Name your top 5 superhero or comic movies. I’m basing my list on Wikipedia’s list but feel free to think of any you can think of, including animated or foreign if you got some. Here are mine:
The Avengers. Some great dialog, some good action, and a good enough story make this a standard for superhero movies. The alien invaders at the end are a little thinly developed, but I can live with that as that’s kind of the point – they’re just an army Loki is using to win. This movie shows that you can have a superhero movie with a team of heroes in it (as if X-Men didn’t do that already).
Captain America. Time will tell if this remains one of my favorites, but I totally bought the earnestness of the story. There are some great actors and character moments with everyone in the movie. I think it bogs down a bit with the CGI showdown between Hydra and Cap with his allies, but there is some good action to be had here.
Superman. The effects are a little dated, but this movie is the reason that I ran around my neighborhood for two years in a Superman T-Shirt and a towel around my neck. Seeing Reeve as Superman and hearing that score makes me believe that a man can fly (see what I did there?).
The Incredibles. A better Fantastic Four movie that any Fantastic Four movies to date. Great voicework by all of the cast and some great interactions between a family of super powered people. The middle part on the island goes a little long, but that’s a minor criticism.
Hellboy. I hadn’t seen this comic before the movie, but I really dug the characters and story here. Ron Perlman is Hellboy and he’s got some great stuff with Selma Blair, who I think is a great and underappreciated actress.
Honorable mentions:
X-Men, X-Men United, X-Men First Class. All are very good and First Class is close to being in my top 5.
The Mask. I liked this movie much better than the comic it came from. Jim Carrey is great as a manic, insane “hero” and Cameron Diaz is sssssmoooookin’ (get it?).
Watchmen. Would be in my top 5 but for all of that blue wang. But seriously though, a great movie and though there’s been criticism of it straying from the source material, it worked well enough for me.
Batman (1966). Come on, this movie is the best. The scene with Batman trying to ditch a bomb on an overcrowded wharf is worth its weight in Batarangs.
The Dark Knight. The only superhero movie that was more than just a superhero movie.
Spider-Man 2. Doc Ock was a terrific villain.
Batman (1989). Great performances; Nicholson’s Joker was the best supervillain until Heath Ledger, and Keaton was surprisingly good. Making the Joker the man who killed Thomas Wayne was the best retcon ever.
The Incredibles
Swamp Thing. Nice adaptation of the comic; combining Cable and Abagail into one character was also a great change.
I also liked Hellboy and Daredevil (especially the fact that he hurt after he fought a villain).
Push – A lot of people didn’t like it, but it had some cool powers, awesome visuals, a great cast (Chris Evans’ best movie), and an interesting story. I really honestly love it.
The Heroic Trio – The cast is the best thing about this Hong Kong film (Maggie Cheung is awesome) – there’s also a sequel, called The Executioners.
Danger: Diabolik – The classic Dino de Laurentiis produced, Mario Bava directed, Ennio Morricone scored, John Phillip Law starred, etc…where was I going with this?
Unbreakable – I don’t like M. Night Shyamalan movies as a rule, but I went into this without knowing anything about it and was very impressed. It’s a cool, ‘real’, superpower movie.
Josie and the Pussycats – OK, its not a superhero film, but it is based on a comic – this was my favourite movie of the 00s, so I’m listing it.
I agree on Spider-Man 2 and Batman. Batman had such incredible hype going into it and that was the movie that got people thinking you can do a superhero movie and not have it be a low budget stinker.
Scott Pilgrim and Ghost World were two more that I was thinking of. Ghost World was a really good movie but I haven’t seen Scott Pilgrim yet. 300 was pretty good too.
I liked Iron Man as well. I think Mighty Marvel’s Movie Machine would have a tougher time getting these movies made if it hadn’t been as good as it was.
With the proviso that I haven’t seen Avengers yet…
X-men 2 - possibly the perfect superhero team movie. So good it can’t even be tarnished by X-men 3.
Spiderman 2 - possibly the perfect single superhero movie. So good it can’t even be tarnished by Spiderman 3.
Superman - classic, stands the test of time.
The Dark Knight - scratches the Grim ‘n’ Gritty itch, but it does drag a bit toward the end, and the growly-Bale-Batman voice is sometimes laughable. But Ledger’s amazing, and it finally felt like Batman done right.
Iron Man - perfect casting in Downey and Paltrow. Flawless effects. Great humor. Made me care about a superhero I never did before.
Honorable mention to: Mystery Men, Hellboy, Watchmen, Thor, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, Incredibles
Mask of the Phantasm was very good and I forgot about that one as well. I remember seeing it in the theater and thinking that this is what the live action Batman movie should strive for. You can’t get much better than Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill as Batman and the Joker, in my oppinion.
Can I mention the Bottom 5, just to cleanse our palates?
Clooney’s Batman Superman IV
Any Punisher, but esp the Dolph Lundgren version
Roger Corman’s cheapo Fantastic Four
and … **The Justice League! **** (oh, no, Miguel Ferrar threw the device [yes, it’s a briefcase] off a cliff? What will Green Lantern do? Watch it fall, of course: “Darn! Too late to save it!”) I dare you to watch this without squirming.
You’ve forgotten about Blade. It’s doubtlessly tarnished by the sequels, but it tested the waters for Marvel and launched the contemporary superhero flick as a genre - proving that people could take a comic book concept seriously after so many Batman abortions.
Oh surely you can do worse that this!
The Phantom with Billy Zane
Catwoman with Halle Berry
the 90s Captain America
The Shadow with Alec Baldwin
The Elektra and Daredevil films
Jonah Hex
Any Ghost Rider film
Green Hornet
Green Lantern
Actually, I’m surprised they made ANY superhero films after this list
I love Blade I think I would definitely put it in my top 5. In no particular order kind of run a variety of styles
Dark Knight - Classic hero in a grittier new are of superhero movies
Blade - Vampire slasher movie, not your classic crime fighting superhero
X-Men - Multiple Superheroes clashing and fighting, pure fun
Superman 2 - Best from my youth
V for Vendetta - My favorite Graphic novel adaptation (slightly ahead of Watchmen
Honorable Mention:*
Flash Gordon (not listed at Wikipedia) - SO bad its good, and the Queen soundtrack is great.
*
I am curious for the people listing “X-Men”, do you really mean the first one or just short handing it. X2 was great, First Class was great, X-men was pretty good, X3 was mediocre at best.
I take no issue with any movie on that list except one–The Shadow. Loved that one. (And if we’re including pulp heroes, I also really liked the 1982 Conan and the 1975 Doc Savage movie, though it’s been decades since I saw the latter, so I have no idea how well it holds up.)
