[EW] 20 worst Comic Book movies

[Krug]

http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20186843,00.html

 

[Relique du Madde]

I want to see what their 20 best comic book movies list looks like. I'm just shocked that X Men III did not make it onto the worst movie list.

 

[Fast Learner]

And I can't fathom how anyone could think of X-Men III being worse than any one of those twenty. Not even close. Is there some general loathing out there for the film that I'm not aware of, or does this seem to be more personal?

 

[Darth Shoju]

And I can't fathom how anyone could think of X-Men III being worse than any one of those twenty. Not even close. Is there some general loathing out there for the film that I'm not aware of, or does this seem to be more personal?

I dunno, I'd put it at the same level as Daredevil and The Punisher (though I own X3 and Daredevil on DVD, I can't say I'll ever buy the Punisher, so maybe I shouldn't put them on the same level). Certainly when compared to the first two X-men movies it doesn't stack up favorably at all.

 

[trancejeremy]

Was "The Shadow" a comic book? I thought it was a radio show, then book? Definitely bad, though.

I thought "The Phantom" was better than the comic strip (which wasn't very good).

 

[horacethegrey]

I thought "The Phantom" was better than the comic strip (which wasn't very good).

Don't knock The Phantom comic. The series DC published in the 80's was pretty good and should never be mentioned in the same sentence as that godawful film.

But back to the list, I definitely agree with The Shadow. While technically not originally a comic book character, the film was very much styled like your typical comic book flick and had so much promise, that you're left wondering how it all went wrong. For one, the dark stylings of the setting and main character clashed horribly with the tongue in cheek humor which the film employed. Memo to all future comic flick makers, less winking at the audience and more treating your material with respect.

And oh yeah, that list proves without a doubt that Mark Steven Johnson should never handle another comic property for as long as he lives. Bad enough that he messed up Daredevil big time (I don't blame Ben Affleck for that, he could have been great with the right director), but then he had to repeat the offense with Ghost Rider. So you can understand why all these reports of him helming a Preacher series on HBO have me wary.

 

[Relique du Madde]

Is there some general loathing out there for the film that I'm not aware of, or does this seem to be more personal?

It's bad because the writers decided to retconn much of the plot in the last 5 minutes of the movie and in the post credit segment. Having Xavier come back in the end (which was foreshadowed) destroyed the significance of his death and what it meant in regards to the school's future.* Then to follow up that destroyed plot with a post credit shocker that Magneto's powers were returning basically negated much of the whole "mutant cure" debacle just so that there could be a sequel which features any of the characters which survived the battle but were de-powered (although I do admit that realization does make Rogue's story more tragic).


*I am aware irony considering that Prof. X just recovered from Brain Death in the last issue of X-men:Legacy after having been "killed" during Messiah CompleX

 

[Blackrat]

What the? Some of the last movies on that list are few of my favourites. I happened to like Barbarella eventhoough it's poor scifi in modern standards. Judge Dredd was uber and though League of Extraordinary Gentlemen didn't follow the comic much it was good movie on it's own account.

 

[Silver Moon]

Uggh - the list reminded me of a few awful years in the mid-eighties where my buddies I and saw "Supergirl", "Superman IV" and "Howard the Duck" in the movie theaters - while on television we had sub-par made-for-TV movies with the Hulk guest starring lame versions of Daredevil and Thor - and an awful Captain America movie - not the best years for superheroes.

There are a few on that list that I don't really belong there - much as I hate Sly Stallone I think he made a great Judge Dread, he captured the comic book character perfectly. I also thought Daredevil was a fairly good adaptation of the original source material (DD #164, 181 & 190).

 

[Klaus]

X3 is definitely worse than The Shadow, The Phantom and Judge Dredd.