The Best and Worst of Comic Book Movies

Na-na-na-na-na Batman!

Don’t get me wrong – I love Tim Burton. But I think Christopher Nolan did amazing things with the Batman series. The cast is great. Choosing Christian Bale to play Batman was a smart move. The cinematography is beautiful. This was a tough movie to top. Some say that the follow up, The Dark Knight, did that, others don’t agree. I think they’re both the best Batman movies to date.

The hero couldn’t have been better cast. A womanizing, alcoholic, wealthy, intelligent, self-centered, egotistical jerk played by Robert Downey Jr.? Sounds like he’s playing himself. Not to mention the movie was a total blast.

Wook Out, Hea Comes De Spidaman!

Few movies have had special effects so good that I was totally in awe, AND actually had a funny, yet sincere depiction of the character and his alter ego. It was amazing and awkward in the same breath. The first movie set an incredibly high mark, and this movie surpassed it. Between the fight on the clock tower all the way to the El, to Peter Parker walking around like a doofus while Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head," he embodied that awesome, yet lovable loser we all hoped got the girl in the end. Too bad it was a frumpy Kirsten Dunst. Oh, yeah, and Doc Ock and J.J. were both the shit!

It's a bird! It's a plane! It's... boring.

Superman Returns wasn’t actually horrible, but it was a letdown compared to all it’s hype. Sure, the Christopher Reeve original has become a bit dated, but it has excitement and a sense of humor. Bryan Singer seems obsessed with Jesus allegory and Brandon Routh is a walking cardboard cut-out. Just when things seem to get fun, this movie finds a way to bog itself down with pop culture intellectualism.

Zippy (TBD)

They’ve been talking about making a Zippy movie for years. This is the only comic book stuff I follow – the stuff that’s really baked.

Holy Movie Flop Batman!

Batman & Robin was without a doubt the worst in the series of Batman movies. George Clooney was my least favorite Batman. Alicia Silverstone as Batgirl? Uma Thurman as Poison Ivy? Arnold?! Seriously?! If the casting didn’t ruin the movie, maybe the bat nipples did.

Worst Comic Book Adaptation Ever

I loved the Ghostrider comics. And I went to see this movie, expecting it to be not very good. I was absolutely amazed at how terrible the movie actually was. Nicholas Cage was bland, Eva Mendes was practically a mannequin, and Blackheart looked like the wimpiest vampire ever. And where were the action sequences??? No villain battle lasted much longer than a few minutes, and most were over in seconds. The idiots who made this movie spent the whole budget paying Nicholas Cage to have a flaming skull head. Absolutely awful!

The Hulk - 2003

Not incredible at all. In fact, hulking terrible. Who deemed this sequel-worthy and how much did they bribe Ed Norton with to partake?

Apparently, there is only one way to skin a cat

So, Catwoman is getting a franchise. Cool. Halle Berry is playing Catwoman. Okay, still works. The film’s director is a pompous French know-it-all with no regard for the source material. Dead in the water. Let’s consider Catwoman a cautionary tale of how to royally screw over a beloved villain.

Believe In Angels

Dark, brooding, gothic – Alex Proyas and Brandon Lee really got it right in the film version of James O’Barr’s graphic novel. The film will unfortunately always be known for the accidental death of Lee on set. But what we are left with is a cult classic with wide crossover appeal. Had Brandon Lee survived his injury, his career surely would’ve sky-rocketed after The Crow.