Iron Man, born Anthony Stark, is forced to live in an iron suit after a life-threatening accident. Tony Stark–rich industrialist, child genius and alcoholic–is played by Robert Downey Jr. Terrence Howard plays his partner, Jim Rhodes, aka War Machine. Gwyneth Paltrow plays his executive assistant. Throw in Jeff Bridges and you’ve got quite a cast.
After Iron Man comes a slew of comic book movies, which leads to the inevitable comparisons–both between the original sources and other screen treatments. Here’s a look at five of the best comic book turned movie heroes.
Director Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man series succeeds for three reasons:
- Tobey Maguire’s characterization of Peter Parker/Spidey
- Super web-swinging special effects
- Fidelity to the original source
Neither a reclusive millionaire or a super being from another planet, Peter Parker is an ordinary teenager who develops superpowers while dealing with normal teen angst, absent parents and high school unpopularity. Far from solving his problems, sis superhero abilities complicate an already difficult existence.
The second movie builds on the problems of the first. Parker’s having problems at school, at work and in his love life. He tries to quit, but his sense of duty moves him to act against villain Doc Ock.
Spider-Man III didn’t go over as well with critics, who grew tired of Maguire’s performance. But it was still a box-office hit. A fourth installment is in the works, but Maguire has said he will not reprise his role and Raimi has said he will return only if Maguire does.
Christopher Reeve was Superman, with his square jaw and sparkling blue eyes. In fact Reeve was almost too good looking to play the nerdy, glasses-wearing Clark Kent. But he pulled it off.
The movie itself is an optimistic epic. Sure, there are bad guys, but as long as we have Superman, we’re safe. Reeve continued to work his magic in two more films, though by the time Superman III was released in 1983 the franchise was losing steam.
Superman is earnest. Batman is sardonic. Metropolis is a lively can-do kind of place, whereas Gotham City is a cesspool–a dark surreal place where bad things happen. Anton Furst’s sets set the tone of this comic book spectacle in which Jack Nicholson hams it up as the Joker and Michael Keaton plays Bruce Wayne as a moody playboy and gives Batman a jolt of menace.
Director Tim Burton’s dark vision continued with Keaton in the title role in Batman Returns. But when the two men left the franchise it fell apart, reaching its nadir with Batman & Robin. This last feature is notable mostly for the batsuit’s garish rubber nipples. It’s also doubtless responsible for prematurely ending the careers of Alicia Silverstone and Chris O’Donnell.
The early Batman series relied on costumes, sets and special effects. This Batman relies on character. It’s a movie about a comic book character, but it’s not a comic book movie. The movie tells the story of the origin of Batman and, thanks to Christian Bale’s performance, really makes us understand Bruce Wayne and his alter ego.
The sequel, The Dark Knight, covers the same ground as Michael Keaton’s first Batman with the late Heath Ledger as the Joker. Maggie Gyllenhaal will replace Katie Holmes as Rachel Dawes, Bruce’s childhood friend which is already an improvement on the first feature: Holmes provided one of the movie’s few weak spots.
American Splendor
Harvey Pekar once grumbled that comic books were never about people like him. So Pekar, a file clerk at a Cleveland VA hospital, teamed with illustrator Robert Crumb to fill that void. As Pekar notes, ordinary life is complex.
This is not your average comic book movie. It’s a strange blend of documentary, biopic and comic book. Paul Giamatti plays Harvey Pekar and Harvey Pekar plays Harvey Pekar and sometimes it segues into the comic book version of Harvey Pekar.
Pekar’s a pessimist, a crackpot and a realist. He’s an everyman, yet he’s unique. And this movie, with its many faces of Pekar, brings him to life.
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