Yep. When It Comes To Comicbook Movies ....

661   6.9   7.3 

No matter what anyone says, this is the original gangsta of superheroes. So it is only fitting that the last son of Krypton's big-budget movie debut should turn out to be the one that all others must be measured by. And while I know that this movie does have it's dated flaws, it was, just like the character whom it portrayed, the one that started on the idea of how epic the concept of a superhero could truly be.


"Uh, no, no thanks. I never drink when I fly."

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

2530   6.9   7.7 

In this follow-up to ol' Webhead's mega-successful intro into the silver screen, Peter Parker roughs thru his dilemas with the same down-to-earth fustrations as in the comicbooks, his relationship with Mary Jane convincingly reaches it's next level, & Doc Ock is portrayed much better as a villian than he ever was on the printed age.
The most I could've hoped for this sequel was that it be at least half as good as it's predessor.
Instead, Spidey-2 turned out to become one of my favorite movie adaptations of a comicbook superhero ever.
Which I guess I should've anticipated since before I entered the theatre, my spider-senses didn't go off, all atingling an' sh*t.


"I wanna tell you the truth... here it is: I'm Spider-Man. Weird, huh? Now you know why I can't be with you. If my enemies found out about you... if you got hurt, I could never forgive myself."

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

1652   8.5   8.9 

Considering that it seems like everyone & their grandma went out to go see this, do I really need to explain why this one kix so much ass...?
Gotham City is falling apart, Bruce Wayne is becoming more distant, chaotic vigilantism is growing more rampant & on top of it all, there's some crazy make-up wearing Joker out there taking advantage of it all.
Heath Ledger in a final performance that marks a high point in his all too short career.


"You'll hunt me. You'll condemn me. Set the dogs on me. Because that's what needs to happen. Because sometimes...the truth isn't good enough. Sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded."

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

923   6.5   6.9 

A very insignificant character in the Marvel universe is transformed on the big-screen into a sword-welding, bad-@ss with the fighting skillz that Batman only wishes he possessed. The fight scenes in this movie are a true stand-out for any kind of action movie. Yo, and the story & visuals supercede any comicbook that Blade was ever involved in.
Now this is how all comicbook superhero film adaptations should be approached.



(BTW, even tho as a comicbook movie, I have Blade ranked at #5, as a vampire character, Blade definitely rates as #1.
So, for any vampires out there reading this, I don't care what your position is in the bloodsuckers' heiarchy, Blade would still kick all yo' asses.
Suckas.)


"You better wake up. The world you live in is just a sugar-coated topping. There is another world beneath it - the real world. And if you want to survive it, you better LEARN TO PULL THE TRIGGER!"

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

659   7.5   7.8 

Now, even though as a comicbook nerd, I own the graphic novel, I haven't read Watchmen in years, And it was only about twice that I picked up the book,
so I don't remember it clearly.
Which I think was an advantage, because since I can't really recall what would be the parts that didn't make it into the film, for me, the story felt incredibly full & tight. Since the concept of the Watchmen was alot more intelligent than the time-constraints of the film allowed it to be, for me personally, the movie felt alot like the kind that Marvel were putting out when they first started to "grow up" with runs like the Claremont/Byrne era of X-Men or Frank Miller's Daredevil (before the company sold out & reverted drastically to the immature stories of the 90's).
I really enjoyed the way this movie panned out, & from what I remember in the graphic novel, I definitely think that the film's version of the ending fit in perfectly within the context of the media in which it was told.
Really good stuff that I really found myself enjoying alot more than I expected when I first walked in.


"Give me smallest finger on man's hand. I'll produce information. Computer unnecessary."

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

430   6.2   6.7 

Okay, after his intro in the first movie, Supes finally gets to take the kid gloves off, kick some real @ss & take names. Three rogue Kryptonians come to Earth to reveal to the Last Son of Krypton that he's not exactly the last son of Krypton. And though this isn't as good as the first one, it's still pretty soild for a sequel, especially back when good sequels were rarer than last sons of Krypton.
Even the infamous out-of-left-field "wtf" moment when Supes pulls off a big plastic-wrap S insignia off his chest during the climatic battle is negated by the strength of the Lois Lane/Clark Kent romance subplot.
Yo, Ka-El, with great power not only comes great responsibility, but also, great sacrifice too.


"I expect better manners from my guests, Zod."

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

2431   7.5   8.3 

While Tim Burton's was the first to finally introduce the down to earth grittiness that revealed Batman as the real badass that we who read his comics knew that he really was, there was still a certain flamboyancy ( as is in all of Burton's films) that allowed those filmmakers whose followed in this franchise after Burton, to systematically bring the Caped Crusader down almost to the level of Adam West doing the bat-toosie.
This reboot came along & completely eliminated the almost unrepairable bat-damage still lingering in the minds of general movie-goers.
I remember sitting thru the first scene of this film & thinking to myself that it was hard to believe that what I was watching was actually a superhero movie. I can even overlook the fact that the Bat-Mobile was now more of a massively unbatlike tank/dune-buggy hybrid than it was an actual sleek yet indestructible @ss-kicking ride that all we average joe mortal-types like to fantasize about owning.


"I'm Batman."

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

2495   7.6   8.2 

A dystopian british nation must be saved by the tyrannical totalitarian government under which it has become subjected to since a recent nuclear war that has left much of the Earth crippled. And who will act as the people's modern/futuristic Robin Hood, to inspire hope within the masses of a spiritually tattered land of The United kingdom? In this case, it will be the mask vigilante known as "V". And so confident is this anarchist avenger of the masses, that he requires naught but swords to combat gunplay, a name no longer than that of a single letter, and a mask based not on of fear, but one based instead on a visage of a happy but rebellious historical figure.
Alan Moore's storytelling is just so rich in detail, atmosphere & concepts, that it can almost seem impossible to capture even just a sliver of it's essence onto a film adaptation. Therefor, even though this movie quite obviously cannot compare to the comicbook series, just the fact that it was able to retain anything at all from Mr. Moore's work to any kind of degree of consistency to the story
(which, IMO, is the only movie to do so far) is enough to mark it as a success for me.


"Who? Who is but the form following the function of what, and what I am is a man in a mask."

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

987   7.6   8 

A much more cohesive origin story than Spidey's first go-at-it. The problem with the first film of any superhero flick is to be able to show enough of a detailed origin while still leaving enough room in the film for a transition of the character learning to deal with his/her powers & then some kind climatic confrontation with some sort of antagonist figure. I found this movie to be much better paced than other initial efforts of Marvel properties like the Hulk or Spiderman, with a much more naturalness to the characters, as evidenced by Downey Jr's humor & the comfortable chemistry between he, Gweneth Paltrow & Terence Howard.


"Iron Man? That's kinda catchy. Not technically accurate, since it's a gold titanium alloy, but…"

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

1825   6.9   7.6 

Just for the fact that Burton's version was the first serious effort outside of the comicbook to try & depict The Caped Crusader as a true Dark Knight of justice.
Okay, so maybe, the latest incarnations of the Batman have sort of watered down the impact of the Caped Crusader's modern film debut.
And maybe, Jack Nicholson, for the role of the Joker, was a little too old, not to mention, not exactly in the kind of shape that one would expect for a Clown-Prince of Crime.
But in the same manner of Marlon Brando in Superman's 1st big budget blockbuster, Nicholson also brings a certain class & credibility to a movie based off a comicbook. And just as in Clean & Sober, Michael Keaton shows that he can provide the kind of weight that is needed for more "non-humorous" roles.


"Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight? I always ask that of all my prey. I just like the sound of it."

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

3075   6.9   7.4 

Marvel's initial effort at trying to do what Burton did with the Batman: Introduce the webhead as a serious legitimate property for film.
One of the things that usually bugs (pun unintentional) me about comicbook based movies is that the changes made in the character's universe for the sake of the film are usually so off, that it oft-times it strays away too far from the character's unique feel that helped to separate it from that of other superheroes.
Spider-Man's debut featured adaptations in the wallcrawler's world that showed that not only did Sam Raimi & crew understand the character's premise, but also, respected it as well.


"Whatever life holds in store for me, I will never forget these words: 'With great power, comes great responsibility.' This is my gift. My curse. Who am I? I'm Spider-Man!"

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

481   6.3   7.2 

Even though I agree with the general consensus that this is the better flick, I'm not surprised that this movie only fared as well at the box office as the Ang Lee's.
The Hulk always seemed to me to be a superheroic Frankenstein's monster (or maybe a more diminutive King Kong?). Therefore, it's theme has been basically the same as we've seen many times before, with no real difference in respect to a unique emotional angle. In both versions, the effort to be able to create a character that the audience could connect to never was successfully established. Or at least, established to a degree that could hold that audience during the inevitable "battle-royale". Personally, I was able to crossover a bit more just because as a comicbook nerd, I already had a nostalgic connection to this character (the Incredible Hulk was one of my favorite comicbooks as a kid). But as everyone knows, a comicbook geek is not very representative of the every-man.

[Speaking Portuguese badly] "Don't make me hungry. You wouldn't like me when I'm hungry." (Pause, then in English) "Wait, that's not right."

2278   6.2   6.6 

I was a fan of the Mask back when hardly anyone knew anything about the comicbook.
So for me, it was kind of surprising when I heard that a movie about this character was going to be released.
Now, since superhero movies were just starting to finally prove to be able to generate attendance from the general public, I knew that there was no way they were going to be able to translate the dark humor & the violent tone of the comic for the silver screen, so I just assumed that out of necessity, Hollywood was just to completely re-invent the character, and Hollywood being Hollywood, would just completely eff it up.
However, they somehow were able to make this reinvention work for the medium of a live action movie. Not perfectly, mind you, but with the bizarre ingredients that were required for the basis of this weird, reality-altering anti-hero, it came off pretty well & pretty consistent. While the Mask doesn't hold the weight of any of its comicbook colleagues of this genre, it held it's own enough to be succesful at the box office & not spawn the ire of nerds like me who, especially at the time, just wanted to see these kinds of films earn a little more respect.


"It's party time. P-A-R-T-why?... Cuz I gotta!"

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

724   7.1   7.6 

One of those rare times that I like the film version of the character than the one in the comicbook.
Because in the movie, the Crow's a Goth who actually has the ability to kick your ass. Which makes the Crow the epitome of an oxymoron. Of course, I would never say that to his face.
I mean, y'know.... if I was character in the movie or somethin'.


"Tell them death is coming for them, tonight. Tell them Eric Draven sends his regards."

The Mighty Celestial's rating:

1666   7   7.8 

Damn! Lookit all those freakin' mutants!
The students of Prof. Charles Xavier's School Of Gifted Youngsters return, more grander, more powerful & more "mutantly" varied. Considering that this is a movie that needs to handle as many characters as it does, each one with an already firmly established background in the pages of the comicbook universe, it's amazing that they were able pull this project off to the extent that they did. As an example of what happens when a qualified director is allowed more freedom & more money than in the initial film. For this sequel, X definitely seems to mark the spot.


"You are a god among insects. Never let anyone tell you different."

The Mighty Celestial's rating: