When you think of comic book movies, what typically comes to mind? I’d bet its Spiderman swinging around or Superman flying at incomprehensible speeds. However, there are movies out there that are based off of comic books that don’t have a connection to Marvel or DC at all! With Bloodshot coming out this weekend, we are looking back at the best comic book movies that stand alone without the massive Marvel or DC name behind them.
What was the coolest blockbuster of the summer of 2014? Was it Marvel’s big risk film in Guardians of the Galaxy? Was it the time-traveling X-Men epic in X-Men: Days of Future Past? How about the impressive sequel to the new Planet of the Apes franchise? It just might be the Groundhog Day-esque action flick starring Tom Cruise called Edge of Tomorrow. Or was it Live Die Repeat? Or maybe All You Need is Kill? Whatever the hell you want to call it, this film is a clever, thrilling, and inventive action film. Not only does Tom Cruise come to play but Emily Blunt steals the show as this badass warrior in her mech suit. The “reliving the same day” motif is done so well with inventive action sequences and clever humor peppered throughout. Cruise goes from sniveling worm to complete badass as he tears through crazy tentacled aliens with his heavy metal suit. Bill Paxton is snarky and has a wonderful quip around every corner. Blunt is commanding on scene as she owns every frame she stars in. Too bad no one went to go see it! But now that it is on home video and streaming with fifty different titles, you all should go give it a shot. (Shane Conto)
“Sin City” was notable for Robert Rodriguez resigning from the DGA when they would not allow him to share director credit with Frank Miller. Rodriguez felt Miller’s work was so impactful (indeed, they reportedly did not even use storyboards, they just cut pages from the comics out and used them as the go-by), he insisted Miller had done most of the work for him. While Zach Snyder did not have the same sort of conviction, the same process applied to bringing the bloody and gory spectacle of “300” to the screen. In fact, Snyder and his team scanned and added basic animation to the comic book to act as a proof-of-concept film for WB executives! Miller is on the record as saying he made changes from history to make “300” better visually, and Snyder has said he took further liberties after that! In the end, let’s appreciate “300” for what it is: a beautiful orchestra of scenes that should be held up as a reason for why we go to see movies! The visuals are stunning and the action, while ludicrous, entertains from start to finish. The blood never approaches “Kill Bill: Vol 1” status, but not for lack of trying. I feel this is Snyder’s best work so far. His slow motion is used wonderfully here, giving you time to really let your eyes feast on something good happening on screen. It is not as heavy handed as it seems to be in “Sucker Punch” or “Man of Steel”. The visual effects and color pallets are in a league of their own. This is a movie that you will want to watch again and again just to see what action you find in the background. (Donald Skidmore)
Kick-Ass is one of the most extreme and entertaining comic book movies to date. This story is centered around more realistic super heroes whose only super power is the bravery to put on a suit and try to fight crime. Aaron Taylor-Johnson does a great job as shy kid turned viral internet sensation Kick-Ass and you will have a blast watching Nicolas Cage dress up as a superhero and beat up mob members. Christopher Mintz-Plasse(or McLovin as the movie community knows him) is hilarious as wimpy superhero Red Mist. The true star of the show is Chloe Grace Moretz who runs away with the movie and makes her character one of your new favorite superheroes. The comic book did a great job of providing a fresh spin on a genre that is consistently done. The movie built off of this and made a superhero film that is increasingly modern and fun. (Kaleb Wolters)
Dredd is an exercise in violent beauty. That’s the best way I can describe this 2012 sci-fi action thriller. Back when Disney+’s successful series, The Mandalorian, was but a twinkle in Favreau’s eye, this was the film that had the audacity (the unmitigated gall!) to have a protagonist who’s face is obscured for the entirety of the film’s runtime, and what a fantastic decision that was! Following Karl Urban’s as he plays the title character locked in a cat and mouse game with the city’s most notorious crime lord (a pre-Cersei Lena Heady), the hour and 35 minutes it takes to tell this story are absolutely exhilarating! I also would be wrought to not mention the imagery that evokes the most carefully crafted panels in a comic book – paying heed to its bibliographic origins. The beautifully choreographed fight scenes, absolutely stunning cinematography, not to mention the weirdly wonderful and stoic performance by Urban at its centre, results in an almost perfect movie. I’m glad it’s now beginning to have some pull as it starts to be known as a cult classic in cinema circles. It’s fun, it’s crazy and it’s heart-wrenching, so really, what’s stopping you from popping it in now! (Alice-Ginevra Micheli)
Poor Ron Pearlman. Forever relegated to B and C movie status, in 2002 I heard he was going to portray the granddaddy of them all when it comes to underground/unappreciated/ cult status comic books: HellBoy. My reaction was “Pearlman? The big guy from Blade II and… that crappy police academy movie to Moscow?” Never mind the fact that by now he has over 250 credits to his name on IMDB, his name simply did not bring anything to my movie radar in the early 2000s. Just goes to show you, when you take one pet project that you believe in and when all the cards line up, the comic world goes from “Who?” to “Who the F is dumb enough to think anyone BUT Ron Pearlman can play Hellboy!?!” On the surface, the production values are great, with practical effects and props used at all possible times to add to the sense of realism. Full transparency, I have yet to read a Hellboy comic, so I cannot judge faithfulness to source material. But for this movie, I think it comes down to what all great stories come down to: a hero with a destiny, who decides to make their own destiny instead. (Donald Skidmore)
Tipsy Frank here ready to talk about movies like your odd uncle on Christmas Eve after one too many eggnogs. This week’s Best Ever Challenge is ummm..hold on lemme look. BEST COMIC BOOK MOVIES! Yes, I can totally phone this one in. Wait, it has to be NON MARVEL OR DC? Might as well have just said “Best Non Marvel comic book movies” and save a couple letters because DC ain’t making the list. The Mask came out in a year that was just a hell of a year for Jim Carrey (I think thats the right spelling, I dunno. Also Old Fashion’s are just the best.) That movie was so much fun as a child even though the majority of these jokes flew right over my head. Now it still cracks me up, but I’m laughing at myself for thinking that the “broken balloon” he had was just that. (Frank Kemp)
Looking back, the comic book genre has come a long way from the “boom!” “pow!” “bang!” days of the Adam West Batman television series of the 60’s. Two of the biggest contributors to that were Richard Donner’s Superman: The Movie starring Christopher Reeve and Tim Burton’s Batman starring Micheal Keaton; but to me the unsung hero of the early years of the comic book genre was The Crow: a film staring Brandon Lee as Eric Draven who’s brutally murdered along with his soon-to-be wife on the eve of Halloween by a gang of psychopathic pyromaniacs. One year later, he is revived by a magical crow who endows him with the powers of immortality and the strength of 10 men to seek out his vengeance. This is the OG gothic superhero. Brandon Lee shines in what would unfortunately be his final role due to an unfortunate accident on set. He undoubtedly would have become a mega star because the guy just oozes charisma and charm even in the darkest scenes. The visual storytelling at the time was groundbreaking and the set design and architecture are absolutely gorgeous. The soundtrack for this film also hits super hard boasting great songs like Dead Souls by Nine Inch Nails, Big Empty by Stone Temple Pilots, and of course Burn by The Cure which is now iconic to this movie. In years past they’ve tried multiple times to recapture the magic they had with the film, but so far no project has come to fruition. To me, The Crow is about as grunge as any comic book movie can ever get; it’s gothic, beautiful, and mesmerizing in a way that’s hard to articulate. In other words, this is an all-timer for me. (Ben Davis)
Scott pilgrim VS the world is easily in my top 3 favorite movies of all time. Edgar Wright is one of the best directors when it comes to using visuals and mixing them so cleverly with editing. So many movies try to make you feel like you’re watching a comic book come to life, like Ang Lee’s Hulk. But Scott Pilgrim is the only example I can think of that uses editing so cleverly to this degree. Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) is the bass player in his friends rock band, but after falling in love with the mysterious new girl Romona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), he must defeat her seven evil exes in combat for them to be together. It’s an insane premise that set’s itself aside as a one of a kind. I think everyone who is a part of this cast is immediately on board with how insane it is and that’s why it succeeds outside of just the amazing work put in by the crew. Most movies with this big of a cast can hardly fit much characterization within their runtime, but Scott Pilgrim manages to give you a lot without it feeling forced. Some of the standouts are (Chris Evans, Brie Larson, Brandon Routh, Anna Kendrick, Kieran Culkin, Ellen Wong, and Allison Pill). If this is something that you haven’t seen yet, and you love Anime, Video Games, and Comics, then the perfect film is there just waiting for you. (Alex Henderson)
Around the early 2000’s Comic Book Films were not the big budget blockbusters that they are now. They suffered critically and financially when not attached to the big two companies (Marvel and DC). Sin City (2005) however had the winning combination of elements when it came to source material, direction, cinematography and performances. Frank Miller placed trust in up and coming director, Robert Rodriguez to bring his seedy world to life. Luckily, Miller’s faith was not misplaced into Rodriguez’s capabilities to adapt his source material. Rodriguez has been known to be someone who is incredibly easy to collaborate with and was a huge fan of Miller and his catalog of work. The overall story for Sin City is a set of what looks like disjointed stories that all take place in the corrupt, dark and dreary world of Basin City (More well known as Sin City) that slowly start to overlap and intersect. Sin City is an homage to old pulp novels as well as detective noir film tropes. Within these stories there is an ensemble cast that consists of up and coming actors, established performers and actors of past era’s. The cast consists of Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Mickey Rourke, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Clive Owen, Powers Boothe, Josh Hartnett, Rutger Hauer, Brittany Murphy and Jaime King. The film is composed of 3 different character’s stories in a City that is known to swallow people’s souls with it’s depravity. Each story has interesting elements that keep the viewer intrigued due to excellent dialog, performances that fit the tone of the film so well and a film adaptation that leaps straight off the pages of the comic. To this day, this movie is one of my favorite comic book films due to its unique vision and willingness to stay so close to its source material which is highly commendable. (Joseph Vargas)
Who was the man who took the Academy Awards by storm this year by raking in all the statues? That esteemed director’s name is Bong Joon Ho. But what was he doing years before his film Parasite took the film world by storm? He was creating one of the most intense and poignant post-apocalyptic films of recent memory. Snowpiercer recounts a bloody and violent tale of the worst train ride in history. The world is covered in ice, humanity is stuck on a train, and the poor live in slums in the tale. Chris Evans, Captain America himself, sports a beard and weapons to lead a deadly rebellion against the rich. The film takes turn after turn as this train ride feels more like a rollercoaster. Who pulls the strings of this awful society? Will this rebellion succeed where others have failed? Can this movie possibly ruin your day with its dark subject matter? So many great questions to ponder as you need to strap in and hold on. The action is intense, the production design is imaginative, and the performances are strong. The themes are rich and challenging as the audience looks on at this carnage while people fight for their lives. This small budgeted international film floored me back in 2013 and still resonates every time I have watched it since. Dig deeper into the world of Bong Joon Ho with this impressive film. (Shane Conto)
Honorable Mention
Kingsmen: The Secret Service
Based on the graphic novel of the same name, Kingsman: The Secret Service shows us the journey of Gary “Eggsy” Unwin being recruited and trained into a secret spy organization and joining in on a mission to take down Richmond Valentine, who brings a global threat. Kingsman is a bloody good ride, taking on espionage in a suave and comedic fashion. The film is a jacked-up James Bond with laughs, a great villain, dark humor, over the top fight scenes and enough time for an anal joke. The cast is solid, with great performances from Colin Firth, Michael Caine, Mark Strong, and a funny Samuel L. Jackson, who carried on his evilness with a lisp. A then-unknown Taron Egerton did an amazing job with his castmates as streetwise punk turned spy, Eggsy. If you’re looking for something not so 007, Kingsman is the choice for you. (Chantal Ashford)
Also See:
Timecop, The Black Mask, Men in Black, Oldboy, The Rocketeer, Accident Man, Atomic Blonde, American Splendor , Death Note 2016