10. Blade Certainly not the most critically loved film, Blade somehow captured what we expected: a dark tale of vampires before vampires were popular. Wesley Snipes boosted back into stardom for a while with this film that takes on the idea of a half-vampire bent on a mission to destroy the underbelly of the vampire existence. It helped spur on the vampire sagas that have been popular since this film first graced the big screen. 9. Captain America: First Avenger While it started out slow, especially for those who already knew the story of boy Steve Rogers becoming Captain America, the film quickly moves into the action that we had all wanted. It is a solid film that delivers on a number of sides, including decent performances, including Captain America Poster. from Chris Evans – who had the unfortunate role in the horrid Fantastic Four movies. It captured the essence of the Captain America we have grown to love and delivered on all sides, including bringing the man that will lead The Avengers in the present. Well done. 8. Sin City Based on Frank Millers mini-series, Sin City is just about as close as we're going to get to the original graphic series. The black and white employed in the film is superb and creates the world that Miller so dramatically created. Amazing acting and a near perfect script, it is too bad 300 failed so miserably to capture the world that Miller so brilliantly created. For Sin City, this is a rare comic book film that will have all segments of society pleased. 7. X-Men: First Class Arguably the most critically-acclaimed of the 2011 summer blockbusters from Marvel Entertainment, X-Men: First Class brilliantly captured the beginnings of Professor X and his creation of the X-Men. Great acting coupled with a solid script, this film is certain to have pushed the franchise back into popularity once again. It has the energy of the original X-Men film and delivers on all sides. Can't wait for the sequel. 6. Batman Begins Scene from Batman Begins. Creating a darker Gotham City that develops the origin story of Batman was not an easy task, but Christopher Nolan was more than successful in drawing us into a world we had thought was lost from the 1980s, when DC Comics brilliantly changed its original take on Batman and delivered the darker world that Nolan maintained in the widely successful Batman Begins. Christian Bale's role as the wealthy man from Gotham City turned Caped Crusader through a series of magically shot training scenes helped boost the Batman back into America's minds. 5. Superman Returns While it was not successful as expected at the box office, Superman Returns was a great reboot to the Superman saga, and while not reaching the success as the original Superman, we enjoyed it and think it was unfairly put into the doldrums of film vaults. Maybe it could have been darker, but it certainly sparked interest in the Man of Steel and is likely responsible for the rise in comic book films in recent years. While we won't see a direct sequel from this one, it has given DC the stamina to shoot even bigger, and darker, in its upcoming Superman film. 4. Spider-man Let's be honest, it's cheesy and Tobey Macguire just doesn't cut it as Spider-man. While the comic books remain true to their beginning, including the inner dialogue and often childish meandering of Spider-man, this film's overall success spawned two sequels and developed a the most popular comic book character for filmgoers. With Marvel ready to relaunch the Spider-man character with “Amazing Spider-man” this film's success cannot be underestimated, although we disliked the overt pro-American post-September 11 patriotism that, in our view, brought down the overall quality of what was largely a solid film. The original X-Men movie. 3. X-Men Simply well-made, top-notch acting and a solid storyline(s) that helped bring the X-Men back into the mainstream. Patrick Stewart as Professor X was arguably the best casting in this film and helped create a franchise that continues to this day. The two sequels that followed dropped off noticeably in quality, but there is no denying the success and pure entertainment that made Hugh Jackman the much-loved Wolverine. Here's hoping that more X-Men films will be just as solid. 2. Iron Man Robert Downey Jr. basically recharged his career by stepping into the role of Tony Stark in Iron Man. It is hard to think anyone else could possibly play the role as well as he was able to do, and we probably shouldn't even bother. He is that good. Iron Man had it all going for it, superb acting, great storylines and a nuanced perspective that brought the comic book character into the 21st century, paving the way for the Marvel universe of The Avengers. A great film that should not be missed. Dark Knight is the best comic book movie of all-time. 1. The Dark Knight There is no arguing The Dark Knight is the best comic book adaptation. Christian Bale expertly delves into the role of Batman for the second installment of the Batman relaunch. Heath Ledger as The Joker is a role that is not likely to be forgotten for generations, and it earned him an Oscar. With the success of Batman Begins, it would have been difficult to exceed expectations, but The Dark Knight was able to not only build on the first film, but absolutely destroy it in its perfection, dark atmosphere and exquisite filmmaking. There is only a distant second to this film in the comic book world. BM
