The Justice League Of Superhero Movies Mar 15 '01    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet Popular Products in Movies 1776 From $8 Alias - The Complete Fifth Season From $20 The Bottom Line Done right, a superhero flick can be tons of fun. It may mean not quite sticking to the source, however. 10. Captain Marvel (Republic, 1941) Sure, it has a hokey plot and no budget whatsoever, but the practical special-effects people managed to produce some of the most convincing superhero flying sequences ever put on screen. Forget optical effects - in fact, forget stuntmen too. Star Tom Tyler was wire-flown for many of the shots. An entertaining serial that far outshone contemporary efforts such as Batman & Robin (Columbia) and Captain America. Republic had intended to do a Superman serial, but could not negotiate a deal. 9. Asterix et Obelix contre Cesar (Gaumont, 1999) I would never have thought Gerard Depardieu would make the perfect Obelix in a live action version of the French comic series, but he does. Christian Clavier, alas, is not quite as good in the role of pint-sized warrior Asterix. However, the Gaulish village set is brilliant, and it's a treat to see potion-powered Asterix sending entire Roman cohorts flying into the air (and out of their sandals) as he does in the comic. This French production followed several animated movies, and has yet to be picked up by a US distributor. A sequel is in the works. 8. Batman (20th Century Fox, 1966) There's bound to be some horror at the inclusion of this version, but it is a genuinely fun movie that keeps with the tone of the comic books at the time. Everyone plays it straight throughout (with the exception of Cesar Romero, who has an excuse for daffiness, considering he's playing the Joker), which makes for a sometimes hysterically funny movie. That dodgy looking fellow ducking in and out of the spotlight during the credits is the producer. 7. Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm (Warner Bros., 1993) An extremely solid piece of storytelling, plus a deliberate PG approach, elevate this movie above the muck. Produced and released following the success of the 1990s animated Batman series, which took a similar approach to one used by Max and Dave Fleischer on their 1940s Superman cartoons, the film features classic voice performances from Efram Zimbalist, Jr. as acerbic butler Alfred, and Mark Hamill, who provides a chilling rendition of the psychopathic Joker. 6. Superman (Paramount, 1941) Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster's costumed powerhouse was very well established by the time Paramount asked Max and Dave Fleischer to produce a series of animated Superman shorts. The Fleischers tried to avoid the job by quoting an absurdly high budget for each cartoon, only to find the Paramount brass agreeing. The result was a strikingly rendered series of cartoon stories that still stand up today - to the point of the 1990s animated series taking its visual philosophy from the Fleischer production designs. The Fleischer brothers were removed after the first nine cartoons. The remaining nine consist mainly of WWII propaganda. Three DVD releases (one compiling all 18 cartoons) provide restored versions of the cartoons. 5. The Rocketeer (Buena Vista, 1991) Simplifying the storyline of the original Dave Stevens graphic novel and doing away with the grittier elements (such as the Betty Page-lookalike girlfriend, the hero's obnoxious attitude, and most of the soap-opera) allowed director Joe Johnston to make a film that had its heart in the same place as Stevens' original inspiration: the Rocketmen serials. Bill Pullman's naive Cliff is a classic character, well supported by Jennifer Connelly, Adam Arkin, and Terry O'Quinn (who does a great Howard Hughes.) Timothy Dalton is one of the bad guys, playing Errol Flynn-like Nazi agent Neville Sinclair. It's definitely an old-fashioned good time. 4. Superman: The Movie (Warner Bros., 1978) Despite its imperfections, this remains one of the best adaptations of Superman to date, and is one of the all-time best comic-book adaptations ever. A great part of the reason for this comes down to Christopher Reeve's portrayal of both Superman and his Clark Kent alter-ego, though a great deal can be said for the film being deliberately structured as a mythological tale, at least in the beginning. Still, the fact that Reeve never once acts as though he feels silly in the costume goes a long way towards selling the film. Superman II was a solid sequel, with a handful of howlers mixed in, but there is little to be said for either Superman III or the well-intentioned Superman IV: Quest For Peace. DVD releases of the Superman movies are planned for May 2001, but extensive restoration work was needed first. Warner Bros. plans a DVD box as well as individual releases. 3. Blade (New Line, 1998) It seemed of such dubious merit at first - an adaptation of a Marvel Comics character who never could support his own title and existed essentially as part of an ensemble pitted against the Marvel version of Dracula. Given an overhaul by Wesley Snipes and director Stephen Norrington, Blade emerges as a powerhouse character in a film that takes on the vampire genre and succeeds in being compelling. The DVD edition is considered to be one of the best from New Line. Meanwhile, expectations are running high for the sequel, directed by Guillermo del Toro (who has Mike Mignola's Hellboy in the works as well) shooting now for a late 2001 release. 2. X-Men (20th Century Fox, 2000) Expectations ran high for this Marvel Comics adaptation when Bryan Singer was brought on board, and while one might have wished for even more, he and his cast delivered an excellent product that bears repeated viewing. Casting Patrick Stewart as the gentle Charles Xavier was a given, but the choice of Sir Ian McKellen to play classic villain Magneto was a masterstroke, casting choices that helped to add a little Shakespearean intensity to the production. With newcomer Hugh Jackman doing wonders as the mysterious Wolverine and Anna Paquin giving life to the tragic Rogue, audiences were wowed. Things are lining up more swiftly than expected for the sequel, and hints about Sentinels, the Beast, and more mutants are being dropped regularly. 1. Batman Returns (Warner Bros., 1992) Director Tim Burton seems to have a deep streak of childhood darkness buried inside him, and it has a tendency to surface in his work - even more so with this 1992 sequel to his 1989 blockbuster, Batman. Burton not only manages to bring out the dark, weird side of comic books here, he pulls up spectres of childhood, whether focusing on unformed Selina Kyle, soon to take a Persephonic voyage through death to rebirth as the morally unconcerned Catwoman, or on The Penguin, depicted by Burton as a Dickensian grotesque and played by Danny DeVito as a tragically monstrous child. Lost children and absent fathers abound, subtext runs rampant, Danny Elfman's score reinforces the lot with peversely childlike melodies, and Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton) is propelled out of his emotional armor. The most telling scene, however, is the last - where Batman concluded with the hero poised ready to do battle with villainy, Batman Returns concludes with a very forlorn, very adult Bruce Wayne vainly searching for the missing Catwoman. Like Charles Foster Kane, he has found the true key to himself - just too late for it to do any good. Not bad for a comic book.

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