(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); As with most geeks I have a strong opinion of and draw towards comics. That said I've never been a massive comic fan. I honestly don't give a shit what colour Gambit's eyes are, I don't care if they got Rogues accent wrong and I honestly don't really know who Deadpool is. I like to think of myself as a casual comic fan. I read the odd comic, but really it's a passing interest and unlike some of my friends I don't get obsessed with the characters. I even have some friends who even claim X-Men: First Class and Watchmen are bad films because they cut a tiny, insignificant part of the characters or changed things which I think actually ended up BETTER with the changes (like the squid in Watchmen or the way Xavier ends up in a wheelchair in X-Men). When it comes down to it, comics are a great selection of stories which have the potential to be great films and I thought I'd talk about a few of those films now and explain why I think comic based movie adaptations are an interesting aspect of film and perhaps get your opinions on what are some of the best, worst and most underrated films in this sub-genre.



OK, let's be honest here, these films are kids films just as much as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film is. Superman and Batman both started out as fairly good franchises with their first films, but even still, they're kids films and just a little too campy to take seriously. Once we get past the first two films in each series we end up with things like Batman Forever, Supergirl and more and they're just painfully bad films and some of the worst comic based films ever made. Really, anything made for DC comics before 2005 pretty much sucked, yes even the first Superman and Batman films sucked. Nostalgia wise some of us may have fond memories, but they where never anything beyond mediocre.



So obviously aimed at the fans, this was the Marvel Age at least for a few years as Blade, X-Men and Spiderman all hit strong one after another. They all have sequels, which are pretty good too. None of these films are brilliant, none really break the mould. They're popcorn action flicks with decent special effects, memorable caricatures rather than actual characters, and for the fans at least, story-lines which are years old and already very familiar. Some fans loved these films, others took every excuse they could to hate on them because they didn't do someone exactly the same as it is in the comic, but then fanboys are impossible to please.

Unfortunately, Marvel seemed to lose their edge as they went along and began making mediocre and then outright crappy films based on their lesser known comics. You can almost pinpoint where Marvel start to crack. First came Daredevil, a mediocre film that's worth a watch but is nothing more than average. Then Hulk, the first truly bad Marvel film. Then we had The Punisher, an OK action film at best. Then the list of outright bad films just keeps coming. We get Elektra, Man-Thing, Fantastic Four and the most saddening of all, awful sequels to the Spiderman and X-Men films with Spiderman 3 and X-Men 3: Last Stand. Occasionally a watchable film like Ghost Rider would pop up, but it's not really what I'd call a good film, it's just not as absolutely shit-lickingly awful as the others.

Luckily when these films really started to stink, someone at DC decided that they didn't want to be the studio that sucked the steaming balls of Satan any more. I'm not sure how they made such a change, but with Marvel quickly encircling the toilet DC had a chance to take point as the good comic based studio for a change.



Yep, DC comics came to the rescue, with a reboot and finally good, adult focused version of Batman (even if the growling voice is a bit grating) we finally had a mainstream superhero comic film that was not just a good comic based film, but a genuinely good film. This was for many the turning point, it's the film that made comic based films no-longer popcorn flicks and cheesy kids films. Batman Begins was the start of something great. Other than the superhero films though we had Constantine, a film which changed a lot from the basic comic (for the better I feel) managed to make a truly dark horror themed comic work on film. Sure it wasn't as close to the comic as some would like, but the changes where needed for it to work as a film... some things just don't transition between mediums all that well. Personally, I think Constantine is an honestly underrated and under-appreciated film with great imagery and a shockingly good performance by Keanu Reeves, possibly his best acting to date. Finally, V for Vendetta, a political themed comic and one I truly loved. When people ask "Are you a Marvel or DC fan?" and every single person says "Marvel" because they like X-Men, Spiderman, Hulk, Fantastic Four, Daredevil etc. I quite adamantly say "I'm a DC fan, far better than Marvel" because while Marvel may have a better variety of superhero stuff (and even then Batman is a near-perfect superhero comic so is quantity better than quality), DC does horror and political comics that really explore themes and ideas. V for Vendetta was a brilliant film which really brought the character of 'V' to life for me. One of the best films of 2005 in my opinion and one that can give people real cause for reflection.

2005 however wasn't just a DC Comic's year in the spotlight. Oh no, it was the pretty much the year of the comic, as another brave company took to the cinema...



If there was ever a company so often forgotten when it comes to comics, it's Dark Horse. Everyone remembers DC and Marvel, but poor Dark Horse get's no love. Still in late 2004 they gave us Hellboy, and a few months later they gave us Sin City. These two films are quite possibly the very essence of comics distilled into film form. They are some of the best comic based films ever made but they where unlucky. They where hitting cinema and DVD racks within months of Batman Begins and with such a large name a lesser known comic like Hellboy didn't stand a chance... or did it? Hellboy was actually so good that it spawned a sequel in 2008 and both films have Rotten Tomato scores in the 80's. The same team that worked on Sin City went on to make '300' the film that created the "this is Sparta!" meme, and another fantastic comic based film. They're now in the process of making Sin City 2 and I really do look forward to it.

In more recent years we've had more comic based films come out and it's been largely a mixed bag. We've had some really bad films like Green Lantern, Jonah Hex and X-Men Origins: Wolverine but we've also had some good films....



Today we've got some of the best comic based films out and they're only a year or two old. The Dark Knight, X-Men: First Class and Watchmen are without a doubt the best films in the genre by quite a long way, with the 3 and half hour "Ultimate Cut" of Watchmen (only on Blu-Ray) being a perfect example of an epic and truly spectacular comic based film with character, layers, and while being fun action on the surface allowing for involved introspection and moral pondering. If you call yourself a comic fan and are not familiar with Watchmen, fix this now. (oh and it's by DC, so suck it Marvel). Then there's Hellboy 2, the Iron Man films and Captain America which I've still not seen, but I hear it's actually pretty good. 2008 even saw a re-make of The Incredible Hulk which is actually a fairly decent job unlike the 2003 version. We may have had some awful films recently but I think we're doing a shite-load better than the 1980's/90's that's for sure.

It's not just the serious comics though that got good in recent times... oh no we've managed to have the genre expand a little here.



While they may not, in my opinion, be as impressive, comedic movies based on comics have done just as well as the action-drama comics that I tend towards. Honestly, I had a lot of fun with Kick-Ass, Scott Pilgram Vs. The World, and Super. They're fun films and a worthwhile watch if you want something more light-hearted. Kick-Ass being the better of the three I'd say (yeah, I know, Kick-Ass is a Marvel comic).

Now, the astute amongst you may have noticed there are a couple of comic based films I've missed off. That's because these need their own special mention....



If there was ever a time to thank Christopher Nolan it was when he reinvented Batman with Batman begins, because honestly, if you've not seen Batman & Robin and suffered the pain of that film, or seen the agony that it's spin-off Catwoman produced, then you have not seen people truly in pain... but, they are not the worst. Oh, no. Not even close. Some psychopath in the late 90's thought that the DC comic "Steel" needed a film adaptation, and this same raving lune also thought Shaquille O'Neal could act.

For those who don't know what good old Shaq is famous for allow me to remind you of two of his other crimes against entertainment:



Only a demented mental patient would let this fúck nugget anywhere near a stage to film a movie about a super hero. Just trust me when I say it was horrible, I cried, wept in fact, like a wounded animal... then the angel that is Mr. Nolan came and saved DC from a living hell, the same man who would go on to make Inception, my now favourite film....



Anyway, I've rambled on for long enough. That's my take on comic based movie adaptations. I'd love to hear what other peoples favourites are and which ones they loved or hated. What comic do you love that has never become a film? I look forward to seeing the conversations that emerge from this topic.

I don't trust critics in general because they try to hard to point out the flaws and don't appreciate the good

A lot of the time, I'd agree with you, critics have a tendency to nit-pick and I'm the first to say that they need to shut the hell up and just enjoy it. A few examples are films like Van Helsing which I really enjoyed and the Star Wars prequels which are hated by critics and so called fans everywhere because they're too pathetic to judge the film for themselves. The Star Wars prequels ARE BETTER than the originals and I can prove it, hell even Roger Ebert the most famous critic in the world really liked Phantom Menace, but some loud mouth fans said it was shit and all the sheep on the internet agreed with them because they didn't want to look stupid. I don't care what anyone says, Jar Jar Binks isn't anywhere near as annoying as people claimed and I hated C3PO much more in the originals....

That said, sometimes the public are bloody morons and like anything that Hollywood kicks out. Like the damn Transformers films for a start. How awful does a film series need to be before the average person realises it's shite? There are so many films out there, and so little time, I really would rather not waste my time watching average or worse yet, below average shlock. Films like the Transformers films, Green Lantern etc. are so bad they deserve the awful reviews they got. Other films however like Terminator 3, got panned for no good reason.

Ironically, should I be chosen for Media Team, I fully intend to take up the mantle of a critic and to give an in depth analysis of the films and games I review. Hopefully people will enjoy what I have to say and will see that my opinions are formed by my own judgement, not the peer pressure of the internet like so many others are. While people may not agree with me, and I'd hope at least some people disagree with me at times, my aim is to show that I'm at least sincere and honest. That my opinion is trustworthy at the very least.

OK, I thought I'd expand a little on this thread as I have just had a chance to see Iron Man and I want to give my thoughts on it. First thing's first, it was actually extremely well made. I have to say, I wouldn't personally have rated it as highly as some of the media did, with it having better reviews than both Watchmen and The Dark Knight, both of which I think are some of the best examples of cinema ever put to film, but I would give it extremely high praise.

When it comes down to it, the character of Tony Stark is what really makes this film. He actually has growth, character development and motives for his actions, going though a proper story arc. This is rare in modern films and was something I really enjoyed. I was quite pleased by the special effects, although some of the "science" was difficult to let slide, such as the massive chest cavity, the power source, his high-tech holo-imaging computers. It feels slightly too sci-fi for me, but it's still close enough that I could suspend my disbelief and totally enjoy this film. If this is an example of what's to follow, I'm really looking forward to the rest of the avenger series of Marvel films. I'm watching Captain America (and if I have the time Iron Man 2), later tonight so I'll give my take on them once I'm able. But those who wonder if Iron Man is deserving of praise... hell yes, a fine film which would be enjoyable even to non-comic fans.

The Walking Dead has the potential to start a new era, TV show adaptations. I hope more produces take this on because it better suits the episodic story lines of comic books.