Resident Evil, Tomb Raider & Silent Hill Among 10 Ten Gaming Films

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The secret to popular game adaptations appears to be a strong female character following the news that chilling film version of computer game Silent Hill, starring blonde bombshell Radha Mitchell as Rose Da Silva, has been named The Best Computer Game Adaptation of all time.

As Jake Gyllenhaal explodes onto our screens as the Prince of Persia in the latest computer game to reach cinemas, LOVEFiLM, Europe¹s leading film & TV, digital and DVD rental subscription service with over 67,000 titles, asked over 1500 film and gaming fans to rate their favourite game-to-film adaptations of the last 20 years.

The 2006 adaptation of horror game Silent Hill starring Radha Mitchell took first place in the poll with 15 per cent of the votes. The film follow-on to the survival horror game, which brings to life the monstrous creatures made famous by the game, proved that gaming thrillers are still at the top of film fans¹ lists.



Swooping into second place with 14 percent of the votes was everybody¹s favourite action femme fatale Lara Croft in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. Lara¹s character, brought to life by the shapely Angelina Jolie, spawned two very successful Tomb Raider titles, earning her a well-deserved place towards the top of the list.

Supermodel, cover girl and actress Milla Jovovich starred as Alice in the first Resident Evil adaptation which punched its way into the top three. With 13 per cent of the votes Milla obviously became a hit with film fans, going on to play Alice in three more films from the Resident Evil franchise.

As the first man to appear in the top ten, Timothy Olyphant¹s portrayal of agent 47 hit the target with 10 per cent of voters, putting him in fourth place for a film renowned for its graphic and bloody violence rather than a

beautiful female lead.

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within was the only film in the top ten to stay true to its roots and remain completely computer generated. The huge similarities between game and film scored highly with fans who rated it high on the list with seven per cent of the votes.

Mortal Kombat, which battled its way into sixth place with six per cent of the votes, was a huge box-office hit even though the violence was toned down compared to its gaming counterpart. The classic martial arts computer game,

which became an icon of the 90s, also spawned television and animated series¹ as well as a Mortal Kombat soundtrack.

Putting plumbers firmly on the map thanks to the Gameboy generation, Super Mario Bros burst onto our screens 15 years ago and starred Bob Hoskins in a film he dubbed ³the worst he¹d ever done². Well, gamers seem to disagree and voted it a guilty pleasure in seventh place with five per cent.

Milla Jovovich heads back to Racoon City and gets a double whammy in the top ten with Resident Evil sequel Apocalypse. With four per cent of the votes the 2004 gaming adaptation took eighth place in the list.

One of the most beloved 2D games of all time, Street Fighter, jump kicked its way into ninth place. Starring none other than the OMuscles from Brussels¹ (Jean-Claude van Damme) as Guile and pint-sized popstar Kylie Minogue as Cammy, the film unfortunately had nowhere near the same impact on the big screen and was karate chopped down to size. Hadouken!

Clinging onto tenth place was the 2008 Mark Wahlberg film Max Payne with just two per cent of votes. And the less said about that the better.

The top ten best computer adaptations are:

• 1. Silent Hill (2006) 15%
• 2. Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) 14%
• 3. Resident Evil (2002) 13%
• 4. Hitman (2007) 10%
• 5. Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2001) 7%
• 6. Mortal Kombat (1995) 6%
• 7. Super Mario Bros. (1993) 5%
• 8. Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) 4%
• 9. Street Fighter (1994) 3%
• 10. Max Payne (2008) 2%
• Other - 21%

Helen Cowley, Editor at LOVEFiLM commented: ³As our poll of gaming enthusiasts shows, the X-factor in a game-to-film adaptation is a strong female lead so we¹re hoping that Gemma Arterton gives Jake Gyllenhaal a run for his money in the Prince of Persia.²

³LOVEFiLM has over 67,000 films and computer games available to either rent or watch online, giving film and gaming fans the chance to simply watch the ending on the big screen or battle through to their own ending at home.²

SOURCE

[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource GamesPress.]