Videogame-based movies have a spotty history, at best, and a chronicle of them can easily be mistaken as a list of 100 of the worst films that have ever been made. I honestly feel like it has only been a recent phenomenon that decently produced films based on the medium are starting to come out, which is a shame considering we have nearly forty years of them chronicled here. A Guide to Video Game Movies by Christopher Carton takes a stab at being an exhaustive list of this particular wing of cinema. The book is divided up by decade, each highlighting something like ten of the biggest films of each particular era and a page summarizing the rest. Pen and Sword releases a number of these mass market pop culture books at any given time, usually about comics or cosplay, and this is perhaps the best one that they have done that I've read so far.

I'm not going to lie, the majority of this book's contents are two decades worth of Uwe Boll, a universally panned director's, absolute worst misses in all of cinema - a fact that one cannot deny when looking at any list of films from this era. It was Boll, more so than any director save Paul W.S. Anderson, that championed making video game films no matter why poorly they were constructed or recieved. Highlighted as well are some particularly bad films like the 90's Super Mario bros. and Street Fighter films that have become cult classics largely due to nostalgia. At the end we start to see the dawning of the video game film as a serious genre, with such movies like Sonic the Hedgehog and the most recent Mortal Kombat film - admittedly not stellar films by any means, but adequate and fun nonetheless. Perhaps we are about to enter the golden age of the video game film? Only time will tell.

For a low-entry point quick read like this, you can't really go wrong with how this book is formatted. It's very informative and exists as a quick reference book rather than some sort of deep scholarly analysis. Honestly if that is what someone is looking for, I can not imagine that "video-game films" would be a topic that many film scholars would flock to doing thorough discourse on. Based on the nature of what this book is and the target audience, I'd say this is a successful book. If a cohesive history of this type of film is something you have been wondering about, this is probably the best book I've seen on the topic.

A fairly pedestrian and lightweight summary of most of the key film adaptations of computer games which have ever been released. With entries including Tomb Raider, Streetfighter and Assassin's Creed, it is easy to see why this has never been an especially distinguished field. But to be fair, this covers them concisely and accurately enough.

This is a fun and cheerful romp through the catalogue of video game movies from "Super Mario Bros." to the current day. If you've watched as many of these movies as I have, you'll know that the quality of said films is ... uneven, at best. Carton is sometimes guilty of overreaching in his efforts to find something nice to say about every movie in here, but his breezy writing and apparent familiarity with the source material helps make this an enjoyable read, even if I did have a quiet chuckle at his efforts to put a positive spin on dreck like "Postal".
If you like video games and movies, and have an interest in the intersection between the two, this is well worth a look.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Pen & Sword for an advanced copy of this film reference book.

Christopher Carton has in A Guide to Video Game Movies, written a valuable history of many of the biggest, maybe not the best, movies whose origins began as video games, from all platforms, console to PC.

The book has all the big movies. Doom, Steet Fighter, more Uwe Boll than thought possible, of safe to even read. The descriptions include photos, but also descriptions of the game's development, a history of the movie's development, problems with casting, box office, and sequel information, that might be covered in another section. There are behind the scenes gossip, scenes to look for, both good and bad, and full of subtle clues to see if the movie is really worth seeking out.

The book is laid out chronologically be decade, with other movies mentioned, just not in as much detail. What I found interesting was as the video games began to mature, both with storylines and graphics that conveyed real plot lines and story beats, the movies made of them seemed to almost stand still or get worse. No matter the box office, very few of these will make top movies lists. The CGI might have gotten better, but the storytelling lacks the basics of what goes into the most ordinary of games that come out today. Many of these films are more, oh yeah that was a film. Except Street Fighter. That movie ruled.

An excellent guide with a well written synopsis, complete with facts and fun information about this type of genre films. A great book for a burgeoning film lover, who wants to know more about these games, or for older people like myself who played the games, saw the movies, and like to know more. Very entertaining.

What’s what on the film of the game… Everything and anything about the wonder years of video games film spin-offs from the 1990s to now and beyond.

Proving wishes do come true – in December 2021 – I got an advance reader’s copy of Christopher Carton’s book A Guide to Video Game Movies (2022) in exchange for an honest review. This was read just in time for Santa’s Christmas shop. As I am the stepmum to a pair of retro-loving gamer boys teens who have seen every superhero movie and are now into video games and their movies, this was the book of Santa’s dreams. After reading it, I dutifully added a sledge load of video-themed films to my stepdudes’ Christmas watch list in my role as Santa’s little helper.

Just seeing the fabulous cover and title of this book, I was thrilled with the idea of stunning my stepdudes after I regaled them – and their dad, my Darlin Husband – with my then new found knowledge. With Carton’s book as a guide, I could not only quote the film or the game but tell all those behind their scenes stories, mention the memorable taglines and throw in random starry acting names from this genre and much, much more.

Carton’s family love for these video games and this film genre also appears to be a genetic one. I identified with him completely in his heartwarming dedication to those family members. He thanks his parents who introduced him to video games and movies, his siblings for their reminiscences of their early joint experiences and you feel his love for his wife and kids just for being them.

I was a 1970s kid who was always into films as seen HERE. Then I really got into video games after my parents bought the family a ZX81 in the early 1980s when I was a pre-teen. My joy of video games has lasted over the decades. It even included having some odd dreams after seeing a certain video game and the films that included Harrison Ford. In those dreams, I heard the Indiana Jones film theme and dreamt in yellow blocks in what seemed like an infinite loop.

The introduction to this book was a joy to read. Carton remembers those early arcade games I was hooked on like Space Invaders and Donkey Kong. Then he writes about the innovative and inspiring film, TRON (1982). Admittedly – before reading this book – TRON was one where Jeff Bridges character’s motivations went over my head, and later was one watched solely for this actor. And for the first time, I understood it!

Other films were mentioned including the much loved WarGames (1983) and The Last Star Fighter (1984). Both of these 1980s films were keenly watched and then retroactively adored by my stepdudes. Carton then convinced me to watch The Wizard (1989) with The Wonder Years (1989-93) then child actor, Fred Savage. I mentally added this movie to my to watch and review list.

The contents page has pastel colour-coded sections for each of those decades from the 1990s to the present day. These colours are then replicated in then the same but brighter colour versions in the individual sections and their chapters for that decade. Chapters include animated films such as the Angry Birds movies and live-action ones including the Mortal Kombat films and reboots.

Carton writes about a large number of films in a variety of video games genres such as horror, adventure and arcade. These are all analysed in meticulous detail as he travels through the different decades. Each section is then divided into separate chapters outlining a number of titles for video games and their film counterparts.

Each chapter begins with a fabulous colour picture of the film poster. These along with those fabulous film taglines such as Super Mario Bros (1993) proclaiming “This Ain’t No Game“. Carton adds enticing pictures of both the movie and from the game it tributes. Pictures are well chosen and added lovingly to the book. A small panel outlines the date of release, stars and director.

He compares both the game and film plot and characters. Carton takes the tone of the subject matter such as bright and colourful descriptions of films like the Super Mario Bros and darker descriptions of the one-time never-ending Resident Evil (2002-) zombie-filled franchise. All are supported with insightful quotes from the acting stars and characters of the film and characters from the game. These wonderful descriptions – often with some laugh out loud moments – easily have you hungering to play the video game or watch the movie.

In this fabulously chosen selection of films – and games – I read about those I’d seen such as Angelina Jolie’s Tomb Raider films and those I hadn’t including Sonic the Hedgehog (2020). This latter one was one I now desperately wanted to see – and play – after reading Carton’s book description.

Carton helpfully adds other films film’s cast members appeared in, and this was a joy for this film blogger. The book is not about those games which were inspired by films such as The Lego Batman Movie (2017), The Smurfs, the Indiana Jones franchise and those Lord of the Rings films. But I am hoping there will be a sequel to this book.

There were also surprising entries for those films I didn’t know were originally video games including In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale (2007). The films boasted some incredible cast lists. These included Ben Kingsley, Radha Mitchell, Christian Slater and the bromance themed Doom (2005) with The Rock and Karl Urban. Chapters end with his reasons to Watch It For and information on Sequels in two subheadings.

Each section ends with a sum-up of the decade in a Best of the Rest section. I loved Carton’s writing style fusing warm and humorous descriptions of games and films. There are so many fun ones to choose from. But to give you my favourite example of a Watch It For, describing Robert Patrick’s bad guy in the film Double Dragon (1994), that is a sterling comic example;

Robert Patrick is as ludicrously cartoonish as a villain can be and his performance in this movie – a far cry from his menacing T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1992) – is worth your time alone.

This book is published now, just in time for spending your Christmas present vouchers for your gamer and film-obsessed partner. Or bought and just referred to for a super film binge, where you can learn which video games made a film star…