Comic Book Films: Love 'em Or Hate 'em?

[Joey Fuckup]

Wanted to start up this discussion because there has been so many to hit the big screens, and I was curious on what your thoughts were on certain ones. Some you may love, some you may hate, what you would have done differently if you were the director. As a comic book fan from the '70's and early '80's, I must admit I really have liked many of them because it is interesting to see these characters brought to life. Even if I wasn't necessarily into some of the series, it was cool to see the adaptations. But not all were "amazing", and instead of me going down the list of all the ones I didn't like or really dug, I'd rather see what you guys think and comment on that...As of this posting, I read two reviews for "Green Lantern", and they both were bad. That's not going to stop me from going to see it, because hell, I have loved movies that critics hated! The last comic book film I saw was "Thor", and I did like it. Of course, I liked Thor comics as a kid, so I liked the way his history translated over into celluloid. Which brings up another question-If you liked a particular superhero, did it annoy you if the screenwriters decided to change their origin? Or was it a good idea? And are you more partial to Marvel or DC? Plus, I'd rather keep this discussion grounded in comic book films from the '90's to the present, and leave the '80's and before behind. (Yes, I know you all loved "Howard the Duck", I mean, who didn't? Ha ha) And I'd also like to keep TV series out of this as well (Although if you're making a point about a film and need to reference a series, go for it.)

[James Demby]

As a long time comic book reader and fan, I think most film adaptations of comics miss the mark for me.  The biggest reason is that being a comic book geek, I know too much about characters, the story and the comics universe.  In order for Hollywood to make a film based on a comic book character, lots modifications and compromises have to be made to find the "least common denominator" for Joe Average moviegoer.  This also happens to classic fantasy/scifi characters like Conan, Tarzan and John Carter.

That said, I did enjoy Sam Raimi's Spiderman trilogy and I really thought the Avengers was great.

[Rockin Rod Strychnine]

Then there's the "why bother when it hasn't been that long ago" argument such as the newest Spider-Man.  They are changing so much that I get the feeling that it's not the same at all, which is kind of what the creators are going for but why so soon?  Because Sony(?) will lose their license on the character in a few more years and not get to renew if they don't jump on it now.

[Joey Fuckup]

Exactly, Rod, Sony took a gamble while they still had the license on Spiderman. With Sam Raimi (then Toby McGuire) aborting a fourth film, someone at Sony/Columbia figured they could re-boot the character since Marvel was doing that anyway. Their dice-rolling has paid off, though, because Marvel has been very impressed with what they've seen on "The Amazing Spiderman", and like I mentioned earlier, a sequel and a Venom film is already being planned. And Avi Arad hasn't ruled out a possibility of having Spiderman crossing over somehow into the Avengers franchise...

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Then there's the "why bother when it hasn't been that long ago" argument such as the newest Spider-Man.  They are changing so much that I get the feeling that it's not the same at all, which is kind of what the creators are going for but why so soon?  Because Sony(?) will lose their license on the character in a few more years and not get to renew if they don't jump on it now.

[Rockin Rod Strychnine]

An Avengers tie-in might be a bit trickier than what they think they can do since almost all pre-Iron Man movies are licensed by someone else. Well Spiderman and the X-Men anyway.  Fantastic Four might have gone back to Marvel Productions  since THE RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER didn't too well at the box office.  The second Hulk movie was done by Marvel since the first one had a low box office performance as well.

I wonder how they are going to tell the Venomm story this time about since the Sam Raimi version was told so poorly.

[Joey Fuckup]

Not sure on the Venom film, but apparently Marvel likes what has been put on paper. And sadly, yes, anything "pre-Iron Man" is no longer "canon" in the NEW "Marvel FILM Universe". And other characters that continue to get films made (X-Men, Punisher, Ghost Rider) apparently don't fall in with what they're doing with what they want to happen in future films, and that's have crossovers. One character they have hinted at popping up in future projects is the Hulk. Mark Ruffalo has signed a 6-picture deal to somehow place himself in many of these projected ventures, but I don't think it has anything to do with the planned TV series that filmmaker Del Toro (Hellboy films, "Blade 2") has been attached to. According to Stan Lee, ABC has greenlit that series, but it won't have anything to do with the Avengers.

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

An Avengers tie-in might be a bit trickier than what they think they can do since almost all pre-Iron Man movies are licensed by someone else. Well Spiderman and the X-Men anyway.  Fantastic Four might have gone back to Marvel Productions  since THE RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER didn't too well at the box office.  The second Hulk movie was done by Marvel since the first one had a low box office performance as well.

I wonder how they are going to tell the Venomm story this time about since the Sam Raimi version was told so poorly.

[John Battles]

I was'nt aware of that earlier Spirit TV movie , and did'nt bother with the recent movie. I think The Spirit would have been a great Film Noir with a hint of surrealism , but , only if made in the 50's or early 60's. I feel like it's too late to get it right , now. But , it's NOT too late for Lloyd Lewellyn.

Highly recommended is the Donald Glut "I Was a Teenage Movie Maker " 2 DVD set , WHICH COMPILES ALL HIS 50's JD/Horror films and his 60's Superhero FILMS. One , "The Adventures of The Spirit", in serial format ,  features the title hero , aided by Superman , Captain Anmerica , The Green Hornet and others against monsters like The Wolf Man and Frankenstein's Monster , played , for the very last time , by Glenn Strange.
 Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Being on a budget during the 80s, I didn't buy Watchmen comics so I didn't see that movie.  I also skipped out on the Spirit as it looked too much like Frank Miller wanted it to be the same visual style he had for Sin City.  I preferred Will Eisner's comic.  There was a very corny 90's TV movie for the Spirit and watched that.  Kind of fun but still not as funny as Will Eisner's comic.

[John Battles]

Yes , and I had a chance to buy a VHS copy , and I did'nt. I saw it when my family first got cable , in the early 80's. There was also a one - shot "Archie" pilot in the 70's that did'nt get picked up , as well as a short - lived TV version in the 50's. I do have teh one you're talking about.....It may have worked better if Archie and his friends had some REAL problems , years later.....That did'nt help "Leave it To Beaver's " spinoff shows , though....
 
Joey Fuckup said:

I have never heard of this, nor seen anything remotely similar. The only "live action" Archie film I've seen was a really bad "reunion" TV movie of the gang, being older, and just being boring. Maybe the filmmakers did get sued, and that's why it's such an obscurity now?

John Battles said:

DID ANYBODY EVER SEE THE UNAUTHORIZED , R-RATED VERSION OF "ARCHIE" ? I'm not kidding. It was called "Hot Times" , and it used to air on cable , sometimes , in The 80's. It was made around '73. It was basically about Archie and the gang in sexual situations. They were all called by the same names as in the comics , except I think Jughead was called "Mughead".

I don't know how the people who did it did'nt get sued out of existense.

[John Battles]

I'm partial to the Turkish moviews , taking great liberties with licensed characters (Because Turkey is immune to copyright laws.). The best known is "3 Dev Adam" or "Three Mighty Men", in which Captain America and Santo meet up in Istanbul to fight the evil , brutally sadistic druglord , SPIDERMAN. Some of their superheroes look like ours , in collage form. There's one who looks like a cross between Superman and The Phantom. I have one , it's a serial based on the Italian super-villain , Kriminal/Killing. It's actually well made , lots of action. I don't have a lot of their comic book films , but there were several , as well as a Star Trek , Star Wars , Exorcist and even The Wizard of Oz.....all of which must be seen to be believed. They even did a remake of "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein".

[Joey Fuckup]

I always get a chuckle off Italy's "Spiderman" spoof, although I don't think I've ever gotten to the full, true story behind it. I read that this was filmed back in '62, though that doesn't seem likely. I've also read that the actor that played the title character died shortly after filming it. Here is the trailer for this goofy project, and you should be able to view the entire film (in sections) on You Tube:

John Battles said:

I'm partial to the Turkish moviews , taking great liberties with licensed characters (Because Turkey is immune to copyright laws.). The best known is "3 Dev Adam" or "Three Mighty Men", in which Captain America and Santo meet up in Istanbul to fight the evil , brutally sadistic druglord , SPIDERMAN. Some of their superheroes look like ours , in collage form. There's one who looks like a cross between Superman and The Phantom. I have one , it's a serial based on the Italian super-villain , Kriminal/Killing. It's actually well made , lots of action. I don't have a lot of their comic book films , but there were several , as well as a Star Trek , Star Wars , Exorcist and even The Wizard of Oz.....all of which must be seen to be believed. They even did a remake of "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein".

[Rockin Rod Strychnine]

I didn't look it up but it's more likely 1982 judging by the film "quality" and the woman at the beginning.  The guys make it a little less obvious on what year it might be, but this is Italy we're talking about.
 
Joey Fuckup said:

I always get a chuckle off Italy's "Spiderman" spoof, although I don't think I've ever gotten to the full, true story behind it. I read that this was filmed back in '62, though that doesn't seem likely. I've also read that the actor that played the title character died shortly after filming it. Here is the trailer for this goofy project, and you should be able to view the entire film (in sections) on You Tube:

John Battles said:

I'm partial to the Turkish moviews , taking great liberties with licensed characters (Because Turkey is immune to copyright laws.). The best known is "3 Dev Adam" or "Three Mighty Men", in which Captain America and Santo meet up in Istanbul to fight the evil , brutally sadistic druglord , SPIDERMAN. Some of their superheroes look like ours , in collage form. There's one who looks like a cross between Superman and The Phantom. I have one , it's a serial based on the Italian super-villain , Kriminal/Killing. It's actually well made , lots of action. I don't have a lot of their comic book films , but there were several , as well as a Star Trek , Star Wars , Exorcist and even The Wizard of Oz.....all of which must be seen to be believed. They even did a remake of "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein".

[John Battles]

That's pretty funny. I saw this trailer , once , years ago. The villain on the motorcycle , that's the same mask worn by the famous Mexican Wrestler , Mascara Sagrada , and his much cooler dwarf counterpart , Mascarita Sagrada (Who can be seen in "Nacho Libre".). There's another unauthorized Spiderman film , I think , from Japan.

[Joey Fuckup]

Yeah, without a doubt, it's definately NOT an early '60's production. What I read about this project seems to have a fictional "bio" behind it all, but why, who knows? Just kind of silly to throw around false info...

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

I didn't look it up but it's more likely 1982 judging by the film "quality" and the woman at the beginning.  The guys make it a little less obvious on what year it might be, but this is Italy we're talking about.
 
Joey Fuckup said:

I always get a chuckle off Italy's "Spiderman" spoof, although I don't think I've ever gotten to the full, true story behind it. I read that this was filmed back in '62, though that doesn't seem likely. I've also read that the actor that played the title character died shortly after filming it. Here is the trailer for this goofy project, and you should be able to view the entire film (in sections) on You Tube:

John Battles said:

I'm partial to the Turkish moviews , taking great liberties with licensed characters (Because Turkey is immune to copyright laws.). The best known is "3 Dev Adam" or "Three Mighty Men", in which Captain America and Santo meet up in Istanbul to fight the evil , brutally sadistic druglord , SPIDERMAN. Some of their superheroes look like ours , in collage form. There's one who looks like a cross between Superman and The Phantom. I have one , it's a serial based on the Italian super-villain , Kriminal/Killing. It's actually well made , lots of action. I don't have a lot of their comic book films , but there were several , as well as a Star Trek , Star Wars , Exorcist and even The Wizard of Oz.....all of which must be seen to be believed. They even did a remake of "Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein".