A-List: Comic Book Movies
By Josh Spiegel
April 30, 2009
BoxOfficeProphets.com
Obviously, the most common association with the comic book these days is the superhero. Spider-Man, Superman, Batman, Iron Man...the list goes on and on. Of course, there have been many, many superheroes who haven't made the translation to the screen as well. Ghost Rider, anyone? How about Elektra, Daredevil, or the Fantastic Four? For every great superhero and superhero movie, there are double or triple the number of failures that everyone involved would just like to forget ever happened.
This A-List, however, is not full of costumed fighters. Some of the great comic book movies don't have a single character with extremely heightened senses, the ability to fly, or any other awesome power. Films like 2001's Ghost World, a previous A-List entry, are based on smaller, underground comic books; these indie books were made into indie films, but are mostly as highly respected as films as they were on the printed page. However, that doesn't mean the superheroes won't make any appearances, so don't fret. Wolverine, however, won't be appearing on this list, nor will any of his other mutant buddies; maybe, though, if he's lucky, his new movie might be so good it may wind up a future A-List entry. With that in mind, here's the A-List's look at the best movies based on comic books and their characters.
The Dark Knight
No list about anything having to do with comic books can start these days without mentioning the best film of 2008 (sorry, Slumdog Millionaire). Though it's not the first film based on a comic book series that can prove it's not all just loud, grinding action, The Dark Knight is the first to make its characters and situations as realistic as possible. Though they're incredibly familiar characters in American popular culture, Batman and the Joker aren't just super-nemeses in The Dark Knight; one is a guarded millionaire whose ideals are pushed to the brink, and the other is a severely disturbed man with too much time on his hands and a desperate need to screw with the status quo. Director Christopher Nolan not only helps make these two characters and those who surround them feel real, but the extensive action sequences don't seem too outlandish, even for a movie with a guy flying around like a bat. Some people had a few problems with the final half-hour, but any movie that gives us such great performances (though the late Heath Ledger won heaps of deserved praise and an Oscar as the Joker, Aaron Eckhart and Gary Oldman, as Harvey Dent and Jim Gordon, were amazing) and a deadly game of chicken between an 18-wheeler and a motorcycle - with the motorcycle winning, too - can be forgiven. Also, I have to admit, I like the ferry sequence; I'm biased, though. Debates will rise about whether it's the best, but The Dark Knight is arguably one of the best comic book movies ever.
Road to Perdition
Sam Mendes is best known and best loved for his 1999 debut, American Beauty, a satirical drama about a mid-life crisis gone wild. I'd say, though, it was 2002's Road to Perdition that is Mendes' masterpiece. Based on the graphic novel by Max Allen Collins and Richard Piers Raymer, the film is set during the gangster era of the early 20th century when Al Capone and his cronies reigned supreme. Michael Sullivan, Sr. (Tom Hanks) is a hitman for a fellow gangster, John Rooney (Paul Newman), who sees the senior Sullivan as a surrogate son. Rooney's real son, Connor (Daniel Craig), isn't too thrilled with the lack of affection sent his way and conspires to get Sullivan and his family killed. Only the hitman and his eldest son, Michael Jr., survive and go on the run from Connor and from the entire Rooney squad, especially an oddball photographer with murderous ways (Jude Law). The story of Road to Perdition isn't too complicated, but the imagery is lush despite being frigid and cold. Helped by Conrad L. Hall's amazing cinematography, this is a feast for the eyes. Even more, the many characters who populate the world of Perdition are not only appropriate in a comic book, but believable in real life. Among the many stellar performances, the two standouts belong to the non-Americans in the cast. For Craig, this is about as far from being James Bond as you can get; he makes Connor a creepy man, one who doesn't deserve his father's love nor someone who'd know what to do with it. Law has an almost gratuitously quirky character to play here, but he makes his crime scene cameraman the scariest thing either Sullivan can run into. Definitely the most underrated film Mendes has done, Road to Perdition is a chilling, beautiful look at the life of the gangster.
Spider-Man 2
With the way that 2004's Spider-Man 2 ends, I'd just like to presume there wasn't even a third film that followed it up. The last villain Peter Parker ever faced as the webbed crime-fighter of New York was Doc Ock, the disfiguration of Otto Octavius (Alfred Molina), a smart if somewhat socially severe professor who tutors Parker through his college days. Things don't go well for this mentoring relationship when Octavius' experiment goes horribly wrong, turning him into an eight-limbed psychotic. Parker has to don the Spidey suit again and fight off Octavius, who goes after Parker's aunt May and his true love, Mary Jane Watson. Spider-Man 2 is just as great as the first film, with a few exceptions. Here, Peter gets the girl, and the action sequences (especially one where Peter has to stop a fast-moving train from falling off the tracks) are even more sensational than the original Spider-Man. What's more, with the subplot where Harry Osborne realizes who the man who murdered his father really is and a less flamboyant villain in Doc Ock, this film is firing on all cylinders. There are quirks here that became apparent in the third film (the use of "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head", among other things), but director Sam Raimi adds enough emotional angst to these characters that the ups-and-downs of their relationships work. One of the stronger superhero films, Spider-Man 2 is so good that I'm willing to actually see the inevitable fourth story in the saga of Peter Parker.
Men In Black
Not that it may be so obvious, but the 1997 sci-fi action comedy Men In Black, about a secret government organization that monitors the actions of the many alien beings living on or around Earth, is based on a comic book series from a small comic book company that got bought out by Marvel, created by Lowell Cunningham. The movie, directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, is about how an above-average New York cop (Will Smith, hilarious as ever) ends up being recruited as a Man In Black by Kay (Tommy Lee Jones), a gruff but smart agent who still pines for the woman he left behind years ago. Their first mission involves fighting off a massive and smart cockroach who's walking around NYC as an exterminator as he searches for a tiny planet being possessed by the unlikeliest of creatures. Sonnenfeld's known for keeping his movies short and tight, and Men In Black, which doesn't even pass 100 minutes, is no different. Jones and Smith, seemingly mismatched, are perfect together, their comic chemistry never letting up. The unsung hero here is Vincent D'Onofrio, who gets the thankless yet awesome role of Edgar, the human whose body is taken over by the cockroach, meaning that he no longer looks like a healthy human being. As the film continues, Edgar becomes less human and more insect-like. D'Onofrio is fantastically gross here, never overplaying his awkwardness or villainy. Though it led to a weak sequel, Men In Black is a great film, and a lot of fun.
Iron Man
What an incredible time it must be for Robert Downey Jr., an actor who's always on his A-game. Only a couple of years ago, Downey was struggling to make a full comeback with the underrated Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Now, he's become the second major quirky actor in the past decade after Johnny Depp to get a full and very welcome comebacks, thanks in no small part to last year's first summer blockbuster, Iron Man. Though it's an origin story, Downey and director Jon Favreau breathe new life into this common comic book trope. Downey is Tony Stark, the snarky head of a weapons manufacturer. Once he's abducted by a terrorist cell in Afghanistan and sees the evil that his weapons are used for, Stark decides to fight back. He escapes and decides to create a suit to combat evil while taking his weapons off the market. This news doesn't please one of the other heads of Stark Industries, Obadiah Stane (Jeff Bridges, menacing with a bald pate), who takes matters into his own hands. Though the face-off between Stark and Stane doesn't get built up fully, there's no denying that Iron Man is one of the most fun comic book movies, mostly due to Downey's affable charm and his byplay with every single actor, from Gwyneth Paltrow (never better as Stark's would-be love interest) to Terrence Howard. Though Howard's been replaced by Don Cheadle for the forthcoming sequel, I can't imagine the relationship will feel any different. The second film, with Mickey Rourke and Scarlett Johansson attached, already is anticipated, so hopefully, Iron Man won't be the latest superhero franchise taken down by a new sequel.