Top 10 Tuesday - Superhero Movies

In honor of  "The Avengers" coming out on video today, I thought I'd do my top 10 about Superhero movies (and, yes, Batman is a Superhero regardless of what some might say). At first I thought "Are there at least 10 good ones?" Then I started to name them in my head and it ended up branching out too much, so I'm leaving it at DC/Marvel Heroes (sorry "Hellboy" and "Kick Ass") that are not from Graphic Novels (sorry "Watchmen") and are not animated (sorry "Incredibles"). At some point they will maybe get their own. I upfront apologize to anyone who is a Superman fan because he isn't on here. I've never gotten into his movies that much. This one's in order. Let's start the show!

You should see your face right now...LOL. This is a bit of a joke since I wouldn't place it in my Top 10, but I really think it has gotten a really bad rap. It isn't all that bad (it isn't great or anything either, though, just decent...better than alot of other ones out there) and actually is an homage to Silver Age comics of the '60s instead of Lantern as he is now. Think about that next time you watch it.

Ok now for real:

Cracks the Top 10 merely for being a Guillermo Del Toro movie. I like the "Hellboy" movies more, but they fell out of my rules because they are by Dark Horse Comics. It is a really good movie with a really good aesthetic. The first one was merely competent, but this one was able to really have fun and hit the ground running.

DEFINITELY the best of the Spider-Man movies. The first one had alot going for it, but (because it was an origin story) took a while to get going. I'm sure the studio wouldn't let Raimi completely loose until this one and then held on too tight for the third so this one was just pure bliss.

Laugh all you want to at this one, but I still love it. Sure there are alot of goofs and gaffs in it if you're really watching, but the script is good and it's pretty damn funny. It's one of those movies where I really didn't mind the camp factor that eventually got turned to 12 in the series. Nicholson was awesome in the first one, but it really didn't have that much else going for it, this one is a nice balance of everything.

The movie which proved to movie studios that comic book movies could be smart and lucrative. Sure it took a few liberties (Bobby a student?), but what I really liked about this one is the fact that they stayed true to the heart of the X-Men franchise. It has always been an allegory for the two sides of every struggle for the identity of a "minority". Originally it was the Civil Rights movement with Professor X being MLK and Magneto being Malcom X and then it has evolved to other movements like Gay Rights. I love that they stayed true to that.

In all actuality, this is probably the most well made of the Marvel Universe movies. At least the solo ones. And talk about loads of heart, if you didn't choke up during the final scenes in the plane, you're the Tin Man. What makes this stand out is they didn't feel like he needed snappy one-liners every five seconds (they already had that with Iron Man) and kept Rogers as he really is, a genuinely good guy that all he wants to do is rid the world of bullies.

Shut up if you don't like where I put this. Time will tell on it, but having seen it twice on the big screen, I still stand by my choice. It is impeccably made and didn't shy away from ending one of the most lucrative series in the business with such finality. Tom Hardy is great as Bane, Michael Caine should get a damn Oscar, and the biggest surprise was how well Anne Hathaway was as Selina Kyle (notice they never call her Catwoman?). Awesome end to an awesome trilogy. 

Here's the movie that proved the Marvel Avenger's Universe could work. They took one of the lesser known Avengers and made a HUGE movie that could not have starred anyone but Robert Downey, Jr. because he IS Tony Stark. You immediately knew the character 5 minutes in, not from dialogue as much as attitude and swagger. I just love the fact that much of the dialogue was ad-libbed.

As much as I liked the first one, this one just blew it away in terms of story, fight scenes, and just the overall pacing of the movie. It also was kind of a setup for the movie of one of the greatest and moving storylines in comic history that was actually never made. Too bad Singer had to go and make that mediocre Superman instead of the Phoenix Saga movie...ugh. With this type of movie, though, when a director gets a much bigger budget sometimes they go overboard and do overblown scenes and special effects, but there's quite the level of restraint here which just made it that much more appealing.

Maybe this shouldn't be so damn high (probably), but this is what the last 4 years of movies have been about. This moment. It was a pretty ambitious undertaking, especially considering how "Thor" might have been received or how badly the first "Hulk" did. They really did an awesome job though. By doing all the origin stories first with small tidbits of the story to come, they were able to really hit the ground running and by reusing the villain from one of the characters they didn't have to do a long introduction there either. Really well shot with great action, cgi, and dialogue. All you could ask for in a very comic bookie adaptation.

And...was there any doubt? Flawless from start to finish. It isn't really fair to lump this one in with the rest of them since it is such a serious and gritty adaptation of comic book fare. What makes Nolan's vision of Batman so different from all the other movies on this list is how grounded in reality he makes them. I always compare this movie to one of my other favorites "Heat", not that it borrows too much or anything, but it has a similar style and pace to it that I love. And it goes without saying that although everyone was shocked at the announcement that Heath Ledger would play The Joker and no one thought he could pull it off, that was just an amazing and nuanced performance. Shades of Alex De Large, Hannibal Lecter, and even Jack Torrance. And Nolan can officially do no wrong.

Til next time meatheads.