Not bad when you consider that only recently, the medium was considered the preserve of dateless man-children alone.

But as it happens, its a lot better than the numbers suggest.

Give it a try now and itll make far more sense.

See also:rethinking Mystery Men.

Considering it was released almost 30 years ago, thats a pretty damning state of affairs.

The Punisher

Few characters defy a nuanced portrayal quite as completely as the Punisher.

Unless youre reading a comic by Garth Ennis, hes little more than a vigilante who shoots criminals.

It makes for a distracting couple of hours, and wed be surprised if its bettered any time soon.

Its altogether a far superior film and definitely worth re-evaluating if you liked any part of the original.

Wed be interested to see that happen.

The Mask

Based on a comic?

Maybe its because the cartoon spin-off made people re-evaluate it as a kids film.

Several movies have followed.

Whats not to like?

And it was fantastic.

An utterly charming story, with a timeless look and feel.

Polished, original and witty, its a film unfairly overlooked for being French-language.

Lets attempt to change that.

Despite an Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay, it remains a largely undiscovered gem.

Strangely, the film performed badly in most countries but was beloved in the UK.

Maybe the distance of a few decades will allow a new audience across the globe to discover its charms.

If you dont love it, well be surprised.

The late Shirley Walkers score is outstanding, too.

you could read more about herhere.

Just the fact that its a blockbuster movie with themes and subtext puts it streets ahead of most.

But attempt to forget youve ever read aHellblazercomic, and suddenly this film becomes a lot better.

Theres a lot to like, provided you’re free to forget that its an adaptation at all.

Kick Ass 2

Who knows what went wrong with this one?

So why didnt it do better?

Perhaps people felt the joke was done.

Perhaps they felt that the story didnt have anywhere to go.

Perhaps, like Jim Carrey, they just felt that violence wasnt funny anymore.

Theres more talent in this movie than some comics franchises combined.

That said, its the small-town, big ideas contrast that really makes this film so great.

Its sharp, insightful, beautifully written and emotionally incisive.

As much as, if not more so than Clowes comic.

And for that matter, its better than most movies not on this list.

Its already destined for cult appreciation, but a movie this good shouldve been far more widely appreciated.

Were probably preaching to the converted here, though.

Dredd

Now, heres the thing.

If youre reading Den of Geek, we probably dont need to tell you how goodDredd 3Dwas.

Youre probably aware that it makes the originalJudge Dreddfilm look like the mid-90s toss it was.

Which means we (all of us) havent been doing our job properly.

We dont care that by now, hopes for a sequel are all but dashed.

Make a friend watchDreddtoday.

Theyll thank you for it.

But hear us out, because if anything qualifies as underappreciated or maybe misappreciated its Ang Lees 2003Hulkfilm.

But Ang Lee didnt go the easy route, instead delivering an adaptation few wouldve dared to.

One that treated the concept of the Hulk more respectfully and thoughtfully than any director before or since.