Although most people don’t subscribe to Amazon Prime for the streaming service, it’s one of the nicest bonuses out there. Prime Video has a pretty deep library of great titles worth exploring, including some that were adapted from other mediums.
Sometimes, those mediums are TV shows or video games, but in an era when everyone is mining the comic book store for some title that hasn’t been adapted yet, some of them are also comic books. The movies on this list aren’t all superhero movies, but they came from comic books originally, and each one of them is well worth checking out for yourself.
Kick-Ass (2010)
Adapted from a comic of the same name, Kick-Ass follows an anonymous high school who one day decides to become a superhero, even though he has no powers or skills to speak of. What follows is an outstanding black comedy that pokes fun at the superhero genre while still spending plenty of time on a loving homage.
With a stellar supporting cast that includes Nicolas Cage as a grizzled superhero villain and Mark Strong doing his villainous best, Kick-Ass deserves to be remembered as one of the great comedies of the superhero era, even if things do get a little dark at times.
Ghost in the Shell (1995)
Although the live-action remake starring Scarlett Johansson was one giant mistake, the animated Ghost in the Shell remains one of the most indelible anime movies of the 1990s. The film follows a cyborg federal agent who begins to question her own identity as she chases after a man capable of modifying cyborgs.
Featuring stunning animation, thought-provoking questions, and the kind of beautifully animated action that you so rarely see in American animated films, Ghost in the Shell is a great watch whether you’re interested in the original manga or not.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
Moving into live-action was admittedly a bit of a mixed bag for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but there are plenty of things in this 2014 movie that make it worth checking out. For one thing, the CG on the Turtles themselves looks rock solid, and for another, it tells a pretty compelling story while managing to keep the Turtles at the center.
It’s true that this version of the Turtles is a little darker and grittier than previous iterations, but that doesn’t mean it loses what has made these characters so enduring for generations.
Red (2010)
An action movie featuring a roster of aging action stars who prove that they still have plenty left in the take, Red is adapted from a comic of the same name. When a CIA agent survives a hit, he decides to reassemble his own team to uncover a conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of the government.
The beats of this action movie may be a touch formulaic, but the charisma of the movie’s all-star cast more than makes up for it. Bruce Willis proves that he’s still got it here, as do Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, and the rest of the cast.
Men in Black (1997)
The classic that cemented Will Smith as the greatest movie star of his generation, Men in Black follows Smith’s character as he discovers a hidden world filled with agents designed to keep the human population from knowing that there are aliens among them.
The movie is funny, has a few genuinely great set pieces, and features wonderful work from Tommy Lee Jones and Vincent D’Onofrio in addition to Smith’s central turn. The sequels could never fully live up to this first installment, but that doesn’t make the first installment any less perfect.
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