By Ashley Land
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Comic books have long been a great source of inspiration for Hollywood, and the 2010s saw the genre reach its peak through the MCU and DCEU. Based on the classic superheroes of DC Comics and Marvel Comics, these movies raised the bar on what a great blockbuster could be. However, not every comic book movie features superheroes. Many of the most beloved and acclaimed comic books have nothing to do with superheroes and lean more into genres like sci-fi, thriller, and horror.
Comic books are a diverse medium, and some comic book movies are so grounded their audiences aren't even aware of a comic book inspiration. Regardless, it's important to remember that the comic book industry is more than just superheroes, and some of the greatest stories have been told through unique comics. Hollywood shows no sign of quitting comics to tell their best movies, and it's important to remember just how great an impact the books have had on cinema.
10 30 Days of Night Is The Perfect Isolated Horror Movie
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30 Days of Night
R
Horror ThrillerAction
- Release Date
- October 19, 2007
- Runtime
- 113 minutes
- Director
- David Slade
- Writers
- Steve Niles, Stuart Beattie, Brian Nelson, Ben Templesmith
- Sequel(s)
- 30 Days of Night: Dark Days
Cast
-
Josh Hartnett
-
Melissa George
-
Danny Huston
-
Ben Foster
In a remote Alaskan town plunged into a month-long polar night, the residents face an unimaginable horror when a clan of vampires descends upon them. As darkness envelops the town, the vampires unleash a relentless and brutal attack, feeding on the isolated community. The sheriff and a small group of survivors must find a way to outlast the nightmarish siege, battling the bloodthirsty invaders while grappling with their own fear and desperation.
- IMDb Rating: 6.6
Based on Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith's original miniseries for IDW Publishing, 30 Days of Night takes place in a remote village in Alaska. Set to head into its month-long night, the town becomes overwhelmed by the arrival of a clan of monstrous vampires, who use the cover of darkness to tear their way through the residents.
30 Days of Night follows a small band of survivors as they fight to stay alive as everyone around them becomes a bloodsucker or dies. The movie is arguably the peak of its era of horror, and gave its vampire villains a genuinely terrifying appearance as the story drew closer to the inevitable battle between the monsters and their prey.
9 A History of Violence Is A Suspenseful Thriller
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A History of Violence
R
Crime
Documentary
Drama Thriller- Release Date
- September 23, 2005
- Runtime
- 98 minutes
- Director
- David Cronenberg
Cast
-
Viggo Mortensen
-
Maria Bello
-
Ed Harris
-
William Hurt
WHERE TO WATCH
Streaming
A mild-mannered man becomes a local hero through an act of violence, which sets off repercussions that will shake his family to its very core.
- Writers
- John Wagner, Vince Locke, Josh Olson
Related
REVIEW: Great Direction and a Stellar Lead Performance Can't Save The Killer's Underdeveloped Script
Netflix's The Killer is intriguing due to Michael Fassbender in the lead role and David Fincher's direction, but the script goes nowhere fast.
- IMDb Rating: 7.4
Based on the original comic by John Wagner and Vince Locke, A History of Violence follows a small town coffee shop owner, Tom, whose life is turned upside down when he finds fame after shooting two violent criminals dead. From there, a man shows up in town claiming to have a connection to Tom's past life — and that he was once a member of an organized crime family. Through Tom's steadfast insistence that he has the wrong guy, audiences are left to wonder who is telling the truth.
A History of Violence is one of the best examples of a story so far removed from standard comics that many viewers have no idea of its comic book roots. After all, it released during Hollywood's heyday of dramatic thrillers and, alongside films like Ransom and Se7en, seemed like just another great story of its genre.
8 RED Perfectly Combines Action And Comedy
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RED (2010)
PG-13
Action
Comedy
Crime
- Release Date
- October 15, 2010
- Runtime
- 1 hour 51 minutes
- Director
- Robert Schwentke
- Writers
- Jon Hoeber, Erich Hoeber, Warren Ellis
Cast
-
Bruce Willis
-
Helen Mirren
-
Morgan Freeman
When his peaceful life is threatened by a high-tech assassin, former black-ops agent Frank Moses reassembles his old team in a last-ditch effort to survive and uncover his assailants.
- Production Company
- Summit Entertainment, Di Bonaventura Pictures, DC Entertainment
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- IMDb Rating: 7.0
RED began as a 2003 Wildstorm comic book series by Warren Ellis and Cully Hammer, and was later adapted into the 2010 movie of the same name. Starring Bruce Willis as Frank Moses, the movie follows a retired special ops agent as he's pulled out of his quiet life by the arrival of a kill squad, leading him to find out who wants him dead.
RED follows Frank as he reassembles his old team of crack operatives, each of whom has been marked for assassination, leading to a political conspiracy. With an all-star cast that includes John Malkovich, Brian Cox and Helen Mirren, the movie is a brilliant action/comedy that proves its retiree heroes have still got what it takes to kill the bad guys.
7 The Losers Is The A-Team For The 21st Century
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The Losers
pg-13
Action
Crime
- Release Date
- April 23, 2010
- Runtime
- 97minutes
- Director
- Sylvain White
Cast
-
Zoe Saldana
-
Jeffrey Dean Morgan
-
Chris Evans
-
Idris Elba
WHERE TO WATCH
Streaming
A CIA special forces team is betrayed and left for dead by their superiors, galvanizing them to mount an offensive on the CIA.
- Writers
- Peter Berg
- IMDb Rating: 6.2
The Losers began as a 2003 ongoing comic by Andy Diggle and Jock, telling the story of an elite unit of special forces soldiers. In 2010, the team made their live action debut with an all-star cast that included Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Chris Evans, Idris Elba and Zoe Saldana.
The Losers followed the betrayal of the elite team and their exile as they had been framed for a crime they didn't commit. The movie was remarkably similar to the previous year's The A-Team, each with similar plots. However, The Losers emerged as a much stronger movie thanks to its more entertaining cast and grittier tone.
6 Kingsman: The Secret Service Is A Fun Play On James Bond
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Kingsman: The Secret Service
R
Action
Adventure Thriller- Release Date
- February 13, 2015
- Runtime
- 2h 10m
- Director
- Matthew Vaughn
Cast
-
Michael Caine
-
Taron Egerton
-
Colin Firth
-
Mark Hamill
WHERE TO WATCH
Streaming
RENT
BUY
A spy organisation recruits a promising street kid into the agency's training program, while a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius.
- Writers
- Matthew Vaughn, Jane Goldman
Related
REVIEW - Kingsman: The Golden Circle Has Plenty of Action, and Then Some
Kingsman: The Golden Circle is a mixed bag, combining the first film's manic action and jokes with tired retreads and a bloated runtime.
- IMDb Rating: 7.7
Kingsman: The Secret Service is one of several books belonging to MillarWorld, a line-up of comics created by visionary creator Mark Millar ("Old Man Logan"). The comic book was released in 2014, and was drawn by Watchmen co-creator Dave Gibbons. The series revolved around an elite Secret Service, the Kingsman, who were a fun, gritty spin on James Bond and MI6.
Kingsman's 2015 movie adaptation changed aspects of its story and revolved around the troubled youth Eggsy, who was given a second chance to make something of himself by joining the Secret Service. From there, the hero proved his mettle to the agency as he joined the fight against criminal villain Valentine and his plan to murder the majority of Earth's population.
5 Dredd Is A Gritty Look At Mega City One
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Dredd
R
Action
Crime
Sci-Fi
- Release Date
- September 21, 2012
- Runtime
- 95 minutes
- Director
- Pete Travis
Cast
-
Karl Urban
-
Rachel Wood
-
Andile Mngadi
-
Porteus Xandau Steenkamp
WHERE TO WATCH
Streaming
In a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO.
- Writers
- Alex Garland
- IMDb Rating: 7.1
British action hero Judge Dredd has been adapted to cinema before, through the eponymous 1995 movie starring Sylvester Stallone. However, it was through Karl Urban's performance in 2012's Dredd that the hero was truly done justice in a gritty action movie set inside a sealed-off tower block.
Dredd followed Judges Dredd and Anderson as they battled their way through the gang-infested mega block to bring justice to the tower's crime lord, Ma-Ma. The movie combined elements of films like Die Hard and the original '95 film to give the hero one of his greatest stories as he became a one-man army on his mission of justice.
4 Sin City Is Hard-Boiled Pulp Fiction
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Sin City
R
Crime
Thriller10/10
- Release Date
- April 1, 2005
- Runtime
- 124 minutes
- Director
- Robert Rodriguez, Quentin Tarantino, Frank Miller
Cast
-
Rosario Dawson
-
Bruce Willis
WHERE TO WATCH
Streaming
RENT
BUY
Based on Frank Miller’s comic books, Sin City is a crime anthology. This 2005 film was directed by Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez, and Quentin Tarantino. And due to Miller’s involvement, the movie is true to the comic books. This film blends crime, love, and action together to create a modge podge of exhilarating stories. In one story, an ex-convict tries to chase down the killer of his lover. In another, a serial killer is on the loose, wreaking havoc on everyone in their path. This Miramax film is everything you would hope it would be.
And not only are the plots sizzling with action, but the cast is also unbeatable. Sin City features well-known faces like those of Jessica Alba, Benicio del Toro, Brittany Murphy, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis and Elijah Wood. Some of the industry’s favorite creators teamed up for this film, and it shows. The music was composed by Rodriguez, John Debney, and Graeme Revell. And the tunes were designed specifically for this film.
If you are hoping to find a film that will have you on the edge of your seat for hours, Sin City is the winner. Featuring intense plots and grisly characters, this is one of the greatest comic book films. It is a creative masterpiece that blends a variety of flavors into one film. And the anthology design makes it fresh and new with every twist and turn. While it isn’t a kid-friendly film, the plots and characters are guaranteed to entertain almost any adult.
- IMDb Rating: 8.0
Sin City is a notable comic book movie in that it's a film directed by the person who wrote the comic: Frank Miller. The legend known for comic books like The Dark Knight Returns and Daredevil penned his hard-boiled pulp comics, Sin City, throughout the '90s, all of which were fun love letters to classic crime comics.
Sin City does feature some extraordinary feats of strength, such as those committed by Marv, but all of its heroes are street-level vigilantes. Both the comics and movies are fun, over-the-top violence that follows stories such as an ex-cop protecting a woman from a deranged murderer, to a war between call girls, the mob and cops.
3 Men In Black Is A Buddy Cop Movie With Aliens
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Men In Black
PG-13
Comedy
Action
AdventureSci-Fi
- Release Date
- July 2, 1997
- Runtime
- 98 minutes
- Director
- Barry Sonnenfeld
Cast
-
Tommy Lee Jones
-
Rip Torn
-
Linda Fiorentino
-
Will Smith
WHERE TO WATCH
Streaming
RENT
BUY
A police officer joins a secret organization that polices and monitors extraterrestrial interactions on Earth.
- Main Genre
- Sci-Fi
Related
REVIEW: Men in Black: International Fails to Reignite the Franchise Spark
Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson's agents are mostly as cogs in the convoluted plot of Men in Black: International.
- IMDb Rating 7.3
Many fans of Men In Black may still be surprised to discover that the sci-fi buddy cop comedy actually began as a black and white indie comic published by Aircel. Created by Lowell Cunningham, the comic introduced the world to Agents K and J as they worked on behalf of the secretive Men in Black agency to control alien activity on Earth.
Men In Black was a fun comic, but its adaptation was sublime, in no small part thanks to the great on-screen chemistry between Tommy Lee Jones' K and Will Smith's J. The movie followed J as he was recruited from the NYPD by the Men in Black, joining K to hunt down a murderous alien intent on ending the world. The banter between the characters, as well as Vincent D'Onofrio's hilarious acting as the movie's villain, elevated a good comic into a great, genre-defining buddy cop with a sci-fi twist.
2 300 Exaggerated A Historic Epic
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300
R
Action
DramaHistory
- Release Date
- March 9, 2007
- Runtime
- 117 minutes
- Director
- Zack Snyder
Cast
-
Vincent Regan
-
Giovanni Cimmino
-
Lena Headey
-
David Wenham
WHERE TO WATCH
Streaming
In ancient Greece, King Leonidas of Sparta assembles a small force of 300 elite soldiers to confront the vast Persian army threatening to conquer their land. The Spartans choose the narrow pass of Thermopylae as their battleground, where their smaller numbers can be used to their advantage. Despite being heavily outnumbered, the Spartans' discipline, strategy, and warrior ethos enable them to inflict significant damage on the Persian forces.
- Writers
- Zack Snyder, Kurt Johnstad, Michael B. Gordon
- Main Genre
- Action
- IMDb Rating: 7.6
The story of the Spartan 300 has been told across various mediums, but Frank Miller's Dark Horse miniseries laid the groundwork for the iconic movie, starring Gerard Butler in the role of King Leonidas. An exaggeration of the true events, the movie follows Leonidas as he assembles 300 of Sparta's finest warriors to defend Greece from a Persian invasion.
300 is an epic action/war movie that hypes up the myth behind the 300 and their battle prowess, with the heroes holding the line against a seemingly-endless onslaught of Persians. Directed by Zack Snyder, the movie played into the director's love of slow motion in scenes that masterfully captured the battle's action in Snyder's trademark style of cinematography.
1 Road to Perdition Is One Of The Best Gangster Movies
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Road to Perdition
R
DramaCrime
Thriller- Release Date
- July 12, 2002
- Runtime
- 117 minutes
- Director
- Sam Mendes
Cast
-
Tom Hanks
-
Tyler Hoechlin
-
Stanley Tucci
-
Daniel Craig
WHERE TO WATCH
Streaming
RENT
BUY
It follows mob enforcer Michael Sullivan as he seeks vengeance after his wife and son are murdered by his employer's son. Alongside his surviving son, Sullivan embarks on a journey of redemption and retribution, navigating the treacherous world of organized crime during the Great Depression.
- IMDb Rating: 7.7
Based on the comic by Max Allan Collins and Richard Piers Rayner, Road to Perdition tells the story of an Irish gangster, Michael Sullivan, whose son witnesses him gunning down a man. Having seen too much, the mafia family to which Michael belongs puts a hit out on his family, causing him and his son to go on the run.
Road To Perdition isn't just a great movie, it's one of Tom Hanks' personal favorites of his career, and features some brilliant performances by Daniel Craig, Jude Law and Paul Newman. As Michael and his son go on the run, they target the mob as revenge for the murder of his wife and son, intent on destroying the gang one heist at a time.
- Movies
- comic book movies
- Judge Dredd
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