top ten worst comic book movie adaptation, nominations for top ten worst comic movie adaptations Options

[dragonwerx]

I am starting a new series of articles of top ten . . . . The first article is the worst comic book movie adaptation. I will be taking nominations for a week and will then write an article based on your votes and comments. So this is what I need. What do you think is the worst comic book to movie adaptation and why?

[Decapitated_Dan]

Punisher - ANY - Is it that hard to get this character correct? Apparently so because there have been 3 attempts.

Hulk - ANY - While the Ed Norton one was bearable, the Ang Lee one was horrendous. How can a movie with Jennifer Connley be bad?

Dylan Dog Dead of Night - How far off track from the source material can a movie get? Apparently a WHOLE LOT. Taking place in New Orleans instead of London. Giving him a sidekick that is not a rip off of Groucho Marx. And by far some of the worst casting/acting that I have EVER seen. (I Secretly loved this movie, but was able to separate it since it was so far off from the actual comic)

Batman & Robin - I love the Keaton Batmans, I love the Bale Batmans, but this movie was so bad. Acting was bad, direction was bad, and worst of all were the sets. WTH?

Constantine - John Constantine is one bad ass character, so why on earth would they think Reeves could play him? From casting to the story itself this was just all wrong. HE IS BRITISH, WHOA!!!

Elektra, Daredevil, Ghost Rider, Fantastic Four - YUCK!

Man-Thing - I don't think Marvel even acknowledges this movie as being one of theirs, but they made it.

Steel - Shaq, nuff said.

[Gonzogoose]

In very much disagreement with Dan on FF and the Norton Hulk. Shame on you, sir, shame! The Norton Hulk film I LOVE.

My picks in descending order, first on the list being the worst...

Spawn - Easily the worst comic book movie ever made in my opinion, even worse than the old, old FF and Cap movies.

Speaking of... 1979 Captain America.

Man-Thing - I'll agree on that one. Made for TV and was a very sad film, even by SyFy standards.

Catwoman - The reimagined concept starring Halle Berry just failed on every level. It airs on Lifetime once in a blue moon. Being a superhero film, that should say something about it.

Fantastic Four 1994 film - Unlike the two in the 2000s, this one was horrendous.

Barb Wire - It starred Pamela Anderson. Do I really need to say more?

Tank Girl - That film was just terrible on every level.

Elektra - Another one I'll agree with that seemingly missed the entire point of the character, and another I wouldn't be surprised to see on Lifetime.

Generation X - I loved the comic, had high hopes, but this made for TV movie was baaaaddd.

Hulk - The Ang Lee one from 2003. I literally fell asleep during this film and haven't been able to watch it all the way through even once since.

On the rest of Dan's picks, Constantine was a good film. I never read the comics, but I liked the film. Batman & Robin wasn't great, but it was far from the worst. Even DD and Ghost Rider weren't THAT bad. And I enjoyed Dylan Dog. And all the Punisher flicks were decent.

[doombug]

Yeah Dan, the FF, Norton Hulk and Ray Stevenson Punisher movies while not the best are all fun on some level and have some elements in them that are pitch perfect.

[Decapitated_Dan]

LOL Elektra on Lifetime, I could SOOO see that happening soon.

I left off the X-Men and Spiderman Franchise films. I Hate them so much.

[doombug]

LOL Elektra on Lifetime, I could SOOO see that happening soon.

I left off the X-Men and Spiderman Franchise films. I Hate them so much.

X2 and First class are easily 2 of the best comic book movies of all time.

you alright Dan?

[ART BOWSHIER]

How can u compare any of these to Howard the Duck? Book to movie adaption--hideous.
Constantine amd Daredevil would have been better done by Matt Damon as simple action movies.
Superman 4 and Superman Returns were abysmal....
Spawn was horrible.
Batman. the Movie with Adam West and co. was a bad extended tv episode.
The JLA Pilot was far worse than the '94 FF movie. Tho neither were shown. JLA was scheduled but never aired on tv.
The Matt Salinger Captain Ameica movie self distructed badly.
Catwoman with Hallie Berry-- enough said!

the "94 FF was a low budgeter and was an attempt and I was happy to see that.
I liked Tank Girl not everypne gets the humor!
the newer FF movies were okay as was the Norton Hulk. Never cared about punisher....
If I watched any of the other films I do not remember.

as for Man-Thing, I can count on one hand the mini series they did
being real good and one hand for original films on SYFY..... Thw ongoing
series are exceptional. Not everything is going to be good.
Sturgeon's Law!!!!

[Lexia]

the first 3 captian america movies, the first two don't even look like cap, and the shield is plastic, and the 2nd one... well it's better only if you seen the other two and never seen new one

[Greg G.]

X2 and First class are easily 2 of the best comic book movies of all time.

you alright Dan?

I'll give you First Class, but for my dollar Brian Singer is a terrible action director and the lack of a credible threat to the mutants in X2 made it a snoozefest.

My biggest complaint with modern comic book movies is you cannot have a character, or set of characters, that can level entire cities facing off against humans. Not even former Hannibal Lecters. I want to see the spectacle. I want to see the action.

If they ever use Lex Luthor in another Superman movie, they need to give him his Super Powers armor for a portion of the movie (screw the comparisons it will draw to Iron Man) this is the only way Superman could reasonably unload on Luthor without exploding his cranium.

[cougar18]

Bryan Singer does not understand comic books, mainly because he cannot read them due to his dyslexia. It's one of the reasons the 'Yellow spandex' line ticked so many folks off. A fan would never have put that line into the first film.

In terms of action, he can direct it really well. The problem is, he cannot devellop characters very well. He intentionally chose to go for money rather than realising a good movie, more often than not, will make money. Christopher Nolan and Peter JAckson devellop the characters, and when there is action called for, the film works because we care about the characters.

So onto my list of bad movies.

Judge Dredd- The Stallone movie. Stallone combined with Rob Schneider, a match made in hell. A pity, because there was a great supporting cast.

(I do like Spawn, I have to admit, but I acknowledge the film is not great.)

Superman Returns- so many reasons. No fighting, a terrible Lex Luthor. No idea who Superman is or should be, and then they added a god damned kid. A horrible Lois too, who was nothng like Lois.
IT was a SINO, Superman in name only.

Catwoman - Oh boy, just terrible in every possible way. A CINO, Catwoman in name only.

Punisher - Although War Zone was the worst. I dunno about you guys, but did anyone else think he looked fat in the War Zone sequel?

X3, even though I never cared for the others.

Spider-man 3, even though I never cared for the others either.

Superman 3 and 4.

The Phantom - a plot that is not only stolen from Raiders of the Lost Ark, but is actually the same writer of Raiders recycling his own script. And even then, it is not very good, mainly because he added elements to the story, and those elements were not very good. Billy Zane did okay with the material, but he could have better if the script were better.
I know others do not like The Shadow movie, but I actually did like that movie.

Green Lantern

Daredevil

Elektra

Wolverine Origins - I have to say, it was just lame. Everything about the movie was just wrong. FRom Deadpool to making Sabretooth and Wolverine bros.

Green Hornet - Seth Rogen? Seriously?

Doc Bronze - from the 1970's. Just boring.

Steel - Holy hell, what is this crap?!!! Everything about it is awful.

The Crow - City of Angels. Yeah. I like the main actor, but he is the only thing I like.

Nick Fury: Agent of Shield. Yeah, a TV movie, but awful none the less.

Blade Trinity - Again, terrible. Has Ryan Reynolds ever made a good superhero movie?

Also was not a fan of either FF movies.

Jonah Hex - Just wrong.

Batman Forever and Batman and Robin. I did like Val Kilmer's Batman, but alot of the rest...not so much.

Those are just the ones I remember or wish to rant about.

This post has been edited by cougar18: Jun 6 2012, 06:20 PM

[Greg G.]

In terms of action, he can direct it really well. The problem is, he cannot devellop characters very well. He intentionally chose to go for money rather than realising a good movie, more often than not, will make money. Christopher Nolan and Peter JAckson devellop the characters, and when there is action called for, the film works because we care about the characters.

Sorry going to derail here and point out Singer is terrible at action and built his career upon character development. His career was propelled forward by The Usual Suspects, not an action film. A thriller.

His action work is too wire heavy, and not a good wire heavy like Hong Kong cinema. The bad kind. Hollywood studios and their insurance companies worrying about lawsuits and such bad. This is why every action scene in the first two X-Men movies has a floaty, weightless feel to them.

If you think X-Men 1 and 2 had competent action, then we're not going to agree on action films at all.

I have to nominate Blade 3 for one of the worst comic movies coming off of the fantastic Blade 2. Go watch Blade 2 and listen to Guillermo del Toro's commentary track where he reveals his proposal for his Blade 3. The studios should have given del Toro a big fat paycheck to make this film happen. Instead we get Blade 3. FEH!

The only Blade movie that exists for me is Blade 2.

Thomas Jane Punisher is another comic film farce. As a comic fan I could see that they were inspired by Garth Ennis's run on the Marvel Knights title, but they missed the humor and wit in his work. Then they try to give Frank Castle character traits that do not exist - mourning, weeping, and toying with criminals? NO! Frank Castle doesn't drown his sorrows in booze. Frank Castle doesn't waste time carrying fake fire hydrants to get criminals parking tickets.

The Thomas Jane Punisher is an abortion on celluloid. It serves neither character nor fans of the character.

[Gonzogoose]

I liked the Punisher films just fine, but then I'm not a fan of the comic character. And I actually liked Jonah Hex (again, never read any of the comics) and X-Men 1 & 2 and Spider-Man 1 & 2. And while the third movies in both those franchises had many flaws, I don't hold as much vitriol for them as many others do.

I can't believe I forgot to nominate Green Hornet. I think I wanted to forget that one existed!

[cougar18]

Sorry going to derail here and point out Singer is terrible at action and built his career upon character development. His career was propelled forward by The Usual Suspects, not an action film. A thriller.

His action work is too wire heavy, and not a good wire heavy like Hong Kong cinema. The bad kind. Hollywood studios and their insurance companies worrying about lawsuits and such bad. This is why every action scene in the first two X-Men movies has a floaty, weightless feel to them.

If you think X-Men 1 and 2 had competent action, then we're not going to agree on action films at all.

I have to nominate Blade 3 for one of the worst comic movies coming off of the fantastic Blade 2. Go watch Blade 2 and listen to Guillermo del Toro's commentary track where he reveals his proposal for his Blade 3. The studios should have given del Toro a big fat paycheck to make this film happen. Instead we get Blade 3. FEH!

The only Blade movie that exists for me is Blade 2.

Thomas Jane Punisher is another comic film farce. As a comic fan I could see that they were inspired by Garth Ennis's run on the Marvel Knights title, but they missed the humor and wit in his work. Then they try to give Frank Castle character traits that do not exist - mourning, weeping, and toying with criminals? NO! Frank Castle doesn't drown his sorrows in booze. Frank Castle doesn't waste time carrying fake fire hydrants to get criminals parking tickets.

The Thomas Jane Punisher is an abortion on celluloid. It serves neither character nor fans of the character.

I'm not saying he is a great action director, far far from it, even when he had Richard Donner working as a producer, who he could have consulted in terms of action direction, the action was not great. Superman Returns had no action whatsoever, bar the opening shot of him trying to save the plane.
The characters of Superman REturns, from the script to the lackeys, were all lacking in development and character motivation. People decide they don't need Superman, that he abandoned them, but then look how easily they accepted him when he returns.

Singer made his name on develloping characters, with Apt Pupil and Usual Suspects. But then what the frik happened? All of the characters in the Xmen movies were highly underdevelloped. Storm had no purpose, which is the oppossite of what she is in the comics, and she sported a terrible accent. Jean Grey was boring and wooden. Cyclops had more personality, which is somewhat the oppossite of what JEan and Scott are like in the comics, with Scott being more boring. I credit James Marsden with making Cyclops more interesting. Fammke Jansen was just all wrong. Anna Paquin made a good Rogue, but I don't think we got the confrontational Rogue we should have gotten, the one who puts up a front to hide her own fears. I think that was something the writers went for, sadly.
I just felt that alot of the characters were highly underdevelloped. Which is contrary to what Singer used to do.
Mageto seemed very odd also. I mean, the first movie, he wanted to turn all humans into mutants. Hmmm. That does not seem to hold true to MAgneto's ideals. I mean, it is sort of like if Hitler could turn everyone white, blonde and blue eyed with his own device. Would he accept them for what they are now? Nope, to him, they would still be impure. And that is how I feel Magneto would be, unaccepting of those who were once human, and were now mutants. They would be like the 'New Money' versus 'Old Money', except alot more vitriolic.IT was just one of the plot holes that leapt out at me.
So Singer doesnt really devellop anything, really. Not anymore anyways. He's all about the Benjamins.

But no, I would not call the X men movies competent on many levels.

This post has been edited by cougar18: Jun 7 2012, 01:49 PM

[cougar18]

I liked the Punisher films just fine, but then I'm not a fan of the comic character. And I actually liked Jonah Hex (again, never read any of the comics) and X-Men 1 & 2 and Spider-Man 1 & 2. And while the third movies in both those franchises had many flaws, I don't hold as much vitriol for them as many others do.

I can't believe I forgot to nominate Green Hornet. I think I wanted to forget that one existed!

Sorry for opening up an old wound there Gonzo.

I understand that humour can be drawn from the hero starting out, learning their trade and so on. But Green Hornets jokes seemed aimed more at 'Look how wacky and crazy I am! Doo doo doop'.
The real star of that movie was the guy playing Kato, Jay Chou.

I dunno bout you guys, but I never got the appeal of Seth Rogen. He's okay as a supporting actor, but as a main star...not so much.

[Greg G.]

Fun fact - the scene in Superman returns where he saves the plane is entirely the creation of storyboard artist Gabriel Hardman. He discussed it in an interview on Word Balloon.

So we can thank him for one of the best scenes in an otherwise forgettable attempt at Brian Singer inserting his crappy fanfic story into the Donner continuity.

[Anthony Hochrein]

Apparently, everyone forgot the SWAMP THING movies. There are too many bad movie adaptations of comic books I can't bring it down to a list of ten.

[Greg G.]

Apparently, everyone forgot the SWAMP THING movies. There are too many bad movie adaptations of comic books I can't bring it down to a list of ten.

Heresy!

I enjoyed Swamp Thing as a kid, and as an adult I can't say it's as frightening as I recall it being; but it still spoke true to the heart of the pre-Moore Swamp Thing. Back when Swamp Thing was a tragic hero / rollicking monster fighting book that set the stage for stuff like Hellboy. I can't vouch for the sequels of TV show though.

Plus it had my favorite Playboy Playmate Karen Price in it. Whatta woman! Hommina hommina.