History SpiritualSuccessor / LiveActionFilmsGToM

* ''Film/MyFuhrer'', to ''Film/GoebbelsAndGeduldig'', with Creator/UlrichMuhe playing a [[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust Jewish man]] who ends up directly facing the [[UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler leading]] [[UsefulNotes/JosephGoebbels figures]] of UsefulNotes/NaziGermany up close.

* ''Film/LastNightInSoho'' to ''Film/CrimsonPeak'', due to the ghosts tormenting the protagonist [[spoiler: being less malevolent than expected and indirectly helping the protagonist, be it distraction or forcing a HeelRealization from the villain.]]

* The French horror film ''Film/HighTension'' has been noted as having drawn many comparisons to the Creator/DeanKoontz novel ''Intensity'', with writer/director Creator/AlexandreAja admitting to having read the book and being aware of the two works' similarities when asked about it at Sundance. Strangely, it's also a ''{{Disowned|Adaptation}}'' Spiritual Adaptation, as Koontz himself also noticed the similarities and considered suing for UsefulNotes/{{plagiarism}}, but decided not to because he hated ''High Tension'' so much that he didn't want it associated with his book.

** Creator/BobChipman, meanwhile, has [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGsymY_mJ5g called it]] the best adaptation of ''ComicBook/BatmanTheDarkKnightReturns'' ever made, albeit with the X-Men instead of Creator/DCComics' characters. Both stories are grim, {{deconstruction}}ist takes on the superhero genre about aging heroes called out of retirement to fight one last time while finding redemption by serving as a mentor to a young girl. Moreover, both of them relied on the context of the time and its cultural memory of their titular heroes for their deconstructionist elements; ''The Dark Knight Returns'' exploited the fact that most people in TheEighties knew Batman from the LighterAndSofter [[Series/Batman1966 Adam West TV show]], while ''Logan'' does the same with the pop culture knowledge of Creator/HughJackman's portrayal of ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} in the ''Film/XMenFilmSeries'', and the fact that it's his last outing in the role. However, he fears that this trope could [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools manifest in a less pleasant way]] in the years to come, in the sense that, just as ''The Dark Knight Returns'' helped bring about UsefulNotes/TheDarkAgeOfComicBooks, ''Logan'' could [[FollowTheLeader set off a similar wave]] of superhero movies that merely copy its DarkerAndEdgier aesthetic at the expense of storytelling and themes.

* ''Film/JumanjiWelcomeToTheJungle'', can easily be seen as a ''VideoGame/{{Pitfall}}'' movie, albeit a highly self-referential one. The fake video game that sucks in the teenage protagonists is even played on a cartridge on what looks like an old-school 1980's game console, ''a la'' the UsefulNotes/Atari2600 (albeit with far better graphics).

* ''Film/{{Maleficent}}'': Similar to ''WesternAnimation/Frozen2013'' (see the [[SpiritualAdaptation/AnimatedFilm Animated Film page]]), the film serves as a live-action adaptation of ''Theatre/{{Wicked}}'' with both works reimagining a traditionally villainous character in a heroic light by crafting a sympathetic backstory for how they became evil.

** ''Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier'' may be the best movie adaptation of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' that we ever get to see, in particular ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty''. It's about a long-time veteran soldier, who's the sole survivor of a government program to create genetically-enhanced soldiers, coming out of retirement to fight a terrorist leader with ties to his past, having a rivalry with someone with a fake left arm, and working to uncover a conspiracy in the ranks of the government while they prepare to devastate the world with a powerful superweapon, [[spoiler: usually within the very organization they work for]]. The movie even has its own [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2 tanker level]], and a scene where we find out that the government conspiracy is led by [[spoiler:a sentient ArtificialIntelligence that took over for the long-deceased human villains]]. Also, the eponymous Winter Soldier is revealed to be [[spoiler:[[Comicbook/BuckyBarnes an old friend of the veteran soldier]], presumed dead but taken from the battlefield and transformed against his will into a cyborg assassin]].

** It was also ''very'' heavily influenced by ''Manga/GhostInTheShell'' with its mix of {{cyberpunk}} action and philosophical musings about the nature of humanity and consciousness. Creator/TheWachowskis were huge fans of its [[Anime/GhostInTheShell anime adaptation]], which they have cited as one of their favorite films and which they [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3tF7TL0Qh4 screened]] for producer Joel Silver in order to show him what they wanted to accomplish with their film, and many scenes are lifted more or less directly from it as [[ShoutOut shout-outs]]. In fact, the success and influence of ''The Matrix'' was a big part of why the [[Film/GhostInTheShell2017 2017 Hollywood adaptation]] of ''Ghost in the Shell'' met a lukewarm reception -- as far as most Americans were concerned, ''The Matrix'' [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny did it first]].