Moviedom's 15 Best Comic Book Movies...and the 9 Worst, Part I

Although the comic-book movie genre has been among the most popular over the course of the last 10 to 15 years, it was around for a couple of dozen before that. In recent years, the introduction of computer-generated imagery into cinema has caused an explosion of films based on comics, finally freeing filmmakers to cut loose on properties based on fanboys' favorite funnybooks.

Sometimes this strategy has worked wonders, creating crowd-pleasing classics, action-packed spectacles and character-driven masterpieces.

It has also spawned a series of cinematic turds — unmemorable or aggressively bad films that botch good characters or focus on the wrong ones while applying outdated filmmaking techniques or narrative devices.

Here, then, are the best and worst of the lot, broken into three parts:

Best:

15. "The Rocketeer" (1991)

An old-fashioned whiz-bang adventure mashup that stars Bill Campbell as the title character, a 1930s-era hotshot young pilot who becomes a hero after stumbling upon a rocket pack. Of course, the Nazis want the rocket pack, and this young, handsome American chap having it irks them to no end. Features Timothy Dalton as (SPOILER ALERT!) the villainous turncoat Neville Sinclair, an in-her-prime Jennifer Connelly as the damsel in distress and the magnificent Terry O'Quinn ("Lost") as Howard Hughes.

14. "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" (2008)

The first of many sequels you'll see on this list. Superhero movies have proven the exception to the laws of diminishing returns in film. In comic franchises, the sequel often allows filmmakers to move beyond stilted, often cliched origin stories and give the characters room to breathe. Here, it's big Red (Ron Perlman), who, after getting the girl (the telekinetic Liz, played by Selma Blair), finds that life goes on. He encounters a new boss (the nifty gaseous being Johann Krauss), and a new villain, Prince Nuada (Luke Goss), who wants to raise the mythic Golden Army and rule the world.

The story is hardly new (hell, "The Mummy Returns" tackled the same plot seven years earlier, and it was hardly a new idea then), but it's the execution that works here. Director Guillermo del Toro creates a fantastical world filled with creatures imagined down to the smallest details; the marketplace sequence is among the most purely imaginative things ever put to film. Virtually every beat is improved upon from the already-good first film, with innovative, entertaining fight sequences and a finale that's just incredible.

13. "Iron Man 2" (2010)

A different film than the first one (which is what led to the letdown among fans), "Iron Man 2" does bring some more of the same: a continuation of Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.)'s character arc, his daddy issues and his burgeoning relationship with S.H.I.E.L.D. through Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Director Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).

Being a sequel, it lacks the freshness of the first film, and as a villain, Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) gets short shrift to setups for the upcoming "Avengers" movie, but the fight scenes are still thrilling, Rhodey (Don Cheadle, improving on Terrence Howard's good start in the first film) dons the War Machine suit and nails it, while promises of Marvel Goodness yet to come make this a fun ride.

12. "Blade II" (2002)

The forgotten entry in the "Blade" series (people seem to remember the not-as-good-as-you-remember first and horrid third), "Blade II" steps it up nicely. Director Guillermo del Toro (already making his second appearance on this list) brings in the Reapers, souped-up vampires who hunt other vampires, turning the undead bloodsuckers into the hunted themselves.

Blade forms an uneasy alliance with a group of elite vampire "soldiers" to combat the Reapers, which threaten both vampire and human alike, leading to fast-paced, unrelenting battle scenes where Blade's friends are his enemies and his enemies are worse than he ever could have imagined. Featuring all of the original's fantastic stunt work while toning down its silly vampire lore, "Blade II" is a powderkeg ready to blow, and it does.

11. "Batman" (1989)

Tim Burton's dark, gothic look at the Caped Crusader took Batman from a homoerotic punchline and made him cool. Jack Nicholson's performance as the Joker stole the show, but by focusing on Bruce Wayne rather than Batman, Burton delved into the psyche of a man who would put on a bat suit to stalk criminals and revitalized a legend that makes Batman arguably the most popular superhero in the world.

It's somewhat slow-moving by today's standards, and comes with an awkward finale, but there are more than ample fireworks to keep superhero fans entertained and with Nicholson's epic performance to back it up, "Batman" is a legitimate classic.

Worst:

9. "Barb Wire" (1996)

This movie starts off with about 10 minutes of Pamela Anderson stripping, being splashed with water and, eventually, dancing naked. I know what you're saying: That sounds good! Well, unfortunately, this movie has to have some sort of plot — a traditional cinematic theory "Barb Wire" does its best to disprove. It's mostly Anderson running around in a tight leather outfit doing actiony-type stuff (poorly), while trying to look tough and be a heroine. It mostly comes off as if she's on heroin.

8. "Judge Dredd" (1995)

Sylvester Stallone seemed perfect casting for this obscure British comic character, a stoic futuristic "judge" who works like police officer, judge, jury, and executioner all in one. Unfortunately, the studio didn't get it and shoehorned in a comedic sidekick (Rob Schneider), then took Dredd out of his signature uniform and put him in prison to escape — very much as Stallone had done previously with "Tango and Cash" and "Lock Up." The result was a silly, poor film that should have been a slam-dunk summer hit but instead a punchline parable for how not to do a comic-book movie. The character is being resurrected with Karl Urban (Dr. McCoy from the rebooted "Star Trek") in the lead role; hopefully they watch this one, then do the opposite.

7. "Elektra" (2005)

Jennifer Garner's Elektra was easily the worst part of the "Daredevil" film, so what does 20th Century Fox do? Give the character her own film. So we get another 90 minutes or so of Garner's vapid stares that are supposed to reflect ... something, though exactly what is tough to pin down. Constipation is my best guess. Mix in a half-baked, protect-the-people-she's-supposed-to-kill plot, mix in a few vague movie-cliche villains and some supernatural assassins, and you have another botching of a superhero movie.

Stay tuned for Part Two!