Top five comic book movies
In 2007 Spider-man 3 and 300 both appear in the top ten grossing films for that year, in 2006 the comic book movies were X-Men: The Last Stand and Superman Returns and the year before that saw Batman Begins in that top ten list.
Comic book movies are a huge part of the movie industry now with more on the way (yay!) so the little robots at Quit Your Day Job have been furiously working out the top five comic book movies for this weeks Friday Five:
- Iron Man - With all the fanboy drooling I’ve done around here in the past couple of days this is really a no-brainer. I stand by my choice though and for once the critics are supporting me. I mean I’m sure there are going to be plenty of people who dislike this film, they’re entitled to their opinion even if they are wrong. Downey Jr is brilliantly cast as Tony Stark and the rest of the cast all put in quality performances, its pace is great even for an origin film and effects are excellent. What makes the movie stand out though is that it is heavily focused on the man behind the mask, what makes him want to be Iron Man and what are his flaws?
- Spider-Man 2 - I generally dislike origin films and this is the only reason Spider-Man 2 instead of the first one is featured on the list. That and I think this is just a more well rounded film when compared to the first. The special effects seemed to be a little smoother. The Spider-Man films really show the quality that can be made from such great source material. The costume alone is worth it, the wonderful texture that they added to it adds to the overall effect of the film.
- Batman Begins - Ummm did I just say I dislike origin films? Four out of the five can be classed as origin films (X-Men is on the fence). This was a hard choice for me though, a Batman film was always going to be in the list, end of story, but which one? I loved the 89 Tim Burton film, it reintroduced Batman and certainly fostered my love of comic books and their movies. But when I look at that period of Batman films I probably prefer Batman Returns the most, Batman and Robin the least (does this really have to be said?). I recognise however that Batman Begins is a superior Batman film in most ways, the only reason I think I would prefer the others is because they came out as I was maturing and had heavy influences on my life. Bale is a fantastic Batman and the way they built the character up in this film was really well done and in the theme of the current Batman comics. You can’t stand in the same stream twice so I accept change and new ideas and I accept Batman Begins.
- X-Men - I always feared that X-Men would be too involved, too convoluted with too much back story for me to ever enjoy. I tried to get on board the comic series several times only to be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of material and characters. I was pleased to see only a core group in the first X-Men film and another great cast. Wolverine particularly shines in this one as it was always expected to be. I was surprised and eventually really impressed with their handling of Magneto.
- Superman - I really enjoyed Superman Returns but mainly because of the homage and respect paid to the original Superman film. I mean this is really the grand daddy of them all. Another example of when casting goes very right. Christopher Reeve was simply wonderful as Superman/Clark Kent. The tagline to the film was ‘you’ll believe a man can fly’ and despite the effect not holding up today it was true for the time. What an amazing soundtrack.
This was actually a hard list and it breaks my heart to have left some films off, Hellboy, The Punisher, 300, From Hell and Sin City all could have gone on the list, but it’s a list of five. So what other comic book movies are you all partial to?
Haven’t quite thought of next week’s top five - it’ll be a surprise!
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I’d have to think long and hard about my own list (and obviously I haven’t seen Iron Man yet), though I know Spidey 2 would be top. I preferred X2 to the original too - and Superman II for that matter. I’m even hoping The Dark Knight will surpass Begins.
The only superhero sequel (and I’m not talking threequels) that didn’t surpass the original, imho, was FF2. They had to work pretty damn hard to be less entertaining than the first one - but they pulled it off!
Rol’s last blog post..Incredible
I would put Batman Begins as number 1, that movie was amazing to me, but your list is very solid. I think I liked X-men 2 better than X-men 1. And I am not sure if you would count V for Vendetta, but that would be in there somewhere as well.
I can’t believe you haven’t mentioned Howard the Duck.
I’m going for X-men 2 as well. Batman begins would top my own list. As would sin city although I find it disturbing to watch.
Dan’s last blog post..Guest Post Thursday: Me
Really, that good eh? I’m going to have to check it out.
sir jorge’s last blog post..A Year Without Made in China
Rol - the problem with limiting oneself to a list of five is that it gives the impression at times that films not on the list are considered lessor. X2 and to a greater degree Superman II are favourites of mine as well, it’s like what I said about Batman Begins.
I honestly believe that the Dark Knight will be better than Begins and probably because that origin is out of the way and that from what I’ve seen of it Ledger’s performance as the Joker is going to be brilliant (in its own right too, not just because he passed away).
The Reviewer - V for Vendetta!!! *slaps forehead* I can’t believe that I didn’t at least mention it. I really enjoyed it for the most part, some of the criticisms from Alan Moore rang a little true when comparing the source material but as a standalone film it was great.
Howard the duck.. why I oughta!
Yup Sir Jorge definitely that good and well worth checking it out! I rarely do it but I’m thinking of seeing it a second time at the cinema.
I just can’t bring myself to rate comic book movies. I mean, I HATE fantastic four, but I have a soft spot for the first, contract renewing version from the mid 90s. I even own that. I think Spiderman 2 has way too many faults and is just too popcorny for me. (If YOUR web suddenly stopped slinging how would you EVER be able to trust that they would work again?)
I think Batman Begins is too self conscious and self righteous and, truthfully, isn’t as good as the first Batman. (Prince songs notwithstanding).
But, what I wanted to tell you is that the recut Donner version of Superman II is very illuminating. Some of it is exponentially better than the craptastic version that Lester’s name is attached to. Taken as a whole (and accounting for changes the producers made to the original…part 2 was the one that was supposed to end with the earth spin) it’s probably the best comic book film ever made. And Returns takes off from 2 so that makes it a pretty good trilogy.
I’m sure Iron Man is great. I’m not all that big on getting out there to see it. And for my money, the best Marvel is X2, hands down.
The absolute best, though? Grayson. The short fan film by the same guys that did “Batman: Dead End”. It’s a trailer that really really makes me want to see the flick.
You’re a hard man to please Allen LOL The original Batman (well the 89 one) not only captured Batman but absolutely nailed Gotham City to an extent that I don’t think they’ve been able to again even in Batman Begins. It was a hard decision to make.
I haven’t seen the Donner version of Superman II and I really want to, I’ve yet to see it here in Australia for sale (maybe in HD or Blue Ray).
I have that version of Fantastic Four myself but have never sat through the whole thing.
[...] despite the flaws I’ve seen, I still think this is easily in the top five best superhero/comic movies ever. It should prove to be a strong franchise, and is probably positioned better than any other [...]
I wanted to make sure I saw Iron Man before I commented here. I have now, so here I am… (now you can finally relax, right?)
I like your list, but I’d reorganize. Spidey definitely gets top billing. Everything below that I have a hard time placing, though my gut is telling me Iron Man comes in at 3 or 4. Still a good showing though. Definitely top 5 material, and I’m not a huge Iron Man fan to begin with.
And on the subject of Donner’s Supes II… see it. I completely agree with Allen there.
Jeffs last blog post..Review: Iron Man
I started writing a response to your comment Jeff and for some reason everything went kablooey.
What I was going to say is that I was surprised by your absence as I suspected you would have strong thoughts on this one LOL.
I can easily see Spider-Man around that number one spot for a couple of reasons, one of which is simply it was the first of these movies to do it really really well.
Might have to go see cousin Larry in respects to that Donner cut.
OK, I’ve seen Iron Man now. Better yet, I saw it in Gold Class using vouchers work gave me for my Birthday
I whole-heartedly agree with #1 on your list as I’m still drooling over the awsomeness.
nuff said
My ringtone is now the 60s Iron Man theme music.