The Movie Waffler The 10 Best Comic Book Movies | The Movie Waffler

The 10 Best Comic Book Movies

With 'Man of Steel' about to hit cinemas, TMW's Andy Comer counts down the ten best movies based on comic books.

10. Scott Pilgrim vs The World
From the moment this starts with the 8-bit Universal logo, I knew that this film was going to be different, and with each viewing I love this movie more than the time before.  This romance of Scott Pilgrim is the absolute perfect combination of video game and manga and is all the better for the extreme over-the-top energy that both genres bring.

9. 300
Bringing Zack Snyder to work on Frank Miller's vision of history was a stroke of genius.  The great story of the 300 Spartans is beautifully stylized by Snyder to the point of the world coming to life like few other films had been able to accomplish before.

8. Sin City
Shot completely in green screen, Robert Rodriguez was able to capture the essence of the comic by literally creating Basin City around amazing actors and actresses.

7. Kick-Ass
Everyone is perfect in their selected roles but the clear cut best thing about this one is Hit Girl, who is by far and away one of the most creative and extreme comic book characters to grace the page or film.  The bright colors and joyous violence makes this a happy favorite of genre fans.

6. The Dark Knight
I can hear it now as I write this, "OMG, TDK at number 6? What is wrong with him?" To which I answer, "nothing".  While this film is great, it is almost at 'Avatar' status for becoming bigger than it really is.  But regardless, it is extremely well made and Heath Ledger as The Joker was one of the greatest turns in film history.

5. X-Men First Class
Brilliantly cast, this film outdoes each of the previous 'X-Men' films in almost every way.  Even knowing how things will eventually end up doesn't save you from really feeling for these characters, who are literally fighting for their lives.

4. Batman Begins
Yes, 'TDK' is more entertaining and no villain can out do The Joker, but 'Batman Begins' is a better and tighter story with acting that is above most other films, not just in this genre.  Also, it had the chore of establishing the story and characters in reality, which was a big transition from the horrible Batman films of the late 1990's.

3. The Avengers
'The Avengers' is the dream of all comic book fans, a dream that could have been done 1,000 different ways with only a few being the right way, but Joss Whedon did it one of the few right ways.  Amazingly, everyone got the right amount of screen time, the action was great and The Hulk is more popular than ever.  I couldn't have asked more of everyone involved.

2. V for Vendetta
A mysterious masked hero, an extremely lovable girl and an evil tyrant, what is not to love?  This awesome vision of the future has all you could possibly want: a great cast, intriguing story with twists, turns and revelations that remind you why we want to be free and how far we must go to achieve freedom.  I cannot think of anything wrong with this film.

1. Watchmen
'Watchmen' is the ultimate comic book film because it is literally the page on screen with perfect actors playing some of the most complex comic characters as they try to find out who they are and where they belong in a world at the brink of war.  The film literally has it all: heroes, villains, victims, mystery, action, sex, blood, murder and intrigue, and does it all with amazing style that is worthy of the legendary graphic novel.


Andy Comer