Your best and worst of comic book movie adaptations?

[Turd Ferguson]

Best comic book movie?

The Dark Knight

Worst comic book movie?

Ghost Rider

Most overrated comic book movie?

Tie between X2: X-Men United and Spider-Man 2

Most underrated comic book movie?

The Shadow

Best superhero/protagonist casting?

Hugh Jackman as Wolverine

Worst superhero/protagonist casting?

James Marsden as Cyclops

Best super villain/antagonist casting?

Michael Clarke Duncan as The Kingpin

Worst super villain/antagonist casting?

Nick Nolte as David Banner/Absorbing Man

Faithful adaptation but lousy movie?

Daredevil

Loose adaptation but good movie?

Batman Returns

What comic book hasn't been made into a movie yet and who do you want to star in it?

Preacher starring Patrick Dempsey, Meg Ryan and Ewan McGregor

 

[Skywalker]

Mark Pillow (WHY, Dear God, WHY DO I KNOW THAT?!?)

Better question is how he was picked for best supervillain!?!

HOLY SHIT! I thought I was filling out the "worst" category!

I TAKE IT BACK! I TAKE IT BACK!!!

Too late! No backsies!

 

[Thrall]

James Marsden as Cyclops

Was he really though? I mean, he was barely in them and when he was he was made out to be an incompetent idiot. I mean, TOAD kicked his ass. Judging by his performance in Superman Returns I think he could could have been decent, if Singer hadn't decided that Wolverine was the only character people should care about.

 

[Too Much Fun]

I think he could could have been decent, if Singer hadn't decided that Wolverine was the only character people should care about.

I think that's being a little too harsh. Yes, Cyclops was marginalized and yes, Wolverine was clearly made the protagonist, but there was a lot done to make the audience (effectively, in my opinion) invested in Nightcrawler and Jean Grey (and to a lesser extent, Rogue and Iceman) in "X2", which is part of why I love it so much.

 

[stj]

What say you for....


Best comic book movie?

The Rocketeer. A History of Violence tries too hard.

Worst comic book movie?

The competition is far too ferocious!

Most overrated comic book movie?

The Dark Knight.

Most underrated comic book movie?

Constantine

Best superhero/protagonist casting?

For the look, I suppose Patrick Stewart as Professor X.
For making the movie, Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man

Worst superhero/protagonist casting?

Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach. Imitating Kurt Russell imitating Clint Eastwood, except taking it seriously (!) is not acting. But I take it back if he argued with the director about it. Jessica Alba as Sue Storm is possibly the worst for the look.

Best super villain/antagonist casting?

For the look, Tiny Ron as Rondo Hatton in The Rocketeer.
For making the movie, Timothy Dalton as Errol Flynn (under an alias which I forget,) also in The Rocketeer. Tilda Swinton in Constantine is notable, though.

Worst super villain/antagonist casting?

Possibly Tim Curry in The Shadow? I have no idea why they felt a need to hire a comic relief villain.

Faithful adaptation but lousy movie?

Most comic book movies are either not very good, at best passable entertainment. Or I don't know the original source material. Of what I do know, The Watchmen.

Loose adaptation but good movie?

Same problem as above. I enjoyed Constantine enough to read a graphic novel (the Denise Mina one.) It was obvious that the movie distinctly improved on the source material. And I say this as someone who has read most of Mina's novels!

What comic book hasn't been made into a movie yet and who do you want to star in it?

Haven't most comic books not been made into movies? I rather liked Kurt Busiek' Astro City, but that is ensemble if anything is.

Hollywood should make Alan Moore happy and never adapt another of his works?

 

[Turd Ferguson]

James Marsden as Cyclops

Was he really though? I mean, he was barely in them and when he was he was made out to be an incompetent idiot. I mean, TOAD kicked his ass. Judging by his performance in Superman Returns I think he could could have been decent, if Singer hadn't decided that Wolverine was the only character people should care about.

I agree Marsden wasn't bad in Superman Returns, hell, you feel bad for the guy being duped into raising Superman's bastard kid. And Superman trying to steal his girl. And having to rescue the son of a bitch. But, whether it's from writing, direction, acting, or all three, his Cyclops sucked. The leader of the X-Men didn't need to be so damned whiney all the time.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

You know, I still think a better script and direction could have made Arnie a tolerable Mr. Freeze.

While the movie itself is terrible, I think that a lot of the actors gave good isolated performances. Schwarzenegger, once you ignore all the bad ice puns, gives a pretty decent dramatic performance as the angry, driven scientist mourning over his wife.

Most underrated comic book movie?

"The Rocketeer"
Seriously the one I enjoy most after "X2". Well cast, with excellent special effects and production design (especially for its time). It's sweet, innocent, uplifting, exciting, and funny, just a perfect comic book movie for all ages (unlike so many of them). I don't know why more people aren't into it.

One of the problems is the lack of a decent DVD version. Disney came out with a DVD many years ago but the transfer is terrible and it's not even adapted for widescreen TVs. I'm holding out for a better deluxe edition.

 

[Aragorn]

I agree Marsden wasn't bad in Superman Returns, hell, you feel bad for the guy being duped into raising Superman's bastard kid. And Superman trying to steal his girl. And having to rescue the son of a bitch. But, whether it's from writing, direction, acting, or all three, his Cyclops sucked. The leader of the X-Men didn't need to be so damned whiney all the time.

It didn't help that Cyclops was a nonexistent part of the two sequels.

Random trivia, Jim Caviezel had the part but passed when he realized there wasn't anything going on with the character. I guess you have to commend him for passing on easy money, since a few of his movies have had trouble getting distribution over the last few years.

 

[Greg Cox]

James Marsden as Cyclops

I think he could could have been decent, if Singer hadn't decided that Wolverine was the only character people should care about.

I don't think you can lay that at Singer's feet. Like it or not, Wolverine eclipsed the other X-Men in popularity long before the movies came along. Realistically, Logan was going to be front and center in the movie regardless of who directed it. It was the only sensible thing to do.

True story: when I wrote my X-Men trilogy years ago, I was told by Marvel that I could use any X-Men I wanted--as long as Wolverine was one of them. (And guess who was on the cover? Not Cyclops.)

I imagine Singer was under the same marching orders . . . .

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

BEST MOVIE
“V for Vendetta.” It’s a soaring tribute to the ability of the human spirit to triumph over tyranny.
Honorable mentions: “Batman Begins,” “The Dark Knight,” “Daredevil,” “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.”

WORST MOVIE
Tough call. I’ll split the award between “Superman IV” for being unwatchably incompetent and “Sin City” for its vile subject matter.

MOST OVERRATED MOVIE
“Spider-Man 2.” It’s two hours of endless relationship angst that have almost nothing to do with the perfunctory fight scenes against Dr. Octopus.

MOST UNDERRATED MOVIE
4-way tie.
“Constantine.” It’s an excellent movie but it seems like very few people even remember it.
“Daredevil.” I love the tone of the movie. It has a great love story and fun villains. It’s probably the best movie in terms of depicting how superheroes aren’t like normal people and can’t function in the same way. Unfortunately, this movie takes a lot of undeserved heat just because it’s fashionable to bash Ben Affleck.
“Superman Returns.” Bryan Singer made a beautiful movie. It is, perhaps, too slavishly faithful to the Richard Donner movies but I think that is far outweighed by the sheer artistry that Singer demonstrates here. Much as I love “Valkyrie” and his “X-Men” movies, this is his masterpiece.
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” I was a huge Turtles fan when I was a kid. But beyond that, this movie gets better each time I see it. It strikes a good balance between the darkness of the original comics and the goofiness of the 1987 cartoon series. There’s a surprising amount of pathos in this film, particularly in the Leonardo/Raphael relationship and in the paternal relationship that Splinter has with all of the Turtles and, later, Danny Pennington as well.

BEST SUPERHERO
Christopher Reeve as Superman. No one else comes close. He was perfectly cast in a role that seems to defy all attempts to cast it. It’s amazing that such a cynical decade as the 1970s could give us such an unapologetic boy scout and have it work totally.

WORST SUPERHERO
Ioan Gruffudd as Mr. Fantastic, “Fantastic Four.” He’s too much of a lightweight and isn’t even a good scientist.

BEST SUPERVILLAIN
Ian McKellen as Magneto, “X-Men.” He brings such humanity and gravitas to the role.
Honorable mentions:
Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin, “Spider-Man.” Dafoe chews scenery like nobody’s business!
John Hurt as Chancellor Adam Sutler, “V for Vendetta.” More great scenery chewing.
Heath Ledger as the Joker, “The Dark Knight.” A totally transforming character performance.
Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman, “Batman Returns.” She’s not really a villain. She’s the central protagonist in a beautiful gothic fairy tale.
Terrence Stamp as General Zod, “Superman II.” 29 years later, he’s still an icon. “Kneel before Zod!”

WORST SUPERVILLAIN
Wes Bentley as Blackheart, “Ghost Rider.” He’s just a whiny bitch.
Julian McMahon as Dr. Doom, “Fantastic Four.” Watching him in the movie, you’d never guess that Dr. Doom is one of the most iconic comic book villains of all time. This role really needed someone of the caliber of Dafoe or McKellen to dominate the screen.
Dominic Purcell as Dracula, “Blade Trinity.” I’d call him the worst Dracula ever, but he’s still slightly more tolerable than Richard Roxburgh in “Van Helsing.”
All of the villains in “Elektra.” I’ve never seen such an underwhelming menagerie. This was especially disappointing coming off the heels of the fun, well-acted villains of “Daredevil.”

FAITHFUL ADAPTATION, LOUSY MOVIE
“Watchmen.” Zack Snyder may have recreated the world of “Watchmen” but he clearly has no clue what makes it tick. Alan Moore was right. The story is unadaptable. The original graphic novel is such an elaborate latticework of plot, character, and backstory. Once you start eliminating any of those elements to conform to a movie format, the entire thing falls apart.
Honorable mention: “300” & “Sin City.” They are very faithful adaptations of very shitty source material. Frank Miller is a misogynistic moron.

LOOSE ADAPTATION, GOOD MOVIE
“Batman Returns.” Tim Burton was completely unconcerned with making a Batman movie. Instead, “Batman Returns” is a beautiful gothic fairy tale about the tragic rise & fall of Selina Kyle. Plus, Christopher Walken is excellent. “Bottom line, she tries to blackmail me, I’ll push her out a higher window. Meanwhile, I got better fish to fry.”
Honorable mention: I hear “Constantine” isn’t particularly faithful but it is a very fun movie.

WHAT NEXT?
“Wonder Woman” and we need to do it soon before Lucy Lawless gets too old.

 

[Thrall]

James Marsden as Cyclops

I think he could could have been decent, if Singer hadn't decided that Wolverine was the only character people should care about.

I don't think you can lay that at Singer's feet. Like it or not, Wolverine eclipsed the other X-Men in popularity long before the movies came along. Realistically, Logan was going to be front and center in the movie regardless of who directed it. It was the only sensible thing to do.

True story: when I wrote my X-Men trilogy years ago, I was told by Marvel that I could use any X-Men I wanted--as long as Wolverine was one of them. (And guess who was on the cover? Not Cyclops.)

I imagine Singer was under the same marching orders . . . .

Fair enough. But Batman is the most popular member of The Justice League but they all get their time to shine. Even Aquaman. Marvel just needs to be honest and come clean with everyone and rename their company Wolverine Publishing. Amazing Spider-Man? It needs to be renamed Amazing Wolverine. Incredible Hulk? That needs to be renamed Incredible Wolverine. And so on and so forth. It'd be total crap, but I'd appreciate the honesty. I mean I was at the book store a day ago and literally just about every Marvel title either had Wolverine on the cover or it was about him. Say what you will about Batman. But not even he is this overexposed.

 

[Too Much Fun]

Most underrated comic book movie?

"The Rocketeer"
Seriously the one I enjoy most after "X2". Well cast, with excellent special effects and production design (especially for its time). It's sweet, innocent, uplifting, exciting, and funny, just a perfect comic book movie for all ages (unlike so many of them). I don't know why more people aren't into it.

One of the problems is the lack of a decent DVD version. Disney came out with a DVD many years ago but the transfer is terrible and it's not even adapted for widescreen TVs. I'm holding out for a better deluxe edition.

Yeah, that's why I don't have it on DVD. One of my favourite movies that I don't own (right up there with "Before Sunrise") because I'm waiting for a decent DVD release. If people making DVDs still care about anniversary editions and such, I suppose our best chance to get a new better release is in 2011 for the 20th anniversary. And kudos to "stj" for lavishing all that praise on "The Rocketeer" - it always makes me happy to see there are others who remember this forgotten gem fondly.

“Daredevil.” I love the tone of the movie. It has a great love story and fun villains. It’s probably the best movie in terms of depicting how superheroes aren’t like normal people and can’t function in the same way. Unfortunately, this movie takes a lot of undeserved heat just because it’s fashionable to bash Ben Affleck.

I like "Daredevil" a lot too. I've always thought it is unfairly maligned. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner both did a good job and it was great to see Collin Farrell playing the kind of gleefully over-the-top, yet not laughable villain that we rarely see in superhero/comic book movies these days. The only thing I didn't like was how hokey and preposterous some of the fight scenes looked. Daredevil leaping all over the place like a frog was silly and being able to fight like that while he was blind and bleeding was too far-fetched for me. I just couldn't suspend my disbelief that far.

“Superman Returns.” Bryan Singer made a beautiful movie. It is, perhaps, too slavishly faithful to the Richard Donner movies but I think that is far outweighed by the sheer artistry that Singer demonstrates here. Much as I love “Valkyrie” and his “X-Men” movies, this is his masterpiece.

I disagree about "Superman Returns". I thought it was lousy. Way too melodramatic for a superhero movie, and didn't have enough epic action. The one thing that really disappoints me about "Superman II" is how the special effects limits of the time make the final battle at the end look awful. This movie should have taken advantage of advances in special effects to deliver something better, but all we got was the plane scene and nothing else.

I go to a summer superhero movie hoping for some exciting action set pieces and characters who are given strong enough personalities to be engaging emotionally. Instead, I felt insulted as the movie tried its damnedest to make me cry over an unsympathetic Superman pining over a cold and heartless Lois. This Lois wasn't nearly as interesting or attractive as she had been when played as spunky and loving in the first two Superman movies.

Every character in that movie had everything that had been appealing about them in the original Superman movies sucked out of them until they were all dull. Clark Kent's kind-hearted nature and clever way of playing the overly innocent and charmingly naive/nerdy/anxious reporter was gone (along with his clumsiness, which wasn't actually a very bad loss), and he just came across as a quiet, awkward, sociopathic loser.

The only quality Luthor retained from the original movie was his real estate fetish, which was ironically the most extraneous aspect of the character (which should have been dropped). His endearing delusions of grandeur and sense of humour, which made Hackman's version fun, were nowhere to be seen. He was a little more menacing, which was an improvement, but other than that, he was just mean, bitter, and one-dimensional. "X2" is far, far superior in my opinion.

“Wonder Woman” and we need to do it soon before Lucy Lawless gets too old

I think she's already too old for that part. She would have been perfect for it in the '90s, though. And at the risk of sounding like an irrational fanboy, I feel the same way about Terry Farrell. Yeah, not exactly the most brilliant actor, but she had the right look and I bet she could have handled that role nicely.

 

[Duncan MacLeod]

Best comic book movie?
Iron Man

Worst comic book movie?
Toss-up between Batman and Robin and Superman IV

Most overrated comic book movie?
The Dark Knight

Most underrated comic book movie?
The Phantom

Best superhero/protagonist casting?
Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man
also Pam Anderson as Stripperella

Worst superhero/protagonist casting?
Brandon Routh as Superman in Superman Returns
also Halle Berry in anything she’s ever done

Best super villain/antagonist casting?
Jack Nicholson as the Joker in Batman (1989)
also Jon Lovitz as Cheapo the clown in Stripperella

Worst super villain/antagonist casting?
Julian McMahon as Victor Von Doom, although there have been some pretty bad choices over the years can anything really be worse than this?

Faithful adaptation but lousy movie?
I know of none

Loose adaptation but good movie?
Toss-up between The League of Extrordinary Gentlemen, The Shadow, and Spider-man

What comic book hasn't been made into a movie yet and who do you want to star in it?
Wonder Woman with Catherine Bell as Diana

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

The only thing I didn't like was how hokey and preposterous some of the fight scenes looked. Daredevil leaping all over the place like a frog was silly and being able to fight like that while he was blind and bleeding was too far-fetched for me. I just couldn't suspend my disbelief that far.

I had some trouble with that the first time I watched it. Daredevil fights far too well for someone with such a severe shoulder stabbing. And Elektra, even after having a sai thrown all the way through her hand, still fights primarily with that hand immediately after that. But as I've watched the movie more times, I've been innured to those glitches and I'm better able to just sit back and enjoy the story, the acting, & the pathos.

The one thing that really disappoints me about "Superman II" is how the special effects limits of the time make the final battle at the end look awful.

Although I like Superman II, I think it has far more fundamental problems than that.
1.) Superman gives up his powers in order to be with a woman who has all but said that he's not good enough for her as Clark Kent.
2.) Superman is powerless for such a brief period of time. He seems to give up his powers, sleep with Lois, drive to a diner, get beat up by a trucker, and discover that General Zod has taken over the world all in the span of less than a day before he realizes that he's made a huge mistake and WALKS back to the North Pole to beg for his powers back.

“Wonder Woman” and we need to do it soon before Lucy Lawless gets too old

I think she's already too old for that part. She would have been perfect for it in the '90s, though. And at the risk of sounding like an irrational fanboy, I feel the same way about Terry Farrell. Yeah, not exactly the most brilliant actor, but she had the right look and I bet she could have handled that role nicely.

I dunno. I think she still has time enough yet. I'm growing convinced that anything is possible with makeup nowadays; ever since I saw that segment on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon where Mark Paul Gosselar was the guest and he looked exactly like he did during his Saved by the Bell days.

 

[Aragorn]

I should probably answer my own questions to my own thread eventually, but for now...

Worst protagonist casting is Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane in Superman Returns. I like her personally, but she was completely wrong for the part, hit all the wrong notes regarding the character and was was too young. Of course, if she were on Smallville, she'd be old enough to play a five-star general or the President of the United States.