My 5 Favourite Comic-Book Films Ever

My 5 Favourite Comic-Book Films Ever

In this editorial, I give you my 5 favourite CBMs of all time. This article may contain mild spoilers for each of my picks, so you've been warned. Hit the jump to find out my faves...

Editorial Opinion
By ClarkKent89 - Apr 19, 2014 05:04 AM EST
Filed Under: Other

These films are obviously set to change in the coming years, but as of now, these are my all time 5 favourite comic-books movies. Once again, MILD SPOILERS ahead, so be warned. Number 5...

5. X-Men: Origins Wolv First Class


When first hearing about this project, I wasn't sure about how the filmmakers were going to achieve a new X-Men film without their most popular and marketable character: Wolverine on display in trailers, posters or the actual end result of a movie... boy was I proved wrong. 2011 was jam-packed with brilliant films such as Warrior, Real Steel, Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes, Drive, Thor, Captain America: The First Avenger, the last Harry Potter, and this masterpiece of a prequel/ reboot. You're given two different perspectives on how humans and mutants should cooperate that is effective because you get to spend time with the two leads, Erik and Charles, witness what each of them have been through to be capable of getting in each of their mindsets and by the end, you're genuinely questioning yourself about how you'd respond under these events. The acting is incredible, the tone is perfect, the drama and action couldn't have blended together better than it did, and it truly made you want to see the next chapter.

4. Iron Man 3

The film has really split the fan-base and I can sympathise why. If I was an Iron Man comic-book reader and one of the character's main foes was converted on-screen the way that he was, I'd be a little speechless. But to counter that, I really have to admit that it was a ballsy move by the creative team and an unexpected twist that made the film all-the-more memorable, and it really dissolves into the one of the themes at play which is does the suit make the man or vice versa and I really think that if it wasn't for Ben Kingsley's raw skill at acting and taking on a persona or in this case personas, the reveal scene could've completely fallen apart. If you pay close attention; anytime in the film Tony's in the suit, he doesn't have panic attacks and is very confident, but when out of it is a vulnerable human being, proving that the Iron Man (at least in this installment) is literally and metaphorically his armour which really gives R DJ. some juicy material to work with and lends him bit more substance as a character. There are some great action set pieces, effects, fantastic acting especially with Kingsley and Pearce, awesome script with plenty of funny moments, and RDJ. at his best. Even after watching it a few times, I still sometimes have mixed feelings on the Mandarin/ Trevor Slattery twist, but that's a testament to the quality of the film when on each new viewing or after-thought, you could view these kind of scenes as different meanings whether you love or hate the end product.

3. The Incredible Hulk (2008)

This REBOOT of Ang Lee's Hulk gets a lot of criticism in my opinion and is thought of as not the best in the Avengers lead-up films, and I really don't see where all the hate comes from. There are great performances from Norton, Roth, Hurt, and maybe even Liv Tyler. Some great action takes place and you come to appreciate those sequences because there is one for each act meaning three in total, but each is perfectly done with great effects and no shaky cam. The score is one which can rival Zimmer's take on the Dark Knight Trilogy as its suitability to the character and many scenes which feature little to no dialogue are simply enchanting. The pacing is fluent, it feels grounded and features a few references to the larger continuity including a pretty awesome ending which was great so that audiences didn't have to sit through minutes of end credits to see a Tony Stark cameo. I will agree that Betty can be pretty meh occasionally and the romance doesn't really feel as interesting as Steve and Peggy in Captain America: The First Avenger. The film skips from place to place around the world making it feel large in scope and still very personal in character. It's the perfect balance of destructive action and peaceful, but sad circumstances.

2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

I enjoyed the Man Of Steel film and think that if the sequel does take advantage of the weaknesses and criticisms that its predecessor got, then it will indeed feel like one act in a larger narrative, but what it failed on was giving into the belief that no-one feels Superman is an interesting character because he will always make the right choice, that he believes all people can be good, and with the objective to not stop a criminal but rather save innocents. Instead of buying into this notion with the similar (in the comic-books) character of Captain America; in his own sequel and third/ fourth appearance in the MCU, the directors and writers of The Winter Soldier made the 'boy scout' aspect their greatest strength dipping Steve Rogers into the modern age of spying, computers, violation of privacy that counter Rogers' moral authority that emerged in the black and white world of WW2 that was envisioned in The First Avenger. The cast are all great with Evans turning in the best performance I've seen in the entire Cinematic Universe, some phenomenal action sequences and effects, wonderful twists, and a final fight between the Winter Soldier and Steve that was emotional to watch and so refreshing and unique when looking back. It made me excited to see Cap in A: AOU​, and I'm having serious reconsideration of what I'll be seeing the weekend of May 6th, 2016.

1. The Dark Knight Trilogy

I totally understand if some of you say this is cheating, but crafted in over 9-10 years, Christopher Nolan and friends have created the definitive Batman/ Bruce Wayne journey in 8-9 hours. Begins was a solid entry in the genre, and is quite re-watchable, Knight is a revolutionary film that took the respect and perception of CBMs even further after incredible efforts such as X-Men, and the first two Raimi Spider-Man films, and Rises brings it full circle fearlessly spending the majority of the middle without a suited Batman, and doesn't rely on its source material or action to suffice a two hour+ runtime. Lots of twists occur, it feels grounded, the villains have been wonderful, the actors, acting, and characters have all been superb and I feel these films will definitely stand the test of time as not just good comic-book or superhero films, but great submissions in the grand scope of cinema.

Those were my thoughts, list yours down below, peace...

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1 2
kong
kong - 4/19/2014, 5:55 AM
Your list sucks until #2.
kinghulk
kinghulk - 4/19/2014, 6:18 AM
i never understand why people put the dark knight trilogy in their favourite CBM's as 1 entity why not put all the iron man films as 1 as well or all the MCU films?
ClarkKent89
ClarkKent89 - 4/19/2014, 6:25 AM
@RedHood13 it's my own opinion. @kinghulk I didn't put the whole Iron Man films or MCU together because not all of those films are great. @yossarian thanks, you too.
LEOSTRATOR
LEOSTRATOR - 4/19/2014, 6:26 AM
TDKR ruined the trilogy for me, I hate that movie.
Alphadog
Alphadog - 4/19/2014, 6:27 AM
@RedHood13 Seriously dude? You comment just to say that you hate his opinion.
@kinghulk It's either because they consider it all a single story (which makes more sense than those series you referenced) or because they can't decided which oe they prefer. Actually there's a third option, they don't want to fill their least with at most three different series of movies.
I like all your choices Kent but I wouldn't put them all in my list. I wouldn't put any to be honest cuz I can't decide. Just saying that some would be definetely left out even though I like those movies.
kinghulk
kinghulk - 4/19/2014, 6:33 AM
fair enought
TheYoungMan
TheYoungMan - 4/19/2014, 6:50 AM
1. TDKR
2. TDK
3. BB
4. Iron Man
5. Spider-Man 2
Minty
Minty - 4/19/2014, 6:53 AM
Nice list, I'm a fan of all five films on there. I appreciate the way you stick up for films like IM3 and Incredible Hulk even if some fans dont like them - I think they're two of the stronger MCU films.

Mine would be:

10 - The Incredible Hulk OR The Winter Soldier
9 - Spiderman 2
8 - Watchmen
7 - Kick-Ass
6 - The Dark Knight Rises
5 - Iron Man
4 - X-Men: First Class
3 - Batman Begins
2 - The Avengers
1 - The Dark Knight
Kurne
Kurne - 4/19/2014, 7:05 AM
5. Iron Man (No. 5 is always the changeable one :P)
4. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
3. Watchmen
2. The Dark Knight
1. The Avengers
Odin
Odin - 4/19/2014, 7:16 AM
Prime
Prime - 4/19/2014, 8:05 AM
Iron Man 3? ....Ok...
WorstUserNameEver
WorstUserNameEver - 4/19/2014, 8:14 AM
5. CW:TWS
4. Batman Begins
3. Watchmen
2. The Avengers
1. The Dark Knight
MrCBM56
MrCBM56 - 4/19/2014, 8:50 AM
Good list. Mine is:

1. The Avengers
2. The Dark Knight
3. The Winter Soldier
4. X2: United
5. Batman Begins
Tainted87
Tainted87 - 4/19/2014, 9:03 AM
Not gonna start trolling here, but recently I had this idea to watch both 'Batman' and 'the Dark Knight'... not back to back, because damn, I wish I had time for that, but you know, a day apart....

These two scenarios really bugged me. Like I knew about em before, but having it right before your eyes, watching it - really spells it out.

* Batman '89
- the Dark Knight

* the Joker keeps making his tv broadcasts threatening both the city and calling for a confrontation between himself and Batman.
- the Joker kidnaps Batman impersonators and tortures them in videos aired on the news to press Batman to give himself up.

* Batman has the opportunity to kill the Joker on his float, and the Joker is even goading him into doing it, but Batman (intentionally?) doesn't go through with it, and the Joker shoots the Batwing down.
- Batman has the chance to run down the Joker (although he'd probably wreck the Batpod and kill himself doing it), who is almost verbatim saying exactly what the previous Joker said... and Batman doesn't follow through with it, veers off, and crashes.

I'm not saying the Dark Knight is a bad movie, I just think that on top of the Joker and Two-Face being done again (though differently), we should have seen something a bit more original. For that reason alone, I can't bring it to be in any of my "top 5", despite Heath Ledger's great performance.
Nick56
Nick56 - 4/19/2014, 9:25 AM
1. TDK
2. Spider-Man 2
3. TDKR
4. X2: X-Men United
5. X-Men: First Class
Abary
Abary - 4/19/2014, 9:34 AM
I hate Iron Man 3 with a passion. It's up there with X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Green Lantern, and Spider-Man 3 on my list of least favorite movies of the 21st century. First Class, Incredible Hulk, and Winter Soldier are both great but no where near my top 5, and having the entire Dark Knight trilogy is a cheat, even though 2 of them are both in my top 5. What this list needs is some Avengers.
Abary
Abary - 4/19/2014, 9:37 AM
My list changes all the time based on the mood I'm in. Usually it's along the lines of:

1. Avengers
2. TDK
3. Star Wars (I'm counting it because it's my list and I can do whatever I want)
4. Batman Begins
5. X2 or Spidey 2
Abary
Abary - 4/19/2014, 9:39 AM
As for my least favorite CBM List:

1. Batman and Robin
2. Superman IV
3. Batman Forever
4. Captain America (1990)
5. Green Lantern
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 4/19/2014, 9:52 AM
Great list! Mine would look like:

1) The Dark Knight Trilogy
2) Captain America: The Winter Soldier
3) The Avengers
4) Iron Man
5) Iron Man 3
6) X-Men: First Class
7) Skyfall (Technically the James Bond movies are cbms, but yeah I know, this is probably cheating)
8) Casino Royale
9) Captain America: The First Avenger
10) Spider-Man 1 and 2
SauronsBANE
SauronsBANE - 4/19/2014, 10:16 AM
Haha same here MrSotoMan, but I figured it's cheating just because most people don't consider them cbms. Plus for all I know, the movies could have absolutely nothing to do with those comics.
ruadh
ruadh - 4/19/2014, 10:46 AM
Completely agree with what you say about IM3, though I wouldn't rank it higher than either of the previous installments. Definitely admire that they went for it with the twist, really surprising. Also your assessment of Tony's panic attacks and the suits etc.

I always feel that his sarcasm was his armor before he had literal armor. When he's potentially intimidated, like with Thor in Avengers, he covers it with his quips.
BatmanHeisenberg
BatmanHeisenberg - 4/19/2014, 11:07 AM
Great list! Mine as follows:

1. The Dark Knight Trilogy

2. Man of Steel

3. Captain America: The Winter Solider

4. The Avengers

5. X-Men: First Class
tonytony
tonytony - 4/19/2014, 11:08 AM
I would put avengers and the original 300 in place of im3 and the incredible hulj
tonytony
tonytony - 4/19/2014, 11:09 AM
Also mos above xmen 1st class
gamecreatorjj
gamecreatorjj - 4/19/2014, 11:41 AM
@tainted That's just something that happens. That was only 3 examples, the movies were a whole lot more than 3 components of it. A list of how they are different would be far longer and involve much less reaching. These movies all kind of follow somewhat of a formula, given that they are Superhero Movies, they tend to be similar in a lot of ways. IF you put things into vaguish terms, Iron Man is copy of Batman Begins.
Greengo
Greengo - 4/19/2014, 11:47 AM
Iron Man 3? Lmao gtfooh lol
GuardianDevil
GuardianDevil - 4/19/2014, 11:49 AM
10. Daredevil (R-cut)
9. Iron Man
8. The Incredible Hulk
7. Hellboy
6. The Wolverine (R-cut)
5. X2: X-Men United
4. Watchmen
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
2. Spider-Man 2
1. Batman Begins/The Dark Knight (tie)

Man of Steel and Superman 1 are great as well, I also have a certain affinity for the original Batman.
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