35. Men in Black (Barry Sonnenfeld, 1997)
Before Will Smith graced our screens, Men In Black was a relatively successful comic book series by Marvel Comics. As you all know it is now a massively successful film franchise, although the recent second sequel has split critics down the middle. Smith plays James Darrell Edwards III, a rookie cop who is recruited by the highly secretive MIB initiative and becomes the Agent J, the wiseass partner to straight laced Agent K, played with brilliant deadpan by Tommy Lee Jones. After a sequence of getting to know you moments the agents stumble upon a plot by the bug like species are planning to steal an object known simply as the galaxy that can help bring Earth and the surrounding solar systems to their knees. Men In Black is your classic sci-fi action comedy hybrid that is clever enough to throw out big words and mind boggling concepts without alienating its audience in the slightest. If you dont get the science references then you can just stick to the action or the comedy. Barry Sonnenfeld seems to be the man when it comes to adapting comic books for the big screen, though I get the feeling he doesnt give too much regard to the original source material. If you loved MIB then check out the sequels. If you really loved it then theres an animated series floating around in the ether too.
34. X-Men 2 (Bryan Singer, 2003)
The X-Men are forced into the classic uneasy alliance situation with their old nemesis Magneto in Bryan Singers superb sequel to X-Men. When a mutant assassin infiltrates the White House and in the hopes of furthering public distrust of the mutants, attempts to assassinate the President. When the perpetrator is revealed as William Stryker, the man responsible for the creation of Weapon X, the X-Men and Mutant Brotherhood must combine their abilities to stop the latest threat to their existence - the Mutant Registration Act. X2 begins to adapt the mega successful Dark Phoenix saga for cinema goers with mixed results. Yes, the final scene was met with a lot of love but the plot itself was too full of holes to be considered a superior adaptation worthy of a higher placing than Singers original X-Men movie.
33. The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (Steven Spielberg, 2011)
Based on the 1941 epic The Crab with the Golden Claws, TinTin: The Secret of the Unicorn unites our intrepid little friend with the insanely brilliant Captain Haddock as they set off in search of a sunken ship, said to contain the missing treasure of Haddocks ancestor. Along the way they face various perils, as one would expect, and do battle with the two bumbling detectives from London - Thompson and Thompson, voiced by the inspired choice of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. The Adventures of TinTin grossed over $370 million and a sequel is already in the works. As much as Id have liked a live action Tintin, the use of 3D motion capture is absolutely spot on.
32. Hellboy 2: The Golden Army (Guillermo del Toro, 2008)
There is a world of difference between Hellboy 2 and its predecessor. It doesnt take Anne Frank (Clerks 2 reference anybody?) to see that The Golden Army is heavily influenced by del Toros earlier fantasy yarn Pans Labyrinth. Moving away from the surface setting of Hellboy, Hellboy 2 moves into the magical realm where the evil ex boy band singer Luke Goss breaks an ancient fairy land pact and tries to reform an ancient army that can bring about literal Hell on Earth. Hes a right one that Luke Goss, isnt he? Starting trouble with Blade and now getting under the skin of Hellboy, what a naughty boy! Ron Pearlman returns as Hellboy in the role that will define him as an actor, while Johann Krauss joins the BPRD as Hellboys walking, talking, unintentionally hilarious headless conscience. I really cant say enough good things about Hellboy. The franchise is ripe for a third movie just as soon as del Toro finishes his million other projects, and lets hope Bruce Campbell really does get called up to play the live action Lobster Johnson. Now that would be groovy.
31. Hellboy (Guillermo del Toro, 2004)
Just one place separates Guillermo del Toros first Hellboy movie from his second which just goes to show how hard it is to pick the better of these films. The first Hellboy comes slightly higher for the fact that it clearly had a lower budget than The Golden Army and yet is every bit as effective at adapting the fantastic Dark Horse Comics. Hellboy part 1 also directly adapts the first Hellboy graphic novel, making it a direct adaptation. It also has a badass Rasputin, who looks like Zangief from the Streetfighter games, and the genius creation of Karl Ruprecht Kroenen, a clockwork Nazi. Loosely based on the original graphic novel by Mike Mignola, Hellboy is a comic book creation with unlimited potential.