Comic Book Movies

Let me first start off and say that I am not a comic book reader. I do not know all of the intimate details of the various characters and what not. So my analysis is not based on that at all. My analysis is just based on what little I do know and the overall quality of films.

I don't think anyone can talk about comic book movies and not mention the film that brought comics in to the modern era. Yes, Superman: The Movie. Richard Donner created a spectacle that promised viewers that we would believe Superman could fly. And that they did. Even to this day, the movie still looks remarkably modern with its special effects.

Special effects were really what prevented a serious telling of comic books for the big screen. As the technology and abilities of effects technicians and artists increased, so has the ability to bring these larger than life characters and stories to the silver screen.

Superman: The Movie had a solid story with a good cast, most notably the unknown at the time Christopher Reeve and a big boon for that production in snagging Marlon Brando to play Jor-El, Supes' father. In fact, that was the big reason for getting the money for that production. The studio was reluctant to put up the money with a bunch of unknowns. But the producers were able to get Brando as well as Gene Hackman.

Of course, as history shows us, Superman: The Movie was a box office success. The producers at the time were making both Superman: The Movie as well as Superman II at the same time. They had to temporarily suspend production on the rest of Supes II in order to finish Superman as they were running out of money. Unfortunately, the producers and Donner were not able to get along and ended up releasing him from his contract for the sequel. So what we got was a less than stellar sequel. Fortunately, Donner's cut of Superman II will be coming out to DVD later this month.

One might have thought at the time that this would have opened an opportunity for more comic books to be made in to movies. Unfortunately, we got three crappy Superman sequels. Spider-Man was in the works, but it got put in to development hell for nearly 25 years.

The next significant comic book film was Tim Burton's Batman. The studios were reluctant to make Batman because of the baggage that the campy 60s TV show that was attached to it. Fortunately, they came to their senses and allowed Burton to create a dark and serious portrayal of Batman. There was a bit of controversy at the time with Michael Keaton as the Dark Knight, and even I thought at the time that it was a bit strange. That was until I saw Keaton in the movie. He was very good and Burton knew what he was doing when he cast him in the role.

After that we got a not-so-great sequel of Batman Returns. It was much darker than the original and just wasn't as good as the first one. Tim Burton gave up the reigns and Joel Schumacher took over for Batman Forever and Batman & Robin. The former was a silly, fun romp. It wasn't as serious as the first one, but it was still an enjoyable escapist adventure. I wish I could say the same about the latter. One word describes it: AWFUL. Even Schumacher admits that he totally blew it on that one. If you watch some of the extras from the 2 disc special edition DVDs that came out last year you will see some of that refreshing honesty about that film.

And that last Batman pic came out 1997. Sure, we had a pathetic Judge Dredd with Sly Stallone and Rob Schneider as well as a pathetic Punisher with Dolph Lundgren. There was a B movie Captain America and a Fantastic Four that was never released and only made so as the studio could retain the film rights to the movie. There was also The Shadow with Alec Baldwin and The Phantom with Billy Zane. I'm sure there were others that I can't remember in that time period, but all of them amounted to nothing in terms of quality and actually making money.

It wasn't until 2002 that the current crop of modern comic book films really took off. That was the year that Spider-Man came out. The film makers made a brilliant teaser that came out a year before the film debuted that contained footage only intended for the teaser. That is the now infamous teaser with Spidey capturing the crooks' helicopter in a huge spider web in between the Twin Towers in Manhattan. This was before 9/11/01 and shortly thereafter the teaser was removed from online sources. It is still out there and definitely worth finding.

Spider-Man really got the ball rolling. It made HUGE money and totally eclipsed the Star Wars: Episode 2 at the box office. Sam Raimi, the director of such classic films as Dark Man (ah, another comic book film!) and Evil Dead and Evil Dead II, was a life long Spidey fan and brought his sensibilities and style to a movie that this geek had been waiting an entire lifetime for. It was not only a financial success, but it was also a creative success as well.

After the success of Spider-Man, it wasn't long before we got others. We got Daredevil, Hulk, Fantastic Four, Batman, Elektra, graphic novels such as V for Vendetta, Sin City, and a few others. Wait, did I say Batman? Oh yes, how could I forget Batman?


Christopher Nolan took over the franchise and what a refreshing take on the origins of Batman. He and David S. Goyer, writer of the Blade films, created a whole new back story and universe for Batman Begins. They ignored the previous four Batman films and as a fan, I was grateful for that. What I like most about Batman Begins is the realism that Nolan brought to the story. We see Batman/Bruce fail and make mistakes, particularly on his first outing in Gotham as his evolving alter ego. They also give us plausible explanations about how they created and produce a lot of his gadgets. Frankly, that was one of the things that was the least believable about a super hero with no actual super human abilities. Even as a kid, I never found it believable that Bruce Wayne and Alfred created all of those gadgets and did all of that scientific work themselves. How could 2 men have such immense knowledge and abilities amongst everything else they need and have to do?

I saw Batman Begins in the theater twice and have watched it a number of times since its DVD release last year. Everytime I watch it, I am in awe of the picture. For me, it's an almost perfect comic book film. The one negative about the film is the inclusion of Katie Holmes. Yes, it's probably because of her now famous relationship with Tom Cruise, but she is definitely a weak link in a really stellar cast. This film has Christian Bale, a very good actor in his own right, Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, Rutger Hauer, Tom Wilkinson, Michael Caine, Ken Watanabe, and Liam Neeson. It's actually remarkable that a comic book movie was able to get these quality actors in a Batman film. Kudos to the producers of Batman Begins by getting good actors to fill out the supporting roles.

Of all the comic book movies I have seen, Batman Begins is by far the best of them. Even better than Superman: The Movie, Spider-Man, or Spider-Man 2. I would be interested in reading what others think in regards to comic book films. I just think that Batman Begins has the best production values, story, and acting compared to any comic book films that have come out.

I know Heath Ledger does not seem like the most obvious choice for the Joker in the sequel, but I'm willing to wait and see. After recently seeing Nolan's The Prestige, as well as Batman Begins, I'm not going to rush to any premature judgement before I see The Dark Knight.