Top 5 – Movies Based on TV Shows

Movies become TV shows and TV shows become movies, it’s just a thing that happens.  We’ve seen great movies like Fargo, Lethal Weapon, and Scream be adapted into relatively successful TV shows.  We’ve gotten movies from shows like Downton Abby, Breaking Bad, and Charlie’s Angels (again) and there are more to come. But of all the TV shows that have become movies, these are the very best. These are my picks for the movies based on TV shows.

5 – THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E (Guy Ritchie, 2015)

• The Man from U.N.C.L.E is an awesome, awesome movie.  I am very hit and miss on Guy Ritchie as a director, especially his work over the last decade or so, but this is one of his best efforts yet.  Set in the early 1960s, CIA agent Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill, in his best performance to date) and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer, having a ball) come together in a joint mission against a mysterious criminal organization, which is working to proliferate nuclear weapons.  Alicia Vikander also stars in the film as the middle-person between Solor and Kuryakin and she is wonderful.  Ritchie’s stylish visual filmmaking fits perfectly with this twisty, thrilling, wildly entertaining spy film.  Movies don’t get much cooler than this one.

4 – THE FUGITIVE (Andrew Davis, 1993)

• Based off the classic show from the 60’s, the movie version of The Fugitive is a thrilling, two-hour chase scene.  When wrongfully accused of killing his wife, Dr. Richard Kimble (a great Harrison Ford) breaks out of prison to find the actual killer while being on a nationwide manhunt, led by Samuel Gerard (an iconic Tommy Lee Jones).  This is an old school thriller.  A movie that is simple in its plot, yet packs a great punch, with awesome action sequences, like the Hoover Dam jump, and a great mystery to boot.  This Best Picture nominee is a blast to watch and holds up to this day.

3 – 21 JUMP STREET (Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, 2012)

• I never watched the 21 Jump Street T.V. show, as I was barely alive during the show’s run.  While I’ve heard the show was more on the serious side, I doubt it was anywhere near as good as Phil Lord and Christopher Miller’s take on the show.  This is so many genres in one, yet every single one is done superbly.  This is a smart, bromantic, action-comedy about two cops (the dynamic duo of Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill), who were on different social levels in high school and are now partners, who must go undercover in high school to stop a drug dealer.  Tatum and Hill are an uproarious duo, complimenting each other like they’ve been doing this for years and we get an excellent supporting cast of Dave Franco, Brie Larson, Rob Riggle, and scene-stealing Ice Cube.  Its explosive action scenes are coupled with its meta humor about sequels and franchises and a modern look at today’s high school culture versus the culture from a decade ago.  This was one of the best surprises I have had at the movies and one of the best comedies of the last ten years.

2 – SOUTH PARK: BIGGER, LONGER, & UNCUT (Trey Parker & Matt Stone, 1999)

• South Park is one of my favorite shows of all-time.  The way Trey Parker and Matt Stone are consistently on top of their game and making fun of everything and anything that is socially relevant is a tremendous feat.  Bigger, Longer, & Uncut came out when the show was still relatively new, and it elevated South Park to new heights.  This musical comedy about the U.S. going to war with Canada over the vulgarity of two Canadian movie stars has themes of censorship and war while also giving us spectacular musical numbers, countless quotes, and hilarious moments.  This is an hour and a half long episode and it is simply perfect.

1 – MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE (Brian DePalma/John Woo/JJ Abrams/Brad Bird/Christopher McQuarrie, 1996-2018)

• My choice for Mission: Impossible at number one is based on the entire franchise.  It could be argued that the Mission: Impossible franchise is not only the best action franchise in Hollywood today, but possibly the best franchise overall.  Far removed from the 1960’s show, the movies in this franchise are some of the biggest movies being made today and only get bigger and better with every film.  The first three films, directed by DePalma, Woo, and Abrams, respectively, are solid action films with some cool spy elements.  But it was Brad Bird and Ghost Protocol that took this film to the next level and Christopher McQuarrie taking what Bird accomplished and elevating it even further, giving us some of the most astonishing spy films ever made topped off by jaw-dropping action set-pieces that you have to see to believe.  But this franchise rides on the shoulders of Tom Cruise and he gives everything he has to these films.  He knows Ethan Hunt like the back of his hand and the fact the Cruise does his own stunts, which have included hanging off the side of a plane, climbing the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, and doing a H.A.L.O. (high altitude, low open) plane jump from 30,000 feet, elevates his status to mythic levels.  The Mission: Impossible films push the boundaries of what an action movie is and I cannot wait to see what happens next in this franchise.

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