Films adapted from comics
So a few thoughts on comic book films, inspired by watching The Dark Knight a few weeks ago, and a Cracked.com article "5 Upcoming Comic Book Movies That Must Be Stopped" mocking upcoming films Sub-Mariner, Shazam!, Luke Cage, The Mighty Thor, and The Green Lantern -- saying: In light of the recent surplus of blockbusting superhero films all but guaranteeing monstrous studio revenue, Hollywood has hit the ground running and greenlit every script featuring a violent man in his underwear from Captain Marvel to your drunken father on Thanksgiving.
Yet, for every Batman Begins that graces the theaters, there are 10 useless men in spandex lined up for the next few years. Here are five of the next big-budget superhero films currently in production that simply should not be.
I chafed at this in particular because I disliked Batman Begins.
Batman Begins and The Dark Knight
While it didn't start the trend, I think Batman Begins typifies the formula of the new superhero origin movies. In this formula, the movie tries to reinvent the hero in a "real" world that is otherwise lacking superheroes, and spends much of its time explaining the hero's powers and other quirks.
What was remarkable for me about Batman Begins is how it undermines what I consider the essentials about Batman. Compared to other heroes, Batman is self-made. True, he was born a millionaire, but he gains his "powers" through inspiration, hard work, and study. He is notable in not saving the world, but specifically in improving life for the people of Gotham City. And though he has no powers, he never uses guns and he never kills.
In the film, all of his signature elements -- including the motto "Criminals are a cowardly, superstitious lot" -- were things he was given or stumbled on rather than made. The Batmobile was pre-built that he just happened to find. He was taught by Ra's al Ghul to make a scary figure of himself, and the arm blades of his costume.
Then in the resolution, the poor part of the town was flooded with dangerous gas, and Batman's heroism was to save the rich part of town. It didn't reflect on the character per se since he tried to save both, but it felt wrong to me. And he was hypocritical in dealing with Ra's al Ghul. If he felt that Ra's deserved to die, then he should have killed him. If not, then he should have at least tried to save him.
The Dark Knight was a better movie, and addressed at least some of this. Batman sticks to his moral guns better, and shows himself to be technologically innovative and at least mildly clever. However, he is dull. Heath Ledger gave a show-stealing performance as the Joker, in part because he so outshone Batman.
My Favorite Comic Adaptations
So what do I like? Well, here would be some of my top comic book adaptations, in rough order of preference.
1) X2
2) Mystery Men
3) American Splendor
4) Men in Black
5) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
6) The Crow
7) Superman II
8) V for Vendetta
9) Spiderman
10) Ghost World
I haven't seen A History of Violence or Road to Perdition yet, though they are highly regarded.
As I look at that list, something that stands out from films like Batman Begins or Iron Man is that these are films where there is more personal interaction among the leads. This doesn't fit the lone superhero with occaisional personal scenes.
Something that's important for me is that the photography, the action, and the storyline mesh well. So V for Vendetta was a decent attempt, but it was marred by action scenes terribly derivative of The Matrix that didn't fir with the rest of the film in my opinion.
Comic Book Films By Year
In deciding on a list, I went to Wikipedia's List of films based on English-language comics. The following is that same list re-organized by year.
1905: Prehistoric Peeps
1941: Adventures of Captain Marvel
1942: Spy Smasher
1943: Batman
1944: Captain America
1946: Hop Harrigan
1947: Vigilante
1948: Congo Bill; Superman
1949: Batman and Robin
1950: Atom Man vs. Superman
1951: Superman and the Mole Men
1952: Blackhawk
1966: Batman
1972: Fritz the Cat; Tales from the Crypt
1973: Up in Flames; The Vault of Horror
1974: The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat; Wonder Woman
1978: Dr. Strange; The Incredible Hulk: Married; Superman
1979: Captain America; Captain America II: Death Too Soon
1980: Flash Gordon; Popeye
1981: Heavy Metal; Superman II
1982: Swamp Thing
1983: Superman III
1984: Sheena; Supergirl
1985: Red Sonja
1986: Howard the Duck; When the Wind Blows
1987: Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
1988: The Incredible Hulk Returns
1989: Batman; The Trial of the Incredible Hulk; The Punisher; The Return of Swamp Thing
1990: Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again; The Flash; The Death of the Incredible Hulk; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
1991: Captain America; Power Pack; The Rocketeer; Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
1992: Batman Returns
1993: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
1994: The Crow; The Mask; Ri¢hie Ri¢h; Timecop
1995: Batman Forever; Judge Dredd; Tank Girl
1996: Barb Wire; The Crow: City of Angels; Generation X; Tales from the Crypt: Bordello of Blood; Vampirella
1997: Batman & Robin; Justice League of America; Men in Black; Sabrina the Teenage Witch; Spawn; Steel
1998: Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero; Blade; Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.; Richie Rich's Christmas Wish
1999: Mystery Men; Virus
2000: Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker; The Crow: Salvation; Heavy Metal 2000; Witchblade; X-Men
2001: Faust: Love of the Damned; From Hell; Ghost World; Josie and the Pussycats; Monkeybone; Tales from the Crypt Presents: Ritual
2002: Blade II; Men in Black II; Road to Perdition; Spider-Man
2003: American Splendor; Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman; Bulletproof Monk; Daredevil; Hulk; The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen; Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision; X2
2004: Alien vs. Predator; Blade: Trinity; Catwoman; Hellboy; Lady Death; Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy; The Punisher; Spider-Man 2
2005: Batman Begins; The Batman vs. Dracula; Constantine; The Crow: Wicked Prayer; Elektra; Fantastic Four; A History of Violence; Man-Thing; Son of the Mask; El Muerto; Painkiller Jane; Sin City
2006: Art School Confidential; Hellboy: Sword of Storms; Superman: Brainiac Attacks; Superman Returns; Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo; Ultimate Avengers; Ultimate Avengers 2; V for Vendetta; X-Men: The Last Stand; Zsazsa Zaturnnah: Ze Moveeh
2007: 30 Days of Night; 300; Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem; Doctor Strange; Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer; Ghost Rider; Hellboy: Blood and Iron; The Invincible Iron Man; Spider-Man 3; Superman: Doomsday; TMNT; Turok, Son of Stone
2008: The Dark Knight; Batman: Gotham Knight; Hellboy II: The Golden Army; The Incredible Hulk; Iron Man; Justice League: The New Frontier; The Spirit; Wanted
It certainly seems that comic book adaptation films are picking up steam over the last two decades. I think the recent ones are getting better overall, but there are a lot of misteps along the way -- like the origin story formula reinventing a superhero in the "real" world.
Yet, for every Batman Begins that graces the theaters, there are 10 useless men in spandex lined up for the next few years. Here are five of the next big-budget superhero films currently in production that simply should not be.
I chafed at this in particular because I disliked Batman Begins.
Batman Begins and The Dark Knight
While it didn't start the trend, I think Batman Begins typifies the formula of the new superhero origin movies. In this formula, the movie tries to reinvent the hero in a "real" world that is otherwise lacking superheroes, and spends much of its time explaining the hero's powers and other quirks.
What was remarkable for me about Batman Begins is how it undermines what I consider the essentials about Batman. Compared to other heroes, Batman is self-made. True, he was born a millionaire, but he gains his "powers" through inspiration, hard work, and study. He is notable in not saving the world, but specifically in improving life for the people of Gotham City. And though he has no powers, he never uses guns and he never kills.
In the film, all of his signature elements -- including the motto "Criminals are a cowardly, superstitious lot" -- were things he was given or stumbled on rather than made. The Batmobile was pre-built that he just happened to find. He was taught by Ra's al Ghul to make a scary figure of himself, and the arm blades of his costume.
Then in the resolution, the poor part of the town was flooded with dangerous gas, and Batman's heroism was to save the rich part of town. It didn't reflect on the character per se since he tried to save both, but it felt wrong to me. And he was hypocritical in dealing with Ra's al Ghul. If he felt that Ra's deserved to die, then he should have killed him. If not, then he should have at least tried to save him.
The Dark Knight was a better movie, and addressed at least some of this. Batman sticks to his moral guns better, and shows himself to be technologically innovative and at least mildly clever. However, he is dull. Heath Ledger gave a show-stealing performance as the Joker, in part because he so outshone Batman.
My Favorite Comic Adaptations
So what do I like? Well, here would be some of my top comic book adaptations, in rough order of preference.
1) X2
2) Mystery Men
3) American Splendor
4) Men in Black
5) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
6) The Crow
7) Superman II
8) V for Vendetta
9) Spiderman
10) Ghost World
I haven't seen A History of Violence or Road to Perdition yet, though they are highly regarded.
As I look at that list, something that stands out from films like Batman Begins or Iron Man is that these are films where there is more personal interaction among the leads. This doesn't fit the lone superhero with occaisional personal scenes.
Something that's important for me is that the photography, the action, and the storyline mesh well. So V for Vendetta was a decent attempt, but it was marred by action scenes terribly derivative of The Matrix that didn't fir with the rest of the film in my opinion.
Comic Book Films By Year
In deciding on a list, I went to Wikipedia's List of films based on English-language comics. The following is that same list re-organized by year.
1905: Prehistoric Peeps
1941: Adventures of Captain Marvel
1942: Spy Smasher
1943: Batman
1944: Captain America
1946: Hop Harrigan
1947: Vigilante
1948: Congo Bill; Superman
1949: Batman and Robin
1950: Atom Man vs. Superman
1951: Superman and the Mole Men
1952: Blackhawk
1966: Batman
1972: Fritz the Cat; Tales from the Crypt
1973: Up in Flames; The Vault of Horror
1974: The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat; Wonder Woman
1978: Dr. Strange; The Incredible Hulk: Married; Superman
1979: Captain America; Captain America II: Death Too Soon
1980: Flash Gordon; Popeye
1981: Heavy Metal; Superman II
1982: Swamp Thing
1983: Superman III
1984: Sheena; Supergirl
1985: Red Sonja
1986: Howard the Duck; When the Wind Blows
1987: Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
1988: The Incredible Hulk Returns
1989: Batman; The Trial of the Incredible Hulk; The Punisher; The Return of Swamp Thing
1990: Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again; The Flash; The Death of the Incredible Hulk; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
1991: Captain America; Power Pack; The Rocketeer; Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
1992: Batman Returns
1993: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
1994: The Crow; The Mask; Ri¢hie Ri¢h; Timecop
1995: Batman Forever; Judge Dredd; Tank Girl
1996: Barb Wire; The Crow: City of Angels; Generation X; Tales from the Crypt: Bordello of Blood; Vampirella
1997: Batman & Robin; Justice League of America; Men in Black; Sabrina the Teenage Witch; Spawn; Steel
1998: Batman & Mr. Freeze: SubZero; Blade; Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.; Richie Rich's Christmas Wish
1999: Mystery Men; Virus
2000: Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker; The Crow: Salvation; Heavy Metal 2000; Witchblade; X-Men
2001: Faust: Love of the Damned; From Hell; Ghost World; Josie and the Pussycats; Monkeybone; Tales from the Crypt Presents: Ritual
2002: Blade II; Men in Black II; Road to Perdition; Spider-Man
2003: American Splendor; Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman; Bulletproof Monk; Daredevil; Hulk; The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen; Timecop 2: The Berlin Decision; X2
2004: Alien vs. Predator; Blade: Trinity; Catwoman; Hellboy; Lady Death; Popeye's Voyage: The Quest for Pappy; The Punisher; Spider-Man 2
2005: Batman Begins; The Batman vs. Dracula; Constantine; The Crow: Wicked Prayer; Elektra; Fantastic Four; A History of Violence; Man-Thing; Son of the Mask; El Muerto; Painkiller Jane; Sin City
2006: Art School Confidential; Hellboy: Sword of Storms; Superman: Brainiac Attacks; Superman Returns; Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo; Ultimate Avengers; Ultimate Avengers 2; V for Vendetta; X-Men: The Last Stand; Zsazsa Zaturnnah: Ze Moveeh
2007: 30 Days of Night; 300; Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem; Doctor Strange; Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer; Ghost Rider; Hellboy: Blood and Iron; The Invincible Iron Man; Spider-Man 3; Superman: Doomsday; TMNT; Turok, Son of Stone
2008: The Dark Knight; Batman: Gotham Knight; Hellboy II: The Golden Army; The Incredible Hulk; Iron Man; Justice League: The New Frontier; The Spirit; Wanted
It certainly seems that comic book adaptation films are picking up steam over the last two decades. I think the recent ones are getting better overall, but there are a lot of misteps along the way -- like the origin story formula reinventing a superhero in the "real" world.