I went to check out "The Wolverine" this afternoon, just on the merits of the glut of advertisement it has received lately. I definitely didn't see it on the merits of "Wolverine: Origins", because that movie sucked balls. It was the type of movie that kills franchises, and could very well make Hollywood stay away from the genre all together. Let me backtrack a bit; the first comic book I ever purchased with my own money was Uncanny X-Men #212, a chapter in "The Mutant Massacre", Wolverine's first meeting with Sabertooth. I was hooked. Wolverine is my 1a/1b/1c favorite character of all time, neck and neck with Bruce Wayne/ Batman, and he original Robin, Dick Grayson. So of course I was going to give this movie a chance.
I intentionally stayed away from reviews and spoilers for this movie, because when it was first announced, they let everybody know what storyline from the comics hey were gong to follow, which was the story of Wolverine's first visit to Japan. It's the basis of the character's character, if you will, the code he's followed since Frank Miller wrote the story arc all those years ago. It's impossible to keep a character compelling 6 movies into the game when all he does is be surly and stabby all the time, but dammit, they got it right! He's very stabby in this one, make no mistake, but they also get to the root of the man this time, showing what makes him who he is as a man, and a hero. And it shows that there was somebody more important than Jean...
It also got me to thinking, with the massive amount of current and future movies out there based on comics and graphic novels, does the average person realise how many truly great movies based on comics are out that they've seen, but had no idea what the source material was? Probably not. so I've compiled my Top Ten list of Comic Book and graphic novel based movies that you've probably seen and had no idea they were comics, or you need see if you haven't already. I'll start with the Honorable Mentions, in no particular order; RED, Weird Science (a young Iron man and Kelly Lebrock, before she got Steven Segal juice all over her, star in this cult classic), Ghostworld(young Scarlett Johannsen), From Hell(Johnny Depp before he turned into a weird, gay pirate), Howard The Duck (if you think the movie is strange, read the comic), The Mask( The only time Cameron Diaz didn't look like she wasn't fresh off of making a gangbang video), Wanted (the principal characters in the book looked exactly like Halle Berry and Eminem, but the producers couldn't afford them),Kick-Ass( Dave Lizewski, the title characters name in the film, is an actual person who won an auction to have his name in the book), and Cowboys and Aliens(the comic was so terrible, when it was first published, stores actually gave it away to customers).
And here's my list, in descending order;
10. Blade:
This one I'm kinda on the fence about the fact that people don't realise it's based on a comic book. I mean, the it's pretty obvious from the opening scene in the underground vampire-disco blood bath, that this wasn't your usual action movie fare. It's campy as hell, and the acting is less than stellar, but the movie's use of bullet time and wire fights was groundbreaking, and predated The Matrix by a year. It also showed Marvel that they actually could have some success with characters who weren't household names on the big screen, and laid the groundwork for the X-Men franchise. Fun fact; in the comics, Blade was modeled after NFL Hall of Famer, Jim Brown, and he was born to his mother in the London whorehouse where she "worked".
9.Men In Black:
This one I'm positive nobody knows was based on a comic book, because comic book fans didn't even know! It had a small release when it was first published by Aircel Comics, and Will Smith's character was actually white. But its' a stop what I'm doing and watch kinda movie too me, just because it so damn imaginative. At the time of the movie's release, Marvel Comics had obtained it's rights from it's original publishers, and used the profits from it to bankroll a little indie film called Spider-Man...
8:Timecop
Ignore the fact that this movie doesn't involve a Kumite or him kicking coconut trees and wearing strangely cut, Lycra tank tops, this is easily VanDamme's best acting job of his career. And it actually has a really decent plot.
7: Oldboy
This is the only Asian comic book based movie I included on this list, but it's a must see. Some of the mos brutal fight scenes ever committed to film. You'd be surprised at what one man can do with a hammer when he has to get out of a hallway full of thugs. or maybe you wouldn't be. It's also being adapted into an American film directed by Spike Lee and starring Josh Brolin.
6. Whiteout
A murder thriller set at one of the North or South poles somewhere , blah, blah, blah. I really don't remember much about this movie accept that it stars Kate Beckinsdale, and I would watch her clip her toenails on a movie screen for 2 hours. Based on a graphic novel by Greg Rucka.
5. Scott Pilgrim vs The World
A movie about Canadian Hipsters. I really don't like hipsters. They strike me as the sort of people who would rather talk about how dirty and annoying sex is instead of actually having dirty, annoying sex. But the minute the opening credits came on, and it was an 8-bit, Nintendo Universal Studios logo, I was hooked. The story of the nerd who sees the girl of his dreams, gets her, but has to fight through all of her baggage, including 7 evil boyfriends, strikes an emotional chord with me. And the fact that he's knows he just an asshole trying to do his best not to be, to be with the girl he loves, made me connect with the film a lot more than I thought I would.
4:A History of Violence
This was Viggo Mortensen's first, big post Lord of the Rings role, and damn was it impressive! It was one of the best "you can't hide from your past" movies I've ever seen, but you should definitely check out the graphic novel by John Wagner if you get the chance.
3.The Road to Perdition
Tom Hanks as a hitman. Best Cinematography Oscar. Best Supporting Actor nomination for Robert Redford. Daniel Craig, pre- James Bond. This isn't a movie, this is cinema. You NEED to see this movie if you haven't already. And again, pick up the graphic novel by Max Collins if you get a chance. It's an awesome read.
2. 300.
It's been quoted a million times, by a million people. And it never gets old. From "THIS! IS! SPARTA!" to, "I am not your King, I will not be gentle." to my favorite, "Return with your shield, or on it." The blue screen technique was groundbreaking, having been tested on another Frank Miller film I left off this list, Sin City. And this movie holds the strange honor of being based on a graphic novel that was based on a movie (The 300 Spartans, which suuuuuuuuuuccccccckkkkeddddd) that was based on a historical event.
1. The Crow
I still remember where I was was when I heard that Brandon Lee had died on the set of this film. He was the only son of the greatest American action star in history (Bruce was born in San Franciso), and if he had lived, I'm convinced he would have made some AMAZING films. A REALLY DARK movie about some REALLY DARK subject matter, I still get creeped out when I see Eric force the heroin out of that lady's veins. And the graphic novel, by James O'Barr, is about ten times as jaded as the movie. But the movie will forever be one of my all time favorites.
If you haven't seen any of these, please do yourself a favor, and at least put them in your Netflix queue. You won't regret it.
