Kevin's Watch

With so many superhero films that have been made or are in the works there are a few examples of specific characters that have actually exceeded expectation and some that have, astonishingly, fell flat when making the leap from comic page to 3 dimensional image. It seems some actors were born to play these heroes and there were some that, for whatever reason, had no business attempting the feat. Below you will find a list of characters (in no particular order) along with a percentage of translation based on my personal impressions. I attribute a large portion of the success of these endeavors to be based on the actors who portrayed them. A good example would be Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. It’s as if the character was based on Jackman from the very beginning instead of the other way around. I personally think Jennifer Garner as Elektra was a clean miss. I've skipped over the villains. Perhaps somebody else will cover that.

BTW if I was never exposed to the comic version of a character I don't feel I can express an opinion about the translation. A good example would be BLADE. I've seen all three movies but I did not read any comics.

Wolverine – Hugh Jackman 100%
Spiderman – Tobey Maguire 90%
Judge Dredd - Sylvester Stallone 11%
The Tick - Patrick Warburton 85%
Arthur / The Moth - David Burke 95%
Professor X – Patrick Stewart 100%
Storm - Halle Berry 79%
Cyclops - James Marsden 66%
Jean Grey / Phoenix Famke Janssen 79%
Rogue - Anna Paquin 61%
Swamp Thing - Ray Wise / Dick Duroc 36%
Catwoman – Halle Berry 16%
The Phantom - Billy Zane 68%
Elektra – Jennifer Garner 12%
The Human Torch – Chris Evans 89%
Mr. Fantastic - Ioan Gruffudd 63%
The Thing - Michael Chiklis 76%
The Hulk - Bill Bixby /Lou Ferrigno 71%
The Hulk - Eric Bana / Some CGI Artists 63%
Thor - Eric Allan Kramer 2%
Dr. Strange - Peter Hooten 57%
The Invisible Woman - Jessica Alba 78%
Superman - George Reeves 75%
Superman – Christopher Reeve 92%
Superman - Brandon Routh - 89%
(Don't watch Smallville, didn't watch Lois and Clark FYI)
Supergirl - Helen Slater - 21%
Nightcrawler - Alan Cumming 90%
Nick Fury - David Hasselhoff 0.001%
Daredevil – Ben Aflek 36%
Hellboy - Ron Perlman 87%
Batman – Michael Keaton 68%
Batman – Christian Bale 89%
Batman – George Clooney 35%
Batman – Val Kilmer 75%
Batman – Adam West (off the chart )
Robin - Chris O'Donnell 65%
Robin - Burt Ward (off the chart )
The Punisher - Dolph Lundgren 1.5%
The Punisher - Thomas Jane 76%
Captain America - Matt Salinger 0.43%
The Flash - John Wesley Shipp 26%
Dick Tracy - Warren Beatty 60%
Spawn - Michael Jai White 63%

There are plenty more that I've negleted to mention. Fill em in.

Boy, this is tough - just because there are so many translations of most characters. Adam West didn't do too bad as the campy 60's Batman, for instance. But the post-Miller Bats? Please!

Same with the Reeve/Reeves Superman - or the Ferrigno Hulk, for that matter.

That said:

Magneto - Ian McKellen 99.9%

Beast - Kelsey Grammer 95%
Alan Quartermain - Sean Connery 100% (ok, he's nothing like the comic Quartermain.....but it's Sean!)

aTOMiC wrote:Catwoman – Halle Berry 16%

My that was generous...

Although I've never actually read a Batman Comic...Michelle Phiffer was off the chart compared to Halle Berry.

Magneto as Ian McKellen was definitely my favorite; to me he surpassed the comic rendition and my own personal image of him.

Also thought Christian Bale was an inspired choice for Batman. His performance really made that movie 50% more interesting for me.

Christian Bale
Hugh Jackman
Thomas Jane

TV: Bruce Lee as Kato

aTOMiC wrote:Superman - George Reeves 75%
Superman – Christopher Reeve 92%
Superman - Brandon Routh - 89%
(Don't watch Smallville, didn't watch Lois and Clark FYI)

I more or less agree with those percentages. Not a fan of Smallville either, but I did follow the first couple of seasons of Lois and Clark. Dean Cain was so-so as Clark. Teri Hatcher, on the other hand, was a fabulous Lois Lane.

Batman – Michael Keaton 68%
Batman – Christian Bale 89%
Batman – George Clooney 35%
Batman – Val Kilmer 75%
Batman – Adam West (off the chart )

I would rate Keaton a bit higher. For me, the only problem was that he was stuck in two very clumsy Batman movies. Tim Burton has proven with Sleepy Hollow that he can be a very fine filmmaker, but in my opinion his Batman films were amateurish rubbish.

Good call on Val Kilmer. I think his performance was underappreciated...maybe because filmgoers were too busy looking at Jim Carrey strutting around as the Riddler.

Personally never much cared for Robin's character. If I could borrow Cail's woodchipper, I'd throw Robin in.

John Constantine - Keanu Reeves 65%
(I thought Keanu showed the right attitude as Constantine. But people will be forgiven if they think they're watching another Matrix sequel, because Reeves is still wearing his Thomas Anderson wardrobe! Sheesh. And where's Constantine's trademark trenchcoat? Also, the character is supposed to be blonde. What, was there a sudden shortage of blonde actors?)

V - Hugo Weaving 95%
(You didn't see his face, but Weaving was still marvelous. Really, I could not have asked for a better actor to play V. His costume was also very faithful to the comic book.)

Teri Hatcher, on the other hand, was a fabulous Lois Lane.

Yeah, I guess she was the best Lois we've seen so far - doesn't mean that she doesn't annoy the hell out of me, by just being Teri.

Good call on Val Kilmer. I think his performance was underappreciated

Agreed. Prior to Bale's performance, Kilmer was the best Batman.

dlbpharmd wrote:

Teri Hatcher, on the other hand, was a fabulous Lois Lane.

Yeah, I guess she was the best Lois we've seen so far - doesn't mean that she doesn't annoy the hell out of me, by just being Teri.

That's right, I forgot about your blind-spot. Isn't there some kind of medication that could get that part of your brain to function correctly?

Matrixman wrote: I would rate Keaton a bit higher. For me, the only problem was that he was stuck in two very clumsy Batman movies. Tim Burton has proven with Sleepy Hollow that he can be a very fine filmmaker, but in my opinion his Batman films were amateurish rubbish.

Well, I always say Burton proved his greatness years before, with Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands and especially Ed Wood (oh, and The Nightmare Before Christmas). But yeah, his Batman movies are definitely weak links. The 2nd film was indeed a travesty, though I think the first one is salvaged (somewhat) by the interplay of Keaton and Nicholson. Additionally, the films have not aged all that well, being in the shadow of more recent superhero flicks.

="Matrixman]
John Constantine - Keanu Reeves 65%
(I thought Keanu showed the right attitude as Constantine. But people will be forgiven if they think they're watching another Matrix sequel, because Reeves is still wearing his Thomas Anderson wardrobe! Sheesh. And where's Constantine's trademark trenchcoat? Also, the character is supposed to be blonde. What, was there a sudden shortage of blonde actors?)

V - Hugo Weaving 95%
(You didn't see his face, but Weaving was still marvelous. Really, I could not have asked for a better actor to play V. His costume was also very faithful to the comic book.)

I haven't read any Constantine books but I did see and enjoy the film. I thought the same thing about Keanu's wardrobe.
I have not seen V or read any of the books. I think I'll be having a look when V hits dvd. I can't say for certain about the books. I've heard they are good.

Lord Foul wrote:

Matrixman wrote: I would rate Keaton a bit higher. For me, the only problem was that he was stuck in two very clumsy Batman movies. Tim Burton has proven with Sleepy Hollow that he can be a very fine filmmaker, but in my opinion his Batman films were amateurish rubbish.

Well, I always say Burton proved his greatness years before, with Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands and especially Ed Wood (oh, and The Nightmare Before Christmas). But yeah, his Batman movies are definitely weak links. The 2nd film was indeed a travesty, though I think the first one is salvaged (somewhat) by the interplay of Keaton and Nicholson. Additionally, the films have not aged all that well, being in the shadow of more recent superhero flicks.

Burton's Batman movies are what caused all of the other superhero franchises to be made. I agree that they didn't stand the test of time (much like the old Superman movies), but Batman was mindblowing when it came out - and considering the hurdles and limitations that had to be overcome ("That Pee-Wee's Big Adventure guy wants to make Batman? Could be wierd. Throw him a couple of bucks and make him go away! Oh wait - he's got Jack?!"), it's still pretty mindblowing.

Matrixman wrote:

Batman – Michael Keaton 68%
Batman – Christian Bale 89%
Batman – George Clooney 35%
Batman – Val Kilmer 75%
Batman – Adam West (off the chart )

I would rate Keaton a bit higher. For me, the only problem was that he was stuck in two very clumsy Batman movies. Tim Burton has proven with Sleepy Hollow that he can be a very fine filmmaker, but in my opinion his Batman films were amateurish rubbish.

Good call on Val Kilmer. I think his performance was underappreciated...maybe because filmgoers were too busy looking at Jim Carrey strutting around as the Riddler.

I would have rated Keaton higher if his Batman films had been better. I genuinely hated Batman Returns but the original Batman really struck a chord with me when I watched it the first time. I was suprised that Keaton was chosen for the role but he did a very good job of making it his own. Having said that Christian Bale very nearly hit one out of the park with his version of Bruce Wayne. Of course the overall film was lightyears beyond any of the previous attempts. IMHO.