Where Have All the Good Comic Book Movies Gone? Part 1

It seems these days as though every summer brings with it a new crop of movies based on comic books. This summer, for example, three big films based on superheroes (The Dark Knight, Iron Man, and The Incredible Hulk) will make their appearance in cinemas. Last summer brought the awful Fantastic Four sequel and the (unfortunately) forgettable Spider-Man 3. The year before that saw other adaptations, and the year before that…

As a former comic book geek, may I simply say to the movie industry: Stop it, already!

It’s not that I don’t enjoy seeing a well-made comic book movie appear on the screen – it’s simply that there are so very few well-crafted movies made of comics. Let’s face it – most of them range from the decidedly mediocre to the outright awful. And most of them do nothing to change the minds of folks who think that comics are, in a word, dumb. Hell, some of these movies have been bad enough to make me think that I was nuts ever to read a comic book.

The studios, of course, seem to have decided that comics are a cash cow, and are milking the medium for all of its worth (and the farm analogies stop now). Quality has taken a back seat to quantity and revenue. (For another blogger’s rant on this issue, see this link here.)

Let’s take a quick terrible title check here: Daredevil, Elektra, Fantastic Four (the never released 1994 film and the unfortunately released 2005 version), Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Hulk (Ang Lee is a very good director - just not for the Hulk), The Punisher (the 1989 Dolph Lundgren debacle or the 2004 version, take your pick), Captain America, Ghostrider, Spawn, Catwoman, Steel, Superman III, Superman IV, Superman Returns, Batman Forever, Batman and Robin, Spider-Man 3, Blade: Trinity… It’s a long list, and I’ve probably forgotten one or two.

If you’ve never seen one of these films, consider yourself a lucky person. If you have, let me offer my sympathies.

And these aforementioned titles are just the film incarnations of various comic characters. I’ve not even mentioned the various television shows. Don't worry - I’m not going to.

There are some good movies that have been based on comic books, however. They do exist. Comic fans know this already, but I’m not certain that a) others are convinced, and that b) non-comic fans know that some of the good movies that they’ve seen are in fact comic book based.

So, I’ve decided to start a running list of comic-based films that are actually worth your time. Below you will find the first three titles on my list. These are listed in no particular order (in other words, I'm not ranking them).

1. Ghost World (2001)

A really good film and one that, for many mainstream viewers, won’t be obvious as a comic book movie. There are no superheroes in tights here, and no magical powers. Instead, the movie centers on the characters of Enid (Thora Birch) and Rebecca (a pre-fame Scarlett Johansson) as they navigate the summer after their last high school year. Steve Buscemi also stars, doing the usual Steve Buscemi thing (which I like). The film is very funny in a highly acerbic way, and is never cloying or cute. Definitely worth checking out. Based on the graphic novel by Daniel Clowes.

2. A History of Violence (2005)

Another excellent film that bears no similarity to what is traditionally thought of (by many) as a comic book. Viggo Mortensen stars a Tom Stall, an unassuming small town family man who becomes a hero when he foils a violent robbery at his diner. His actions catch the interest of some shady big-city types, men who bring with them a series of questions about Tom’s past. A very well acted piece (watch for a brief but highly effective turn by William Hurt) that tells a good story and has something to say about human violence. Directed by David Cronenberg, and based on John Wagner and Vince Locke’s graphic novel.

3. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

One of the most purely entertaining comic book films ever made – so enjoyable, in fact, that it makes last year’s dreadful third entry all the more disappointing. There are plenty of superhero heroics here (the subway sequence is particularly well-done), but it’s the film’s infectious sense of humor that really carries the day. That the film manages to be funny without making the central character or the movie’s story a joke is particularly admirable. Some comic book fans have griped about the casting of Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst, but they do just fine. The great character actor J.K. Simmons (who played the dad in Juno) is a blast as the blowhard editor J. Jonah Jameson. Directed by Sam Raimi. From the Marvel Comic.