My Top 36 Comic Book/Graphic Novel Adaptations

Why 36, you may ask? Well, before starting this blog, I compiled a list of comic books and graphic novels that have been adapted for the screen.  This list is far from comprehensive, and still needs a lot of work, (thanks to the wonderful NUTS4R2 for looking over it for me and adding suggestions) but out of all the films I'd chosen, I'd already seen 36.  So to start of the blog, I decided to compile my list of them, in reverse order, with a little bit of what I thought of them.  Spoilers abound, and you are of course welcome to skip down to the end to see what is my number one without reading the rest, and also please comment and tell me whether you agree/disagree :)

36.  The Spirit

So does everyone who watches this.

Not just my personal worst adaptation of all time, but one of the worst films of all time, period.  You know how sometimes a film can be so ridiculous and terrible that you can even get some enjoyment from it by laughing at it?  You can't do that with The Spirit.  It's woeful from beginning to end: dodgy script, dodgy acting, and the least charismatic hero you'll ever meet.

35.  Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

The first Fantastic Four film was quite bad, but also sort of weirdly entertaining.  This goes the way of The Spirit and is just plain awful, for pretty much the same reasons: Acting, script, the strange way that Mexican Jessica Alba has been made into some Aryan ideal.  

34.  League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

What a waste of a good cast this film was.  And a terrible waste of a good idea (Fictional Victorian heroes band together to fight a mysterious threat).  After making this film Sean Connery swore off acting for the rest of his life.  You'll probably swear off watching films.  For a while anyway.

33.  Wanted

Wanted just didn't grab me at all.  I liked the premise, but the plot was easy to predict and a lot of the action scenes, involving bending bullets and things like that, were just silly rather than interesting.

32.Hulk

The general expression of anyone watching Hulk

I only watched this once, years ago, but to this day I have never forgotten how utterly bored I was by the whole thing.  It's all style and no substance; beautiful to look at but with nothing to engage you.

31.  Spider-Man 3

Peter Parker turning emo and dancing down the street has been burned rather unpleasantly into my retinas.  This movie was a disaster: one boring villain (Sandman), one that could have had way more emotional heft than was used (Green Goblin #2) and one villain that even the director loathed and couldn't be arsed with (Venom).  Also, the dancing.  Oh God, the dancing.

30.  Fantastic Four

He's flaming gorgeous... (I'll never say that again, I promise)

I will willingly admit that I do enjoy this, and yes, Chris Evans' muscles are one of the various reasons.  Julian McMahon is an interesting villain, thankfully never hamming it up unnecessarily, and there are various laughs to be had while the team come to grips with their superpowers.  It was never going to win any Oscars or anything, but there are worse ways to spend a couple of hours.

29.  Batman

I know this film is well-loved, but I only saw it after seeing Christopher Nolan's Batman films, and frankly, it didn't match up.  I hated Jack Nicholson's Joker: the performance was too over the top and seemed suited more to Adam West-era Batman, particularly the scene where he graffitis an art gallery to the sounds of Prince.  

28.  30 Days of Night

This does have an interesting take on vampires, which in this post-Twilight era is most welcome (yes, I know this was pre-Twilight, but still).  I just had one or two problems with the way it was filmed, mainly because it looks that for most of the 30 days, the vampires and townsfolk just politely ignored each other until the most dramatic time possible.

27.  The Incredible Hulk

Norton now moonlights as the Hulk's crotch censor. 

Ed Norton is an unlikely but solid enough Bruce Banner in the second stab at bringing the not so jolly Green Giant to the screen.  Tim Roth is a great villain, but Liv Tyler is ridiculously weak as the love interest.

26.  Iron Man 2

There was lots to enjoy in this, I felt, from Sam Rockwell's incredibly dry turn to the banter between Tony Stark and Pepper Potts, but it was essentially the first film again and suffered from an over-acting Samuel L Jackson section in the middle.

25.  X-Men 3: The Last Stand

Someone tries to make Kelsey Grammar watch it again.

Too many heroes, too many villains.  That about sums it up... It's a bit of a mess.  A relatively entertaining one though.  I still can't understand why Wolverine's trousers didn't shred along with the rest of his clothes though.

24.  Wolverine

I know this was critically slated, BUT I LIKED IT.  There.  I said it.  Yes, it was a bit silly, but I felt that Deadpool at the end made up for this.  I've never seen such a striking design for a comic book character.  He looked terrifying, and tortured, and his sword hand things were COOL.  Ropey CGI abounds though in the rest of the film, and the characters tend to make silly decisions.  But over all, yes, I enjoyed it.  So there.

23.  Hellboy

Not a patch on other Guillermo del Toro films, but still quite good! Ron Perlman is excellent in the title role, and the character designs are all beautiful.  There's humour, adventure, romance... Definitely worth a look.

22.  Batman Returns

My main reason for liking this one was Catwoman.  Michelle Pfeiffer is brilliant in the role.  Also, Danny de Vito as The Penguin... He's hard to like, but you also end up sympathising with him, which is a very difficult feat to pull off.  I like Michael Keaton as Bruce Wayne, but as Batman he just sort of fades into the background.

21.  Superman

I haven't seen this since I was a child *guilty face* I know I enjoyed it at the time! So I am placing it here round about the middle of the countdown... Must watch it again!

20.  Spider-Man

This one is also really good.  There's a good blend of action, romance and effects, and Tobey McGuire is brilliant in the title role.  Aunt Rosemary does grate a bit and you will be left wondering if that's the same James Franco who was Oscar-nominated this year, but all over this is pretty good.

19.  From Hell

This another critically panned one that I liked.  I am of the opinion that it's a rather scary, strikingly shot piece, with a great cast and a good story.  I was slightly shaken when I realised that Bilbo Baggins was such a bastard (Alien did the same to me, years later).

18.  Iron Man

I've been a major fan of Robert Downey Jnr's since I saw Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (I'm only a youngster).  I'd heard all the stories about the arrests and the drugs and stuff and so I was delighted when I saw he'd been cast in such a block-buster.  And he is most definitely the best thing about it; his Tony Stark is an obnoxious, misogynistic, cocky shit, and yet somehow Downey Jnr makes him entirely likable.  Also, it has Jeff Bridges in it.

17.  A History Of Violence

I didn't realise this was a graphic novel till researching them for the blog.  I loved this film.  The acting is superb, the story is brilliantly told.  It can be hard to watch at times, but it's well-worth it in the end.

16.  Men In Black

Another one I didn't realise had its origin in comics! It's actually medically impossible to hate this film.  Aliens.  Will Smith.  Tommy Lee Jones.  It's hilarious and scary and just FUN.  I shan't talk about the sequel.

15.  Captain America

It was the only picture I could find, I swear.

More Tommy Lee Jones! Hugo Weaving! Chris Evans! I was personally delighted to hear he'd been cast as the First Avenger.  I've always been a fan, ever since the first Fantastic Four - he tends to be one of the best things about the movies he's in.  He's a great choice for Captain America: he makes him likable and believable.  This film could have so easily become a patriotic mess, but it's very well-handled and thoroughly enjoyable.  The tie-ins to Thor gave me chills and the last half an hour really grabs you and pulled the film into four star territory for me.

14.  Spider-Man 2

Alfred Molina is awesome as Doctor Octopus.  That is all you need to know.  He takes a potentially ridiculous villain and infuses him with humanity and completely steals the show from everyone.  He's so good in fact, that this is my favourite Spider-Man film despite Mary Jane and Aunt Rosemary doing their best to drag the film down to horribly sentimental levels.

13.  X-Men

Would it be fair to call this the first truly modern superhero movie? It certainly seems to have kick-started the current glut.  It's a highly enjoyable ensemble affair, mainly focussing (and rightly so) on Hugh Jackman's growly Wolverine, with scene-stealing turns from Ian McKellan as Magneto and Patrick Stewart as Professor X.  I'm still disappointed that Gambit wasn't in this, but hey, you can't have it all!

12.  V For Vendetta

I still get chills watching this.  A perverse part of me loves seeing John Hurt play Winston Smith's polar opposite. Plus, there's more Hugo Weaving and Natalie Portman's shaved head.  And Stephen Fry! It's a great adaptation and a film I can happily watch again and again.

11.  The Mask

I love it.  I just love it.  It's utterly hilarious, with Jim Carrey at his absolute best, in a role he was born to play.  I've never seen a film just embrace and run with its madness so joyfully.

10.  X-2

The opening scene with Nightcrawler in the White House is nothing short of spectacular.  For that alone, X-2 is head and shoulders above all the other X-Men films, in my opinion.  Well, most of the other ones...

9.  300

This! Is! SPARTA! They're men, manly men, and they will fight in the shade to one of the most epic soundtracks I've heard in my life.  The visuals are stunning (check out the first view of the entire Persian army) and despite not much dialogue the sense of brotherhood between the Spartans is palpable.  Dominic West is perfectly cast as the villain and if the Ephors don't physically repulse you, well... There's something very wrong with you.

8.  The Dark Knight

Don't stone me for not putting this higher, this is MY list Goddammit!! I am well aware that TDK is an amazing film, and probably the most important comic book film of all time (its influence alone over all succeeding superhero films, and the way they are viewed, is vast), it just didn't seem to grab me as much as everyone else.  I'm not saying it in a hipster-ish, just to be different way: I was genuinely really looking forward to this film, had tickets prebooked and all, but I came out of the cinema sort of deflated.  The decision to have the final fight scene in radar vision was incredibly daft, as it makes it very hard to tell what's going on... That was a major negative for me.  I will agree that Heath Ledger's performance is mind-blowing and the very finest piece of acting in a comic adaptation.  No question.  

7.  Sin City

Mickey Rourke's comeback, absolutely amazing visuals, great ensemble cast (including the inspired casting of a fresh out of the Shire Elijah Wood as a ninja cannibal), three twisting, engaging, linked stories...  Sin City is just pure entertainment from start to finish.

6.  Thor

I was expecting this to be dreadful, and it so easily could have been.  Kenneth Branagh was a brilliant choice for directing; he usually handles Shakespearian drama, and was therefore greatly suited to Asgard and the Father/Son and Brother/Brother conflict.  He also handles the action sequences very well.  Thor is such an over-the-top character that he could easily become silly, but Chris Hemsworth has major charm and screen presence and carries it off with aplomb.  Tom Hiddleston is a great Loki, and Stellan Skarsgard, Natalie Portman and Kat Denning play wonderful, well-rounded supporting characters.  The best of the pre-Avengers films, in my opinion.

5.  Watchmen

I've a ridiculous soft spot for this film (just look at my profile picture!).  Watchmen was the first graphic novel I ever read, and I loved it, so I was really looking forward to the film.  I felt it captured the book perfectly.  The opening credits tell the story of the Minutemen and the alternate universe in which they live beautifully, and the cast are wonderful, with Billy Crudup's Doctor Manhattan the real stand-out, his acting so brilliant you're not even distracted by the fact that he never wears clothes.  His flashback sequence to when he was human is the strongest, most affecting part of the film.  As for the changed ending? I think it's better than the book.

4.  Kick-Ass

Seriously, did anyone actually hate this film?  I can't find anything wrong with it.  It manages to be both a parody of superhero films and also to wipe the floor with the majority of them.  In my opinion, the team of director Matthew Vaughn and screenwriter Jane Goldman can do no wrong.  Everything is just pitch-perfect in this: the music, the casting, the acting... Of course Hit-Girl is the absolute star of the show, stealing every scene she's in and making me fervently hope that any kids I have are like her.  Plus, it's an actual good film that Nicolas Cage is in! How often can you say that?!

3.  Scott Pilgrim Vs The World

Like Kick-Ass, everything in this movie is perfect - the cast even LOOK like their comic book counterparts.  As far as comic adaptations go, this is possibly the most faithful on the list; the little touches like soundwaves coming off the guitars are wonderful.  Ramona's Evil Exes are played with relish by all involved, but Chris Evans (does he act in anything that's not comic-related anymore?!) and Brandon Routh are the standouts.  Star of the film though is Kieran Culkin as Wallace Wells.

2.  X-Men: First Class

Words can't describe how much I love this film.  I was afraid that, as with The Dark Knight, I'd waste loads of energy looking forward to it only to not click with it.  How wrong was I?!  Vaughn and Goldman created another absolute cracker, and the 60s setting feels fresh and new.  Michael Fassbender is amazing as Magneto and James McAvoy's Charles Xavier is a wonderful take on the character: flirting with anything in a skirt and casually manipulating people... He's brilliant.  A lot of criticism was levelled at January Jones for her portrayal of Emma Frost, but I think it's uncalled for: her character is supposed to be cold and aloof.  Henry Jackman's score is another major plus: I've had "Magneto" as my ringtone for months now.  

1.  Batman Begins

My ultimate superhero film.  I've been a Christian Bale fan since I was about eight and was completely delighted when he got cast as Batman.  I unfortunately didn't get to see this in the cinema, but an aunt got it for me for my birthday and I just fell in love with it.  It was a comic book movie that took itself seriously and treated its audience like adults; bringing Batman into the real world was inspired.  Most superhero origins are boring and dragged out - this is fascinating from the off, showing us a Bruce Wayne we've never seen on screen: haunted by grief for his parents, brawling in a foreign prison, receiving training from Ra'as al Ghul on a frozen lake.  Cillian Murphy's Scarecrow is a terrifying villain, Gary Oldman is just perfect as Sergeant Gordon, and Christian Bale manages to play both Bruce Wayne and Batman brilliantly.  I'll have you know I didn't even notice the weird voice till I had it pointed out to me.