Game-changing movies that played a big part in the video game genre

TRON (1982): Kevin Flynn (Jeff Bridges), a computer programmer who runs a video arcade, attempts to hack into his former employer's mainframe system to find evidence his work has been plagiarised. He is digitised and sent into the cyber world where he and programs that resist the system are pitted against each other in deadly games. The film, made by Disney, employed computer graphics and spawned video games. A sequel, TRON: Legacy, was released in 2010.

The Last Starfighter (1984): After setting the record on a Starfighter video game, teenager Alex (Lance Guest) is approached by the game's inventor (Robert Preston). It turns out the game recreates a real space conflict and is a tool used by an alien race to recruit pilots to join the battle against an evil empire. The initially reluctant Alex eventually signs up when Earth is threatened. This was another movie to make early use of CGI.

The Wizard (1989): In this 1989 movie, Corey - played by Fred Savage, star of The Wonder Years - sets off to California with his half-brother Jimmy (Luke Edwards) who's about to be institutionalised and who's a whiz at video games. Also stars Christian Slater.

Super Mario Bros: The 1985 Nintendo video game led to a TV series and two movies. Super Mario Bros. (1993) starred Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo as the title characters. It was an expensive flop. The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023), a CGI animated film, was a big hit, grossing more than $1 billion.

Mortal Combat: Midway Games' 1992 fighting game was first adapted into a movie in 1995 and was followed by a 1997 sequel, Mortal Kombat: Annihilation, and a reboot in 2021 using the original title.

Tomb Raider: Core Design's action-adventure video game series began in 1996 and in 2001 came the first screen adaptation, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, starring Angelina Jolie as the title character. Jolie returned in the 2003 sequel Lara Croft: Tomb Raider - The Cradle of Life. A reboot, Tomb Raider (2018), starred Alicia Vikander

Resident Evil: The 1996 survival horror game inspired a 2002 movie starring Milla Jovovich that was followed by six sequels, the last in 2021.