{"id":40651,"date":"2023-08-12T15:46:49","date_gmt":"2023-08-12T19:46:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=40651"},"modified":"2023-08-12T15:46:49","modified_gmt":"2023-08-12T19:46:49","slug":"five-underappreciated-comic-book-style-movies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2023\/08\/12\/five-underappreciated-comic-book-style-movies\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Underappreciated Comic Book Style Movies"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>There was a weird period in the aughts where movie studios were becoming more and more open to adapting superhero and comic book movies, but weren\u2019t quite committed just yet. Meanwhile they did release some movies that were comic book like in nature and concept, and while they kind of bombed critically and or financially, I enjoyed them quite a bit. A few of them were even ahead of their time in many respects. Here are five that I think are woefully under appreciated, and deserve more notice, even if they aren\u2019t what I\u2019d call flawless or masterpieces.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The One (2001)
\nStreaming on: <\/strong>Netflix, Amazon Prime Video
\n<\/strong>With Marvel and DC popularizing the idea of multiverses and alternate universes, \u201cThe One\u201d is one of the finer entries in the sub-genre. James Wong\u2019s \u201cThe One\u201d is a crime thriller and science fiction martial arts movie centered on Jet Li who plays Gabriel Yulaw. As Yulaw, he travels through alternate worlds to track down and kill his alternates, which grants him more power in exchange. With then newcomer Jason Statham as an agent tasked with tracking him down, \u201cThe One\u201d culminates in to a pretty fun, over the top martial arts thriller, topped off by a pretty creative final scene.<\/p>\n

Sky High (2005)
\nStreaming on: <\/strong>Disney Plus, Apple TV
\n<\/strong>Satirizing the whole superhero trope before the superhero movie really took off, \u201cSky High\u201d is a fun and exciting underdog tale packed with a marvelous cast including Bruce Campbell, Kurt Russell, Kelly Preston, Danielle Panabaker, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and many more. \u201cSky High\u201d is a great take on the ideas of conformity and the idea of being \u201cspecial\u201d in a world that demands a lot from its youth. There are some neat action scenes, some great meta-humor, and the special effects still hold up very well. Plus, Mary Elizabeth Winstead really stands out among a large cast of young performers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Jumper (2008)
\n<\/strong>Streaming on: <\/strong>Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video
\nNot many critics enjoyed Doug Liman\u2019s adaptation of \u201cJumper\u201d but I had a good time with it in spite of its flaws. Hayden Christensen plays David, a breed of people endowed with the ability to teleport anywhere they want. Using the ability to improve his life, he\u2019s hunted down by the mysterious Roland Cox, a man devoted to stopping \u201cJumpers.\u201d Filled with some sleek action, interesting characters (including scene stealer Jamie Bell), and some great visuals, I really think \u201cJumper\u201d deserved a lot more love than it originally did.<\/p>\n

Push (2009)
\nStreaming on: <\/strong>Max, Redbox, Apple TV
\n<\/strong>Before Chris Evans was Captain America, he starred in Paul McGuigan\u2019s underrated sci-fi thriller \u201cPush.\u201d Evans played Nick Gant, a psychic among a sub-breed of other psychics who vows revenge on Division, a covert organization that engages in psychic warfare and experiments. Of course with a band of rogue psychics with their own powers, Nick teams up with a powerful clairvoyant played by Dakota Fanning in search of the key that could end the Division forever. \u201cPush\u201d is murky, but a lot of fun with some interesting concepts that are never fully fleshed out. There\u2019s also the great cast of folks like Cliff Curtis, Djimon Hounsou, Camilla Belle, and the aforementioned Evans and Fanning.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>I Am Number Four (2011)
\n<\/strong>Streaming on: <\/strong>Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Vudu
\nBased on the book series, DJ Caruso\u2019s \u201cI Am Number Four\u201d is a fun science fiction flick filled with potential for a franchise. Alex Pettyfer plays John, an alien posing as a human who is on the run with his caretaker Henri, as played by Timothy Olyphant. They\u2019re running from merciless enemies intent on hunting them down, while also pursuing eight others young aliens, also incognito. As John seeks a normal life in a small town, the otherworldly forces come crashing down on his quiet life. \u201cI Am Number Four\u201d packs in a lot of mythology but it\u2019s a lot of fun and features memorable turns from folks like Teresa Palmer and Dianna Agron. It\u2019s too bad we never got a sequel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There was a weird period in the aughts where movie studios were becoming more and more open to adapting superhero and comic book movies, but weren\u2019t quite committed just yet. Meanwhile they did release some movies that were comic book like in nature and concept, and while they kind of bombed critically and or financially, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[58,64,71,219,290,631,906,1087],"class_list":["post-40651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-list-junkies","tag-action","tag-adaptation","tag-adventure","tag-comedy","tag-disney","tag-martial-arts","tag-science-fiction","tag-thriller"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40651"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40651\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40655,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40651\/revisions\/40655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}