The most underrated comic book movies

[Thebumwhowalks]

Unbreakable

That is still my fav film after all these years, just a perfect film. Tarantino considers it a masterpiece, he is right.

Even though it is not based on a cb, it's still a cb movie, in a way, as it is all about comic-books, the mythology and common practices in the books being under discussion.

Shyamalan had an idea for a sequel, but can't do it as Disney has the rights to the characters, but he is apparently going to adapt the sequel idea for one of his series of movies that other people direct. The plot will concern the super-villan that Unbreakable would have met in the sequel.
Part of me is glad there will not be a sequel to the original, I can't imagine it being as good, but of course if I had to pick any movie to be made, i might very well have picked that to be made. Actually, you know what, I would pick Bryan Singer's X-Men 3 if i had a magic lamp for that kind of thing.

 

[GothamAlleys]

I think Batman Returns (which is a genius expressionist tale) and The Punisher (1989) are very underrated

 

[IDrawDeadPeople]

The Rocketeer

 

[GekigangerV]

Punisher War Zone and The Punisher (1989)

I don't know what else to to say about it, but quite simply, PWZ is a right good laugh, and the action is suitably ott to go along with that vibe, in the vein of Crank and Shoot em up, a not taking itself too seriously at all action blaster.

The Dolph Lungren Punsher is way underated though, it has a cool comic book vibe to it(cheesey in some parts though), but for the most part is a solid 80s action flick, it has the best action of all 3 Punisher moives.

I agree. Looking at it in retrospect with the Garth Ennis books to compare it to, it was ahead of its time. It had the same "goofy" side characters, the basic mob fighting plot and a Punisher who went in and did his business and left. If the just gave him the shirt it would almost be "perfect"

 

[Thebumwhowalks]

I agree. Looking at it in retrospect with the Garth Ennis books to compare it to, it was ahead of its time. It had the same "goofy" side characters, the basic mob fighting plot and a Punisher who went in and did his business and left. If the just gave him the shirt it would almost be "perfect"

I haven't read any of those books, and yeah, it's a shame they did not give him the skull shirt in some form or other, even just with the faded white like in the Tom Jane version, but once I get into the film, I forget about that visual being missing really.

I can't recalll the name of the director offhand, but he was a highly respected action movie editor, he edited Cameron films like Terminator 2, maybe did the first one too, but he has a v impressive resume in that field. The Punisher might have been the only movie he ever got to direct iirc, which is a real shame, as he does really well with the low budget, I love that fight on the docks between the Yakuza and the mob, with the Punisher in the middle.
Also, I'm pretty sure Tarantino has cited it's visual influence for Kill Bill, the scenes at the end in the Yakuza hideout, where the fighters are in siluoette agianst the transluscent red and black framed rooms, are excatly the same as the effect employed during the Kbvol 1 sequence with the crazy 88s.

edit: Also, yeah, I love the old drunk informant, and the cb vibe in that scene where the Punisher uses the little remote control truck with the whiskey bottle.
I also think Lungren does fine in the role, he has a v cool sounding deep voice for him, and his hair and stubble are so comic-booky, lol, he looks cool as ****. His height and build are good for the hand to hand fights with multiple opponents too, makes that cb trope a bit more believable.

 

[thejon93]

I gotta say that 'The Crow: City of Angels' is a pretty underrated film. While it isn't as good as the original, the lead (Vincent Perez) has a strong presence, the cinematography is beautiful and some of the imagery is unforgettable.

 

[CB Fan]

I have to say Unbreakable and Hellboy 2

 

[Secret Fawful]

The Rocketeer

This and The Shadow. Both movies perfectly emulated the pulp atmosphere they were going for, and are two of the most perfect comic book movies IMO because they are everything a comic book movie should be. Everyone seems to think since The Dark Knight that comic book films have to be oh so intellectual and stiff, but screw that noise. I like cheesy, tacky, pulp comic book movies best. They aren't afraid to just be fun and not take themselves so seriously. The Shadow also had great acting and actors. Not even the stupid living knife could drag this movie down for me. To be honest, I don't believe in the perfect movie, and I respect a movie that doesn't try to pass itself off as such, or a fanbase who doesn't pass their movie off as such. The Shadow and The Rocketeer aren't perfect movies, but that's part of what makes them so great. There is beauty in imperfection, and imperfection isn't always BAD.

 

[Ye Black Knight]

Alas, this knight found great entertainings in the celluloid tale "From Hell". This saga of derive'th not only from accounts of ye dastardly miscreant Jack the Ripper, yet additionally of ye most excellente tome authored by ye high master of picto-graphic-drama: Lord Alan Moore!

But a caution I pray thee, noble warriors of ye boards of Superhero hype, for this tale hath a conclusion of sorrowful tragedy! Ye thespian Heather Graham portray a voluptuous wench whose libidinous services may be purchased by gentlemen (for a mere pittance, doubteth not I!). This saucy strumpet come'th to a violent demise at the hands of this nefarious Ripper!

Fie to thee o accursed Ripper!

This post now concludeth!

 

[X-Woman]

Another fan of The Shadow. It had great 1930s atmosphere. And I thought Alec Baldwin was perfect in the role. Not a great movie, but it had pretty slick style.

The Phantom with Billy Zane was another 1930s vehicle. Billy made a great Phantom.

 

[Obi-Ron]

Ang Lee's Hulk, big time.

 

[Siddean]

Road to Perdition.

 

[cloverfan98]

Ang Lee's Hulk, big time.

Ah a fellow fan I see. As for my films these are them.

Spider Man 3

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

Hulk 2003

Thats all I got for now.

 

[Comics N' Toons]

Unbreakable
The Phantom (1996)
The Rocketeer (1991)
DICK F**kin TRACY

 

[TX85]

Daredevil: Director's Cut
Spawn: Director's Cut
Judge Dredd
40 days of Night
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3:Back In Time
The Rocketeer
The Shadow
The Phantom
Dick Tracy
Dark Man1-3(mostly the first one)
Hulk('03)
Spider-Man3
Fantastic Four Extended Edition&ROTSS(I must be one of the very few fans of both films)

 

[JeetKuneDo]

1-Mystery Men: Love every second of this movie. Great cast too.
2-Watchmen: How this isn't considered one of the greatest comic book movies ever made is beyond me.
3-Daredevil: Never thought it was that bad, DC is even better.
4-Batman Returns: Surprised me to learn people don't like this one. I love it. Creepy.
5-The Punisher: Thomas Jane is great. Travolta is a great bad guy too.
6-Fantastic Four: Great fun. Never going to understand what is bad about it. Johnny and Ben fighting cracks me up.

 

[Obi-Ron]

6-Fantastic Four: Great fun. Never going to understand what is bad about it.

 

[JAK®]

Hellboy is a fantastic comic book movie. People like it but it deserves far more respect than it currently receives.

Watchmen also gets a lot of unwarranted hate.

 

[Blight616]

Daredevil: director's cut
Hulk 2003
X-men 3
Spawn: director's cut
The Phantom
The Rocketeer

and I'll probably get some heat for this but the Nick Fury: Agent of Shield tv movie.

 

[superhero]

deardevil
theThe Rocketeermost under rated flim.

the phantom i argee with blight 616 the phantom moive rocks one of most underrted superheros moivedon't watch the new one came onsyfy they messed the phantom up.have you heard any news about new phantom moive? i read somewere they werre goingtomake squeal or do reboot of it ? it been a while since i heard anything.

 

[Comics N' Toons]

The new Phantom movie has been canned. It was written by a producer before the SyFy thing happened and when that was an utter failure... The studio pulled funding for the new Phantom film!

 

[E-Man]

Ang's Hulk definitely. It's very similar to Batman Begins in how deep it is in terms of character development. The comic style editing complaints boggle my mind to this day. They took what 24 did and made it better. It's not hard to follow at all. It also had the great, rampaging action that people claimed it lacked. I think it's a symptom of people clinging to the Hulk tv show instead of realizing that the story of the Hulk has long moved past the whole mindless monster phase.

Daredevil is another one. People rag on it, but it's not a bad movie in my mind. It could've been better( even the DC), but what we got wasn't so bad. I think a lot of it has to do with people hating Affleck, but he did a decent job.

Both third movies in the X-Men and Spider-man movies. The Last Stand wasn't that bad. I think a lot of it is the fact that X-Men fans complain about damn near anything. The movie definitely had its issues, but the complaining gets so bad that the movie is instantly good by comparison.

Spider-man 3 was a disappointment, but it's still a good movie to me. Just too many villains and another boring love angle. Venom sucked in it too. With all that it still was enjoyable, and had some cool moments. Not the greatest thing in the world, but worth a watch at least for the action.

The Phantom movie from the 90s is one too. It was a cool adventure movie. The costume looked corny as hell, but that's about it. It was a good movie.

The Crow is criminally underrated just because it doesn't get talked about much. It's not a case of people hating it. The problem with The Crow is that it's a little forgotten. I need to get buy it myself since I don't have it.

 

[El Payaso]

Ang's Hulk definitely. It's very similar to Batman Begins in how deep it is in terms of character development. The comic style editing complaints boggle my mind to this day. They took what 24 did and made it better. It's not hard to follow at all. It also had the great, rampaging action that people claimed it lacked. I think it's a symptom of people clinging to the Hulk tv show instead of realizing that the story of the Hulk has long moved past the whole mindless monster phase.

Part of the problem was that Ang tried to mix two styles that couldn't be mixed. He didn't try to blend them but just put them togetehr and many times you can tell they don't match.

At some point of the movie it desperatley needed to flow faster and right there Ang gives us a slow metaphorical exploration through Bruce's past (in the scene where he and Betty go to his old house).

Add to that the confusing final confrontation. You actually can't follow the parts where Bruce Hulks-out and is sent out to the sky along with David (as an electricity being).

I personally had little problem with much of this, but I could tell its flaws. Still, much better than most people say it is.

Daredevil is another one. People rag on it, but it's not a bad movie in my mind. It could've been better( even the DC), but what we got wasn't so bad. I think a lot of it has to do with people hating Affleck, but he did a decent job.

I agree. I didn't think Affleck did a bad job here. And the story was good. I liked the movie and specially the origin much more than Raimi's Spiderman 1.

My problem were the villains. For me they were very weak. Bullseye looked and felt involuntarily comedic at times to me, and the actual comedy involving him was terrible.

Plus, some of the fights were laughable, such as the park fight with Murdock and Elektra.

Both third movies in the X-Men and Spider-man movies. The Last Stand wasn't that bad. I think a lot of it is the fact that X-Men fans complain about damn near anything. The movie definitely had its issues, but the complaining gets so bad that the movie is instantly good by comparison.

In fact - and I know it's not the unpopular opinions thread - I liked X3 better than X2. I can't find any real issue with the third X-Men movie and I don't go to the X-Men forums enough to be aware as to what problems fans, or people in general, have with it.

I disagree about SM3. I can't watch the movie, I just skip from action scene to action scene.

 

[redfirebird2008]

In fact - and I know it's not the unpopular opinions thread - I liked X3 better than X2. I can't find any real issue with the third X-Men movie and I don't go to the X-Men forums enough to be aware as to what problems fans, or people in general, have with it.

So you had no problem whatsoever with how Juggernaut was taken out?

As far as most underrated comic book film, probably Batman Returns. It's sort of a mixed bag because this one was actually received better by critics than its predecessor. But I think it was misunderstood by the general audience at the time, especially the soccer mom crowd.

 

[E-Man]

I agree. I didn't think Affleck did a bad job here. And the story was good. I liked the movie and specially the origin much more than Raimi's Spiderman 1.

My problem were the villains. For me they were very weak. Bullseye looked and felt involuntarily comedic at times to me, and the actual comedy involving him was terrible.

Plus, some of the fights were laughable, such as the park fight with Murdock and Elektra.

That park fight is just terrible. Even in the director's cut that had that crappy, unnecessary scene. I liked Bullseye's personality a bit, but his looked was just ******ed. Wtf does he have a bullseye etched in his skin for? It looked cool when he would throw something though. Kingpin was pretty cool. I'm not a fan of changing his race, but Michael Clarke Duncan played that part really well.