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Tornado
04-16-2012, 03:15 PM
Come along with me on this journey, won't you?

Over the past few weeks I’ve been revisiting my favorite film genre – superhero films; more specifically, adaptations of superhero comic books. I’ve been doing this, mostly just to have something to do, but also to get ready for the onslaught of superhero movies this summer in The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, and The Amazing Spider-Man. Because of all this re-watching, I decided now would maybe the time to make my top 10 and bottom 10 lists for the genre, starting with the bottom 10. I hope and encourage folks to post their own lists as well.

(One quick note – for personal reasons I did not include any animated films. Both lists are based entirely on live-action films. I also did not include anything that was direct-to-DVD, nor did I include The Spirit… because honestly, who the hell even saw that?)

BOTTOM 10

Admittedly, this was a harder list to make than the Top 10. What makes a bad film so? More so, what makes a horrible film worse than others telling a similar story? Is the cast not right, is the story weak, is it boring, is it the fault of the source material or the production team, etc? I decided that while it’s obviously a combination of everything listed, a film that makes this list needs to either spit in the face of the source material or be terrible to the point that no person should ever sit down and watch it.

10. Superman Returns (2006)

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/3498/10worst640x360.jpg

Terrible pacing, bad writing, little chemistry between actors (and poor casting to boot), the absolute worst Lois Lane of any Superman incarnation ever, and one of the worst twists in the past ten years. The worst part of this is that I remember loving this movie when it first came out, now it’s a chore to even sit through much less enjoy. What a difference six years makes. Kevin Spacey turns in a pretty good performance as Lex Luthor, unfortunately the writers don’t hold up their end of the deal. Continuing the theme of ‘Lex Luthor the evil real estate mogul’ in a film made in 2006 (much less at all) was a huge transgression. When the third act rolls around after Lex has already executed his plan, we cut to Lex and his henchmen just sitting around on the island. That’s the best the writers could come up with? Brandon Routh seems very unsure of himself throughout the entire movie, both as Clark Kent (to be expected somewhat) and as Superman (wrong). If he’s not lifting things, he’s standing still. Maybe Bryan Singer, halfway through production, realized what an error he had made in casting him he just decided to cut half of his lines. I don’t blame him. Kate Bosworth as Lois, on the other hand, had plenty of things to say. Unfortunately, none of them were interesting. She is an ice cold ***** for the entire duration (speaking of which, this movie is really about 45 minutes too long), and the only reason she gives Superman to be in love with her is because the script demands it. And in case you’re wondering, I’m avoiding talking about their super-kid because I sincerely think it is one of the worst ideas to come out of a superhero film ever. Bottom line, Superman didn’t need to return if this was the end result.

9. Green Lantern (2011)

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/5355/9worst640x360.jpg

I'm going to blame most of the faults in this film on the writers. Nearly all of them have only written for television. They've all produced more than written, and two of them have written for No Ordinary Family and the bad half of Heroes. Oy. There are a bunch of superfluous scenes and some fairly random cuts to unrelated stories scattered through the film. Nearly everyone mentions Hal's dad's jet fighter fatality to him at least once, just to make sure we remember. Then there's the problem that the audience is supposed to believe two test pilots, a senator, and biology scientist all know each other stretching back to childhood or are related. And two of them receive superpowers. It's not like this is going to ruin the film. It's just another thing that subtly tells you someone wasn't trying. And that's the gist I get from this film.

The film basically has no real antagonist. There's a floating cloud of blackish-yellow Parallax doom, but it never really poses a threat. It's kind of laughable that Hal Jordan travels to Oa and back to Earth twice before Parallax could conceivably reach either. Thank goodness when it gets to Earth it attacks the half of that planet that's in broad daylight, or you'd never find it. Hector Hammond should be a better nemesis, as he has telekinesis and telepathy and an actual personality, but the film spends too much time trying to make him sympathetic rather than a true villain. He has no real scheme or goals, he's just a victim of Parallax. I know the reason the filmmakers went with these two sad sacks is they want to save Sinestro for a sequel, but judging from the box-office returns (only $50 million on the opening weekend? for shame.) they should have hedged their bets and spent that rainy day money early.

Because there's no real villain, the problem Hal faces is...self doubt. How exciting. He has substantial fears, which is exactly the sort of thing I would think should probably disqualify someone from being a test pilot. Anywho, I think Hal's real problem is a lack of imagination. A minigun, chainsaw, and a couple of jet fighters are the most interesting things Hal does with the ring.

The film has a drastic overuse of CGI. Green Lantern should at LEAST have a real honest to goodness costume. Superman's from another planet too, but his costume is made of honest to goodness cloth. It's hard to really be interested in a hero when 85% of his body is digital. And when his power is to create green CGI from the power of will, there should be more creative uses than what we see. What should be Hal's iconic entrance into the public eye has him instead - I kid you not – roller-skating a helicopter through a series of Matchbox Car-style loops to safety. Like a Cartoon. I think Daredevil slicing a man in half with a subway train was a better superhero introduction. Even the characters later admit how stupid and un-iconic an introduction Green Lantern's display of power was, which means the writers probably also knew.

Neverending
04-16-2012, 03:29 PM
I remember loving this movie when it first came out

What a difference six years makes.

Still waiting for your re-visit to Smallville.

morpheus1987
04-16-2012, 03:35 PM
I completely agree with what you say about both of those films. Especially your comments on super kid.

Tornado
04-16-2012, 03:35 PM
I took a break, but I left off about halfway through Season 6. Some episodes were worse than I remember, but others were better. The show holds up pretty well in my opinion. The only thing that has changed for me is that I now have little to no interest in seeing a big screen Smallville movie... but I still wish Welling had been cast over Cavill in Snyder's film.

Neverending
04-16-2012, 03:49 PM
compare & contrast


10. superman returns (2006)

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/3498/10worst640x360.jpg

terrible pacing, bad writing, little chemistry between actors (and poor casting to boot), the absolute worst lois lane of any superman incarnation ever, and one of the worst twists in the past ten years. The worst part of this is that i remember loving this movie when it first came out, now it’s a chore to even sit through much less enjoy. What a difference six years makes. Kevin spacey turns in a pretty good performance as lex luthor, unfortunately the writers don’t hold up their end of the deal. Continuing the theme of ‘lex luthor the evil real estate mogul’ in a film made in 2006 (much less at all) was a huge transgression. When the third act rolls around after lex has already executed his plan, we cut to lex and his henchmen just sitting around on the island. That’s the best the writers could come up with? Brandon routh seems very unsure of himself throughout the entire movie, both as clark kent (to be expected somewhat) and as superman (wrong). If he’s not lifting things, he’s standing still. Maybe bryan singer, halfway through production, realized what an error he had made in casting him he just decided to cut half of his lines. I don’t blame him. Kate bosworth as lois, on the other hand, had plenty of things to say. Unfortunately, none of them were interesting. She is an ice cold ***** for the entire duration (speaking of which, this movie is really about 45 minutes too long), and the only reason she gives superman to be in love with her is because the script demands it. And in case you’re wondering, i’m avoiding talking about their super-kid because i sincerely think it is one of the worst ideas to come out of a superhero film ever. Bottom line, superman didn’t need to return if this was the end result.

http://forums.comingsoon.net/showpost.php?p=2100836&postcount=87

All right, so I ended up seeing the film last night at the special screening with some friends. I'll cover the "why" later on, but I was shocked. I was shocked that Bryan Singer was not only able to come up with his own Superman story, but was also able to pay so much hommage to the original film, Superman: The Movie. There were a few things I didn't like, but there weren't nearly enough of those to keep this film from becoming the best movie of 2006 (and the past few years as well).

Brandon Routh did a great job portraying Superman, and Clark Kent. While he was kind of wooden as Superman, I've always felt that was part of the character anyway. But when he needed to, he was still able to convey the right amount of emotion in a given scene; from his post comments after saving the plane to his discussion with the kid in his room at the end, Routh was great. Back when Singer was casting the role, I was disappointed to find out that Tom Welling (Smallville's Clark Kent) had been passed over for the role. But looking back, there's just no way that Welling could have done the character justice the way Routh did.

As for the other actors, while I'm not sure Kate Bosworth (Lois Lane) was a great choice in the first place, she managed to make the character her own and make us genuinely care for her when she and her family were in peril. Most of the other smaller characters (Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, Richard White, etc.) were all well done, and were on screen just long enough for us to make a connection with them. But Kevin Spacey really stole the show. His Lex Luthor was a much darker and much less campy version of the character than Gene Hackman in the original films ever created, which is a good thing. But I love that Kevin Spacey kept the arrogant tone in his voice that Hackman perfected in his portrayal of the character.

The visuals were very well done, the soundtrack was great (I'm going to head out to Best Buy to pick it up as soon as I post this), everything was just... great.

But honestly, my favorite aspect of the film was the sheer amount of references and hommages to other Superman-related material. I really appreciated the opening credits moreso than pretty much any other film I've ever seen, because they were so similar to the original films in that aspect (well, until the camera started flying through space, it was still neat though). I loved that Superman floated over Earth just... listening to people, trying to hear a specific call for help before he dashed back to do everything he could. Before he commited one of his final super-acts near the end, he flew up above the clouds towards a sky lit up by the sun. Most people probably don't know what he was doing. Superman's powers come from our yellow sun, so he flew up into the heavens and essentially charged himself.

But the one shot that sold me was the very final shot of the film. In the original films, the closing shot was always Superman flying in space. After a few seconds he would turn to the camera and smile, then fly past us. Routh pulled the same move here. If I wasn't such a manly man, I might have shed a tear at realizing how amazing the film that I just finished watching truly was.

10/10

Tornado
04-16-2012, 03:56 PM
As I said, it was six years ago. I still think elements of it are entertaining, and the throwbacks to Superman lore are still a highlight. I was 18 when it came out, it was the pinnacle of my interest in Superman. Six years later, my interest in film has grown and developed, my interest in Superman has plummeted, and now I see the film for what it is: a missed opportunity.

JBond
04-16-2012, 03:57 PM
Didn't Routh get the job by winning a Christopher Reeves look-a-like contest? The movie was doomed before filming.

Nick1988
04-16-2012, 03:59 PM
Good read so far, looking forward to more of the countdown.

Tornado
04-16-2012, 08:21 PM
Didn't Routh get the job by winning a Christopher Reeves look-a-like contest? The movie was doomed before filming.

I've heard that's the only reason his manager signed him on; he thought that if there was a new Superman movie made, Routh would be targeted because of how closely he resembled Reeve.

My plan was to do two entries per day, but I might have another two up yet tonight.

Tornado
04-16-2012, 09:24 PM
8. Hulk (2003)

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/3823/8worst.jpg

Instead of writing up a diatribe about what didn't work about Hulk, I'm going to make a list of six reasons why it just didn't pan out.

1. The comic book panels were distracting and at times annoying. Five minutes in they felt creative and unique, and I thought they would add a lot to my enjoyment of the film. It seemed like Ang Lee stumbled onto something fantastic. Then, twenty minutes later when they were still being used, I started feeling disconnected from the story and frustrated by the cinematography. After a while I decided Lee did not know how to adapt a comic book, and thought using panels would be the closest to what a comic does. To me, it felt like he genuinely looked past the fact that with the film medium they are unnecessary. When someone adapts a book you don't have CGI pages turning in the corners.

2. A superhero film is only as good as its villain. Lex Luthor, while mortal, can come up with ruthless schemes capable of torturing Superman emotionally (well, not really in the movies, but he does in the comics). Joker's insanity is enough to make him a worthy adversary to Batman. The Hulk had the military and General Ross, who were not threats at all, and then his father, which was one of the worst sideplots in the history of comic book adaptations.

3. The plot seemed really thrown together, like the writer had pieces he wanted to tell but didn't actually have a full story and just cobbled together whatever he could.

4. The military knows that, when provoked, Bruce will turn into an unstoppable monster capable of destroying anything and everyone in his path. So the military allows David, Bruce's horrible excuse of a father (keep in mind that Bruce recently realized that David killed Bruce's mother and messed with Bruce's genes when he was a kid) to interact with Bruce in a military compound? Come on. Just a terrible idea.

5. The acting is all over the wall. Eric Bana does a pretty job generally, but he's far too serious for the role here. Connelly is far too emotional, and Nolte is clearly off the rocker a bit too far. Why the producers thought Josh Lucas could convincingly portray a bully remains a mystery.

6. Not enough action. For a movie pushing 2 hours and 20 minutes, there is very little going on here.

Hulk is a huge bore, but it luckily paved the way for The Incredible Hulk which was significantly better than its predecessor.

7. Fantastic Four (2005)

http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/7494/7worst.jpg

I hated the first Fantastic Four. There were two major components to this abomination - the cast and the lack of a plot. Why anybody thought Tim Story (director of such hits as Taxi and Barbershop) would be able to handle a big budget film like Fantastic Four is definitely questionable, but the guy didn't write the script and it's not really at the core of the problem here. Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, and Julian McMahon? All horrendous. Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis did okay and they played well off each other, but the fab five were a huge mismatch. Aside from those two, the four as a group lacked chemistry together and Julian McMahon made for one of the worst cinematic comic book villains so far. Give me ten seconds and I can come up with a better cast? Ready? Jon Hamm, Anna Torv, James Gandolfini voicing a CGI Thing, Mark Strong as Doom, and any young blonde-haired kid with quick comedic timing for Johnny Storm. Done! It's already 10x better than either of the FF films.

The other issue is the plot, or lack there of. All four heroes spend the entire film trying to not be killed by Doom. That's the absolute best way to put it. There is a minor rescue on a bridge halfway through the movie, the rest of it is dealing with their powers and dealing with the fame that goes along with them. There is nothing else going on in this movie other than Doom trying to kill them. Just because it's an origin story doesn't mean it shouldn't have a plot too. I almost got the impression that the writers felt the characters were popular enough on their own, and just putting them in a room together for the first time on the big screen would be enough. Not even close.

For the record, the sequel is quite a bit better than this first outing, but definitely not good enough to land on this list's counterpart.

MasterChief117
04-16-2012, 10:21 PM
As I said, it was six years ago. I still think elements of it are entertaining, and the throwbacks to Superman lore are still a highlight. I was 18 when it came out, it was the pinnacle of my interest in Superman. Six years later, my interest in film has grown and developed, my interest in Superman has plummeted, and now I see the film for what it is: a missed opportunity.

I completely agree. Just like when I was a kid, I absolutely adored Batman and Robin. Now, like it is universally considered, I find it a big piece of ****.



Might I say, from what I have seen/read so far, this might be one of my favorite threads. Comic book movies mean so much to me, and to see your thoughts is really going to be interesting. I look forward to it, ESPECIALLY the Top 10 Best.

PsYkOoOoO
04-16-2012, 10:22 PM
To think that I enjoyed Anaconda when I was a kid.

MasterChief117
04-16-2012, 10:25 PM
To think that I enjoyed Anaconda when I was a kid.

Eh. I loved Like Mike as a kid. I thought it was so cool, and deep down, I desperately wanted me to be in that movie. I still enjoy Like Mike, mainly because it embodies my love of sports and basketball. Just so much of an eye roller.

Tornado
04-16-2012, 10:27 PM
I liked Like Mike too for the same reasons. I've only seen it the one time when I was 14... I suspect I'd have a different opinion of it now.

JBond
04-16-2012, 10:42 PM
What's wrong with Anaconda?

Neverending
04-16-2012, 10:57 PM
My plan was to do two entries per day, but I might have another two up yet tonight.

As we wait for the next batch, I'll get started on my list.


THE BOTTOM


#10 - JUDGE DREDD (1995)

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzgexhIIqy1qznvi3o1_500.jpg

In the `80s, Sly Stallone was a big action star. In the `90s, his career was over. Instead of blaming his poor choices he said that Michael Keaton as Batman was at fault. No longer did movie heroes have to hit the gym. Now they could just put on a rubber suit with muscles on them. So, by the mid-`90s, Stallone figures that if he can't beat them then he might as well join them. So, he does Judge Dredd. But the problem is that Stallone knows what makes a successful superhero movie but he doesn't -- understand it. And that's the key to a good movie. Judge Dredd has all the incredients but doesn't know what to do with them. Plus, look at that picture. Stallone is just ridiculous.

#9 - SWAMP THING (1982)

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2lppr5aLN1qc55zpo1_400.jpg

As camp fare, Swamp Thing is enjoyable, but as a legitimate superhero movie, it's pretty bad. For those of you unfamiliar with Swamp Thing, he's a former scientist who worked for the government. One day, the military sabotages one of his experiments and he gets trapped in a lab fire that turns him into a plant/human hybrid. That's essentially the plot of a cheesy B-sci-fi movie from the 1950's. But instead of becoming a monster terrorizing a town he's a superhero. In the comics, the legendary Alan Moore showed that you could do great things with a silly concept. But the movie, directed by the over-rated Wes Craven, is as run of the mill as you can get. He also just settles on the cheese factor instead of trying to go beyond that. Swamp Thing is the type of movie that's hilarious at 3AM, but at 3PM it's one of the worst film's you'll ever see.

#8 - STEEL (1997)

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2lqxwMgOA1qc55zpo1_400.jpg

Kids today might find it hard to believe that back in the 1990s, NBA Legend Shaquille O'Neal had a movie career. For those of us who lived through it, we're still trying to recover. Well, from that and his rap career. The horror! Anyway, Steel is a character from the Superman comics. He's a weapon's engineer who eventually gets disgusted with his creations and decides to built a suit to fight crime. So, in other words, he's like Iron Man... but less cool. And the movie isn't even cool at all. Let's begin by just stating the obvious. Shaq had no business being an actor. He should have followed in Michael Jordan's footsteps by making one movie with cartoon characters and never re-visiting Hollywood again. But Shaq starred in three movie. Three! And, if Shaq's acting isn't enough to sink the ship, the movie plays off like a poor man's Blankman and Meteor Man. And that, my friend, says a lot.

#7 - BLADE: TRINITY (2004)

http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m18vo2nzSF1r4bdn1o4_500.jpg

The first two Blade movies were respectable horror-action films. But for the third and final installment they went with the "cool" route. Blade gets two awesome sidekicks, a wise-cracking Ryan Reynolds and that major hottie Jessica Biel. Together they, wait for it, battle Dracula. Say whaaat? :rolleyes: If you ever need any evidence that David Goyer is a hack, this would be it. No wonder Wesley Snipes sleep-walked through his performance.

Tornado
04-16-2012, 11:10 PM
Looks good so far. Blade: Trinity may or may not be on my list, but I avoided the others because I didn't want to include stuff that you should have walked into with no expectations. For me, it would be hard to include a movie like Steel on my list because what the hell was I expecting out of it?

JBond
04-16-2012, 11:15 PM
That explains a lot.

Neverending
04-16-2012, 11:22 PM
For me, it would be hard to include a movie like Steel on my list because what the hell was I expecting out of it?

It doesn't change the fact that it's one of the worst superhero films ever made. Superman Returns may be bad, but it's not Steel bad.

Tornado
04-16-2012, 11:26 PM
If I walk into a movie expecting a B and walk out with a B, I'm satisfied. If I walk into a movie expecting a D or low C and walk out with a B, I'm elated. But, every once in a while, I'll walk into a movie expecting an A or a B and walk out with a D. My list is geared more toward those let-downs.

Neverending
04-16-2012, 11:33 PM
So, your list is of disappointing movies and legitimate bad ones.

Tornado
04-16-2012, 11:39 PM
I suppose it's a combination of the two, yeah. I just have a very subjective definition of what makes a bad movie bad. I would call Superman Returns worse than Steel because I expected a lot more out of SR than the latter.

Nick1988
04-16-2012, 11:56 PM
I actually enjoyed and still enjoy Judge Dredd lol.

Regarding Hulk, i am gonna watchthe original 2003 one, i haven't seen it since i first saw it in theaters and at the time being 14, i thought it was a steaming pile of crap, but its more for it being a boring movie , maybe now i might appreciate it a bit more, cuse i feel thats what really seems to be the main negative thing about it, was Ang Lee making to to serious, oh yeah and that ridiculous scene where he fights Hulk Dogs.

Nick1988
04-16-2012, 11:57 PM
Oh yeah and you where 100%spot on with the Fantastic Four review, couldn't have said it better.

Neverending
04-17-2012, 12:14 AM
As bad as Hulk is, I give Ang Lee credit for at least trying to add more substance to it. People may roll their eyes at the daddy issues and the abusive childhood backstory but it's ballsy and makes the film stand-out a bit. Ultimately, the two big flaws with the movie are that it's a tad boring and that Hulk looks like Shrek on steroids.

Fantastic Four is a guilty pleasure of mine. I just find the movie really funny. It reminds me of the Ninja Turtles movies where the main appeal is the character's interacting with one another.

JBond
04-17-2012, 12:16 AM
Wasn't every usage of invisibility with Alba's character revolved around her being naked?

Neverending
04-17-2012, 12:22 AM
Wasn't every usage of invisibility with Alba's character revolved around her being naked?

lol. Yeah.

Deexan
04-17-2012, 07:33 AM
Blade 3 should get a pass for utilising the phrase "c**k-juggling thunderc**t".

MasterChief117
04-17-2012, 08:29 AM
I have always been entertained by Blade Trinity, as bad as a film as it is. Nothing winning about it. The thing about Goyer, much like Zach Snyder, without a leash, they make crap.

Tornado
04-17-2012, 09:09 AM
6. Blade: Trinity (2004)

http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/3683/6worst.jpg

In the first two films of the series, Blade was a seamless combination of the 70's blaxploitation movie cool of John Shaft and the violent edge of Japanese anime's Vampire Hunter D. Now, with the Nightstalkers in tow, Blade comes off like a grumpy old vampire slayer telling the kids to keep the racket down and get off his lawn. In one scene, he chastises the Nightstalkers, saying "What do think this is? A game? Look at how you're dressed!" Indeed, Hannibal and Abigail run around half naked for most of the film. Meanwhile, Blade, bundled up for the winter in a leather trench coat, black vest and long-sleeved, red crew neck, looks like his mother dressed him.

Wesley Snipes seemed to have lost interest in the franchise by this entry, and it's not hard to see why. It begins well enough, with an exciting car chase and a new twist to the format – the vampires are using the cops and the media to make Blade a target of humankind as well as the bloodsucker contingent – but interest soon wanes, is all but gone after a half hour, and the film remains aggressively boring until the end credits roll.

A big slice of the problem is David S. Goyer, who wrote the first two films and here makes his directorial debut in the series. He turns in a movie so full of slo-mo walking, whippy camera moves, fast-forward sunsets and sunrises, and racing clouds, that his borrowed, dated technique screams direct-to-DVD. Surprisingly, the dialogue has an undeniable whiff of cheese, and for all the frenetic action on display the pace is still remarkably dull; the film is one long sag. Oh, I was bored. The music, a mixture of grinding rock and headache-inducing, erm, techno (I guess) is a not-so-subtle plug for the soundtrack album, most blatant during our glances at Jessica Biel's iPod tracklisting.

Ultimately, the mark of a good comic book movie is that it's entertaining enough to distract you from the obvious questions that would render most comic book movies completely implausible. Blade: Trinity fails miserably in that regard.

5. Elektra (2005)

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/7641/5worst.jpg

While it's true that Daredevil wasn't Citizen Kane, even in its worst moments it wasn't as bad as Elektra is. I remember when this came out, everybody was saying that the film was bad but at least it still had Jennifer Garner. Unfortunately those people were wrong; not only was Garner the worst aspect of Daredevil, she's definitely the worst element of this movie too. Tall and lean she may be, but there's still an essence of all American girl next door about her (despite her somewhat masculine face, complete with hollow cheeks and square jawline), even though the comic book Elektra was a dark, sensual, exotic, foreign beauty. Garner is no more exotic than I am, and I'm the whitest man on the planet.

Making things worse is that Jennifer Garner has no intensity or authority whatsoever. She's not imposing, she's not commanding, she's just a whole lot of nothing. She doesn't show any hint of a personality; it seems like she took her acting lessons from the Star Wars prequels. Her relationship with the chosen girl, Abby, is just laughable, as is her "romance" with the girl's father. After that, the film's plot is just so poorly written and conceived it's amazing it was ever green lit, with unimpressive villains and boring characters all around. Jason Isaacs has a cameo in the opening as some random guy Elektra kills, and he delivers his lines so poorly that you'd swear he was being dubbed by someone else.

The villains topple like ten-pins. At one point, the egotistical Kirigi wedges his razor-sharp samurai sword against Elektra's bare neck. He has the perfect chance to kill her. Evidently, Zak Penn wrote himself into a corner with this scene, because he lets Elektra off the hook far too easily. Instead of killing her without a second thought, the villain ignores her and goes after Abby. Granted, you cannot let your heroine die in an action thriller, at least not twice. But when the heroine gets herself into a predicament like Elektra finds herself, she should have to display some ingenuity to escape. Consequently, Elektra survives, because Kirigi behaves like an idiot. Idiotic villains do little to enhance the heroine's stature.

If you haven't seen Elektra, stay away. Films 10-6 have some interesting elements to them, Elektra doesn't.

morpheus1987
04-17-2012, 09:30 AM
I have never seen Elektra (mostly because I thought Daredevil sucked in the first place). I am very thankful for that.

Tornado
04-17-2012, 09:37 AM
I kinda liked Daredevil, but yeah it definitely wasn't good enough to spawn a sequel (which it didn't) or spin-off (which it did... unfortunately).

I do think the Daredevil character deserves a reboot. There is a lot of untapped potential there.

Nick1988
04-17-2012, 10:27 AM
The main problem i had with Blade Trinity was the inclusion of Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel,Ryan Reynolds was in full on Van Wilder mode in this movie and it so incredibly annoying, and well Biel was dull and flat as usual. Also there was no real good fight scenes.. I mean Blade and Dracula have one big final fight, but besides that all i remember was Blade and Dracula chasing each other like they were playing tag or some ****. Blade 1 and 2 while just being a better movie, also had great fight scenes ,Trinity had neither



And yeah Elektra was GARBAGE, and your stance on Garner i feel applies to every role she is in, shes just another Hollywood actress with a pretty face, but no talent.

MasterChief117
04-17-2012, 11:55 AM
I kinda liked Daredevil, but yeah it definitely wasn't good enough to spawn a sequel (which it didn't) or spin-off (which it did... unfortunately).

I do think the Daredevil character deserves a reboot. There is a lot of untapped potential there.


I am very fond of the Daredevil movie. One of my greatest guilty pleasures. My view count for that is up near Batman Begins(not even close to The Dark Knight) but still, that is saying something. Hopefully the reboot that Slade is working on comes out better, hopefully.


Also, your line in your Blade Trinity write up made me crack up laughing, "Looks like his mother dressed him." Hahahhahahaha.

Neverending
04-17-2012, 12:04 PM
#6 - CATWOMAN (2004)

http://images3.static-bluray.com/reviews/1844_6.jpg

This should be common sense, but if you're making a Catwoman movie, you might want to include the character. Or at least feature the character in some shape or form. Don't just dress a nobody in the costume and say this is the new and improved Catwoman. If it's not "the" Catwoman then why should we care? And why didn't you TRY to make us care? You can't just make radical changes and then make a half-assed, run of the mill movie. It's times like these where I feel I should be running a Hollywood studio. Clearly, I can do a better job.

#5 - JONAH HEX (2010)

http://images3.static-bluray.com/reviews/3397_1.jpg

Warner Bros. may have Batman, which is great, but they obviously suck at adapting comic books. Jonah Hex should have been an old-school western with some supernatural elements. Instead, we get Wild Wild West, Part 2. This movie is more sad than bad. I mean, how can you make the same mistake TWICE? Even FOX isn't this bad.

Tornado
04-17-2012, 12:13 PM
I'm surprised to see Catwoman so high up on your list. It's... lower on mine.

I never saw Jonax Hex though. I have a habit of avoiding non-superhero comic book adaptations as they tend to be terrible.

Neverending
04-17-2012, 12:26 PM
I consider Jonah Hex a superhero. Batman is just a guy in a suit. So, with the bar that low, any hero who follows the conventional superhero motifs gets to count in my book.

DarthVader 2004
04-17-2012, 12:34 PM
10 Wolverine.
9 Fantastic 4 Rise Of The Silver Surfer.
8 Superman Returns.
7 Hulk.
6 Green Lantern.
5 Batman and Robin.

Tornado
04-17-2012, 12:59 PM
4. Supergirl (1984)

http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/2554/4worst.png

The main problem with the film is that it's not very easy to understand exactly what's going on. It's one thing to make the audience think and imagine, but it's quite another to make the audience confused; there are some serious blanks that should have been filled in if the movie were to truly connect. The version I first saw was the original American theatrical print, although even the extended cuts of the film don't help explain much. As the movie opens, we see what appears to be a large crystal shopping mall surrounded by bleak nothingness. We learn this is "Argo City", a fragment of the planet Krypton. Somehow it has survived the massive explosion that obliterated the original planet, and furthermore we learn that it exists in "inner space" instead of outer space. This is more than a little vague, especially when Kara makes her voyage to Earth in a spaceship, and emerges in a lake.

She has come in search of the Omegahedron, a whirling, glowing tennis ball that happens to be one of Argo City's main power sources. Kara has helped lose it, so she must reclaim it before everyone in her city presumably dies. Even with this kind of crucial time constraint, she still has time to do a flying ballet when she arrives on Earth (already in costume). She also feels the need to adopt a secret identity as a student at a local girls school and waste time going to classes.

Meanwhile, the Omegahedron has fallen into the wrong hands: Faye Dunaway's. She is an amateur witch named Selena who immediately senses the Omegahedron's power when it literally lands in her soup at a picnic. No, really. Selena intends to use the Omegahedron to achieve all sorts of lofty goals, like making a landscaper fall in love with her. She also wants to take over the world.

Perhaps the biggest liability with Supergirl is the special effects. Putting it bluntly, they are awful. The matte visuals look fuzzy blown up on the screen, and an unwise sequence shows Supergirl changing clothes several times in a series of jumpy cuts as she walks behind trees. Argo City itself is a goofy concept. It's wrapped in what appears to be a clear plastic tarp that, when punctured, exposes Supergirl to the vacuum of...what? Inner space? Or the vacuum of this movie? It's never really clear. One tedious sequence takes place in the Phantom Zone, which has morphed from the flying plane of glass in the first films to a desolate terrain where it's possible to set up a roughly-hewn home, and they even give you controlled substances. Where IS Argo City, anyway? Why do Supergirl and the Omegahedron reach Earth by surfacing in a lake? Dunaway's performance, as well as a co-starring Brenda Vaccaro, helps the camp factor a great deal, but what is Peter O'Toole doing in this movie? It seems to me the producers wanted to lend some big-star weight to the cast a la Marlon Brando, but O'Toole's character winds up being mostly silly. Also note how Mia Farrow's credit appears early in the cast list, yet she has about four lines. Aside from Dunaway, whose scenery-chewing performance seems like a continuation of her "Mommie Dearest" routine, nobody really shines. Helen Slater actually does a great job as Supergirl, but the story is so confusing and dull that it doesn't really matter.

A very big help would have been a cameo appearance from Christopher Reeve as Superman, who is nowhere to be seen. Don't drop your guard, or you might miss the explanation for his absence, which zooms by when Selena's car radio suddenly comes on. Just about the only novel thing about this film is having a female superheroine as its central character, and I suspect it was this identification with young girls that gave Supergirl most of its audience. Wonder Woman's TV show had already come and gone, and a big-screen female contender was the next logical step. In 1984, it was an idea whose time had come. Unfortunately, it came in the form of this movie.

3. Batman and Robin (1997)

http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/7350/3worst.jpg

What is there to say that hasn't been said already 1000 times over?

How can a former hairstylist be given the job of directing a Batman flick? Oh, we want to move into a more kid-friendly, merchandise money grabbing direction with the Bat flicks. We want it to be accessible to all. Accessible to all?! Please, what did Warner Bros. take us for? How did upper management at Warner not see that handing over responsibility to a clueless director with no vision, no passion and no clue is insane? But then to let him bring back the style of the 60's TV show into a $100 million summer event film is beyond even the reaches of the Almighty himself. Just... terrible.

Now to be fair, the cast aren't the main culprits here, but they are definitely not absolved of guilt. The monstrosity of the script gave none of them any time to stretch their acting muscles for even a brief moment. I thought George Clooney was a serviceable choice for Bruce Wayne, but he's too boyish to be Batman. Chris O'Donnell and Alicia Silverstone are... not good. I literally have no better way of describing their performances here. As for the villains, Schwarzenegger and Thurman are good sports, hamming up each off their roles to the fullest, though I'd play along if I was given $30 million for just 6 weeks work. Schwarzenegger is a lot of fun here and has given the internet enough comedic material to last up until the present day, but that's clearly not the point. Thurman meanwhile, is actually not bad as Poison Ivy and manages to retain her dignity and quietly exit the film relatively unscathed.

But the sole blame of the disastrous result of a film falls squarely with Schumacher. His insistence all things camp, excessive and over-the-top have, in the space of two films, turned Batman from dark, brooding keeper of justice into an at times laughable, unconvincing and a childish superhero. Schumacher's appreciation of Batman is non-existent. It's a clunky, horrifically saturated, nauseating film. Yes, the set-pieces and design are top-notch, but are still nowhere near the kind of world Batman should be inhabiting. Who honestly wants to see a neon-filled ice-cream factory or a city filled with row upon row of red, blue, green and yellow? And putting nipples on the suits was I think the kick in the teeth the Bat fans needed to demand changes. The only saving grace is that Batman and Robin was so awful and so poorly commercially and critically received, that it paved the way for Nolan to take the reigns a few years later.

Tornado
04-17-2012, 01:38 PM
If anybody else besides Neverending was planning on making a list, I might suggest starting it today if they want to coincide with our lists. I don't know about Neverending, but I plan to finish this first list tonight.

MasterChief117
04-17-2012, 02:02 PM
I might do a Top 10 best, but Top 10 worst. I wouldn't know where to start. So I'll pass on this one.

morpheus1987
04-17-2012, 02:28 PM
I might do a Top 10 best, but Top 10 worst. I wouldn't know where to start. So I'll pass on this one.

Yeah, Ill probably follow along with my own top 10. But I have purposely stayed away from most of these terrible films, so I feel like my bottom ten list would be pretty pointless.

JBond
04-17-2012, 02:54 PM
I liked Daredevil.

Tornado
04-17-2012, 03:22 PM
2. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/2179/2worst.jpg

Is anybody surprised Alan Moore wanted nothing to do with cinema after the release of LXG?

As a run-of-the-mill action film it is, frankly, below average. The characters are cardboard, the dialogue is clichéd and hackneyed, the plot is utter nonsense and the performances range from being adequate to poor. Of course, given the type of film it is, all of this is to be expected. However, this film suffers from the flaws that seem to plague many glossy popcorn movies; it's slow moving, overlong and really does drag in places. For example, the lackluster attempt to flesh out the relationship between Connnery's Quartermain and Tom Sawyer is about as emotive as paint drying and only serves to further slow the pace of the film; and when the 'payoff' for this pseudo father-son bonding is finally delivered I, and I suspect much of the audience, couldn't have cared less. So, it's formulaic, predictable and badly acted.

To be fair, the sets do make some attempt to recreate the steam-punk super-technologies of the comics; the Nautilus, for example, isn't too bad an interpretation. But set and costume design deviations are not what stops this adaptation dead. The real problem lies with the film-maker's utter disregard for the tone of the books, and the complete deconstruction of what was a cast of interesting and likable characters; the worn-out opium addict Quartermain; the cold and aloof Mina Harker; the brooding, morally complex Captain Nemo; and the completely amoral, self-serving Hawley Griffin (aka The Invisible Man). The only character who even remotely resembles their comic book incarnation (or indeed the literary source material- all of the original comic book characters are respectful interpretations taken from the original novels) is Jason Flemings portrayal of Jeykll and Hyde- although Hyde is still far removed from the sadistic madman of Alan Moore's books. This may seem like a minor issue to someone who hasn't read the books (i.e., the general populace), but it is because of this deconstruction of character that the film fails.

This is compounded by the inclusion of Dorian Gray and Tom Sawyer, neither of whom appear in the comics; notably, Tom Sawyer's inclusion seems to simply provide an American counterpart to the other English characters. And while Stuart Townsend's portrayal of Dorian Gray provides probably the only likable performance throughout, neither of the two new characters really add anything valid or redeeming to a predictable, nonsensical plot that bears no relation to the spirit or content of the graphic novels whatsoever.

This film feels more like victimization than homage. It succeeds only as a sad reminder of the crude, brainless treatment comic books regularly receive at the hands of mainstream cinema. The League of Extraordinary Gentleman is a wonderful piece of fiction, but in order to find that out you'll have to read it, instead of just gazing at the pretty pictures. It's obvious no one involved in this intelligence-sapping travesty of a film bothered.

Also, let's not forget - this film essentially killed Sean Connery's career. He hasn't made a feature film since.

1. Catwoman (2004)

http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/8293/1worst.jpg

Cold sweating, tossing and turning, groaning from discomfort... you're not sleeping, you're watching Catwoman. It's a nightmare.

I don't know what Pitof (seriously, who the hell calls himself Pitof?) was thinking... at all. Catwoman is Selina Kyle, not Patience Phillips. Catwoman is supposed to wear a sexy tight vinyl jumpsuit, not torn baggy leather pants, a leather bra, and open toed heels. How is she supposed to run and jump around in that, much less sneak up on anybody? I know being a part of the superhero fandom has become a popular thing for actors and actresses... but Halle Berry, what is wrong with you? Why would you agree to subject yourself to such a horrible film? You know the old saying, "Do not change horses mid-race", well I think that heavily applies to this film. I think the biggest hurdle that most viewers had to overcome in this film was that Catwoman was not Michelle Pfeiffer. You could see the competition going on in the film, and it hurt the overall story and characters.

Outside of the complete miscast of Halle Berry, there were a couple other points that I just felt cheated after watching the film. The scene where the cat breaths on Halle was too eerily like Ralph Wiggum's "My cat's breath smells like cat food," moment. I kept waiting to hear that whenever possible. Sadly, we had to live with what was in this film, and not what wasn't. What was in this film was shoddy acting, a very flimsy script, and scenario after scenario that just didn't seem to work. I realize that Pitof was trying to show a very feminine film that could be seen as a feminist picture, but to me it just didn't work. All of the sudden this cat brings out what Patience couldn't in the past? Suddenly, with the quick breath of a cat, she could play basketball better than ever, crack a whip, and drive a motorcycle. There was no development here, just plain assumption. I needed more development of this character instead of just this light-speed characterization that lead nowhere.

Another element that didn't brood well with me were the villains. Who were they? What was their purpose behind their situations? Without giving us any of this information, we can only assume that they really weren't evil and that perhaps Catwoman was caught up in this big misunderstanding? I know that is far fetched, but honestly Sharon Stone and Lambert Wilson were not that sinister. Sure, every company that you work for has that boss that is not going to treat you with the greatest of respect, but does that make him the super-villain? Then you have Sharon Stone with this pathetic super power that works and doesn't work half the time. I just didn't care at this point what Catwoman was to do to stop the corporation. Anything could have been better than what Pitof presented here.

The costume, the style, the themes, and the acting all put a hinder on this film that was unrepairable from the beginning. This is a perfect example of a film that should have been scrapped from the beginning instead of rushed to theaters.

And now, I'm going to take a shower to wash all this stink off of me.

Neverending
04-17-2012, 03:32 PM
#4 - SUPERMAN III (1983)

http://images2.static-bluray.com/reviews/4348_16.jpg

Superman III has one good section where the Man of Steel turns into an evil prankster who has sex with a woman on the Statue of Liberty, gets drunk at a bar and then fights some spiritual Clark Kent at a junkyard. The rest of the movie, on the other hand, is dumb and boring. Dumb, I don't mind too much because all the Superman films have been kind of stupid. I mean, they literally ended the first one with Superman turning the Earth around. So, the biggest crime here is how big of a snooze-fest it is. The problem is that Superman doesn't face an actual villain for almost the entire movie. And when he does, it's an old lady who turns into a computer. So, the majority of the film is Clark Kent hanging out with Annette O'Toole and her giant boobs at his high school reunion in Smallville. If they had given those scenes a little more emotion and a better storyline it could have worked, but instead, it's just forgettable.

#3 - THE SPIRIT (2008)

http://images2.static-bluray.com/reviews/1286_5.jpg

Frank Miller is a comic book legend, but he has never translated that into a Hollywood career. This is the man who was the screenwriter for the two Robocop sequels. For almost two decades, people blamed the failure of those movies on everyone except him. But with 2008's The Spirit he showed that he's actually the one at fault. And in fact, those films could have actually been a lot worse. The reality of the situation is that Frank Miller doesn't know how to make movies. The Spirit is a lot of great images with a story difficult to get involved in and characters difficult to believe in. On the page it might have worked because there's a major difference between reading a story and watching it unfold before your eyes. And, Miller, quite frankly, doesn't understand that. So, the resulting film is largely style over substance. Except, there is substance but Miller just doesn't know how to present it.

JBond
04-17-2012, 04:32 PM
Still haven't seen the last two Superman movies.

PG Cooper
04-17-2012, 04:36 PM
I feel like I'll be defending Ang Lee's Hulk til the day I die.

Neverending
04-17-2012, 04:36 PM
#2 - TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES III (1993)

http://images.static-bluray.com/reviews/1685_3.jpg

Everyone is upset that Michael Bay has gotten his dirty hands on the TMNT franchise, but I think we can all sleep well knowing it won't be anywhere as bad as this film. For a TMNT movie to be as bad or worse than this, it would have to be a 90-minute 3D feature where turtle poop is thrown at the audience for the whole duration. No, wait, that might actually be better. We won't have to sit through a film where our beloved heroes look like they got AIDS. We won't have to watch a poor man's Bill & Ted with Casey Jones running around New York looking for time travelers from ancient Japan. We won't have to put up with a villain that was never in the comics and cartoons. But most importantly, we wouldn't have to relieve the first rape of our childhoods.

#1 - BATMAN & ROBIN (1997)

http://images.static-bluray.com/reviews/1118_15.jpg

The problem with this movie isn't the camp, nipples on the bat-suit, or cheesy one-lines by Schwarzenegger. It's the stupidity and repetition. I mean, Batman has a credit card for crying out loud. And the movie is almost a carbon copy of Batman Forever. They just changed the names and wrote new action scenes. Laziness is what killed this movie before cameras even started rolling. There was no ambition whatsoever by Joel Schumacher. This was just a paycheck for him. Seriously. Watch Batman Forever. Whether you like it or not, you can't help but notice that there is some passion and enthusiasm in it. Batman & Robin, on the other hand, is cold and empty... kinda like Mr. Freeze... from the comics.

Tornado
04-17-2012, 04:51 PM
TMNT3 is pretty terrible.

Starwars411
04-17-2012, 05:15 PM
I remember seeing TMNT III in theaters and falling asleep. Guess I was very lucky.

Tornado
04-17-2012, 05:24 PM
Still haven't seen the last two Superman movies.

You don't need to. I didn't include either of them because of the whole 'low expectations' thing I talked about earlier, but neither of them are good.

Nick1988
04-17-2012, 05:41 PM
Shocked to not see Ghost Rider, that movie was a big ol bag of dog ****

Neverending
04-17-2012, 06:07 PM
Shocked to not see Ghost Rider, that movie was a big ol bag of dog ****

It's not Top 10 bad.

DarthVader 2004
04-17-2012, 06:41 PM
4 Jonah Hex.

http://i1093.photobucket.com/albums/i437/leonsmitty/MoviePhotos/hex2.jpg
I am glad i missed this in theaters and it had a cool trailer but something said stay away and I did. I have never watched this movie.

3 Elektra.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a261/rheinlandkoenig/elektra.jpg
This had such good promise but the whole movie was done bad. I like Bob Sapp because he looks very formidable in any movie he is in. This just was nothing good about this movie for me.

2 Catwomen.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a261/rheinlandkoenig/catwoman.jpg
Only good thing was that Berry looked good in the suit. The rest of the movie was aweful in my view and a waste of money.

1 Howard The Duck.

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h162/Dark_Enigma_2006/howard_the_duck.jpg
I am not sure i'll be liked or hated for this choice but have always hated this movie. Maybe its because was bit by a duck as a child and just don't like them.
I always ruted for Chip and Dale against Donald and The Martian against Daffy.

FranklinTard
04-17-2012, 06:53 PM
since no one else will... i'll have to stand up for wesley.

blade trinity was a must have film for snipes, as his financial troubles were just starting to rear their heads and he was signing contracts left and right, and goyer brought in two more leads, reducing snipes' screen time to a minimum of slow walks and growls.

steel reminded me though... the amount of basketball players to get roles in movies in the 90s was pretty astounding. i mean dennis rodman and jcvd fighting mickey rourke? ridiculously awesome.

morpheus1987
04-17-2012, 07:33 PM
I am glad i missed this in theaters and it had a cool trailer but something said stay away and I did. I have never watched this movie.


How can you put a movie as one of your least favorite films if you have not even seen it? Does anyone else see an issue with this?

Neverending
04-17-2012, 07:34 PM
Its best to ignore RedVader.

Nick1988
04-17-2012, 08:00 PM
lol why did he start at 4? whose list was he adding to?

Nick1988
04-17-2012, 08:01 PM
It's not Top 10 bad.

It's pretty bad, It def makes my top 10.

Tornado
04-17-2012, 08:23 PM
lol why did he start at 4? whose list was he adding to?

He posted 10-5 on the previous page to coincide with our lists.

Ghost Rider was definitely pretty bad, don't get me wrong. I just feel like I had more justification for the other ten. For me, it keeps going back to the question of, "Well what was I expecting?" To make my list, the film had to be either just atrociously bad (which GR really wasn't in my opinion) or just a colossal disappointment (which GR wasn't... not to me anyway).

DarthVader 2004
04-17-2012, 09:36 PM
How can you put a movie as one of your least favorite films if you have not even seen it? Does anyone else see an issue with this?

Does 12 minutes count because I did watch less then half an hour of it.

Tornado
04-17-2012, 09:38 PM
You shouldn't have something on your list unless you've seen the entirety of it, but I don't really care. It's your list.

FranklinTard
04-17-2012, 10:08 PM
neverending was just so persuasive, it totally changed his mind.

Nick1988
04-17-2012, 10:23 PM
If you don't mind i thought i'd do a list of my own, Mines a bit different because i didn't see some of the ones that are on most peoples lists(Jonah Hex,Green Lantern,Catwoman)

10. Spider-man 3.
http://www.zoom-comics.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/spider-man-3-dark-thoughts-500x375.jpg
Fitting how Spider-man has his head down, because that's the exact same position people had there heads when they walked out after seeing this much hyped movie in theaters. Before The Dark Knight arrived a year later, this was arguably the most highly anticipated movie in quite some time and boy it falter BIG time. Cheesy awkward scenes galore, way to many characters, more of the same melodramatic horse **** that we have been beaten over the head with for the past 2 movies. I mean who doesn't remember when Peter Parker is walking down the street and looking like a complete tool, starts dancing and checking women out, i mean i know this movie was plagued with far to many characters, but there still was a ton of corny **** in this movie that had to do more with scrip and direction then fault of to many characters.I will never get over how bad they ruined such a great character like Venom, i hope just like Two Face got his in The Dark Knight, that we see worthy interpretation of Venom in the near future.

9. Batman Forever
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e6gtl_3pUCg/T0m7gdY1lqI/AAAAAAAAMK0/-3Bc9JeUh3g/s1600/batman+forever+twoface+the+riddler+tommy+lee+jones +jim+carrey.jpg

I know it was Batman and Robin that almost killed the franchise and is considered the worst ever( and trust me it makes the list) but you could argue that this movie did more damage, if it wasn't for the success ofthis movie, we would have never had to witness that hunk of turd known as Batman and Robin. That being besides the point, this movie was a huge let down for me when i saw this as a kid, i was really pumped for this and was let down. Val Kilmers Batman was solid, not as good as Keaton, but solid, his Bruce Wayne wasn't anything special but it wasn't bad. I liked O'donnell as Robin, i know he was to old but i felt he played the whole troubled rebellious teenager well and him and Kilmer worked well of each other, Kidman was smoking hot, and that's all i really have to say about that, but the main issue with this movie was the over the top lame ass villains. Jim Carrey was a horrible Riddler, it was a Frank Gorshin copy and it came across stupid, and only to be out done by Tommy Lee Jones Two Face, who might have gotten Joker and Two Face confused, or he was just drunk the whole time, Two Face flipping the coin till he gets the right outcome? the ****? no way, make small changes, but not something that ruins the character. Both these guys were like the Will and Grace of movie villains, over the top,annoying and not a threat what so ever. Not to mention the incredibly stupid plot about the mind control cable box.

8-Iron Man 2
http://www.geekosystem.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/iron-man-2.jpg

Considering how much of a surprise Iron Man 1 was, it was a shame this one had to stink as bad as it did. Everything that was great about the first one, was incredibly annoying and over done. RDJ's Tony Stark in IM1 was a loveable douche bag, who we saw transform over the movie into a more sympathetic guy, but in IM2 he is a complete douche bag but not even likeable like he was in the first. His banters with Pepper Potts are so annoying that i wanted to throw something at the theater screen, every 10 seconds s someone was arguing, Don Cheadle wasn't a very good Rhodes, not as good as Howard, and for some reason Favreau decided to give his character more screen time, which was a dumb choice because it made for even more annoying and awkward scenes. The action scenes weren't even redeeming, the first one on the race car was retarded, some how Ivan spots out Tony amongst 20 cars going at 200 mph, apparently dudes a ****ing mind reader as well, go figure. The final scene was lame as well, the fight literally lasted 10 seconds, this Ivan guy spends all this time in the movie making a suit and it lasts all of 30 second. TheThe only thing i liked about this movie was Sam Rockwells Justin Hammer, not like most comic book villains which i found refreshing, Rockwell was great, and his scenes with Mickey Rourkes Ivan were great, to bad there wasn't more of it, instead we had to hear start and potts argue the whole damn time.


I'll continue it tomorrow.

Neverending
04-17-2012, 11:26 PM
I disagree with everything on your list. Spider-Man 3 has a lot of flaws, but it's not a bad movie at all. It's mediocre at best. Plus, it's very well-known that the studio tampered with the film. They removed sub-plots, deleted important scenes, and changed the ending. Now that we got a semi-director's cut of Richard Donner's Superman II, Sam Raimi's Director's Cut of Spider-Man 3 has replaced it as the film fans are gonna wait 25 years for.

Batman Forever gets a lot of s--t because people associate it with Batman & Robin. But it's WAY better, almost night & day, and a pretty good adaptation of the comics from the 1940's.

Iron Man 2 is flawed but not bad at all. It's pretty good. Yeah, all the Avengers stuff is over-done and the ending is underwhelming, but it's still a highly entertaining movie with a great cast and some good action scenes.

MasterChief117
04-17-2012, 11:29 PM
Most of his picks, much like Tornado come from a more disappointment perspective, which in these cases, I would agree on. The same could be said for Superman Returns. In actuality, it isn't THAT bad of a movie. However, it had SO much going for it and yet failed. It is also one of the most iconic figures of all time, and to just flop as it did. Shame.

Nick1988
04-18-2012, 12:03 AM
I disagree with everything on your list. Spider-Man 3 has a lot of flaws, but it's not a bad movie at all. It's mediocre at best. Plus, it's very well-known that the studio tampered with the film. They removed sub-plots, deleted important scenes, and changed the ending. Now that we got a semi-director's cut of Richard Donner's Superman II, Sam Raimi's Director's Cut of Spider-Man 3 has replaced it as the film fans are gonna wait 25 years for.

Batman Forever gets a lot of s--t because people associate it with Batman & Robin. But it's WAY better, almost night & day, and a pretty good adaptation of the comics from the 1940's.

Iron Man 2 is flawed but not bad at all. It's pretty good. Yeah, all the Avengers stuff is over-done and the ending is underwhelming, but it's still a highly entertaining movie with a great cast and some good action scenes.


But we don't have a directors cut so for now i am basing it off what i saw, and what i saw was a BAD movie, was it Batman and Robin bad? No, but it was still a bad movie.

Batman Forever had a ton of camp in it, not as much as B&R , but still a good amount. I will say this though, i was thinking about this and i would change Forever to be 10 and Spider-man 3 9 on my list.

And i am sorry but i found Iron Man 2 be a very bad movie, and please fill me in on these " great action scenes", I don't remember that at all from the movie. In general to me the movie really missed the mark on all aspects, and hopefully for the 3rd one they get it back on track.

Neverending
04-18-2012, 12:28 AM
Most of his picks, much like Tornado come from a more disappointment perspective, which in these cases, I would agree on.

I understand Tornado's list, but Nick's list is typical fanboy exaggeration. Nothing on his list, so far, is as bad as anything Tornado or I posted.

JBond
04-18-2012, 12:45 AM
Spider-Man 3 kinda sucks.

DarthVader 2004
04-18-2012, 12:47 AM
I was sure I posted 10-5 but put no pics on my list. Was wondering would there be a chance to do the TOP 10 Comic Book Films the opposite of the Bottum.

Here is my full list

1 Howard The Duck
2 Catwomen.
3 Elektra.
4 Jonah Hex.
5 Batman and Robin.
6 Green Lantern.
7 Hulk.
8 Superman Returns
9 Fantastic Four 2.
10 Wolverine.

DarthVader 2004
04-18-2012, 12:49 AM
Spider-Man 3 kinda sucks.

Yes But I think Iron Man 2 is not as bad to be on the bottum list. I prefer Iron Man 2 to any Transformers or any Other newer Marvel Comic film.

saveus1011
04-18-2012, 12:59 AM
For what it's worth (and in no order):

Green Lantern
Superman IV: The Quest For Peace
X-Men: The Last Stand
The Fantastic Four (Any of them)
Catwoman
Batman Forever
Captain America (1990)
The Spirit
Howard The Duck
The Punisher (1989)

Ser Ty Of Ross
04-18-2012, 02:22 AM
In no particular Order (and more on the general basis of Comic Book movies)

Ghost Rider - Nick Cage as Johnny Blaze killed this one for me.... needed a younger more vibrant hero. Also thought Blackheart was more Deacon Frost than son of the Devil.

X-Men the Last Stand - Just didn't like the direction it took or the way it marginalized one of the biggest X-Men stories in dark Pheonix. I realise lots of the cast probobly didn't resign but recasts should have been considered for a few roles. Notably Cyclops if no one else. Would have been interested to see Singers version.

Batman and Robin - I actually liked Batman Forever but this one just went too far even for me. Nothign else to say that hasn't already been said.

Spider Man 3 - Too many villains and not enough time developing the actual story imo. Plus emo Peter was... just not good. Not a big Venom fan to begin with but even without that I think there were better choices to be made here.

Captain America (1990)/Punisher (1989) - Yes the Dolph Lundgren Punisher, both of these suffered from just plain bad writing, bad acting and low production values. MST3K worthy really. But of course that was before Marvel really developed their own process with movies as well.

Watchmen - Don't get me wrong Watchmen is one of the best graphic novels of all time. Didn't like the adaptation though. Didn't really feel it captured the Spirit of the books. Might have given it a bare pass until Rorsharch went off character and killed directly instead of letting the fire/dogs do it and giving the guy a half chance.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine - Actually would have been ok with this one until the finale.... shameful what they did to Deadpool and the last 20 minutes became quickly unwatchable.

Men in Black II - Another sub-par sequel, didn't even think there were that many funny moments in it. Hopefully the hiatus has given them a chance to put out somethign decent this summer for 3.

Alien vs Predator - So much potential here wasted. The story that was chosen didn't really allow for the all out brawl that I (and I'm sure many others) wanted to see. However the funniest unintentional moment may be found here.... they drop the glow rod down the hole to discover the lower chamber, then make their way to it, as they enter the chamber they stare intently at their instruments and reluctantly guess that they are below their previous location...... of course if they bothered to look THE GLOW ROD IS RIGHT THERE of course their below their previous location. 10 points for continuity by keeping the rod, -10 for not using the obvious.

Deexan
04-18-2012, 04:38 AM
I would like to stick up for Shaq and say that the movie 'Blue Chips' is awesome, or at least it was when I was growing up. Though I may have thought that solely because Penny Hardaway was in it.

Tolkien
04-18-2012, 05:31 AM
I liked Daredevil.
The theatrical cut sucked, but the Director's Cut was half decent...

Tornado
04-18-2012, 06:50 AM
I actually really like Iron Man 2. Yeah it's not as good as the first, there's too much Rhodes/War Machine, and Vanko is a lousy villain, but I still think it's a lot of fun.

Tornado
04-18-2012, 06:58 AM
Was wondering would there be a chance to do the TOP 10 Comic Book Films the opposite of the Bottum.

Yes, I am currently working on my top 10 list. I'll probably start it posting it tomorrow... or maybe later today with a brief intro.

Tornado
04-18-2012, 08:16 AM
TOP 10

I faced a different challenge for this list. The issue I had with the bottom 10 list was cutting the field down to 10 (as I started with about 25-ish), the issue I had with this list was creating the rank. I did have some tougher cuts like Tim Burton's Batman and Hellboy (The Incredibles was automatically cut because it wasn’t based on a comic book), but I had my ten more or less from the get-go. I will admit that I do feel it’s incomplete though, and I will probably update it after seeing The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, and The Dark Knight Rises.

Runner-up: Thor (2011)

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/1020/10best.jpg

In the climactic battle of brother against brother, Loki confesses to Thor, "I never wanted to be King. I only wanted to be your equal!" That arc captures the surprising greatness and ambition of Kenneth Branagh's Thor.

The idea of Norse gods and warriors who dress, sound and look like pompous Vikings (some of whom interact with modern humans), multiple universes, rainbow bridges and Frost Giants must have seemed pretty hard to pull off without being silly, especially when this hero eventually has to meet with more "realistic" superheroes like Iron Man, Hulk and Captain America in The Avengers. But Branagh has taken something potentially camp and cheesy and turned it into a powerful, strangely relatable story; there are quite a few Shakespearian elements in Thor's story, something which Branagh is an undeniable master at adapting to the screen. Plus, Branagh and the screenwriters also inject a much-needed humour into the proceedings without unbalancing the emotion and surprising seriousness of the story. The most impressive thing about Thor is the way it treads a pitch-perfect line between respecting the material and winking at its audience knowingly (most notably with a certain cameo).

Branagh also proves to be a master at creating an epic summer blockbuster. Apart from a few dodgy moments, the visual effects are stunning; in fact, this is probably the most visually impressive film I have seen from Marvel thus far. The production design is also beautiful; Asgard is one of the most incredible movie landscapes I have ever seen. There are some moments which look a bit fake (which is annoying when the filmmakers had about $150 million to work with), but it's almost forgivable based on how spectacular the majority of the visual FX shots are. Credit must go to the FX and art direction departments.

But a summer blockbuster wouldn't be a summer blockbuster without action, and Thor delivers some great sequences. The early encounters with the Frost Giants are superb, with Thor and his friends using some pretty bad-ass moves. A later scene where Thor fights to retrieve his mystical hammer, Mjolnir, is gritty and intense, whilst another great set-piece sees the metallic being known as The Destroyer hunting Thor and destroying most of a desert town in the process. I have heard that many people consider the final confrontation to be anti-climactic, but I have to say that it isn't as much about seeing epic action is it is about seeing how the main characters have grown and changed throughout the course of the film. In a way, I think that displays the film's greatest strength. It isn't all about the action and the visual effects; it's more about the characters and the emotional response.

Nick1988
04-18-2012, 09:02 AM
I really liked the final confrontation with Loki and Thor, yeah sure it wasn't the most action packed fight, but i really digged it and one of my favorite confrontations from a comic book movie

Nick1988
04-18-2012, 09:06 AM
I understand Tornado's list, but Nick's list is typical fanboy exaggeration. Nothing on his list, so far, is as bad as anything Tornado or I posted.

If you read my post, i said at the top mine would be different because i didn't see the ones that everyone considers garbage, haven't seen Jonah Hex,Green Lantern,Catwoman and a couple others you guys mentioned. I am not gonna put movies i haven't seen on my list, now matter how bad people consider it.

Neverending
04-18-2012, 09:21 AM
Superman IV: The Quest For Peace

I give that movie credit for at least trying. The notion of Superman destroying nuclear weapons is a good one and they handled that side of the plot pretty well. And while Nuclear Man is a ridiculous villain, it gave Superman a good challenge, which is more than you can say for Superman III.

Howard The Duck

I think Howard the Duck benefits from its camp factor. It's a bad movie, but it's funny and mildly entertaining. I mean, come on, duck boobs!

Punisher (1989) - Yes the Dolph Lundgren Punisher

As an `80s action movie, it works.

Watchmen

Controversial choice, no doubt.

Men in Black II

The movie wasn't that bad.

DarthVader 2004
04-18-2012, 09:31 AM
Its Kinda hard picking 10 top because there are many better then the bottum 10 but yet not quite top 10 worthy.

I'll post my next choice sooner or later.

saveus1011
04-18-2012, 09:32 AM
Duck tits are why it's not a total disaster. Still horrendously bad though.

Could go either way on Superman III or IV.

morpheus1987
04-18-2012, 10:47 AM
I'll start with my two runner-ups. I had the same problem Tornado did. Narrowing down to 10 is incredibly difficult, so I will give some honorable mentions.


Honorable Mention: Sin City

http://content9.flixster.com/movie/24/97/249791_det.jpg

I don't know if this should really be classified as a superhero film, but given its comic book roots, I thought it was worthy of being included on this list. Sin City, in my opinion, is visually breathtaking. No other movie has done a better job of making a movie look like a comic book. Others like Ang Lee's Hulk have tried, but it wasn't until this came out that one truly succeeded. Combine the visual effects with some truly engrossing characters (i.e. Marv), and a truly great film is born. Some might be turned off by the fact that the movie is not one continuous narrative, but I don't think that this detracts from the film in any way.

Honorable Mention: Superman II
http://www.google.com/url?source=imglanding&ct=img&q=http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G_Y521zZ3gY/ThX5ELJQXuI/AAAAAAAAFMs/3hyw756AjOQ/s1600/Superman%2BII.jpg&sa=X&ei=AuGOT5aYLcWygwfh6_yTDw&ved=0CAoQ8wc&usg=AFQjCNGuCSD0HJ8gQRReKzafzGHU_utAgQ

This is, in my opinion, the best of the Superman films. General Zod is a great villain, and the pacing is much better than the first film. For those who haven't seen it, watch the Richard Donner cut.

Neverending
04-18-2012, 11:23 AM
So, are we doing superhero movies or comic book adaptations?

morpheus1987
04-18-2012, 11:24 AM
So, are we doing superhero movies or comic book adaptations?

Superhero movies based on comic books. At least that's what I think I thought that a movie like Sin City was close enough in tone to be considered a superhero film.

Neverending
04-18-2012, 11:32 AM
I don't count Sin City as a superhero movie.

morpheus1987
04-18-2012, 11:35 AM
I don't count Sin City as a superhero movie.

I think it is to some extent. Look at the physical abilities of characters like Marv, and also look at how bizarre/outlandish a lot of scenes are. I think it is close enough to be considered superhero, especially with its comic book/frank miller roots.

Neverending
04-18-2012, 11:36 AM
Regardless, it won't be making my list.

morpheus1987
04-18-2012, 11:37 AM
Regardless, it won't be making my list.

Fair enough

Tornado
04-18-2012, 12:11 PM
Sin City isn't on mine either as I don't view it as a superhero movie.

DarthVader 2004
04-18-2012, 12:20 PM
Four Way Tie For Number 10.


Thor, TIH, Iron Man 2, Transformers.


20
http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n281/rjlag/thor-regular-poster.jpg

19
http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e342/nightmare_56/hulk.jpg

18
http://i699.photobucket.com/albums/vv353/imoviegoer/ironman21.jpg

17
http://i1193.photobucket.com/albums/aa350/thisonetrip/Transformers_71-1.jpg

Had To Do A Top 20

Nick1988
04-18-2012, 12:32 PM
A 4 way tie? That is incredibly lame.

DarthVader 2004
04-18-2012, 12:36 PM
I know It is but its my choice for number 10. The rest are one Movie Only. Be much easier if was top 25 but 10 is what must work with.

MasterChief117
04-18-2012, 12:39 PM
The thread does say 'Top 10 Superhero Films'. I think we should follow that as closely as possible. Also, Tornado, when you are in a comfortable spot, please let me know. I'd love to follow up with my own Top 10 thread, but do not wish to trend on your turf.

morpheus1987
04-18-2012, 12:40 PM
Transformers? Isn't that based of of a toy, not a comic book? Sure there have been comic books since its inception, but the same thing can be said for properties like Ghostbusters.

Tornado
04-18-2012, 12:42 PM
A 4-way tie? I thought I was bad enough calling my list a top 10 but then throwing in a runner-up. Why not just make a top 15 Vader? You don't have to be constricted to a top 10 just because that's what Neverending (presumably) and I are doing.

I will probably officially start my list later today, but I am thinking about letting it simmer for a day. I've been doing a lot of rearranging and I'm still not sure it's set exactly the way I want it.

MasterChief117
04-18-2012, 12:43 PM
Transformers was originally conceived as a toy, then a tv show, then comics, then movies. The first two I might have backwards, but I do not believe you can really use that as a 'superhero' film. Tornado, you should've just declared martial law on this thread and dictated it your own until you were finished.

DarthVader 2004
04-18-2012, 12:43 PM
I was sure there was a comic book released before GI the Toon was made that spawned the Toys

MasterChief117
04-18-2012, 12:43 PM
A 4-way tie? I thought I was bad enough calling my list a top 10 but then throwing in a runner-up. Why not just make a top 15 Vader? You don't have to be constricted to a top 10 just because that's what Neverending (presumably) and I are doing.

I will probably officially start my list later today, but I am thinking about letting it simmer for a day. I've been doing a lot of rearranging and I'm still not sure it's set exactly the way I want it.

Just let me know. I haven't started mine yet, probably will right now, but it will take plenty of consideration and thought.

Tornado
04-18-2012, 12:44 PM
The thread does say 'Top 10 Superhero Films'. I think we should follow that as closely as possible. Also, Tornado, when you are in a comfortable spot, please let me know. I'd love to follow up with my own Top 10 thread, but do not wish to trend on your turf.

Haha, you're not just going to post yours in this thread? I created this thread because I couldn't find a similar thread in this forum.

MasterChief117
04-18-2012, 12:50 PM
No, I will, but like I said, I don't want to come off rude and be like, "HEY GUYS, LOOK AT MY LIST TOO." It becomes hard to follow, and doesn't seem polite. So whenever you have the extra time, just let me know, I'd love to throw in some of mine.

Tornado
04-18-2012, 12:52 PM
Well, just keep an eye on the thread. Neverending's and my lists flowed well together even though there was never any communication between us. I will post mine in pairs, starting with 9 and 10 soon, possibly tonight or tomorrow morning/mid-day.

DarthVader 2004
04-18-2012, 01:07 PM
16 Ghost Rider Spirit Of Vengeance.


15 Hellboy.



14 Hellboy 2.



13 Blade 2.


12 Blade.


11.Superman 2.


The Top 10 List.


10 X-Men.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v712/thejealousbull/Movie%20Posters/xmen_ver1.jpg
I think X-men is still one of the best Comic Book movies made. I think for a time i liked it more then the Spider-Man movies but after some time i came to appricate Raimi's Spider-Man as ground breaking effort that allowed people to believe all comic could be made.
X-Men1 thus slowly went down hill some what on my list but its still here at number 10 not far behind. Batman and Spider-Man.

Nick1988
04-18-2012, 01:10 PM
7- X-men Origins-Wolverine
http://collider.com/uploads/imageGallery/X_Men_Origins_Wolverine/x-men_origins_wolverine_movie_image_logan_hugh_jackm an_01.jpg

A Wolveine solo movie has SO much potential to be ****ing bad ass as hell, and this movie was complete opposite of that. First and foremost , I didn't like how Wolverine and Sabretooth where brothers, or i guess half-brothers, to me it seemed like a major cop out and way to cliche to have the two brothers, one good ,one bad, the comic book relationship between Wolverine and Sabretooth is fascinating because its two people who have no relation but hate each other with a passion, and that's another thing this movie failed on, was the relationship between these two, especially in the end when we found out Victor never even killed Wolverines wife, she was worst then him just a lying manipulative sack of ****. So what did Victor do in this movie to even warrant a potential heated rivarly? Beats me. Hugh Jackman who in the first two X-mens was great, i mean he was up there with Christopher Reeves in terms of embodying the character, but man it has gone down hill since x2, i blame most of it on the directing and writing, because Wolverine in this was soft as hell and no where near as edgy and bad ass as he is in the comics, prime example was when he is in the boxing gym with Blob, which by the way was just one of the many random mutants they decided to throw into this movie, anyways he thinks Wolverine calls him Blob, when Wolverine actually said Bub, In the film Wolverine all of sudden feels the need to explain him self and is all apologetic, if this was comics Wolverine he would have been more like"And what if i did say that , what are you gonna do about.." or something else way more bad ass sounding, anyways bottom line Hugh Jackman's Wolverine was weak and a far cry from the Wolverine from the first 2 movies and the comics. Plus the really fake looking CGI claws, man they really didn't try hard in making that look realistic . I know some people thought Schriebers Victor Creed/Sabretooth was the highlight of the movie, while i did like his acting, i HATED the look he had, for starters he was significantly smaller then Wolverine, which is a huge no no, one of the main reasons the Wolverine-Sabretooth rivarly is so great, is that Sabretooth is this big hulking figure, and Wolverine is this short ripped stocky guy and usually gets tossed around but makes sure he doesn't go down with out a serious tough fight. I know its hard because Jackman is taller then the Wolverine, but they could have done something to make him look smaller then Sabretooth, i am not saying get a Wrestler again, but do some camera tricks or give Schrieber something to stand on to make him look taller and bigger, not to mention i wasn't feeling the whole Emo vampire look they where going for. Then of course the movie really gets stupid when Deadpool is turned into this Baraka looking mutant and is the final fight scene, lame, random mutants galore in this as well, worst of them being Will I am, yikes. I hope they come strong for the second Wolverine movie, cuse this one stunk.


6-Blade Trinity
http://cdn.wegotthiscovered.com/wp-content/uploads/Blade-Trinity-552x360.jpg
Everyone knows how the first Blade movie really surprised everyone, coming out of nowhere in 1998 to become a moderate hit, which lead to a sequel which was almost just as good. Well the third one probably suffered from the worst "Third movie in the trilogy " curse more then any other franchise i can remember of. We all know Wesley Snipes pretty much coasted through this movie, and in return we had to hear Ryan Reynolds ham it up with his Van Wilder character, which he seems to do in EVERY movie he does, but in this movie it was at an all time high, Good god was he annoying and not even funny, Guy literally every other line was making a wise crack or some smart ass comment, Hell Blade spent the whole time trying to kill Drake, when he should have just shot Reynolds character right in the head, and called it a night. Jessica Biel was pretty dull and flat, but nothing new really here, there was the incredibly corny I Pod scene, which had me cringing the first time i saw it. The fight scenes , which were usually really good in the previous 2, was lame in this one, There was this scene where Blade and company go to this Doctors office to do some investigating, when they sense that the Doctor is really Drake him self, a really nice build up, and i thought there would be this epic fight scene were we see Blade and Drake throw down and they start throwing each other through walls and what not, what we got was 2 dudes chasing each other like a game of tag. Speaking of Drake, guy was pretty boring and lame villain, besides him and Blade chasing each other, i remember him walking around and into some tatoo shop and he bites these 2 emo kids, Thats really all Drake does in this movie, for a guy who is supposed to be Dracula, you think he would have some more ambition, but apparently guy doesn't give two ****s. Piper Posey was the typical comedy relief villain, she pretty much was playing Piper Posey, which resulted in the typical whiny annoying character she plays. This movie was riddled with cheesy dialogue and stupid one liners, topped off in the end with vampire pomeranian's that are apparently a lot for Ryan Reynolds to handle in the end. Blade doesn't really have any memorable moments like in the previous 2. Shame this movie had to kill of the series, because i really like the first 2 and felt was an incredible underrated film series. Lesson learned,David Goyer shouldn't direct movies anymore, and hopefully he got the message with overwhelming negativity to this movie.

Tornado
04-18-2012, 01:36 PM
Vader, don't bombard this thread with images like you do every other. Space them out or write more text like the rest of us are doing. Look at Nick's right above mine ^, plenty of text, only two pictures. Don't make this thread an eyesore.

MasterChief117
04-18-2012, 01:48 PM
Vader, don't bombard this thread with images like you do every other. Space them out or write more text like the rest of us are doing. Look at Nick's right above mine ^, plenty of text, only two pictures. Don't make this thread an eyesore.

This needs to be posted one more time for clarification, because as usual, I'm sure he will continue to do that.

DarthVader 2004
04-18-2012, 03:34 PM
I edited the last post and it now is at number 10 with it having the only pic which i have X-Men 1 At Number 10.

Nick1988
04-18-2012, 03:36 PM
5.Superman IV:Quest For the Peace
https://josephmallozzi.files.wordpress.com/2012/03/iv-moon-faceoff1.png

5th worst, but probably number 1 in movie titles, Quest For Peace? Can a movie sound any more lame? The title alone i am sure made people question were this movie was headed, and where it was headed was straight down the toilet bowl, what stinker this movie was. It's a shame because i consider Christopher Reeve to be an icon because of his take on Superman, to me he WAS Superman, it's hard to picture anyone else, and so far no one has been able to top it(Then again not much competition). Regardless this guy was incredible as Superman, and for him to be in a movie as bad as this, is a tragedy. Lets start with the plot, Gene Hackmans Lex Luthor, who by the way has never been that great of a Lex Luthor i hated the whole goofy approach they went with him. Luthor want's to create an equal , so he creates "Nuclear Man", that's right mother ****ers name is NUCLEAR MAN, sounds like a cheesy name for a cartoon character that would appear on educational videos. He wears a lame costume and doesn't really say much. Pretty much that's all that needs to be said. There really isn't much of a plot, in fact the movie gets so absurd that some chick gets taken into space to the moon by Mr.Nuclear Man him self, and some how being able to survive. Superman goes to the moon to fight him, and thats pretty much all that happens in the movie. Add in some corny Lex Luthor moments, and bada bing, that in essence is Superman IV Quest for Peace.

4-Fantastic Four
http://www.moviesonline.ca/movie-gallery/albums/userpics//FantasticFour05020502.jpg?0.1723837126322305

I admit Fantastic Four to me seems like a hard comic book to translate to film, the comic book has always been seen as corny and making it into a serious film would be hard, but that doesn't mean we have to be subjected to this garbage. Tornado i feel summed it best, so i won't spend to much time on this because i don't wanna repeat what he said, but in short , the cast was HORRIBLE. Chiklis and Evans were decent, but the rest sucked so bad it's not even funny. In fact i would say 3 of the worst casting descions in superhero movie history. Me telling you Jessica Alba was obviously cast for sex appeal, would be like someone telling me the sun will rise in the east, no ****. She is a horrible actress to begin with, and Fox again decided to continue the tradition and make sure they had there no talent beauty bombshell(Alba,Garner,Berry,), Alba was probably the worst of the bunch, i have never really read the Fantastic Four comics, but i have a hard time thinking she was a blonde bimbo. The dude playing Mr.Fantastic , was a complete dip****, i know Mr.Fantastic is supposed to be the good hearted leader, but does he have to be as big of a bumble **** as the dude who was playing him?I would argue no. Last and sure as hell least, is Julian Mcmahon as Dr. Doom, First off the character was ****ed to begin with, shooting electricity? the hell is going on here, Doom doesn't need simple powers like that, dudes the biggest Marvel villain and has fought every major superhero in Marvel, guy can do it all, hell this is the guy who apparently inspired Lucas's Darth Vader look. Mcmahon was way over his head and was clearly mis cast, because there was nothing about him that made me say DR.DOOM, my 6 year old nephew throwing a tantrum reminds me more of Doom then Mcmahon, guy sucked big time,I would argue that Doom was butchered far worst then any comic book character we have seen on screen. Not to mention the action scenes were lame and there was barley any, we had to sit there and watch these horrible miscast characters try and act for a good 90 percent of the movie , Thanks a lot Tim . Tim Story should have never directed this so i won't blame it all on him, but man he did a **** job on this movie. I hope one day we see a good Fantastic Four movie, the sequel was a tiny bit better, but still pretty bad, hopefully in the near future someone can tackle this franchise and make us forget the awful ones we have seen.

DarthVader 2004
04-18-2012, 03:40 PM
I had no problem with the cast in the FF movies its the director and length of the movies.

morpheus1987
04-18-2012, 03:43 PM
So I am going to get started with my list. Tornado, if you want me to wait until you start yours, let me know and I will take this down until then.

Morpheus's Top 10 Superhero Films
10. Kick-Ass
http://www.ferdyonfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/kick_ass_photo01.jpg

Though this movie is not technically about superheroes, it is about individuals posing as superheroes. If Batman can be labelled a superhero, I think that Kick-Ass should be classified as a superhero film.
I have to admit that when this came out, I was incredibly skeptical. I had read the graphic novel, and was not particularly impressed. Then I saw the movie, and I really think that it had a great combination of violence and comedy which was sorely lacking from the graphic novel. The action in this film was incredible. Each action scene has its own feel. Hit-Girl taking down an entire platoon of mobsters; Big Daddy shooting through the warehouse; and Kick-Ass fighting his first real fight; each of these has very unique characteristics and it makes the movie incredibly re watchable.
Even though the action is great, I think the movie really succeeds when the characters aren't behind their masks. Through the course of the film, I started to really care about these characters. This lead to some really emotional scenes, in particular the execution scene.

Favorite Moment:The execution scene. I thought this was brilliantly done. The moment that hit-girl makes it onto the screen is awesome. It was one of those moments where you just want to yell out at the movie screen in approval.The action portion of it was visually stunning, I was really nervous for the characters, and I felt a ton of emotions pouring in me.


9. Captain America
http://mimg.ugo.com/201011/64549/cuts/captain-america-movie-4_480_poster.jpg

I really enjoyed this film. I thought it did a great job of capturing the essence of Captain America. It did an admirable job of bringing the tone of the comics to the big screen. The first half of the movie is phenomenal. The origin of Captain America is handled fantastically. It is right up there with Batman Begins and Spider-Man in that regard. The reason this film isn't higher on my list, is because it falls apart to some extent in the third act.
Once Captain America actually joins the fight, all we really see are some montages and a final fight. I just wish we were able to see more of him fighting. That being said, Chris Evans was perfect as Captain America, and all of the supporting characters were great. Tommy Lee Jones practically steals the show as Colonel Phillips. The movie ends on a rather sad note, with one of my favorite scenes in a superhero movie ever.

Favorite Moment:The final scene in which Captain and Peggy discuss their date as he plummets into the ice. A very touching scene. Although I really enjoyed the conversations between Steve Rodgers and Dr. Erskine. Stanley Tucci gave a very underrated performance in my opinion.

Nick1988
04-18-2012, 03:47 PM
I wasn't a big fan of the Captain America movie, i didn't hate it but i did find it a bit mediocre, something about it to me wasn't that interesting and not nearly as good as Thor or Iron man 1

DarthVader 2004
04-18-2012, 03:48 PM
The thing with the Captain America movie for me was i had no idea where to put it. It too me was ok but not good or great but nor was it Bottum worthy.
I just Happened to Like, Thor, Iron Man 2, TIH and Transformers more.

morpheus1987
04-18-2012, 03:50 PM
I wasn't a big fan of the Captain America movie, i didn't hate it but i did find it a bit mediocre, something about it to me wasn't that interesting and not nearly as good as Thor or Iron man 1

I actually liked Captain America better than Thor. Iron Man is higher up on my list. Although I do think it could have been better, specifically having a better third act.

Tornado
04-18-2012, 03:56 PM
Everybody is in a hurry to get this going apparently.

I'll start mine up later tonight then.

morpheus1987
04-18-2012, 03:59 PM
Everybody is in a hurry to get this going apparently.

I'll start mine up later tonight then.

If you want, I would be happy to take mine down until you start your list. I just figured since others were starting, i'd post mine too. This is your thread, so I don't want to impede.

Tornado
04-18-2012, 04:12 PM
It's fine. You and Vader have already started and MC is itching to pull the trigger.

Ramplate
04-18-2012, 04:13 PM
I liked Cap - I think it had the right kind of feel to it.

morpheus1987
04-18-2012, 04:15 PM
I liked Cap - I think it had the right kind of feel to it.

Exactly

FranklinTard
04-18-2012, 04:58 PM
yea what kinda feel was that though? that movie was the definition of forgettable if you ask me... and apparently even vader agrees.



haven't seen thor yet though, do i have to see it before the avengers for everything to make sense seeing as how it is loki that is the bad guy?

Nick1988
04-18-2012, 05:18 PM
Well you could probably watch Avengers before Thor and wouldn't be that confused, Thor isn't as heavy on the Avengers build up as the other movies are. Regardless i found Thor to be the best Marvel Studios film , a great movie and def worth checking out

Neverending
04-18-2012, 05:24 PM
Thor is a lot more relevant to the Avengers than the other movies since Loki is the villain.

morpheus1987
04-18-2012, 05:43 PM
haven't seen thor yet though, do i have to see it before the avengers for everything to make sense seeing as how it is loki that is the bad guy?

You are definitely going to want to watch Thor before seeing The Avengers. While it might not be necessary, I'm sure if you don't watch Thor, you will have quite a few questions after watching The Avengers. Questions that could have been easily answered.

Tornado
04-18-2012, 05:44 PM
I don't see watching Thor as a necessity, but it's a fun movie and it might help explain Loki's motives in The Avengers a bit better.

Neverending
04-18-2012, 06:09 PM
or a lot better.

Nick1988
04-18-2012, 06:10 PM
^exactly

Nick1988
04-18-2012, 06:10 PM
to Tornados post

Tornado
04-18-2012, 08:14 PM
Without further adieu:

10. Watchmen (2009)

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/9669/9best.jpg

When I first saw Watchmen, I straight up didn’t like it. I think I gave it a score of a D in the review thread here/the 2009 'post your list as it develops' thread, certainly not a score befitting of a movie that would eventually find its way onto this list. But that score was based on one viewing of the film. Its inclusion on this list is garnered on my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th viewings of the film.

Watchmen was as unconventional, intellectual, cerebral, and unique to the cinema world as much as the graphic novel was to the comic book world. It's hard to not compare this to the novel but as a film it is brilliant. Zack Snyder truly did the story justice. Look around online at where other filmmakers before him wanted to take the film. There was even one script where they updated it to be in present day and have the threat be from terrorists. Snyder single handedly saved the Watchmen from a cinematic nightmare. He had the script reworked into the closest adaptation of any graphic novel to date. Beyond being faithful, Snyder brought an amazing style and vision to the project. He brought an independent film sensibility to a big budget picture which not many people have the guts to do. I don't think enough can be said on what a great job he did.

I think some of the complaints people had about this movie were interesting because they were very contradictory. Some said the film was too short and some said it was too long. Some said that the movie suffered from sticking too close to the book and others said it's from not sticking close enough to the book. Imagine how many people would complain if this movie actually had every single thing from the book in it. It would be like five hours long! The fact of the matter is that the spirit and the heart of the book was definitely present in every moment of the movie.

Some people also complained about the music used in the film. With exception of maybe a song or two I loved the soundtrack. Since the film is a period piece, and these characters are such a big part of American history from the 1950's on, it makes sense to blend the music of the times into these characters lives. This is the story of what would happen in our world if these characters existed in it. In our world music is very tied into our history. I just really don't see the big deal. I think it's just because people aren't used to hearing this sort of music in this genera. Again this just goes to show that this movie dares to be different from the rest.

9. The Incredible Hulk (2008)

http://img194.imageshack.us/img194/7650/7best.jpg

The Incredible Hulk is another superhero film I warmed up to over time. The Incredible Hulk has always been my favorite Marvel superhero, and I remember being let down by Ang Lee's vision in 2003. I went into The Incredible Hulk with fairly reserved expectations, and again walked out disappointed. I loved the action, which was sorely missing from the 2003 film, but I felt that the story wasn't very strong and the film didn't take advantage of the Hulk's rich 50 year history. And that was pretty much it for my thoughts about The Incredible Hulk until I was browsing a closing Blockbuster's 'going out of business' sale and saw TIH on Blu-ray on sale for $6.99. I was just starting up my collection and figured, "Why the hell not?" I had been wanting to see it again and thought maybe my opinion would change on the second go-around. Maybe I just need those three years to let the film sink in before watching it again.

Edward Norton does a pretty solid job here in the title role, although I'm not upset that he is not involved in The Avengers. After the little tiff he had with the production team, I welcomed Mark Ruffalo with open arms. Tim Roth does a great job as Emil Blonsky, a man slowly changing under the influence of the super soldier serum. The other key note in Roth's performance is that he provides the film with something that Ang Lee's film did not - a clearly identified, unmistakable villain. And as I said earlier, a superhero film can only be as good as its villain, Blonsky and eventually the Abomination give the Hulk a run for his money. Because The Incredible Hulk is more of an action thriller than anything else, the other actors and characters aren't given much of a chance to shine. Liv Tyler and William Hurt are both great as Betty and Thunderbolt.

An inherent element of a movie starring the Hulk is destruction, and there is plenty of it on display here. There are three major action set pieces - Banner in Rio de Janeiro running from the military and ultimately hulking out and fighting them off, the Hulk fighting the military in Virginia on a college campus, and finally the Hulk and Abomination beating the everliving hell out of each other in New York City. Each scene fantastic for different reasons - the former evoking a Jason Bourne type atmosphere prior to hulking out and giving us a small taste, Hulk's fight on campus shows us how dangerous he can really be against people unprepared for him, and finally an all-out brutal brawl between two monsters. If The Incredible Hulk had come out when I was 6 or 7 years old, I guarantee you it's a movie I would have wanted to watch every day. It's just a blast. Even now, at the age of 24, I can tell you I've seen it twice in the past two weeks, once because I was making this list and a second time because I just wanted to watch it again.

morpheus1987
04-18-2012, 08:44 PM
I agree with your points on Watchmen. I thought it followed the book close enough, but not too close. Imagine how dumb the giant squid would have been.

I disagree with The Incredible Hulk though. I've watched it a couple times since I saw it in theaters, and I just can't seem to enjoy it. The action scenes are set up well, I just don't think there is any emotion built in to the fight scenes. Which I consider to be a major problem.

Neverending
04-18-2012, 08:50 PM
THE TOP


#10 - TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1990)

http://images3.static-bluray.com/reviews/1685_9.jpg

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Growing up, I was a huge Ninja Turtles fan, and their first live-action film was among my favorites as a kid. These days, I'm more of a casual fan. And yet, the movie still works for me. Some may say it's nostalgia, but I think it's because the film is great. I'm aware that the Ninja Turtles are very silly. It's four mutated turtles who learn martial arts from the mutated pet rat of a sensai. But what makes the movie work so well is that director Steve Barron acknowledges the silliness through humor and balances it with serious moments, surprisingly good character development, and above average fight scenes. He's basically saying, "hey, guys, don't be cynical. Just go along with us and you'll be rewarded." Another great thing to point out is that the film is faithful to the comic books but doesn't ignore the cartoon series either. It's the best of both worlds. So, unlike Michael Bay, they respected the fans.

#9 - SUPERMAN (1978)

http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llmdpfgusi1qk0qewo1_500.jpg

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Without Superman, this entire genre wouldn't even exist. Some argue the film is a little dated. And yeah, it is to SOME degree. But what it lacks in modernism it makes up for in movie magic. Director Richard Donner was clearly a fan of the character and gave this film the love and respect it deserved. Superman has never been presented more beautifully than in this movie. The film may not have any supervillains or an action beat every 5 minutes, but it does have Superman flying Lois Lane around Metropolis with John Williams' sweeping score in the background. That's good enough for me.

DarthVader 2004
04-18-2012, 09:36 PM
Vaders Top 10.


10 X-Men


9 V For Vendetta.


http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k252/emperorsdarksister/V%20For%20Vendetta/v_for_vendetta.jpg
I know some would say not in the Top 10. But i think this movie is one of the best Comic Book/ Movies made. I know many loved Sin City and Watchmen but for me V For Vendetta was that dark comic book movie that i think is probably my most watched Comic Book Dvd after Spider-Man 1, X-Men 2 and Iron Man.
I think Natalie Portman was as always good but Hugo Weaving was fantastic as the masked hero.

IanTheCool
04-18-2012, 10:02 PM
Cool thread.

Neverending
04-18-2012, 11:08 PM
Great contribution, Ian.

Nick1988
04-18-2012, 11:22 PM
3. Batman and Robin
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DEkUCJaKotc/TzDIf2IMI1I/AAAAAAAAAsA/m-DXfSMKPY0/s1600/batman-robin.jpg

And we finally arrive at what has been hailed the worst comic book movie ever by almost everyone and there grandmothers, This movie to most was the worst thing to happen to Batman and to a lot a blessing in disguise, if it wasn't for this ****bomb we might have never gotten Nolans amazing take on Batman, but that doesn't take away form the pure stupidity of this movie, this movie is so stupid and campy that it must be a miracle Schumacher was able to ever make another hollywood film, and it's a shame because besides Batman he has actually done some really good films, but i would be stating the obvious if i told you he was about as bad of choice for a Batman film as you can get, the signs were there in Batman Forever, and because it was a huge sucess, he really amped it up big time for this one. Nipples, Batman playing ice hockey, a motorcylle crashing through a wall and leaving an emblem, Ahnuld's one liners, a retarded villain(Bane), a giant statue of a naked dude, i mean holy **** i could be here till sunrise listing all the bizarre and stupid crap in this movie. The only thing this movie accomplished was Arnolds Mr.Freeze became an internet meme sensation, George Clooney was some how able to rebound and become an even bigger star, Uma Thurman did Kill Bill but that's about it, unfortunately this movie was pretty much the last time we saw Chris O'Donnell and Alicia Silverstone on a major movie screen, before there careers could even really take off it crashed just as fast after this movie came out. This movie is legendary for all the wrong reasons and is one of the most infamous movies in cinema history, only reason it's not number one is because that would be way to typical and this is one of those movies thats so stupid that watching it when your bored on cable can actually be some what entertaining to laugh at.

2- Ghost Rider
http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/images/reviews/81/1182714846_1.jpg

You know i was actually somewhat pumped for this movie, i always found Ghost Rider to be a pretty cool looking comic book character and his backstory was pretty interesting, even though it was Nicolas Cage as him, i still thought maybe it could be a sweet pop corn type flick, nothing mind blowing but entertaining......I will always remember walking out of the theater with my friend and literally both looked at each other said"That was the worst ****ing thing i have ever seen", that's how bad it was, infact thats the only thing i remember about seeing this movie 5 or so years so, was the reaction me and my friend had. Jesus ****ing christ was this movie horrid. Lets see, Nicolas Cage, no shock here was ridiculous as usual, but not in a good way like in Con Air, like in a "What the hell is wrong with this guy?" ridiculous, but he was no where near as bad as Eva Mendes, i don't care how smoking hot she is, she is a horrible horrible actress and it really showed here, the awkward scene in the restaurant where she asks this guy if shes pretty...Man movie would have been maybe worth it if the server pulled out a gun and shot her in the head, she was that bad in this movie. This movie was filled with awkward and random scenes that made no sense and were stupid, the villains in this were dumb, Wes Bentley's Blackheart was stupid, It's a shame the guy was never able to do anything after an amazing performance in American Beauty, he might have hit rock bottom with this turd fest. The action scenes, where dull and uninspiring , anytime there was a fight scene, one guy would throw the other guy and he would hit pavement, then maybe a punch or to, that's about it. For guys who are supposed to be demons and have this great powers, they sure as hell didn't know how to use em, the final fight scene where Ghost Rider and Blackheart ar at GR's apartment, they literally are yelling at each other then they slap each other..wtf?
This movie was horrible and even worst took it's self way to serious, and as a result is the second worst comic book/super hero i have ever seen.

1-Elektra
http://theparkourdiaries.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/elektra.jpg

This movie is so bad that the fact that i had to Google image a picture for it made me cringe, I don't remember **** about this movie and this is probably gonna be me worst review, because it was a long time ago and after seeing this i felt compelled to get up and run out the door and as far away as possible from the pile of **** that this movie was or for amusment purposes just burn the damn thing, Yes Elektra with Jennifer Garner is the worst comic book/superhero movie i HAVE EVER SEEN, I just remember finishing it and telling to my self this was the worst comic book movie ever, and 7 years later, that hasn't changed, kudos to Elektra for with standing the barrage of comic book movies over the past several years, and i can still smell the odor of crap that seeps from that god awful movie. Jennifer Garner is not bad ass or anything like an assasin, this casting would be like if they told Michael Cera to play a Mob Boss, totally not right for the role. Jennifer Garner isn't a very good actress to begin with, but she seems to be more suited for playing chicks in stupid romantic comedies that come out by the bundle every year. So i will leave at this and declare this the worst comic book /super hero movie i have ever seen, recommending this movie to watch would be like me telling someone to go try and put dog food in there cereal next time and not vomit.

DarthVader 2004
04-18-2012, 11:47 PM
I am not so sure GhostRider is Elektra or Batman and Robin Bad.

saveus1011
04-19-2012, 12:52 AM
RE: Watchmen -

Pretty much all points brought up are right. What's interesting is that everything they changed ACTUALLY worked. My biggest problem (looking back) is Malin Ackerman.

Tornado
04-19-2012, 01:45 AM
Yeah she's the weak link in the cast.

saveus1011
04-19-2012, 02:20 AM
Big time. I'll even defend Matthew Goode (the problems with Ozymandias are more with Snyder's interpretation than Goode's portrayal,) but yeah, Akerman stinks up the joint.

PG Cooper
04-19-2012, 05:43 AM
I like the Watchmen film, but it didn't capture the tone of the graphic novel for me.

IanTheCool
04-19-2012, 09:46 AM
I am not so sure GhostRider is Elektra or Batman and Robin Bad.

Its close. Ghost Rider was pretty darn awful. I remember almost falling asleep during the part when he was fighting all the minions. He was fighting them one at a time, like they were mini-bosses in a video game. Expect it wasn't fun because you weren't playing, you were watching Nic Cage play. It was very monotonous. Actually I might have fallen a sleep for a couple minutes there...

DarthVader 2004
04-19-2012, 11:20 AM
What I mean is you didn't have Catwomen in your top 3 or Jonah Hex.

Fanible
04-19-2012, 11:44 AM
or Jonah Hex.

....

MasterChief117
04-19-2012, 12:06 PM
I'm working on my Top 10 as we speak. I'm going to put my 10 and 9 up shortly.

MasterChief117
04-19-2012, 12:16 PM
MasterChief's Top 10 Superhero Films





10. Hellboy



http://www.zap2it.com/media/photo/2008-04/38311984.jpg



A lot of people go back and forth on this movie, if it is actually 'good' or 'great' or is it just 'okay'. Regardless, I really like this movie. It is pure and genuine action with pretty solid writing, and wonderful/engaging performances that kept me thoroughly entertained throughout. Ron Perlman has never really been a top notch actor to me, usually phoning in his performances in B rate films that you see in the DVD bins at Wal-Mart. You can't say this with Hellboy. He brings a certain charm, wit, confidence and yet despite his strength and size, vulnerability that makes him even more lovable. Admittedly, I was never really big on the overall story, beyond the fact that Hellboy is actually evil turned good, waiting to be turned back to evil at any moment. That is actually pretty sweet. Also should be noted that Kroenen makes for one hell of a creepy bad guy.

DarthVader 2004
04-19-2012, 12:18 PM
I am glad someone put this in there Top 10. Although I felt that hellboy 2 was better then Hellboy 1. I had it on my list but respectively they were 15th and 14th.

Tornado
04-19-2012, 12:33 PM
I loved the first Hellboy, the second was a mess though. Guillermo indulged himself a little too much.

MasterChief117
04-19-2012, 12:33 PM
I am glad someone put this in there Top 10. Although I felt that hellboy 2 was better then Hellboy 1. I had it on my list but respectively they were 15th and 14th.

I can't say I agree, to each their own. I felt some of the elements in Hellboy, worked a lot better than Hellboy 2. Although I do really like Hellboy 2.

MasterChief117
04-19-2012, 12:35 PM
I loved the first Hellboy, the second was a mess though. Guillermo indulged himself a little too much.

Elegantly put.

Tornado
04-19-2012, 12:38 PM
8. X2: X-Men United (2003)

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/6767/6best.jpg

It’s fairly common for the initial sequel to a superhero movie to surpass the original, but it’s rare to see a superhero movie so exponentially better than its original as we see with X2: X-Men United. If you were to measure the increase in quality from any original superhero film to its sequel, the jump from 2000’s X-Men to 2003’s X2 would be larger than any other. Bryan Singer has proven time and time again that he understands these characters, both on an individual level and how they function as a team. There are definitely changes made to the characters, some on a fundamental level of who they are in the comics, but every change here and in the original film are made for the better, to make these characters more human and more relatable.

But despite all this emphasis on characters, there's certainly no shortage of "eye candy" here to astonish even the most experienced action movie veteran. The undisputed highlight is the opening attack by Nightcrawler on the White House, an elegant blend of fist fighting, acrobatic wire work, gunfire and impressive CGI. However, every X-Man (and woman) gets their chance to shine. For those who complained that Wolverine wasn't brutal enough in the first film look no further than his reaction to Stryker's invasion of the X-Mansion. Ouch. Magneto escapes from his plastic prison in a truly spectacular fashion, Storm conjures up a few tornados to take care of a few pesky fighter planes, and even Cyclops gets a short fight sequence to show he's got more to him than just glowing red eyes. And as for Jean Grey, we see the beginnings of the Dark Phoenix plot forming, creating an outstanding tease for the third film.

Unfortunately, that is the film’s biggest problem. Singer spent time laying the Jean Grey groundwork only to have Brett Ratner come in and ruin it. Not only did Singer’s leaving the X-Men franchise (for the time) impact the third film in a negative manner, it also hurt the Superman franchise (as I previously discussed). I love superhero films as much as anybody else and wouldn’t really want to change much in general, but if I could I would have kept Singer with the X-Men series. It’s clear he is one of the strongest influences on it; the three films he worked on ranged from good to fantastic, the one he didn’t was a dud, just missing my bottom 10 list.

7. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/6776/runnerupbest.jpg

This is more than a good comic book movie. It's more than a good WWII movie. While Captain America: The First Avenger involves themes such as bravery, compassion, love, integrity and strength, which are in no way exclusively American, this is still one hell of a good American movie. And the fact that it feels very similar to Raiders of the Lost Ark helps its case.

I was distressed when Evans was announced as Steve Rogers. Well, that was a mistake because he smashed it right out of the park. He connected with the character in a way that made everything feel fresh and heartfelt. I knew the dude would end up on ice. But seeing it play out to the reactions of both Peggy and Colonel Phillips took me by surprise in its power. Then, when Cap does wake up in 2011, I couldn't help but feel sorry for him over all he'd lost. That's about 35% script and 65% Evans' portrayal. The same can thankfully be said about every actor who worked on this film.

As for the script and direction, they're also hitting homers. I was doubtful about the whole USO storyline. However, it showed how Captain America is more than muscles and a costume. It was also refreshing how the script ramped up the soldier over the super. Seeing C.A. and the Howling Commandos waging guerrilla war on Hydra was dead on and sold the military aspect of the story. It also showcased what makes this character unique in a sea of brightly colored, spandex clad characters that can fly, swing and slice through steel. This well crafted screenplay is complimented by Joe Johnston's surprisingly deft direction.

It seems all the goodness Johnston didn't bring to The Wolfman, he delivered, and then some, to this. When Cap was in action, every punch, kick and bounce of the shield was shot clearly for the audience to see. Certain scenes were shot in a way that non-verbally conveyed mood. The USO montage was effortlessly comical, yet disheartening. Contrarily, Rogers sitting in the remains of a bombed out bar visually expressed the extreme loneliness he felt over the death of his old friend. If I had to pick a highlight of Johnston's direction, however, it would be the final confrontation with Hydra.

It goes from action (a motorcycle chase, Cap smacking down a handful of Hydra agents); to somber (Cap's outnumbered and taken before the Red Skull); back to action (the Howling Commandos assault, chasing the Skull down); to romantic (Cap and Carter sharing a kiss); back to action (Cap b-smacking more Hydra soldiers, an aerial dogfight, the final battle with the Red Skull); and then to morose (the sight of the tundra drawing nearer as Cap kept that plane in a nosedive). These shifts in tone never once felt jarring or forced. In the hands of The Wolfman’s director, this would've been a mess. In the hands of THIS Johnston, everything was smooth sailing.

Yeah, they probably could've shown how a post serum Rogers went through a grueling tutelage fit to make Bruce Wayne puke. They probably could've put more emphasis on his mastery of martial arts and acrobatic fighting style. They probably could've found some way to make the costume from the comics work. They probably could've portrayed Bucky exactly like the comics. Yep, they could've done all of this and more. But, who cares when this is already an excellent movie. The only real fault I can think of is CATFA felt a little short—not that it was rushed. I just wanted to see more. And that haunting final line, "I had a date," hits like a brick every time.

MasterChief117
04-19-2012, 12:42 PM
9. Superman



http://www.comicmix.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/supermanmoviefinal.jpg



Growing up, I absolutely loved this film. It was amazing, and recently I was able to watch it on Blu Ray. No, it hasn't held up to today's standards as much as I would like. There are far better superhero films out here, with better character development, better story, and just plain better. The best thing about the original Superman film, and what will always be the best part is the performance of Christopher Reeve, who is a true Superman. He plays the character passionately, adding vulnerability to a near indestructible iconic figure. Whenever I picture Superman, I picture him, with his big smile, rounding the planet in space. He makes the film what it is, and while that may or may not be a good thing, it still isn't a bad thing, like Superman Returns.

morpheus1987
04-19-2012, 01:33 PM
Morpheus's Top 10 Superhero Films

8. X-Men: First Class
http://www.google.com/url?source=imglanding&ct=img&q=http://latimesherocomplex.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/x-men-first-class-cast.jpg?w=600&h=376&sa=X&ei=olKQT-_1JcbzggeA6pjpBA&ved=0CAsQ8wc&usg=AFQjCNFH8Rxb9IspnIo4pocr2ZJ1K3kK_A

Before seeing this movie, I was pretty fed up with X-Men movies. X3 was pretty bad, and Wolverine was a travesty. To be honest, I did not have the highest of hopes for this. Then reviews started coming out, and I thought that this might actually be good. It absolutely was.

I want to start off by saying that Michael Fassbender (Magneto) was absolutely brilliant in this. He had more swagger than James Bond, and was more lethal than Jason Bourne. He was incredibly fun to watch on screen. That isn't to say that his co-stars weren't. Which is partly why I think this film succeeds. The case is great for the most part. With the exception of January Jones as Emma Frost. She seems to suck the life right out of every scene she is in. Other than her though, the cast is great. The plot is awesome, and setting it during the Cuban Missile Crisis really helped the film out.

The movie is not accurate to the comics at all. Many of those portrayed in the "First Class" were not X-men until much later. I don't think this is a problem though. Typically I like superhero films to be faithful to their origins, but I feel like this film actually pulls it off rather well. I'm glad they decided to focus on story instead of accuracy.

Some might actually dislike the emphasis on story, as the action is fairly minimal for a superhero film. I think the movie actually is made better off by having less action. By focusing more on the characters, the scenes in which there is fighting are given that much more emotional weight. The scene in which Darwin fights Sebastian is incredibly sad, and the final fight in the film is really engaging. When Magneto finally gets his payoff, the audience is feeling many of the same emotions he is.

This movie did what no X-Men movie had done since X2, it left me with the feeling of gratification.



Favorite Moment: Magneto putting the coin through Sebastian Shaw's head. Easily the most gratifying scene in the film, and one of the most gratifying scenes I have seen in a superhero film.




7. Batman (1989)
http://www.filmwerk.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/batman_1989_screen_1.jpg

This was my absolute favorite movie as a kid. I actually wore out my vhs copy of the movie, because I watched it too much. There really is no overstating how important this was to comic book films and to the conception of Batman that we know today. Sure Frank Miller and others had turned batman into the darker character that we know today, but it wasn't until Tim Burton released this that the general public truly understood the true potential of Batman. Adam West and the 60s were the only real indoctrination most people had with the character. If this movie failed, chances are that Batman in the comics and beyond would be much different than we know him today. Comic book films would likely be completely different as well. This movie was really the first film that showed that a comic book movie could be serious in tone. Sure Superman came before this, but I feel like that movie did not have the seriousness about it that this did.


So on to the actual movie itself. I watched this the other day (first time in a few years) and I still think it holds hope very well. Sure some of the effects are outdated, and Jack Nicholson's Joker is not nearly as menacing as Heath Ledger's, but the movie still has a lot of charms. This film is very Burtonesque and I think it helps the film for the better. Things seem to get weirder and weirder as the film continues, culminating in an awesome final showdown on top of a bell tower. The final fight is very fun to watch. There is a lot of build up to it, and having the damsel in distress angle really paid off. Although every time I see the Joker fall to his death, I wish that he would somehow climb into the chopper.

This film also showcased all of the bat gadgets in the best possible way. "Where does he get all those wonderful toys?" The Batwing, Batmobile, etc. are all showcased, and look great on screen. The scene with the Batwing is really fun. Watching Batman try to save Gotham from the Joker's poisonous gas is exhilarating. Most people typically talk about Jack Nicholson as the Joker, but I really felt like Michael Keaton did a great job as Bruce Wayne/Batman. In fact, in my opinion, he is the best on screen Batman yet. Sorry Christian Bale, but I'd take Michael Keaton any day of the week.

Sure the movie can be cheesy at times, but I think it is still a fun film to watch, and one that really set the pace for modern superhero films.



Favorite Moment: The fight on the rooftops. "Have you ever danced with the devil in the pail moonlight." The lead up to this scene is also fantastic. The anticipation for the final fight as batman walks up to the top of the bell tower is incredibly exciting.

DarthVader 2004
04-19-2012, 03:12 PM
10 X-Men.
9 V For Vendetta.

RedVaders Top 10 Superhero Films.


8 Batman.


http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q259/texans06/batman_1989_8.jpg
Probably Burtons best movie he ever did other then Edward Scissorhands. I know how good the Nolan Batman movies are and Bale is great Batman in them but Keaton will always be Batman to me movie wise. Some consider this campy and out dated. But for comic book character preferance. Batman was king then and it is or will be King of Comics once again.

morpheus1987
04-19-2012, 03:29 PM
Probably Burtons best movie he ever did other then Edward Scissorhands.


Have you seen Ed Wood? I love Batman, but Ed Wood is in another category altogether.

DarthVader 2004
04-19-2012, 03:31 PM
No not see ED Wood.I also Liked Beetlejuice and Sleepy Hallow that Burton did. I actually like most of Burtons films.

morpheus1987
04-19-2012, 03:33 PM
No not see ED Wood.I also Liked Beetlejuice and Sleepy Hallow that Burton did. I actually like most of Burtons films.

Do yourself a favor and watch Ed Wood.

Nick1988
04-19-2012, 03:36 PM
What I mean is you didn't have Catwomen in your top 3 or Jonah Hex.

I know reading is a hard thing for you, but if you tried to read my previous posts i stated i HAVE NEVER SEEN JONAH HEX OR CATWOMAN. I am not gonna put movies on my list that are considered garbage yet i haven't seen, something you did.

morpheus1987
04-19-2012, 03:39 PM
I know reading is a hard thing for you, but if you tried to read my previous posts i stated i HAVE NEVER SEEN JONAH HEX OR CATWOMAN. I am not gonna put movies on my list that are considered garbage yet i haven't seen, something you did.

My favorite post in this thread so far

DarthVader 2004
04-19-2012, 03:39 PM
Well i did watch some of Jonah Hex and being i couldn't get through even 33 minutes was enough for me to conclude it sucked.

Tornado
04-19-2012, 05:49 PM
6. Iron Man (2008)

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/8853/8best.jpg

As much as I love the characters of Batman and Superman, I was never much of a DC comic reader growing up. I've read the Batman graphic novels, but very few of his monthly titles, and the same goes for Superman. I was however, a big Marvel comic reader, dabbling in the Incredible Hulk, Captain America, and the Fantastic Four. But one of my favorite monthly comics that I subscribed to for years? Invincible Iron Man. I felt that the character was so uniquely different from everybody else in the Marvel world, and when big screen tentpole films started rolling out starring the X-Men and Spider-Man, I was praying for an Iron Man film.

Jon Favreau performed an excellent job keeping the story fairly close in line with the comics I know and love by loosely adapting elements of the 'Extremis' story arc, putting the character in Afghanistan instead of Vietnam (not an original Favreau idea like most people think) keeping the armor similar to that arc as well. The Iron Man armor itself both looks and sounds brilliant, a clanking cacophony of assembled parts coming together for a heart pumping streamlined exterior.

Enough praise cannot be bestowed upon Robert Downey Jr., who, overcoming every last inch of apprehension over his casting, is by far the key element to Iron Man's standing out from the waves of other superhero films. Delivering one of the strongest performances in his formidable career, Downey Jr. effortlessly inhabits every last contradictory inch of Tony Stark like the pristine suits the character himself dons. Putting his own unorthodox spin on the character through his wisecracking, motormouthed energy, Downey Jr. still stays true to the spirit of Stark and his darker overtones, even making the transition from callous, arrogant billionaire weapons vendor to iron clad humanitarian feasible through his extraordinary charisma and gleaming, passionate intensity. To say that Downey Jr. is perfect for the role is an understatement; a testament to the use of quality actors for bringing immortalized comic book figures to life instead of ham-handed fresh young faces chosen for looks over talent.

While the rest of the cast cannot quite match up to Downey Jr.'s dynamo of a performance, all prove equally adept in adapting their comic book incarnations in a plausible fashion. Terrence Howard delivers an appropriately curt dignity to Stark's military ally Jim 'Rhodey' Rhodes, adding the perfect clipped acerbic deadpan to the character. Similarly, Gwyneth Paltrow makes a surprisingly convincing potential love interest as Stark's personal assistant Pepper Potts, her natural charisma and share of icy comebacks easily proving a superb foil to Downey Jr.'s livewire of a performance. Jeff Bridges molds his usual laid back image into one of a despicably greedy businessman concealing his shockingly selfish dealings under a veneer of oily respectability, his unconventional performance easily overcoming the trappings of his otherwise conventional villain figure.

Simply put, Iron Man is everything a comic book movie could hope to be: a perfect balance between the grittily serious and exuberantly enjoyable, flawless special effects and a roster of incredible performances.

DarthVader 2004
04-19-2012, 05:59 PM
RedVaders Top 10 Superhero Movies.


7 X-Men First Class.


http://i741.photobucket.com/albums/xx58/spadge68/Movies/x-men%20first%20class/firstclasspics1.jpg
This could have further declined the X-Men series but instead it saved it and it was probably best attempt at an X-Men film since X-Men 2.
I do like Singers X-Men movies but Vaughn gave new life into this declining franchise.
I know Singer was part of this producer wise but Vaughn i think did allot to this movie. I am not coping Morpheus list its just so happens that we have the same ones for 7th and 8th only reversed in order.

Tornado
04-19-2012, 06:08 PM
I'm surprised X-Men: First Class isn't higher up on any of your lists. 7 from Vader and 8 from Morpheus.

Nick1988
04-19-2012, 07:14 PM
When i first saw X-men First Class, i thought it was by far the best X-men film to date and one of the best superhero movies, but after repeat viewings it kinda of loses appeal to me, i don't know , better then x3 or wolverine movie, not sure if it tops the first two though.

DarthVader 2004
04-19-2012, 07:44 PM
10 X-Men
9 V For Vendetta.
8 Batman
7 X-Men First Class.
RedVader's Top 10 Superheroes List.


6 Spider-Man 2.


http://i169.photobucket.com/albums/u204/MarvelX_2007/spider_man_2.jpg
I know many likely feel this should be higher but for some reason I like my 5 remaining more. Which includes Spider-Man 1 somewhere. Spider-Man2 was a great movie but i just happen to like the original more. Maybe its because I watched it more times.
Anyways This movie was beloved by all Raimi fans. At the time i was more of an X-Men fan so I likely had different feelings. As i reflect on it Raimi Spider-Man films were as good And were equal i think to Nolans Batman.
You ask anyone and they felt that Spider-Mans 1 and 2 were two of the best films made.
Then Spider-Man 3 came and people seemed to forget.
I didn't forget and am glad to have them within the Top 6.

MasterChief117
04-19-2012, 08:02 PM
You lost credibility when you said the Spider Man films were of equal quality as the Nolan films. I might be a super bias Batman fan, but that doesn't make a lick of sense to my actual semi-intelligent non bias mind.

Neverending
04-19-2012, 08:09 PM
#8 - THE MASK (1994)

http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lkws1sfSdx1qauvylo1_500.jpg

People do not automatically think of The Mask as a superhero, but he certainly is one. Think about it. His alter ego, Stanley Ipkiss, is a sweet guy who constantly gets stepped on by everyone he knows. He's too darn nice to defend himself. Then, one day, he discovers a mythical mask that transforms him into everything he secretly desired to be. And when the mask falls into the wrong hands, it is up to him to save the day. What's great about The Mask is its ability to succeed as a comedy. Making a funny superhero flick is not an easy task. Only a handful have managed to pull it off and The Mask, in my opinion, is the best one.

#7 - BATMAN RETURNS (1992)

http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llh1kpDCZV1qc0q3ko1_500.png

"Mistletoe can be deadly if you eat it."
"But a kiss... can be even deadlier if you mean it."

I have defended Batman Returns so many times in the past 10 years that I am quite tired of doing it. So, all I'm gonna say is that Batman Returns is an artist achievement. Tim Burton didn't wanna just make another summer blockbuster. He didn't wanna just make another superhero flick. He wanted to make a statement. Batman Returns is a psychological examination of all these characters. It is the ultimate analysis of the Batman universe. And for that, I love it and think it's a GREAT movie.

#6 - SPIDER-MAN 2 (2004)

http://28.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llkadbXLsY1qagc1ao1_400.jpg

After introducing all the characters and exploring the universe with the first film, the sequel gets the opportunity to capture everything we love from the comics. We see Peter Parker struggling to hold a job, keep up with his school work, and have some level of social life. Here is the film where the Peter Parker we can relate with is prominent. So, when we see him quit being Spider-Man, we can't blame him. And when he is Spider-Man, we can't help but cheer because the action scenes are spectacular. To this day, you won't see better action scenes in a superhero movie. That train fight is still at the top of the list.

#5 - KICK ASS (2010)

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lmbuduJySq1qjpjyqo1_500.jpg

Kick-Ass is the most mult-layered superhero movie ever made. And so much of the content went over the audience's head that it's amazing. Director Matthew Vaughn packs his screenplay with so many plots, sub-plots, character details and commentary that it could confuse the viewer if they aren't keeping up. That's why so many people complained that the film turned into what it was spoofing. To begin with, this movie isn't really a spoof. It's more of a thesis on popular culture than anything else. Kick-Ass is just an average kid who realized that no one helps anyone. He gets mugged and an adult just looks through their window and does nothing. He finally becomes Kick-Ass and tries to save a guy from a beating while a big crowd records it on their cellphone. No one called the police. No one tried to jump in. They just recorded it, laughed, and posted it on YouTube. Kick-Ass could have become a cop, a lawyer, or a politican. Something that could actually lead to changes in society. Instead, he became a superhero. Then, there's Hit Girl. She is a victim of her father. Her father is so thirsty for revenge that he creates this fantasy world of supeheroes for his daughter, so she could help him in his quest. Finally, we have Red Mist. He's a shy, sheltered geeky kid who's always trying to impress his father. So, he becomes a faux superhero to set a trap for Big Daddy and Hit Girl. Basically, superheroes are at the center of all these character's world. As is technology. And nothing good comes out of it. One could argue that Matthew Vaughn was making fun of the audience and not the superheroes themselve.

DarthVader 2004
04-19-2012, 09:51 PM
You lost credibility when you said the Spider Man films were of equal quality as the Nolan films. I might be a super bias Batman fan, but that doesn't make a lick of sense to my actual semi-intelligent non bias mind.

That Is my opinion of my own list and Its not number 1 is it. Its for a number 6. We would not be having this conversation if Spider-Man 3 hadn't turned out like it did.
If Spider-Man 3 had been grand my comment would not made the batman fury come out of ya.
I am not always logical in my lists. People think i am insane because I prefer Batman Begins over TDK.

MasterChief117
04-19-2012, 10:30 PM
That Is my opinion of my own list and Its not number 1 is it. Its for a number 6. We would not be having this conversation if Spider-Man 3 hadn't turned out like it did.
If Spider-Man 3 had been grand my comment would not made the batman fury come out of ya.
I am not always logical in my lists. People think i am insane because I prefer Batman Begins over TDK.

Batman Begins over TDK, to me, isn't crazy. Now that's a personal preference because both movies are entertaining, and both, I believe, bring something slightly different. Batman Begins has more of a Burton esque feel to it, where as TDK feels definitely a bit more realistic.

Nick1988
04-19-2012, 11:43 PM
Batman Returns is in my top 5 favorite superhero movies really liked that movie and thought it was better then Batman 89, i am gonna do a list tomorrow for my favorites .

Tornado
04-20-2012, 12:29 AM
There are elements of Batman Returns that I really like, but overall it is not one of my favorites. It's in the middleground between my lists.

DarthVader 2004
04-20-2012, 12:41 AM
We Should be allowed to do a Middle List so we have all superhero movies covered. Movies not quite the best but clearly no where near the bottum.

JBond
04-20-2012, 12:42 AM
No we shouldn't.

Tornado
04-20-2012, 12:45 AM
That doesn't make any sense. If you want to include more films, make a bigger top or bottom list. And besides, there's no draw to that, there's no building to anything. The fun thing about top/bottom 10 lists is that you're ultimately building toward the best/worst of whatever category, and everybody else is anticipating what your #1 is going to be. What's the fun in a middleground list? Building toward what just missed the cut on the top 10 list?

JBond
04-20-2012, 01:43 AM
I once made a Top 10 Mediocre Film list. I think I put Space Cowboys on it...

Nick1988
04-20-2012, 09:26 AM
We Should be allowed to do a Middle List so we have all superhero movies covered. Movies not quite the best but clearly no where near the bottum.

huh?

DarthVader 2004
04-20-2012, 09:31 AM
If need English terms it means the movies comic wise not in the Top or Bottom lists should be used in a another Top Ten. Which would be the Middle or Medium list.

Nick1988
04-20-2012, 10:35 AM
..sigh..

morpheus1987
04-20-2012, 11:31 AM
If need English terms it means the movies comic wise not in the Top or Bottom lists should be used in a another Top Ten. Which would be the Middle or Medium list.

Why didn't you just do a top 25 list? A list of mediocre movies simply does not make sense. What would the criteria be? It's not like you could use movies that fall just outside the top 10, because those movies wouldn't be mediocre. You are much better off just expanding your top 10 list to 25.

saveus1011
04-20-2012, 12:10 PM
I think we should do a Top 10 of RedVader's posts.

MasterChief117
04-20-2012, 12:12 PM
Agreed. An entire thread dedicated to his posts. My all time favorite is probably when he talked about Japan deserving the Tsunami because they whale hunt.

morpheus1987
04-20-2012, 12:37 PM
Morpheus's Top 10 Superhero Films

6. X2: X-Men United
http://comicattack.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/x-men2.jpg

There is not really much to add to this that others haven't stated. This is, in my opinion, the best X-Men movie. It took all the good things that the original did, and put it into a grander scale. The movie does have some pacing issues, and might be overly long by about 10-15 minutes. However, it has one of the best scripts yet for a comic based film, and the action is intense. The characters all get to show off their powers in awesome ways (specifically Wolverine and Nightcrawler), and the villains are amped up a notch from the first film. This is really an awesome movie that captured the feel of the comics, and expanded it to this medium.


Favorite Moment:The introduction to Nightcrawler. Talk about badass. Seeing him make short work of the secret service was awesome to see. The raid on the mansion comes in as a close second.



5. Batman Begins
http://images.amazon.com/images/G/01/video/stills/batman2-large.jpg

If you haven't figured it out by now, I love Batman. I found the character fascinating, and I don't think any other superhero has been adapted as well for the big screen. This list might seem Batman intensive by the end, but I feel that all of these films deserve to be in the top 10. With Batman Begins, Christopher Nolan took comic book films to an entirely new level (which he eventually exceeded with The Dark Knight). The plot and acting reached levels never seen before in a comic based film. Nolan showed the world that comic book films can be accepted as good cinema, not just some fan boy's wet dream.

This movie also has to be appreciated from the standpoint that it revived Batman on the big screen. Batman and Robin obviously left us all with a sour taste in our mouths. This movie rectified the wrongs that had been done only 8 years prior, and brought Batman back to prominence.

Favorite Moment:Batman swooping over the citizens of the Narrows as he is trying to save them. Epic scene, plus the score was epic.

MasterChief117
04-20-2012, 12:40 PM
I love, love Batman Begins. So many memorable moments.

Tornado
04-20-2012, 01:50 PM
5. Superman (1978)

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/2836/42615826.jpg

According to the filmmakers, there was a reluctance on the part of Hollywood to make a movie about the most famous of all American superheros. They feared that it would either be too campy, too sentimental or audiences would be disappointed when it was not the Superman they imagined. And actually, these kinds of problems have plagued many of the superhero movies that have been made in the wake of Superman's unparalleled and unsurpassed success. Somewhere, somehow, the filmmakers found that blurry area where the fantasy of the comic book and the realism of film could meet and somehow produce the story of Superman on the large screen. I think the main reason the film works as well as it does is because of the fine acting and a fine script that takes themselves seriously enough that the audience runs with it and yet maintains its fantastical flair. The entire idea behind Superman is pure American fantasy on the grandest scale, and the filmmakers understood how to capture this idea tremendously well on film.

Of all the elements that made it work, the script is on the forefront. Many subsequent attempts at screen writing a superhero from the pages of a comic book to the luster of the screen have had mixed results, and some of them had been in dire need of rewrites. But Superman's script was honed before it was shown. Every line reinforces the premise, the feel and the rhetoric behind the story. This is fantasy but it also has to be believable. Superman's initial encounter with Lois Lane, his response to her inquiring his identity as simply "A friend," sets up Superman's character that permeates the entire film. He is not doing what he does to feed his own ego and/or gain publicity. He is helping for help's sake, and that is the very essence of Superman. If he had flexed his muscles and said "I am Superman," the entire experience would have lapsed into farce of the Adam West Batman variety. Superman's combination of heroism and humility is coupled with a slightly different take on Superman's alter-ego, Clark Kent. Unlike the campy 1950's series in which the difference between Kent and Superman was like trying distinguish Dracula and Bella Logosi, Reeve offers a Clark Kent that is a fish out of water. Kent is a stumbling and bumbling Midwesterner out of rural Nebraska who knows about as much about urban living as your average hay stack, which becomes a refreshing contrast between his two identities.

But the script alone can't bring a movie success. You need actors who know how to deliver the lines in just the right timing and tone to convey the essence of the story and the realism of the characters. Enter Christopher Reeve. Say all you want about his qualities as an actor outside of Superman or his personal/political beliefs, but the man was born to play Superman. Gene Hackman's performance as Lex Luthor constantly cutting down Miss Teschmacher and Otis reminds me of Bing Crosby, or maybe a late Cary Grant film.

I'm going to close this on my all-time favorite Superman quote (spoken by Batman): "It is a remarkable dichotomy. In many ways, Clark is the most human of us all. Then… he shoots fire from the skies, and it is difficult not to think of him as a god. And how fortunate we all are that it does not occur to him."

DarthVader 2004
04-20-2012, 03:56 PM
20 Transformers.
19 The Incredible Hulk.
18 Iron Man 2.
17 Thor.
16 Hellboy.
15 Hellboy 2.
14 Batman Returns.
13 Blade 2.
12 Blade.
11 Superman 2.
10 X-Men.
9 V For Vendetta.
8 Batman.
7 X-Men First Class.
6 Spider-Man 2.

RedVaders Top 20 Superhero List.


5 Iron Man.


http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii50/akemsocola/movie/desk00800or0.jpg

Some would say Iron Man should not be above any Spider-Man movie but truth is I just liked the movie. Iron Man was fun and i liked seeing the slow build up to Iron Man learning how to become Iron Man. Allot of comic book movies has the hero mastering his ability in 10 to 15 minutes. I liked the slower pace. I think the reason Iron Man was so good was because it was one of those things where The Actor made the movie and RDJ made Stark a great character.
Stark and Iron Man is my favorite Marvel Character now after Wolverine.

Fanible
04-20-2012, 04:03 PM
If need English terms it means...

....

Nick1988
04-20-2012, 05:30 PM
Top 10 Superhero Movies

10-Kick Ass
http://theradishpress.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/hit-girl-kick-ass-trailer-21-12-09-kc.jpg

What a surprise this move was, never heard of the comics, and didn't really hear or see anything about this movie till it came out. I saw this movie hearing it was really good, and man for once i wasn't let down by other peoples opinion, movie was ****ing hilarious. I usually can't stand child actors, but man Aaron Johnson and Chloe Moritz, as well as the 3 friends of kick ass were great in this movie. The humor in this movie was spot on, now a days i find it hard to find a good comedy that actually makes you laugh out loud, look no further then Kick Ass. Aaron Johnson was funny and and overall did a really good job, but man Chloe Moritz stole the show, she was a riot, i mean everything that was coming out of her mouth was golden, it's nothing new seeing a little kid swear like a sailor, but the way Mortiz was able to pull it off really made it hysterical and convincing. This in general was a very well rounded cast, even the big fat black guy who was security for the drug dealer for when Kick Ass goes there to stop the drug dealer from bothering a girl he likes, even he cracked me up. Mark Strong, someone you don't envision in a movie like this was pretty humorous, guy gradually becomes more and more cooky, to the point where he is shooting people and snorting coke , funny ****. There needs to be more movies like this, that don't take themselves to serious and offer a entertaining aspect that i find hard to find in most of todays hollywood movies.

Favorite Moment: I remember first seeing this, and the scene Hit Girl comes in to save Kick Ass from the drug dealer, and she says something so funny and raunchy , i literally burst out into laughter at what i had just heard, i can't remember it and can't find the clip on youtube, so if anyone remembers please feel free to tell me.


9-Hulk
http://www.deadfilm.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/513.jpg

People are gonna give me **** for this one, but i just watched it for the first time since i saw it in theaters, and i really liked this movie and feel it is incredibly underrated and misunderstood . I saw this when it first came out in theaters, way back when i was 14 , and there was a considerable amount of hype for this movie, it was Hulk for the first time on the big screen and it was supposed to follow up Spider-man as another potential big time movie franchise. I walked out of thinking it sucked big time, it was boring, and i hated the comic book style shots with ever scene, it just to me was an epic failure. I enjoyed this movie now though being older, to me i really like the approach Ang Lee took with, i mean was it smart for a Hulk movie and for a supposed summer blockbuster? Probably not, but hey we have seen it with Nolan, you can make a very serious and not action pack comic book movie and it be successful. I just think this movie ended up failing because at times it's like Ang Lee was trying to make this movie but it's the producers wanted action so they were shoe horned into the film. I liked the father angle they played, to me that is ten times more interesting then Banner becomes Hulk on random dumb luck, yes an accident happens, but it seems pre determined because of his Fathers history. I do see why people didn't like it, it seemed to tangle up the movies plot and was a little to much for the movie, at times it was like there was 3 or 4 bad guys and all with a different storyline. I liked the cast a lot, and i'll say this, this cast was WAY better then The Incredible Hulks cast. I liked Erica Bana's Banner, Bana seemed a bit more like Banner to me then Norton, Connelly, who besides being smoking hot, i just really dug her performance more then Liv Tylers, Connelly did a great job of portraying a conflicted individual torn between her love for Bruce and her estranged father, and speaking of him, Sam Elliot did a really good job as General Ross, he was real mean s.o.b at times and i loved the intensity but also a man who seems bit clueless on how to deal with his estranged daughter, he made for a really good villain and was far and a way better then Hurt's Ross, who i didn't care for much. Nick Nolte did a great job as well, he played a good disturbed father, i know some people thought he was a a bit absurd in this, but i enjoyed his performance. Watching this i was also surprised that this movie actually does have a good amount of action scenes, The whole third act of the movie was non stop action, and it was pretty good stuff imo. I get why people didn't like this, this movie wasn't for everyone and for a comic book character that was expected to do big numbers, it probably wasn't the right idea to go in the direction they did, Ang Lee is an amazing director and applaud him for trying a unique take on the character.

Favorite Moment- I loved the scene where Betty is holding Banner in the streets of San Francisco after his rampage, and she locks eyes with Ross, it was a really touching moment, a look of " Enough with the destruction and violence, i love this man and i am gonna stick with him" , Elliots look and Connellys emotional look was great and i thought was a very touching scene

Tornado
04-20-2012, 06:11 PM
Oh... no...

DarthVader 2004
04-20-2012, 06:58 PM
I suppose if i comment that the Hulk was boring. It would be another crazy RedVader moment. But come on Hulk number 9 is the most weird pick i have seen in the Top 10 best superhero list.

Nick1988
04-20-2012, 07:14 PM
Anyone else says that and i might be offended, but coming from a guy who can barely even put together a sentence and has the IQ no bigger then my shoe size, Yeah i can live with you calling it weird i think.

Nick1988
04-20-2012, 07:16 PM
Oh yeah and a disclaimer, Since it's only 10 movies and i don't want to have it riddled with Batman and X-men movies.I consider Batman, Batman Returns,Batman Begins and The Dark Knight all some of my favorite movies ever in general, and X-men,X2 and First Class are all really good as well. I will only pick 2 from the Batman movies(One Burton,One Nolan) and 1 from the X-men movies. I want my list to be varied .

DarthVader 2004
04-20-2012, 08:45 PM
Hulk had great possibilities but it dragged along in the beginning and Hulk hoping around in the desert part was for me a bit cartoony.
I loved Elliot and Bana in that movie but its suffered from being kinda slow developing.

Tornado
04-20-2012, 10:09 PM
Oh yeah and a disclaimer, Since it's only 10 movies and i don't want to have it riddled with Batman and X-men movies.I consider Batman, Batman Returns,Batman Begins and The Dark Knight all some of my favorite movies ever in general, and X-men,X2 and First Class are all really good as well. I will only pick 2 from the Batman movies(One Burton,One Nolan) and 1 from the X-men movies. I want my list to be varied .

I hear that. I briefly considered combining Batman Begins and The Dark Knight into one entry for that very reason, and that played a factor in cutting Burton's Batman from the list to avoid having three Batman films on it. That's not the only reason I cut it, but it was one of them.

bbf2
04-20-2012, 10:23 PM
Hulk had great possibilities but it dragged along in the beginning and Hulk hoping around in the desert part was for me a bit cartoony.
I loved Elliot and Bana in that movie but its suffered from being kinda slow developing.

You know what else was super cartoony? When his dad shot himself with gamma-radiated starfish DNA to become an absorbing monster and then he started eating electricity in order to turn into a electricity monster and then he used lightning to juggle the Hulk through the sky and then they landed in a ditch and he turned into a rock monster and then something exploded and he turned into a cloud monster and then a jet came by and a single rocket killed him.

JBond
04-20-2012, 10:28 PM
Pfft, bbf2 is making stuff up again.

bbf2
04-20-2012, 10:38 PM
Pfft, bbf2 is making stuff up again.

When I make stuff up I actually try to make it sound plausible.

JBond
04-20-2012, 10:42 PM
Heh, good point.

BTW, Kick-Ass is overrated.

DarthVader 2004
04-20-2012, 11:36 PM
A-Men to That. It was an ok movie but i am not sure why its loved so much.

Neverending
04-20-2012, 11:45 PM
#4 - SPIDER-MAN (2002)

http://images3.static-bluray.com/reviews/98_6.jpg

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We are a couple of week's shy from this film's 10th anniversary. It's also my 10th anniversary as an active member of message boards. Before Spidey, the most I ever spent online having discussions with people was through AOL Chat Rooms. Remember those? Anyway, let's take a trip down memory lane. The excitement for this movie was enormous. I still remember showing up on opening day and all the screenings were sold out for the entire day. People bought their tickets weeks in advance. The auditorium was packed with people wearing Spider-Man t-shirts, myself included. Everybody had a blast throughout the film. They all cheered, laughed, and whistled at Kirsten Dunst's boobs. And at the end, everyone gave a standing ovation. It was marvelous. To this day, it's one of my top 10 moviegoing experiences of all-tme. Why was their so much happiness? Because it was the first Spider-Man movie ever made. This was cause for celebration. Especially since we were rewarded with a great movie. Is it flawed? Yes. But no film is perfect. Sony may have rebooted the franchise because fanboys and Internet trolls like to ruin everything, but to me, it'll be a tough challenge to surpass or even equal this movie. And there is no way it'll ever duplicate the emotion or hype it gave us.

#3 - DARKMAN (1990)

http://images3.static-bluray.com/reviews/2868_12.jpg

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Sam Raimi did a great job with Spider-Man, but his finest hour was with his own creation. Darkman is fascinating because he's a superhero by default. In reality, he's a monster. He was a scientist who had his lab trashed by gangsters. So, in his quest to get revenge, he becomes the hero the city needs. How funny is that? The beauty of this film is how well Sam Raimi balances horror, comedy, and action. Blade and Hellboy followed in this movie's footsteps in that regard, but neither did as good of a job. Some would argue that it's bull s--t and this film is too campy. But to each his own, I guess.

DarthVader 2004
04-21-2012, 02:22 AM
RedVader's Top Superhero Movie List.


4 X-Men 2 X-Men United.


http://i525.photobucket.com/albums/cc333/kook_goo/501480X-Men-2-Posters.jpg
This movie to me was simply still one of the best Comic Book movies made. It is too bad Cyclopse was little more then a Cameo player in this movie but other then that you can't ask for more from a comic book inspired movie. Jackman and McKellan were so good in this movie for me and I just could not pick Iron Man over this but not quite have it over my last 3 films.
4th place may seem high to some but not to me.
I know people say First Class is great and is equal to this. But I don't think so. Both are good movies. But this is just so much better a film to me.

Moviefan
04-21-2012, 02:59 AM
my top favorites
super man 2
batman begings
batman returns
x-men 2 united
spider-man 1
dare devil
ghostrider i enjoyed i knowwhy some people don't like it
thor
captian aemrica the first agvner
the indaible hulk with ed nortion

i liked
super man retruns
steel its my favrotie movie
super man 3
i like theh ulk i liked ed norton hulk much beter you didn't have to get into the comics
i also like ninja turtles 3 its more famiy friendly movie.. i didn't like the way turtles looked nothing beats the first ninja turtles movies

ifyou going to add movies heres some;
dragon ball evloution
street fighter
street figther ledge of chun li
super girl that was horrible moive
x-men 3 more watch it more ilike it
son of the mask that was a horible moive

Tornado
04-21-2012, 08:35 AM
Steel is your favorite movie? That's a shame.

Neverending
04-21-2012, 11:20 AM
This thread is ruined, I'm afraid. It's cluttered with nonsense by RedVader, Moviefan, and to a lesser degree, Nick1988.

Tornado
04-21-2012, 12:39 PM
I don't think it's ruined, but it does seem like it came to a grinding halt.

4. X-Men: First Class (2011)

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/2506/3640x360.jpg

When the action-packed but unmoving X-Men Origins: Wolverine was announced, it came coupled with the hiring of a writer for X-Men Origins: Magneto. 'First Class essentially gives us that story. This is a film about Erik's decision to become Magneto and Michael Fassbender revels in the spotlight as the powerful metal-bender who eventually leads what becomes the Brotherhood of Mutants. The fascinating complexity of Magneto and Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) gets abundant attention and even the minor characters exude that feeling of learning to embrace and understand their powers and differences for the first time.

Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart are tough shoes to fill, but Fassbender and McAvoy make those characters their own while commanding the screen much like those venerated talents. Despite the film leaning heavily toward Magneto's story, McAvoy impresses here as a rallying leader figure. He has a youthful charisma that a bald wheelchair-bound Professor X never gets the luxury of wielding in the original films, but he demonstrates a maturity we've never gotten to see from McAvoy, who's always playing teenage or 20-something characters thanks to his boyish looks. The chemistry between him and Fassbender echoes that between McKellan and Stewart but in a much different way. With this film now in the X-Men canon, I think revisiting the original trilogy would actually make the original films' Magneto-Professor X subplots more powerful. That's how well the writing team captures their relationship and story despite the many other things going on.

Director Matthew Vaughn strikes a nice balance between the grittiness of a Layer Cake and the superhero fun of Kick-Ass. Vaughn milks the most he can out of a PG-13 rating as some gruesome deaths are left to the imagination or shown simply without the blood. Graphic enough or not, 'First Class' keeps a dark tone with the exception of all the teenage mutants learning to control and showing off their powers. Even then, they remain firmly rooted in the script's core ideas and messages. Lawrence as Raven/Mystique and Nicholas Hoult as Hank/Beast represent an effective use of subplot. Both play young mutants who possess powers that exhibit physical characteristics. As young people, they wrestle with questions of fitting in or embracing who they are, which echoes the larger Erik/Charles storyline on a smaller scale.

Regardless your thoughts on X-Men: First Class as a stand-alone film, it unquestionably does great justice to the power of the X-Men" story as a whole and reminds us why this message has universal qualities that all can identify with. Not only are there the questions of conformity, but also of human nature. The climax reminds us of one of the major differences between Charles and Erik: one has faith that humanity will come to accept mutants and the other doesn't. Although we've been trained to agree with Charles since Bryan Singer's first film in 2000, 'First Class' helps us come to realize the power of Magneto's argument, proving he's not so much a villain, but a character with a darker and perhaps more realistic world view.

Nick1988
04-21-2012, 01:56 PM
This thread is ruined, I'm afraid. It's cluttered with nonsense by RedVader, Moviefan, and to a lesser degree, Nick1988.
Please explain how i had anything to do with ruining this thread.

JBond
04-21-2012, 03:47 PM
He's being an elitest ****. ;)

DarthVader 2004
04-21-2012, 05:09 PM
3 The Dark Knight


http://i1066.photobucket.com/albums/u405/Mishelle41463/the-dark-knight-original.jpg

I know many considered this to be the best comic book movie ever made and even the best Batman movie. It was a very good movie and Ledger gave one of his best performances to a villain in really any film going. I just happen to like 2 films more and who knows my mind may change a few years down the road.

And to be honest I don't think its wrong to use the same character in more then one or two slots in a movie . I like batman and x-men and so on so i see nothing wrong with adding more then one film too a saga if it is good.

I respect Nicks guts to going out side the box and adding films like Hulk because to him it likely was a better movie and no one list should be a carbon copy.

Neverending I say this I had a blast doing this thread and its too bad you needed to be a scrooge and needed to complain about others lists.
Your own list is all you needed to worry on I think.

Nick1988
04-21-2012, 05:14 PM
8- Blade II
http://robsmovievault.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/blade2interviewpic5.jpg

I never actually dug the first Blade, i thought it was alright nothing special and i was actually a bit surprised when i saw the trailers for this, I knew Blade was sort of a surprise hit back in 1998, but had no clue it was getting a sequel, regardless the trailer looked impressive and my friends who really liked the first Blade wanted to see the sequel. So i went in with pretty much no expecations and man i was really pleased with what i saw, I remember walking out thinking how awesome the movie was and that i almost wanted to stick around for another showing and see it again, i liked it that much.First and foremost, I have always been a Wesley Snipes fan and it's a shame to see his career and life in general go south in the past several years, but he was just the definition of bad ass in this movie, I mean the part with Ron Pearlman and he slaps him around only to attach an explosive device on the back of his head was great, even better when they are in the club and Pearlmen thinks he is being subtle by aiming his gun with a laser sight at Blade, only to realize Blade has him already in his sights and the smile he gives was priceless. The rest of the cast was great as well, the idea of Blade working with vampires was a great idea and it worked well, there was always this tension with Blade,Whistler and the Bloodpack, they didn't like each other but at the same time needed each other, it made for an interesting dynamic. I like Ron Pearlmen in almost anything he does,and his exchanges, as i stated earlier , with Blade were always really entertaining as was Chupa's with Whistler, I literally burst out laughing when Chupa says to Whistler"You are one **** hair away from hillbilly heaven" ,classic.I really liked Nomak, who was the bad guy in this. He was a a bad dude alright and his fight scenes some of the better comic book movie fight scenes i've seen. I especially liked there first fight scene they had , infact that whole sequence leading up to the fight where the Bloodpack are fighting the creatures was great . I ended up seeing this movie 3 times in theaters, and a whole bunch more on DVD, really entertaining movie. I actually ended up going back and seeing Blade 1 after seing 2, and i really liked it, infact so much that i debated which Blade movie to put on here, but in the end it's Blade 2 that i found to be the more enjoyable one, I really hope when Snipes is out of prison maybe he can do one last Blade movie to make up for Trinity being as bad as it was, he was great in that role.

Favorite Moment: It has to be when Blade is held captive and he finds out that Norman Reedus character was actually a spy for the Bloodpack and was gonna turn Blade over which actually wasn't even a surprise as Blade known, then leads to Blade having that guy blow him self up by accident, which leads to an epic scene where he takes out a bunch of vampires. Awesome scene.

7-V for Vendetta
http://moviesmedia.ign.com/movies/image/article/674/674429/v-for-vendetta-20051208093357493-000.jpg

V for Vendetta was part of a string of relatively unknown comic book characters that were adapted to a film, all coming out in spring, there was Hellboy in 2004, Sin City 2005, V for Vendetta 2006, and 300 2007. V For Vendetta imo was by far the best and probably the best comic book movie that doesn't feature Batman,Superman,Spider-man,X-men etc basically the big time characters from Marvel and DC. Move had a great blend of action as well as a thought provoking storyline. Hugo Weaving was ****ing awesome as V, guy did an outstanding job and made for one of the more memorable characters to hit the big screen over the past several years. He was inteligent,confident,compassionate but also had a dark side to him, made for an overall very rich character. I mean his first real entrance into the movie was brilliant, between the dialogue to those 3 corrupt police guys who were gonna rape Evy, and the ass kicking he does after it, was about as good of way to introduce a character, that scene along with when he shows Evy blowing up the buildings, to me really captured what V the person was in a nutshell.Natalie Portman was great, kudos to her for shaving her head for this and really committing her self to the role, she did an amazing job, i mean the whole her being tortured sequence was some of her best acting i have seen from her. Her chemistry with Hugo Weaving's V was spot on and made for one of the more interesting cinema relationships i have ever seen. Supporting actors were great as well, Stephen Rhea was great , he did good job of portraying a detective who was torn between wanting to do the right thing and not wanting to be killed for what he was trying to do, was pretty neat to William Hurt as the dictator type guy when in fact he was on the opposite end in the 1984 movie where he was the one being persecuted by a harsh government. This movie had a perfect balance of action and story, and top it off with top notch acting, you have your self one of the better comic book movies to come out.

Favorite Moment:Might be a bit of a surprise, but i actually really liked the scene where Evy is reading the notes she finds in her cell about the previous captor who was a lesbian, watching that character narrate how she got there and her story in general made for an incredibly touching scene.

DarthVader 2004
04-21-2012, 05:22 PM
I have no problem with those picks really. Least someone else saw V For Vendetta was a good comic movie.

Nick1988
04-21-2012, 11:08 PM
6-Thor
http://cdn.sheknows.com/articles/2011/05/thor-movie-review.jpg

I had a really hard time between deciding which would go 5 or 6, i originally had Iron Man at 6 but changed it at the last second. Now this isn't a knock on Thor at all i just liked Iron Man just a hair over this, in fact they are almost tied in terms of quality imo. Thor was how do it put it....****ING AWESOME. Chris Hemsworth WAS Thor, he was amazing every time he was on screen i was drawn to Thor he was that good. I liked his transition form arrogant and cocky to more humble and understanding. I just can't picture anyone else as Thor after seeing Hemsworth, amazing job. The second start of this movie is def Tom Hiddlestons Loki, for this being his first major role in a feature film, he sure as hell made an impression, Loki was about as dynamic as comic book villain we have seen, it's not even the major things you notice, it's the small little details he added to the character that really brought it to life. Guy did an amazing job , can't wait to see what he is up to in the Avengers movie. Natalie Portman as Jane Foster was good, nothing special but she played her role and wasn't annoying or bogging the story down. Anthony Hopkins was pretty damn convincing as a God, hes the kind of guy that commands your attention and has an incredible presence , and it really showed in this film. The Frost Giant Battle.....holy ****, When i first saw it in theaters i was blown away, you really need a big screen and sound system to really appreciate the battle, not to say it wont be entertaining on your own tv set, but man seeing it in a big movie theater was about as epic as a scene i have ever seen. I find it strange that you rarely in comic book movies see the main superhero use all his powers and just go ape **** on the opponent showing all his different abilites, well look no further then to this movie, scene was epic. Thor is a movie that almost anyone can enjoy it has a little bit of everything to make for a very solid superhero movie

Favorite Moment: I really liked the final fight versus Loki, the emotion that was flowing in that scene was great and i actually liked the action/fighting aspect of it.














5-Iron Man
http://ironmantonystark.com/wp-content/uploads/iron-man-movie-photo-from-months-earlier.jpg

It really was a toss up between this and Thor, both are incredibly entertaining comic book movies with great performances, with that being said this was by far the biggest pleasant surprise of any comic book movie i have seen so far, i thought the trailers looked incredibly corny and stupid, but man was i wrong once i went and saw this opening weekend. I had seen good reviews online but i wasn't expecting it to be that good. For starters, there really isn't much else to say about Robert Downy Jr's performance that hasn't already been said, guy was lights out as Tony Stark, i had never read the Iron Man comics so i wasn't familiar, but that doesn't even matter because Downey Jr was so damn good as Stark. He just had it all, charisma, swagger, confidence and all bundled into making him a douchebag of sorts, but incredibly likeable. I feel though the character really shines though after he is captured and interacts with the other captive(blanking on his name), and seeing Stark gradually change set up for a pretty nice arc for the character, something we don't see as often in superhero movies. The one aspect i thought this movie did really well in was the romantic interest , we see this in every comic book movie and a lot of times it drags the movie down, i got sick of it in the Spider-man movies, and hell even Nolans Batman movies are at it's weakest when we had to see scenes involving Rachel. In this movie it's handled perfectly, it works because they aren't in love or have been it's more like they are flirty and it's never shoved down your throat , it's more realistic and subtle, no cheese monologues where the character confesses there love for the other. So obviously Gweyneth Paltrow as great, i have always found her to be overrated, but i liked her in this. Terrance Howard was really good in this as well, it's a shame he wasn't able to return for the second one because i thought he was a much better Rhodes then Cheadle. Howard and Downey Jr scenes were always great, they had great chemistry.Jeff Bridges was good, nothing special but it was nice to see him play a bad guy for a change. I know some people complained about the action, obviously the rescuing the villagers part was sweet but i thought in general it was great, i actually enjoyed the final fight scene found it very entertaining. This movie really had about as good of balance between humor and action then any other comic book movie i have seen.

Favorite Moment: Iron Man saving the villagers, the shot of him walking away as the tank he shot blows up....classic.

DarthVader 2004
04-22-2012, 04:46 AM
I liked it when he laid the hammer on Loki's chest the only other person i can remember ever lifting the Hammer other then Thor is The Hulk.

Tornado
04-22-2012, 01:06 PM
I'm sure I'll catch some flack for this...

3. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

http://img838.imageshack.us/img838/8252/5best.jpg

Spider-Man 2 works so well because it presents a very human character and tells a story that having superpowers is not necessarily the answer to all of life's problems. In fact, the opposite might be true for Spider-Man as he decides to put that idea to the test by giving up the role.

Hardly the mold for a great hero. But a hero he becomes in this movie, though not without reluctance, doubt, and several second-thoughts, and when he finally embraces the webbed mantle, we feel that he has come to his burden honestly. That the filmmakers and actors can capture this between scenes of heady, computer-generated kineticism and somehow not lose momentum or the audience's attention results from judicious cutting of the "action" sequences and generous cutting of the dialogue and non-action scenes. Thus, we feel Peter Parker at his most vulnerable not in the tentacled grasp of his nemesis Doc Ock, but swallowing his words between furtive glances as he tries to answer Mary Jane about his love for her.

Everything in this film tops the original. The music by Danny Elfman blends seamlessly, and is truly inspiring; the harmony of it and the film is flawless. Sam Raimi's death-defying shots of Spidey swinging from skyscraper to skyscraper become even more elaborate; expanding the spectacle of it all. The fights are a million times better; each is stylized beautifully, and it never delves to slow-motion. In fact, the showdown at the bank and on the train are the film's greatest set pieces.

But amidst all the glory of Spider-Man's flashy style, the story is never lost. Raimi successfully makes us actually think; what drives a hero, what makes him tick, why does he do what he does, how does he handle it? Why not quit? The emotional pull is immense; the light humor Raimi permeated in the first is still present, but even more innocent and well placed (Pete tries washing his costume; he takes the elevator in his costume; etc.). The performances have matured since the first film, becoming even better. Fastly becoming dangerously unstable, James Franco is a bitter, angry and untrustworthy Harry. Kirsten Dunst conveys a subtle longing for her superhero dream-boy. And Tobey Maguire carries the film on his shoulders; his poignant stare, his innocent nervousness, and his genuinely engaging performance make him the epitome of a superhero. We can't help but cheer the web-head on; as with acrobatic eagerness, he swings and speeds to save the day.

The film's only downfall was leading to the third film where Raimi tried to do too much.

Neverending
04-22-2012, 01:23 PM
Why would you get flack? Trolls and fanboys aside, we all love Spider-Man 2.

DarthVader 2004
04-22-2012, 01:25 PM
I will agree it was and amazing sequel and had a better Villain. I just happen to like Spider-Man 1 better somewhat. I get that way with some franchises. LOTR for instance FOTR is my favorite movie. Batman Begins i prefer to the TDK. I am not sure why i like original movies to a trilogy.
I do wish Raimi was given a chance to finish the 4th movie. I liked his style of work in these movies.

Nick1988
04-22-2012, 01:31 PM
4-Batman Returns
http://www.timburtoncollective.com/images/batman/batmanreturns.jpg

I liked Batman 89 a ton, i mean for the longest time it was my favorite movie ever, but for some reason of the Burton Batman movies over the past couple years i have found my self enjoying Batman Returns even more so then the 89 one. First and foremost i loved the look and feel of the movie, one of my favorite shots in movie was in the beginning was when the camera slowly pans down as the Cobblepots are about to dump Penguin in the sewer, and the shot has Gotham city in the background but it is somewhat blurred by the falling snow, you can still see Gotham through the snow fall and it looks gorgeous to me, I loved Burtons look of Gotham city, it really looked like what i imagine Gotham City to look like. Danny Elfmans score as usual was on point, my favorite score of any movie ever is Danny Elfmans Batman score. Now moving on to the cast, i have to say that while i enjoy Bales Batman to an extent(more so in Begins then Dark Knight, he was pretty weak in The Dark Knight i felt.) I still consider Michael Keaton to be the definitive Batman, to me he really embodies what Batman is and the pathos of the character. Say what you want about his Bruce Wayne, but his Batman was great. I like the idea of Batman being a very brooding and lonely type guy, he doesn't talk much and he gives you almost a sense of danger when your're around him, he wasn't your typical superhero ,he did have a very dark side to him and it's apparent, he comes across like a guy who had a messed up childhood. I know this isn't in Batman Returns, but seeing is how it was the same Batman, the scene in Batman 89 when Vicky Vale is in Batmans batcave after being saved, she is telling him what people think of him and that some think that Batman is just as crazy as the Joker, and Keatons Batman instantly has a swift turn and gets close to Vicky telling her that it's not exactly sane world,i know this is a different movie but this to me more so then any other scene in Batman movie history captured the essence of Batman in a nutshell more so then that scene. Moving back to Returns , in short Keaton will always be Batman in my eye, or at least for the time being, but regardless i will always have soft spot for Keatons Batman. The villains in this i thought was an interesting choice mainly because of the direction that Burton went with them . Catwoman, while it was a bit hokey with the whole origin of the character, the rest of the way was great.Michelle Pfifhers Catwoman was far better then the comics version imo. She was sexy but had a real dark and twisted side to her, the one scene where she stops the mugger from attacking the lady, and then when the lady thanks Catwoman, only to be scolded by her, was ****ing brilliant, to me that was Catwoman , someone who might save you but doesn't give a crap about you and mocks you. Danny Devito's Penguin has divided many Batman fans, somethink it was really bad while other seems to like the direction they went in the character. Chalk me in the "like" column,Penguin off all the Batman villains ..probably has the least interesting villain, fat penguin looking guy who owns a night club, a far from the other Batman rogues. So i loved the idea of changing his origin and changing the character in general, he was one evil sun of a ***** thats for sure. His background was great, and the whole Mayor storyline was a refreshing storyline, instead of just having him be another Joker type that cause mayhem in Gotham, he had an agenda and his own personal storyline which i really digged. Overall i find Batman Returns to probably be the most aesthetically pleasing movie i have seen, i loved the score combined with the cinematography and feel of the movie made for a great film, coupled with 3 great characters, i think it's a shame this movie was considered some what of a failure and lead to Schumakers abominations, to this day i feel it's to bad we never got to see Burton do a third Batman film.

Favorite Moment: When Batman and Penguin are conversing and Penguin says"Touring the riot scene. Gravely assessing the devastation. Upstanding mayor stuff, to which Batman replies"Your not the Mayor",Penguin says "Things Change" when further in the conversation Penguin boldly states"You really don't think you can win,do you?" to which Keaton coldly mocks Penguins earlier statement by stating "Things Change", and only a second later a huge explosion followed by Catwoman revealing her self to Batman and Penguin, awesome scene.

DarthVader 2004
04-22-2012, 01:34 PM
IDK Catwomen was a cool character in it but i still think the original was better. Both Burton ones were good no question. Batman Returns likely would have been higher if not for Nolan and Raimi and Singer comic films.

Tornado
04-22-2012, 01:52 PM
Why would you get flack? Trolls and fanboys aside, we all love Spider-Man 2.

Don't a lot of people here not like the Spider-Man films? I thought the forum was fairly divided on the trilogy.

Neverending
04-22-2012, 01:55 PM
On the trilogy? Yeah. But I think we all like Spider-Man 2. SHH, on the other hand, is a disaster. Ever since Spidey 3, ridiculous fanboys have turned on Sam Raimi. It's the main reason to blame for the reboot.

Tornado
04-22-2012, 02:01 PM
Redacted.

Deexan
04-22-2012, 02:26 PM
You should at least give the guy whose (awesome) review you copied a credit, man!

Tornado
04-22-2012, 02:29 PM
Holy ****, I didn't even re-read it. My review must have been right next to his. I will have to re-find mine later and repost it.

MasterChief117
04-22-2012, 02:38 PM
Why would you get flack? Trolls and fanboys aside, we all love Spider-Man 2.

Agreed. Spider-Man 2 is still awesome. Extremely enjoyable, good story line, solid all around. Shame that Spider-Man 3 pissed in a perfectly good cup of tea.



As soon as everyone is finished with their list, I'll toss mine up. I figured since Tornado, Neverending, and about 8 others are doing it. I would wait. It is EXTREMELY hard to follow.

Deexan
04-22-2012, 02:41 PM
I am in the same boat as Vader (God help me), I always seem to prefer the first movie in a series too. Certainly in the Batman films (both series) and Raimi's Spider-mans (Spidermen?).

Tornado
04-22-2012, 03:23 PM
I apologize for that blunder again. I took it down as soon as soon as I read your post Deexan, but thank you for noticing whatever you noticed that tipped you off. I feel like an asshat.

2. Batman Begins (2005)

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/9140/2variant1640x360.jpg

I'm sure I loved Batman and Robin when it was released into theaters in 1997. I was only nine years old at the time and I would guess that the combination of Batman Arnold Schwarzenegger blew my mind. It wasn't until a few years down the road that I realized how terrible it was, and how it killed the franchise at the time. It's kind of surreal to go back and read the different incarnations of what Batman Begins almost was: Batman Triumphant (the proposed 5th entry in the franchise by Joel Schumacher, Scarecrow and Harley Quinn as Joker's daughter as antagonists), DarKnight (Manbat), an adaptation of 'Year One', Batman Vs. Superman, etc. None of those would have worked as well as Batman Begins did, and we're lucky that none of those films ever saw the light of day ('Year One' probably would have worked though).

Instead, we received Batman Begins, a haunting and visionary beginning to what might go down as one of the greatest film trilogies of all-time.

Fear is the primary theme at hand here. The Burton/Schumacher films utilized fear as a theme in their films as well, but they really only scraped the surface. Fear flows through the wealthy districts of Gotham City all the way down into the Narrows. Fear flows through Wayne from the start of the opening credits to the final scene with Gordon on the rooftop. Bruce Wayne is a confident character, but has to fight back fear's urges throughout the entire film. The first half of the film is driven by Bruce's fears, while the second film is about overcoming those fears and being triumphant in the face of them. The film's characters are also all interwoven in this theme, all either attempting to arrogantly control it or heroically overcome it.

The focus of Batman Begins is on the story, and the slow progression from Bruce Wayne to Batman. While audiences complained at the fact that we didn't see Batman until an hour into the movie, it was a necessary wait. Bruce Wayne wasn't Batman until this point, and it was crucial that we understand what he had to do to get to that point. Can anybody honestly say that the film would have worked had Bruce donned the cowl 20 minutes in? I don't think so. We need this time to discover who Bruce is as he does it himself, and we need to learn how Bruce's actions and intentions will grow and develop over the course of the trilogy. Unlike Spider-Man, or Superman, or Captain America, or really any other movie superhero, Bruce never really seems like he actually wants to be Batman. He needs to be Batman, both for his own sanity's sake and in effort to save Gotham. This is a very mature idea for a superhero film, and in my opinion a large part of why Batman Begins works as well as it does.

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/5272/2variant640x360.jpg

Christopher Nolan is famous for being behind the camera for every shot created in his films, and it shows here. At no point in time did I feel a disconnect from scene to scene, each shot flowing effortlessly into the next. The world that Nolan creates here feels real. Everything feels plausible, and it's because of this that the audience is able to be drawn in so well. Every character, every emotion, every fight, every reveal all feel real. I never felt separated from the story, and I think it all has to do with this world and this cast. Even in the Burton films, as much as I love the Gothic atmosphere, it doesn't feel real and I'm always very aware of the fact I'm watching a comic book movie. The less said about Joel Schumacher's films the better. But here and in The Dark Knight, I don't feel like I'm watching a comic book movie with crime drama elements, I feel like I'm watching a crime drama with comic book elements. It's a very different and unique way to adapt a comic book, and I again think it's a big reason why these films have been so successful.

Much as I said Christopher Reeve was born to play Superman, Christian Bale feels like the absolute perfect choice to portray both halves of the character. And that's something that, in my opinion, hadn't been done yet for the character. As much as I like Michael Keaton, I never felt like he was a very strong Bruce Wayne, and the same goes for Val Kilmer. George Clooney on the other hand is the perfect billionaire playboy, but he is an awful Batman. Christian Bale strikes the right chord for both roles. The supporting cast of Liam Neeson, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, and Morgan Freeman are all flawless here as well. The production team strayed a little from who Ra's al Ghul was in the comics, but their interpretation works well here. The others are spot-on. Katie Holmes is... serviceable, definitely the weakest part of the cast, but that might have to do with the overall excellent of the cast rather than Katie's performance specifically.

Despite everything else, my favorite scene in the film is the final rooftop discussion between Batman and Gordon. Gordon makes it clear to Batman that while he's being helpful, he is also going to make things worse over time through escalation (as we see in The Dark Knight). And as critical as I've been of the production for The Dark Knight Rises, I can't wait to see that idea come to its conclusion.

Tornado
04-22-2012, 03:27 PM
And in case anybody is wondering/keeping tabs/waiting to start their own list/etc., I will be finishing mine tonight.

Nick1988
04-22-2012, 03:30 PM
3-Spider-man
http://www.tribute.ca/tribute_objects/images/movies/spiderman/spiderman1.jpg

I always remember hearing about how big of a deal it was when Batman was coming out back in 1989, it was going to be the first big budget Batman adaption on the big screen, the hype was huge, Batman merchandise was everywhere, people were rocking the t shirts, the lunchboxes, the posters, you name it. It was the movie event of of year and one of the bigger movie events of the decade. So with that being said, Spider-man was that for me, but this was bigger, because we had never seen a live action Spider-man, closest thing we got as the 90's series. We all know how long it took for this movie to finally come out, and when i first heard of the cast and when it was coming out, i was shocked, because there had been a rumored Spider-man flick for YEARS. I remember i was in the 7th grade, and i remember the previous summer seeing the now famous scrapped trailer, involving the bank robbers and being caught between the twin towers from Spider-mans web, the trailer blew me away at the time, i was in shock to seeing how well Spider-man looked, no matter brief it was. The 2 weeks leading up to this movie was indeed Spidey mania, everyone in school was talking about going to see it, and not just certain kids I MEAN EVERY KID IN THE SCHOOL, was pretty much intent on seeing it opening weekend, the hype was unlike i have seen or ever seen, only The Dark Knight has equaled the amount of hype Spider-man got, and maybe even Spider-man 3. Now that i got all the personal stuff out of the way, on to the important part, the movie it self. I loved the movie and i went and saw it 4 times at least in theaters. I just couldn't get over the fact that it was mother ****ing Spider-man on the big screen, i loved the costume and really like Raimis style for the movie. Tobey Mcguire was a great spider-man , i know we look back and say he wasn't saying wisecracks every 2 seconds like the comic book purists wanted, but i thought he had the right balance, to me a Spider-man cracking jokes ever 2 seconds would be ****ing annoying as hell. I don't care if thats how he is in the comics, thats gonna be annoying to actually hear, it's a difference between reading it and hearing and seeing it on the big screen. He had some really great moments as Peter Parker, including a really touching scene when he comes home from graduating and he is looking in the mirror all teary eyed thinking about his Uncle Ben, it made me start to feel for him . Peter Parker losing his Uncle Ben is a huge thing for him and Aunt May and you felt it because the Actors did a great job, some of the best acting in the movie is right after Uncle Ben dies. Kirsten Dunst, was pretty much Kirsten Dunst, except with red hair, she didn't exactly set the world on fire with her Mary Jane(Yes i realize the potential drug reference in that statement) but she did her part and i thought she made for a good love interest, her scene with Peter when Peter is taking the trash out was a nice scene that set up the movie for where Peter and MJ would take there relationship it. Willem Dafoe, though his Green Goblin was a bit over the top, but in a good way, i personally liked it a lot. He made for a really good sinister Green Goblin and some of the best scenes where with Norman Osborne towards the end of the movie as he slowly succumbs to becoming fully the Goblin persona, in particular the Thanksgiving scene. The action in this movie was spot on, i loved the first encounter between Green Goblin and Spider-man in times square, it was well put together fight scene . I also enjoyed there final fight scene as well, the whole bridge sequence followed by Green Goblin giving Spidey a beat down in the ruins of an old building.
I will always remember the moments leading up this movie and the day i saw it, and who i saw it with, what the weather was like that day, what the theater looked like , i mean it was that kind of moment for people i feel. Seeing Spider-man for the first time on the big screen was a once in a lifetime thing and i am glad i could be old enough to appreciate it.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-L39ctkfvpjU/TZ8wi4-RqhI/AAAAAAAABKo/1LjNZiMZ1v8/s320/spiderman_ESB.jpg

Favorite Moment:Spider-man slow mo style dodging Green Goblins razor blade thingies he hurls at Spider-man, it was pretty damn sweet.

Nick1988
04-22-2012, 03:38 PM
The Year One project would have been awful , it wasn't even Batman they stripped down everything from the character , at least Batman and Robin had Batman actually looking like Batman, unlike Year One which sounded like an idea from someone who was on a **** load of drugs.

Tornado
04-22-2012, 03:41 PM
Yeah I know they stripped it way down, but I would have liked to have seen a Batman film from Darren Aronofsky. Could have been interesting. And that's why I was interested in the Wolverine sequel until he abandoned the project.

Justin
04-22-2012, 04:03 PM
It's too bad I've had to scroll down each page just to find Tornado's list.

Tornado
04-22-2012, 04:21 PM
This is mostly hodge-podged together from my initial early review in 2008, so I apologize if some of it seems redundant now. I did substantial editing, but I still may have missed something.

1. The Dark Knight (2008)

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/2655/1best.jpg

In The Dark Knight, Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the city streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as the Joker. Bruce must also deal with his feelings for Rachel, who has become romantically involved with Dent.

The characters are particularly well-written, the story has very few problems with it, the pacing is quite unique, the cinematography is brilliant, and the score is amazing. This, in fact, is quite possibly the first time I've ever seen a superhero film as a crime drama first and foremost. Kudos, to director Christopher Nolan. The intense story makes for what is easily the darkest superhero film ever, dealing primarily with the monstrous Joker and the rise and fall of one Harvey Dent, which of course Bruce is caught in the middle of both acts. The dialogue is ripe and quick, and the idea that this world is real isn't hard at all to imagine. I can't sing the praises of the cinematographer Wally Pfister and the art direction team enough. But one of the finest shining points of the film is the incredible acting from nearly everyone on board.

Christian Bale turns in quite possibly the performance of his career, his personality hanging in the balance between righteous and downright crazy. One of the best things about the Nolan franchise is that the character of Bruce Wayne feels justified in his actions, whether he's fighting crime in a three-button suit or a flexible Nomex survival suit. Batman is a flawed hero, and that's a line never breached in any of the Burton/Schumacher films. One of the things I find most interesting about the character is his progression from film to film. In Batman Begins, Bruce saw Batman as his duty, he alone could topple crime and put an end to the constant state of fear the citizens of Gotham live in. In The Dark Knight, we see a more mature Bruce Wayne, who while feeling that Batman is still a very central part of his life, has received power and now feels the burden of responsibility of that power.

Because of Batman's methods and manner, he's going to attract a fresh brand of criminal as he does with The Joker in this film. But at the same time, Bruce is looking for an out. He doesn't want to be Batman his entire life, and I feel a lot of his “friendship” with Harvey Dent stems out of this fact. He saw Harvey as his out, that Harvey could've put a stop to this intense crime in Gotham. This could've been the end of Batman, and Bruce could've gone on living his normal life. Unfortunately (for him), things didn't work out that way.

But the real star of the show is the late Heath Ledger as the monstrous Joker who steals every scene he is in. He's not like the previous versions of the character. He's downright evil, horrible, and villainous in every sense of the word. As the fuel to the fire burning in Bruce's mind, he helps create the delicate balance of righteousness Bruce is going through. The Joker is nefarious, and in the span of 152 minutes, clearly shows why he's not only the most nefarious arch-nemesis of the Bat, but why he's one of the most terrifying film villains of all-time. I remember the hoopla on the message forums over his casting, citing he couldn't possibly pull the character off properly. Personally, I never had a true reason to doubt him, but more than that I had faith in Christopher Nolan. Nolan's initial response to why he cast Ledger as the Harlequin of Hate (a nickname thankfully not brought up in The Dark Knight) was, “He's fearless.” And he was.

http://img821.imageshack.us/img821/4404/45835612.jpg

Michael Caine returns as Bruce's loyal butler, Alfred, and proves again how important he is to the franchise. I genuinely believe the friendship between Caine and Bale, which is integral to a film like this. Bruce has to lean on Alfred a few times throughout the film, for help handling his recent grief and advice on what to do in regards to the Joker and possibly revealing his true identity. Gary Oldman turns in a helluva of a performance as quite possibly the most heroic character in the film, Lieutenant James Gordon. He's clever, smart, on the ball, and rarely thrown off by the seemingly randomness of the Joker. In fact, he seems to catch on to things before anybody else. Sadly, the Joker is usually one step ahead of the game. The detective elements of the film are some of its strongest, and Oldman is given his chance to shine here.

And finally, I was never big on Aaron Eckhart until Thank You For Smoking, but I thought his casting as Harvey Dent was brilliant and I ended up being right. He plays both sides of the Dent character very well, dabbling between being the White Knight of Gotham in press conferences and the meeting of the minds on top of MCU, and flashing his darker side while flipping a coin deciding the fate of one of the Joker's henchman and trying again when he doesn't like the outcome the first time. When Harvey becomes scarred with oil and fire, he embraces his dark side as Two-Face. And by embraces it, I mean he holds a gun to a kid's head and starts deciding the fates of everyone around him with his lucky coin. Honestly, I'm a little surprised the film managed to pull off a PG-13. It's far from a hard R, but the material is there. I was a little let down by the death of his character because it would've been great to have Two-Face as the main villain in The Dark Knight Rises, but it fits this film well.

What I initially found to be the only problem with the film, after some thinking I came to the conclusion that it's only natural given the tone of the film and characters: the pacing. It seems very erratic, but when dealing with a character committing several seemingly random crimes as the Joker does, the pacing is only natural. The film doesn't revolve so much around the Joker as it does how the other characters deal with his actions. He's a wrecking machine, only serving to create chaos in the lives of our heroes.

Simply put, The Dark Knight is better than Batman Begins: the action is far more intense, the story is more thoroughly-developed, the combination of the Joker and Two-Face make for a bigger threat than Ra's Al Ghul did, everybody involved turns in improved performances over the previous film, the writing is stronger, the score is even better (if that's physically possible), etc. I could honestly go on all day singing the praises of this film. The Dark Knight will go down in history as one of the greatest crime dramas ever committed to film, along with Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas, Michael Mann's Heat, David Fincher's Zodiac, and Brian de Palma's The Untouchables. Dark, grim, haunting, and visionary, The Dark Knight is nothing short of a masterpiece.

--------------------

And that completes my list. I'd love to see how everybody else's finishes up and what anybody else has got cooking. I suspect this thread will fade into obscurity in the next couple of weeks, but thanks for the fun. I will definitely update my list as we go along through the next few crucial months with The Avengers in a couple of weeks and The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises in July.

Tornado
04-22-2012, 04:26 PM
Quick summary:

TOP 10

The Dark Knight
Batman Begins
Spider-Man 2
X-Men: First Class
Superman
Iron Man
Captain America: The First Avenger
X2: X-Men United
The Incredible Hulk
Watchmen
Runner-up: Thor

BOTTOM 10

Catwoman
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Batman and Robin
Supergirl
Elektra
Blade: Trinity
Fantastic Four
Hulk
Green Lantern
Superman Returns

MasterChief117
04-22-2012, 04:31 PM
And in case anybody is wondering/keeping tabs/waiting to start their own list/etc., I will be finishing mine tonight.

Thanks for the heads up. Plenty of time for me to make my decisions.


Also, wonderful pick for number 2. I loved your write up.

Nick1988
04-22-2012, 04:32 PM
Great list man, really enjoyed reading your reviews, I didn't mean to hi jack your thread, i was just bored one day in class and thought id take a stab at , since i had never done a list of my fav/worst comic book movies. I figured making a whole new thread would be pointless and since others were doing it, i thought id do one as well, but again great list.

Tornado
04-22-2012, 05:15 PM
Thank you very much. No hijacking though, I wanted people to post their own lists.

MovieBuff801
04-22-2012, 05:39 PM
I made my own list like this last summer in MC's and my Top 10 thread, only I focused on superheroes in general, and not just ones with comic book origins. Here it is, with one new addition since I made it:

1. The Dark Knight
2. Watchmen
3. Batman Begins
4. Spider-Man 2
5. V For Vendetta
6. X-Men: First Class
7. Iron Man
8. The Incredibles
9. Darkman
10. Thor (replaced Batman '89 after my most recent viewing of it)

Deexan
04-22-2012, 06:02 PM
Great lists and write-ups, Torn, really enjoyed it; definitely not the work of an asshat, haha. I only noticed that Begins review because I was sure I'd read it elsewhere. It's a really good read.

Now we all wait with bated breath for Vader's final countdown!

PG Cooper
04-22-2012, 06:27 PM
Great list Torn.

Nick1988
04-22-2012, 06:51 PM
2-X-Men
http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20110611120314/xmenmovies/images/6/66/X-Men_movie_team-1-.jpg

X-Men has always been my favorite Marvel Comic, and i was a huge fan of the Animated series, which i still think is my favorite animated series ever. So i was very much pumped for this, i remember i had sort of forgot about the X-men since the time it went off air, i was 11 when the movie was about to come out and i remember seeing trailers but wasn't that impressed or maybe i just don't remember, anyways it wasn't till i saw a EW cover of Magneto and his Brotherhood, and i got the magazine(I think it was April 2000 issue), it was previewing the summer movie season. I read it and for some reason it got me really interested in X-men again, i suddenly couldn't wait for this movie to come out, i ordered posters, hell even got some action figures of it, and i considered my self at 11 to be a bit to old for action figures. I saw it and honest to god at the time thought it was the coolest movie i had ever seen. Seeing the X-men in action on screen was like a dream come true for me. I will never forget the first time i saw Wolverine's claws come out when he was confronting those guys at the bar, everyone in the crowd was wowed. I know it's the cool thing know to hate on Wolverine for being forced down everyones throat and at the expense of other key characters losing screen time, but i didn't mind it,(x3 was a bit stupid with it though), Hugh Jackman was 100% Wolverine in my eyes. I was blown away by him, seeing is how this guy came out of no where and totally owned the character, a central figure in a hollywood film and one of the most popular characters in comic book history, so it's safe to say dude was under some pressure to make Wolverine look good, and that he did. Wolverines best moments were probably when he made snarky comments, like the "Wheels " line and of course when he had to prove to Cyclops he wasn't Mystique by calling him a dick, funny stuff indeed. The chemistry between Wolverine and Cyclops was great, it's a shame we never really saw it go anywhere in the sequels, seeing is how Cyclops got the shaft pretty bad. I loved the fight scenes in this as well, the whole train station sequence was awesome, seeing Storm send Sabretooth flying through the wall was sweet, and of course Toad using his tongue to knock off Cyclops visor to as Wolverine would say "Give the train station a new sun roof", that was pretty cool as well. I just liked the contrast between the Brotherhood and the X-men, X-men looked professional , and clean cut and not as freakish, while the Brotherhood looked ragged, dirty and visually pretty freakish, and i liked that angle. The X-men who are the good guys, and can hide there powers for the most part and go out in public, while if we saw some one like Toad or Sabretooth in public people would mock them or run in terror, and it brought up an interesting dynamic. OK yes the X-men want to help Homo Sapiens , but they don't have to deal with any trouble if they go out to grab milk at the grocery story, the Brotherhood members lookd scary and were probably subjected to a lot of abuse because how they looked, so it would only make sense that they would harbor some harsh feelings towards homo sapiens and anyone who supported them. I am probably getting a bit to off track here, but in short i liked the contrast between the two sides. The cast was great, Patrick Stewart IS Prof X but i think people have been saying that since the early 90's, about as perfect of a casting as you can get in comic book movies. Ian Mckellean was pretty tyranical in this, Magneto was more of a villain in this then a potential more anti hero type character, which i personally liked, Mckellan did an outstanding job of making him a man who has obviously seen the bad side of humanity and been there a lot of wear and tear in his fight for mutant dominance. I personally liked this one the most, i really liked the storyline, the mutants involved, the look and feel of the movie plus a really underrated score. X2 was great, but i enjoy this one a tad bit more.

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/1/10197/746513-mv5bmjawotc2mdq3ov5bml5banbnxkftztywmta2njy2__v1__ sx500_sy348__super.jpg

Favorite Moment:Wolverines introduction as the cage fighter,and the ensuing moment at the bar, one of the most memorable introductions to a character ever.

Neverending
04-22-2012, 07:19 PM
#2 - ROBOCOP (1987)

http://images2.static-bluray.com/reviews/111_1.jpg

Sometimes all you need is an outsiders point of view. Robocop is a great social satire about `80s corporate America as seen through the eyes of Dutch filmmaker Paul Verhoeven. In many ways, this film is closer to Frank Miller's work than all the Batman movies. There's also the excessive violence that initially got the movie an NC-17 rating. I know it's very immature to admit it, but it's really cool to watch Verhoeven go to such gory extremes. But while those two elements are great, it's just the icing on the cake. At its core, what makes Robocop work, is the emotion and tragedy of the main character. This is a husband and father who loses his life and gets resurrected as a machine. Those scenes where he is remembering his past and coming to terms with his present state are very powerful. I guess in conclusion what's great about this film is that we get the total package plus it's a Hard-R and very adult.

DarthVader 2004
04-22-2012, 09:40 PM
2 Spider-Man.


http://i151.photobucket.com/albums/s156/Sano619/Spider-Man.jpg
I know Spider-Man 1 by most comic movie fans was not as good as Spider-Man 2. I guess I just have a great fondness for the movie. It really too me is the film that broke the door open for what would be the new comic book movie era.
I know that Green Goblin is laughable in that mask. But I think he was a great Villain and plaid greatly by Dafoe. I did like Molina's Dr Ock better as a Villain but the whole Spider-Man 1 movie was this movie i never expected to be awesome and it ended being my most watched Comic DVD.
I for a long time like X-Men and didn't like Spider-Man but the movie grew on me and ended up being my most watched dvd by the time Spider-Man 2 came out.

Neverending
04-22-2012, 10:11 PM
#1 - BATMAN (1989) / THE DARK KNIGHT (2008) (TIE)

http://images2.static-bluray.com/reviews/1333_17.jpg

http://images3.static-bluray.com/reviews/760_6.jpg

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Let there be peace in the Batman fandom. For far too long we've been at war. Let's compromise and admit that both movies are great for different reasons.

Tim Burton's Batman is as important to the genre as Richard Donner's Superman. The Man of the Steel proved to Hollywood that big budget superhero movies could be successful. And the Caped Crusader showed them that it could be taken seriously. Burton brought a dark and brooding Batman to mainstream audiences. And he also added a psychological profile to all the characters. You can give Chris Nolan all the credit you want, but it can't be denied that Burton laid the foundation for him. Now, as comic book fans, what's great about Burton's adaptation is the combination of 1939 Bob Kane/Bill Finger with Frank Miller and Alan Moore. In other words, he took the character back to its roots but also gave it an `80s modernization. The best of both worlds.

Nolan's Dark Knight is more grounded and based on the newer interpretations of the character. It's a nice contrast. I think both of these films compliment each other by offering audiences a different take and experience on an iconic superhero. And the best part of all... they're both valid. In the character's 70+ year history, there has been good, bad, and mediocre versions. And these two movies capture two equally great ones.

Nick1988
04-22-2012, 11:26 PM
A tie for your number one movie?That's probably the lamest thing you could , Why not make one of them 2 and the other 1 and bump one of the other films of the list? or make it 11.. but having a tie is pathetic, and that's not to pick on you , that goes for anybody.

Neverending
04-22-2012, 11:35 PM
A tie is acceptable is certain scenarios. If someone said that Godfather I & II are equally great, could you blame them? Or if they said that the LOTR trilogy is one long great saga, would you disagree? Batman and TDK are two sides of the same coin. Two great films that adapted two different versions of the same character. They compliment each other. Fanboys don't like to see it that way because there always has to be a better movie. But sometimes there isn't.

Tornado
04-22-2012, 11:35 PM
I'm fine with ties in general, but you have to prefer one of those two over the other. They're so radically different, I find it hard to believe you consider them to be on the exact same level. Kinda feels like you just didn't want to take a stance.

Neverending
04-22-2012, 11:43 PM
I find it hard to believe you consider them to be on the exact same level.

Are you a fan of Batman: The Animated Series? If so, do you consider it a great show and a great adaptation of Batman comic books? If so, would you say it's equal in quality to The Dark Knight? And if so, aren't they radically different? Sometimes there are ties. At the end of the day, it's all Batman.

Nick1988
04-22-2012, 11:55 PM
Yeah i mean they are two completely different interpretations of Batman, but i guess an argument could be made that because they are both different and offer a different take on Batman, that you kinda of get the best of both worlds, Batman is the more fantasy type, and Nolan's is more serious and what not.

Tornado
04-23-2012, 12:11 AM
I don't consider them to be on the same level, but it's irrelevant either way.

I don't care if you want to end your list on a tie, but it's very anticlimactic. The worst part is that I knew you were going to do it too. I know you like TDK and you're always quick to defend Batman, and neither had popped up yet... it was just a matter of time.

Neverending
04-23-2012, 12:40 AM
Your #1 was pretty anti-climactic too.

MasterChief117
04-23-2012, 12:43 AM
I guess I will continue my list then. Major props to everyone before me. I only hope I can put mine as good as everyone else's. We will see soon enough.




Leading up to 8....


10. Hellboy
9. Superman(1978)




8. Batman '89



http://images3.static-bluray.com/reviews/1333_1.jpg



Growing up, this film was untouchable to me. It was the VHS that never left the machine. I wore it out. Every day, like my Father before me, I would come home after school and watch this film. Everything about it was so damn cool, and every day I wish I was something I could never be.


The most recent viewing of Batman '89, nearly two months ago left me uneasy. While still an awesome movie, full of nostalgic moments, it hasn't held up as well as I would like, especially with The Dark Knight out. Nicholson's approach to The Joker is still great, but not nearly as menacing. The biggest selling point is still Michael Keaton who gives a hell of a performance as Batman, donning one of my favorite incarnations of the batsuit. However, his Bruce Wayne still feels mostly missing and empty.


The movie hasn't aged especially well, some of the action scenes fell off and the movie at times, drags. I will always love this movie for what it was and for what it is. It, to me, doesn't add up to some other superhero films but it will be a classic, if it isn't already.






7. X-Men: First Class



http://images2.static-bluray.com/reviews/4814_5.jpg



The original X-Men trilogy to me was consistently solid. I never understood the flak the third one got, and/or the credit the others received. They were solid, entertaining action films throughout. I always thought too much focused was placed on Wolverine, and it didn't help I was/never a fan of Hugh Jackman. It was made extremely worse with the Wolverine prequel film they did. Regardless, this film was released and the trailers definitely excited me.


The film is awesome. Plenty of action, plenty of story, solid characters and great development. It's hard to replace two great actors, but Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy managed very well. Fassbender, in one movie to me, put himself on the map. His approach to Magneto is absolutely fantastic, and definitely hard to look away. He brings so much to the character, so much emotion, grief, anguish and every time he is on screen, you want to help him. The movie is plain fun, and despite some characters being completely useless, remains a great superhero film. One of the best.

Neverending
04-23-2012, 12:53 AM
To avoid confusion, here's my recap:

TOP

1. Batman (1989) / The Dark Knight (2008) - TIE
2. Robocop (1987)
3. Darkman (1990)
4. Spider-Man (2002)
5. Kick-Ass (2010)
6. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
7. Batman Returns (1992)
8. The Mask (1994)
9. Superman (1978)
10. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

BOTTOM

1. Batman & Robin (1997)
2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)
3. The Spirit (2008)
4. Superman III (1983)
5. Jonah Hex (2010)
6. Catwoman (2004)
7. Blade: Trinity (2004)
8. Steel (1997)
9. Swamp Thing (1982)
10. Judge Dredd (1995)

MasterChief117
04-23-2012, 01:06 AM
The irony that The Dark Knight is top on most list, and Batman and Robin is on the bottom on most. Haha.

Neverending
04-23-2012, 02:09 AM
Batman is a unique franchise in that regard.