Hello, loyal readers and fellow geeks, welcome to another issue of Dustin's Dirty Dozen, this week delving even deeper into the world of panels with the top 12 movies based on comic books. Before anyone gets their panties in a bunch about their favorite movies not making the list, just know that this is one of the hardest lists I have had to make to date. A lot of movies I love (based upon the source material) didn't make the list, because this is mainly for movies that can stand on their own even without the source material. I know a couple of these stray pretty far away from the comics, and some you might think can't hold up in the mainstream market of today, but its my list and my opinion, which is why I am guessing you read this in the first place. So, to make us wait no longer, let me get started.
12) Batman (1989)
Tim Burton may be one crazy son-of-a-gun, but he knows how to make a decent film every now and again. As far as live action Batmans go, Micheal Keaton will always hold a special place in my heart for his performance in this and the sequel. I thought for the longest time that no one would ever be able to top Jack Nicholson's Joker, and in some ways I was right (not taking away from Heath Ledger), especially when you take into account the type of Joker that he was (mainly based off the older comic books where Joker killed people with electric hand buzzers and laughing gas). When you take the brilliant directing, the two stars and the script, then put it all together, you get something truly amazing that has held up for over two decades.
11) Hellboy
Another brilliant director at the helm, Guillermo del Toro, takes this film and of course gives it his own amazing touch with the convincing monster creation. Not that Ron Perlman needs any help looking like a monster in the first place, but seeing him in the red paint and shaved horns sort of made this movie as good as it was. Not to be overshadowed by the freakishly huge man, Doug Jones plays the most convincing Abe Sapien that anyone could. The scenes were gorgeous, the acting amazing, directing on a completely different echelon; the movie all in all was just outstanding.
10) Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World
Michael Cera's second best role in his acting career, right after the bit he played in "This is the End," and amazingly enough the character was based off of an awesome comic book. Something also has to be said for Mary Elizabeth Winstead seeming to grow some roots as a chameleon for the actress community. This movie basically just showed us that not all comic book movies have to be based on books that are serious and feature big name heroes (no, I didn't forget that the mask was originally a comic book). With stupendous visuals, some of the best acting that any actor in this movie has shown audiences before, and hilarious video game references throughout, this movie was a real winner.
9) Captain America: The First Avenger
Of the "pre-Avengers" movies that led to eventual epic, this one was the best, by far. I'm not necessarily the biggest Captain America fan to begin with, but this movie was close to changing my mind about the character, if not making at least a step in the right direction. Chris Evans gets to add yet another comic book-based movie under his belt after already doing "The Losers," "Fantastic Four," and "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World." Hugo Weaving lends us his acting legend for the most convincing and real super villain that has come to us at the time this movie was released with The Red Skull, and Tommy Lee Jones even gets in on the action, giving us a command, albeit short lived, performance. Consider this article a written version of me holding my breath for "Captain America: Winter Soldier."
8) Kick Ass
When I first heard of this movie,, I was keeping current with the "limited" comic book series that was only four issues deep at the time. So my first reaction was "damn, Hollywood must really be stretching for ideas if they are basing a movie off of a series that isn't even complete," and never have been more wrong to make such a rash first impression. Even with it straying away from the source material at points, the movie was still gold, and most surprising of all, was filled with "no name" actors. Aaron Taylor-Johnson making a good first impression on the big screen with his Kick Ass characters, and Chloe Grace Moretz finally being able to escape the curse of playing bit characters in movies. The second most surprising part of this movie was them making Nicholas Cage actually seem like a real actor for a couple of minutes. The sequel gave us some good parts as well but couldn't quite capture the lightning in a bottle like this did.
7) Superman (1978)
What can I say about this movie besides that without it I can almost guarantee that we would not have the comic book movies of today. The graphics may be a little (or a lot) dated to today's standards, but you just can't turn a blind eye to the movie that gave comic books some respectability on the big screen. Of course, the actors are legendary now for their roles; Christopher Reeve sets the standard for all actors that would dawn the red "S" after him (or at least should have been a point of reference in Brandon Routh's case). The scenes are going to live on in our memories forever, and hopefully one day this character can be given his due once again in years to come, even if I hate him.
6) V for Vendetta
Anarchy, Martial Law, Conspiracy: All great plot drivers for a movie and given to us brilliantly by rookie director James McTeigue. Hugo Weaving again givies us iconic and unreachable work as main character and "terrorist" V. Natalie Portman, thankfully being torn away from the "Star Wars" curse of not being able to find subsequent work after appearing in the franchise (taking a page from Harrison Ford) and finding a good home as love interest and "sidekick" Evey. Brilliant choreography, dialogue, and cinematography to join the acting and directing make this a must watch for anyone, even if you are not into the comic book world.
5) Watchmen
Zack Snyder had to be getting a little full of himself after making this movie, when he followed it up with "Sucker Punch" and "Man of Steel" (at least "Sucker Punch" was half way decent). I guess I don't blame him with how absolutely amazing it was (given, this is definitely straying from the source material, but not dictating my decision making process). I would say for the year it was made, it had to have had the best writing I saw, when you take into account the four-year term of Nixon and how he would handle the Cuban missile crisis or just the ending itself. The acting was amazing across the board, but the two that stole the show were Jeffrey Dean Morgan as The Comedian and Jackie Earle Haley as Rorschach. All in all it was original (given the source material) and inspiring, if nothing else, for future movies to think about their concepts of nudity.
4) Iron Man 3
Aww, no first "Iron Man," huh? Deal with it. Somehow, this movie managed to escape the curse of not living up to the original by being superior to the first in almost every way possible (not that the first movie was bad at all). It gave Tony Stark some much needed depth and psychological crises that the character had been calling for ever since his trip to the silver screen. It gave us the most superior Iron Man villain in comparison to any of the previous installments, and even made his character original and inspiring, made even more so by Ben Kingsley's amazing acting. It not only gave Iron Man closure, but seemingly the actor that played him as well (since the series was the main revitalizing point of his career). It gave us iconic scenes and brilliant cinematography, that, if it wasn't for Pacific Rim, would have been the best of the year, if not the decade. Something has to be said for this movie also showing us that, even after the triumph that was "The Avengers," these movies will not sit back and just expect a box office from the characters that they are attached to, but instead give us a truly amazing piece of cinema to live on in our collections and hearts. Many thanks to director Shane Black for following up "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" with an equally amazing movie.
3) Sin City
I have a major hard on for noire-styled films, especially ones that are based off of a comic book given to us by a legend in the field, Frank Miller. Even if you take away the fact that the movie basically translated the comic book word for word (only leaving out bits and pieces, here and there), you still have an amazing piece of cinema given to us by over-the-top director, Robert Rodriguez. The cinematography was insane and showed us just what could be accomplished with the proper amount of green screen. I don't even know who I can give more respect to among the actors, when you have top performances from Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Tommy Flanagan, Micheal Clarke Duncan, it is almost impossible. Let's just say everyone was amazing and should be given all the respect in the world for their parts. If you haven't seen this movie yet, you seriously have to question where your values are in life, because you have missed out on one of the great movies of our generation.
2) The Dark Knight
If Heath Ledger was alive today, I am positive that he would have made a name for himself among the acting legends that have lived in our heads for decades. Unfortunately, he only left us with a movie which should be a standard met by any Batman movie to come (one even "The Dark Knight Rises" couldn't live up to). I guess we will all have to respect that, as sad as it is. I don't think I can really say anything about this instant classic that hasn't been said before, but I guess I'll just reinforce how absolutely astonishing this movie was. The storyline was the choice element to pay attention to in this movie, even taking into account Heath Ledger. The story gave us a hero making himself out to be the villain for the greater good, a roller coaster ride of emotions to include the fake death of a certain main character and the fall of a great citizen into darkness. Anarchy was the biggest plot device of this movie, and what better character to steer our anarchism ship then the Joker? When I said that this movie should be a standard met by any Batman movie to come, I may have been too narrow minded; I think it should be the standard for DC entertainment. Period.
1) The Avengers
If the box office and anticipation for this movie wasn't enough, the fact that this film stands alone as one of the most amazing MOVIES of all time should say something. I can't stress enough just how much respect I have for Joss Whedon for not only making this movie, but some of my favorite series of all time. Any other person might have taken one the highest grossing box offices and ran, but not him; he will be back to give us a sequel and spin off show that both have some monstrous shoes to fill. I just love that this movie could have been the most absolutely disappointing movie of all time after being hyped up for four years, but instead gave us something to be enjoyed for the rest of our lives and our children's lives. Take your pick on the reasons why this movie was so good: acting, story, cinematography, dialogue, etc. Everything in it was superior to any other movie released during the year, and I'll even go as far as to say of our generation. So, here is to hoping that the sequel doesn't suck, but it should be hard for it to with Joss Whedon at the helm again.
Honorable Mention) X2
Of this unspeakably long series, some credit has to be given to the second installment for actually being good (not that the first one was bad necessarily). After living through the disappointments of so many sequels, we still have this movie to look back on and say "hey, at least they weren't always so shitty."
Next Time on Dustin Dirty Dozen: Top 12 Worst Movies Based on Comic Books because I haven't done a list of horrible movies in a while and I still want to talk about comics.
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