Comic Book Adaptations

An absolute feast for the senses. I was entranced from beginning to end; surely the best looking movie ever made.

Arnie's robotic acting skills made him perfect for this role. Clever story and cool effects made this seminal sci fi, complimented by an inventive and exciting sequel

In a great britain of the near future, a right wing politician has swept to power on the crest of a wave of Daily Mail inspired conservative nazism. Using a combination of spin and propaganda through the media, he has convinced the populace to sign away their rights and liberties until one masked man decides to fight back. Thank god I don't REALLY live in a britain like that...I was expecting great things from this film, it's combination of politics, imagery and stylised action is exactly the kind of thing that appeals to me. Unfortunately, this level of expectation can often lead to disappointment. What I was presented with was a thoughtful, intelligent and wonderfully written "superhero" film in which the hero has no special powers or magic tricks; he is just an ordinary man who decides that an individual CAN make a difference. Hugo Weaving has great presence for a character who never shows his face, and the dialogue is wonderfully florid and literary. There are no unnecessary, overblown set pieces, and the beautifully stylised action sequences are just enough to fulfil their purpose in facilitating the story, and John Hurt is as masterful as the Big Brother figure as he was as it's victim in 1984. I was looking forward to this one immensely, and for once I was not disappointed. Brilliant.

Probably the best of the re-invented (and largely awful) franchise. Strangely, like Sam Raimi's Spiderman, the film is actually far LESS interesting once the action kicks in but it has a fantastic cast, is wonderful to look at and an inventive and intelligent script.

Being a bit of a latecomer when it comes to The Dark Knight, this film was always going to be about the hype. It's a tall order to live up to the expectation generated by the most anticipated film of the year directed by one of my favourite directors containing a performance lauded over by all and sundry.
Basically, it had a HELL of a lot to live up to. And no, it did not disappoint. Much. I loved Batman Begins, particularly its examination of the psychology of Bruce Wayne/Batman. Unfortunately this is pretty much absent from The Dark Knight; it's The Joker's show all the way, and Ledger tiptoes the line between playfulness and psychosis perfectly. His character is obviously designed to strike a cord with western audiences as a villain with no agenda, fear of death or capture, no objective other than chaos is clearly the ultimate "terrorist". I just wish there had been more dialogue between he and Bale, rather than The Joker making observations while Batman wordlessly pounded on him. But absolutely every other aspect of the film is pretty much flawless; the action, the effects, the performances, all spot on. The script is brilliantly written and I was glad to see it didn't follow the usual pattern of "we're all super-baddies so let's all join up to fight the hero", instead Two Face being a far more believable by-product of The Joker's manipulations. I still prefer the stylistic approach of Sin City, but it's still easily one of the best superhero films ever made.

Crikey. I'd already seen Oldboy and Audition, but nothing could've prepared me for THIS! A severely emotionally disturbed young man is manipulated into expressing his impotence and repressed rage by butchering various gangland targets in a live action manga piece that takes the japanese fascination with amputation and mutilation to the ultimate extreme. It certainly won't be to everyone's taste (particularly if you have a weak stomach!) and much of the plot is not satisfactorily explained, but it's an unforgettably visceral experience.

Wesley Snipes once again dons the leather overcoat, this time to join forces with an elite vampire unit to combat a race of Nosferatu-like zombie vampire hybrids who threaten to over-run both races. The high-octane action of the first film is still in evidence, but this time added to by Guillermo Del Toro's keen sense of style and atmosphere. The effects are brilliant, production design fantastic and the clever script involving different factions constantly vying for the upper hand always keeps you guessing; you are never completely sure who the good guys and who the bad guys are. My only gripe is that some of the CGI can look a little cartoony (in a similar way to the Spiderman films) but this is a comparatively minor point. This is a perfect cocktail of vampiric gore and martial arts mayhem that action junkies and horror fans alike should not miss.

Now this is MUCH more like it! After a shaky opening that was all clumsy exposition and no plot, the story centres far more around Wolverine, who was always the most interesting X-Man. The clever plot makes use of the political back drop of mutant witch hunts set up in the first film and introduces William Stryker, a military scientist with a fascistic agenda to rid the world of the mutant "problem", citing a phantom terrorist threat as a justification for his Draconian methods (sound familiar?!) It intelligently introduces Mastermind and Nightcrawler and Logan finds a match for himself in the gorgeous and enigmatic shape of Kelly Hu. The opening scene alone is more exciting than every action sequence in the first film put together, and the characters and their relationships are far more fleshed out, providing much more of the grey moral areas that made the X-Men comics so good. It also subtly seeds some of the most interesting plot themes from the comic book stories (which were all unfortunately completely wasted in the dire Last Stand...) Add extremely stylish visuals, super cool characters and loads of memorable scenes (the pick of which is probably Magneto's escape from his plastic prison) and you have one of the best superhero movies ever made. Pity the third one was such a pile of crap...

Peter Parker begins to find the life of a super hero a rather thankless task, and increasingly stressed by his inability to balance work, school and fighting crime he decides to quit being Spiderman. Unfortunately he does not count on a scientific experiment going wrong that turns an altruistic genius into a mechanically enhanced megalomaniac! Spiderman builds on a fine original and delivers all it promised, and more. The action sequences are brilliantly done, and even more importantly, it intelligently fleshes out the characters with humour and depth. The way Peter has to confront the pros and cons of superherodom is really cleverly done, and it injects even more clever humour; in particular the scenes when Peter accidentally dyes his smalls with his spider suit and taking a lift when his powers fail him. It's witty, funny and exciting, and everything a superhero film should be. And once more I felt sorry for anyone having to share a scene with the brilliant J. K. Simmons! One of the best hero movies out there.

One of Marvel's flagship characters finally makes it to the big screen, and with Sam Raimi at the helm, you have a sure-fire winner. The first half of the film is, as expected, fantastic. It has just the right balance of humour and action, and although Tobey Maguire's acting talents are rather limited, he manages to pull off the dorky charm of Peter Parker with some success. There's a lot of humour in the discovery of his powers and how to use them, and the supporting characters are all believeable. It also shows the motivations and character development of Spiderman really well and rarely descends into schmaltz. Unfortunately, once the tights go on, things are not quite as strong. The Green Goblin was never a particularly interesting character, and although the schizophrenia plot line is clever, Defoe holds the attention far more as the disappointed father than a dayglo action figure on a hover board. Raimi handles the action nicely though, and it's worthy it alone for J. K. Simmons whose hilarious J. Jonah Jameson steals every scene he is in.

Religious mythology always makes for good horror, and this comic-book style gothic fantasy thoroughly entertains. Keanu Reeves revisits Neo as the films chainsmoking anti-hero, and it features one of the coolest screen interpretations of the devil I've seen!

Another one for the ladies, featuring a pretty, long-haired Brandon Lee wreaking bloody vengeance clad in black leather and eyeliner. There are some great moments (particularly visually) and Wincott is a wonderfully amoral villain, but there are also moments of cringeworthy cheese, eg when he's playing guitar (badly) on a rooftop. Flawed but fun.

A big improvement on the original, it looks fantastic and the supporting cast of villains sparkle. But it all went downhill from here...

A samurai sick of war takes in a group of orphans and trains them to be assassins with the sole purpose in life of killing the warlords responsible for the constant bloodshed. Based on a comic book and directed in a very anime style, this film has more in common with a superhero movie than a samurai epic, and contains the associated melodrama and lack of moral ambiguity; it's all about the good guys kicking bad guy ass. And very stylishly they do it too. Ryuhei Kitamura stamps his usual slick visuals onto the action, and although he cannot resist overcooking them from time to time, the set pieces are very well staged. The fight sequences get ever more impressive as they go, the highlight for me being the scene in which we finally get to see Azumi's master in action. Hardly the height of depth and sophistication, but this movie is perfectly paced and never drags during it's highly entertaining two hour length.

One of the first of the re-invented vampire flicks that has lost some of it's impact because of it's host of imitators. I'm not the biggest fan of Wesley Snipes, but no-one could've portrayed the character better, and Dorff makes a charismatic post-Lestat villain. The "chosen one"/prophesy plot is a little hackneyed, but the action sequences are executed with real panache and it's very stylishly done as a whole. As an added bonus, the sequel is even better.

Playboy and weapons manufacturer Tony Stark is captured by terrorists and builds a robotic suit of armour to escape. When he returns to find his company has been selling it's arms to the bad guys, he sets about making things right. Iron Man was the first comic I bought as a kid, and I must say the big screen version really does do the character justice. Robert Downey Jr. does such a great job as Tony Stark, within 10 minutes I couldn't imagine anyone else playing the part. The suit looks fantastic and has a really cool manga-esque functionality about it. The action sequences are also really well staged, especially Iron Man's first "mission" in which he returns to take out the terrorist cell who imprisoned him, Iron Man coming across a super-cool, updated badass version of Robocop. The only real weakness of the film is the predictability of the plot; there's little here I hadn't seen before. The idea of a millionaire using military technology to go vigilante was covered by Batman, and it lacks the dark tone and intelligent psychology of Batman Begins. The comedy aspect involving his learning to use his new "powers" was very reminiscent of Spiderman, and the climactic battle bears more than a passing resemblance to the final battle of Robocop II. It also lacks a really strong villain, Jeff Bridges coming across as a kind of less charismatic version of Lex Luther. But one thing it most definitely is, is entertaining. A tried and tested formula executed with real panache.

A stunning looking anime which unfortunately displays the usual weaknesses of the genre (ie cliched plot themes and slightly clumsy characterisation), but the gorgeous visuals more than make up for it. The opening (which can best be described as a Wachowski inspired take on the future scenes of The Terminator) and climactic battle sequences are absolutely breathtaking.

The first anime to break the global mainstream, this is a beautifully made and rendered sci-fi story that has lost some of it's impact because of the sheer familiarity of the genre and it's formula these days, but a classic of it's type.

Mob enforcer Tom Hanks is forced to go on the run when his son witnesses a mob hit in his gloriously photographed gangster movie from Sam Mendes. In fact, little about the film can be faulted technically; all the performances are first rate, it looks absolutely gorgeous and the score is haunting and beautiful. But somehow, something was missing; the relationship between Hanks and his son was somewhat superficially realised and the story resolved a little too conveniently. The brief explosions of violence did counterpoint the warmth of the father-son relationship well (although I feel more could've been made of Jude Law's character) and Mendes' particular brand of visual elegance is particularly pleasing. Beautifully crafted but not quite in the league of the best examples of the genre.

After foiling a robbery in his small town diner, Viggo Mortensen's secret past as a mob killer catches up with him in a coldly violent thriller from David Cronenberg. The plot is rather thin, and could in fact easily be mistaken for your typical Van Damme abortion, but the strong performances and clinical directorial style make it stand apart from the usual action fare. The unusual approach of concentrating more on the character dynamics than comic strip violence is also quite refreshing, but William Hurt's potential as a character was wasted. Good, but not great.

Highly entertaining campfest that outdoes the original in every department. Terence Stamp is hilariously disdainful as Zod (great name!) and Hackman is hugely watchable as always. Great stuff.

Another stylish comic book adaptation from Guillermo Del Toro starring the often criminally overlooked Ron Perlman. GDT's trademark visual flourish is in full effect, as it is fantastic to look at with some excellent production design. The script unfortunately doesn't quite live up to the visuals, the one-liners are rather weak ("Oh crap" is hardly the wittiest superhero catchphrase...) and the villain Rasputin failed to capture my imagination. It's main flaw however lies in my inability to relate to a character so divorced from reality; my favorite scene is when Hellboy is acting like a jealous teenager on a rooftop and I would've liked to have seen more of his "human" side. Somewhat emotionally unfulfilling, but it can be enjoyed again and again for the sheer visual spectacle.

A genetic scientist in a future fascist state produces human beings bred for bodyparts who promptly rebel and declare war on mankind in a flashy live action anime that's frankly all over the place. The plot, such as it is, is erratic and occasionally incomprehensible, and during the extended periods when there was no dialogue at all it felt like an extra long music video. And then when the characters started spouting long winded and pretentious nonsense about the nature of war, I wished they'd kept their mouths shut. But my attention was maintained by the glorious visuals, a stunning hotch potch of manga, Jeunet-esque steam punk and even expressionist imagery presented as a combination of live action and animation that is occasionally reminiscent of Sin City. All of this culminated in some wonderful moments, particularly the seemingly genuine and heartfelt closing scene which tied together the (until that point) disparate mess of ideas. If you are willing to suspend your cynicism and live with the films many superficialities and faults, it could be a really enjoyable experience.

A nice character study that's maybe a little too self-consciously "cool" and slow moving for it's own good, but the performances are great (particularly Steve Buscemi's) and it has some great dialogue. A quality indie movie.

Rip-roaring old school comic strip fun featuring the ever likeable Alan Arkin, the lovely Jennifer Connelly and the dashingly villainous Timothy Dalton. Great aerial sequences, funny touches and a spectacular climax involving mobsters shooting it out with Nazi commandos and an exploding zeppelin.

A one joke movie that works because of the strength of the premise and chemistry between TLJ and Smith. Some great sight gags too.

The superman character was always a little too apple pie for my tastes, but it's well-made and true to the story. Gene Hackman steals the movie as Lex Luther

A little known character is given the big screen treatment in a very Indiana Jones-ish action adventure. I rather enjoyed it's irreverant humour and saturday morning serial feel...and Russel (Highlander) Mulcahy keeps everything cracking along at a fair pace. Some marvellous production design too.

Enjoyable live action manga that has the obligatory enormous robots, crew of world weary, wise-cracking characters and bizarre japanese spiritualism. Great fun for manga fans, utterly incomprehensible to all others, this also has some great model effects and nicely faithful production design. The only drawbacks are the fact that it is dubbed (but tolerably so) and the fact that the plot relies a little too heavily on techno babble, so don't expect a great amount of depth or complex character development. But if you're a fan of the Final Fantasy films or just enjoy watching cool looking japanese robots beating seven shades out of each other, this will definitely appeal!

Although a visually spectacular adaptation of the graphic novel, it never engages because of a confused disjointed narrative and director who feels the need to slap as many fast cuts as possible into the action, rendering it almost impossible to tell what's going on. It is (of course) Sean Connery, and the interesting cast of literary characters that holds everything together and makes it watchable.

Bryan Singer's first attempt at the seemingly impossible task of bringing X-Men to the silver screen, like Tim Burton's original Batman before it, was something of a heroic failure. I was a huge fan and collector of X-Men comics as a teen, but I think trying to cram 37 years of X-Lore into one film would've been impossible and any script writer trying to do so would be insane. So what we have is a rather diluted and superficial summarization instead. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellern were obvious choices for their parts and their scenes together are of course, quality. In fact the opening scene set during the holocaust is easily the best and sets up Magneto's character and motivations perfectly. I have to say Hugh Jackman made a pretty good fist of Wolverine too, and the political backdrop of McCarthyist mutant witch hunts was an interesting one. Unfortunately the rest of the film does not measure up; all the rest of the characters and their relationships are superficially realized at best; turning Magneto into some kind of sub-par Bond villain was a mistake, as was turning Sabretooth into a growling half wit and the inclusion of Toad, who was always, frankly, rubbish. Add a half baked plot, clumsy exposition and some painfully bad dialogue and this film is best viewed as a precursor to the infinitely better sequel. As a film in it's own right, it simply isn't very good.

Once again an impossibly good looking woman dons a catsuit to fight for the future of mankind against an oppressive regime blah blah blah. Having endured Ultraviolet a couple of days ago, I approached this film with a sense of impending dread but I have to say, it's not as bad as I thought it would be. Yes, it's yet another Matrix clone, and yes, plot is a little thin on the ground. In fact it could've been lifted from an episode of Star Trek, but at least it HAD one; the film actually resembles the kind of "concept" sci-fis from the 70s such as Logan's Run. The cast is above par for this kind of no-brainer, although Charlize Theron is hardly stretched by her character, and Pete Postlethwaite (who appeared to have been Tango'd) and Frances McDormand appear in inconsequential roles that seemed to exist purely to give the film a little thespian credibility. There's also some nice production design, and the action is efficiently handled thankfully resulting in a film that doesn't bore. Not as good as Equilibrium, but a lot better than the tragic Ultraviolet.

An odd one this. A brave attempt to make a more cerebral superhero film, it falls between two stools; not action packed or exciting enough for kids, and the subject matter is too daft for adults (killer super-poodles ??). The subject of repressed memory is very interesting though, and the director's use of comic style cut-ins is stylish. But it does begin to grate with over-use and Nolte's presence acts the "star" off the screen... a mixed bag.

Featuring flowing leather duster coats aplenty, CGI assisted stunts, and absurdly pretty people shooting at each other in slo-mo through a blue filter, Len Wiseman obviously watched The Matrix a few too many times. And still didn't understand why it worked. The ideas are hackneyed, the dialogue (and particularly the exposition) is borderline shocking and the completely pompous lack of humour combined with pseudo gothic sets, crushed velvet and corsets makes it look like a 2 hour long Evernescence video. It's difficult for a heterosexual man to hate a film that features Kate Beckinsale in a skin tight rubber catsuit for it's entire length, and it does have some visual flair; in fact teenage goths will probably think it's the best thing ever made EVER. But anyone viewing it with any sense of objectivity will come to the conclusion that it's all rather dull, clunky and immature. If it's vamps you want, Blade II is infinitely superior.

Why does it always seem to be the same with sequels? Film companies just insist on remaking the first film, and do it worse (you'd think they'd learn SOMETHING from their mistakes...) Of course there is always an exception to every rule, but unfortunately, this ain't it. Azumi 2 begins were the original left off, as Azumi and Nagara continue their quest to rid Japan of warlords. This time they are joined by Chiaki Kuriyama (AKA Gogo from Kill Bill) who is a welcome addition to the cast, and there's plenty more flying limbs and spurting blood. Plus of course, Aya Ueto is still hotter than a McDonalds fruit pie filling. Unfortunately the plot is minimal and there just isn't enough action; and what there is seriously misses Ryuhei Kitamura's stylish visuals and epic scale. The villains are also nowhere NEAR as much fun. It passes an hour and a half relatively inoffensively, but it's a pale shadow of the first installment.

This film is rubbish. Of course it's rubbish. Anyone who would come to a screening of The Fantastic Four with the expectation of intellectual stimulation would have to have the cranial capacity of an invertebrate. But the fact is, it's actually fairly enjoyable. Michael Chiklis is spot on as The Thing (although he did occasionally remind me of a fat version of Bruce Willis impersonating Scooby Doo) and Chris Evans' Human Torch whom I expected to detest was actually more like one of those annoying friends we all have, who is irritatingly vacuous yet irresistible to the opposite sex but we still can't help liking anyway. The only real drawbacks are the fact that Dr. Doom was transformed from twisted genius into a petty egoist and the soundtrack, which inevitably contained the usual hotch potch of pop emo and crap RnB that the yoof of today find so inexplicably appealing. Cheerful, unpretentious pap that I'd much rather sit through again than the pompous cure for insomnia that was Superman Returns, or the thinly veiled neo-con nazism of X-Men: The Last Stand.

A remote Alaskan town that endures a month of darkness once a year is cut off by a pack of predatory vampires. Josh Hartnett heads up a group of similarly bland survivors who run through snow covered streets/huddle in deserted buildings/repeat to fade. The vampires are of the feral pack animal variety and do little more than squawk and hiss and leap through the air as they pick off our stereotypical heroes and so are just as uninteresting. Mark Boone Junior is the least dreary of the bunch, and the scene where he decides to go on the offensive is easily the best, but he and it are far too short lived. There are some decent effects and a few nice images of blood stained snow, but right through to the anti-climactic ending, there's little here to distinguish it from the untold undead hordes of faceless, forgettable vampire movies.

Fitfully funny superhero spoof that could've been brilliant, but just isn't quite funny enough. Some very funny moments, but it's spread a little too thin.