So a few weeks back, Tadzi put up his list of the 10 best comic book films of all time. Taking this as a challenge, I now present my own.
10) Sin City: Although sometimes marred by too-quickly produced CGI effects, Sin City is the most faithful adaptation of a comic to movie form ever. The cast is spectacular, the underlying design is beautiful, the costuming and makeup effects are stunning. And the source material sets up a great story in its own right. Sequels should prove very interesting, as Sin City has many more (and better) stories to adapt.
9) Batman: While it isn't the best translation ever, Batman oozed with raw power. Michael Keaton's Batman was spot on, even while his Bruce Wayne was weak, while Jack Nicholson as the Joker was perfect casting. Held back sometime by Tim Burton's need to be Tim Burton, Batman still remains a stellar film.
8) X-Men 3: The Last Stand: While more of an action movie than its predecessors, X3 still lived up to the standard set by the first two films. Storm, despite Halle Berry's lackluster acting chops, finally comes in to her own in this film, while the new young cast and the surprising deaths in the movie shake up the X-universe in a way that the comics can only dream. Kelsey Grammar makes a great Beast, and Vinnie Jones as the Juggernaut is massive amounts of fun. If this movie doesn't encourage another sequel, I don't know what will.
7) V For Vendetta: I didn't want to like this film but I do. An adaptation of Alan Moore & Davild Lloyd's graphic novel, one of the greatest comic stories ever written, is brought to the silver screen with its message altered utterly, but still somehow works as a great film. The main reason: its cast. Hugo Weaving as V shows amazing depth, while Natalie Portman and the amazing British ensemble do everything in their power to make the movie utterly, perfectly believable. A truly great film.
6) Spider-Man 2: I will be the first to admit that I wasn't a big fan of the first Spider-Man film. I thought a preposterous script was hurt by bad special effects and a horrible Green Goblin get up that pretty much neutered all that was evil about Willam Dafoe. But the sequel cleaned up several of the films mistakes with the great casting of Alfred Molina as Dr. Octopus and a few extra years of CGI work on web-swinging Spidey and Doc Ock's arms. Nothing too deep comes from it, but a great film nonetheless.
5) American Splendor: It's hard to explain this film to anyone that hasn't seen it and doesn't know of Harvey Pekar's work. A truly great film and Paul Giamatti deserved an Oscar several times over as his performance as Pekar.
4) Batman Begins: Ultimate Batman. I can't think of a better way to describe this film. Batman stripped down and rebuilt for the 21st century without ever stepping on continuity. Christian Bale may be the perfect Bruce Wayne/Batman and Cilian Murphy plays the Scarecrow to a tee. Not even Katie Holmes can mar the rest of the cast, including Gary Oldman as James Gordon, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Liam Neeson as "Ducard", and Michael Caine as Alfred. Easily, DC's best attempt in film-making in the past twenty years.
3) Ghost World: A prime example of taking the base work and actually improving upon it. Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff took Clowes' graphic novel and cleaned it up a bit for this amazing look at the meaning of life and art. Thora Birch and Steve Buscemi put on award winning performances, and Scarlett Johanssen shows us what exactly made her the star she is today. An absolutely stupendous film, well worth anybody's purchase.
2) Superman II: With my namesake, you had to know this film was coming up. For nearly twenty years, Superman Ii sat as the pinacle of what a superhero film could be. The epic struggle between Christopher Reeve's Superman and Terence Stamp's malicious General Zod is cinema at its finest. Sure a few of the effect are a little cheesy by today's standards, and I don't know why the other Kryptonians can shoot energy bolts out of their hands, but it doesn't really matter. The film holds up on its excellent story and fine acting. Although tarnished a bit by Superman Returns, Superman II is still great stuff, and I have doubts that the upcoming Richard Donner version of the film can improve on the original.
1) X2: X-Men United: The best superhero film of all time. The X-Men come together with Magneto and Mystique (in Rebecca Romijn's finest performance) to battle Brian Cox's amazing William Stryker and Lady Deathstrike. An amazing film that embraces the finest points of the X-Men franchise, I can't imagine how this movie could ever be improved upon. I feel this movie will prove to be Brian Singer's finest achievement.
Whew... that was a lot of typing. Everyone let me know what they think.
6 (30).
10) Sin City: Although sometimes marred by too-quickly produced CGI effects, Sin City is the most faithful adaptation of a comic to movie form ever. The cast is spectacular, the underlying design is beautiful, the costuming and makeup effects are stunning. And the source material sets up a great story in its own right. Sequels should prove very interesting, as Sin City has many more (and better) stories to adapt.
9) Batman: While it isn't the best translation ever, Batman oozed with raw power. Michael Keaton's Batman was spot on, even while his Bruce Wayne was weak, while Jack Nicholson as the Joker was perfect casting. Held back sometime by Tim Burton's need to be Tim Burton, Batman still remains a stellar film.
8) X-Men 3: The Last Stand: While more of an action movie than its predecessors, X3 still lived up to the standard set by the first two films. Storm, despite Halle Berry's lackluster acting chops, finally comes in to her own in this film, while the new young cast and the surprising deaths in the movie shake up the X-universe in a way that the comics can only dream. Kelsey Grammar makes a great Beast, and Vinnie Jones as the Juggernaut is massive amounts of fun. If this movie doesn't encourage another sequel, I don't know what will.
7) V For Vendetta: I didn't want to like this film but I do. An adaptation of Alan Moore & Davild Lloyd's graphic novel, one of the greatest comic stories ever written, is brought to the silver screen with its message altered utterly, but still somehow works as a great film. The main reason: its cast. Hugo Weaving as V shows amazing depth, while Natalie Portman and the amazing British ensemble do everything in their power to make the movie utterly, perfectly believable. A truly great film.
6) Spider-Man 2: I will be the first to admit that I wasn't a big fan of the first Spider-Man film. I thought a preposterous script was hurt by bad special effects and a horrible Green Goblin get up that pretty much neutered all that was evil about Willam Dafoe. But the sequel cleaned up several of the films mistakes with the great casting of Alfred Molina as Dr. Octopus and a few extra years of CGI work on web-swinging Spidey and Doc Ock's arms. Nothing too deep comes from it, but a great film nonetheless.
5) American Splendor: It's hard to explain this film to anyone that hasn't seen it and doesn't know of Harvey Pekar's work. A truly great film and Paul Giamatti deserved an Oscar several times over as his performance as Pekar.
4) Batman Begins: Ultimate Batman. I can't think of a better way to describe this film. Batman stripped down and rebuilt for the 21st century without ever stepping on continuity. Christian Bale may be the perfect Bruce Wayne/Batman and Cilian Murphy plays the Scarecrow to a tee. Not even Katie Holmes can mar the rest of the cast, including Gary Oldman as James Gordon, Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Liam Neeson as "Ducard", and Michael Caine as Alfred. Easily, DC's best attempt in film-making in the past twenty years.
3) Ghost World: A prime example of taking the base work and actually improving upon it. Daniel Clowes and Terry Zwigoff took Clowes' graphic novel and cleaned it up a bit for this amazing look at the meaning of life and art. Thora Birch and Steve Buscemi put on award winning performances, and Scarlett Johanssen shows us what exactly made her the star she is today. An absolutely stupendous film, well worth anybody's purchase.
2) Superman II: With my namesake, you had to know this film was coming up. For nearly twenty years, Superman Ii sat as the pinacle of what a superhero film could be. The epic struggle between Christopher Reeve's Superman and Terence Stamp's malicious General Zod is cinema at its finest. Sure a few of the effect are a little cheesy by today's standards, and I don't know why the other Kryptonians can shoot energy bolts out of their hands, but it doesn't really matter. The film holds up on its excellent story and fine acting. Although tarnished a bit by Superman Returns, Superman II is still great stuff, and I have doubts that the upcoming Richard Donner version of the film can improve on the original.
1) X2: X-Men United: The best superhero film of all time. The X-Men come together with Magneto and Mystique (in Rebecca Romijn's finest performance) to battle Brian Cox's amazing William Stryker and Lady Deathstrike. An amazing film that embraces the finest points of the X-Men franchise, I can't imagine how this movie could ever be improved upon. I feel this movie will prove to be Brian Singer's finest achievement.
Whew... that was a lot of typing. Everyone let me know what they think.
6 (30).
american splendor i did really enjoy. paul giamatti is great in anything. and ghost world i liked, but honestly, i wanted to choke the main character throughout most of the movie. however, visually, its perfectfor the story it comes from.
i wasnt too fond of the first spiderman, either. for pretty much the exact same reasons that you listed. the second spiderman almost made it on my list.