DISQUS

Cole_Abaius · 6 months ago

Of course it's not the fault of expectations. It's ridiculous to believe that all comic films are going to be of a TDK caliber, but it's reasonable to expect a decent film with so much great source material.

Come to think of it, why would we go into any film expecting it to be bad? I would hope that any story that's presented would at least be presented decently. Wolverine was just plain bad. Awful story - choppy and boring. Wolverine was a boring character somehow. The dialog was all exposition and no action. I could go on, but damn did they mess it up.

Just as it's silly to expect genius work every time, it's also pointless to expect terrible quality every time.

And some blame should go to comic companies and the studios - a lot of characters just aren't meant for the screen.

ThinkHero · 6 months ago

Yeah, every comic book movie doesn't have to be a masterpiece. But try just telling a story instead of trying to cram as many cameos into a movie so you can either sell more toys or setup spinoff movies.

Since Wolverine made so much money, this will likely remain unchanged.

Dennis

Kyle · 6 months ago

Wolverine felt like Elektra.

Cookie_Garris · 6 months ago

Gambit didn't even have a Cajun accent! Enough said.

Josh_Radde · 6 months ago

You quoted Five for Fighting in your column.

You and I are done professionally, man.

Josh_Radde · 6 months ago

Also "Were any of the X-Men films truly exceptional now that we have had time to digest them?" Yes. X2 remains f*cking brilliant. Still the most entertaining superhero movie with a good plot and character development to boot.

Adam_Sweeney · 6 months ago

X2 was brilliant AND the most entertaining superhero movie to boot? Josh, has Swine Flu spread to Chicago? NO WAY.

d0x · 6 months ago

**SPOILERS IN LAST 2 PARAGRAPHS!!***

The problem with a movie like Wolverine (which I actually enjoyed) is they rewrite the origin story to make it easier to swallow for the masses. Wolverines real origin story would make an amazing movie. Hell just the weapon x story would have been an amazing movie but Hollywood always feels the need to make up their own stories which makes fans angry cause we expect one thing and get another.

I went into this movie expecting to hate it. I know his real origin story. I know alot about the character and how he acts. I was amazed to find myself enjoying the movie despite its pg-13 rating and random events. It was a well made movie with a good story. The only real dislike I had was what they did to Deadpool at the end. I thought it was kind of a cop out of an ending that just didnt fit the movie very well despite the fact that it did have some truths to it. I dunno it was just a wierd way to finish it off.

I also didnt like Gambit. He shouldnt have been in the movie at all. First off he's younger than Cyclops in the comics but in the movie he's gotta be at least 5-10 years older. Second the guy playing him did a terrible job and third it just didnt feel like Gambit at all. I also wasnt a big fan of having Cyclops in the movie. It didnt make sense for him to be there and I understand they wanted to tie him and Professor X into the whole story but they could have gotten Xavier in without Cyclops.

Lastly wtf is with Wolverine being shot in the head with Adamantium bullets? If that were the case he would permanently have holes in his skull. That aside the bullets shouldnt have gone through anyways because we have seen Wolverine fight plenty of people with Adamantium and how claws cannot cut them so having a bullet be able to break through is nonsense Hollywood and you should be ashamed of the lame way you setup his memory loss!

Jack Nicholson · 6 months ago

Of course we should lower our expectations. Why? The comic book fanboys. Most can't tell the difference between good and bad movies, or why it would be a bad idea to translate certain things to the silver screeb (i.e. Wolverine's yellow suit).

Go check out the SuperHeroHype message boards sometime. "Make a Namor the Submariner movie!". These are the same idiots who bitched and cried until Sam Raimi was forced to put Venom in what would have otherwise been a decent flick.

They are also the reason Marvel felt they had to reboot Hulk. Hulk was a brilliant movie, and if you didn't like it than you are the reason I didn't get a sequel. Eat a fat one.

The Dark Knight is good because Chris Nolan knows how to make a good movie, not a word for word adaptation of your precious twelve issue arc of Superfriends. If these Fanboys have it their way, they will destroy any hopes of comic book to film legitimacy.

djjeffhall · 6 months ago

Adam - You mention 10-15 films that you can watch over and over, and you make a gret point. (I think my list would be far shorter.)

Ultimately I want a good film first and a good superhero film on top of that.

By the way, what would your entire list consist of?

Adam_Sweeney · 6 months ago

Hey Jeff, thanks for the reply. Hmm, the list would probably consist of:

The Dark Knight
Superman II
Spiderman 2
Iron Man
V for Vendetta
The Incredible Hulk
Sin City
Oldboy
Ghost World
Road to Perdition
Hellboy
Persepolis
Batman Begins
The Crow
Then either Ghost in the Shell, Akira and Tim Burton's Batman, so more than 15 maybe, but it definitely is a small amount in comparison to other genres.

Adam_Sweeney · 6 months ago

I'm not saying that we should expect crap. I am saying that we have to be realistic about what we're going to get. Anybody who wanted to see a balls out Wolverin origin story, like the one they got in the comics, was going to be let down. So we do set ourselves up for a letdown sometimes.

djjeffhall · 6 months ago

Adam,
Great list. I plum forgot that The Crow and Road To Perdition began life as comics, despite having purchased both as comics before I saw the movies. <heh>

In fact, I was a big fan of both James O'Barr's and Max Allen Collins as writers. If the writing it good, and it's translated into a good script, it can be a great film.

I noticed that you did not include either of the first two X-Men films, which would have made my list. Off the top of my head:

The Dark Knight
Iron Man
Batman Begins
X-Men
X-Men II
The Crow
Road To Perdition
V For Vendetta
Ghost World (Another one I forgot started as a comic. Boy, you really thought out your list. Kudos.)

The one I'm really looking forward to in a few years is Rex Mundi. I've been reading the comic (almost) since the beginning. Johnny Depp is working on the new one so my expectations are sky high.

Wade · 6 months ago

"Were any of the X-Men films truly exceptional now that we have had time to digest them? I’m not so sure."

Are you high? X2 is the best comic book movie ever made.