Comic book movies are not necessarily superhero movies by default, but there’s some crossover. Here, a film is being considered as a comic book movie even if its source material is an isolated graphic novel, a graphic novel limited series, or even a manga. If the original narrative, on page, featured artwork and speech bubbles in various panels you’re supposed to read in order, then it can be considered a comic book movie here.
These films aren’t necessarily the greatest comic book movies of all time, though some are. Instead, they’re here because they’re the comic book films with the best screenplays, making them potentially good movies to highlight if you find yourself at odds with someone who says comic book movies can’t be considered good/proper cinema, for whatever reason.
10
‘Scott Pilgrim vs. the World’ (2010)
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World handles its high-concept premise remarkably well, because it’s a heightened and action-heavy rom-com (of sorts) that involves the titular character battling various ex-partners of the girl he’s in love with. The whole thing is bombastic in how it looks and feels, so there’s a good deal more to it than just the screenplay, but that screenplay is vital nonetheless.
Edgar Wright directed the film and co-wrote the screenplay with Michael Bacall (interestingly, the only other time Wright wrote and directed a movie based on pre-existing source material, The Running Man, he also teamed with Bacall to write it, though that wasn’t as impressively written a movie as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World). Anyway, it’s a good time all around, and does a particularly impressive job of feeling like a comic book brought to life on the big screen.
9
‘Superman’ (1978)
There were sort of Superman movies before the 1978 Superman movie, but none done on such a scale, and none quite doing the character quite as much justice. So, Superman and the Mole Men does have to be acknowledged. And there are other non-Superman movies that came before 1978, so this wasn’t the first superhero film or anything, but it might well have been the first great one.
Nowadays, it might not feel as special, because Superman (1978) is a pretty straightforward origin story for its titular character, and the plot here eventually sees him facing off against his most frequently recurring villain (and arch-nemesis), Lex Luthor. But this one did it so early, and also so effortlessly, paving the way for countless great superhero movies to come, seeing as it got so many of the basics right, making it inevitably influential.
8
‘Road to Perdition’ (2002)
It’s a gangster movie, rather than a superhero one, but Road to Perdition can still count itself as a comic book movie, seeing as the source material was a DC Comics graphic novel series. It’s a bit like A History of Violence, in that regard, which is another gritty crime film that originated from a graphic novel (and consider that an honorable mention).
With Road to Perdition, the plot concerns a hit man having to go on the run in an attempt to protect his son, all because said son witnesses a killing, and therefore becomes a potential liability in the eyes of some. It stands out for how it looks, and for having an against-type performance done by Tom Hanks, but the writing here shouldn’t go unnoticed (though that’s what happened with the Academy Awards, with Road to Perdition being nominated in six non-writing categories).
7
‘Blue Is the Warmest Color’ (2013)
Like Road to Perdition, Blue Is the Warmest Color is one of those non-superhero comic book movies, with the source material here being a single graphic novel that’s quite short, considering the film adaptation really isn’t short. Blue Is the Warmest Color (2013) is three hours long, and it does differ from the graphic novel in some ways, while keeping the core coming-of-age narrative and central love story.
There’s some controversy here, owing to how intensely the movie depicts many of its sex scenes, and also because of some of the behind-the-scenes stories regarding its production. Still, what the movie manages to do – in terms of storytelling – is admirable, since a good deal of time is covered and so much of Blue Is the Warmest Color does feel raw, regarding what it’s tackling thematically and emotionally. Of all the romance films with epic runtimes out there, it’s one of the very best.
6
‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ (2014)
The thing about the first Guardians of the Galaxy that’s kind of easy to forget about, nowadays, is the notion that very few people knew about these characters before 2014. Like, before Superman, Spider-Man, and Batman had successful blockbusters made about them, it’s safe to assume that most people still knew about those characters, with the characters of Guardians of the Galaxy plucked from relative obscurity, in comparison.
They did indeed become beloved characters on a massive scale, thanks mostly to this original movie featuring them (though there are definitely good things that can be said about the sequels, too). James Gunn directed and co-wrote (alongside Nicole Perlman) the film, and it ended up making him more popular and recognizable a name as well. It’s an overall great underdog sort of comic book movie, and blends humor, heart, and all the other emotions you’d want to see in a large-scale blockbuster together incredibly well.
5
‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ (2018)
2018 was a big year for ambitious Marvel movies, since Black Panther was an overall compelling and well-received film, and then Avengers: Infinity War proved to be the biggest crossover in a live-action comic book movie up until that point. The most well-written Marvel movie of that year, though, might well have been Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, which did unexpected and entertaining things as both an origin story and a movie about the multiverse.
Now, origin stories were getting kind of tiring in the years leading up to Into the Spider-Verse, and then in the years after, multiverse-related stuff also got a bit exhausting. But this movie sublimely tackles those two things, and proves incredibly exciting, creative, funny, and also surprisingly emotional, by the end of it all. It’s a super superhero movie, and perhaps even the best animated one of all time.
4
‘Logan’ (2017)
Like a certain Batman movie from 2008 that’ll get mentioned in a bit, Logan does a remarkable job at taking its central hero more seriously than ever before. That hero is the titular character (AKA Wolverine), and he’s shown to be struggling – and possibly slowly dying – in a dystopian world where mutants have been seemingly dying out Children of Men-style, though Logan finds himself possibly able to help some children who do end up having mutant abilities.
It’s all somber and a good deal darker than the X-Men movies that came before it, functioning as a perfect send-off to that world, even if it’s been kept going, to some extent, with the X-Men joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Anyway, Logan still feels powerful for what it is, even if it doesn’t feel like quite as much of a finale anymore. What it’s going for can still be admired, and it’s notable for being the first live-action superhero movie to ever earn a Screenplay nomination at the Academy Awards.
3
‘Oldboy’ (2003)
Oldboy is being counted here as a comic book movie because it was based on a manga of (almost) the same name: Old Boy. Both are about a man being released from an imprisonment he never understood after many years, going off on a rampage of sorts to find out why he was kidnapped and locked up in the first place, and then to seek revenge for losing so many years of his life.
The eight volumes of the manga series were adapted incredibly well into this one film, to the point where some might even be surprised to learn that Oldboy was based on a manga.
From there, things certainly get heavy-going, but in ways that feel borderline-sinful to spoil, on the off-chance anyone reading this has yet to see Oldboy. The eight volumes of the manga series were adapted incredibly well into this one film, to the point where some might even be surprised to learn that Oldboy was based on a manga in the first place.
2
‘The Dark Knight’ (2008)
Prepare yourself for another glazing of The Dark Knight, but it is just a very good movie, screenplay included. There’s a very effective upping of the stakes from Batman Begins, with an all-time great take on the Joker, who succeeds largely because of Heath Ledger’s performance, of course, yet you can’t look past the fact that he’s also one of the best-written villains of the century so far (as far as movies go, superhero/comic book-related or otherwise).
Similarly, you can praise both the editing and the writing when it comes to appreciating how well The Dark Knight moves pacing-wise, with the screenplay standing as the best Christopher Nolan ever wrote with his brother, Jonathan… they’ve sadly not collaborated on a movie Christopher Nolan’s directed since Interstellar, with the younger Nolan sibling being kept busy working on shows like Westworld and Fallout.
1
‘Spider-Man 2’ (2004)
The first Spider-Man movie (or the first big one), from 2002, was pretty great, but Spider-Man 2 was next-level in just about every way. It was an improvement upon the original in the same way The Dark Knight improved upon its predecessor, with a good first movie leading to a pretty much perfect second one. Lots of that comes down to how Spider-Man 2 is written.
At the risk of oversimplifying things, this movie just throws an endless amount of stuff at Peter Parker, making him deal with all the difficulties of being a young adult while also having immense challenges (more expectedly) as Spider-Man. The main character is technically more experienced than he was in the first movie, but he also feels like more of an underdog, and everything he goes through here feels weirdly relatable, on top of his misfortunes being such an ample source of drama, comedy, and eventual growth, as a character. This movie really does have it all, with screenwriter Alvin Sargent (who was, quite surprisingly, 77 the year Spider-Man 2 came out) doing a great deal to make it so, well, great.
Spider-Man 2
- Release Date
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June 30, 2004
- Runtime
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127 minutes
- Director
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Sam Raimi
- Writers
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Alvin Sargent, Alfred Gough, Miles Millar, Michael Chabon
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