THE TOP TEN BEST COMIC BOOK ADAPTATIONS [HONOURABLE MENTIONS]
Before I continue, I'd like to thank everyone who has been read and given me constructive advice on how to better my editorials. I appreciate every comment I receive.
In my previous entry, I wrote about the first three, what I consider, to be the absolute best comic book adaptations ever. To create this list, I watched and researched over forty films. Not even kidding with that one. What I mean by "the best", is that they were the most impactful films on the comic book film genre. I do not mean superhero films in general. I believe comic book films are a subsection of that category. In order to rank what I believed to be the most impactful films, I used four different standards to judge their impact. First, I considered their critical reception. I wanted to know what the people who believed they know films, thought about these films. Second, I considered their box office numbers. I think this is probably the least important of the four standards because I think it can be accepted, without controversy, that a film could perform poorly at the box office but have a tremendous impact on how films that are released afterward. Third, I considered their mouth of word. To do this, I used CinemaScore. For those who are unfamiliar with it, it is essentially an exit poll for films. People are asked a handful of questions about the film they just watched. They are anonymous. Lastly, I created a standard called "franchise power." By that, I mean if a film has the potential to rise above itself and form a franchise, based on existing material rather than creating new material for film and transporting the characters to it. This would include sequels or prequels but exclude reboots. If there are multilpe, well-received installments of a franchise, its impact is exponentially increased, so I think is the most important standard of all.
As it stands right now, I have ranked
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as #10,
Dick Tracy as #9, and
Scott Pilgrim v. The World as #8. However, as I re-watched the films I ranked above these, I had to second guess my previous decisions. So, instead of continuing with the list, I decided instead to write about the films which did not make the list but came very close. I will list them, give a short summary, discuss why I thought they deserved a spot on my list, and then explain why they did not make it.
Fourth Runner-Up:
The Rocketeer (6.21.1991)
Summary: Cliff Secord comes into possession of a rocket pack created by Howard Hughes. As the Rocketeer, he and his mentor Peevy, combat Nazis and their schemes for the world while balancing his life with his actress girlfriend.
Why I Considered It: I think the concept was creative and fun. I'm a bit of a history buff and Howard Hughes is one of my favorite historical figures. So, the idea that he could create a rocket pack decades before the technology to do so was available, was really interesting to me. Of course, when I was very young and saw this movie for the first time, the only thing about which I cared was the rocket pack itself. Science and technology need to start catching up with human ambition. We've created buildiings that are so tall, they need to be able to "sway" to prevent structural failure. But that would pale in comparison to a rocket pack that could fly a person to the top of it. But I digress. The film stars Billy Campbell and Jennifer Connelly. Points for Connelly, who is one of my favorite actresses. It has a relatively simply plot and is a lot of fun if you're in the right mood. Creator Dave Stevens was overall satisfied with the film, especially Joe Johnston's direction. Seems to have a few good things going for it, right?
Why I Didn't Include It: I didn't include it because after doing my research, I found that the film was only moderately received. It did outgross its budget by $20 million or so, but critical reception was barely positive. The film opened at #4 in its opening weekend. People saw the Disney logo and assumed it was a children's film (it was rated PG, after all). But ultimately, it was its box office gross that forced the cancellation of its planned sequels. So, the film really did not leave a big impact on the genre. Recently, efforts have been made to reboot the film. Perhaps with today's standards, it will be better received, should the reboot ever be made.
Third Runner-Up:
Hellboy II: The Golden Army (7.11.2008)
Summary: Prince Nuada returns from his self-imposed exile to wage a new war against the humans whose greed have devastated the planet. To wage his war, he seeks out three pieces of a magical crown that will give him control of a mechanical, indestructible golden army. His search for the pieces force him to cross paths with Hellboy, who is learning to balance his desire to be known and loved by the world and his personal feelings for his girlfriend, fellow agent Liz Sherman.
Why I Considered It: Selma Blair is criminally underrated and under-utilized. I really enjoyed her in this film. I just had to get that personal thought out of the way before I could continue. But to the film as a whole, one must watch both this film and its predecessor to see just how much better this film truly is. It's more personal, more conflicted, more painful, and less black and white as the first film, without delving into the realm of being "dark". I truly wanted Nuada to succeed in his mission, knowing that Hellboy existed simply to bring about the world's end.
Why I Didn't Include It: I didn't include it for four reasons. First, the film was promoted poorly. There were few toys or televisions spots. Instead, they released a promotional comic, and had Hellboy show up on shows like Ghost Hunters and Inside the Actor's Studio. Second, the box office for the film was good, $160 million on an $85 million budget, but it took rentals and DVD/Blu-Ray sales to accumulate that amount. The film opened at #1 in its opening week; yet in its second week, it dropped 71%. SEVENTY-ONE PERCENT. Coupled with the CinemaScore rating of a B, what that tells me is that the majority of people who were going to see the film went in its opening weekend, so there was not much of an audience for Hellboy, even if it were a good movie (which, it truly was). More on this point later. Third, the film's ending spoiled its chances for a sequel. By that, I do not mean how the team quits. I mean, when Liz makes the choice to save Hellboy, knowing that he exists to destroy the world in which they live. A second sequel would, in all likelihood, have something to do with Hellboy coming to terms with his destiny. To me, being equipped with this knowledge makes me not as excited for the threequel because I anticipate that plot or subplot. Fourth, and most importantly, this film was released one week removed from
The Dark Knight. Yeah. So, whatever chances this movie had to gross a decent profit were dashed by Christian Bale's second outing as the Caped Crusader. So, taken altogether,
Hellboy II was a great film but was a victim of poor promotion and poor timing. Had it been promoted differently or released a few weeks earlier or after
The Dark Knight, it may have been remembered a bit more fondly. The road, not taken...
Second Runner-Up:
Blade (8.21.1998)
Summary: Born half-vampire and half-human, Blade fights to destroy the stalkers of the night. However, his movement to kill them comes up against a brick wall when he finally reaches Deacon Frost, who has plans for his race's ascension, using Blade as the key.
Why I Considered It: Two words: Blade's uniform. I love his urban combat uniform in this film. I love how they show Blade being shot and his armor absorbing the bullets. It looks functional and appropriate. I hated what they did with Blade's uniform in the subsequent films. It looks less like a tactical suit and more like a gimmicky costume. Adding red to his trench coat did not help matters either. He looked like a magician with a lot of shiny stuff on himself rather than a badass hunter... Now that my rant is out of the way, I look to
Blade is being the precursor to future Marvel films. They took a character who was not well-known, updated his origin, and gave him a story, conviction, and a purpose. It was gritty, dirty, and violent. They took out the mysticism of vampires and offered us a different view of it as a virus rather than magic or evil power. I felt that was a fresh and interesting new spin on vampires. They didn't need to be beautiful, seductive beings; they needed to be menacing. This film does that very well. I am genuinely afraid of the vampires in this film.
Why I Didn't Include It: While the vampires in this film do frighten me, I would only be scared if I did not have any silver or garlic. I am NOT a fan of the vampires turning to ash. Such a violent, strong allergic reaction is just not realistic. And that is an identity issue for a film that wants to be grounded in reality. It makes them look weak. The film had great word of mouth and made $130 million on its modest $40 million budget and finally solidified Wesley Snipes as a great actor and martial artist, as reviews seem to target him with praise specifically. But I chose not to include the film on my list because other films did what
Blade did with FAR better results. Bigger box-office numbers, better reviews. But I credit
Blade for being a gateway film. Once certain people realized there was an audience for characters who were not particularly well-known, it opened the flood gates. That cannot be taken away from Blade. He made not have done it the best, but he definitely did it first.
First Runner-Up:
Superman II (12.4.1980)
Summary: As Superman undergoes an inner struggle to surrender his powers and live a normal life, he is attacked by a familiar enemy who possesses similar abilities as himself.
Why I Considered It: Do I even need a reason to explain this? It's
Superman II. Terrence Stamp as General "kneel before" Zod. Enough said. In the whole of superhero films, this movie stands out as one of the best.
Why I Didn't Include It: I can feel the hatred swelling from so many people who are about to be offended by what I am about to say. I have some personal issues with Superman films. And they are always centered on the Man of Steel himself. Save for weaknesses to kryptonite and magic, he is invincible. And that makes it difficult for me to relate to him. I cannot relate to a near-perfect being. Nor do I believe anyone can. I believe there is no true perfection but rather millions of lesser, subjective perfections. So, in the film, that leaves us with the leading lady and the villains. First, the villains. While I love Zod, he and his minions are EXACTLY like Superman, being merely a foil of him. So, I had trouble really thinking world domination through superiority was a viable threat against Supes. Besides, what could they do? Throw cars at him? And why did they even bother having Lex Luther there in the first place? Gene Hackman was wasted as Luther in this film. Simple as that. And Margot Kidder was terrible in this movie. Absolutely terrible. Of all of the films I watched to make my list, I found
Superman II to be one of the hardest to watch because it simply was not a fun movie to me. It's antiquated, poorly-acted, poorly-written, and poorly-executed. That notwithstanding, it has somehow managed to overcome the issues I believe it has and holds a special place in the hearts of many people. I respect that. But as "good" as people seem to think it is, I could not find a shred of evidence to suggest this film was an influence on others. Hence, why I made the decision to exclude it.
I hope you enjoyed reading my Honourable Mentions edition of my Top Ten list, and check back soon for the next edition of the list, which will cover 7-4. Thanks for reading, and please feel free to let me know what you think!
[EA] - "It's been a long way down."