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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Serge" data-source="post: 740252" data-attributes="member: 4049">1.  X-Men:  This is the best comic book adaptation because it best captures the feel and attitude of the series in its hay-day.  The drive here is equality and fitting in more than anything else and we see this theme repeated from start to finish.  There is also the sense that there has been an invisible war brewing for a long time of which most homo sapiens are unaware.  Finally, the graphic did not overpower the film, a usual failure for most movies.2.  Superman the Movie:  Again, Superman was captured to perfection.  The performance delivered by Christopher Reeves and the deeply religious overtones and Americana images were fantastic.  And finally, there is no super-hero score out there better or more memorable than Williams' March from Superman, and no villain theme better than The March of the Villains.3.  Batman:  Mask of the Phantasm:  This and the next movie are the basis upon which all future Batman franchise movies should be based.  Why can't the morons in Hollywood get this right?  This is a very decent cartoon that features a very grim Batman, a truly socipathic Joker, and a background story that comes close to perfection in capturing The Dark Knight.4.  Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker:  Again, we come far closer to capturing Batman in this than in any of the four late 90 Batman movies.  Particularly in the flashback scene, we see how vicious the enmity is between The Batman and The Joker and what has been at stake.  A fantastic film.5.  Unbreakable:  Great stuff.  This is a great film that sort of offers a new look, a refreshed look, at the idea about superheroes... a deconstruction, if you will.  We see what Superman could have been and we see how a hero can be an everyday Joe.  This is a great film burdened by a severe slowness and drag.  Still, it's a fantastic movie with strong performances.6.  Spiderman:  Not bad at all.  Toby Maguire was great and the handling of the origin was impressive.  The score did not capture the feel of Spiderman (far too gothic and oppressive) and the whole motivation on the part of the Green Goblin was lame (the whole Father/son theme was poorly handled).  Furthermore, aside from the overall patriotic feel of the film, there was no real "threat" inherent.  The Green Goblin's motivation changes drastically in the middle of the movie and never makes much sense (and I hated his costume).  Still, not a bad movie.7.  Batman the Movie:  Another one that's not bad.  But certainly not great.  While some of the elements associated with The Batman mythos are captured (the Hellish Gotham, the 30's atmosphere, etc.), we never learn much about the title character or his motivations or how he accomplishes what he accomplishes.  The casting was also poor...  Sure, Jack Nicholson had the face and sinister nature of The Joker, but I'm sure there were other actors who could have captured both the attitude as well as the physical appearance of the character.  Same with Keaton's Batman...  A decent performance, but Batman is very much a Darth Vader sized character and Keaton simply doesn't have the physical presence to make it work.  Finally, the Vicki Vale thing was garbage.  Still, I have a soft place in my heart for this, so I rank it seventh.8.  Daredevil the Movie:  Not too bad.  But not great either.  This movie is like a wide, but incredibly shallow pool of water.  A lot of great effects, fantastic shots, and incredible potential, but absolutely no character development, real explanation, or threat.  We never really understand how dangerous The Kingpin is.  And, we see another one of the great faux pas of comic book adaptations:  TOO MANY CHARACTERS!  The Elektra/Bullseye thing was poorly handled.  I mean, she witnesses her father's murder, goes out the next night to avenge him, just happens to run into Daredevil, just happens to be found by Bullseyes...  Uh uh.  But, still a better film than any of the later Batman or Superman movies.That's it.  The dearth of decent movie adaptations is telling since I can't reach 10.  All the others were complete crap, IMO.As for new Batman films, I don't see what the problem is.  It would not be difficult to create a brand new image while maintaining.  Handle the character in a fashion similar to a decent horror film.  You never really see much of the character, but instead you see his shadow, glimpse his cloak, or see a passing shot of him.  Over time, give the audience more and more of him until the end.  Treat it sort of like The Usual Suspects.  And, focus the attention either on Wayne or Gordon.  Cut out the romance... or have the romance with another character (Gordon, if one goes with Year One).  Or, you could go with a Law and Order type set-up with a psuedo-mystical element.</blockquote>

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