RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Found a Bug? Squash It! Report Bugs Here
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Features
  • | Columns
  • | Guides
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
News / Columns / Total Recall
Total Recall: Which Graphic Novels Made Good Movies?
We run down some of the most high-profile comic-to-screen adaptations.
by RT Staff | March 05, 2009
Discuss Article
Page | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

With Watchmen hitting theaters this week, we at RT decided to take a look at other graphic novels and comic book miniseries that have made the transition to the big screen. Though this list is by no means completely definitive, it contains some of the most high-profile adaptations in the medium, including films derived from the work of Alan Moore, Frank Miller, and Daniel Clowes; we also arranged it by Tomatometer. And before hooting and hollering about the exclusion of X-Men and The Dark Night, take note: we restricted our list to those tales told through a single book or a limited series.


16%
Template Image
Rotten

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Before he completely swore off Hollywood, and after he permitted the makers of From Hell to take liberties with his material, Alan Moore allowed himself to be officially attached to one more film: 2003's The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. League was loosely based on a comic book series written by Moore that spanned multiple volumes, and when we say "loosely," we mean it. Each volume of the source material is broken down into separate stories centered around Victorian era characters from literature who undertake globetrotting adventures. While the film does follow this general idea, the story itself is wildly different from any of the original work's volumes. Moore himself had no involvement with the production, and League opened to a critical drubbing; as Stephen Hunter of the Washington Post wrote, "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen just plain reeks."


19%
Template Image
Rotten

Monkeybone

A little-noticed box-office flop of surprisingly epic proportions (it made $7 million worldwide on a budget of $75 million), the live action/animation hybrid Monkeybone also failed to enchant critics (it racked up a robust 19 percent score on the Tomatometer). The film was directed by Henry Selick, who became obsessed with Dark Town, a graphic novel by Kaja Blackley and Vanessa Chong. Both the book and the film tell the story of a comic book artist named Stu (Brendan Fraser) who finds himself in Dark Town after an auto accident; it's a place where his creations, like the irrepressible Monkeybone, come to life and cause him no small amount of trouble. Despite the movie's elaborate production design, Selick pulled off much more effective and evocative dreamworlds in The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline. "Except for the inventive and eye-catching decor, Monkeybone is as two-dimensional as a line drawing," wrote of Ted Murphy of BaselineHollywood.com.

Next Page >>
Bookmark and Share
Page | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Comments (1-20 of 46 posts) | Reply
BUCK69
BUCK69 writes:
on Mar 05 2009 08:57 AM

Both "Road to Perdition" and "A History of Violence" often get omitted from the list of graphic-novel-to-films. They're both great movies, based on very well developed stories. They demonstrate that the source medium transcends typical comic-book fare.

(Reply to this)
vashfanatic
vashfanatic writes:
on Mar 05 2009 09:15 AM

what, "Akira" but no "Ghost in the Shell"?

Yeah, "V for Vendetta" is radically different from the original graphic novel in political tone and plot points (no evil computer in the movie, for example), but it's still an awfully good movie in its own right. One of those where you have to keep the two separate.


(Reply to this)
nathanpoitras
nathanpoitras writes:
on Mar 05 2009 09:29 AM

From Hell is definitely one of the better ones, Road to Perdition is pretty awesome too.

(Reply to this)
oddjob323
oddjob323 writes:
on Mar 05 2009 09:42 AM

Road to Perdition is crap. History of Violence is good, V for Vendetta is decent, and Stardust was surprisingly good.

(Reply to this)
Jeremiah H.
Jeremiah H. writes:
on Mar 05 2009 10:09 AM

Glad to see Akira on there, by far one of the greatest films ever. I am curious how DiCrapio is going to adapt it to live-action though. My hopes are high but my expectations are low.
A History of Violence was great, so was 300 and Sin City, V for Vendetta was great, and I very surprisingly loved Star Dust.
I can't wait to see Watchmen on here or even maybe the "The Dark Knight Returns" but I won't hold my breathe on that.


(Reply to this)
michaelneo
michaelneo writes:
on Mar 05 2009 10:19 AM

weird to see that ghost in the shell didnt make it to the list. Im pretty sure the manga was limited series and ended long time ago. But good to see Akira on the list. An impressive movie

(Reply to this)
whiskeyriver
whiskeyriver writes:
on Mar 05 2009 10:26 AM

Ghost World and Persepolis are impossibly good, and deserve to be at the top of this list.

(Reply to this)
tomwaitsjr
tomwaitsjr writes:
on Mar 05 2009 11:26 AM

I'm amazed 30 days of night has that hight of a score. The only thing good about that movie was Ben Foster. Other than that, you just had a bunch of Down-Syndrome looking vampires behaving stupidly, with normal people, somehow, being even more stupid than the vampires.

Stupid movie.


(Reply to this)
jokerboy1991
jokerboy1991 writes:
on Mar 05 2009 12:23 PM

Also am I the only one who thinks The Rocketeer is awesome!?!?

(Reply to this)
Hamboner
Hamboner writes:
on Mar 05 2009 12:54 PM

I haven't watched the Rocketeer through in about 15 years, but from my memory there is nothing but respect. "Charming young hero uses Howard Hughes' experimental jetback, teams up with the mafia and federal agents to battle the Nazis who have hijacked Hollywood."

What an amazing synopsis. Was the bad guy named Neville Sinclair? Was he played by Goulet?


(Reply to this)
tomwaitsjr
tomwaitsjr writes:
on Mar 05 2009 01:56 PM

I saw Rocketeer when it came out. Awseome film. There also was something of a video game that came out at the same time. Company called "Cinemaware." made it for my commodore 64. . .

(Reply to this)
vitajex
vitajex writes:
on Mar 05 2009 02:35 PM

In reply to this comment (#2355411)
You are not the only one.

Of course, Jennifer Connelly is awesomer...


(Reply to this)
ledawg1138
ledawg1138 writes:
on Mar 05 2009 02:55 PM

I love "V for Vendetta", it's one of the my favorite films. I also love "Persepolis", which I saw yesterday.

(Reply to this)
ledawg1138
ledawg1138 writes:
on Mar 05 2009 03:04 PM

And yes I know it's very different from the graphic novel, but "V" is a great film.

"300"? At 60 percent?! "This is madness!" "Madness?... This is SPARTA!!!" So quoteable.


(Reply to this)
Carlos R.
Carlos R. writes:
on Mar 05 2009 03:21 PM

I hope someday I get to see "The Dark Knight Returns" in a movie theater.

(Reply to this)
BatsInTheBelfry
BatsInTheBelfry writes:
on Mar 05 2009 04:05 PM

In reply to this comment (#2355426)
Not Goulet. Former Bond Timothy Dalton.

(Reply to this)
BUCK69
BUCK69 writes:
on Mar 05 2009 04:11 PM

In reply to this comment (#2355319)
What constitutes crap in your book? The acting? The characters? The story? The cinematography? The narrative? I'm just not real clear on that.

(Reply to this)
tomwaitsjr
tomwaitsjr writes:
on Mar 05 2009 05:05 PM

In reply to this comment (#2355474)
Carlos,

Dark Knight returns is my all time favorite Graphic Novel. They did use a few parts of it in the first Burton Batman, but hardly anything. It would have to be an R to be any good.


(Reply to this)
jokerboy1991
jokerboy1991 writes:
on Mar 05 2009 05:33 PM

In reply to this comment (#2355385)
Yeah 30 Days was really disappointing, not bad, but disappointing. V is awesome and I remember not that many people loving it that much when it came out. From Hell I thought was decent. LXG was terrible and I am still kind of angry about how bad it was. I think 300 and Wanted are fun dumb action movies. Sin City, Perdition, Akira, and A History of Violence are awesome. I also really like Ghost World, I look at it as a better version of Juno.

(Reply to this)
the_clouds_are_bleeding
the_clouds_are_bleeding writes:
on Mar 05 2009 06:27 PM

In my opinion, A History Of Violence is the best on the list, followed closely by Ghost World. However, I absolutely hated V For Vendetta when I saw it in theatres. I just couldn't get over how cheesy the acting was on all counts. I felt nothing, neither praise nor hatred for 300, 30 Days of Night, Sin City & From Hell. I have yet to see the other films on this list.

(Reply to this)
Read More Comments
Page | 1 2 3
Post Your Comment
You must be registered to post comments. Login or Register.

Related Links

Ghost World
  • Pictures
  • Posters
  • News
  • Forum

Related Articles

  • Total Recall: Which Graphic Novels Made Good Movies? (46)
  • Brad Renfro: 1982-2008 (12)
  • Zwigoff, Clowes to Assemble $40,000 Man (14)
  • Critical Consensus: "Vendetta" Hits, "Man" Misses (26)
  • SUNDANCE: Capsule Reviews of "Sunshine," "Science," "Proposition," And More (1)

Most Discussed

  • Friday Harvest: The Road, Avatar, and more! (96)
  • Ban Them All! 10 Infamously Controversial Movies (94)
  • 5 Facts About The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (91)
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Vampires and Football Break Thanksgiving Records (35)
  • Weekly Ketchup: Zombieland 2 in 3D? (28)
  • Five Favorite Films With Zombieland Director Ruben Fleischer (24)
  • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies (18)
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Terminator Salvation and a Smithsonian Battle (17)
  • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura (9)
  • Duncan Jones Reteams With Kevin Spacey (5)

Latest News

  • Five Favorite Films with Jesse Ventura (10)
  • Total Recall: Natalie Portman's Best Movies (18)
  • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Terminator Salvation and a Smithsonian Battle (17)
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Vampires and Football Break Thanksgiving Records (35)
  • Weekly Ketchup: Zombieland 2 in 3D? (28)
  • Duncan Jones Reteams With Kevin Spacey (5)
  • Friday Harvest: The Road, Avatar, and more! (96)
  • Ban Them All! 10 Infamously Controversial Movies (94)
  • 5 Facts About The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (91)
  • Five Favorite Films With Zombieland Director Ruben Fleischer (24)

Latest Interviews

  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist (17)
  • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview (11)
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary (21)
  • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview (8)
  • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview (15)
  • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus (22)
  • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview (9)
  • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film (28)
  • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel (28)
  • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute (14)

Latest Features

  • Ban Them All! 10 Infamously Controversial Movies (94)
  • 5 Facts About The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (91)
  • Five Favorite Films With Zombieland Director Ruben Fleischer (24)
  • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist (17)
  • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary (21)
  • Five Favourite Films with Ang Lee (35)
  • 10 Movies That Changed The (End Of The) World (36)
  • Ho-ho-horror! 10 Scary Christmas Movies (39)
  • 12 Facts About 2012 (135)
  • RT's Movie Location Guide - London as Elsewhere (0)

Sponsored Links

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.