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Author Topic: The Best and Worst Superhero Films on DVD  (Read 782 times)

Offline SirMystiq

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The Best and Worst Superhero Films on DVD
« on: June 27, 2003, 09:29:52 PM »
By James Rocchi, Netflix film critic.

As The Hulk, Stan Lee?s Marvel Comics icon, smashes his way onto movie screens hoping for box office greatness today (read my review here ), the film?s mix of big budget and big talent (including director Ang Lee and Oscar-winning supporting actors Jennifer Connelly and Nick Nolte) provides an excellent opportunity to look at the best -- and worst -- that super-powered cinema has to offer.

1) Spider-Man: Special Edition

Sam Rami did Spider-Man pretty much perfectly: The teen angst, the wisecracks, the web-slinging and the mighty battles of Greek myth combined with the hurt feelings of soap opera are all there. The two-disc DVD is loaded with bonus features, but the real star of the show is the movie itself: Great acting, the pitch-perfect tone of David Koepp\'s script and decent special effects made for a film that turned the phrase "comic-book movie" from a curse into praise. (Rami\'s earlier Darkman is a B-movie superhero flick that, viewed now, seems like a dry run for his Marvel Comics triumph.)

2) Batman; Batman Returns; Batman Forever; Batman and Robin

The irony of the Batman films is that one of the best superheroes of all time wound up with the worst film series. The first two movies are dragged down by Tim Burton\'s focus on set design and atmosphere over action, as well as regrettable casting. Never mind Jack Nicholson\'s marquee appeal as the Joker; the fact is, having a multi-million dollar film build up to a fight between a young, fit protagonist and an old, portly man in a purple suit is a fatal error. As for the other two Schumacher-directed films, it\'s hard to think of a worse director for this (or, for that matter, any) material, as he camps the movies up to the point where they might as well be ice-show musicals.

3) X-Men 1.5

Sure, this two-disc DVD re-issue may have been a slightly cynical attempt to capitalize on the release of the still-in-theaters X2 , but it\'s also got a full commentary from director Bryan Singer, who expertly captures the angst-and-action appeal of the X-Men\'s lonely, outsider superhumans. Much of the film plays like Wagner in leather, and the gods-and-monsters clash of freaky mutants -- good and evil -- makes for nicely tuned popcorn pleasures. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, playing opposing generals in a secret war, turn each hammy line of dialogue into a feast.

4) Superman; Superman II; Superman III; Superman IV: The Quest
     for Peace

A great demonstration of the law of diminishing returns: The first film\'s tagline was "You will believe a man can fly," but by the time the fourth one was released, it was hard to believe that anyone behind the scenes cared. The first film\'s DVD offers a bunch of great extras (including screen test footage), but the only reason to re-watch any of the later movies is for either Gene Hackman\'s swaggering work as villainous super-genius Lex Luthor (in every film in the series but for III) or to re-appreciate the series highlight, Superman II. The second entry in the quartet matched The Man of Steel (Christopher Reeve in the role that made him famous) against a trio of similarly abled Kryptonian psychopaths led by Terrence Stamp\'s power-mad General Zod; the big-city battle between the three villains and our hero still qualifies as a highlight of superhero action cinema.

5) The Legion of Substitute Heroes: Odds and Ends

For all of the big-name superheroes who\'ve succeeded on the screen, there are plenty of failures waiting in the wings. Spawn was based on a mysteriously successful \'90s comic book about the rebellion of an ex-assassin turned Satan\'s general; despite being the perfect film for illiterate Marilyn Manson fans, it bombed at the box office. The uneven Mystery Men took a comedic view on superheroics, but despite big-name stars Ben Stiller, William H. Macy and Janeane Garofalo, I slightly prefer the saltier, lower-budget, less-seen The Specials, which features a catty-yet-geeky script by James Gunn. Finally, many of the Bill Bixby/ Lou Ferrigno Hulk TV adventures have coincidentally made it to DVD jut in time for the Hulk\'s big-screen bow, primarily because there\'s no superhero who can defeat that most dreaded arch-villain ? Opportunistic Marketing.

-- James Rocchi is the film critic for Netflix, the world\'s largest online DVD rental service; angry mail from illiterate Marilyn Manson fans can be sent here.
Don\'t try to confuse me with what you call  facts, my mind is already made up.

Offline SirMystiq

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The Best and Worst Superhero Films on DVD
« Reply #1 on: June 27, 2003, 09:31:06 PM »
^^^

Tha man is wacko......Spiderman better than the original batman?!?!?!?!?!

What\'s his problem. In my opinion all of the Batman Movies kicked ass, except Batman and Robin.
Don\'t try to confuse me with what you call  facts, my mind is already made up.

Offline ##RaCeR##
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The Best and Worst Superhero Films on DVD
« Reply #2 on: June 28, 2003, 12:34:29 AM »
Batman Forever, in my opinion, was one of the best comic book movies ever. Jim Carrey was amazing, as was Nicole Kidman.

Spiderman wasn\'t that bad, I thought it did the comics justice.

Offline THX
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The Best and Worst Superhero Films on DVD
« Reply #3 on: June 28, 2003, 12:41:54 AM »
The Burton Batmans are the only respectable ones.  Everything after was deplorable Hollywood trash, I did not see Clooney as a real Bruce Wayne at all.

Though I applaud Spiderman\'s focus on an excellent storyline rather than explosions and gun fights, there really needed to be much more elaborate action scenes.  I was bored and generally unintimidated of the Goblin, even during the parade sequence.  Spidey *really* needed to spout out more smart ass remarks.

\"i thought america alreay had been in the usa??? i know it was in australia and stuff.\"
-koppy *MEMBER KOPKING FANCLUB*
\"I thought japaneses where less idiot than americans....\" -Adan
\"When we can press a button to transport our poops from our colon to the toilet, I\'ll be impressed.\" -Gman

Offline ##RaCeR##
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The Best and Worst Superhero Films on DVD
« Reply #4 on: June 28, 2003, 03:32:45 AM »
^^

I think they kept all that for the sequel.

Offline mm
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The Best and Worst Superhero Films on DVD
« Reply #5 on: June 28, 2003, 05:44:52 AM »
tim burton\'s batman > all else
\"Leave the gun. Take the cannoli.\" - Clemenza

Offline Living-In-Clip

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The Best and Worst Superhero Films on DVD
« Reply #6 on: June 28, 2003, 07:43:47 AM »
Exactly..

Tim Burton\'s direction with the Batman series was spot on, espically the first one. After that it was all downhill, espically \'Batman & Robin\'.

For what it\'s worth Richard Donner also delivered the great \'Superman\' and I\'m convinced if we would of saw all of Donner\'s vision with \'Superman II\', then it could of surpassed the original.

This guy knows nothing about comics. Otherwise, he would understand why \'Spawn\' was so succesful in the comic realm and why the movie turned out to be complete sh!t. However, Mcfarlane later redeemed himself with the great HBO "anime\' version of \'Spawn\'.  Which is out on DVD, but not mentioned in his little rant.

As for Spiderman...I\'m sorry, Sam Rami butchered that story and in the process also somehow managed to get the worst CG effects. How this one ever became a summer blockbuster is beyond me. I\'m a huge Spiderman fan (I own the complete animated series on VCD) and I still hate this film.

X-Men....The first was okay...It was average, nothing more. The second picked up in a  lot of area\'s and my only main complaint is it could of been edited down and they have still yet to focus on Cyclops, even though he is one of the more important characters.

Daredevill.....*yawn*

The Hulk...*yawn* The film could of been a lot better if Ang Lee was not attached to it. His usage of split frames and what not really have detracted from the film.

And somehow this man also forgot to mention \'The Punisher\' and \'Captain America\', both of which are out on DVD. \'The Punisher\' being Marvel\'s first foray with Dolph Lundbergh..Downright terrible and \'Captain America\' had Matt Sillinger and it wasn\'t much better.


(P.S - He also forgot \'The Shadow\', \'The Phantom\' , \'Supergirl\', \'Batman\' (60\'s) and a bunch of other one\'s! )

Offline Kurt Angle

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The Best and Worst Superhero Films on DVD
« Reply #7 on: June 28, 2003, 08:13:44 AM »
/me wait\'s for the remake of Wonder Woman :eek:

Offline Living-In-Clip

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The Best and Worst Superhero Films on DVD
« Reply #8 on: June 28, 2003, 08:19:54 AM »
Actually it is being scripted and has different names attached to the project. Along with Shazam! and other franchises.

Also, don\'t forget \'HellBoy\' is due sometime next year.

http://www.comics2film.com

 

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