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Comics in the West are a kind of analogue of our folk tales, only if our emphasis is mainly on magic and folklore, then there is more science fiction in comics.
The first film adaptations appeared more than half a century ago, and now films based on graphic stories regularly become box office record holders and have a huge fan base.
Today we decided to recall the 10 best adaptations that every fan should watch.
10 People in black | 1997
Lowell Cunningham’s comics were taken as the basis for the film, which, although not as popular as superheroes, had their own niche.
The original trilogy began in 1997 with the release of the first installment starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones. With a budget of 90 million dollars, the tape collected almost 600 dollars around the world, so there was no question of a sequel, and it came out 5 years later.
Production costs increased, amounting to 140 million, but the audience interest was not so strong, so only 440 million were collected. worthy reward for your hard work.
A spin-off is currently in production, slated for a summer 2019 release, starring Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson, who previously worked together on Thor: Ragnarok.
9. Avengers | 2012
There is no need to say much about this franchise, since everyone knows about its commercial and cultural phenomenon. We do not single out a specific part: they are all good.
Although “Age of Ultron” turned out to be somehow crumpled, with a torn narrative, and “Civil War” was not perfect, the first part and “Infinity War” more than compensate for the shortcomings of other films.
Surely many are still in shock from the finale of Infinity and are looking forward to the release of Avengers: Endgame at the end of April. Along with crossovers, there are many solo movies, the latest Thor or the first Iron Man, that didn’t make the list because the Marvel Cinematic Universe is too big.
8. Dark Knight | 2008
Christopher Nolan showed everyone how to bring comics to the screen in Batman Begins, but his neo-noir The Dark Knight was a real masterpiece.
Serious, mature, with an amazing Heath Ledger as the Joker – such a bar is difficult to overcome. Despite all the efforts of DC and Ben Affleck, the current Batman looks like a pathetic parody of what we saw in 2008.
7. V means vendetta | 2005
Alan Moore’s graphic novels have always been in demand in Hollywood, but there are catastrophically few sensible adaptations of his works. The first worthy was “Constantine” in 2005 with Keanu Reeves, and a year later the film “V for Vendetta” was released, which did not live up to expectations at the box office (only 132 million with a budget of 54), but won the love of the audience, and the Guy Fawkes mask became a real symbol of protest.
Rumors have been circulating for a long time about a sequel or reboot, which Natalie Portman, who played the female lead in the original, is not against working on.
6. X-Men | 2000
Here the situation is the same as with The Avengers: we do not single out a specific film, considering all of them worthy, including solo films about Wolverine. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby came up with the universe back in the 1960s, but it took almost 40 years for the first decent film adaptation.
This franchise is notorious, among other things, for its disregard for the timeline: one film can cross out or simply ignore the events of the previous one, and the viewer has to puzzle over how Professor Xavier and others survived.
The last part in the X-Men hexalogy was released in 2016 and, despite the commercial success (the fees exceeded $ 500 million), it received devastating reviews. The next film, Dark Phoenix, will be released this summer as another prequel, this time focusing on Jean Grey’s childhood and adolescence.
5. Spiderman | 2002
In comics, Peter Parker first appeared in 1962, and they tried to transfer him to the screens already in 1977, removing a full-fledged trilogy with Nicholas Hammond. After that, the spider was forgotten for 20 years, until Sam Raimi made his trilogy, which is now considered a classic.
Despite the charm of Andrew Garfield and the new “gadgets” in Tom Holland’s costume, it was the character of Tobey Maguire that became the best for most fans. The next part with Holland will be released in the summer of 2019.
4. Sin City | 2005
The Sin City dilogy, directed by Robert Rodriguez and comic book author Frank Miller, has a deep plot and a unique picture, made in the contrasting style of the original drawings.
The first part was released in 2005 and boasted a whole scattering of stars on the poster: Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, Benicio del Toro, Jessica Alba and others. One of the episodes was shot by the great and terrible Quentin Tarantino.
Oddly enough, it took a long time for the sequel to come out: Sin City 2: A Dame to Kill For was released only in 2014. The film failed at the box office, grossing less than 40 million on a budget of 39, and also received devastating reviews, but watch it is still worth it, if only for the sake of aesthetic pleasure.
3. Deadpool | 2016
The most reckless superhero, sometimes looking like a villain with his recklessness and extravagance, first appeared in comics in 1991, and in the movie in 2009 in the X-Men Origins. Wolverine”, having a small role there.
A full-fledged arrival on the screens took place in 2016 and, despite the adult R rating, became a real commercial bomb. Movie Deadpool is not as “frostbitten” as in the comics, but still strikingly different from other superheroes, so watching his adventures is extremely exciting.
2. Keepers | 2009
Another successful film adaptation of Alan Moore’s comics, released after Constantine and V for Vendetta. Now this picture is considered almost a cult, but at the time of release in 2009 it was not successful, earning only 185 million with a budget of 130 million. Now the issue of restarting and creating an entire franchise is being actively discussed, which millions of fans would like to see.
1. Raven | 1994
Those who haven’t watched the film know mostly about the first part, on the set of which Brandon Lee died, and by the way, this is a whole quadrology. Three other films starred Vincent Perez (The Crow 2: City of Angels in 1996), Eric Mabius (The Crow 3: The Salvation in 2000), and Edward Furlong (The Crow: Cruel Communion in 2005).
In fairness, it should be noted that the last 3 tapes were not so hot, but connoisseurs of the work of James O’Barr, who is the author of comics, are definitely worth a look.