(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.

Great thread TC, some real good analysis of comic movies you have in there, i agree the x-men films make a really good watch.

I'm a Marvel n3rd.When I saw this I was like,"OMGAD!NERDGASM!"Deadpool is an assassin(btw).

*Comic Books

I like xmen origins because deadpool was in it

I have to be honest I have never been a comic fan at all but I really enjoyed reading this. When you said "absolutely shit-lickingly awful" I just laughed so hard.

Glad you enjoyed it. It's really only an overview, just my surface thoughts. I could probably write a review of each film I mentioned here and have them be full in-depth analyses. When it comes to the X-Men films, I'll be honest, they're personal favourites as they where the point where I became interested in comic based films. I had both X-Men and X2 on VHS (yeah, exactly). I later got them on DVD and I will get X-Men: First Class on DVD at some point too, but Marvel really pissed me off with the X-Men franchise. The first two films where not amazing but they where still rather good I thought, but X-Men 3: Last Stand and X-Men Origins: Wolverine felt like betrayals for me. X-Men was really the one thing that drew me closer to Marvel than DC. I preferred Batman to Spiderman, and I only sort of liked Hulk and Daredevil comics as a passing fancy so X-Men was the deciding card for me in the early days. To have such awful films follow the first two upset me a lot, it's why I'm so happy that the director and writer of First Class have declared X-Men 3 and X-Men Origins non-canon.





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I think you'll find these movies all fit under the "something on TV" category, now why don't you stop being a back-seat moderator and just take part in the forum like a normal person.





If something I idly write can give someone a genuine chuckle then great. It's nice to know people are enjoy what I'm writing. I'll probably do something similar for Horror Films soon, especially with Hallowe'en on it's way.

Speaking of which, I've put in an application for Media Team. I'd love to hear what people would think of me as a Media Team member. I feel I could offer something different, something non-mainstream with reviews of movies, TV-shows, independent PC games, and last gen games (PS2/GameCube/Xbox/Dreamcast). If you think I'd make a good job of it be sure to spread the word as I could do with the exposure, I tend to post infrequently (less than 250 posts to date) so I'm not sure people are as familiar with who I am outside of the debate section as they could be. Oh, and I welcome constructive criticism and debate if I do end up media team, after all, there's no point voicing your opinion in an echo chamber.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this, although I must say I think Watchmen got a bit ridiculous as it went into its third hour - a very good film though nevertheless

Didn't read through the whole thing, but I'll print it out and read it on the bus tomorrow morning

If you look under the description you can see that it says "...world news to something on TV". By association, the something on TV category becomes a sub-category of world news and is indirectly encouraging people to post recent events. Also, seeing as how there's a movies sub-category in the Entertainment Lounge im sure the staff would assume that members would be competent enough to realize what section to post in. I apologize for the back-seat modding though, id love to get a staff members opinion on this.