My top-10 super hero movies, for now
Mar 07 '09 (Updated May 07 '09)
The Bottom Line New effects and serious screen writing and directing have provided much to cheer about for comic book fanboys. In the current runnings, Batman reigns, but things can change quickly.
The creation of comic book and superhero movies has reached a fever pitch in recent years. Even as I write this, Watchmen is opening in theaters and about a half-dozen more superhero movies are in the works for coming years.
Fortunately for the fans, quite a few fairly high quality superhero movies have emerged over the years. Here are my top-10 picks, as of early 2009:
10. Ironman (2008) - This was a very close pick over Spiderman 2, whose omission from this list many would find blasphemous. Ironman wasn't particularly groundbreaking or intriguing; it was simply a very well done super hero movie that got all the basics right.
9. Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980) - Yes, this is a cop-out to pick two movie for one slot. Here is the dilemma: Superman is truly the classic superhero movie. I have very fond early memories of Superman I. However, upon watching them years later, I realized many of those memorable scenes were from Superman II, not I. In fact, Superman I hasn't aged well in some respects. For me, the casting and music is what will always carry these films.
8. Batman (1989) -A classic even though it hasn't aged so well. Bruce Wayne is supposed to be about 6 feet tall while Michael Keaton looks like he's . . . four feet high. But Nicholson does a great Joker, and overall Tim Burton provided a worthy blend of fantasy darkness, perverse humor, and cool gadgets.
7. Blade (1998) - Blade was a pioneer in transferring comic book storytelling methods to modern action movies. Even today, Blade still has some of the best and flashiest action sequences. This movie would set the style and tone of many successors in the coming decade.
6. The Incredibles (2004) - Let's take a moment to appreciate what Pixar achieved with The Incredibles: it's both a funny spoof of superhero movies and simultaneously a great super hero movie in and of itself. Now that is an incredible feat.
5. X2 (2002) - The general consensus is that X2 is superior to X-men, but I've always enjoyed X-men more. Still, X2 has plenty of memorable scenes and expands the cast to include some of my favorite characters. More is not necessarily better, as was clearly evident in X-men: The Last Stand, but X2 maintained a solid level of restraint and composure.
4. Batman Begins (2005) - Perhaps this movie received a boost from nervous expectations and dread that fans felt after Batman & Robin closed out the initial franchise. But it was a solid and serious comeback for the dark knight. My only regret is that it caters a bit too heavily to the interests of young American males. But then again, it IS a comic book movie.
3. Spiderman (2002) - A nearly perfect part 1 of a superhero movie franchise. Spiderman's origin is told with a great blend of innocence, heroism, development, humor, and personality.
2. X-men (2000) - This was a close call with Spiderman. I probably picked X-men over Spiderman simply because I am a much bigger X-men fan. This was a very cool and calculated introduction for the general audiences to the X-men. The only downfall of X-men (and X2 for that matter), is somewhat underwhelming action scenes. This problem was over corrected in X-men: The Last Stand, to the other extreme.
1. The Dark Knight (2008) - Do you see how seriously we comic book geeks take our super heroes? We love super hero movies with dark themes, shocking brutality, and gritty, sombre cinematography. We are sick of being dismissed as campy, silly, flamboyant. We want uninitiated audiences to think, whoa, this is not kid stuff. The Dark Knight is certainly not perfect. It's a bit too long and it uses a potentially awkward two-climax plot format. But for the most part it succeeds in maintaining the intensity from beginning to end.
Runners-up would include: Hellboy, V for Vendetta, Batman Returns.
There is a slew of mediocre, forgetable movies such as Fantastic Four, Superman Returns, Daredevil, X-men Origins: Wolverine, and the Blade sequels.
Then there is a disturbingly growing mass of generally lousy super hero movies, such as Spiderman 3 and X-men: The Last Stand. Batman and Robin sets the floor for super hero movies.
For the record, I have not seen: Watchmen, FF4 2, Catwomen, Hellboy 2, or any of the Hulk movies.
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Location: Ohio
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