A couple of weekends ago, I had a big movie weekend and watched eight flicks… EIGHT! Friday’s theme was stuff I’d heard about and might like; Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy, Napoleon Dynamite, and Anchorman.

I’ve already done reviews for the Bournes and for Napoleon. Anchorman didn’t merit a review, other than maybe “blech“. I mildly enjoyed Old School, but Anchorman was not Will Farrell’s best work.

Saturday’s theme was comic inspired movies; XMen, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Hellboy.

Obviously, XMen is a slam dunk. Most people consider it one of the first real comic-book based movies, as it stays as true as possible to the mood and characters of the original material. No need to review this one. It’s a classic.

So, I’m left with three reviews to do and time is ticking. With each passing slumber I come closer to forgetting the details, so I’m going to buckled down and review all three right now. Hold on tight.

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is loosely based on a comic book of the same name, written by Alan Moore, who also wrote Constantine (which I hope to see soon).

The premise is very literary, which I love. A half dozen characters from what can only be described as the Victorian era’s sci-fi literature are lumped together to make a team of super heroes. To be honest, I had not heard of most of them, by name, but I knew their stories. Washed up African adventurer, Allan Quatermain; suave and neurotic, Captain Nemo; Mina Harker, from Bram Stoker’s Dracula; The Invisible Man; Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; and Dorian Gray, one of my favorite Victorian bad guys. All are forced to learn team work in order to save the world.

The special effects are very well done. The acting is on par with Sean Connery, in other words, terrific. The script is engaging though sometimes cliche. All in all I really enjoyed the flick. Enough, in fact, that I want to dig up some of the original graphic novels and learn more about the story.

On the down side, I found a review on IMDB by someone more familiar with Alan Moore’s original work. Turns out Hollywood really bent this one over.

If you liked this movie, I’m not going to fault you. There are some cool things going on in the background, and the premise itself is intriguing. But PLEASE read the book. Its the only way to know what really could have been.

Still, the movie is good on its own, so I give it three out of a possible five grins.

To be fair, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is not a comic book. But it should have been. It was the brain child and life-long dream of Kerry Conran. The show is influenced by… nay… emerced in the 1940’s sci-fi serial hero format. This could easily have been screened right next to “The Green Hornet”, “Buck Rogers” or “Flash Gordon” and it would fit right in, right down to the far fetched technology and cheesy dialog.

What is really land-mark about this film is that there was no set. The entire show was filmed on blue screen, with large props (okay, set pieces). Then the film is rendered in such a way as to blend the actors and physical props into the computer generated shots so that they match flawlessly. It’s got that old, colorized, grainy look that perfectly matches the real thing.

I got a real kick out of the story and characters. The script was stellar and the acting was great considering the flavor of the film. It was intended to be a little flat and cheesy, just like the 40’s adventure flicks, so I count that as a credit to the cast.

Mostly because of the ingenuity, but also because I really enjoyed it, I would probably buy this DVD if I saw it on sale. Thus, it gets four grins.

Last, but certainly not least is Hellboy. This film is based on the comic books by Mike Mignola, and from all I’ve been able to find, it is religiously faithful to them. Mignola was in the director’s back pocket which is how this genre should always be done.

Once gain, I am inspired to hunt down some graphic novels and learn more. I’m not a comic book nerd, never got much past Mad Magazine, but I really love these kinds of fantasy stories. Hellboy has only increased this feeling.

The story begins with a long flashback to the end of WWII. Nazis have enlisted the help of some mysterious mystics to summon up all sorts of nasty, ethereal, end-of-the-world type stuff, including a demon child … (highlite to reveal a slight spoiler) that will bring about the apocalypse. However, some crack US troops save the day and foil the Nazis. Yaaay us. The demon baby has already been summoned, though, and is taken in and raised by an American paranormalist.

Fast forward 50 years or so. Now there’s a super secret government agency that has employed the demon, Hellboy, and some other unexplainable characters to fight evil beneath the streets. As you can see this has the makings of a really horrible, Hollywood, super hero flick. But stick with me.

The comic book style saves this movie. It’s gritty and has brilliant comedic threads twisting throughout, most notably in the fight scenes. I really like how Hellboy is played. He’s an average joe, working stiff, kind of guy. It just so happens that he’s daily grind is fighting horrific beasts of the underworld. I particularly like the dead-pan way in which he looks at an impossible situation, like the subway train that’s about to run over him, and sums it up with a glum, “aww crap.”

The special effects, including tons of makeup, is tremendous. The story is very entertaining and the acting is off the charts for this genre. I will own this movie and eagerly await the sequel (slated for next year). Thus it garners a perfect five grins.

Whew… we made it. Thanks for reading!