Underrated 90s Comic Book Films Time Forgot
Comic book films may be the biggest genre around, but that wasn’t always the case. There was a time when their popularity was still minimal due to some superhero flicks not being produced all that often. After one major success in the late eighties, there were numerous other opportunities for comic book fans as new heroes from books people hadn’t heard of before started making their way onto the big screen throughout the nineties and beyond with sequels and prequels also becoming a thing after that.
There are a lot of movies from the comic book genre which helped pave the way for it to grow in popularity in the decades to come. Some of the movies from this decade are still as fondly remembered today some don’t deserve such accolades and never have done. Not all of them are comic book superhero flicks but in fact, some virtually unknown independent style films deserved a great deal more praise than they actually got.
That being said, these are the three underrated 90s comic book films time actually forgot –
Men In Black
Sometimes the original movie isn’t given enough credit, because of how its sequel performed. This definitely feels like the case with Men in Black. The film is a sci-fi action comedy starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as government agents who monitor aliens on earth. It was a huge hit at theaters and with critics when it was released, but when you bring it up now, it feels like the entire franchise is dismissed.
Batman Forever
Some film fans hate Batman Forever because director Joel Schumacher took the franchise in a campy direction after it was dark and serious under Tim Burton. It’s hard to deny that this film isn’t quite what fans wanted, but there are still many great things about it! Jim Carrey is charming as The Riddler and Michael Gough as Alfred Pennyworth steals every scene he’s in. Val Kilmer looks like you would imagine Batman doing real work: wearing a costume and beating bad guys up. As well, the action scenes are fun and not too reliant on special effects which might have used up their budget.
The Rocketeer
As people were beginning to get a taste for capes and cowls through superhero movies like the original Batman, comic book adaptations were beginning to rise in popularity. Director Joe Johnston decided to tap into the trend with The Rocketeer and its tale of a young pilot who acquires an experimental jetpack and uses it to become a blue-collar superhero.
Despite being well-made, the film was not very successful upon release, which at the time did not make sense to audiences who had already gotten used to seeing other superheroes on screen. However, it is now clear that The Rocketeer could have fit right into the same mold as Captain America or Iron Man – all three are great old-school adventures.
