Top 5 Underrated Comic Book Movies Worth Revisiting
With further Avengers adventures on the horizon, not to mention an expansion of the X-Men saga and more word of the brewing Justice League franchise, comic book movies are getting bigger and bigger. And this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s worth it to remember the more diverse gems and somewhat forgotten releases of this kind. So here’s it is, the Top 5 Underrated Comic Movies That Are Worth Another Look:
5. Batman Forever (1995)
Yeah! That’s right. I’m starting this off with Batman Forever!
At the 2006 MTV Movie Awards, on accepting the award for Best Hero, Christian Bale thanked Dark Knight Trilogy director Christopher Nolan for “getting rid of those bloody nipples “, and rightly so. But the truth is, not all of director Joel Schumacher’s contributions to the Batman franchise were the worst.
While Batman is now appropriately synonymous with dark tragedy and more mature themes, there was still a time when he was the beloved Caped Crusader and this is a film that is more appropriate to that version. In essence, it may not be a great film, but it’s one that’s definitely better than its reputation. Unfortunately lumped in with its hideous sequel Batman & Robin, Batman Forever is camp and very silly but still a nice big and fun action adventure film which may come near the line of stupidity, but doesn’t just outright cross it like its follow up. Not necessarily a smart movie but a good broad spectacle with a reasonable amount of tongue in cheek self awareness.
While it’s seen as a less dark version than its predecessors, directed by Tim Burton, Batman Forever is no less deep than the 1989 film Batman and its sequel Batman Returns, all of which draw from the Adam West era. But Forever still spends a reasonable amount of time portraying a conflicted Bruce Wayne, played by Val Kilmer, who in all fairness is pretty decent (and was apparently Batman creator Bob Kane’s favourite at that time). It’s all steeped in broad melodrama, but it’s still there.
There are a lot of really terrible things about this film, like the one-liners, that bit where Batman smiles and the film’s slightly off putting fetishistic sensibility. The film was a financial success that allowed for its franchise killing sequel, but it didn’t prove as popular with its critics.
And while George Clooney has expressed his regrets, and both Val Kilmer and Michael Keaton have admitted to Chris Nolan’s work being superior, this mid-90s, U2 and Seal promoted blockbuster still holds together well as a fun piece of entertainment, with some good wit and wonderfully broad set pieces.
With the upcoming Man of Steel 2 including a new Ben Affleck portrayed Batman, it is my hope that the new Batman will be at least as fun as this film.
4. The Shadow (1994)
A year before Schumacher regenerated the Batman franchise, many superhero movies were still following in the footsteps of Tim Burton’s 1989 film and The Shadow was no exception.
Although not initially a comic book in its origin, The Shadow still has its place in the evolution of the superhero genre, beginning through a series of radio plays, pulp novels and then later in comics, and ironically serving as an inspiration to Bob Kane when he originally developed the idea of Batman for DC. Similar to other 90s comic book movies like Judge Dredd or Dick Tracy, The Shadow was an attempt to pick up on the success of Batman. However it didn’t prove as such, being a commercial and critical failure, and today it’s mostly forgotten.
The film starred Alec Baldwin as Lamont Cranston, a formerly devious war criminal, taught to harness the darkness in his heart and develop psychic abilities for good, as a crimefighter in 1930s New York. Still conflicted by his darker side, Baldwin takes on Shiwan Khan, an also psychic pupil and the direct descendant of Genghis Khan, who is set on taking over the world.
My question there is, what doesn’t sound fun about that?
The film is very silly but has a good sense of black comedy and a very fun brooding atmosphere. While Baldwin’s performance may come off as unintentionally dry and satirical, it’s only now that we know, through things like Baldwin’s fantastic performance as Jack Donaghy in the popular sitcom 30 Rock, that Alec Baldwin is in fact an actor with a strongly subversive sense of humour.
There are a few jokes and attempts at surprises that don’t really land, and a few things that kind of don’t make sense. The most prominent being Alec Baldwin’s pointlessly shapeshifting face that changes whenever he dons his signature black coat, hat and red scarf. While this is briefly explained to be a manifestation of his darker self, it’s most likely an attempt to make his identity believably a secret and to homage the look of the character as originally illustrated. While at times the look of The Shadow is pretty cool, there are those scenes where he just looks like an odd cartoon character come to life.
Still The Shadow is a well paced and gorgeous looking movie with plenty of variety in its scenery, set pieces and a fun cast that holds it together, also featuring appearances by Ian McKellen, Tim Curry and a particularly quirky and likeable performance by Penelope Ann Miller as the hero’s love interest, Margot Lane. There’s also Peter Boyle as Baldwin’s comedically played chauffer and John Lone who gives a delightfully over the top portrayal of the villain Shiwan Khan.
From Highlander director Russel Mulcahy, The Shadow is kind of dumb but still very cool and a lot of fun to watch.
3. Mystery Men (1999)
Before the similarly satirical live action version of The Tick, and long before the film adaptations of Watchmen and Kick-Ass there was Mystery Men, a wonderfully humourous film that’s not so much about superheroes, as it is about trying to be a superhero. The film was based on the Flaming Carrot Comics series, despite not including the source material’s lead character and was the directorial debut and finale of Kinka Usher.
Set in the fictitious Champion City where being a superhero is like being in a band (ie. every other person is doing it, and very few are any good), a group of misfit heroes, amongst many others, absolutely struggle to band together when they become the only ones who can save the day. The filmed offered an absolute smörgåsbord of known actors including, Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, William H. Macy, Janeane Garofalo, Greg Kinnear, Geoffrey Rush, Eddie Izzard, Tom Waits, and it just goes on like that.
Despite having a few movie stars and other beloved performers, the film was a commercial flop, but has since garnered a cult audience.
Perhaps the problem with the film was that it was a little too subversive for its own good and similar to the likes of The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension, the intended oddball quality just came off as bad to its audiences. But the film deserves to be commemorated not so much for its individual jokes but it’s overall tone and the quirky world that it creates with great detail and care, and in a sense (dare I say it) the film was ahead of its time.
Unfortunately the film also stands alongside contemporaries such as Shrek, Rat Race and Inspector Gadget, all of which weirdly featured the song All Star by Smash Mouth quite prominently, a song we’re all now sick to death of. But the film really is a clever and well made movie with a sense of sarcasm that feels more appropriate today.
2. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
Lean, Green And On The Screen. After the hit animated series had taken off, this Golden Harvest/Jim Henson’s Creature Workshop collaboration may not have been critically praised but was a commercial hit, being the second most successful independent film of its time. But to this day, it still remains in the shadow of the Saturday morning cartoon which itself has proved more popular than the lesser known original comic.
Combining the grittier, dressed down elements of the comic book and the lighter, more family friendly tone of the animated series, the 1990 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles today is a somewhat dated, but still a very impressive film. Its secret is that it makes every effort to let you believe that its leading quartet of anthromorphic reptiles are as real as their human counterparts. They still make bad puns and shout “cowabunga” but it’s not to the audience. It’s to each other. They even criticise each other’s jokes and banter and argue and of course, when trouble strikes, they kick some ass.
The film spawned two sequels released shortly after and even had a follow up CGI film in 2007, all of which don’t get the recognition they deserve, except for the third film which deserves to be tossed down the bottom of the lowest, stinkiest part of the New York sewers.
Ok, the second film The Secret of the Ooze may not be the best either but what it lacks in brains, it makes up for in crazy (ie. it’s got Vanilla Ice but it’s also got a Super Shredder). And in a time where faithfulness is highly emphasised in comic book movies (sometimes too much), it’s the 1990 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the 2007 film TMNT that really aren’t commended enough for how well they brought the Turtles to the screen. And The Secret of the Ooze is a good laugh to. Just steer clear of the one where they go back in time to feudal Japan. It’s not worth it!
1. Dredd (2012)
In 2008, Sylvester Stallone, star of the aforementioned 1995 film Judge Dredd expressed his regrets about the project. Saying the film, “just wasn’t balls to the wall”, he stated that he felt the big budget Hollywood adaptation of the 2000AD comic series was, “a real missed opporunity”. It was only four years later that a film came along that did all the things that Judge Dredd failed to do.
Set in the future dystopia of Mega City One, the 2012 movie Dredd was produced with half the budget and a smaller scale story in comparison to Judge Dredd, and yet it had so much more to say. Covering the events of a single day, the film follows a colder, meaner and more badass Judge Dredd, along with Judge Anderson a rookie in training, as they have to fight their way out of a gigantic apartment block, when a ruling gang discovers their presence.
The film received some flack for its plot being coincidentally similar to the Indonesian martial arts movie The Raid, released the same year. And it was possibly due to its persona as a “comic book movie” (rather than an independent film) and the bad taste of the Stallone movie still in people’s mouths, that audiences didn’t flock to its release. Positive reviews from critics also didn’t help the movie’s uneffective marketing campaign, and Dredd fell by the wayside during its theatrical run.
But Dredd really proved to be a smart, edgy, adrenaline fueled action packed movie that is cool and confident on the surface, but dark, complex and thought provoking in its detail. Starring Karl Urban as the titular character, the New Zealand born actor showed his dedication to the source material by never taking off his helmet for the duration of the movie and embodying the film’s tone with all the grit, boldness and intensely dry humour that was needed. And it needs to be stated that Dredd is not a film that requires any fore-knowledge of the original comic, for it to be enjoyed and appreciated.
While the film has come close to drifting into obscurity, there may be hope yet as fans have campaigned for a sequel to redeem the first movie’s disappointing release with a promising online petition, currently still running. With a one shot comic book sequel already published, we may not have heard the last of Dredd but even then it’s still a worthwhile sci-fi action movie that merits repeat viewings. A cross between RoboCop and Escape from New York it’s a truly badass movie.
So what do you think?
Did we miss out on one of your favourite, underrated comic-book movies?
Let us know in the comments section!
Written by Sèamus Hanly
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