My Top 10: Films Based On A Comic Book/Graphic Novel

Comic books and graphic novels have become the norm this past decade. Before, they seemed to be either an acquired taste of a form of literature that many felt was beneath them.
Now they have become more mainstream than anyone could have possibly imagined. We now regularly get a handful of films based off comic book or graphic novel each year.

I have decided to add the phrase 'graphic novel' into this list as it would not just be about Marvel and DC. Also, I have already done individual lists on my top 10 films based on Marvel or DC Comics.

There are a fair few I could happily give an honorable mention. But the first of three that I will give one to, is Guardians Of The Galaxy. Marvel's most ambitious addition to their cinematic universe became one of their biggest hits. Director James Gunn and his team pulled it off nicely. So much so, that we will be getting a sequel in 2017.
That great blend of action and comedy gave a sci-fi with a swashbuckling feel that always seems a perfect recipe for success for sci-fi's with a bonkers story line.

Another, is  Avengers Assemble. The end of Marvel's initial phase in their cinematic universe and the hype was met. Director Joss Whedon and his team gave as a fitting culmination and one of the most enjoyable films of this genre.

The final one will be X-Men: First Class. After the last couple of X-Men films not quite succeeding, director Matthew Vaughn gave such an entertaining prequel to the X-Men franchise, that it rejuvenated it for the better. Vaughn's style fitted the film so beautifully and McAvoy and Fassbender shine as the leads.

Now, here are my top 10:

10) Superman - The film that really begun the superhero genre. Before Christopher Reeve donned the cap, superhero films were not taken seriously.

1978 saw the world's most famous superhero given an incredible production and a story worth finding out about.

9) Avengers: Endgame - The culmination of 12 years of work came to the most epic climax within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

After the events of Infinity War, it is up to the remaining Avengers to exact revenge on Thanos and correct the mistakes they made.

For many people, this is the blockbuster of a generation.

8) Avengers: Infinity War - Marvel's latest release and the culmination of 10 years of work.

It sees the Avengers back with many more allies trying to stop the villianous Thanos from killing half the universe.

The execution of the action, comedy and shock factor was nothing short of phenomenal. It's a tough order with so many characters involved. But the Russo brothers did a fantastic job.

7) Superman II - Now that Superman has become a household name within the film industry, a sequel just had to be made.

The action is great, the villains lead by Terrence Stamp are brilliantly played and is entertaining throughout.

Sadly, I have not seen the Richard Donner cut of this film. But I remain intrigued to see what it is like.

6) Batman Begins - The birth of not only the greatest trilogy of this genre, but one of the best of all-time.

Director Christopher Nolan continues to be one of the most important directors of our time by managing to make a Batman film look like an arthouse film with a blockbuster budget.

Such gamble and risk gave us the Batman film we needed but did not realise we wanted.

5) The Dark Knight Rises - The final chapter of the Dark Knight trilogy sees Batman return to save a Gotham city this is on the brink of annihilation.

It is a thrilling final chapter and Tom Hardy's performance as the main villain gives us another highly memorable duel with Batman.

4) Sin City - One of the few films that looked as if the pages have literally leapt onto the screen.

We see the dark and miserable of Basin City with four inter-twining stories involving many troubled characters.

The style and film-noir tone that director Robert Rodriguez gave was quite ground-breaking and remains an important film within the genre.

3) The Dark Knight - The middle chapter to Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy and seen by many as the peak moment.

It is also one of the few films that sees the villain become the star of the show. It is mine and many others favourite supporting performance of all-time. Played by the late Heath Ledger, we saw go to places we never imagined.

2) Watchmen - Based on the most celebrated graphic novel of all-time, director Zack Snyder gave us probably the best portrayal of this story that anyone else could have made.

Whilst many people have mixed reviews on it, I found it be a wonderful story with such a unique approach to the genre. It also managed to have an ending that makes much more sense in todays world compared to the novels final act.

1) V For Vendetta - From the same author of Watchmen, we get another heavily layered story that remains to be my number one film of all-time.

Despite being quite different to the source material, director James McTeigue and the Wachowski's such a gripping political thriller, that it works for me every single time.