Comic Hero's - How Long Will This Run Last?

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In the last 10 years for me we have seen the role of Comic book films become the rage in Hollywood. It is now coming full circle.

In the beginning we had the series adaption of comic book hero's such as Batman, The Incredible Hulk, Wonder Woman. It was cheese, but fun. I think they had so much depth and coincided with some of the story's in comics and actually was ahead of it's time.

The jump to the big screen. Superman in 1978 was a success. To this day the casting of Christopher Reeve is just a masterstroke. It worked and I actually really enjoyed it. It did get a bit lame after Superman II, but the result was there to see. It could succeed on the big screen. Batman in 1989 came to the big screen. Again the decision to cast Michael Keaton was another superb decision. With Tim Burton on board it offered to be such a hit. I loved it. To this day Jack Nicholson as the Joker is one of his most under-rated performances. In between Batman and Batman Returns, we had The Toxic Avenger, The Punisher and The Flash. I am sad enough to admit I have seen the 3 and you must have your cheese head on to enjoy them. The Batman franchise was in it's ascendancy and despite cast changes they managed to bleed another 2 films from it and I think Batman and Robin seemed to be a death knell to Comic Book films. Batman and Superman seemed to have had a typical lifespan of peaking at the sequels and then declining after 3rd and 4th installments.

In 2000 Brian Stinger took on X-Men. As to this day I am still undecided how I feel about it. Ian McKellen grew in the role of Magneto with each film. Jackman as Wolverine worked too. Roll on 2002. Sam Raimi completely refreshed the comic book film. Spiderman was the much needed shot in the arm that comic book adaptation needed. I watched it and filming and effects were stunning. Yes there was the iconic kiss scene, but I enjoyed how Tobey Maguire was able to bring a youthful innocence to Peter Parker. Again decent casting and so the right choice. Hulk then hit our screens in 2003 with Eric Bana playing Doctor Banner. For me it was more hit than miss. I think Ang Lee took on too much when leading the project. I think the whole atmosphere and effects confused the story. We had Spiderman 2, X-2 and The Punisher in 2004. Spiderman 2 was brilliant. It outdid the first and anything after that was a tall order. The Punisher. My favourite comic character and by far the easiest for me to portray on screen and yet somehow it ends up being total crap. X-2, again I am still undecided if I like it or not. The comic adaptation was booming and the possibilities were endless. 2005 saw one of the most remarkable inroads to the comic adaptation and I am not talking about Fantastic 4. Batman Begins. The Franchise that died in 1998 was being re-made. Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale was a marriage made in heaven. It had a stellar cast. Oldman, Wilkinson, Caine, Holmes, Murphy. All playing their parts and adding value to the film. Bale becoming one with the character. It was immense film-making. A year later and we had Superman Returns. Just poor. That year we had X-Men Last Stand and despite McKellen's excellent performance, it was a shocker of a film. Fantastic 4 Rise of the Silver Surfer, again another let down for me.

2008 was the biggest year in the comic book adaptation. Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and The Dark Knight. The Dark Knight out-shone them both. The late Heath Ledger took the Joker to new heights. Nolan wanted a Joker that was opposite to the Burton Joker. Nolan tapped more into the more pyschotic side of the Joker whereas Burton was more about the exuberance of the satirical side of the Joker. The Dark Knight was gushed over and yes it was a decent piece of film making. Iron Man for me showed great casting with Downey Jr. Stark almost mirrors an early fresh faced Downey Jr. The Incredible Hulk was poor screen writing. To take it from where Hulk left off and with a whole new cast was never going to work. I think Norton stuggled in the role. 2009 we saw X-Men: Origins with Wolverine and I enjoyed it. May not have been the best film, but I liked it. Liev Schriber was brilliant as Sabretooth and the conflicted loyalty to Logan was fantastic.

2010, Iron Man 2 and the whole Avengers story after the film credits and it kick started Captain America and Thor. Both were enjoyable. We also had the Green Lantern which I haven't seen yet. The Avengers is out now and I shall be there to see it.

2012 brings us a new Spiderman in Andrew Garfield and the trailer looks pretty special. Also The batman franchise comes full circle with The Dark Knight Rises. 2013 we have Man of Steel. Not sure what I make of it. Iron Man 3 is also out in 2013. Will we see the end of adaptations after 2013?

Skydriver wrote:

legendkillarV2 wrote:Spawn was another comic adaptation. That had massive potential and the film was quite shocking. Ghost Rider another one I missed. Dang it!

Actually, I suppose Ghost Rider is another TWO missed...!

I have yet to see the sequel.

I gave it a miss given poor reviews. Sounded more like a reboot than a sequel. Or perhaps something like "Hulk" v "The Incredible Hulk" (whereby the opening credits of the latter re-wrote/disowned the Ang Lee film's origin story, changing it to something more like the 70s TV series).

A couple of further contributions:

* Kick Ass - somewhat alternative, but still qualifies I think as based on actual comics (unlike various spoof films)
* Judge Dredd - not exactly a contender for Top 100 Films of All Time, but rather underrated in my view. Am looking forward to reboot "Dredd" later this year, in which Karl Urban will definitely NOT be removing his helmet so they say.

Also -

Billy Zane in The Phantom

The Road to Perdition

And weren't there 2 Swamp Thing movies?

Which reminds me of yet another... The Spirit (not good, despite involvement from Frank Miller, Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johannson).

This could go on for a while longer!!!

Kick Ass is a very good film, I actually think it's underrated, as I think people expected a total spoof when it's actually quite serious. I really enjoyed it though, one of my favourite films ever, not a very deep one, or artistic one but I just found it very entertaining and a film I enjoy watching.

I think comic book films owe their longevity to the enormous amount of comic book material from which to draw upon. You will never exhaust a super hero franchise in just one trilogy; Nolan's Batman reboot is testiment to that fact. The very fact that they've relaunched the Spiderman franchise so soon after Spiderman 3 again is proof that just as comic books go through different adaptations by different writers and artists so can superhero films. A new director, a new lead actor, a new script writer and the whole franchise takes on a very different direction and interpretation. I also think that now that superheroes have become firmly established in the pantheon of the Hollywood tradition they can introduce cross-over films such as the Avengers. I loved the Marvel civil war storyline that ran a couple of years ago across the Marvel universe but thought it was too tall an order to transfer it to film, but who knows, if the Avengers do well and get the sequels they obviously are hoping for, you never know!

For me Nolan's Batman trilogy has transcended all other superhero franchises - admittedly I'm a huge Batman fanatic anyway but his adaptation and storytelling, not to mention casting, script writing and visual effects have been absolutely amazing and taken the franchise to a whole new level of depth, drama and realism.

I also think there is a deeper psychological need for superheroes - its not just escapism, people are naturally drawn to seeking some form of higher power whether it be a political party and the policies of reform they stand for, or a religion that grants them salvation. People recognise they have a need that they cannot satisfy themselves - we vote for parties to run the country on our behalf, to make the important decisions for us and to take responsibility for the difficult challenges that life presents. We look to God or a spiritual philosophy that brings us some form of order, hope, salvation and purpose to life's minefield. Superheroes fulfill that same function, they are extraordinary people who personify certain ideals that people look to for sources of inspiration, hope and confidence. Even if the characters and storylines are larger than life nevertheless they resonate with us on a very real level.

Was made aware of 4 minute preview of The Amazing Spider-Man via Empire late last week, not sure how widely known so thought I'd let you know:

http://www.empireonline.com/news/story.asp?NID=33957

Interesting take on the Lizard. As previously rumoured (or possibly even confirmed), the story seems to concern Peter Parker's parents. I recall reading a story many years ago which dealt with this idea, but will avoid potential spoilers in case they have actually used this source material... Other than saying that story featured a well-known Marvel super-villain not normally associated with Spider-Man.

The "run" seems to be continuing for a long time: "Variety has confirmed that Warners is also developing "The Flash," "Wonder Woman," "Green Lantern 2," "Aquaman," "Green Arrow," "Lobo," "Shazam" and "Suicide Squad."" http://www.worstpreviews.com/headline.php?id=25095&count=0

Plus they're writing a Justice League of America film.

And Kick-Ass 2 is apparently going to be made, based upon the second set of comics that they've already published.

Sorry if any of them have been mentioned.