Video: 6 Best Movies based on TV shows

With Chips (2017) becoming the latest in a list of movies based on television shows, we decided to look back at previous attempts and rank our favourites. So here are the 6 best movies based on television shows.

6. The Man from Uncle (2015)

One of many shows from the 60s that explored the world of spies, The Man from Uncle (1964-1968) starred the legendary Robert Vaughn and David McCallum as US and Russian spies, respectively. In 2015, Guy Ritchie revisited the characters of Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin in a film adaptation. Keeping the 60s cold war setting, but with epic set pieces and a tongue-in-cheek tone, The Man from Uncle was your typical Guy Ritchie fair with its slickness.

5. The A-Team (2010)

It was always going to be hard to replace the original actors who spent most of the 80s helping those in need, however once you add Liam Neeson to the cast your film immediately gains several points. With Neeson taking on the role of cigar smoking leader Hannibal supported by Bradley Cooper, Sharlto Copley and Quinton Jackson as Faceman, Murdoch & B.A. Baracus respectively, the film managed to keep the light tone of the series, yet took the action up a notch making its TV counterpart look even more tamer than we remember.

4. The Addams Family (1991)

During the mid-60s there must have been a strong appetite for comedy horror with both The Addams Family and The Munsters broadcasting between 1964 and 1966. However, the former has always been considered the better of the two and worthy of a big screen adaptation in 1991. With such big shoes to fill in the role of Gomes Addams, played brilliantly by John Astin, no one could have expected Raul Julia to match his devilish charm, but match it he did, making the role his own.

3. Mission: Impossible (1996)

Gracing our screens in the late 60s early 70s Mission: Impossible (1966-1973) fed off the cold war revelling in the world of spies. Skip forward 23 years later, after an unsuccessful reboot in the late 80s, and we were given the Tom Cruise starring Mission: Impossible. Continuing the essence of the series with familiar tropes such as the theme tune, self-destruct tapes and an eclectic cast of characters, Mission: Impossible launched a franchise of four sequels with a fifth currently in the works.

2. 21 Jump Street (2012)

Back in the late 80s, before he was Edward Scissorhands and long before he was Captain Jack Sparrow, Johnny Depp starred in this crime series about young looking police officers who specialise in youth crime. With the added comedic touch, 21 Jump Street released in 2012 starred Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill as officers Jenko and Schmidt who go undercover at a local high school to bring down a drug ring. Tatum and Hill’s partnership was an immediate hit spawning a sequel in 2014.

1. The Fugitive (1993)

Dr Richard Kimble was on the run years before the 1993 adaptation. Aired in the mid 60s, starring David Janssen as the titular Fugitive, it followed a man wrongly convicted of murdering his wife and after escaping a prisoner transport he hunts down the “one-armed” man he claims is responsible. Harrison Ford took on the role 26 years later following the very same premise, with Tommy Lee Jones’ US Marshal hot on his heels. Now considered a classic, it inspired a spin-off sequel 5 years later.

Are there any movies based on TV shows you think we missed? Let us know in the comments below.