Early comic movies that still hold up?

By "early" lets go with before The Dark Knight & MCU and you've seen it sometime lately. V for Vendetta has always been one of my favorites, but I recently watched it again (introducing it to my girlfriend) since it was added to Netflix last month. Holy crap, I like it even more now. It was actually kinda creepy, because during this election I could see us going on that path with Clinton or especially Trump in charge. It seems like there was a certain sophistication and edge that's no longer there in most movies, especially comic/graphic novel movies. I remember liking A History of Violence years ago, so I'll probably check that again soon.

V for vendetta was terrible IMO, worst Allen Moore adaption only behind League of Extraordinary gentlemen. Maybe i would have liked it more if i didn't read the book but man they just turned it into a political propaganda flick and took all the soul out of books and just kept the big fight scenes. :-(

I remember liking the first 2 x-men movies a lot, and Blade 1 and especially 2 hold up well (trinity was bad when it came out). I remember From hell being really good but i never read the book. The first couple spiderman movies are still good for what they are I watch them when they come on tv etc.

Looking at the title I figure I should extol the virtues of the early Marx Brother's flicks and Laurel and Hardy and.... oh comic BOOKS.

I think the Tim Burton Batman movies hold up well. They may not be the best representations of the character but they're good films. Always enjoyed Spider-Man 2. And I'll second Blade. Haven't watched X2 in years, but remember that being alright.

Ang Lee's Hulk was and still is awesome.

Superman 1 and 2

The original Punisher with Dolph Lundgren (just kidding)

Yeah honestly forgot about OG Batman and Superman, i think the first Tim burton Batman and the first superman movie are still real good even if some effects in superman don't hold up as well.

Richard Donner's Superman I and II (his cut, not Lester's).

Tim Burton's Batman films and Mask of the Phantasm.

Blade I and II.

The Crow.

People say good things about X-Men 2 but I've never seen it.

Worth mentioning, Darkman is a great "comic book" movie but not actually based on one.

Sin City is fine.

I think V is easily better than just about all MCU movies, Fox movies, Sony movies, and DC with a few exceptions like TDK. I thought it had plenty of soul, there wasn't much action at all, it's more of drama - there's only one major fight scene. The best moments are when he hijacks the TV, Evey in prison reading the letters, her transformation, his flaws/personality, etc. Maybe the source material is way better, but I haven't read it and even if I had I could separate the two mediums. Of course liking films is subjective, but I think it's easily better than most of its peers as far as "comic movies".

The Hellboy movies are pretty darn good. The first one is on Netflix right now, if anyone would care to check it out.

Hellboy, The Crow and Blade 1 and 2.

I need to rewatch Blade 1 and 2 which I'll probably do in the next week or so when I'm not watching E3 stuff. I haven't seen the first two X-Men films in a while so I need to rewatch them too. Hellboy is also really cool because of how different it is. I have a soft spot for Punisher(Thomas Jane version) and Daredevil but I know most people really dislike those movies.

Hellboy and Blade have two good movies each that I haven't seen in a bit but I watched all of them years after they came out and they held up.

Road to Perdition and A History of Violence are great (though I haven't read the source material for either).

Spider-Man 2 still has some nice action scenes (namely the clocktower and train) but was a bore otherwise even at the time. Spider-Man 3 is still so bad it's good.

As for V for Vendetta, it's one of many butchered Moore adaptations that make me feel sorry for the guy (he's still a dick, mind). It's not quite League of Extraordinary Gentlemen though (haven't even read the comics but that movie was godawful regardless and I hear nothing but good things about the comics).

The Batman films from 1989-1997 and yes that does include Batman & Robin, see Jim Sterling's defence of that film as evidence.

Shit, I should go watch V for Vendetta again. Thanks for the tip.

Answer doesn't count since it's MCU, but it is 8 years ago and Iron Man is the first superhero movie that really felt like one to me.

I'm still a sucker for those first two Keaton Batmans. Jack Nicholson's Joker, DeVito's Penguin and Michelle Pfieffer's Catwoman still hold up. There's no excuse for Clooney and Kilmer's versions though, whatever that video in the post above me says.

• Burton's Batman movies.
• Donner's Superman
• Some of the Asterix movies are pretty decent
• Most of the older DC Animated movies are good (pre 52)
• Sin City
• Hellboy 1
• The Shadow
• The Rocketeer
• Blade 1
• X-Men 2
• Raimi's Spiderman
• Men in Black 1
• Nausica

Hellboy comes to mind.

I personally think the two first Spiderman movies are the best thing Marvel ever produced. Fight me about it!

@seinenfeld said:

The comics have several seasons, and I believe a version of it is still running. He eventually ditched the Victorian influences and started creating leagues from different centuries. Some of the most recent one included James Bond, Emma Peel and Doctor Caligari...

If you want to get into the comics, the first season was easily the best one (haven't had much contact with the latter ones, though).

Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 2 remains one of the best comic films ever made, in my estimation.

@kingbonesaw: V for Vendetta is an enjoyable, likable movie, but it's a poor adaptation that misses the entire point of the source material and is instead a juvenile anarchist fuck the system power fantasy, not that there's anything wrong with that necessarily. That can be fun when done well and it does it well, I still like the movie, but it is pretty damn trite and anybody who read the graphic novel has every right to be pissed off. It's like if they took Watchmen and just turned it into The Avengers, you're literally taking the themes of the source material and doing the complete opposite.

This is absolutely the right answer. Better than any of the Nolan films, imo.

Superman 1 and 2 are both still pretty good. I think I might prefer 1 more, but honestly they work really well together as a double feature. There are things that don't work especially well looking back, but the overall tone and handling of the character of Superman is superb. Much better than recent attempts.

My favorite old school Batman film is Batman Returns. I watched the original 89 Batman and didn't like it as much. I think that Tim Burton's interpretation of Gotham is great and while he gets some stuff wrong about Batman (his version obviously kills people) I really enjoyed his Catwoman and Penguin and how they're much more broken people than villains, which mirrors how Batman is really just kind of a broken person too.

Sin City is fantastic and probably one of my favorite comic book movies. I remember reading most of the Sin City trades before going to see the film and getting myself very hyped up to see it. I can't remember a movie capturing the feeling of a comic quite as much. It wasn't so much an adaptation as a full conversion, and it really worked. it helped that they did my favorite Sin City story in the movie, which is The Big Fat Kill btw.

Hellboy is great and the second one isn't too bad either. I think that it was a pretty pitch perfect adaptation of the comic characters and their world. I'm a huge fan of Hellboy, so I went in to it with high hopes and it pretty much delivered on what I wanted. I haven't seen the second one since I saw it a the theater, so I feel like my opinion on that one may not be as set as my opinion on the first. I really love the first one. It's probably right up there with Sin City as one of my all time favorites. Also, side note, the pilot for The Amazing Screw-On Head is pretty awesome. You can watch it on youtube too, which is a bonus. I only mention it because it's like Mike Mignola's art come to life, and the humor is just fantastic.

The Batman animated films hold up remarkably well as well. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker are both great and are more of a classic Batman than the live action adaptations.

Blade 1 and 2 are both pretty good, from what I can remember, but the third one is trash. It wasn't even good enough to be a guilty pleasure type movie.

I ended up watching the Rocketeer only recently and I found it to be pretty fun. It works because it feels like something that would play as a double feature with an Indiana Jones movie (one of the good ones) so it's much more whimsical and adventurous. They didn't try to make it dark or gritty, like a lot of 90s superhero films.

I also have a soft sport for Mystery Men. It's a comedy and I remember really digging it. Saw it at the movies on a date with my now husband and remember loving it. Maybe it doesn't hold up now, but I have a bit of a nostalgic soft spot for it.

I like the first Batman movie with Michael Keaton. The Crow with Brandon Lee has also made a mark on me.

Stan Lee also said in an interview that his favourite comic book movie was Spider-Man (2002)

'Nuff said

I actually like all the early Batman films, even though it is for vastly different things. The Tim Burton ones are actually pretty good and especially just have great atmosphere and art design, where as the Schumacher ones are just great cheesy flicks, especially Batman and Robin which is actually awesome if viewed as a parody (and considering it has 4th wall breaking and villains referring to their own action figures, I think it should).

And the Sam Rami Spider-Man films are also pretty great, Spider-Man 2 might be the best superhero movie of all time. Like Batman and Robin though, Spider-Man 3 pretty much has to be viewed as a parody of sorts..

Incidentally, Batman Returns is a great brawler that I have for SNES. Love that game

I really like the Thomas Jane Punisher. It sucked as a comic book movie but was pretty good as a dumb action flick.

Other than that, Men in Black, V for Vendetta, Blade 1. Dredd was awesome and a great adaptation of the comic IMO. Way better than the travesty that was the Stallone version. Yikes.

Blade, Blade 2, V for Vendetta, The Crow, Spider-Man 1, Spider-Man 2, Conan the Barbarian, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, the Rocketeer, the first Ninja Turtles movie...I'm going to probably receive some heavy disagreement but I think that Mystery Men holds up really well and is super fun. I also really like The Phantom and The Shadow films but I'm a sucker for pulp era heroes and fiction. The first Batman film is still watchable but man, there are so many things here and there with stuff like costume and set design that blow my mind now, like how Keaton barely fills out the Batman suit.

Many have said Supes 1 and they're right, but my overriding specific reason for loving that one beyond the general awesomeness is how Chris Reeve made Clark and Supes both distinct in a way that made you believe that people wouldn't think that Clark could be Supes. It was a really great performance.

Superman 2, Batman (Michael Keaton), X-Men 2, Punisher: War Zone (if you consider that early), and (Tobey) Spider-Man 2 are about the only things that come to mind in terms of Movies.

Other mentions that I don't consider early are Hellboy 1 and 2 (skip the cartoons), any of the DC Animated Movies, and Hulk vs. cartoon

@stonyman65: Thomas Jane punisher suffers from one of the worst villains in a Marvel movie but I agree that his performance as Punisher is great.

how were the amazing spiderman movies? I still haven't seen them

If you take it as a standalone thing V for Vendetta is just fine albeit a bit ridiculous in terms of sound design (I hate the wooshy knife sounds) and a little naive in terms of its revolution positive spin especially at the end. The Wachowskis decided to focus more on the elements they identified with and retreated from the more anarchist aspects of the book. It's not a faithful adaption and Moore's problems with it completely make sense to me but it has some good elements especially in regards to the dangers of fascism and the durability of ideas (the political elements are actually more disturbing today than they were when it released IMHO). I will admit I have a soft spot for the film because it was the first movie my wife and I saw together.

Blade 1 is still really fun. It's dated in a number of respects but you can feel the sheer glee Snipes had playing that role and the action has a great kinetic edge throughout the film that I think carries through to modern MCU films.

The first Richard Donner Superman film is an impressive piece of work especially in regards to Christopher Reeves. I think it's taken for granted what Reeve's brought the table and how it changed the game. When you look at people like Chris Evans as Captain America or Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man you can thank Reeve's for being a trailblazer when it comes to taking a superhero role seriously and understanding the character requires more than just design and special effects. The film was noted at the time for the quality of the pre-CGI effects but Reeve's acting is what actually endures. Also even if the suit is visually dated it's worth noting that it's entirely Reeve's physique and not an overly textured or padded suit. If I'm going to the knock the film for anything it would be for its reliance on and uncritical framing of Superman's inherent goodness premised on his American Heartland values (but that's arguably an issue inherent to the character's origin story). For a character who it's REALLY easy to make boring given his general overpoweredness it's an impressive bit of storytelling for the era in which it came out.

The Crow is kind of interesting. It's a comic film that's more of a supernatural revenge story than anything. It's dripping with a 90s version of grimdark romanticism but it worked in terms of what it was going for. Also notable that it's actually a decent self-contained story which makes the fact that it got a number of completely unnecessary sequels kind of ridiculous. It's a B film but a good B film that succeeds on its own terms so it earns its cult status in my mind.

The first Spiderman film is great. It tapped into the fun and awkwardness that's at the heart of early Peter Parker stories. It's refreshing in that it's a comic film where the protagonist can be seen during the day rather than just skulking around at night.

decidedly not amazing

I seem to like the comic book movies everyone hates but that's probably because I have no reverence for the source material. (V for Vendetta was great)

• Blade 2 (people seem to have turned around on this one post Pacific Rim Del Toro worship... The Hellboy movies still suck)
• The Punisher (The Tom Jane / John Travolta one)
• 300 & Watchman (People shit on Snyder and rightfully so but he's directed some okay if quite dumb action movies)
• Wanted (i've heard it barely resembles the comics but taken on it's own it's alright)
• Sin City (This one people actually like and they should, it's quite something)

Some of those came out right around the time Iron Man did but I dont think any of them were influenced by it.

Current comic book movies seem to really respect the source material but personally I think it hurts the movies themselves, but then i've been told I have bad taste.

I actually really like Batman Returns. I think... it might actually be the best live-action Batman. The Dark Knight's great, but Batman Returns might edge it out for me.

Spider-Man 2 is fucking fantastic. Road to Perdition is really great. I enjoy the Snyder adaptations (300, Watchmen) and the Wachowski's doing V for Vendetta.

I still think all three of the Raimi Spiderman movies are great. Sure the third made some mis-steps but Thomas Haden Church's Sandman is more than worth the investment imo. And yeah, Hellboy's pretty great.

I also still enjoy watching Sin City, Watchmen and Dredd.

Anyone watch Darkman recently? I occasionally think about it, recall enjoying it, and wonder how it holds up.

Superman (1978) is still the greatest superhero movie ever made, and anyone who disagrees is a bad person who hates everything that's good in the world.

Yeah, gonna agree: they took a book about anarchy VS totalitarianism (two bad sides) and turned it in to liberalism VS totalitarianism. Has its good moments, but ultimately not a great adaptation. Ditto From Hell actually, but that's more watchable just for how out-and-out WEIRD they decided to make the movie compared with how surprisingly down-to-earth the book is.

Blade 1 and ESPECIALLY 2 are still great (dated effects aside) and Spiderman 2 and X2 are both still solid. Recently rewatched the Burton Batmans and they're both good as are the Donner Supermans, but those last two are VERY much "time and place."

It's kind of cheating, but Batman Begins is still dope. It technically came before TDK and the MCU, but probably isn't what you're looking for.

Hellboy is the best adaptation the *feels* like the comic books. I guess you could say the same for sin city but I don't like that movie or the source material

I don't think either of burtons batman films are good. returns looks really nice, but the actual pacing and content of those films are garbage. batman forever is still the best live action film. mask of the phantasm is probably the best animated film, but i also don't really like anything that gives the joker a backstory

also this movie is pretty bad, but i grew up on the comic books for my entire childhood and have a very deep love for the phantom

Condorman

Spider-Man 2 is still super great. Probably a top 3 comic book movie for me. Whenever I go back to it, I'm surprised how excellent it is.

It is(source material is way better), and most people i know who never read the book liked the movie a lot. I think the movie is just bad though, honestly besides the first 2 matrix flix i don't think i liked any of their movies. I think the MCU does what it does better than V did, it's like they completely missed the entire point of the book and made a sappy propaganda flick with a tacked on cringe worthy love story. I thought the cast for V was good though, he did a god job with a bad script.

I totally enjoyed Darkman.

Donner's superman is fantastic. Especially the origin section of the film. It's filled with beautiful shots and amazing cinematography as well as great acting. Seriously those first 40 or so mins are worth it alone.

Spider-Man 1&2 are also great. Raimi managed to keep his identity while making a superhero film. The second part though is the better of the two films since it's literally correcting the first ones issues thus making it a pretty much perfect film if ya ask me.

Blade 1 is just plain badass. It's simply a great action film without any of the superhero tropes(for the most part). Snipes pretty much made the character in the first one and hence why Blade carries some fanfare nowadays. I also find the first one to be superior than the 2nd but I know I'm in the minority here.

I also pretty much enjoy every Batman movie since I just like Batman. ?

I have a soft spot for the Dolph Lundren Punisher movie because it's just a fun violent 80's action movie. There is also Blade 1 and 2 which are legit good movies. The second Blade was my favorite superhero movie for the longest.

Now if we are talking all comics and not just superheroes than the best ones are History of Violence, Road to Perdition, and Ghost World. Seriously seek out those movies they aren't "traditional" comic book movies but they technically count. Hell Ghost World features a 2001 Black Widow in one of her earliest non kid film roles. While Road to Perdition is just a solid gangster movie that contains one of Paul Newman's last live-action roles and has Tom Hanks as a badass. While History of Violence is one of my favorite David Cronenberg movies with some of the most graphic depiction of violence I have seen in a mainstream movie.

I still have a soft spot for 300, the 2005 Fantastic 4 movie, Blade 1 and 2, the first X-Men movie pre-reboot, and Ang Lee's Hulk. They're not great movies, but still enjoyable movies in their own right.

And on a related note: the Green Lantern movie with Ryan Reynolds? I thought it wasn't as bad as people made it out to be.