This is a great question for discussion!  And a very timely one given all the summer releases of comic book based movies.  I'm a huge comic book fan, and I love that we now have the technology to do the effects well and make them look good on film.  Though what ultimately will make or break a comic adaptation is the acting and storytelling, just like in an actual comic it is the characters and story which makes or breaks a book as much as the art.

 

That said, I react on a case by case basis.  I adored the first 2 X-Men movies (though had some nit-picks with Magneto's characterization in the first one) and the first two Spider-Man movies.  The third of each completely lost it.  I was not too fond of the Fantastic Four flicks, or Daredevil and hated Elektra.  The Batman movies have always been fun, even if the first few weren't brilliant.  The Dark Knight Returns was utterly amazing.  They NAILED the characters, and Maggie G didn't even bother me too much.  The newest Superman was dreadful, bad casting, bad story, boring, tedious and kinda stupid.

Thor was an extremely gorgeous movie, and I enjoyed it, especially the cameos by other Avengers, but there wasn't a lot of "there" there.  That said, Thor wasn't a comic I ever read much, so I didn't have a clear point of reference.

The first Iron Man movie was glorious, and the acting was spot on, as was the story telling.  The second was not nearly as good, but it set up for The Avengers movie well.

 

I may be in the minority here, but I thoroughly loved both Sin City and Watchmen.  Yes, I know there were significant changes to Watchmen, and many purists take issue with that, and I *do* understand. but given the epic scope of the material, Hollywood did a far better job than many expected, and than they could have.  The actors nailed the characters, and overall it had the atmosphere, feel, and spirit of the book down perfectly.  Sin City was like watching the comic unfold on film, and I loved it!

 

Jonah Hex had so much potential to be good, and fun, and instead it was a wreckage.  If they had gotten Joe Lansdale to write the screenplay, and maybe lost Megan Fox, it would have made a huge difference.

 

I could probably write on about this for pages, and in tedious detail, so I'll stop now.

Yeah, that looks pretty bad...I could see that flying (no pun intended) in the '70's..

Nero said:

I'm actually refering to the live action JLA tv movie from 1997, which features lower tier team members like Atom, Flash, Green Lantern, Fire, Ice and an overweight Martian Manhunter. There's a page on Wikipedia about it that has a pic of the team that should bring you out in a cold sweat (it does me anyway). I caught it on UK tv one time, but a swift perusal of the Wiki page tells me that this film has never aired on US tv, so it's no doubt a closely guarded secret. Take a peek at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_League_of_America_(TV_film)

joey fuckup said:

Are you talking about the two movies that came out in the '70's? I saw trailers for both of them on You Tube and I think it was either Sid & Marty Krofft or Hanna Barberra that did it. If that's what you're talking about, and you loved its cheesiness, you can buy them on dvd I think.

I tried to watch "The Shadow" on the Sci-Fi Channel and just couldn't finish it.
Nero said:

Anybody seen the Justice League of America tv movie? It's fascinating in its terribleness. One film that I do remember being better than I expected it to be was The Shadow, with Alec Baldwin. Memory does play terrible tricks, though, and I saw it quite a long time ago....

I think it was.  It was mentioned in one of the comic magazines I have when a movie was first mentioned.

joey fuckup said:

Yeah, I liked the idea of webs coming from Peter's wrists, supposedly that was an idea that James Cameron came up with first when he had optioned the film first.

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

I feel the only reason that a lot of changes that are made to something like Spider-Man is that there is 40 years of history that just can't be waded through for a 2 hour movie, and the director and producer are just going to do the best they can.  If TV could spend the amounts of money that motion picture studios could, Spider-Man would work better as a series but changes are still enevitable and somehow for TV, the changes are always worse.  I think the X-Men trilogy was OK except for some plot points in the third that were kind of extreme.

 

Also I think making webs come out of Peter's wrists was an excellent idea.  I know he's a science whiz but to have every aspect of a spider except producing webs never did make sense to me.

Wow! That is pretty bad, even for 1997.  Smallville may have ventured way off from the comics but it least it didn't feel cheesy as THAT.

Nero said:

I'm actually refering to the live action JLA tv movie from 1997, which features lower tier team members like Atom, Flash, Green Lantern, Fire, Ice and an overweight Martian Manhunter. There's a page on Wikipedia about it that has a pic of the team that should bring you out in a cold sweat (it does me anyway). I caught it on UK tv one time, but a swift perusal of the Wiki page tells me that this film has never aired on US tv, so it's no doubt a closely guarded secret. Take a peek at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_League_of_America_(TV_film)

joey fuckup said:

Are you talking about the two movies that came out in the '70's? I saw trailers for both of them on You Tube and I think it was either Sid & Marty Krofft or Hanna Barberra that did it. If that's what you're talking about, and you loved its cheesiness, you can buy them on dvd I think.

I tried to watch "The Shadow" on the Sci-Fi Channel and just couldn't finish it.
Nero said:

Anybody seen the Justice League of America tv movie? It's fascinating in its terribleness. One film that I do remember being better than I expected it to be was The Shadow, with Alec Baldwin. Memory does play terrible tricks, though, and I saw it quite a long time ago....

Yeah, I liked the idea of webs coming from Peter's wrists, supposedly that was an idea that James Cameron came up with first when he had optioned the film first.

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

I feel the only reason that a lot of changes that are made to something like Spider-Man is that there is 40 years of history that just can't be waded through for a 2 hour movie, and the director and producer are just going to do the best they can.  If TV could spend the amounts of money that motion picture studios could, Spider-Man would work better as a series but changes are still enevitable and somehow for TV, the changes are always worse.  I think the X-Men trilogy was OK except for some plot points in the third that were kind of extreme.

 

Also I think making webs come out of Peter's wrists was an excellent idea.  I know he's a science whiz but to have every aspect of a spider except producing webs never did make sense to me.

I'm actually refering to the live action JLA tv movie from 1997, which features lower tier team members like Atom, Flash, Green Lantern, Fire, Ice and an overweight Martian Manhunter. There's a page on Wikipedia about it that has a pic of the team that should bring you out in a cold sweat (it does me anyway). I caught it on UK tv one time, but a swift perusal of the Wiki page tells me that this film has never aired on US tv, so it's no doubt a closely guarded secret. Take a peek at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_League_of_America_(TV_film)

joey fuckup said:

Are you talking about the two movies that came out in the '70's? I saw trailers for both of them on You Tube and I think it was either Sid & Marty Krofft or Hanna Barberra that did it. If that's what you're talking about, and you loved its cheesiness, you can buy them on dvd I think.

I tried to watch "The Shadow" on the Sci-Fi Channel and just couldn't finish it.
Nero said:

Anybody seen the Justice League of America tv movie? It's fascinating in its terribleness. One film that I do remember being better than I expected it to be was The Shadow, with Alec Baldwin. Memory does play terrible tricks, though, and I saw it quite a long time ago....

X-men First Class was donkey balls.  Don't see it.

I feel the only reason that a lot of changes that are made to something like Spider-Man is that there is 40 years of history that just can't be waded through for a 2 hour movie, and the director and producer are just going to do the best they can.  If TV could spend the amounts of money that motion picture studios could, Spider-Man would work better as a series but changes are still enevitable and somehow for TV, the changes are always worse.  I think the X-Men trilogy was OK except for some plot points in the third that were kind of extreme.

 

Also I think making webs come out of Peter's wrists was an excellent idea.  I know he's a science whiz but to have every aspect of a spider except producing webs never did make sense to me.

Wow, popular topic! I love X-Men comics, but after seeing the first movie version, I started hating comic book movies in general. These directors don't seem to care about the fans at all. Did the changes they made to Spider-Man somehow make him more interesting or better suited to film? I certainly don't think so. I'm pretty much done with them in general, though I was impressed with Kick-Ass, which I'd never heard of until the film. That was a hella fun movie.

I loved Christopher Nolan's version of Batman, and I'm hoping his third go 'round doesn't suck. I understand Anne Hathaway is cast as Catwoman, plus they're bringing in the character Bane, who I know nothing about. I thought Batman was a cool superhero when I was a kid, but I honestly didn't read the comics because I was more partial to Marvel Comics. I haven't seen "The Watchmen" yet, and have always wanted to read the graphic novel (one day, I guess), but I've heard mixed responses on it, so maybe one day I'll get around to seeing it.
ixnayray said:

The only one's i've liked were The Watchmen, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Hulk [Ang Lee]. These are the only ones i've seen where the director didn't treat the audience like they were idiots.

Are you talking about the two movies that came out in the '70's? I saw trailers for both of them on You Tube and I think it was either Sid & Marty Krofft or Hanna Barberra that did it. If that's what you're talking about, and you loved its cheesiness, you can buy them on dvd I think.

I tried to watch "The Shadow" on the Sci-Fi Channel and just couldn't finish it.
Nero said:

Anybody seen the Justice League of America tv movie? It's fascinating in its terribleness. One film that I do remember being better than I expected it to be was The Shadow, with Alec Baldwin. Memory does play terrible tricks, though, and I saw it quite a long time ago....

Yeah, I need to see that one, though I hated the effects for the Hulk and the Abomination. I much preferred ILM's version of the Hulk in Ang Lee's version. Even if it wasn't totally believable, it fit because Lee's vision was completely "comic book turned live action" all the way...

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

I think you'd kind of like the Edward Norton verison, but it is a bit of a cop out that it isn't a true sequel.  I actually saw that first and I like the guy they chose for General Ross in that one (though Sam Elliott does a fine job in the first).

joey fuckup said:

I am probably the only person I know that liked that first "Hulk" film that Ang Lee did. I guess I just dug it as a "comic lovers art film"? I really liked the way the origin was tweaked, and that "David" Banner (from the TV series) was the father, and "Bruce" was the son. I thought it was also interesting how David became the Absorbing Man and they fought to the death at the end. Sam Elliott was perfect as Gen. Ross and I loved the face off in the desert. I haven't seen the revamped Hulk movie with Ed Norton, but I know it's part of the "Marvel Mosaic" as I like to call it, and that Marvel likes to act like the Ang Lee version never existed. And saying that the newer film isn't a sequel is a cop-out in my opinion. Obviously it is, they just wanted to distance the films and sweep the first one under the rug...I plan on watching "The Incredible Hulk" one day, when I'm bored I guess...
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

I use to get a magazine during the early 90s called Comic Scene that had a portion of it refered to as Comic Screen which tried to hype all the movies (live or animated) that were being planned but you could tell these movies were only one or two steps above 70s TV movies.  Even the Eric Bana Hulk movie was 100 times better than what would have come out if they hadn't been shelved.

The only one's i've liked were The Watchmen, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight and The Hulk [Ang Lee]. These are the only ones i've seen where the director didn't treat the audience like they were idiots.

Anybody seen the Justice League of America tv movie? It's fascinating in its terribleness. One film that I do remember being better than I expected it to be was The Shadow, with Alec Baldwin. Memory does play terrible tricks, though, and I saw it quite a long time ago....

I think you'd kind of like the Edward Norton verison, but it is a bit of a cop out that it isn't a true sequel.  I actually saw that first and I like the guy they chose for General Ross in that one (though Sam Elliott does a fine job in the first).

joey fuckup said:

I am probably the only person I know that liked that first "Hulk" film that Ang Lee did. I guess I just dug it as a "comic lovers art film"? I really liked the way the origin was tweaked, and that "David" Banner (from the TV series) was the father, and "Bruce" was the son. I thought it was also interesting how David became the Absorbing Man and they fought to the death at the end. Sam Elliott was perfect as Gen. Ross and I loved the face off in the desert. I haven't seen the revamped Hulk movie with Ed Norton, but I know it's part of the "Marvel Mosaic" as I like to call it, and that Marvel likes to act like the Ang Lee version never existed. And saying that the newer film isn't a sequel is a cop-out in my opinion. Obviously it is, they just wanted to distance the films and sweep the first one under the rug...I plan on watching "The Incredible Hulk" one day, when I'm bored I guess...
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

I use to get a magazine during the early 90s called Comic Scene that had a portion of it refered to as Comic Screen which tried to hype all the movies (live or animated) that were being planned but you could tell these movies were only one or two steps above 70s TV movies.  Even the Eric Bana Hulk movie was 100 times better than what would have come out if they hadn't been shelved.

I'm starting to remember the Nick Fury movie now that you mention David Hasselhoff.  Sounds like it was based on looks alone and nothing else.

joey fuckup said:

That "Nick Fury" movie was a friggin' joke, Rod...David Hasslehoff played him, and complete with eye patch and cigar, he put on his worst performance of his career! Know way in hell would you be convinced that you're watching Nick Fury, but Michael Knight playing dress-up and acting REALLY badly...It was a TV movie, but I can't remember what network it premiered on. I attempted to watch it on the Sci-Fi Channel but I just couldn't get through it...A VERY lousy piece of shit...

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Was there a Nick Fury movie?  I never heard of that.  Yeah, Dr. Strange was terrible.

 

The Spirit move was corny but it was closer in "spirit" (sorry) to the comics than the recent big screen picture.

joey fuckup said:

Oh ok, so there was a completed "Spirit" film? Didn't realize it was a TV movie, but come to think of it, TV Guide was where I remembered reading the article now. Figures it was corny, probably as bad as the "Dr. Strange" and "Nick Fury" TV movies from back in the day!
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Being on a budget during the 80s, I didn't buy Watchmen comics so I didn't see that movie.  I also skipped out on the Spirit as it looked too much like Frank Miller wanted it to be the same visual style he had for Sin City.  I preferred Will Eisner's comic.  There was a very corny 90's TV movie for the Spirit and watched that.  Kind of fun but still not as funny as Will Eisner's comic.

If "Ghost Rider" was to be reworked/revamped, I think it would be interesting to see it apart from the Marvel films, and set it during the comic's initial run, the '70's. Those comics had such a drive-in movie feel with its share of bikers, demons, and paranormal villains, that to do it as a horror/biker flick would give it a whole different attitude. I do know that David Goyer (Blade films) had initially been on board to do "Ghost Rider" and had planned to make it a very dark film in the horror genre, even thinking in terms of an "R" rating. However, Marvel wasn't too keen on that idea, especially when they knew that more tickets could be sold if they went for a "PG-13" rating. Nicholas Cage was also for a more "kid-friendly" version, saying that making the film too dark was the wrong direction (WTF?). Interesting that the guy that directed "Daredevil" did "Ghost Rider", but I think Marvel leaned heavily on him to make it more palatable so it would gross more bucks. Ya gotta sell those toys!

I am probably the only person I know that liked that first "Hulk" film that Ang Lee did. I guess I just dug it as a "comic lovers art film"? I really liked the way the origin was tweaked, and that "David" Banner (from the TV series) was the father, and "Bruce" was the son. I thought it was also interesting how David became the Absorbing Man and they fought to the death at the end. Sam Elliott was perfect as Gen. Ross and I loved the face off in the desert. I haven't seen the revamped Hulk movie with Ed Norton, but I know it's part of the "Marvel Mosaic" as I like to call it, and that Marvel likes to act like the Ang Lee version never existed. And saying that the newer film isn't a sequel is a cop-out in my opinion. Obviously it is, they just wanted to distance the films and sweep the first one under the rug...I plan on watching "The Incredible Hulk" one day, when I'm bored I guess...
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

I use to get a magazine during the early 90s called Comic Scene that had a portion of it refered to as Comic Screen which tried to hype all the movies (live or animated) that were being planned but you could tell these movies were only one or two steps above 70s TV movies.  Even the Eric Bana Hulk movie was 100 times better than what would have come out if they hadn't been shelved.

That "Nick Fury" movie was a friggin' joke, Rod...David Hasslehoff played him, and complete with eye patch and cigar, he put on his worst performance of his career! Know way in hell would you be convinced that you're watching Nick Fury, but Michael Knight playing dress-up and acting REALLY badly...It was a TV movie, but I can't remember what network it premiered on. I attempted to watch it on the Sci-Fi Channel but I just couldn't get through it...A VERY lousy piece of shit...

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Was there a Nick Fury movie?  I never heard of that.  Yeah, Dr. Strange was terrible.

 

The Spirit move was corny but it was closer in "spirit" (sorry) to the comics than the recent big screen picture.

joey fuckup said:

Oh ok, so there was a completed "Spirit" film? Didn't realize it was a TV movie, but come to think of it, TV Guide was where I remembered reading the article now. Figures it was corny, probably as bad as the "Dr. Strange" and "Nick Fury" TV movies from back in the day!
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Being on a budget during the 80s, I didn't buy Watchmen comics so I didn't see that movie.  I also skipped out on the Spirit as it looked too much like Frank Miller wanted it to be the same visual style he had for Sin City.  I preferred Will Eisner's comic.  There was a very corny 90's TV movie for the Spirit and watched that.  Kind of fun but still not as funny as Will Eisner's comic.

Ugh, "Dick Tracy", another lead fart...I heard there was a warehouse out in L.A. somewhere that still had crates of unbought/unwanted merchandise...

Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

That Sam Jones movie, that's what I was referring too.  I just forgot who starred in it.  Yes, it was completed and it showed up on television but only after Batman and Dick Tracy (another pretty bad one) had shown in theaters.

joey fuckup said:

I loved the Iron Man films, especially being that I was a huge fan of the comics. When I first heard that Robert Downey, Jr. was playing Tony Stark, my  first reaction was "No fucking way, it won't work"...Then I saw the first trailer, and I was really impressed, because Downey Jr WAS Tony Stark. I really liked how they keep throwing little nods to other Marvel characters in these films, which as you may or may not know, is building up to an Avengers movie. Marvel seems to be "rebuilding" their film franchise with each film starting with the first Iron Man, continuing with "The Incredible Hulk", "Iron Man 2", "Thor", and will continue with "Captain America" (You guys know this already, I'm sure).

I loved "The Spirit" comics when I was a kid! I had a few that were reprints from Kitchen Sink Press. But I just couldn't get into the movie. I would NEVER have done the film like that. I understand that Frank Miller wanted it to feel like it was part of the "Sin City" world, but it just didn't work for me. Bad dialogue, bad acting, and sorry if some of you liked it, but I just wish someone else would redo it. I think there was a half-assed attempt to do a Spirit film back in the late '80's with Sam Jones (the guy that played "Flash Gordon") playing him. I even saw a publicity shot of him in the mask, but I haven't the slightest idea if it was ever finished. It could be like that mysterious Fantastic Four movie that came out in the early '90's that Roger Corman was involved in.

DammitDave said:

I know most costumed crimefighter comic book fans fall firmly into one of two camps, Marvel (mostly) or DC, but when I was reading comics as a kid (late 60's - mid 70's), I read some of both.  Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Spidey, FF, Iron Man and Capt America were most commonly sought out.  Batman ruled hands down.  I got back into comics in the mid 80's via some friends who hipped me to The Dark Knight Returns and The Watchmen and worked in a comic shop for almost 10 years.  I became very burnt out on superheroes in general and especially hated Spawn and X-Men. 

 

Most CB movies that I have seen starting with the Burton Batman pretty much blow with a few exceptions.  I liked the newest Superman, Batman Begins, Dark Knight, and, shocker, X-Men (the first one, I haven't seen any of the others).  V For Vendetta and The Watchmen were...ok but I hear Alan Moore Alan Smithee'd them (all the way to the bank, I hope).  I saw the first Spiderman - meh, ok.   I haven't seen the new Iron Mans but hear they're good to pretty good and may check them out eventually but figure there's no rush.  The Spirit, aach, I may have been the only person who knew the comic.  I thought that had potential but blew it on being overly stylized (though thought it worked for Sin City) and a bit too campy.  GL, I don't know.  It may very well stink on ice and again, I'm not going to run out to see it.

 

It doesn’t really bother me when they tweak the origin or modernize the stories as long as they keep a similar feel.  They did that in the comics for years anyway.  In general, I think if they do what Marvel did in the comics in the 60's, keep a strong dose of humanity in the stories, the movies turn out much better than just making glitzy fantasy action movies. 

I use to get a magazine during the early 90s called Comic Scene that had a portion of it refered to as Comic Screen which tried to hype all the movies (live or animated) that were being planned but you could tell these movies were only one or two steps above 70s TV movies.  Even the Eric Bana Hulk movie was 100 times better than what would have come out if they hadn't been shelved.

Was there a Nick Fury movie?  I never heard of that.  Yeah, Dr. Strange was terrible.

 

The Spirit move was corny but it was closer in "spirit" (sorry) to the comics than the recent big screen picture.

joey fuckup said:

Oh ok, so there was a completed "Spirit" film? Didn't realize it was a TV movie, but come to think of it, TV Guide was where I remembered reading the article now. Figures it was corny, probably as bad as the "Dr. Strange" and "Nick Fury" TV movies from back in the day!
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Being on a budget during the 80s, I didn't buy Watchmen comics so I didn't see that movie.  I also skipped out on the Spirit as it looked too much like Frank Miller wanted it to be the same visual style he had for Sin City.  I preferred Will Eisner's comic.  There was a very corny 90's TV movie for the Spirit and watched that.  Kind of fun but still not as funny as Will Eisner's comic.

I guess I liked the Ghost Rider movie over all, just not the choice of lead.  Peter Fonda was pretty great. 

 

As for Daredevil again,  assassins for hire should have a dark streak but they shouldn't be total nut jobs or as arrogant as Ferrel played it.  Bosses portrayed as such is one thing.  Bullseye is an assassin and was always very cooool headed when doing a job (that is, until he was on the losing end).  Elektra:I guess she was very exspensive to pay but Angelina Jolie would have been excellent.  She looks just like her and has that same cold attitude and facial expression that the comic book character had, and she probably would have wanted the real costume, not just tights like Garner wore.

joey fuckup said:

I wasn't too thrilled when I heard the news that N. Cage was going to play Ghost Rider myself. But I have to admit, I did like the movie, but yes, it would have been much better with someone else (and I'm still not sure who I would have picked for it). It was cool to see Peter Fonda in it, but if you read Ghost Rider comics from the '70's, Mephisto was never in human form like that. I was amazed at the effects, though. But one thing you can bet on, Ron, is that if they do sequel, Cage won't do it, since he's said before that it would be highly unlikely that he would reprise the role (even though he's this huge fan of the character). If Marvel pushed for another Ghost Rider film, chances are they would either retell the story, or just go with the '90's treatment of the character with the other alter-ego.

I loved "Daredevil", and agree with you on Ben Affleck. At first, I thought it would suck, but damn, it was such a brutal film! I loved that made him more of a ferocious, driven character as opposed to the earlier comics of a justice enforcer. I actually liked the casting of Bullseye, but really questioned that on Kingpin. And yes, I would have liked Elektra to have been more like the comics version, but since I really liked the movie, I overlooked a lot of that shit. But I just didn't like the "Elektra" movie at all. To me it was "Alias" meets "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon". And as far as a sequel, Marvel has pretty much said it won't happen, at least not in the forseeable future, especially since Ben Affleck has said he has no interest in reprising the role (even though he's a big Daredevil fan). All of this sucks, because the potential to have done a second film would have been great, given the character's rich history.
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

I like most of the new movies I've seen this past decade (I would have liked Ghost Rider as well if they had had some one besides Nicholas Cage as the character).  In many ways they aren't as fun as the stuff from the 40's - 80's but they seem much truer to the comics than they ever have before, and the effects and stunts are much better executed now than they ever could have been done in the past.  It makes you wish that comic book movies could have waited until the technology was perfected instead of hurrying to make it onto the big or small screen, but then again, it's the corniness of the past that makes those older movies fun.

 

I do want to say something about Daredevil.  I personally think Ben Affleck was an excellent choice for the role but Jennifer Garner as Elektra made no sense and neither did Colin Ferrel as Bullseye.  It was uneven especially towards the end and maybe I'm wrong, but an extra half hour could have helped.  You just felt that the writers' hearts weren't into the project and it was doomed not to have a sequel.  Thor and Iron Man were much better done.

That Sam Jones movie, that's what I was referring too.  I just forgot who starred in it.  Yes, it was completed and it showed up on television but only after Batman and Dick Tracy (another pretty bad one) had shown in theaters.

joey fuckup said:

I loved the Iron Man films, especially being that I was a huge fan of the comics. When I first heard that Robert Downey, Jr. was playing Tony Stark, my  first reaction was "No fucking way, it won't work"...Then I saw the first trailer, and I was really impressed, because Downey Jr WAS Tony Stark. I really liked how they keep throwing little nods to other Marvel characters in these films, which as you may or may not know, is building up to an Avengers movie. Marvel seems to be "rebuilding" their film franchise with each film starting with the first Iron Man, continuing with "The Incredible Hulk", "Iron Man 2", "Thor", and will continue with "Captain America" (You guys know this already, I'm sure).

I loved "The Spirit" comics when I was a kid! I had a few that were reprints from Kitchen Sink Press. But I just couldn't get into the movie. I would NEVER have done the film like that. I understand that Frank Miller wanted it to feel like it was part of the "Sin City" world, but it just didn't work for me. Bad dialogue, bad acting, and sorry if some of you liked it, but I just wish someone else would redo it. I think there was a half-assed attempt to do a Spirit film back in the late '80's with Sam Jones (the guy that played "Flash Gordon") playing him. I even saw a publicity shot of him in the mask, but I haven't the slightest idea if it was ever finished. It could be like that mysterious Fantastic Four movie that came out in the early '90's that Roger Corman was involved in.

DammitDave said:

I know most costumed crimefighter comic book fans fall firmly into one of two camps, Marvel (mostly) or DC, but when I was reading comics as a kid (late 60's - mid 70's), I read some of both.  Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, Spidey, FF, Iron Man and Capt America were most commonly sought out.  Batman ruled hands down.  I got back into comics in the mid 80's via some friends who hipped me to The Dark Knight Returns and The Watchmen and worked in a comic shop for almost 10 years.  I became very burnt out on superheroes in general and especially hated Spawn and X-Men. 

 

Most CB movies that I have seen starting with the Burton Batman pretty much blow with a few exceptions.  I liked the newest Superman, Batman Begins, Dark Knight, and, shocker, X-Men (the first one, I haven't seen any of the others).  V For Vendetta and The Watchmen were...ok but I hear Alan Moore Alan Smithee'd them (all the way to the bank, I hope).  I saw the first Spiderman - meh, ok.   I haven't seen the new Iron Mans but hear they're good to pretty good and may check them out eventually but figure there's no rush.  The Spirit, aach, I may have been the only person who knew the comic.  I thought that had potential but blew it on being overly stylized (though thought it worked for Sin City) and a bit too campy.  GL, I don't know.  It may very well stink on ice and again, I'm not going to run out to see it.

 

It doesn’t really bother me when they tweak the origin or modernize the stories as long as they keep a similar feel.  They did that in the comics for years anyway.  In general, I think if they do what Marvel did in the comics in the 60's, keep a strong dose of humanity in the stories, the movies turn out much better than just making glitzy fantasy action movies. 

Oh ok, so there was a completed "Spirit" film? Didn't realize it was a TV movie, but come to think of it, TV Guide was where I remembered reading the article now. Figures it was corny, probably as bad as the "Dr. Strange" and "Nick Fury" TV movies from back in the day!
Rockin Rod Strychnine said:

Being on a budget during the 80s, I didn't buy Watchmen comics so I didn't see that movie.  I also skipped out on the Spirit as it looked too much like Frank Miller wanted it to be the same visual style he had for Sin City.  I preferred Will Eisner's comic.  There was a very corny 90's TV movie for the Spirit and watched that.  Kind of fun but still not as funny as Will Eisner's comic.