Top 2 / Bottom 2 / Bonus 2: Comic Book Movies Produced in the 21st Century

Comic book movies. We've all seen a few.

Let's examine the best, the not-so-best, and what's overlooked yet worth visiting once (or again for the first time).

TOP 2
Batman Begins (2005) - A hot take, I know. This movie established a template of all "serious and grounded" comic book adaptations to follow. Even Iron Man follows the same structure beat for beat. This is the hard line in the sand.

Ghost World (2001) - As far as a movie capturing the story, style and sensibilities of the original comic goes, this is an amazing adaptation. Every scene in this lands with purpose and intent, just like the source material.

BOTTOM 2
Superman Returns (2006) - I can appreciate the intention of the movie, but a Richard Donner picture this is not. One of those unfortunate bungled productions that contains a lot of elements you can appreciate without quite working as a whole.

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) - This movie earns so many demerits for being aggressively mediocre, from the thin characterization to the half-baked story to the inconsistent effects. There's an excellent version of this movie out there, but it didn't make it to the screen.

BONUS 2
Shazam! (2019) - A fun, high-spirited superhero romp that Superman movies can learn from going forward. It hits a happy medium between justifying absurd conceits for a superhero tale and tying the story into understandable common experiences.

Punisher: Warzone (2008) - Gleeful, gruesome stylized violence takes center stage in this candy colored romp. Might feature one of the best uses of parkour outside of the Banlieue/District 13 movies.

Please feel free to post your 2's!