I’m doing a column on what was the best superhero movie ever made (not counting the serials from the 40s and 50s.)
Any thoughts?
PAD
I’m doing a column on what was the best superhero movie ever made (not counting the serials from the 40s and 50s.)
Any thoughts?
PAD
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Yes, it’s recent, but I have to go with Spider-Man over all the others for one simple reason. Peter has asked for the best super-hero movie, and of all the movies that have been made about these guys who wear their underwear on the outside, no movie has captured the transformation of a person into a hero better than that one.
—KRAD
Best super-hero movie. Hm. “Superman the Movie” for me. When I was twelve years old, I saw it eight times in the theater, and I believed a man could fly. Christopher Reeve’s incredible dual-acting job was incredible; Clark Kent was a completely different character from Superman.
“Superman II” hasn’t held up as well for me, but when it was in theaters, I thought it was fantastic.
I love “Unbreakable.” I think it’s one of the finest super-hero films ever made.
I’d cast my vote for Superman II. Superman one was actually kinda boring, and the whole turn back time thing blew.
Honorable mentions for:
Rocketeer
The Crow
Blade
Batman
X-men
Definitely NOT one of the best:
Spider-man
Any Batman after 1
Any Crow after 1
Am I the only one who didn’t like Jack Nicholson’s performance in Batman? I always remember thinking he got the role and something like a total of $50 million (salary plus part of the gross) because the studio wanted a bigger name than Michael Keaton to be able to sell the movie to the public. Nicholson got billing over Keaton as well.
But I wasn’t very impressed with the performance. He jumped around, he sang, he danced, he preened, but I never got the feeling of sheer crazed terror and lunacy I was hoping for. I also thought the Joker should have been slimmer, more wiry, and younger. (Though with the movie’s story of Jack Napier having killed Bruce Wayne’s parents, Napier would have to be at least 12 years older than Bruce Wayne, perhaps more.)
Back in 1989 I thought James Woods would have been great in the role. Or John Malkovich. And as we know now, Mark Hamill would have absolutely nailed the part.
As for best Superhero movie — I am still out on that one. When I have more time to figure that out I may be back…One I would like to see done as a film…Soulsearchers and Company would be a great film!
Xyon
not to ape what everyone else has already stated, but if we are going on pure comic adaptation, then I vote for the first Superman film, followed closely by the first Batman feature.
However, I think the best rendition of any comic ever filmed is the fist “Darkman” film. The plot reads right out of some comics, and all the necessary elements are in place. Sam Raimi made, in my opinon, a great comic book film. I can’t, and won’t say as much for the sequels, however.
Superman: The Movie wins for its faithfulness and incredible casting of unknown Chris Reeve as Superman.
Sure, the Otis nonsense is bothersome, but it’s so minor. The first half of the film is especially good. If any superhero movie should have won best picture, this was it.
I also think Unbreakable could have been the best ever, but the ending kind of derailed it.
Drat! Someone beat me to Hero at Large. I loved that movie.
I cry every time Superman tells the President that he’ll never let him down again. Powerful stuff. I guess I’ll have to go with Superman; the movie though.
Ðámņ, I wish someone would edit a special edition of superman 1 & 2 as 1 four our movie and cut out some of the crap out of #2
This topic seems to be a pretty tough call. On the one hand, you’ve got The Rocketeer. A smooth and slick movie that still had a sense of wonder to it. On the other hand, you’ve got The Crow. It held fast to the comic and made you believe in it. I’m still debating whether or not you can classify the Crow as a superhero or just a vigilante. Gotta give the Rocketeer the nod.
\i(Superman). No bones about it. Hate to come in late and repeat what everyone else already said, but it’s true. Donner treated it like a \i(movie), period. He didn’t assume that the genre from which the material originated had to inform what the movie looked like, any more than if it were based on a novel or play.
And frankly, I didn’t find any of the elements campy at all. Underground dwellings have been around for a long time, as have been attractive molls and doltish sidekicks, none of which felt campy to me in this particular film.
“Am I the only one who didn’t like Jack Nicholson’s performance in Batman? I always remember thinking he got the role and something like a total of $50 million (salary plus part of the gross) because the studio wanted a bigger name than Michael Keaton to be able to sell the movie to the public. Nicholson got billing over Keaton as well.”
honeestly nicholson was the only think i really liked about the first batman movie.
I am a long time comic fan and most of the moives people have listed including the burton batman’s the and superman films I hated
to me the best supoer hero film is spiderma. it is the only adaptaion that didn’t make me cringe at the alterations. I also liked who they casted in the roles dispite the fact that I wouldn’t have casted them (another problem I have with most films).
Hero at large gets my nod for best non adaptaion. it really conveys the meaning of being a hero.
Batman mask of the phantasm gets my nod for animated super hero film. (thought the surprise of the villain’s idenity having been done first in dìçk tracy took a little wind out of it)
my favorite batman film is the 60’s campy one.
my favorite superman is the richard pryor one since I at least laughed during that one
For me, Superman the Movie
It just “clicks” for me. From the Christopher Reeve Superman/CK performance to the wonderful John Williams score. The movie had the right touch.
Heck, I even liked Otis (Otisburg, indeed :-))
evidentally quite a few O_o
What’s the best color? The best food? For Pete’s sake, what was the best comic book?
The “best” comic book movie is subjective, and thankfully, we’re getting to the point where that question becomes harder to answer.
My FAVORITES were Superman 1 and 2 and the Rocketeer.
( I didn’t understand the comic book adaptation though. Peevy gets a gun pointed at him halfway through through the book, then we never see him again until the final pages. What happened?)
Of course, I would spell my own name wrong in my last post.
Sigh.
Superman II for sure – but Hulk will be giving it a run for it’s money.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. heres my reasons
after coming back to the sewer, finding their home ransacked…roundhouse-pan around raphael as he screams “SPLIIIINTEEEEERRRRRRRR!”
I love how seriously it takes itself;
Okay theres a Ninja crimewave sweeping New York City..yes and?
And Four foot tall Turtle Ninjas live in the sewer…yes and?
and thusly a fantastic, well paced, fun, witty, dramatic, large scale film is achieved.
perfect.
-THE BARON
I’m torn between “The Rocketeer” and “Superman”.
“The Rocketeer” has mobsters, Nazis, and sweet, sweet Jennifer Connelly. But “Superman”, for all its faults, is a sentimental favourite. The best scenes in “Superman” are some of the best movie scenes EVER. So that’s gotta be worth something.
Actual comic-book adapted movies – gonna hafta join in with the crowd here –
Rocketeer
Superman II
Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm
Spider-Man
The Crow
X-Men
Mystery Men
Comic-Book Inspired:
The Matrix
Unbreakable
Darkman
Army Of Darkness
If we’re adding non-super-hero comic book movies to the list (Which it seems we are), howabout Josie & The Pussycats?
Howcome nobody has voted for Condorman? (Oh, probably because of the whole “awful” thing)
Third & Fourth Batman & Superman movies? Dunno what you’re on there… they only made the 2 for each. A Batman movie with Val Kilmer and Jim Carrey, where Robin makes a “Holy” quip? Arnie as Mr Freeze? Nipples on the Batsuits? Superman vs. Richard Pryor? Mystery Ingredient in Fake Kryptonite is Tar?NUCLEARMAN? …nah, you guys are yankin’ my chain. They’d never have made films like that… the fanboys would be rabid…
I’m sure no one is reading by this point, but if I don’t voice how breathtakingly awful I think the Superman movies are now, I’m pretty sure I’ll regret it. So then:
AWFUL. AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL.
That’s all. (And, yes, I realize that’s not helpful. I’m not trying to be helpful. I’m just trying to wash off the filth of a hundred nice comments about those Superman films.)
The Fantastic Four movie just because it was never released. Saw a bootleg, though, and it wasn’t half bad.
Top Five Favorite Super Hero Movies
5) The Mask
4) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
3) X-men
2) Mystery Men
1) Superman
Top Five Worst
5) Superman III
4) Superman VI
3) Puma Man
2) Supergirl
1) Batman and Robin
God, how bad do you have to be to rank LOWER than Puma Man.
Top Five WORST Super Hero movies
Mask of the Phantasm, Rocketeer, The Mask of Zorro, and The Shadow are all worthy contenders. The film that I think made the most impact with me was THE IRON GIANT. He even uses a Superman comic as inspiration to overcome his programming and to perform a truly heroic act.
Just have to add my vote for Superman as well…
Superman 1: Best comic movie ever? Best Superhero casting in Christopher Reeve and best superhero theme but I don’t think of it as best movie. Most of the people who vote for it say it’s the best if you “just ingore this and that” For something to be the best you shouldn’t have to do that. Out of the 2 Peter picks I say Rocketeer.
As far as Batman goes, I thought it was decent at the time but then I actually read the comics. The movie was so much more style than substance. If Burton would have made Gordon and Dent half the characters they are in the comic, made the suit workable enough to move for a couple fight scenes, and made the movie a Batman film, not a Burton one it might be worthy. (And why is the movies Batman such a bad driver? He’s crashed almost every vehicle he’s owned?)
Not only would I say Batman mask of the Phantasm was 10x better but it’s my pick for best comic movie ever.
As far as live action goes, I really thought Blade 2 was an exceptional movie. It took everything good about the first movie and multiplied it by 3. It took great elements from comics but didn’t have that comic-book movie tunnelvision that alienates the rest of the audience. Based on this movie, I’m looking forward to the Hellboy movie more than X2 and Hulk. And I never even read Hellboy.
This is a little of topic but a friend of mine was telling me that he didn’t like Spiderman cause of the lack of web-shooters. In my opinion (and I’ve said it before)this gave the movie a lot of credit. You can take a lot for granted in a comic but showing Peter as a down on his luck type everyman, yet being smart enough to create this amazing marketable technology which just happens to be spider related is asking too much for a movie audience to believe. Am I the only one who sees it that way?
Best over all SH movie: Unbreakable
Best Super group movie: Mystery Men
Best Marvel Adaption: DareDevil
Best DC adaption: Superman II
Best Dark Horse: The Mask
Honorable mentions: Rocketter
I would also like to comment that Hero At Large was pretty good as well.
Unbreakable had it all for me: confused (at first) but deeply heroic/inately *good* hero; loving physical-therapist wife who not only supports him (once she understands what’s happening) but can train him as well, and child who can look up to him and maybe has the genes to be the next generation hero and/or doctor. I want a sequel exploring this 🙂
I was not going to add to this topic until Patrick mentioned Dark City.
Now while this is not my all time favourite I still remember the feeling I had when I watched this movie. I had not heard of it before and just happened to catch it on TV, I was blown away!
I could not believe how such a great movie was not known to me, I intend to watch this again soon to see if it will still have the same effect on me.
My fovourite Comic book movie is the Matrix and then Unbreakable.
These come close but always seem to be lacking something.
Superman 1 & 2 – Best superhero fight and at that age I was blown away, but I hated the flying around the world and also the beams from their hands, whats up with that?
Spider-Man – Second best Hero fight, the buts include some dodgy CGI, that power ranger outfit and I hate the concept of the only superhero and the only supervillian happen to be so closely related!
X-Men – Great on many counts but really bad superhero fight scenes and no berserker rage!
Batman – I hated Keaton and the costume always seemed too stiff and rubberized to me.
Bring on Shazam the movie!
If “best” means capturing the flavor of comics, the style and tone, and still have overall story quality, then the Rocketeer is the only choice. The Shadow and Phantom are right behind. All caught the flavor of the comics/pulps, all were consistant and the stories held together well.
Superman was good until he went to Metropolis, and then it became a different genre. Reeves was great as Superman, but misunderstood Kent. Luther could have been good, but wasn’t. The rest was horrible. Lousy casting for the Metropolis crew (except maybe Perry).
Batman – all of them – blew. Burton can’t tell a story to save his life and muddled ‘dark’ with ‘ugly’, and the others were too camp.
Spider-man was very good, but Toby blew it for me (his voice, for whatever reason, grated).
I loved Daredevil, but the story was all over the place. Tighten it up and it would take the top spot.
Well, lemmie think of as many as I can first.
Spider-Man
X-Men
Daredevil
Hulk
Darkman
Punisher
Superman
SM 2
SM 3
SM 4
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Batman-old
Batman
Batman Returns
Batman Forever
Batman and Robin
Dark Angel (full moon)
Trancers series
Dollman
Phantom
Rocketeer
Robocop
Mystery Men
The Shadow
Unbreakable
Mask of Zorro
The Crow
Buckaroo Banzai
Matrix
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Howard the Duck
Black Mask
Army of Darkness
Condorman
Meteor Man
Blankman
Hero at Large
Tankgirl
Supergirl
Of these I would say….
Hmm.
Ðámņìŧ.
Maybe X.. nah
Shoot.
MOST FAITHFUL ADAPTION:Superman
BEST PICTURE:Unbreakable
BEST SFX:Matrix
MOST FUN:Mystery Men
I’d vote for THE BATMAN SUPERMAN MOVIE. This one had great action, a wonderful portrayal of the rivalry between these two, a very nice twist of the Superman-Lois relationship, and all of Batman’s brilliance and dexterity that was left out of the live-action movies… great movie all around. THE ROCKETEER is a close second, capturing the old cliffhanger serial-style of movies.
Also, since there have been a few (far too few) superhero pørņøš, I’d vote for the fun BATBABE and the nicely done X-GIRLS in the Adult Superhero Cetegory. Yow!
How can anyone pick Superman the Movie as the best? Did you not see the whole go back in time by reversing the rotation of the earth part?
I don’t think there’s a superhero movie that quite holds together yet. Spider-man was fun but falls apart once the Goblin shows up. X-men has some brilliant moments but falls apart once they get to the Statue of Liberty. Daredevil was good until the openning credits started (just kidding). Batman is a fun movie but it doesn’t really feel like Batman or the Joker or even Gordon for that matter.
Well, at least a few people agree Dark City kicks ášš (if not the best) – thanks!
And I notice that no one has mentioned Barb Wire when talking about worst movies — come on, it’s even worse than Puma Man (and doesn’t even have the cache of having an MST3K episode) and very nearly as bad as Superman IV or Batman and Robin. Come on, let’s give Barb Wire the props it deserves!
I think Superman The Movie had some of the best, thrilling superhero moments in movie history (I still get goosebumps whenever I see the whole helicotper rescue scene), but it really dragged much of the time, some of the casting was completely wrong (Margot Kidder was NOT a good Lois Lane), and then there’s the mess at the end….
My favorite (and in my opinion, the best) superhero movie is one that I think only one other poster has mentioned here:
The Iron Giant!
This movie (still) brings tears to my eyes. Thought it was animated (which may or may not count against it), it had some truely touching and heroic moments. A great story and a great movie.
For me the best Superhero movie has to be THE MATRIX.
My other personal favorites are THE SHADOW, THE PHANTOM and THE ROCKETEER.
If you want to take movies that are based on actual comic book characters my top five would be
BATMAN RETURNS
SUPERMAN II
X-MEN
SPIDER-MAN
BLADE
Ast
I really can’t think of a best super-hero film, Superman came close but blew it after the 1st night in Metropolis really, Batman and Batman Returns had a wonderful style and Michael Keaton but just didn’t feel right to me, same with Spider-Man and X-Men, they were ok but just didn’t convince me.
I’m tempted to go with The Rocketeer since there was alot of charm and warmth in it, but live action was never specified… so Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm, shame the live action films never lived up to the animated series.
Worst Super-hero film has to be the Spider-Man live action tv show with Nicholas Hammond, some bright spark decided to give it a cinema release here in the UK, though when you’re 5-ish you’d hopefully be forgiven for loving it… right? I was actually lucky enough to grow up reading the original Stan Lee/Steve Ditko Spidey comics, my mum bless her always bought the Marvel Tales reprints for me without realising it, I always prefered them to the contemporary comics that I’d occasionally get too.
So I’m a bit late, but I think the best SH movie ever was Alec Baldwin’s The Shadow – but it was overlooked and despite the fact that the Shadow came first, too many critics without a sense of history trashed it as a ripoff of Batman.
But I’m also a big fan of 1920s and 30s radio dramas and pulp novels (despite the fact they were written before my parents were born), so I may just be glad the Shadow actually had a modern movie.
Started re-watching Spider-Man now to try and make up my mind. I have to say I really don’t like the music, too Batman-y for my liking. And the webshooters… spidey tried to sell the formula way back in the comics but no one wanted it cause it dissolved so quickly so surely they aren’t that major a plot problem for the film to include, plus Pete being a science whizz is a pretty major part of the character to leave out.
Y’know, for decades folks have commented on how they hate the spin-Earth-backward ending of Superman: The Movie, and that’s fine. If you don’t like the suspense-killing deus ex machina qualities of time-travel, that’s fine. If you have to take the sight of Superman reversing the Earth’s rotation literally (rather than some filmmaker’s visual metaphor or whatever) then that’s fine. When I re-watch Superman: The Movie the ending doesn’t bug me too much; your mileage may vary.
But there’s a moment in the movie that does bug me every time I watch it, that I find disturbing in new and different ways as I get older. Superman’s first night in Metropolis. He comes across a girl whose cat is caught in a tree, retrieves the cat, gives it to the girl, and flies away. The girl runs inside and we hear her tell her mother than a man flew down from the sky and saved her cat. And we hear the mother scold her for telling stories. And we hear her slap the girl.
I don’t want to get into a whole thing about child-rearing and corporal punishment here. But the fact that the filmmakers put that slap in there disturbs me every time I rewatch the film. It makes me wonder if, perhaps, that girl needs more help than just a guy in tights picking up her pet. It reinforces the idea that Superman just can’t do everything for everyone all the time. For me, that slap, for one moment, breaks the film’s escapism, and I find it the sequence fascinating and disturbing all at once for it.
Obviously, I’ve thought too much about it–but that’s what happens when you watch and rewatch movies. I still think Superman: The Movie is one of the greatest superhero movies ever, but to the degree the film bugs me, it ain’t the world spinning backward that bugs me, it’s the fact that a little girl might just have gotten herself hit.
Seems like this thread has degraded to “best comic movie adaption” instead of “best superhero movie”. But, for the best superhero, I would have to go with Robocop. Murphy was a hero before getting chopped up and rebuilt, went thru all of the self doubt and angst afterwards, and emerged a better hero.
And thankfully Frank Miller and the producers didn’t go with Lewis as Robobabe in the sequel.
I would also go with Remo Williams, one of the most fun movies ever made!
-Jeff
“I think the best SH movie ever was Alec Baldwin’s The Shadow – but it was overlooked and despite the fact that the Shadow came first, too many critics without a sense of history trashed it as a ripoff of Batman.”
The Shadow was OK. It had a nice look and feel to it, but it’s still not my favorite movie. I didn’t find Penelope Ann Miller was not at all impressive as Margo Lane. Alec Baldwin’s Lamont Cranston was a bit too wise-cracky for my tastes. And some of the movie’s inconsistencies about the Shadow’s abilities broke my suspension of disbelief. (Things like: if the Shadow becomes invisible because he hypnotically clouds people’s minds so they don’t see him, how can they discover him when he leaves footprints in water?)
So “The Shadow” is OK, but not great, and not the best in my opinion.
I totaly agree, Superman the Movie tops the list. It is a great combination of visuals and musical choreography, integrated in such a way that it stirs up emotions in you! It gets my heart racing everytime I hear the trumpet play the first five bars of the theme music, no other “hero theme” affects me like that.
On the B-side, I would choose the first Batman movie. I liked it because it gave me greater insight into the dark side of the B-man. Also, Michael Keaton was great in that part.
I’m gonna look at this question from a pure cinematics point of view, because I’m kind of a media junkie. 🙂
Here are my picks:
Batman (1989) – Tim Burton did an excellent job making you feel like you were actually in Gotham City. Everything down to the weather, the buildings, cars, lightning, and music was just right.
Unbreakable – This is probably the first super-hero movie I’ve seen that outlines what is often glazed over in comics – that being a super-hero is often very, very emotionally taxing.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon – A “classic” story of a heroine who started out in darkness, but came into light because of a pure heart and the dedicated aid of others.
The Fifth Element – Most people think of this simply as a mystical action movie, but it does qualify. It involves a super-type who was created specifically for the job of saving the world, but has a hard time dealing with it when the time comes.
Supergirl – I added this to the list not as a joke, but as a lesson. While the direction and writing in the movie was pretty bad, the character of Supergirl shone through strongly enough to earn this film cult status.
Princess Mononoke – Yes, it’s odd to include an anime, but this movie teaches a lot about the power of persistence.
Superman – This film remains a classic, and was a breakthrough in comic-to-film adaptaions. It would get my vote as “the best” only because it has reached iconic status.
I would have included Dark City and The Matrix, but there seem to be too many of those idiot-hero-finds-inner-power-and-learns-to-run-the-world movies floating around these days.
Are there problems with “Superman”? Absolutely. It’s dated. The Otis line was silly. As a female reporter, I cringe at Lois’ “interview” with Superman and the maudlin poem during her flight.
I still rate it the best superhero movie ever.
Each superhero movie since, even the marvelous “Batman,” has been overhyped beyond any hope of meeting expectations. In the ensuing years, those expectations have lowered to “cool special effects” and “good fight scenes.” We can’t possibly allow narrative flow, character development, strong dialogue, a sense of theme and purpose or other such concepts that are, ironically, strong in the comics themselves, to interfere with the cash cows of the movies.
This is why I was disappointed in the admittedly fun “Spiderman.” When the Green Goblin soars away cackling, “We’ll meet again, Spiderman!” I just cringed. It’s not about suspension of disbelief – we always have to suspend our disbelief, or we’d never believe James Bond, still alive and the same age since World War II without succumbing to veneral disease. Reversing time by reversing the world? Well, if you believe a man can fly…
“Superman” had the benefit of Mario Puzo behind the typewriter and John Williams behind the baton. Hollywood has a tendency to dumb a story down to the lowest common denominator. “Superman” managed to avoid that. When Superman tells Lois, “I’m here to fight for truth, justice and the American way,” she’s the only one laughing. We believe him. No superhero before or since could pull that off.
Lots of superhero movies are fun to watch. But I can’t help thinking back to the deep voice of Marlon Brando telling Superman, “They are a great people, Kal-El – they wish to be. It is for that reason above all, their capacity for good, that I have sent them you. My only son.”
That’s writing. That’s allegory. That’s compelling fiction. That’s why I go to the movies.
A couple other thoughts–would Ðìçk Tracy be considered a superhero movie? If not, then Warren Beatty has GOT to be considered a superhero strictly for his sexual prowess! And while it was T.V. and not cinema, we must not forget The Man From Atlantis. Like every good superhero, Patrick Duffy even got resurrected (of course, that technically took place on “Dallas,” but let’s not split hairs…)
Just wondering what you guys are basing you decisions on. Alot of people said a movie such as Spiderman or Batman would get your vote if it were not for the flaws or if it had been more faithful, but then there are alot of votes for The Rocketeer. Do you base you choice for the Rocketeer from having read it as a comic book as well or just from seeing the movie?
Just wondering…
btw, Blade gets my vote.
Here are mine favorite super-heroes films:
1) Superman, that is how to do a super-hero film right.
2) The Rocketeer, a fun movie without being too campy
3) Batman, the best live action film of the dark knight.
4) The Crow, dark and entertaining movie.
5) Blade, a well done vampire movie.
I am not a fan of the Superman or Batman movies. Even for the time, the special effects on Superman did not make me believe a man could fly. In Superman II, I was incensed by the way he treated Lois at the end and the petty going back to beat the bullies. That’s not my Superman.
I did not care for Jack Nicholson’s Joker and the Prince music in Batman. I actually like Batman Returns better solely because of Michelle Pfeiffer’s performance as Catwoman/Selina.
I thought Tobey Maguire nailed Peter Parker perfectly so Spider-Man is my favorite superhero flick.
I saw The Rocketeer movie before I read the comic and loved it. After having read the comic, I still do. Even keeping her clothes on Jennifer Connelly is a very sexy Betty.
I also liked The Phantom a whole lot and Unbreakable was awesome!
I liked X-Men but was disappointed in Daredevil.
Sam Tomaino
I wold have to say that it is a toss up between Buckaroo Banzai and Mystery Men. Both fun, entertaining movies.