Tue May 6, 2008 10:15AM43 comments ›
Tue May 6, 2008 — by Chris Ullrich
ComicMix Six: The Worst Movies Adapted From Comic Books
From 'Ghost Rider' to 'Catwoman' - six films that are the worst of the worst
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It should come as no surprise that Hollywood studios often turn to the pages of comic books and graphic novels for source material -- especially for action-packed summer releases like Iron Man.
Some of these films, such as Iron Man, Batman Begins, Spider-Man 2 or X-Men 2, achieve a great deal of commerical and critical success. In addition, they're also embraced by comic book fans as great examples of what comic book movies should be.
Unfortunately, there are also those other comics-to-film adaptations that disappoint critics, mainstream audiences and comic book fans alike. These films, whether due to bad writing, inept direction, gross miscasting, or a combination of factors, are often not only bad comic book adaptations, but bad movies in general.
Yet, even with Iron Man's phenomenal success, it's important to remember these bad films. These particular movies occupy a special place in the hierarchy of bad filmmaking and deserve to be highlighted -- especially so you can avoid seeing them if you haven't already.
Here then, in no particular order, is the ComicMix Six list of the Worst Movies Adapted From Comic Books.
GHOST RIDER (2007): Why "director" Mark Steven Johnson was allowed to make another film after the abysmal Daredevil is beyond me. Maybe he has pictures of studio execs in compromising situations? That's the only way I can explain his continued employment as a director, writer or anything else.
It certainly doesn't have anything to do with his ability to work with actors or tell a story. Didn't anyone watch Daredevil before they hired him for Ghost Rider? Apparently not. Which brings us to . . .
DAREDEVIL (2003): I don't have anything against Ben Affleck as a person or as an actor. However, his performance in this film ranks pretty low -- even by Gigli standards. Plus, the non-existent direction, weak story and lame "fight" on the see-saw in the playground left a very bad taste in my mouth from this film that no amount of tooth-brushing or mouthwash could remove for some time afterward.
At least this film did serve one purpose: it was so bad we were not subjected to a sequel. What about Elektra, you may wonder? I like to pretend that was just a deleted scene from Daredevil that wasn't good enough to make the final cut.
NICK FURY: AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D. (1998): Sure, this was technically a TV movie, but seriously, I only have one thing to say about this abomination: David Hasselhoff as Nick Fury. Let me say that again for the cheap seats: David-freakin'-Hasselhoff as Nick Fury. That alone should be enough to condemn this piece of junk to the bowels of cinematic hell where it belongs.
Even with all this film has going against it, it's still better than Daredevil and Ghost Rider. Plus, at least writer David S. Goyer went on to write some really good films since this one, like Batman Begins.
BATMAN & ROBIN (1997): Coming after Tim Burton's two Batman films and the dismal Batman Forever, director Joel Schumacher can rest assured that his most infamous contribution to Batman movie franchise history is that he managed to put nipples on the Batsuit and destroy the franchise to the point where eight years and a complete reboot was necessary to get Batman back into theaters.
Other than that, this poor excuse for a film features a cast of all the wrong people playing all the wrong roles: George Clooney as Batman, Alicia Silverstone as a pudgy Batgirl (stunt casting to appeal to the young audience if I ever saw it) and even Uma Thurman, who is usually pretty good, has trouble playing Poison Ivy under Schumacher's "direction."
And don't even get me started on Arnold Schwarzenegger as Mr. Freeze, featuring some of the worst dialog ever uttered in a major motion picture. This film is a mess.
At least Warner Bros. had the good sense to stop after this one, wait a few years, and then produce Batman Begins. Now that was a comic book adaptation worth watching.
THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY GENTLEMEN (2003): Alan Moore's hatred for Hollywood has been well documented, and maybe he has good reason after seeing this butchering of his work. For some reason, Hollywood has the uncanny ability to take great source material and turn it into this kind of lame tripe.
I can only imagine what this film could have been, had it featured an actual director instead of yet another FX-guy-turned-director at the helm. Is it me, or do these directors turn to CGI and action sequences to cover up any problems with story, characters or pretty much anything else?
I guess I can't really blame them too much, because it's what they know. Plus, its got to be way easier than telling a story, working on the performances or doing any kind of actual directing.
CATWOMAN (2004): There's a lot one can infer by the fact that Pitof, the "director" of this huge mistake of a film, has not been put in charge of another movie based on a comic book since Catwoman. Perhaps the folks at Warner Bros. and other major studios realized he wasn't the right man to handle a huge comic book franchise film like this? If only they had realized it beforehand.
From changing the main character to casting Sharon Stone as the villain who wants to rule the world using evil cosmetics, this is one of those movies that makes audiences hate Hollywood and its "rush something out to make a quick buck" mentality.
After watching this film, you can't really blame audiences -- especially fans of Catwoman comics -- for being angry about this waste of 104 minutes of their lives.
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Comments (43)
Mike Raub (10:45 AM on Tue May 6, 2008)
If you include Nick Fury, then you also have to count that wonderful treat we called Generation X from the 90's. Let the screaming begin!
Linda Gold (10:48 AM on Tue May 6, 2008)
If we are going to include TV movies than number one has to be the never aired Justice League.
Brian Alvey (12:44 PM on Tue May 6, 2008)
Is that the one with Fire, Ice and the Martian Manhunter in it? I saw a screen grab of that years ago and just figured I would never be able to see the actual show it came from. Got a copy?
Linda Gold (1:40 PM on Tue May 6, 2008)
We do. I'll have Mike make a copy for you. It's god-awful.
Brian Alvey (2:18 PM on Tue May 6, 2008)
Mike gave me the old Doctor Strange pilot from the late 70s. That was pretty bad. I can't wait!
Linda Gold (2:28 PM on Tue May 6, 2008)
This is 100 times worse.
Linda Gold (10:47 AM on Tue May 6, 2008)
I must disagree with Daredevil being placed on this list when the original Punisher film was left off. The Punisher film makes Daredevil look like Gone With the Wind. I sat through the entire Daredevil film but couldn't get through 5 minutes of The Punisher. Come to think of it I'd put Batman Forever and maybe even the 2nd Tim Burton Batman film (hated the greasy mutant Penguin) on this list before Daredevil.
Rick Marshall (11:19 AM on Tue May 6, 2008)
Which Punisher film? I loved the first one w/ Dolph Lundgren, but hated the second one w/ Tom Jane. I enjoy tom Jane's work immensely, and I know he loved the character, so it killed me to see what they did with the film.
Linda Gold (11:35 AM on Tue May 6, 2008)
I was talking about the first one. You are the first person I ever hear say they liked it. At least the Tom Jane film had some relation to the character all though to be honest, as I said I could not get through even one scene of the Lundgren one.
Anonymous (4:48 PM on Wed May 7, 2008)
I have to agree that Dolph's The Punisher was awful. I love cheesy B sci-fi flicks and love other Dolph flicks but I couldn't watch more than 5 minutes of it either. I even went on a rant a few years back on how bad I thought the movie was. It left an impression...
Rick - I'm glad you got some enjoyment out of it...:)
Rick Marshall (5:28 PM on Wed May 7, 2008)
Bah. When the bad guy asks Dolph who he is, and he responds, "I'm Batman" ... pure genius.
Of course, I also count the "Man-Thing" movie (at one point a major release and eventually a Sci-Fi Original Movie) as one of my favorite comic adaptations, so that should say a lot about *my* tastes.
Dan (1:12 PM on Tue May 6, 2008)
I tried to watch the 1st Punisher film, but Dolph with the dye job (and minimal acting abilities) was just too much to bear. Even my son, one of the biggest Punisher fans I know, couldn't watch this p.o.s. all the way thru.
Mark Torres/MFC Studios (10:49 AM on Tue May 6, 2008)
I like the League. Of course I had never read the comic. But I had to say that it had a better Hulk (at least this one actually fought something that he could hit), a better Wolverine/Lady deathstrike fight (it just seemed "cooler") and it showed me that Sean Connery still had "it".
Mark Torres/MFC Studios (11:00 AM on Tue May 6, 2008)
I liked Punisher. I thought it was a great non-comic book movie. (unless you mean the first Punisher movie)
Linda Gold (11:36 AM on Tue May 6, 2008)
I did mean the first one (hence the word original). The Tom Jane one was fine I thought. Not great but okay.
Mark Torres/MFC Studios (11:38 AM on Tue May 6, 2008)
Whoops, missed the word (original). My bad!
Linda Gold (11:49 AM on Tue May 6, 2008)
No problem. Seems like I was not clear enough since others missed it as well.
Martha Thomases (11:37 AM on Tue May 6, 2008)
I didn't hate DAREDEVIL. Ben was well-cast. There was too much clutter, but it was no worse than the last X-Men movie.
Also, if Alicia Silverstone is pudgy, we're all in trouble.
Kai (12:14 PM on Tue May 6, 2008)
hold the phone...PUDGY BATGIRL???!?!!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!? Chris, PLEASE tell me you were under the influence of a high fever, alcohol or some other substance when you wrote that? I do agree that the movie should be on the list for many reasons...but PUDGY BATGIRL????
Mike Raub (11:43 AM on Tue May 6, 2008)
You know - now that we have brought in TV movies, let's heap any of those 70s/80s Captain America films onto the pile (still screaming over the White Queen).
Easy Strider (12:19 PM on Tue May 6, 2008)
"Blade Trinity" is mighty terrible.
Russ Rogers (12:38 PM on Tue May 6, 2008)
Before we can begin to debate what are the best and worst movies based on comics, I think we need a comprehensive list of all the movies and TV movies made from comic book source material. There is a list at Wikipedia, but it isn't comprehensive. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_films_based_on_Engli...
I tried to add Wonder Woman (2004) starring Cathy Lee Crosby to the Wiki's list.
I agree with Linda Gold, The Punisher (1990) with Dolph Lundgren is punishing to watch. Or was Linda Gold talking about the more recent less punishing, but still rotten Punisher movies? Maybe this could go in as a set.
And "NICK FURY: AGENT OF S.H.I.E.L.D." (1998) is a much better TV movie than "Wonder Woman" (1974).
I also think "Captain America" (1992) deserves a mention.
I don't think projects that have never seen the official light of day should be considered. This includes the Justice League TV movie and Roger Corman's Fantastic Four. http://www.teako170.com/ffmovie.html
Vinnie Bartilucci (1:05 PM on Tue May 6, 2008)
Nobody?
NO ONE's gonna mention Howard the Duck? I'VE gotta do it? *sigh*, okay...
It took Tim Robbins over ten years to stop being "Philsie" in my head. I think it was "The Player" that finally did it. (For the record, his wife Susan Sarandon has NEVER stopped being Janet ViceWeiss for me)
Exactly two good bits - The scene in the unemployment office ("Ahmo find your feathered ass a JOB!") And pretty much anything out of Jeffrey Jones' mouth. Alas, Billy Wilder said the formula for a good movie is THREE good scenes and NO bad scenes, so this films falls short by a Duckworld mile.
And am I the only person who saw "Brenda Starr, Reporter"? Timothy Dalton as Basil St. John is about as perfect casting as Matthew Lillard as Shaggy in Scooby Doo (I am still convinced that Mr. Lillard is the end result of a massive genetic engineering experiment to create the perfect actor to play Shaggy; a plot of such scope and vision that it puts the Bene Gesserit's plans to shame) and they even tried to go metafictional by having the writer transported to comics-world (where he shocks Brenda by having a navel) but nobody in the film, before and behind the camera (save Dalton, but ESPECIALLY Brooke Shields in the titular role) had the chops to run with it.
I could (and possibly will someday) go on for pages about the assorted comic adaptations I've sat through. But I think Mike Gold will agree with me that the Miller "Spirit" might just make us look back at Sam J. Jones' TV version with heretofore unrealized nostalgia. Mark my words, if a clean copy exists, it will make it to video just as the film hits theaters, possibly before.
Russ Rogers (1:21 PM on Tue May 6, 2008)
Brenda Starr is also NOT on the Wikipedia's list of adapted comics! And yes, "Howard the Duck" deserves a mention. But Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon aren't married, unless common-law counts.
Vinnie Bartilucci (2:11 PM on Tue May 6, 2008)
It is on their list of films adapted from comic STRIPS; I noted its non-listing and dug further.
"Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon aren't married"
Then there's still a chance for me?
Matt Raub (1:30 PM on Tue May 6, 2008)
You failed to mention any Hulk film with the following elements:
A blind lawyer
A norse god
anybody in a costume riding a motorcycle
Eric Bana
Paul1963 (2:10 PM on Tue May 6, 2008)
I always get a kick out of imagining a pre-production meeting for the Dolph Lundgren Punisher film:
"Okay, it's 1989, Batman is out and the entire world is plastered with Bat-symbols. It's a very effective way of promoting the film and it can be used all over the world. They don't even have to include the name of the film because everyone recognizes that iconic symbol. We have the green light to do a movie about The Punisher, whose most recognizable feature is a giant skull that covers his entire torso.
"Let's lose the skull."
Vinnie Bartilucci (2:13 PM on Tue May 6, 2008)
I have a similar whimsical scenario between marvel and the producers of the live-action Japanese Spider-Man show from the 70's.
"OK, first question...what does his Giant Robot look like?"
Rick Taylor (12:31 PM on Wed May 7, 2008)
Isn't his giant robot a leopard?
Chris Lisy (2:36 PM on Tue May 6, 2008)
As noted on another board I visit, someone mentioned Steel, with Shaq.
Judge Dredd was pretty bad.
Vinnie Bartilucci (3:27 PM on Tue May 6, 2008)
Judge Dredd was an example of a film that LOOKED perfect, but the story and acting just couldn't live up to the look. Mean Machine Angel, the ABC Warriors, The Judge uniforms, all looked like they took the book and shook it till they all fell out.
Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze was another example of that. They nailed the look perfectly, but the cast weren't quite good enough to hold up the story.
The Shadow came damn close to working. They went for just a few too many cutesy lines, and that pulled at away from the bullseye.
Rick Marshall (5:31 PM on Wed May 7, 2008)
Steel would've definitely been on *my* list of the worst comics movies... but then again, that's why these lists are written in first-person and not from the group POV. ;)
Danny (2:34 PM on Tue May 6, 2008)
I actually have a VHS recording of that lame '90s Generation X TV special. Scary stuff.
Wiredwizard (12:14 PM on Tue May 6, 2008)
I'm surprised neither Spawn or the much beleaguered Howard The Duck made this list...
=looks at shelf= I should be one to talk though, owning copies of all of 'em excpet Batman & Robin...
Rick Marshall (5:29 PM on Wed May 7, 2008)
Yeah, I enjoyed both of those films, so they wouldn't be on my list. Of course, several of the films on Chris' list here wouldn't make *my* list, either - but I'm a bit weird about films.
Russ Maheras (12:25 PM on Tue May 6, 2008)
I thought "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" was three separate films. The first part (Film #1) was terrific; the middle part (Film #2) was mediocre; and the final part in Venice (Film #3) was so indescribably bad it made me want to run screaming out of the theater.
And since no one has mentioned it yet, I think I shot better Super 8 films in my backyard than Roger Corman's unreleased 1994 film version of "Fantastic Four."
Chris Ullrich (8:16 PM on Wed May 7, 2008)
Actually, I didn't mind 'Spawn' so much. 'Howard the Duck' was bad (even though it did feature Lea Thompson) and would be in my top ten list of bad films. I would also include 'Steel', 'The Phantom' starring Billy Zane (although technically based on a comic strip) and any 'Superman' film numbered higher than II.
I won't ever include any Roger Corman films on a list like this. Roger always gets a pass from me as he gave me one of my first jobs in "the business." Plus, its not really fair to compare a major studio feature like 'Ghost Rider' or 'Catwoman' to something Roger shot in his backyard in Venice, CA for whatever change he could find under the couch cushions.
Glenn Hauman (11:17 PM on Wed May 7, 2008)
38 comments in, and I'm the first to mention Supergirl? You guys are slipping...
Russ Rogers (11:19 AM on Fri May 9, 2008)
Which "Supergirl" movie are you talkng about? The 1984 movie, starring Helen Slater? Or the 1973 Filipino production, starring Pinky Montilla? I think both were DC licensed!
http://andrewleavold.blogspot.com/2008/03/komik-superhero...
Pinky also played Bat Girl in "Fight Batman Fight" (1973)!
Glenn Hauman (12:37 PM on Fri May 9, 2008)
Looking at that page, I suddenly understand how America has such a dominant lead in exporting their movies and TV shows all around the world. Ee-yikes.
DrFreemanstein (8:40 AM on Sun May 11, 2008)
Russ Maheras wrote "I thought "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" was three separate films."
The copy I have on my DVD rack is definitely just one film...and there were no others prior! Was it screened in 3 pieces where you are??
As for the Alan Moore thing with LXG, V for Vendetta etc. I could never understand how he can moan about what Hollywood did with his work when surely he would have had to give them permission to use it in the first place???
Did you hear JK Rowling whine when they produced that bucket of butcher's trimmings Goblet of Fire???
If he didn't want his stories butchered, maybe he should have fought to keep creative control as part of the contract when selling the rights!
Mike Gold (3:24 PM on Sun May 11, 2008)
Well, if we're going to include adaptations from comic strips (Brenda Starr, The Spirit), then I've got to note perhaps my all-time biggest disappointment, with respect to this specific category: Modesty Blaise. Based upon one of the best written and best drawn strips of all time and with Terence Stamp and Dirk Borgarde playing leads, this unmitigated piece of shit needed Woody Allen (or, today, perhaps the South Park guys) to loop all the dialog. It's so bad it would make the MST3K 'bots explode. The Batman teevee show at its very worst was Citizen Kane in comparison. It's so bad, it's almost as bad as that Justice League pilot that starred Major Winchester as the Martian Manhunter.
In other words, I didn't particularly care for it.
The Movie Whore (5:01 PM on Tue May 13, 2008)
I will give the rest but if you never read the books then LXG was damn entertaining. You could replace it with Elektra which was worse than Dare Devil