The Ones We Love To Hate: 5 Bad Comic Book Films!
While the superhero genre has seen its fair share of massive blockbuster, there are just as many blunders. For every ‘Dark Knight‘, there is a ‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance‘.
It goes without saying that any genre suffers from this problem but unless it’s horror films, nothing comes close to the level of how many bad superhero movies exist. As a known lover of really bad movies, I have respect for some of the campiest & hated comic book movies in history.
Except 2008’s ‘The Spirit.’ That was just unwatchable…
So I had the pleasure of going through the dreadful list of the worst superhero films of all time. I pick out the shining stars of the much hated. Does your favorite “bad movie” find its way onto the list?
5. Howard The Duck (1986)
Marvel’s first major film, ‘Howard The Duck‘ nearly derailed any other big-screen Marvel attempts. The movie stars Howard The Duck, an anthropomorphic duck who crash lands on Earth in the 80’s Ohio. He befriends a girl and uses his martial arts knowledge of “Quack-Fu” to save the day from mad scientists & evil band managers. This ridiculous comic book adaption flopped with critics but somehow became loved as a “cult classic“. Marvel eventually recovered greatly but Howard The Duck’s solo film remains a blemish on their record. He has made a post-credit appearance in 2014’s ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy‘. “No one laughs at a master of Quack Fu!”
4. Batman & Robin (1997)
The king of all bad comic book movies. ‘Batman & Robin‘ was the reason we didn’t get any Batman films until 2005′. Filled with nipples on the bat-suit and Mr. Freeze’s “ice” puns, Joel Schumacher crafted this most infamous masterpiece. The 1997 film can be found on many “worst movie ever list” but many see it as a throwback to the 60’s era Batman. Things were handled much lighter; this tries to re-create that feeling. George Clooney’s only outing as The Caped Crusader is memorable for all the wrong reasons but I do love Uma Thurman’s, Poison Ivy.
3. Catwoman (2004)
Another blunder in the history of DC films, ‘Catwoman‘ is a ridiculously campy film which tries to re-do the entire background of the beloved anti-hero Catwoman. Casting Halle Berry as the new version of Catwoman named Patience Phillips was problematic from the get-go but add in horrendous CGI with bad acting and you got a recipe for a bomb. Somehow with all these faults, the movie has found a home with some loyal fans. LGBT channel Logo even plays the film on a regular basis.
2. Green Lantern (2011)
2011’s ‘Green Lantern‘ was hopefully the last major flop in the DC film list. In the midst of a Batman resurgence, DC was hoping to bring Green Lantern to the big screen. What we got is the punchline to many jokes. Ryan Reynolds tries to make the most out of a flimsy script & more laughable visual effects but nothing could help. Maybe the worst offense in this movie was making comic book villain Parallax a giant cloud. Luckily Reynolds recovered wonderfully with 2016’s ‘Deadpool‘.
1. Fantastic Four (2015)
The biggest issue with the latest Fantastic Four film is how mediocre it is. ‘FANT4STIC‘ suffered from a much-publicized studio/director battle that harshly affected the final product. Without all the petty drama, this film could have been the first good movie about Reed Richards & crew. Presented to us was a plot-hole riddled story with a serious lack of tension. Now fans heavily debate on the future of the F4 franchise; do they stop making them or give them to Marvel Studios?
What’s your favorite bad superhero movie? Did you guilty pleasure make this list?
Let me know in the comments below!
