What is everyone's top comic book based movies?

[Hordakfan]

Mine are:
The Avengers. (After seeing it 13 times in theaters, it's a new favorite)
Batman Begins and Dark Knight.
Batman Mask of the Phantasm.
Superman 1 & 2 and Superman Returns.
Sin City.
Watchmen.
300.
Heavy Metal.
Akira.
Ghost in The Shell 1 & 2.
Oldboy.
The Crow.
Kick-Ass.
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (aka Warriors of the Wind).
Riki-Oh The Story of Ricky.
Batman Under the Red Hood.
Batman 1989 and Batman Returns.
V For Vendetta.
X-Men 1/2/First Class.
Blade 1 & 2.
Spider-Man 1 & 2 and Amazing Spider-Man.
The Adventures of TinTin.
A History of Violence.
Road to Perdition.
Thor.
The Incredible Hulk.
Iron Man.
Captain America First Avenger.
Ichi The Killer.
Tales from The Crypt (1972) and Vault of Horror.
Cemetery Man (aka Dellamorte Dellamore).
American Splendor.
Hellboy 1 & 2.
The Mask.
Flash Gordon.
30 Days of Night.
Swamp Thing.
Fist of the North Star (anime 1986).
Dick Tracy.
The Rockeeter.
Men in Black.
Batman 1966.
Persepolis.
Scott Pilgrem.

 

[childeroland]

Ghost World -- Thora Birch's best performance to date (and ScarJo's best before Lost In Translation), biting, sad, funny. The nameless town populated by strip malls and lonely, screwed up people. Steve Buscemi's angry, isolated, blues-loving Seymour.

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence -- beautifully drawn and animated, very different from the manga, philosophical, beautiful use of Buddhism and Christian symbolism, one of the best noir stories I've ever seen.

American Splendor -- very funny and irreverent slice of life more real than many "realistic" dramas.

The Dark Knight -- the best superhero brought into a hyper-real world echoing my favorite Batman comics.

Batman Begins -- ditto

Castle of Cagliostro -- Miyazaki's first masterpiece and still one of the best adventure films ever made live action or animated showcases the best aspects of a hero with so much heart he can even make you like his adversaries.

 

[CGHulk]

Superman The Movie
Superman II The Donner Cut
Batman Begins
X-Men First Class
Thor
The Avengers
Batman 89
The Rocketeer
Captain America The First Avenger
Spiderman 2
Spiderman
Dick Tracy
X-Men
Iron Man

I haven't seen The Amazing Spiderman yet.

 

[Laderlappen]

The Dark Knight
Sin City
Road to Perdition
A History of Violence
Batman Begins
Iron Man
Spiderman 2

There are many I havent seen yet. The Avengers is one of them.

 

[hopefuldreamer]

My top 5:

1. Watchmen
2. The Dark Knight Trilogy
3. Kick Ass
4. Thor
5. Spiderman/Spiderman 2

 

[returntovoid]

Batman 1989
Batman Returns
The Avengers
Superman 1979
Iron Man
Thor
The Incredible Hulk
X-Men: First Class
Batman Begins
The Dark Knight
Iron Man 2

 

[wampa1]

Urgh, list thread.

At least provide a line or two justification for your choices.

 

[Abudefduf]

Keeping in mind that I still need to see many of them, but here are my favorite ones so far:

Batman (1989) / The Dark Knight
Batman Begins
The Crow
Sin City
Ghost World
Spider-Man 2
Hellboy / Hellboy: The Golden Army
Spider-Man / X-Men
Batman (1966) / 300
The Avengers
The Incredible Hulk / Batman Returns

 

[DarKush]

Wow, the OP saw Avengers 13 times in the theater? Wow, that's amazing.

Here are my top 20:
Avengers
Superman 2
Superman
Blade
Blade 2
Batman 1989
Spider-Man
X-Men
X-Men 2
X-Men First Class
Kick Ass
Batman Begins
The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Thor
Captain America
Fantastic Four
Watchmen
Sin City
The Incredible Hulk

 

[Ajendo]

This should have been a top 5 thread.

The Amazing Spider-Man
The Avengers
Superman
Batman Begins
Blade 2

 

[Lunar_Wolf]

The Avengers

What's not to love?

The Dark Knight/Begins

Nolan brought Batman to the big screen in a huge way.

Iron Man

For once, I actually cared about this character

Thor

Again, another character I never cared for, but I loved the film version.

Kick-Ass

Much better than the comic book.

Watchmen

Syder did a good job at adapting the much loved graphic novel.

Spider-Man 1/2


I'm scared to go back and watch because I was so fond of them when I was younger.

X-Men 2/First Class

The cast won me over with First Class, but story and action with X2 was fantastic.

Hellboy

A fun, fun flick.

Blade II

I recall loving this Blade.

Scott Pilgrim


The pacing is a bit off, but the editing, sound and fight scenes were incredible.

I need to watch TASM again.

 

[DACrowe]

I'm going to keep my list short as it is after all top comic book movies.

1. The Dark Knight - Perfection. My favorite Batman stories are where he is pushed to his limit by the Joker testing him ideologically or one that plays up the tragedy of his supporting cast in the corruption of Gotham. Harvey Dent becoming Two-Face because he dared to work with Batman and Gordon to bring down the mob ties into that perfectly. What? I get both of those in one movie told by one of the great up and coming auteurs of this generation?

2. Spider-Man 2 - Some may not like the details of exact characterizations of Raimi's Spider-Man movies, but he gets the overall tone and spirit of the Stan Lee/Steve Ditko and Stan Lee/John Romita comics just right in his first two movies. And this one is nearly flawless in execution. With a visually stunning villain in Doc Ock and one of the most compelling character arcs for a protagonist ever in a superhero movie with "Spider-Man: No More," this one pulls at the heart strings and feels remarkably human. It is the quirky dramedy about neurotic New Yorkers of the superhero genre.

3. Kick-Ass - The most fun I have ever had watching a comic book movie. It was simply an exhilarating joy to watch. All the nods to previous movies were funny and it intelligently satirized superhero movies while executing their tropes in the third act better than most. Plus, Hit-Girl is one of the best "hero" characters in recent memory and this movie always leaves you grinning.

4. V For Vendetta - A bit dated now, this movie packed a wallop in 2006. A none-too-subtle rebuke of the Bush Administration and its "War on Terror" told with amazing imagination and two incredibly compelling and fantastically played central characters with V and Evey (even if Natalie Portman's accent was a bit dodgy). This movie was just compulsively viewable during the Bush years and still is relevant to this day. Is it accurate to the graphic novel? Not at all. But it is a great movie.

5. Batman Begins - The Batman origin done right. This is (for the first two acts) a character-driven superhero origin movie written for adults as well as younger audiences. The third act descends into action movie/superhero cliché, but the characters are so well developed and the Gotham Nolan creates feels so real, I happily go along with it for the ride at that point.

6. Batman (1989)
7. Spider-Man (2002)
8. The Avengers
9. X-Men: First Class
10. Iron Man
11. Superman: The Movie
12. Batman Returns
13. Sin City
14. A History of Violence
15. The Road to Perdition
16. X2: X-Men United
17. Watchmen
18. The Amazing Spider-Man
19. X-Men
20. Thor

Okay, I guess that was not so short.

 

[SuperFerret]

The Avengers (and those leading up to it)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Hellboy
Watchmen
Superman the Movie

Basically what these movies should be. Honest, loyal depictions of the characters and concepts that have pulled all of the weight in regards to their popularity brought on screen without any "spins" put on them. Going by that criteria, this list actually surprised me.

 

[El Payaso]

Only the very best for me:

- Superman the Movie
- Batman 89
- The Dark Knight
- The Incredible Hulk (1977 TV pilot)
- X-Men
- Iron Man
- The Amazing Spider-man
- Spider-man 2
- Superman 2

 

[Tanin]

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Batman 89
Popeye
Iron Man
Scott Pilgrim vs the World
The Amazing Spider-Man
Blade

 

[jacobed]

The Dark Knight
X2
Batman Begins
The Amazing Spider-Man
Thor
The Avengers
Scott Pilgrim
Kick Ass
X1
Captain America
The Incredible Hulk
Blade
Iron Man
Spider-Man 1

The rest I could care less about

 

[hitmanyr2k]

My absolute favorites...

The Crow
The Avengers
Spider-man 2
Iron Man
Blade II

Then the rest in no particular order...

X2
X-Men: First Class
Batman '89
Blade
Superman '78
Punisher '89
Captain America
The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man 2

 

[Boom]

The Dark Knight
Iron Man
The Avengers
Batman Begins
Spider-Man 2
X2: X-Men United

 

[Doctor Jones]

The Dark Knight
Spider-Man 2
The Avengers
Iron Man
X2
Spider-Man
Batman (1989)
Batman Begins
X-Men

Not in order, but these are my favorite.

 

[DCW]

No particular order:

The Dark Knight
Batman Begins
Batman 89
X Men First Class
Thor
Amazing Spider Man
Avengers
Spider Man 2
X Men
Iron Man

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

My top ten:

1) The Dark Knight
2) Batman Begins
3) Superman: The Movie
4) Spider-Man 2
5) Road to Perdition
6) X-Men: First Class
7) The Avengers
8) Iron Man
9) Batman (1989)
10) X2: X-Men United

 

[Victarion]

Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Duology. Begins was a great look at how Batman acquired his skills/gear and had an epic, yet small-scope feel to it. Yes, Bruce ventured around the world, but much of the action centers on the Narrows, whereas Knight broadens its scope to include more of Gotham.

More on Thomas and Martha Wayne, and rogues who more resembled their comic counterparts would've been the best improvements in Begins. As for TDK, taking out the mob in a fell swoop was a neat idea. Since this trilogy spans the career of the Dark Knight, I feel more rogues in the mob segment would've been a better touch.

I understood the necessity of catching Lau, however...I think a meeting of Sal Maroni, Scarecrow, Killer Croc and perhaps Penguin in the Iceberg Lounge's backroom would've been more interesting than no-names like Gambol and the Chechen. Their financier who fled with the dough could've been Riddler, with him leaving some clues behind as to where he hid their cash.

The rest could play out as normal. You'd get a sense that this is a bit later into Batman's career.

Guilermo Del Toro's Hellboy films. I love them both. The love subplot in part I was done well, and given a good conclusion in part II.

 

[ShredderX]

Turtles Forever : Old school plus New school turtles, as well as Mirage and an homage to the many TMNT incarnations over the years.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles : Ninja turtles in live action, Mirage based and influenced, plus and awesome soundtrack with early 90's pop.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 : OOZE, Ninja Rap, Enviromental themes, and Super Shredder.

Avengers : This generation's Star Wars and Jurrassic Park .

Ultimate Avengers : Hulk kicking everyone A$$

The Dark Knight : The " Citizen Kane " of comic book movies.

Kick-Ass : Just an awesome movie.

300 : Visually stunning, King Leonidas was a Bad A$$, Slow-mo fighting scenes, Mutant Persians.

Sin City : Visuals and actors were AMAZING.

Blade & Blade 2 : Martial Arts + Vampire = Awesome unlimted.

Incredible Hulk : Non-Shrek Hulk, Abomination, Radioactive Hulk eyes, Bill Bixby in the form of Edward Norton.

X-Men First Class : The coolest Proff. X ever, and Magneto was the ultimate M.W.A, Mutant with Attitude.

Batman : Started Batmania, The Joker, One of the coolest lines in history ; " What are you ?...... I'm Batman."

Superman 2 : Kneel before Zod. Nuff said.

Howard the Duck : So bad that it's good, plus one of my childhood favorites from the 80's.

Iron Man : RDJ at his best .

Wolverine : Only because of Liev Shrieber's Victor/Sabertooth and Ryan Reynolds Wade/DeadPool

Superman & Batman Public Enemy : Supes and Bats team up, plus I love the animation and art syle.

Heavy Metal : Sci-Fi sex and violence, rocking soundtrack.

Dick Tracey : Colorful set, cartoony 1930's gangsters .

Tales from the Crypt : Demon Knight : Demons, Cool Billy Zane, Hot Jada Pinkett.

 

[Doc Ock]

I don't like to make lists when I go form my most favorite to least favorite because in the end among my favorites it all depends on what I'm in the mood for but my tops ones would be...

In no particular order:

Tim Burton's Batman/Batman Returns - Something as a kid I grew up watching over and over again on VHS, espeically Returns. I actually didn't watch the 89 Batman all the through until about five years ago, yikes! But alas both films have stuck with me. Michael Keaton is my favorite live-action Batman. I loved his suit and the whole style of Gotham. I liked the fact Returns was snowy and featured Catwoman. I like snow. I thought these two films captured the comics look while maintaining its own style. I even prefer Burton's Batman to Nolan's Batman.


Sam Raimi's Spider-Man Trilogy - Yes, even the 3rd installment. I love Spider-Man, he probably is my favorite superhero. I remember seeing the first film in theaters, I could hardly contain my excitement. With the 90s cartoon, lots of comics to read and action figures to imagine my own stories as a kid I usually always had Spider-Man somewhere in my head. These movies were great at bringing the pages to life with a little hits here and there but not enough to keep from enjoying the films. William Dafoe was a great Norman Osborn and I loved how his influence continued in the 2rd and 3rd films even though he was dead. Alfred Molina was the perfect Doc Ock, from the look to well, everything! With the third film I really enjoyed Sandman and Harry as the New Goblin but didn't care for the Venom stuff too much...the black suit was cool though but I think the whole Venom as a enemy thing could of been saved until a later film. Tobey Maguire was a great Spidey, I only wish we got a couple more films with him and I wished we got to see Dylan Baker's Curt Connors become the Lizard(who is actually my favorite Spidey villain). Even though I was annoyed(more like angry) at a reboot, I do look forward to seeing The Amazing Spider-Man. I just love the character and the universe around him!

Thor - This film pleasantly surprised me. Before The Avengers it was probably my favorite Marvel Studios film to date. I wasn't a huge Thor fan but this film really helped grow into one. The cast was just perfect and Loki has become a villain I always enjoy seeing in comics, animation, or otherwise largely due to this film. I hope we get some Enchantress action in the sequel!

Hellboy/Hellboy II:The Golden Army - Besides Spider-Man, Superman, and The Hulk, Hellboy is one of my favorites as well. And it is largely because of these films that I decided to start reading Hellboy in the first place. GDT had a awesome style to these films that was very reminiscent of the comics. Both films seem to be almost different but yet still the same. Ron Perlman is the perfect Hellboy and I'm dying for one last film with him and Del Toro.

The Avengers - Finally saw this last weekend, the hype was so large that it wasn't until after the movie ended that I fully appreciated it. What a great movie and perfect comic book film. My favorite moments weren't when the characters were fighting but just talking. The dialogue is just fantastic! This showed off how the Avengers is kinda a perfectly balanced team IMO. Plus Iron Man and Thor duking it out is worth the price of admission alone! Joss Whedon really was the perfect choice.

I would also like to mention the DC Universe Animated Movies. I haven't seen all of them but so far I have loved everyone I've watched tremendously. Wonder Woman, Batman: Under the Red Hood, and Superman/Batman: Apocalypse are some of my favorite animated films of all time.

I should also mention the X-Men films, minus the third one which I wish would be ignored. I love X-Men and X2 as well as Wolverine. I have yet to see First Class as I've been waiting on watching it with a certain family member. The Amazing Spider-Man and Uncanny X-Men were the first comics I ever had and quickly become my most favorite so I'm always looking forward to something new with the X-Men and Spider-Man.

I'm sure I left some of my favorites out, but these are in my head right now.

 

[Piper Maru]

In no particular order

Spider-Man 1,2,3
The first two X-Men movies
The first two Blade movies
Batman Begins & The Dark Knight
Both Hellboy Films
The Crow