All VGFlicks, Ranked Worst to Best (#9-#1)

(#26-#19) - (#18-#10) - (#09-#01)

I’ve covered the worst, I’ve covered the decent-to-good… time to cover everything good and great. Today, I’m fanboying. From #9 to #1, let’s end this list!

#9. Pokémon: The First Movie

NOT LIKE THIS
(People who watch Suede and Linkara's
Pokémon reviews will understand)

Perhaps nostalgia is speaking, as this is one of the films I owned on VHS back in the day and still remember it fondly… so perhaps others would rank it lower than I did. I grew up with what I assume to be the 4Kids dub, which is already a mark against the film. Whereas the original Japanese version’s theme is closer to “nature versus nurture”, the dub gives us an “all life is equal” Aesop instead, a lesson that’s also important but much less fitting with the events we watch unfold. Also a tacked-on “fighting is bad, m’kay” on a film for a franchise where fighting is a major part of the gameplay, ignoring the context.

Despite being the first contact some people have had with the Pokémon franchise, the film explains very little to the uninitiated. The end also suffers from a poorly-explained deus ex machina-like resolution followed by a memory wipe of most characters present, meaning that the events were for naught in the heads of the protagonists Ash, Pikachu, Misty and Brock.

What I get from it is nonetheless a very interesting and engaging story with its share of cool moments. I also get from it a sort of deconstruction of Pokémon as fighters, where they’re forced into an unfair battle with deadly stakes whereas they would normally partake in regulated matches. There’s something very H. R. Giger-esque to some of the setpieces on Mewtwo’s island, and the film remains enjoyable even with the issues I’ve pointed out. It’ll appeal a lot more to Pokémon fans, obviously, and to fans of the anime in particular.

#8. Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle

Tying it all back to the notion of respect I introduced in Part 1 of this list, you’ll notice that most entries in this part are for recent movies – films respecting the gaming audience, because they’re made by people who grew up gaming and who thus want to represent the medium and its fans properly. Films from the 2010s, mostly. The Jumanji sequels, which took the board game into a very different direction, fit the bill.

Bravestone has no weaknesses? I demand a rebalancing!
This game is not made fairly!

It’s already impressive that the actors within Jumanji have to play as the teenagers embodying their avatars, rather than as the avatars themselves, and nail every single performance. Better is that the film features concepts like NPCs, lives, special abilities, weaknesses, and executes them accurately – with the occasional twist for the sake of comedy or drama, of course. Even programming quirks are alluded to, like NPCs being limited in the number of sentences they can speak.

The film misses a few opportunities to comment on more video game tropes, but otherwise the story is on-point. There’s a couple of plot holes here and there as well as a handful of things that don’t entirely make sense (again, occasional twists to take the story forward), but overall the plot holds up. But, putting all that aside, this is definitely one of the films I’ve seen that sought to pay tribute to video games in a faithful manner, and did so nicely. And yes, the sequel, which I’ve given a shorter review to for now, is also on this list.

#7. WarGames

This film starring Matthew Broderick really skirts the line of a “video game movie”, with how little video games have a part in it. They kickstart the plot, then take a backseat to hacking. But it’s still one of the earliest films to fit the description, so I include it.

Pic taken moments before a disaster.

It offers great insight into a time period that most people of my generation haven't seen, the Cold War. The hacking techniques are accurate for 1983 (and some techniques shown are still good today, like social hacking). There’s a serious discussion on how mankind has built the tools to destroy itself several times over, and actually comes very close to during the film's events. And, of course, there’s the famous climax where a computer is defeated by being taught that some games cannot be won.

Perhaps the conclusion feels a bit too idealistic for 1983, and some characters could have been given more to do (Ally Sheedy's contributions as Jennifer are few, even if she does help push the plot forward). To some extent, I feel like the very small role of video games is a mark against it, hence why it ranks a little lower on the list… but other than that, I almost struggle to find flaws to this one! Genuinely a good movie, deserving of its place. Heck, some would probably rank it higher. In all seriousness, do give it a look whenever you can; it’s worth a watch.

#6. Jumanji: The Next Level

What? I rank the sequel higher than the other Jumanji title on the list? Originally not, but after a few rewatches, I actually consider it even stronger than its predecessor. Some people would disagree with me. You’re allowed to.

One of these is an old man.
Probably not the one you think.

I’ve said it elsewhere on this list and I reiterate: The best sequels take what has been done by the movie they follow up on, and explore new avenues and ideas. Take everything I said earlier about Welcome to the Jungle. Add the concept of glitches (meaning that the characters don’t get to choose who they play as, and the game world behaves in weird ways). Lastly, have new characters who are elderly, and who therefore lack knowledge in anything related to video games, and throw them into that insane situation alongside the others. It might be the only video game movie that discusses the topic of gaming and the elderly. And it makes every joke it could possibly do along the way.

I was personally disappointed that the idea of Jumanji being broken and glitchy wasn’t explored in greater depth, and the changes don’t go as far as they could have gone. I don’t agree with all of the decisions made regarding the plot, especially as the film nears its climax. But there are genuine gems here, some moments that are pure gold. And some of those moments were only possible with the changes the sequel brought on.

Hopefully we do get another sequel.

#5. Wreck-It Ralph

Ralph is durable. He can take a couple hit to the stomach.
Or crotch.

Feels like it might be a little low on the list… Either I’m harsh, or it speaks volumes about the quality of these last entries. Wreck-It Ralph is where I first felt the winds of change regarding representation of video games in cinema. I didn’t expect Disney of all people to deliver on that front. It’s one of the first films that I felt was a true love letter to gaming, containing several references to existing games, with characters, concepts and mechanics showing up.

So many cool moments.
(Though this one goes wrong fast.)

Ralph, Vanellope, Felix and Sergeant Calhoun are all endearing characters, the villain is excellent, and the story combines emotion and action flawlessly. From an arcade classic we go to a modern FPS, then spend a while in a racing title. Each world has a feel of its own, and represents both its genre and time well (the movements of NPCs are stilted in Ralph’s colorful 1982 game, whereas Hero’s Duty, a recent game, is high-definition and gritty).

There’s some blatant product placement (especially in Sugar Rush) and the story feels unfocused in places, but outside of that we have here a very solid movie and, if I may allow myself to repeat, a herald announcing an improvement to films about gaming from that point on.

#4. Scott Pilgrim VS The World

You can tell that one of them has stage presence,
and it ain't Scott.

An astounding visual spectacle, that’s what the film adaptation of the Scott Pilgrim series of visual novels is. Edgar Wright’s offering borrows codes from gaming, comics and anime alike, and combines them flawlessly for the silver screen. The movie oozes an incredible flair for fantastic scenes, most lifted directly from the books. Throughout there’s loads of little touches and details to look for, such as the omnipresence of numerology (Scott’s zero versus each ex’s associated number) and nods to both geek culture and music. Speaking of – stellar soundtrack, and perfect performances across the board.

Roxanne, Ramona's ex #4, is one of those exes
who barely gets any screentime, whereas her
comic book version shakes Scott and Ramona's
relationship significantly.

It’s also highly flawed: Condensing six books into 132 minutes was bound to cause that. The ultra-condensed adaptation therefore skips out on a ton of details, from characters to significant events and even some plot points that were pivotal in the series (Scott’s dark half, anyone?). Exes 4, 5 and 6 get very little screen time as a result, despite being far more important in the book series. Another unfortunate outcome is that it makes Scott and Ramona appear a lot less likeable than they could have been, since the film follows the most important plot beats and many of those were meant to show their relationship straining from the stress of dealing with the entire “evil exes” situation.

I rank it really high because I love what’s been done here, and that while I do know there’s a lot of flaws to it, those don’t detract significantly from my appreciation of the work. I know for certain that many people wouldn’t rank it as high as I did. By the way, wasn’t there an anime based on the series announced lately?

#3. Detective Pikachu

Ryan Reynolds is a treasure for geekdom, and possibly the best spokesperson we could have ever hoped for. As the voice of the eponymous electric mouse protagonist, he delivers a hilarious performance that also manages to be heartfelt wherever necessary. The Deadpool-esque (but PG) tone of the humor derives from Reynolds being given carte blanche to ad-lib jokes and quips while in the guise of the furred rodent. The film itself is stronger than that, however, featuring a Pokémon world vibrant and lively, where Pokémon are everywhere and seamlessly integrated to every shot. And honestly, a first live-action outing for the franchise wouldn’t have worked any other way.

The film's greatest strength is to make you
believe that all these creatures really ARE there.

It’s very character-driven. Putting aside the deuteragonist Pikachu, Justice Smith as Tim is an excellent protagonist, and Kathryn Newton is great as the tritagonist, Lucy, an aspiring reporter. All of the Pokémon have seen a look upgrade to appear realistic for live-action, and contrary to the classic “hyper-realistic” edits of Pokémon floating around the Internet, none of them clash with the designs we know and love from the games. Most importantly, this film does what regular Pokémon movies don’t do, by explaining some basics of this world, and it ditches some of those basics to offer a more functional, more appealing story for wider audiences.

Reynolds’ ad-libbing is good, but often clashes with the tone of scenes; however, the film’s biggest flaw is to follow the usual formula for a family movie, and its twists tend to be predictable. But if those are the only marks I have against the film, then damn – I see this as an absolute win!

#2. Sonic the Hedgehog

I’m pretty sure this one wouldn’t rank so high if we had ended up with the original Sonic design for the film, the one that was so reviled. Goes to show, studios listening to outrage can lead to good things sometimes. They showed respect for the fans, and were rewarded for it.

Not sure why, but that's two films in a row involving
awkward car rides with CGI creatures.

There’s a big ‘90s feel to this 2020 release, between the story that feels like so many buddy road trip adventures of that era and, of course, a Jim Carrey in great shape as Doctor Robotnik, channeling his crazier roles from that decade. He sells his alternative take on Eggman just as well, if not even better, than Ben Schwartz sells his alternative take on Sonic. The other characters, from Tom to Agent Stone, are all an absolute treat to watch as well. The story is insanely engaging, the humor is on-point… 

I don't care how high your IQ is;
That is a bad idea, doc.

The special effects aren’t always perfect, but that may be a side-effect from having to redo the entire film’s CGI with the new design for the main character. Also, even though it’s understandable by the events of the story, Sonic being a geek will never stop feeling bizarre. If I can grasp at straws for nitpicks, I probably could have done without Sonic flossing, the go-to dance for an attempt at relevance.

Okay, all nitpicking aside, this is about as good an adaptation as we can get – albeit this is more of an adaptation of the general series and its characters rather than a proper adaptation of a story from an existing game. Either way, this is near the pinnacle of quality and what all these video game series making the move to film should aim for. I'm so looking forward to the sequel.

#1. Free Guy

Hi again, Ryan Reynolds.

We’re back to that notion of respect. I’m under the belief that this movie was built trying to show respect to all of the represented communities: Geeks, gamers, millenials, developers, streamers, fans in general… And as a result, every single one of them is represented faithfully and respectfully. Any gags made at their expense is outside of the realm of insult, and into the area of gentle ribbing or light roasting. In short: The film’s laughing with us, not at us.

Weird seeing the world with new lenses.

Beyond the video game setting in the story of Guy, we also have an insight into the studio behind said game and its developers. And everything is perfect. Well… almost perfect. I can think of a very small number of flaws that this film has; its commentary on escapism is messy, but that’s nothing new in video game movies. It also relies a little too much on cameos by the end. Famous Twitch streamers appear, and the fictional Free City includes a lot of items pulled from other places – from gaming franchises and even beyond (but saying what is referenced would be a spoiler).

Also, the film is so bright, so colorful...
it radiates fun, compared to the constant gloom
of the worst films I've covered.

So much of this story is on-point, too; a lot of details about coding, game development and the industry are portrayed accurately. Even things that are in the realm of fiction make some level of sense (and it pains me to be unable to give examples, because I want people to see this film, and it was released just last year). There’s also a fascinating discussion here on artificial intelligence, when Guy outgrows his program to the point of being alive, and it’s an aspect of the story that could have been deserving of a movie all to itself.

If you feel this one wouldn’t be at the top of your list, it’s perfectly fine; this entire list from worst to best is nothing more than my opinion, and you can disagree all you want with any of the rankings on it. Once again, I strongly encourage others to make their own Tier List. I’d love to hear how others would rank these.

If all goes right… expect new reviews in February. In fact, the review that comes next is another movie review... for a film related to the game review that comes immediately after. What is it? You'll see soon enough...