse engineers it into a film. It knows it has giant animals and makes a movie around those core concepts. Rampage is a giant monster movie and features staples of the genre films like a mad scientist, evil corporations working with the military, and very much playing into the sensibilities of a young child watching these types of movies where they connect with the giant monster.

2 Pokémon: Detective Pikachu

Detective Pikachu being cute
Warner Bros.

While it would be difficult to call Pokémon: Detective Pikachu underrated in the traditional sense (it was a decent size hit and well-liked by critics), it does in many ways get lost in the video game movie conversation, particularly when compared to the Sonic the Hedgehog movies. With how popular Pokémon as a franchise is, and that by 2019 the series saw a new resurgence in popularity thanks to 2016's Pokemon Go, it seemed like the movie should have been a bigger hit.

Related: Pokémon: The Future or End of the $110 Billion FranchiseHowever, for a movie adaptation of a niche title in the overall franchise, and one that broke away from the traditional mold, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu is a very entertaining movie that does a great job introducing the concept to a wider audience. It creates a rich world with plenty of potential stories to tell while also paying homage to some of the most iconic elements of the series. It also impressively crafts an engaging PG noir family movie that gives it a spirit very close to Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

A special shout-out also to the design work on the Pokémon in this film, which realizes the iconic characters in ways that create a sense of believability while also maintaining their signature designs. While Pokémon: Detective Pikachu may not have been the ideal Pokémon movie fans likely imagined in their head as the first live-action movie, for an entire generation seeing Pokémon realized in real life was a dream come true.

1 Werewolves Within

Sam Richardson and the rest of the Werewolves Within cast
IFC Films

Many people who watched Werewolves Within might not realize it is a video game movie, but it's actually an adaptation of the Ubisoft videogame of the same name from 2018. Instead of a blockbuster movie, Werewolves Within is a horror comedy collaboration between Ubisoft Motion Pictures and IFC Films that focuses on a group of people in a small Vermont town who get trapped in a snowstorm and suspect somebody is a werewolf.

The movie features an all-star comedy cast led by Milana Vayntrub and Sam Richardson, who are both hilarious and charming here. Werewolves Within got a limited theatrical release and was released in theaters at a time when they were quietly reopening, so for many it flew under the radar. Yet it works as both a summer comedy whose winter setting makes for contrast on a hot summer day, or for a fun October viewing experience to get in the spirit for Halloween. Werewolves Within stands as not just a great video game movie, but just a great movie in general.