James Gunn Picks His 5 Favorite Comic Book Movies of All Time & Well… We Didn’t Expect Some of These!

While Guardians of the Galaxy wasn’t James Gunn’s first film, it propelled his career to new heights, establishing him as a key director in the comic book genre. His movies have been celebrated for their creativity, originality, and sheer entertainment value.

Though Gunn initially made his mark with Marvel, he parted ways with the studio for various reasons, with Guardians of the Galaxy 3 being his final MCU film. He has since transitioned to DC, directing The Suicide Squad and later taking on the role of head and creative director of the DCU.

James Gunn is currently working on his new Superman film, but he recently sat down with GQ, where he was asked to list his top five comic book movies of all time. His choices might surprise you, so we’ll just present the list and let you share your thoughts! To watch the full video, follow this link.

5. Deadpool

The first film on Gunn’s list is Deadpool, and he also mentioned Deadpool 2. In his opinion, this is the fifth-best comic book movie of all time. Here’s what the director had to say about it:

I think coming in at number five, I’m gonna go with “Deadpool.” The first “Deadpool” and the second “Deadpool,” actually, are two of my favorite comic book movies. They came on the heels of the “Guardians” film. They were even more of, you know, comedies in the “Guardians” films are, and they were so well-made, so heartfelt and fun, and Ryan Reynolds just kills it.

I think “Deadpool” is a perfect adaptation of a comic book, because the comic book is very much tongue-in-cheek, very much breaking-the-fourth-wall all the time, talking to the audience, and I think the movie does that really well, but somehow also keeps it more grounded and gives it a little bit more heart than the comics have. Ryan’s such a funny guy. I think along with like Robert Downey Jr. as Iron Man or Christopher Reeve as Superman, he’s one of the all-time great comic book, you know, icons.

4. Oldboy

Oldboy, the South Korean film based on a manga, is widely acclaimed as one of the greatest movies ever made. While it’s not a superhero film—contrary to what many might expect—it’s understandable that it made Gunn’s list. Here’s what he had to say about it:

Number four, I’m going to say “Oldboy.” Now a lot of people don’t know that this is a comic book film, but it’s based on a manga, and it’s a Korean film. It reinvented action and it really ushered in the new era of Korean cinema, which has continued to this day. They still probably make the best action movies in the world. But as a movie, it’s just incredibly cinematic, incredibly colorful, really kind of gross but also beautiful, and shocking at the end.

It has real nice twist at the end, so it works on every level. If there’s one scene that sticks out, it’s obviously the hallway fight. That was a huge inspiration to me. And you can see our own version of a hallway fight in “Guardians 3.” Different versions of hallway action fights have been great, whether it’s in “Oldboy” or “The Raid,” another great action movie. We have one in the “Suicide Squad,” and now in “Guardians.”

3. A History of Violence

For Gunn, the third-best comic book movie is A History of Violence, a remarkable adaptation that highlights David Cronenberg’s directorial prowess. Here’s how Gunn explained his choice:

My third favorite all-time comic book film is “A History of Violence,” directed by David Cronenberg. One of my favorite directors. I love so many of his films. From “Dead Ringers” to “Naked Lunch.” But my favorite movie of his is probably “History of Violence.” Viggo Mortensen stars in it. He’s fantastic and it’s a really amazing movie about a guy who’s a former killer who’s trying to live this normal life and gets wrapped up in his past.

When I saw “A History of Violence,” I also, like “Oldboy,” I didn’t know this was based on anything. I didn’t know it was adapted from a novel or especially didn’t know it was adopted from comic books and a graphic novel. I just saw it as a movie itself, so it didn’t have to live up to anything. It didn’t have to overcome anything. It was just an amazing movie in and of itself that’s emotional and passionate, and the violence and the action is shot really well. I mean I really was influenced by “History of Violence.”

2. Superman

Whether this choice was influenced by personal bias or not, Gunn emphasized that Richard Donner’s original Superman film had a profound impact on his life. Here’s how he explained his second pick on the list:

Number two, I’m gonna have to go with a movie that changed my life, and that’s Richard Donner’s “Superman.” This one is important to me historically, it’s a great movie, but it was also a movie I saw as a kid that affected my life a lot. And I remember seeing it at the Peres cinema in Manchester, Missouri when it was first released.

Strangely, the same exact theater that Jim Lee, who went on to create so many great comics character, saw it in St. Louis ’cause we’re both from there. But it was taken up in this movie, and I remember when I was a child, I had seen “Star Wars,” and that was like such a big magical moment for me, and this was the next big magical movie.

1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Finally, Gunn included one superhero film on his list: the animated classic that offered a unique take on the Spider-Man franchise. It’s a fresh approach that both we and Gunn seem to have loved:

My favorite superhero movie and my favorite comic book movie is an animated film. It’s “Into the Spider-Verse.” This movie works from start to finish. It does not have a bad beat in it. The action is amazing. The emotion is amazing. The voice acting is incredible. Well-directed, well-written, and I just don’t think that there’s been a better superhero movie than “Into the Spider-Verse.”

I think that, you know, “Into the Spider-Verse” is truly the first, you know, comic book multiverse movie. They did it in such a balanced and real way. There weren’t a lot of plot holes like there are in a lot of these multiverse movies. They thought everything through and it was just really tight. And if there’s one thing I respect a lot in a screenplay, in a film, is to be elegant and to not be doing all this stuff that goes off from the center of the film. And it doesn’t, it stays pointed the entire time.

So, what did you think of the list? Let us know in the comments below!

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