In this article, I intend to explain what I think are the most underrated comic book movies of all time. Please read on to hear, and state your opinion in the comments.
The first film I believe is truly underrated is 2011’s Green Lantern; it’s not even half as bad as most people make it out to be. To be honest all of the comic book films from 2011 were good but disappointing. I believe what people truly dislike about this film is the fact that I think it was supposed to be DC’s “Iron Man” in that it took a character that was relatively unpopular in the mainstream and intended to make him great. That is what Iron Man from 2008 did and that what is what Green Lantern attempted to do. When it failed to do so, it was bashed and trashed abroad. When you go in without preconceived notions it’s not half bad of a film. Now obviously it has still got its issues, the greatest of which is the character of Dr. Hector Hammond. How did dissecting Abin Sur give him strange powers, and then what relevance does he have to the story? I honestly hated that character in the film, even more when he was given more screen time instead of others which leads me to my next point. The performances are truly the saving grace of Green Lantern, Mark Strong is amazing as Sinestro and I hope he is going to be seen again in future films, the underutilization of Mark Strong as Sinestro is a real tragedy. Ryan Reynolds is often blamed for the failure of this film as well as X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but in both cases it’s not his fault. In fact he gives a surprisingly strong performance in both movies. Also, I’ve heard the argument that it doesn’t have any character development. Which is untrue because at the end we see Jordan do away with his fearfulness, I will agree the story is underwhelming but it’s just a simple story Hal overcoming fear and becoming a little bit more responsible. Also, the visuals while goofy were wild and crazy and imaginative the way Green Lantern should be. Overall Green Lantern is not a must see, nor is it a great film but it is watchable and good if you don’t expect too much. I think it is a step ahead of the Iron Man sequels, Captain America, Spider-Man 3, X3 and others. It’s not a bad film at all. I really liked it.
The next underrated film I’d like to address is 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine. One of the most hated comic book flicks out there, and generally considered the worst X-Men film. I personally liked it and accepted it for what it was: an adrenaline pumping, clichéd action and revenge film. I’ve heard it called “testosterone candy” and I frankly couldn’t agree more. This film does not try to be great or even good but it overcomes it’s low sights and is a perfectly watchable film. I think the expectations set by previous blockbuster comic films Iron Man, The Dark Knight and The Incredible Hulk are what brought people to dislike this film. One thing I must point out is that this film has a great cast and performances are strong on all fronts but Liev Schrieber and Hugh Jackman are down right amazing. Lyn Collins and Danny Huston are good too. Now as stated before Ryan Reynolds gets way too much hate, his performance of Deadpool early in the film was pretty much spot on. But later when he gets his powers his mouth is sewn shut and a bunch of other weird stuff happens to him and he is not even close to the Deadpool we know. But is that really his fault? As Barakapool he didn’t speak at all, he barely had to act all he had to do was pose. It’s not Ryan’s fault is the fault of the writers and studio interference that Deadpool was different. That being said, I personally do not care about Deadpool so I didn’t care if they butchered him. Overall X-Men Origins: Wolverine is nothing great, but the outstanding performances and heart pounding action and tone make it good in my opinion.
Next is obviously Wolverine’s other solo film. Seriously only a 69% on Rotten Tomatoes? That is why I dislike critics because I generally disagree. I personally thought this was one of the best comic book films ever made. It is my second favorite X-Men film, my fifth favorite Marvel film and my ninth favorite comic book film overall. First of all, this is the perfect Wolverine film. Yes Origins has it’s moments of hard core action but this is the film that takes a deep, introspective look into Logan’s character in a way that’s better than it’s ever been done. I really love the character arc, I personally think this film has some of the strongest character development of all time right alongside Iron Man, Batman Begins, Thor and the first two Spider-Man films. The Wolverine takes a journey into the character of Wolverine by showing his life after X-Men 3, and how he copes with the death of Jean Grey and how he longs to be with her again. How he is given an offer to become mortal yet again because “ a life with no end has no meaning” this is a story that chronicles Wolverine accepting Jean’s death as a thing of the past and deciding to make his life meaningful even if it has no end. It is truly an epic tale. Combine the great story and character development with a darker tone for a Marvel film and top-notch action and a sense of adventure. It makes for a fantastic film. Of course the big flaw is the film’s villains none of which were bad but all were just generic still strong performances from all involved. I honestly think people dislike this solely because it came out of20th Century Fox and not Marvel Studios. One of the best X-Men movies because the fate of a race (be it human or mutant) is not on the line, it’s simply searching into Wolverine’s character and for that I love this movie.
2004’s The Punisher is a very good film that I love and still will never understand how it bombed critically, financially and commercially. It is not a groundbreaking film by any means but I find it very entertaining and full of the same spirit and tone that makes The Punisher a great character. All of the main characters are very fleshed out and their story is told very well. I don’t get the hate for Thomas Jane’s portrayal of Frank Castle, I thought he did an exceptionally good job and nailed the tortured soul, punishment-seeking vigilante. John Travolta makes a relatively generic character interesting with his portrayal of Howard Saint (I’m pretty sure he’s an original creation, but he’s still a generic villain) The theme of this film is revenge versus punishment, Howard Saint seeks vengeance on Frank Castle for killing his son by killing off Frank’s entire family. Frank seeks revenge against him but with the help of his newfound friends he comes to find that vengeance is not a proper motive but punishment is what they deserve. This is a strong character arc, if not generic. One complaint about this film is that it is Marvel’s cheaper version of Batman and for that it is ridiculed. But you see it IS Marvel’s cheaper Batman and “once you accept that, in your heart, you will know peace…” in all seriousness this is a really good movie, mega underrated in my opinion.
Next I will discuss the film from 2008 called The Incredible Hulk. Now previously in my article I have talked about films like Green Lantern and X-Men Origins: Wolverine and said things like “not a great film but good” or things of that nature. But not so with 2008’s The Incredible Hulk. I believe beyond the shadow of a doubt that The Incredible Hulk is truly a great movie and is arguably the MOST underrated film on this list. It broke new ground with the CGI and visual effects, performances were amazing especially from Ed Norton. Don’t get me wrong Mark Ruffalo was a great Bruce Banner, but Norton was way better. I felt Norton nailed the frightened and tortured man on the run in a way that Ruffalo, Bana and Bixby never did. Which is why I still would say this is the best adaptation of the character so far. Liv Tyler was a great Betty Ross although I liked Jen Connelly in 2003’ HULK better. William Hurt and Tim Roth do a great job as well. I think Emil Blonsky/The Abomination is the second best Marvel Cinematic Universe behind Loki. His character arc is simple but better than most of the villains in the MCU. Round 1 in South America he sees Hulk in action for the first time and his lust for god-like power is born. Round 2 at the college he has taken a super soldier serum and thinks he can take out Hulk but fails. Round 3 at the climax he mixes the serum with Hulk’s blood and becomes a being even stronger than Hulk, at least until Hulk gets angrier. Bruce Banner’s character arc is a tale of making the best of card you’ve been dealt and learning to cope with power that extreme. I love this movie. Great story, action and characters you come to love. One of my all time favorites. I think it receives hate because unlike most of the Marvel Cinematic Universe it doesn’t sacrifice story and character for jokes and flashiness. I’m not saying all the MCU films do this but a great many of them do.
Man of Steel, arguably the second most underrated of all time right behind The Incredible Hulk. I hear hate for this movie and it’s just so baffling how low scores it got on Rotten Tomatoes. Last I checked it was around 57% or something, pure craziness. This is the Superman that his fans have been waiting for. Watch the film again, don’t the rampant Marvel Studio bias fool you, it’s a fantastic movie. Action outdoes anything previously seen in a comic book flick and although Superman’s character arc is generic Henry Cavill breathes life into the character and gives a top rate performance as Clark Kent. While the action was over the top, it is coupled with a strong story, strong dialogue, epic character development, great performances and a fantastic villain. Michael Shannon delivers in an epic fashion as General Zod; I personally think he’s even better than Terrence Stamp in Superman II. Easily best Comic Book Movie Villain of the year, he easily the tops all the generic villains this year like Mandarin, Yashida and Viper. I also liked the general tone of the film in the way it wasn’t dark per say but it manages to be serious and full of fun. S perfect balance I haven’t felt since Spider-Man 2 in 2004. Man of Steel manages to find a balance in between the tone of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s light hearted playful tone and the Nolanverse Batman’s dark brooding tone. Man of Steel like the Spider-Man movies manages to get both. All of this makes it one of my all time favorites. Best comic book film of the year, it even cracks my top five all time, Truly underrated, best comic book flick since the year 2008 in my opinion.