There have been so many comic book films in the last 16-and-a-bit years, with Marvel, DC, FOX and Sony each trying to dominate the superhero market. But who failed the hardest?
The early X-Men and Spider-Man films set the bar for superhero films at the turn of the century, and naturally, some efforts have fallen horribly short. Here are the 10 worst offenders.
10) Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)
Dawn of Justice makes this list purely on its ability to make a movie featuring Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman boring. The film has its moments, but they were all in the trailers. The rest is summed up by poorly handled cameos and one too many Marthas.
9) Spider-Man 3 (2007)
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 is at least three movies in one. Goblin, Sandman and Venom all cancel each other out, and what we’re left with is emo Peter Parker and a relationship crisis that should have been done with two films ago.
8) X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
Like the Spider-Man trilogy, the X-Men series starts off with two of the most faithful comic book adaptations put to film, and like the Spider-Man trilogy, the third installment fails on almost every level.
More action than you can shake a stick at doesn’t make up for needlessly killing off Cyclops, throwing in cameos at random, or the butchering of one of Marvel’s greatest comic book arcs.
7) Green Lantern (2011)
DC had years of comic book mythology to work with for Green Lantern, as well as a strong cast, but they still managed to churn out a one-dimensional CGI fest. Maybe the film does get more stick than it deserves, but there’s no denying that it’s just another forgettable superhero movie.
6) Daredevil (2003)
Daredevil as a character has so much potential. The Man Without Fear lends himself perfectly to a gritty, Dark Knight-esque adaptation, but this film is not that.
Somehow, Ben Affleck and director Mark Steven Johnson fail to make a story about a blind vigilante original, and of the star-studded cast, only Colin Farrell seems like he wants to be there.
5) X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
The origin story that nobody asked for, X-Men Origins: Wolverine gives Hugh Jackman nothing to sink his CGI claws into. And don’t get us started on Deadpool.
4) Elektra (2005)
Why Daredevil needed a spin-off we will never know. Elektra isn’t offensively bad, but Jennifer Garner’s performance as the merciless assassin is like watching a fish out of water. In that it’s dead.
3) The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
I find it hard to believe that anyone who worked on this film ever watched Spider-Man 3. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 fails on all the same levels – there is just too much going on – but on a bigger scale, and with fewer redeeming qualities.
2) Fant4stic (2015)
We’re getting to the really offensive stuff now. ‘Fant4stic’ only exists to deprive us of the Fantastic Four movie we all want: Marvel’s Fantastic Four. And FOX didn’t even have the courtesy to make it good.
The biggest credit we can give this film is that the studio were somehow able to spin a decent trailer out of its footage, which is saying something, considering the terrible dialogue and poor character development combined with a lazy rehashing of their origin stories makes for an almost unbearable 100 minutes.
1) Catwoman (2004)
Michelle Pfeiffer’s turn as Catwoman in Batman Returns opened a lot of people’s eyes to the wonderfully complex character that is Selina Kyle. 12 short years later, DC gave the Batman villainess her own movie, except that she had nothing to do with Batman. And wasn’t named Selina Kyle. As far as we can tell, the Catwoman title was an elaborate excuse to put Halle Berry in a tight leather costume.
Once you get over the cat puns, and the entirely unnecessary ancient Egyptian rituals, what you have left is the action, of which there is five minutes tops, and it’s put together so sloppily that it might have been directed by an actual cat. The film is not only an insult to Catwoman, but to cinema, and Berry gladly accepted a Razzie award for her part in it.
What is your least favourite superhero film? Let us know!
