Best superhero flick

x2 imo

For me it's between Batman Begins and The Incredibles.

Or possibly Hellboy 2.

Iron Man keeps it fairly uncomplicated, while still doing most of the superhero flick stuff well.

Spider-Man 2 is about the only one I'd sit through again.

Voted Spiderman 2, maybe should have voted for The Incredibles.

superman 2 !

also slight honourable mention must go to Unbreakable, imo

You included Hellboy but not Constantine? I don't really see either as superheroes though.

Forgot about Constantine and Unbreakable. Hellboy is definitely more of a superhero than JC though!

Of the ones I've seen, these are the ones I would watch again without hesitation pretty much at any time:

Batman Begins
Batman Returns
Blade
Blade II
The Dark Knight
Darkman
Hancock
Hellboy
Hulk
The Incredibles
Iron Man
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Spawn
Spider-Man
Spider-Man 2
Superman
Superman II
V for Vendetta
Watchmen
X-Men
X2
X-Men Origins: Wolverine

You know I had to go for the Dark Knight...but Mystery Men nearly got my vote....

Forgot about Constantine and Unbreakable. Hellboy is definitely more of a superhero than JC though!

Really, why? They're both about magical guys who fight against demons, but I don't think that's enough to qualify as a "superhero", otherwise there'd be plenty of other movies that should qualify too.

Cos Hellboy's a big red guy with horns and a magic arm! Constantine doesn't actually have any powers, he's just really crafty and shit.

yes Unbreakable probly not that much of an issue to be left out here, although it's an interesting take on the whole comic book good v evil stories.

Spiderman 2, maybe?

Darkman! Really the most comic book-like superhero flick.

Tough choice between The Incredibles, Iron Man and The Dark Knight.

WmC otm, I think (might include Blade and Spiderman)

What? No Howard The Duck? ... Seriously though - First Chris Reeves Superman by a MILE / Earth Rotation.

X-Men movies pretty high above everything else. What a sad genre :(

Voted X2.

The Batman Beings/Dark Knight movies are both really great, but they have some fairly big flaws the X-Men movies don't

such as...? (not saying they don't, I'm just curious what you're seeing as flaws because I'm guessing they're the things I love about those movies)

Dark Knight is just tooooo long - one too many Joker bomb plots, they kinda trample over the whole Two-Face arc. Or maybe they should cut the sequence in Japan, which is largely inconsequential to the rest of the movie.

Begins is pretty great except I am not all that into Neeson and Ras Al Ghul as a villain (Scarecrow dude was so much better)

the first two x-men movies are pretty awesome. like the new batman movies but there are a few things i didn't like. twoface was pretty terrible in dark night imo

I like a lot of these movies but the Incredibles was an easy choice -- animation lends itself better to a superhero story than live action does.

Incredibles arguably has the most exciting action sequences of any of these films.

Hancock!

animation lends itself better to a superhero story than live action does

interesting remark

Top 5:

1. Hancock
2. Fantistic Four
3. Batman (1989)
4. Hell Boy 2
5. The Incredibles

Though, I would make a distinction between comic book adaptation and superheroes created for the screen - as the latter group doesn't suffer from the whole 'messing it up' stigma.

top 10

Hellboy
The Incredibles
Spider-Man
Iron Man
Hellboy 2
X2
Batman
Superman
Batman Begins
Spider-Man 2

Like a lot of these movies, but had to go with Superman II.

For ZOD.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKDFop0aqYQ

holy shit, i did not remember that The President was played by E.G. Marshall in a fierce toupee.

looks like Henry Gibson in that thing

As much as I love the first two X-Men flicks, it's gotta be Superzod

http://img37.picoodle.com/img/img37/4/7/14/f_GeneralZodFm_1c417aa.jpg

Zod vs. Superman in the current comics continuity is pretty entertaining stuff.

You know something? YOU'RE A REAL PAIN IN THE NECK.

Went for Superman II, but Ironman, X-men, both of the Hellboy movies, Blade, and Batman Begins are all up there for me.

I guess I need to see Hancock. This thread might be the only place I've read anything positive about it.

Hancock was great!

have they ever used the breakaway cellophane "S" trap in the comics?

iirc the new yorker gave hancock a good review?

The best thing about this list is that Gene Hackman could have played the villain in any of them.

the first half of Hancock is amazing! I want a prequel of Hancock just being a git and busting up drug dealers and whatnot.

I thought the entire conceit behind "Hancock" was pretty solid and I really liked the way it ended up playing out (slight caveat: I would have liked a nastier ending more)

The best thing about this list is that Gene Hackman could have played the villain in any of them.

Even Spawn? Do we really want to make Hackman put on Leguizamo's demon clown outfit?

haha yea denby seemed to like it and def liked ogling charlize theron: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/cinema/2008/07/07/080707crci_cinema_denby

Do we really want to make Hackman put on Leguizamo's demon clown outfit?

I am shocked and appalled that you even asked this.

Spawn (1997): I think this might be one of the worst filns I've ever seen

"filn"

Batman Begins
Blade II
The Dark Knight
Darkman
Hellboy
Hellboy 2: The Golden Army
Superman II
X2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWwZX-NIN5s

ok I've never seen Spawn, and now I don't think I ever will.

i've enjoyed most of these movies but if i had to watch one again right now it would probably be X2 or the o.g. batman.

gotta be superman 2.

not on this list and not the best, but i think i'm the only person in the world who rates The Shadow (baldwin should've really played Batman though).

Not true!

http://bventertainment.go.com/tv/buenavista/atm/reviews.html?sec=6&subsec=the+shadow

Where is all this love for Hellboy II coming from? The first Hellboy was an enjoyable movie, but I saw the 2nd one in the theater and thought it was pretty much useless?

Superman.

Superman 2 is great, but it loses much of the sense of majesty and grandeur that is in Superman I, and that's really Superman's strong suit. Superman isn't a character defined by villains or by great psychological structure, he's more of a religious character.

I think budgetary constraints kind of limited part 2, so while part 1 is really gorgeous and epic-feeling, 2 just feels like a fun action movie.

It's really sad how many of these movies just plain suck. Spiderman 2, Batman Returns, Darkman, the Dark Knight and the first two Superman movies are the only ones I'd watch again.

OH BTW: did you guys read that Tarantino claims to love Superman Returns and is writing a superlong essay about its merits?

i thought hellboy 2 pretty much got rave reviews, here and critically?

btw my shortlist includes the first hellboy, spiderman, x-men 2, iron man, superman II and batman begins. xp

hellboy II was really disappointing because i love it when hellboy smashes nazis. raspy dark elves with shitty animation... not so much.

Where is all this love for Hellboy II coming from? The first Hellboy was an enjoyable movie, but I saw the 2nd one in the theater and thought it was pretty much useless?

srsly it was total garbage

blade II probably but i either havent seen or havent seen in a v. long time a lot of these

for me "Blade" vs "Blade II" somehow morphs into New Order - "Confusion" (Pump Panel Reconstruction mix) vs Massive Attack & Mos Def - "I Against I"

("somehow" = "I have both soundtracks")

in blade III i think maybe jessica biel uses an ipod to fite vampires its pretty inspiring that series of movies imo

oh yeah i just remembered that whole thing in hellboy where he goes to the undertown of dark faerie that was so terrible

superman returns is probably the least enjoyable film on this list

blade III's contribution to society is getting Jessica Biel hooked on the gym.

superman returns is SLIGHTLY better than x3 imho.

So I guess there was some sort of Dark Knight backlash that I missed out on. Flawed film, yes, but still probably the best thing on the list.

Honorable mentions: Darkman, Spiderman 2, The Incredibles, Iron Man

i avoided x3 like the plague, i'll trust you on that one

dont understand what the problem with hellboy II was? elves are kind of ghey but that fuckin demon at the end made up for all that + selma blair was looking top-ten all-time slammin?

Any write in votes for Sin City?

Sin City is not a superhero flick in any sense of the word.

superman returns was ok--x3 was the pits. i think the moment where the juggernaut says, im the juggernaut, bitch, was the moment i vowed to destroy the internet, forever, in order to save movies

X3 is very frustrating in that there are moments of a good movie that pop up every now and then that are buried underneath gigantic piles of WTF

still, best use of Cyclops in any of the movies!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPcpD07LzGU

I didn't like Rocketeer, but someone ought to represent for Rocketeer which must be better than most of these.
Also, where's Robocop?

o.g. hellboy was charming and exciting in II he was just a pussy also the fites were boring i mean the elemental - lol i remember that - that fite was like yah! oh - really? some bs about cops and were done. only really great moment was the angel of death thing near the end that looked really dope but i think it was strung to emotions and terrible choices rather than ass-kicking. ugh. lame.

Johann Krauss kinda made Hellboy 2 for me, loved every second it was on screen (his fight with Hellboy probably the highlight). pretty much every scene featured something amazingly designed. bit off more than it could chew but as entertaining as the first one (which i'm rating more for it's relative simplicity and novelty).

hellboy 2 was a little over-emo but dude it was still pretty rad, i mean, i agree w/ ur basic criticisms but they in no way ruined the movie for me, plus, again the angel of death

also, again, selma blair, daaaaamn

has jennifer connelly officially been selma blair'd out of contention?

get em dyking while my russian wing makes a snuff film of paul bettany and the zappa

superman returns is SLIGHTLY better than x3 imho.

bullshit, bullshit, bullshit.

oh come on, x3 is the worst piece of superhero filmmaking in the history of the twenty-first century thus far.

get em kayaking while my rhode island wing makes a promo film of easton beach and the ocean

lol x2post

i mean at least there's colorful fight sequences in x3, and whatever Dark phoenix misogyny is going on can't compare to the skeeviness of Superman's babymama drama.

Superman Returns is about a bazillion times better than X3.

i kept thinking y'all were comparing superman returns with superman III, which would be an interesting duel (nb i have not seen superman returns)

Wolverine would have had to rape Jean in her sleep to make X3 as wrong as Superman Returns. And even then you've got 80 people running around shooting laserbeams and shit instead of just Brandon Routh going "ow, kryptonite!"

x-post I'd take Superman III over Superman Returns just for the stubbly Superman scenes.

um, wtf are you talking about

How is "Superman sleeps with Lois and ditches her pregnant ass without knowing she was pregnant" anywhere near the level "character x rapes character y"?

because superman apparently had unprotected sex with lois lane without telling her he was clark kent, then disappeared for five years. when he got back, he continued to stalk her as clark despite having tapped that ass as superman. My point is that x3 would have to be a lot worse than the noisy free-for-all it is to compare to bryan singer's creepy slash fic.

wow, so in summation:

coherent movie with caddish behavior from the lead character = unadulterated misogynistic evil on par with rape

incoherent movie with no point and few redeeming qualities = at least no one had unprotected sex

"caddish"

the guy who knocked me up and disappeared five years ago has been living a double life as one of my best friends? Oh, that cad!

if you can't see why adding supersperm to the clark-lois-superman dynamic doesn't explode the wrong-o-meter, then yes, you might prefer its coherency to the mindless noisy fun of X3.

kudos to you for sticking up for fictional women everywhere

http://media.comicvine.com/uploads/0/7015/592773-015_superman_batman_010_rembrandt_dcp_super.jpg

kudos to you for sticking up for fictional women everywhere

sorry i got creeped out by slash fic!

I am reasonably certain that Singer is not overly interested in Lois/Clark slashfic

just the outcome of it?

lol thought that was a tombot at first xps

and also it's lois/superman slashfic, she doesn't know she's having sex with clark kent

but singer is gay amirite

he apparently must still find it more fascinating than all the stories that don't involve superman getting some ass on the sly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xruHo6oB_4I

seems pretty likely to me that they used protection but supermans sperm is so strong it broke thru the condom

LOL

xpost LOL

wanted 2 interrupt this informative debate to mention that darkman is also really rad and holds up v. well

seems pretty likely to me that they used protection but supermans sperm is so strong it broke thru the condom

"Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex" (Larry Niven) is recommended reading for anyone who hasn't already.

The thing is, the big thing you're objecting to is pretty much the entire foundation of the Lois/Clark/Superman relationship, and decrying it as awful, gross and misogynistic once you add sex with consequences to it kind of misses the point that was being made, namely that the whole thing from the beginning was gross because of the lie it was predicated upon; all that Superkid does is highlight from a narrative standpoint how dubious/tenuous that whole setup was in the first place, and his presence makes it even more critical/important for Clark/Superman to attempt to redress the situation via honesty (which I can't remember if he does or not; my recollection is that he eventually tells Lois that Clark and Superman are the same person, or that she figures it out when they both disappear and reappear at the same time and he has to explain himself to her, but my recollection off of seeing the movie once three years ago is that she knows by the end of the movie and has decided to at least forgive him for the deception).

xp: If you think that "The Adventures of Lois and Clark" or the direction the comic book had taken in the 20 years since the last Superman movie had no impact on the Lois/Clark plot, you're deluding yourself, but please feel free to keep stating that this whole "what if Lois and Superman had a baby" thing is completely peculiar to Singer.

http://www.patfullerton.com/superman/pix/phantomzone/superman2.jpg

lois doesn't find out clark is superman in superman returns. and if the "point" of superman returns is that the whole dynamic was wrong in the first place, then bravo for worst superhero movie ever.

"what if Lois and Superman had a baby" thing is completely peculiar to Singer.

I never said that! I'm perfectly aware that Superman has sex with people who know his secret identity (II) or that he meets on a red kryptonite bender (III).

Zod's female accomplice in S2 has always reminded me of Cosey Fanny Tutti.

superman hides his true self in the guise of someone he isn't, i.e. someone lois doesn't have any interest in whatsoever. it might be creepy it clark kent hid his true self in someone he really wasn't, like if he made up superman completely and decided to use this guise to score with lois.

also, outside of the babymama drama plot, superman returns is boring as fuck with tacked-on action sequences that feature rather little ass-kicking.

when the ghost of marlon brando has more lines than kal penn in your movie, your movie sucks

When your movie features the line "I'm the Juggernaut, bitch!", your movie sucks.

"Superman Returns" isn't even on the shortlist of movies I really love on this list, why am I wasting time defending it

We have not yet considered the existence of a Supergirl. (*She can't mate with Superman because she's his first cousin. And only a cad would suggest differently.*)

Did anyone actually go and see "The Spirit"? The trailer looked dire.

I saw it! Doesn't "work" but its still hot women in campy, memorable scenes. They melt a cat at one point.

Under the impression people who have read Will Eisner think less of it, but I'll take it over Dick Tracy.

They melt a cat at one point.

okay this is now on the "must see" pile

the spirit is no way a "must see"

b-b-but they melt a cat

The cat is melted by Samuel L. Jackson in an SS uniform for no apparent reason, in case that moves it further up the queue. There is also Eva Mendes butt.

I don't know if this already conventional wisdom on ILX, but man do the Hulk movies suck.

And the Punisher movies aren't on here! I'm under the impression War Zone is very much a must-see.

Samuel's in the SS uniform btw, not the cat (a rare lapse of taste for Frank Miller in the film).

the clips of War Zone that I've seen have been astonishing

I'll take it over Dick Tracy

Faint praise! I'd totally forgotten about that film. It was terrible!

but man do the Hulk movies suck.

Only saw the 1st one, I thought it sucked too.

I think Josh K and I were the only people on ILX who liked the first Hulk movie.

I liked the bit with the helicopters, apart from that, no.

The bit with the hulked-out dogs was pretty great, too!

there was that lovely waiting for godot scene with his father before he bit the electrical wire and things got psychedelic

i think the first hulk movie is pretty great but i didn't see it until it was getting shown on basic cable

I have avoided the Norton Hulk movie like the plague, mostly because even though I can abide "Ultraviolet", I cannot abide Ed Norton

To spite the haters I voted for the amazing Hellboy 2. Great characters you could really root for, great action sequences and an almost Miyazaki-like level of visual inventiveness.

Superman Returns was pretty fucking boring IMO. BTW, if they ever do another Supes movie they'll be really missing a trick if they don't cast John Hamm in the lead role.

superman II

The Spirit is such an amazing, incongruous, abominable mess, it crosses over into the "must see" category, I'd argue, if you're into that thing. I was laughing almost non-stop when I saw it in the theater.

Hard vote for me, it's a split b/w Spiderman 2, X2 and Dark Knight.

I'm trying to imagine being nine years old and seeing The Dark Knight instead of being nine years old and seeing Superman II.

Battle of the sequels for me too - Spidey 2, X2 and Dark Knight (also Superman II). I have watched and enjoyed both Blade/Hellboy films but can't comprehend the love they're getting here. Iron Man and Incredibles very watchable (but part of me wishes Incredibles was a hand drawn cartoon), and Superman Returns kinda stately in a way that suits the character (sequel needs big smashing things and FITES tho obvs).

Hopeing somebody votes for Daredevil/Catwoman. Even Ghost Rider, which didnt even have a moment of redeemable hilarity to make it worthwhile in any sense.

nic cage eating jellybeans from martini glass while watching chimps on TV was a moment of redeemable hilarity in Ghost Rider. Don't ask me to name another, but still.

I dunno, I just felt sorta sorry for him.

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Three-way race:
Batman '66 vs Incredibles vs Hackman/Beatty...

Wait, where's POPEYE?

Popeye's not a superhero.

Looking over this list, I have to vote Watchmen.

where's Remo Williams????

Wouldn't have voted for it, even if were on the list but Supergirl is great, campy fun with gloriously hammy performances from Faye Dunaway and Peter O'Toole.

Tuomas, not only is Popeye a superhero:

Popeye is the BEST superhero.

A lot of people love Swamp Thing and that's missing from this list...

when are we gonna get an Aquaman movie??

I liked it., 29 July 2006
7/10
Author: b_reymer from United States

Although the story line may have been lame at first. I thought it definitely had potential. Justin the guy playing Aquaman would have been great if would have been allowed to develop his character more. He had the look and was Gorgeous. They should bring it back. We are living in a day when the world is in love with super hero's. And one saving the marine world, activist all around the world couldn't argue the fact that this show could send out a positive message. With a great cast Ving Rahmes and Lou Diamomd Philips the CW should have never turned it down. Regaurdless of cost. Take Smallville for instance, I'm an avid Smallville watcher and in the begging the show had weak story's and bad acting. Now in there going into there 6th season and has done a 360 in great story lines and improved acting. They should have fought harder for Aqua MAn

http://www.lexodusgate.com/batman/gallery/aquaman.jpg

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Yuck.

looks about right to me tbh

this thread has given me a desire to watch Superman IV.

that was my favorite movie for a few months when i was 5

2 people voted V For Vendetta? Really?

its a great movie

Yeah, it's pretty good. Or at least it's not any worse than The Dark Knight.

i never watched Superman IV, am i missing out on anything?

the incredibles is some ayn rand bullshit.

In what way is Spiderman 2 or Superman 3 better than Watchmen?

In fact, how many besides Watchmen are even rated R? Blade? Darkman? None of the above?

can someone sum up quickly why Dark Knight is the best Batman movie?

- health ledger duh
- important allegory aqbout 9/11 etc
- maggie gyllenhaal or whoever >>> katie holmes

None of those make it better than Batman Returns though. I agree that Dark Knight is better than Batman Begins, but it's not even the best Batman movie, let alone the best superhero movie.

Michelle Pfeiffer >>> Maggie Gyllenhaal
Pfeiffer, De Vito, & Walken >> Ledger (as great as he is) & Two-Face (he was just silly)
Michael Keaton > Heath Ledger (especially as Batman - screw the Batvoice!)
Dark fairytale >>> dark, violent, "edgy" political allegory

Whoops, sorry, that was supposed to be:

Michael Keaton > Christian Bale

i liked Batman Begins but i really really doubt i would like Dark Knight. i'm weird, whatever.

Both "The Dark Knight" and "Batman Returns" are excellent movies.

Pfeiffer, De Vito, & Walken >> Ledger

nuts.

I'd probably rate Batman Begins above the Burton ones. Superlative though The Dark Knight is, two-face does kinda cripple it. It extends the movie beyond a decent limit, but also throws away the character.

The best Batman movie (and, arguably, the best superhero movie) wasn't on this list - Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. Best Batman (Kevin Conroy) and best Joker (Mark Hamill) to grace the big or small screen.

I am like the only person alive who thought Two-Face was great; he was deranged enough to run around killing people based off of the flip of his coin but lucid enough to channel his anger and rage over the loss of his fiancee at the people most intimately involved in her death (I do believe that he would have circled back and gone after The Joker once he'd killed Gordon and Batman).

I think Two-Face's makeup looked silly, and Dent's "conversion" to Two-Face was flimsily motified. If you want to have a psychologically "realistic" Batman, then the same realist assumption should extend to the villains also. (Joker was much better handled, because whatever made him Joker was intentionally left a mystery.) Also, Joker's plan seemed to depend on Dent becoming Two-Face, something he could no way have predicted.

...

Dent's "conversion" into Two-Face was driven by going crazy with rage and self-loathing because he was saved and his fiancee wasn't. Everything he was doing revolved around passing judgment on the people he felt were responsible; Joker was able to manipulate him because he wasn't thinking rationally, otherwise he never would have gone after Gordon in the first place.

Also, The Joker's "plan" involving Two-Face didn't actually exist until Two-Face existed; that character was all about mayhem, chaos and anarchy and the fortuitous existence of a mad-with-grief former golden boy whom he could wind up and point towards both the criminal underground and law enforcement was essentially a bonus he couldn't help playing with.

I prefer Begins to the Dark Knight because, as impressive as the latter is in many ways, I feel it bites off more than it can chew. I didn't find the moral and philosophical aspects to be particularly coherent or convincing.

what chap says.

and joker escaping from the jail was just too silly, tbh. but that's really just nitpicking, as it's a brilliant film on the whole.

Dan OTM

Any superhero/villain conversion is gonna seem silly if you overanalyse it, and it is easier to get away with that shit in comics than in movies, where you have real people playing hyperreal characters. I certainly think they went too far with two-face's face in the film.

(also, the whole coin flip thing was him completely rejecting his previous stance that our intentions/actions make a difference; he basically abdicates his entire "we can clean up Gotham!" stance after Rachel dies in favor of "nothing matters, so you might as well flip a coin to make your decisions", effectively turning him into a chaotic vigilante intended to be a distorted version of Batman)

xp: I loved the people* who were all outraged that Two-Face had a good side/bad side suit and didn't notice/realize that it was the suit he was wearing when he was burned up.

* okay, I think it was one person but I still lolled

American Psycho is the best Bale-based batman movie. A clever editor could probably splice in enough footage to make a convincing sequel with it.
BATEMAN: THE KILLING JOKE or somesuch.

can someone tamper with the vote to retroactively insert 40 votes for Robocop?

Any superhero/villain conversion is gonna seem silly if you overanalyse it, and it is easier to get away with that shit in comics than in movies, where you have real people playing hyperreal characters.

But this is exactly what's wrong with Nolan's take on Batman: he intentionally chose the hyperrealist approach. He wants Batman and all these other characters to be "real", and psychologically "credible", and an inherently silly character like Two-Face shows the limits of such an approach. Two-Face works in most Batman comics because the writers don't write him realistically. The problem is not so much with the medium as with the approach. I had no problems with Selina Kyle transforming into Catwoman in Batman Returns, because the point of that film was not present the characters in a credible psychological light. This is the problem with most of the movies that have taken their cue from the "grim and gritty" approach pioneered by Frank Miller: superheroes are an inherently fantastic genre, so if you add to much realism to them, they will look silly. Plus the extra realist weight that comes from movie conventions probably makes them even sillier than in the comics.

Both "The Dark Knight" and "Batman Returns" are excellent movies.

Dan OTM. Tuomas "problems" with Batman = me asleep

I strongly suspect that, had Nolan chosen the "hyperrealist" approach, Bruce would have died in Tibet. "Serious" != "hyperrealist".

Well, okay, not hyperrealist, but too realist for a character like Two-Face.

This thread makes me get all Morbiusy.

i cant wait for the hyperrealist "batman administrates" where bryce wayne uses his money and political connections to run for mayor of gotham city and attempts to address the root causes of gotham's notorious crime rate through poverty fighting initiatives investment in local schools and bring lasting and meaningful change to the inefficient police force

Would watch Batman vs. Stringer Bell.

See Bruce Wayne could be teaching Business Administration at the local City College, and his bright young protege is none other than Stringer Bell, and as Batman he completely fails to see that Stringer's effectiveness in the drug trade are a direct result of the lessons he imparted as Bruce Wayne until some appropriate reveal moment.

quick! to the bat-fax!

haha i was totally thinking of that strip

Stringer Bell = Ra's Al Guhl
Marlo = The Scarecrow
Omar = The Joker
Carcetti = Harvey Dent

bought superman: the motion picture for $3 today on dvd. watching now. haven't seen it since i was maybe 9, 10 years old.

trivia: one of my very favorite cassette tapes as a child was a tape of the boston pops doing themes from sci-fi movies--superman, close encounters, a bunch of star wars shit.

and joker escaping from the jail was just too silly, tbh. but that's really just nitpicking, as it's a brilliant film on the whole.

It's really hard to write realistic jail escapes that are interesting to watch, though. Especially for a character like the Joker, who would presumably be in some sort of Supermax Prison scenario.

i never watched Superman IV, am i missing out on anything?

― Ant Attack.. (Ste), Monday, June 15, 2009 10:01 AM (3 days ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Yes, you're missing massive lulz.

trivia: one of my very favorite cassette tapes as a child was a tape of the boston pops doing themes from sci-fi movies--superman, close encounters, a bunch of star wars shit.

I have this on vinyl - it totally rules!

just watched darkman last night. (in a raimi mood after seeing drag me to hell.) haven't seen this since I was in 5th grade or something. pretty solid, pacing is great, and it's really violent! the part where the mobster dude cuts off the guys fingers is probably permanently scarred in my mind bc I first saw it at such a young age...

next up: the rocketeer. but I'm a little worried that another viewing will ruin my positive childhood memories for this one. it was one of my fave movies at the time. up there with gremlins 2, ducktails: the movie, and dick tracy.

It's really hard to write realistic jail escapes that are interesting to watch, though. Especially for a character like the Joker, who would presumably be in some sort of Supermax Prison scenario.

I think even the Joker would not be placed in Supermax while awaiting booking and arraignment, even in a comic book.

Just Muslims then?

one thing I never got about the comic book was how many of the characters ended up in Arkham despite not really being criminally insane. Wouldn't it be cooler if the Joker was in a regular prison?

okay, I think it was one person but I still lolled

I think this was me :(

I am totally anticipating Thor!!! Though it's not out for two years!! Natalie Portman as Nurse Jane Foster! Wahoo!

I just thought it was too early to start a Thor thread. Plus, in two years I'll only be disappointed, and thus I avoid the constant heartache of Transformers: Revenge of the Gobots, and subsequent too early thread excitement!

but that transformers thread has given us all so much joy.

i will see thor. i am liking the thor comics lately. i really don't have high hopes for a thor movie though tbh--the cliched asgardian dialogue will become 1000x more unbearable if spoken aloud on screen.

I disagree -- ASGARDIAN DIALOGUE IS AWESOME
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgbsV6aTHts

I am a huge HUGE Thor fan (primarily the Kirby era) and I cannot imagine this working on-screen, no matter who's involved. Like Watchmen, its just one of those things that works in one media and not in another.

now what about this Green Lantern movie

The Green Lantern would only work if it featured Guy Gardner and/or the whole Green Lantern Corps. All the other human Green Lanterns are boring, and Hal Jordan is the most boring of them all.

"the Green Lantern movie"

I don't really see how you could make a movie of it WITHOUT the corps, or at least some acknowledgment/reference to it

Anything w/Ryan Reynolds in it = fail

I was talking about this with my drummer the other day and both of us agreed that the superhero movies to-date have all been too earthbound - we share a mutual appreciation for the cosmic scale in comics, be it Superman or Green Lantern Corps or the Fantastic Four and Thor, and no one's really attempted any of that (not sure why, are they scared of relying too much on CGI or something?) To-date, the majority of superhero flicks basically boil down to origin stories/psychological profiles, only occasionally touching on bigger, more general ideas (a la X-Men), getting kinda tired of that approach...

I don't really see how you could make a movie of it WITHOUT the corps, or at least some acknowledgment/reference to it

Well yeah, but I assume they'll only be minor characters with one or two punchlines, whereas IMO it should be an ensemble piece where Hal is merely one member of the Corps. I think the Corps has always been what makes the series stand out among other superhero titles; without it Green Lantern is just a relatively bland superhero with no special catch to him.

mmm an ensemble piece of that nature would be hard to sell to the studios, I would think. Green Lantern doesn't strike me as a particularly well-known character, general movie public likely to be befuddled to learn that there are actually a whole bunch of different Green Lanterns....

(xx-post)

I totally agree with you, Shakey! Bring in all the cosmic madness! I think that's one thing where Green Lantern might improve upon previous movies, provided that they take the whole idea of GL Corps seriously. I think the current superhero movies have been too much influenced by the success of Batman, so they're basically just cops-versus-criminals stories with extra-strong cops and criminals.

but Tuomas haven't you learned an important lesson about how cops and criminals are totally dependent on each other and often just two sides of the same coin blah blah blah

re: the cosmic thing... this really annoyed me with the Singer Superman movie, that whole "after 7 years in space" (or whatever it was ) prologue line. Would've SO preferred to see those 7 years on screen isntead of that bullshit baby-daddy/Luthor real-estate scam thing

I know! I mean, 7 years! He musta met at least one space princess!

I am curious about Thor only because Kenneth Branagh is being given a budget for the first time since Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and why they fuck they would do that

Superman is an inherently boring character unless he is interacting with humans.

(and even then it's a 50/50 crap shoot)

i mean was every plausibly successful superhero director all "i wouldn't touch thor with a ten foot mijolnir"? xpost

I totally get them making an Avengers movie but there's no fucking way they all deserve their own introductory movie, and even assuming that they do why the fuck would they do Thor before Captain America?

The Thor movie is directed by Kenneth Branagh?!! Holy shit, that could be totally awesome! Or totally awful!

I keep waiting for the true blue big-budget superhero turkey and if aint Thor I can't imagine what it will be

er what about Norton's Hulk, no one actually saw that right

I'm not talking underperformers like that or Watchmen - both of which made over $100 mil - I want the heaven's gate of superhero films

Who's playing Thor – the guy from Adventures in Babysitting?

well Superman is the prima facie of superheroes so to me he's inherently interesting for all kinds of reasons but ymmv etc.

x-post

I totally get them making an Avengers movie but there's no fucking way they all deserve their own introductory movie, and even assuming that they do why the fuck would they do Thor before Captain America?

because at the moment Captain America is dead.

according to IMDb Thor will be played some guy named Chris Hemsworth who played Capt. Kirk's papa in the new Star Trek

I am curious about Thor only because Kenneth Branagh is being given a budget for the first time since Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and why they fuck they would do that

So much goddamn truth

like anyone knows that Cap is dead (no one read that CNN article besides comic book geeks who already knew)

x-post -- See how long you survive.

that the superhero craze even got to green lantern and thor is kind of amazing, scared of what's next if they do well

^^^this

Superman is an inherently boring character unless he is interacting with humans.

I dunno, I think the weird cosmic stuff is pretty much what makes Superman interesting; his main concept is that he's an alien from another planet. Plus there's many great non-human characters: Mxytzptlk, Bizarro, Brainiac... I'm not saying there shouldn't be humans in Superman (and most cosmic stories are still about humans/humanity, like most sci-fi is, even if aliens are instead of humans), but I don't Superman is that interesting when he's just fighting super-criminals, like Batman. Morrison's Superman was interesting exactly because he didn't much bother with that aspect, and focused on the sci-fi weirdness instead.

waiting for George Clooney-Dr. Strange flick

I'm kind of amazed they can pull off an avengers movie. Don't these guys all have divergent mythologies? Like if you had ghostrider and thor in the same movie, you'd have to accept Christian and Norse Gods coexisting. Brain explodes! They should axe everyone who is an alien and/or isn't a science hero.

I"ll be amazed if thor isn't some revisionist amnesiac human thor with a stark industries hammer.

Morrison's Superman stuff was great, best treatment of the character in a long time

The only Superman-affiliated person I found interesting in the comic books was Supergirl, and only after she fused with the Satan-worshipping girl. Moviewise, if it doesn't involve the Daily Planet crew, I don't care.

re: the Avengers movie - yeah this idea seems totally insane, can't see how it will work at all. Lolz where is Ant Man and the Wasp movie...

waiting for George Clooney-Dr. Strange flick

holy shit YESSSS

but then again I enjoyed Constantine

what I didn't enjoy was Hannibal Rising, which is exactly what X-men Origins: Magneto sounds like

I skimread Morrison's first issue and put it back because it confirmed to me that I really don't give a flying fuck about Superman.

I'm kind of amazed they can pull off an avengers movie. Don't these guys all have divergent mythologies? Like if you had ghostrider and thor in the same movie, you'd have to accept Christian and Norse Gods coexisting. Brain explodes! They should axe everyone who is an alien and/or isn't a science hero.

I'm pretty certain you can write off "flaming skull guy" as a self-sufficiently cool visual without being bothered by whatever judeo-christican baggage he's carrying around in his nth ongoing series.

Like if you had ghostrider and thor in the same movie, you'd have to accept Christian and Norse Gods coexisting. Brain explodes!

Welcome to the Marvel Universe! Gods of different pantheons meet each other regularly there. They've avoided showing Jahve though, I guess not to offend Christians. I think even Ghost Rider's origin was eventually explained away by saying that he was created by a demon pretending to be Satan, not the real Satan himself.

Daily Planet crew are great, essential parts to the Superman mythos. No reason they can't be involved in "cosmic" stuff (and often were in the comics - there are Bizarro Lois's for ex!)

waiting for George Clooney-Dr. Strange flick

That could rock pretty hard. Danny Ocean gets his hands mangled and turns into Michael Clayton, plus SPELLZ to make the Conservapedians mad.

wait, I just made it sound awful

yo i just want george clooney flinging gang signs in a cape

Ghost Rider chillin' with That One Guy:

http://www.shep.ca/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/jesus_team-up_4.jpg

Dan, Morrison's Superman did feature the Daily Planet staff, and they were indeed involved with the cosmic stuff. Jimmy Olsen even got a whole issue for himself.

Superman Origins: Jimmy Olsen starring Shia LaBeouf

I think even Ghost Rider's origin was eventually explained away by saying that he was created by a demon pretending to be Satan, not the real Satan himself.

I've heard he's an angel - A HELL'S ANGEL!

I've always taken consolation in comic book mythology - it's heartening to imagine that all history's trials and atrocities, joys and ecstasies, etc., etc., are all a infinitisimal blip in some berobed dude whose body has the texture of the cosmos.

Ghost Rider chillin' with That One Guy:

Charles Manson?

Chuck Mangione.

Ed Norton's Hulk was great!!

I would get Straczynski to write the Thor movie, coz his run on the comic is pretty great.

2015 - I'll start anticipating a Moon Knight film.

The film they should make is obviously She-Hulk.

Dan, seriously, give Morrison's Superman a free shot via the library. I think the whole run (12 issues) is collected in 2 volumes.

I would get Straczynski to write the Thor movie, coz his run on the comic is pretty great.

^^^ this

"It's going to be like a super hero origin story, but not one about a human gaining super powers, but of a god realizing his true potential. It's the story of a Old Testament god who becomes a new Testament god." sez Thor screenwriter, who really should not be left alone in a room with Kenneth Branagh and a giant pile of money.

It's the story of a Old Testament god who becomes a new Testament god.

Where to begin.

cosmic stuff in Superman is problematic. If you ask average movie going dude to name any alien planets in Superman other than Krypton, he'll probably say there aren't any and there ought not be any. it's too bad. bizarro superman adventures would be hilarious, but the brand is too lucrative to go there.

she-hulk: intergalactic attorney is a non-starter!

Oh have they turned thor christian? that's one way to resolve competing mythologies I guess.

Well, maybe they could have a She-Hulk TV series, that would work.

Who would it star?

angelina jolie.

oh apparently the comic book movie rumor mill sez megan fox is gonna play she-hulk, in a she-hulk movie!

No way can she convincingly play an attorney. Maybe they'll downgrade her to She-Hulk: Intergalactic Paralegal.

That lady who was in "Love You Man" could be Jen Walters! That Chyna lady from the Wrestling could green up. You could have Hercules in the series too!

Okay, I'm just giving it away that I really like comics that are just basically alright...

I have the Hulk TV movie where he fights Thor on DVD. I want a drunk on mead Thor!

Who would it star?

http://prettysleepy.files.wordpress.com/2008/05/steel_0296.jpghttp://z.about.com/d/gameshows/1/0/B/0/-/-/ag3gina.jpg

one of these 2 imo

Meagan Fox, haha!!

cosmic stuff in Superman is problematic. If you ask average movie going dude to name any alien planets in Superman other than Krypton, he'll probably say there aren't any and there ought not be any. it's too bad.

I don't think the average movie going dude has read any Superman comics at all, so I'm not sure if he really has too many preconceptions about what a Superman movie should and shouldn't have, except that it should feature Superman and Lois Lane (and maybe Luthor too). As far as I know supehero flicks and sci-fi flicks have pretty much the same target audience, so I don't really see why combining the two would be an unpopular move, especially with an inherently sci-fi character like Superman.

Because everyone knows that Superman is an alien raised by Americans to be the world's (but really Americans') superhero; if he goes off to fight aliens, he's doing it wrong.

but aliens be wanting to destroy the earth man!

Braniac's gonna put us all in a fuckin jar n shit!

also Bizarro = teh lolz

I don't disagree, but everyone knows Lex Luthor, ergo Superman's enemies are either going to be heretofore unseen enemies from his homeworld or human beings who have aspirations of world domination (where by "world" it is understood to mean "American").

(fwiw I think Captain America is a boring ass, too)

i think a bizarro movie could be really great if done properly.

ha! bizarro movie am great even if done shitty you mean!

I would love a Bizarro movie, actually ( just to contradict everything I've said on the thread thus far).

Plz for Green Lantern movie to include the greatness that is MOGO!

http://goodcomics.comicbookresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/Mogo%203.jpg

IT'S A WHOLE FUCKING PLANET THAT'S A GREEN LANTERN. MUST HAVE.

Lolz where is Ant Man and the Wasp movie...

Shakey, you realize this is happening, right?

Ant-Man (2010) More at IMDbPro »

Director:Edgar Wright

Writers:Joe Cornish (screenplay)
Jack Kirby (comic book)
more

Contact: View company contact information for Ant-Man on IMDbPro.

Release Date: 2012 (USA) more

I hope America is ready for a wife-beating superhero who almost gets all his friends killed by his stupid robot.

haha waht

Mogo = teh awesome wow

superman is def boring, i agree with hi dere

superman rules you guys are ridic.

Listed in "Fun Stuff" at the imdb page:

Kenneth Branagh conceptualized this film as a Norse/comic-book twist on Der Himmel über Berlin.

Thor, aka Helmet Wings Of Desire.

Kenneth Branagh should be directing dinner theater in Hoboken, not making a superhero movie.

Any superheroes from New Jersey?

Tony Soprano.

"But my mother lives in Hackensack!"

Thor, aka Helmet Wings Of Desire.

Hey, can't wait for Nick Cave to make an appearance in it playing "From Thor to Eternity"

And today on IMDB, Acura presents the most Popular Super Hero Films: http://www.imdb.com/features/poweroffilm/

But seriously, here's a timely and cosmic Superman story with tons of crossover potential:

http://www.antekprizering.com/alisupermancomicbook0204.jpeg

Could even be a swell period piece with all the famous 70s icons in the crowd...

I've never read read that comic book, but I've always kinda wondered, how could Muhammad Ali, who (as far as I know) is a mere human, match with Superman? Did he get some superpowers? Or was Superman depowered?

They probably ended up teaming dude!

My friend is always buying those awful team-up books, like Superman vs Bugs Bunny, X-Men vs the Fraggles, Green Lantern and Sex in the City...