25. Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaku, 2000)
When I was a kid I used to dream about scenarios like the one in Kinji Fukasakus manga adaptation. Sure, I was a little bit strange but I was also extremely confident that I would be the winner. I wasnt the biggest, nor was I the toughest but I was definitely the craziest - and that counts for a lot when youre in a battle to the death. If you havent seen Battle Royale then youre in for a treat. In a society where the youth are out of control (sound familiar?) the adults decide to hold an annual contest where one class is selected at random and forced to battle to the death on a remote island over a specific time period. With only a bag containing a random weapon the classmates quickly realise that they must turn on one another if they stand any chance of getting out alive. OK, so the premise is similar to that of say The Running Man but staging the story with teenagers in place of the dangerous criminals gives it a whole extra depth that is missing from many similar stories, including its own sequel. A fantastic, well received adaptation that was successful the world over.
24. Ichi The Killer (Takashi Miike, 2001)
Takashi Miike doesnt mess around when he makes a film. Ichi the Killer is one of the most bizarre and violent adaptations of a comic book you will ever see. Filled with gore and sadomasochistic acts Ichi the Killer is the tale of Kakihara, a Yakuza enforcer with a penchant for pain who, while searching for his missing leader, encounters a strange little man named Ichi that can dish out pain in ways Kakihara could only dream about. Presented as a dark black comedy, Ichi the Killer remains a cult favourite but has struggled to find a mainstream audience, largely due to its extremely violent nature and themes of sexuality and torture. That being said it is an absolute must see example of Japanese movie making. You won't see anything like this in Hollywood. Ever.
23. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Steve Barron, 1990)
The Teenage Mutant Ninja/Hero Turtles were one of the biggest crazes of the late 80s early 90s. They were everywhere - an animated series, amazing toy line, TMNT pizzas, hell, even sales of turtles skyrocketed back in the day, only for most of them to be flushed down the lav, presumably to grow into giant mutant killers over a number of decades. Wasnt that how these very same turtles came into being in the first place? Flushed down a toilet by some rubbish owner who needs reporting to the RSPCA, and exposed to some alien chemical slime from Dimension X that turned them into humanoid ninjas, trained and raised by another mutant, Master Splinter - a rat in a dressing gown - in the sewers beneath New York City. Based on the amazing comic strip by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, TMNT the movie returned to its comic book roots which was both refreshing and exciting. For those of you lucky enough to have actually read the original source material, rather than any subsequent publications, youll remember the gritty, black and white style that was closer to Sin City than its kids TV show counterpart - the conflict between unofficial leader Leonardo and hot headed Raphael being the perfect example of this. With a voice cast including Corey Feldman and Kevin Clash TMNT still holds up as a genre classic today that is surprisingly well made considering its limitations at the time. Several sequels, spin-offs and reboots have been made/attempted since but none of them come close to the original. If it wasnt for the recent influx of top quality comic book movies TMNT would definitely have made the top 20.
22. Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi & Vincent Paronnaud, 2007)
Biographical animation set during the Islamic Revolution. Telling the tale of Marji, an outspoken, precocious young Iranian woman whos contempt for the fundamentalist government is brought to a head when they start to show signs of becoming as repressive and tyrannical as the Shah they overthrew, leading to her abandoning her homeland for Vienna - a complete cultural opposite to the world she knows. A massively successful graphic novel and animation that was nominated for an Academy Award and was also the winner of the 2007 Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival. The film was a financial flop at the cinema for the most part but is widely deemed a huge critical success and was banned in several countries upon its release. Not your typical cartoon, and worlds apart from some of the other animated entries in this list Persepolis is as powerful and moving as it is controversial.
21. Iron Man 2 (Jon Favreau, 2010)
The first Iron Man changed the superhero genre completely. Sure, there were better films out there but none of them felt quite so much like an actual comic book as that movie. Iron Man 2 was just the same, but unfortunately it came around a little too late to break into the top 20. In his second movie Robert Downey Jrs Iron Man must contend with his new found double life as well as a crazed Russian adversary named Whiplash, a man whose own father was once intrinsically linked with Starks own pops. And boy, is he one helluva handful for Tonys Starks alter ego. Downey Jr carries the whole movie again and is absolutely unforgettable as the billionaire alcoholic playboy with a heart ... or rather a heart protected by a magnetic chest plate. The casting of Mickey Rourke as Ivan Vanko/Whiplash is an inspired choice, even if we do have to ignore Rourkes surgically enhanced features enough to believe his portrayal while the excellent Sam Rockwell joins the cast as Justin Hammer, the anti-Stark who unleashes Whiplash onto an unsuspecting world in a bid to create his very own super suit. A rare instance of a sequel being just as good as the original. A third Iron Man is on its way next year.