Worst Comic Book Movie?
bralinator
Posts: 5,967
Make your selection. Since few people have seen the new Fantastic Four movie, and probably fewer the much maligned Roger Corman version from 1994, they were not included. Neither were several others because these online polls only allow up to 10 options. Otherwise, there would've been room for Superman III, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, Ghost Rider 2, Man of Steel, and many others.
If your pick for worst comic book movie isn't on the list, tell us your choice, and help us all save another buck at the DVD bins of our local flea markets.
If your pick for worst comic book movie isn't on the list, tell us your choice, and help us all save another buck at the DVD bins of our local flea markets.
Worst Comic Book Movie? 35 votes
Green Lantern
17%
6 votes
Howard the Duck
0%
The Spirit
28%
10 votes
Catwoman
22%
8 votes
Batman & Robin
5%
2 votes
Steel
17%
6 votes
Jonah Hex
2%
1 vote
Supergirl
2%
1 vote
Elektra
0%
Spawn
2%
1 vote
Comments
And I will swear this to my grave but Ghost Rider 2 would have been a great movie if not for Nick Cage. He was the weak link in both of the Ghost Rider movies.
The others all looked so bad that I avoided them.
I will abstain from voting.
POSSIBLE SPOILERS!!!!!!
1. Frank Miller's "visual style" did not fit the character or movie.
2. The dialogue was terrible
3. The Wolverine healing factor was a huge change from the original comics
4. The Nazi dress up scene made no sense. Neither did the cloned henchmen.
5. The big stars (for the most part) phoned it in, but the poor dialogue made it seem even worse.
6. I will just say the plot (if there actually was one) was hard to follow.
7. In a movie with a lot of pretty actresses, the decision was made to let Eva Mendes be sexy all the time and let Scarlett Johannson be mostly bland.
Why they both could not be sexy is a mystery.
Three great to good films (Superman III wasnt THAT bad) by Christoper Reeve.
If I could get a Men in Black mind wipe device after seeing it would worth the money.
Matthew
For the Toxic Avenger.
I'm with @WetRats on this as I've only seen a few of these so I'm going to abstain from voting. However, if I did vote it would probably be Green Lantern because it was such a let down. It could have been so much more (plus, I'm not a big Ryan Reynolds fan.).
The Spirit has ScarJo. I'd rather watch the former Mrs. Reynolds instead of the current Mrs. Reynolds.
M
In my opinion, comic book adaptations should simultaneously pay homage to the source material and serve as an introduction to those unfamiliar with that material, encouraging them to read it.
I had never read a single Spirit comic before seeing the movie. After seeing it, I had no desire to ever touch a single Spirit comic. The film ruined them for me for years.
It's an ugly, soulless insult to both comics and films as art forms. It's gratuitous fan service and obnoxious humor combined with flat acting and dull visuals make it an uncomfortable viewing experience in every possible way. The only way the film could've hurt me more is if Frank Miller himself had physically beat me with a copy of it.
Why do so many of y'all watch movies that you know are going to be bad?
The only other ones mentioned here that I have seen are from when I was a kid - Howard The Duck and Superman IV.
Also, more directly in response to the question posed by @WetRats , I actually don't think a lot of other comic book adaptations are all that terrible. The only ones I've ever seen that I've truly hated have been The Spirit, Iron Man 3, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World and Thor 2: The Dark World.
I generally enjoy most other adaptations. I'd be more than happy to discuss some of my favorites at length if anyone starts a thread on the subject of good and/or underrated comic adaptations.
When I watched the majority of those listed above, I watched comic book movies because they were comic book movies. They were far from today's standards, but I settled for what was out there. Fortunately, I'm more critical what to watch now.
I watched Jonah Hex on DVD because someone told me it wasn't bad. I also heard Megan Fox played a prostitute.
I recently only watched The Spirit because I was on a ScarJo tear & watching all her movies. I was watching basically for her.
M
* despite walking out of the theater and saying "boy, Batman & Robin sucked," I went back to see it 3 more times. That was because I had OCD.
For example, the Corman FF movie. It was never intended to be seen. They knew it was bad from the start and wasn't a genuine effort.
B+R is aweful by comparison, and because it was a campy spoof. but deliberately so. So it did what it wanted to do. It just wasn't what anybody wanted.
Superman 3 is a crazy mess of a bad movie. But damnit it's enjoyable and watchable and has its redeeming qualities. Same with Superman 4 and supergirl but less so.
Catwoman isnt a good movie, but it also doesn't qualify as a comic book / Catwoman movie imo since it shares nothing in common with the source other than its title. The spirit wasnt a good movie or to my understanding anywhere near faithful to the character (but I wouldn't know). Still, I've seen worse movies, comic or otherwise. And I actually thought Hex was ok. Same goes for Electra and Green Lantern IMO. Theyre seriously flawed but not unwatchable or without good points... at least to me. As for Howard the duck, I haven't seen it since I was a kid and remember enjoying it. Plus I have no other frame of reference for the character to judge. From this list alone I have to vote Steel.
(BTW: What's wrong with pointed questions?)
And with the outcry of casting Keaton as Batman, doesn't that add some level of stink to it? There's a Hollywood Rolodex of movies that have a level of stink to them before they were release. Not all were bad.
Nowadays, I don't judge what to watch based on the stink associated before release. It's on what interests me. Avoiding ASM2 had nothing to do with the pre-release stench, but my lack of interest.
M
The Keaton casting was just premature fan grumbling, as soon as the first teaser played in theaters, the buzz was very enthusiastic.
Most of the films on this list had trailers that screamed "BAD MOVIE!!!" and many had months of rumors of production troubles.
Just like does anyone think a Gambit solo movie will good? I suspect very soon that Gambit movie will be added to this list.
That is how desperate Fox has become to have a movie universe that there making a Gambit solo movie. Because Gambit is just known for all his amazing solo stories and adventures said no one ever.
I had no doubt that Catwoman movie would stink.
There is a banner up on Marvel Unlimited that says "The Best of Ant-Man!" And, while I haven't clicked through, I am guessing that is not going to be too long of a tail.
(I was talking about Ant Man, though. But, still, I agree about those Catwoman books.)