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