Top 8 film adaptations of graphic novels (msnbc)

[Brian Damage]

“V For Vendetta”
Aw, this is why someone (that would be Will Eisner) invented the graphic novel. A story of multi-layered complex story but best told in pictures — and thus, readily adaptable to the big screen. By far the cream of the crop in this film genre, “V For Vendetta” (written by Alan Moore) is an Orwellian vision of the not-so distant future. And despite its sci-fi trappings, it’s all too believable (except maybe the hero in the Guy Fawkes mask, but that’s OK); and it works on every level — as entertainment, as political agitprop, and as a drama. Not to be missed.

[Brian Damage]

“The Road to Perdition”
You’ve got to hand it to Tom Hanks. He is able to lose himself completely in a role without drastically changing his appearance a la De Niro either. Here, as a Midwestern hit man who is double-crossed by his Chicago mob masters, he goes on a killing spree. His portrayal as an honor-bound killer is a model of restraint and is reminiscent of the 1967 French new wave masterpiece “Le Samourai” with Alain Delon (which if you’ve never seen, rent it immediately — you won’t be sorry). Based on the graphic novel “The Road to Perdition,” written by Max Allan Collins and drawn by Richard Piers Rayner (which drew it’s inspiration from the Japanese comic “Lone Wolf and Cub” by Kazuo Koike), this film is one of the few times that Hollywood A-list (Hanks, director Sam Mendes, Jude Law) got involved in a graphic novel adaptation and the result is a mature work of art.

[Brian Damage]

Warner Bros
“300”
The next step in the evolution of graphic novels-to-film, this retelling of Frank Miller’s groundbreaking (isn’t everything he does groundbreaking?) “300” is pure eye candy. Every CGI-enhanced frame is like a beautifully rendered page from a cinematic comic book. The story is loosely based on the Battle of Thermopylae, when a small army of Spartans, lead by King Leonidas, staved off an invasion by the Persian army. Vastly outnumbered, they fought down to the very last man to buy time for a small group of their fellow Spartans to escape and warn the rest of Greece about the all-out assault on their homeland. Despite the classical setting, and the meaningless dialogue that pulls at the patriotic heartstrings, the storyline isn’t what matters here; it’s the action. Never has murder and mayhem looked so appealing. It’s like a live-action video game — even the blood is CGI, thus completely reducing all the gore and violence to a guilt-free, make-believe spectator sport.

[Brian Damage]

“Sin City”
Frank Miller strikes again. Co-director Robert Rodriguez based the film on a frame-by-frame reinterpretation of the “Sin City” graphic novels. The end result is a slick, black and white film noir-ish cartoon that’s even more powerful because of its non-linear, episodic narrative. Let’s face it: this kind of story works best in small doses. I don’t know about you, but I didn’t want to sit through two hours of Bruce Willis as a retiring cop with a heart condition and I had enough of Benicio Del Toro in the first three minutes. But with so many characters and entwining storylines, the film is far more than just the sum of its bloody parts.

[Brian Damage]

“X-Men 2: X-Men United”
The best superhero film ever made. Period. Why? The script closely mimics the classic 1982 graphic novel, “God Loves, Man Kills,” about a crazy anti-mutant preacher (in the film he’s turned into a scientist) who wants to eliminate all mutants. The X-Men became one of the greatest comics in history because it was never just about the superpowers and the costumes. From its creation by the great Jack Kirby and Stan Lee back in the early ‘60s, the X-Men were misfits, discriminated against from the world at large (it was all a metaphor for the civil rights movement) that resonated with readers. This film (like the graphic novel) deals with those powerful themes of race and identity, while drawing on the rich X-Men mythology of heroes and villains. Thanks to “X-Men” and the “Spider-Man” films, Hollywood (or more likely Marvel Comics) realized they just needed to draw from their own history to create a great script. Unfortunately, they forgot that when it came to “X-Men 3,” but that’s another story.

[Brian Damage]

“From Hell”
Despite its poor showing at the box office and Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s dissatisfaction with the film (directed by the Hughes Brothers), I think this retelling of the Jack the Ripper story is one of the better film adaptations of a graphic novel. Johnny Depp, who is almost always good, shines here as psychic police detective reliant on his opium-induced visions to solve crimes. And the rest of the cast — Robbie Coltrane and Sir Ian Holm — more than hold their own. Hell, even Heather Graham is good! And the story is pure Victorian gothic horror. All the scarier since it’s based on a (partly) true story.

[Brian Damage]

“Batman Begins”
I know, I know, we’ve all seen enough Batman movies. And we all owe George Clooney a collective thank you for killing the franchise off with 1997’s “Batman & Robin.” But as much as I wanted to dislike this film — and I really did — I didn’t. Director Christopher Nolan (“Momento”) based his film on two graphic novels, “Batman: Year One” (written by Frank Miller) and “The Long Halloween.” The movie eloquently introduces Batman and his origin without dragging and still manages plenty of action including two classic villains from the comic series, Ra’s Al Ghul and Scarecrow. The low point is Katie Holmes. She almost derails the whole movie with her wooden performance, which has an otherwise stellar cast: Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine (as Alfred, the trusted Butler), Liam Neeson and Gary Oldman (who’s excellent as Gotham’s lone clean cop and future police commissioner Jim Gordon). This movie illustrates that a well-worn comic superhero can still work on the big screen with the right script and the right cast.

[Brian Damage]

New Line Cinema
“A History of Violence”
There’s nothing I love more than “serious” actors like Ed Harris and William Hurt pretending to be tough guys. In “A History of Violence” (based on the 1997 graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke), they both play gangsters with droopy mouths as if they're doing a really, really bad Sly Stallone imitation. The results are pure caricature and far less believable than a dude dressed up in a rubber bat suit. Any third-rate hack that once had a line in a Scorsese film would’ve been better. Just listening to Harris call Viggo Mortensen’s character “Joey” like it’s two words (for the record: it’s just one) was enough reason to walk out of the theater. (Actually, I’m of the school of thought that having Ed Harris in a movie is reason enough not to go into the theatre.) It’s unfortunate since Mortensen, who plays a small-town family man with a secret murderous past and Maria Bello, as his devoted wife, both give wonderful performances. Big, dumb bomb.

[Liza]

Originally Posted by Brian Damage

“From Hell”
Despite its poor showing at the box office and Alan Moore and Eddie Campbell’s dissatisfaction with the film (directed by the Hughes Brothers), I think this retelling of the Jack the Ripper story is one of the better film adaptations of a graphic novel. Johnny Depp, who is almost always good, shines here as psychic police detective reliant on his opium-induced visions to solve crimes. And the rest of the cast — Robbie Coltrane and Sir Ian Holm — more than hold their own. Hell, even Heather Graham is good! And the story is pure Victorian gothic horror. All the scarier since it’s based on a (partly) true story.

Ooh, I saw the threat title and I hoped this one would be mentioned! I love this movie, and I think it's really underrated. Ian Holm is always a great actor, and nobody seems to know who he is. His performance was the most surprising in it.

I've never read any graphic novels - it's just never been my thing. V for Vendetta is the first movie that made me want to go out and buy the book. I was shocked that I loved that movie as much as I did - I totally thought I was going to hate it. I ended up going to see it twice and buying it the day it came out on DVD

I hated Road to Perdition though. Sorry, I thought that movie was soooooo long and sooooooooooooooo boring. It's Tom Hanks going on and on and on and on and I really didn't care by the end of it. I never got what all the hype was about that movie.

[TJL]

As much as I enjoyed "300," I'm really not much of a fan of Frank Miller.

Aside from "Batman The Dark Knight Returns," I think his other work is over rated.

Oh and "X Men 2" the best superhero movie ever made? Hardly.