Hello ComicBookMovie.com! Before I start my editorial I would like to share with you how my love for comic book movies began. I have always been a big comic fan ever since I was young. I was first introduced to comic books when my father began to read old X-Men comics from the Claremont era to me. I was immediately hooked and began to devour anything and everything related to comics. I would watch all the cartoons; like the old 90s X-Men show, Batman: The Animated Series and the old Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon to name a few. Comics allowed me to connect with my dad and also provide an escape from the mundane events of everyday life. Comics allowed me to travel to distant lands with fantastical heroes and they also allowed me to go on great adventures to lands so magical that I didn't know they could even exist. Soon I was obsessed with Superheroes and to this day I still am. Eventually my love for comics evolved into a love for movies and film. Now I would also like to state this list is just my own personal opinions, so please do not be offended if a certain film isn't on my list. These are just one man's opinions don't take them to heart. I would like to start off with a few honorable mentions. These are films that I truly do love, but they just didn't make the cut.
Honorable Mentions:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
What can I say about this film that has not already been said? This is such a great fun movie, it captures the goofiness and humor from the 80s cartoon perfectly and it also had some truly dark moments like the earlier comics. It just makes me want to start screaming "Go Ninja, Go Ninja, Go!" at the top of my lungs (yes I know that is from
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) but I don't care). Also the actual Turtle suits were desgned by Jim Henson, who is the creator of The Muppets, and they still hold up today. Out of all four turtles I would probably say that Donatello is my favorite. One of the things I love about the Ninja Turtles is that each one represents different personality traits that we all have, they are like some weird four sided metaphorical coin. This is an amazing movie, if you haven't seen it I strongly urge you to give it a go. Strangely enough I actually still own a VHS tape of this movie! On a side note I just started reading the IDW series and it has exceeded all my expectations, I also urge you to check that series out too.
X-Men (2000)
Now I must admit this isn't a perfect film at all. They butcher some characters and do change many things from the page to the screen. For a long time I actually strongly disliked this film for the drastic changes it made to the source material, but over time I slowly realized how great it really is. Although to this day I still loath those ugly black leather suits... But now I love this film, it brought some of my favorite characters on to the big screen and these where the characters that I grew up reading about with my dad. I don't care what other people think about this film, it reminds me of those days when me and my dad read old X-Men comics together and because of that I'll forgive it for its flaws. Without this movie there wouldn't be
The Avengers (2012) or an Ant-Man film or even a possible Justice League film, it really did start it all.
X-Men: First Class (2011)
Untill
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) came out this was my favorite X-Men film. I was a little nervous when I saw the horrible posters and trailer, but this film actually made me feel the same way I did when reading the old Claremont X-Men comics. It was a fun romp and believe it or not it isn't centered on Wolverine like all the X-Men movies before it! I was also actually really nervous about Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy replacing Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen, but they added a lot of depth to the roles and in my opinion carried the whole film. Another postive thing about this film is they finally got rid of those god awful black leather suits! However I do have a couple complaints... I feel that the villains were all one dimensional and cliched. Kevin Bacon tried his best with what he had, but in the end due to weak writing he wasn't a memorable villain. Another villain who I was disappointed by was Emma Frost, I do think that January Jones was a really bad choice for Emma Frost. She may have looked the part, but in my opinion she wasn't a good enough actress to portray the menacing character that is Emma Frost. In the end Emma Frost was just eye candy which is a real shame. Also I felt that Jennifer Lawrence was extremely miscast as Mystique, however in the sequel
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) she really surprised me and knocked the role out of the park. This is a great film, but because of these flaws it is only an honorable mention.
Hellboy (2004)
I absolutely love Hellboy and I am a big fan of everything Mike Mignola does, I think he is one of the best working writer and artist today. My favorite Hellboy story is actually "Pancakes" and it is one of the best comic stories ever and it happens to be only two pages long. Guillermoe del Toro is also one of my personal favorite directors, his Spanish film Pan's Labyrinth is breathtaking. I really think both Hellboy movies are extremely underrated. One of the best things about this film is the casting, all the actors dominate their roles. The two people who stand out the most and are perfect castings are Doug Jones as Abe Sapien and of course Ron Perlman as big red himself. The costumes and makeup are also amazing to look at on screen. This film does have a few flaws though, I found John Myers to be very irksome and some of the action scenes were dragged out to long. However I love Hellboy and Iove this movie even with its flaws.
Those are all the honorable mentions I have, so finally I am going to begin my countdown and now without further ado here are my top ten favorite comic book movies!
10. Dredd (2012)
When
Dredd (2012) came out in theaters two years ago it was considered to be a pretty big flop. I think the main reasons for that were the terrible marketing for the film and people still remembered the awful Sylvester Stallone lead
Judge Dredd (1995). I however decided to give this film a chance and went to see it at a matinee. Boy was I surprised this was a kick ass, gritty, action movie with a lot of a stellar performances. Karl Urban is perfect as the titular character, he thankfully keeps his mask on the whole film unlike Stallone. Also Lena Headey, better known as Cersei Lannister on
Game of Thrones (2011 - ), is just so wickedly evil as the main villain Ma-Ma. Domhnall Gleeson,from
About Time (2013),
True Grit (2010) and
Star Wars: Episode VII (2015), has a brief but memorable role as a tortured computer hacker. Some people say that the story was basically a knock off of
The Raid: Redemption (2011) , but every film borrows ideas and themes from others. It is a shame that this movie didn't make more money well in theaters because it deserves not just a sequel, but its own franchise.
9. The Dark Knight (2008)
I know I am probably going to receive a lot of hate for putting
The Dark Knight (2008) so low on my list. I hope people remember that this is just my own opinions. This is a superb film and it is nearly flawless. Its cinematography alone is awesome, one of my favorite shots is towards the end when Batman is standing in the rubble of the warehouse Rachel died in and is just brooding over the choices and mistakes he has made. All of the performances are brilliant and there isn't one weak link in the film. I actually think Maggi Gyllenhaal was a huge improvement over Katie Holmes. I also thought that Aaron Eckhart was brilliant as Two Face and I hate that they killed him off at the end. I would have liked to have seen more of him in the third movie. Two Face could have been the main villian, and have supervillians or "freaks" as Gambol called them starting to take over different gangs. Some of the supervillains that could lead the different gangs could be Scarface, Killer Croc, Penguin and of course Two Face. It would be an all out gang war like in the game
Arkham City (2011) and it would be up to Batman to save the city from the chaos that was inspired by the Joker. Sorry for going on a random tangent there, but back to
The Dark Knight (2008). Of course I can not talk about this movie without mentioning the mesmerizing performance Heath Ledger gave as the Joker. Without him the film just wouldn't be the same, he really elevated the film to an entirely different level. However in my opinion the film does have some pretty valid flaws. I absolutely hate Batman's voice in the film. I like the idea of him disguising his voice when he is the Caped Crusader, but the voice he uses here is so overdone by Christian Bale that it is laughable. I also really dislike how realistic Christopher Nolan made all of films in his trilogy. The realism made it impossible for fan favorite villains like Clayface or Man-Bat to appear. However even with these minor flaws I still adore this film, it really is the godfather of comic book movies.
8. Sin City (2005)
What Robert Rodriguez did with this film is simply amazing, in my opinion it is one of the best comic book adaptions we have had to date. This film is so visually unique and this is one of the few examples where CGI is used properly to service the story. The movie is perfectly cast; John McClane err... I mean Bruce Willis is awesome as Hartigan, Mickey Rourke delivers one of his best performances as Marv and it is disturbing how evil Elijaw Wood can be as the silent killer. Out of all of Frank Miller's work I do think the Sin City graphic novels are the best and I love how involved he was in this movie. The film really captures the style and feel of the orignal comics. Quentin Tarintino, yes that is right the Quentin Tarintino, was even a special guest director. I am a little worried about the sequel, but hopefully it will be just as good as if not better than the first.
7. Watchmen Director's Cut (2009)
I am a fan of Zack Snyder, I think he is a good director and he has a really unique visual style. However I do think that he is a poor writer, a lot of the films he has written and directed like
Sucker Punch (2011) I have not enjoyed. I do appreciate how much of a comic book fan he is though and how passionate he is about his work. In my opinion
Watchmen (2009) is his best film, it is incredible how he was able to condense a 416 page graphic novel into a 162 minute film. I thought all of the casting was dead on, with the exception of Mathew Goode as Ozymandias. Even if I hadn't read the book I still immediately knew he was the villian of the film just because of how he acted. It couldn't have been more obvious if he started twirling his evil mustache while cleaning his monocle. This a beautiful looking film though and all the of action sequences are a joy to watch. I prefer the Directer's Cut though because in my opinion it tells the story better and helps flesh out the characters more, in the theatrical version we only had barely any of Hollis Mason. I also know that many comic fans dislike that they change the ending. I am actually a fan of the new ending. Some things work in comics and some things work in film, I don't think a giant alien squid would have translated well in the context of the film. If you haven't seen this movie or read Alan Moore's original graphic novel stop reading this editorial immediately and go out and find them.
6. Iron Man (2008)
Before
Iron Man (2008) came out nobody in the general public knew who Tony Stark was, of course us comic fans already did, but then almost over night he was a house hold name. As soon as I saw Nick Fury step out of the shadows and say "I'm here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative." I knew we were in for a real treat. Director Jon Favreau really delivered the goods with this movie and it is definitely his best film to date. I know at one point Clive Owen, Sam Rockwell, and Hugh Jackman were being considered for the role of Iron Man and I don't think this film would have had the same impact if Robert Downey Jr. wasn't playing Tony Stark. Jeff "The Dude" Bridges is great as Obadiah Stane. It was a shame he was killed off, I would have liked to have seen more of him. This is such a fun movie from the first scene to the very end of the credits. This movie doesn't really have any large flaws; I know alot of people thought that the climax was a tad disappointing, but I really don't see it. Who doesn't just love this movie?
5. Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)
As I stated before I am a huge Hellboy fan, he is just such a rich character and I also love Mike Mignola's style of writing. In my opinion this film is a vast improvement over it's predecessor, Guillermo Del Toro learned from his mistakes in the first film. Did John Myers annoy you in
Hellboy (2004)? Well guess what, in the sequel he isn't even in the movie because Hellboy shipped him off to Antarctica! I would love to see a third one, but it is starting to look like we aren't going to see that which is a shame. One of my favorite scenes of this film is when Hellboy and his team enter the Troll Market. This scene kinda reminds me of the scene in
Star Wars (1977) when we see Mos Eisley Cantina for the very first time; our eyes were suddenly opened and we realized there was a whole universe to explore. This film does have one flaw though and that flaw is the films main villain. Prince Nuada could have been a real iconic villain, but for some reason that I can't pinpoint I was just underwhelmed by him. With how creative Guillermo Del Toro is with creature desgins and Hellboy's rich source material I feel like they could have picked a villain who was a little more memorable. I would have loved to seen Baba Yaga on the big screen. Despite being disappointing by the main villain I still love this film and that is why it is so high on my list.
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
I was a big fan of
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) for a lot of reasons. One of my biggest reasons was that the movie had so much heart and emotion behind it. The scene at the end of the film where Steve Rodgers crashes the Hydra jet in the Arctic Circle was just heartbreaking, even though I knew it was coming. Now understandbly I had pretty high expectations for its sequel
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014). I was a little nervous when I heard they were taking inspiration from Ed Brubaker's critically acclaimed Captain America run because it is one of my favorite comic runs. Not only were they faithful to the comic series but they actually improved upon it. All of the performances in the film were great. Chris Evans is now the only person who can play Steve Rodgers, he is fantastic in the role. Scarlett Johansson was incredible as Black Widow and her banter with Chris Evans added a lot to the two characters' relationship. Anthony Mackie was awesome as Falcon, I just wish his costume was a bit more colorful like the 616 version of the character. Last but not least Sebastian Stan stole the show as Winter Soldier! The highway fight scene when they reveal who the Winter Soldier is was just jaw dropping. I love this movie, it is everything a Captain America movie should be and everything it needed to be. Also when you really break it down its basically a 70s political thriller, I don't really have any complaints about the film besides really nit picky things. Also since I'm a big film buff I was geeking out when they got Robert Redford to say "Hail Hydra", this film is near perfect and it really brought the comic book genre to another level in my opinion.
3. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
I saw this movie in theaters five times. Let that sink in, I enjoyed this movie so much that I went and payed to see it five individual times.
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) is based of one of the most iconic X-Men story lines and boy does it deliver. Not only is it a great comic book film, it is a great summer blockbuster, it is a great time travel film, overall it is simply a great movie. I was extremely nervous when they announced that Mathew Vaughn had left the project and they brought on Bryan Singer to replace him, but I am sorry I doubted Bryan Singer. He truly did a wonderful job and blew me away. Another surprise was Quicksilver, he had the best scene in the whole film. By the end of the film they also completely reset the X-Men timeline in an ingenious way. I hope in
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) we get to see younger versions of Jean Grey and especially Scott Summers. This film restored my hope in the X-Men franchise after I had lost all faith in it. It was such a pleasant surprise and I am counting the days till the sequel.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
I don't know if you are, but I'm beginning to see a bit of a patern here. So far three out of my top five comic book movies have all come out in 2014, I suppose that this year really is the best year we've ever had for comic book films. I don't know about you, but I don't think I have ever had a more fun time at the theater then when I went to see
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) for the first time. I was smiling ear to ear for the whole running time of the film. When this film was first announced I had know idea who the Guardians of the Galaxy even were. So I started doing my research and began to read up on the characters. I couldn't believe I had never heard of these characters before, they were all such wonderful characters with such fleshed out backstories and interactions. In the comics Rocket was my absolute favorite, but when watching the film I honnestly couldn't decide who my favorite character was. I loved each team member and I loved how they interacted with each other. I can not believe James Gunn made such an amazing film,
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) is basically Star Wars and Star Trek mixed together with a little Indiana Jones thrown in for good measures. Oh and Come and Get Your Love by Redbone is the best song in the galaxy.
1. The Avengers (2012)
In my humble opinion this is what every comic book film should aspire to be. I never thought I would see Earth's Mighties Heroes on the big screen, ever since I was a little kid and read my first Avengers comic I had wanted to see this movie and thanks to Joss Whedon my childhood dreams have been realized. I think I might have shed a few tears of joy by the time this film had finished. This film was everything I wanted it to be and more. Whenever I had bad day or am in a crappy mood I can just put this film on and forget about all my worries. All of The Avengers get an equal amount of screen time and have their own moments, except for poor Hawkeye. I really hope Whedon gives Hawkeye a bigger role in the sequel because Jeremy Renner is a fantastic actor and I really want to see more of him. I really don't think this film has any major flaws, I suppose you could find a couple minor flaws if you nitpicked the movie to death. This film is beyond amazing, but I have gushed over it enough.
I would like to thank all of you for reading my first editorial and contribution to our great website and community called ComicBookMovie.com. Please feel free to share your thoughts on my editorial and your own top ten favorite comic book movies below! Thanks for reading.