Best superhero movies
July 23rd, 2008 by Anthony Salveggi in moviesWith The Dark Knight raking in monster box-office and critical raves, and this week’s CL cover story focused on what our superheroes say about who we are as a culture, Joe Bardi and I were inspired to each make our lists of the best superhero flicks of all time. Joe offers 10 films in eight entries, while I give a traditional top 10 list. Enjoy!
Joe’s Picks:
1. Batman Begins/The Dark Knight: The new kings of the comic-book castle. Begins sets the table, and then The Dark Knight redefines the genre for the 21st century. I don’t see how anyone — not even director Christopher Nolan and his team — will top Knight for a long, long time.
2. The Matrix: Though not based on original graphic novel source material, there is no denying that The Matrix set the standard for all the modern comic book/superhero franchises. There is no Dark Knight without Keanu and Co’s reality-bending excursion into virtual reality.
3. Die Hard: Sure, Die Hard might seem out of place on a list of flicks about guys dressed as insects and flying rodents. Still, how can a list of superhero movies not include NYC cop/terrorist-killer John McClaine? In the original Die Hard, Bruce Willis tries his best to make McClain an everyman, and winds up creating one of the quintessential superheroes of the 1980s.
4. Superman/Superman 2: Really more of one big movie than two individual films. Superman and Superman II were both the babies of Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon, Goonies). After Donner had completed Superman and was halfway through shooting Superman II, the studio replaced him with A Hard Day’s Night director Richard Lester, causing Superman II to suffer a bit from the lack of consistency at the helm. Still, I find the sequel more fun to watch than the original.
5. Iron Man: 2008’s other excellent comic-book movie, and the first one from Marvel’s new production company. Iron Man manages to combine a terrific performance by Robert Downey Jr. with a plot that carries weight in these over-militarized times. It’s also damn funny.
6. The Incredibles: A Pixar animated feature about a family of superheroes, The Incredibles manages the difficult task of satirizing the superhero flick while delivering an excellent take on the genre that appeals to the whole family. Can’t wait for the sequel.
7. Spider-Man 2: I was never a huge Spider-Man fan, though I do appreciate what director Sam Raimi brought to the web-crawling franchise. Spider-Man 2 is easily the best of the Spidey flicks, primarily because of the villainous Doc Ock and his amazing tentacles.
8. Batman: The Tim Burton/Michael Keaton original holds up today largely on the back of the amazing production design and Jack Nicholson’s inspired performance as The Joker. I’m partial to Batman Returns, actually, as I find it a much more entertaining experience than this brooding original, but I fear villagers with pitchforks might show up at the Loaf office if I rank Returns over Batman. So I won’t — but you’re all wrong!
Sal’s Picks
10. Batman (1989). Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson square off in Tim Burton’s gothic take on DC Comic’s famed superhero. More than a bit silly at times and often draggy, it benefits from stylish production design, winning performances and Burton’s quirky sensibility.
9. X-Men: The Last Stand. More exciting than its predecessors, this entry, helmed by Brett Ratner, is disturbing (Jean Grey destroying Professor Xavier with her mind remains a chilling sequence), action-packed and loaded with colorful characters and snappy pacing.
8. Hulk (2003). Ang Lee’s version of the Big Green Guy’s story has been much maligned, but his poetic, character-driven film combines ingenious editing and slam-bang battle sequences with top-notch performances by Sam Elliott, Jennifer Connelly, Nick Nolte and Eric Bana.
7. Batman Begins. After suffering through the Joel Schumacher-directed debacles of the 1990s (Batman Forever, Batman & Robin), the Caped Crusader got the film he (and fans) truly deserved in 2005. Christian Bale stars in Christopher Nolan’s moody, very serious take on Batman’s origins and his attempts to thwart Gotham’s underworld. Not a whole lot of “fun” per se, but a fine character study with quality supporting work by Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson and Tom Wilkinson.
6. Superman II. Not as good as its predecessor, this sequel suffers from a few too many corny moments and the fact that Richard Lester had to reshoot a good portion of the film in order to receive director’s credit after Richard Donner was given his walking papers. Lester’s trademark comic touch is a little too evident, but he still manages to craft engagingly silly popcorn entertainment.
5. Spider-Man. I was a devoted reader of the Spidey comics as a kid, and Sam Raimi’s big-screen version didn’t disappoint. Doe-eyed Tobey MacGuire is perfectly cast as Peter Parker, the awkward teen who is bitten by a radioactive spider and gains super-human strength (and a way-cool costume, too).
4. The Incredibles. Brad Bird’s (Iron Giant, Ratatouille) witty, stylish animated feature is giddy fun from beginning to end and owes more than a little to the James Bond flicks of the 1960s. In fact, trailers for the film used John Barry’s score from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
3. Spider-Man II. In this, the best of the series, Spider-Man squares off against the formidable Doctor Octopus, and New York’s cityscape is much the worse for their battles.
2. The Dark Knight. Nolan’s sequel to Batman Begins is a thought-provoking, white-knuckled affair with thrilling action and, in Heath Ledger’s anarchic Joker, one of the most deeply frightening villains ever to appear on the big screen. Moral ambiguity has rarely been this compelling.
1. Superman. Cinema’s landmark superhero film is still the best and set the standard by which all others should be judged. Yes, critics everywhere are putting The Dark Knight at the top of their all-time lists, but let’s see how everything plays out in a few years. Richard Donner’s take on The Man of Steel is masterfully paced, epic entertainment, with an assured, star-making turn in the lead role by Christopher Reeve and stellar support by the entire cast, most notably Gene Hackman as the sarcastic but deadly Lex Luthor. Humor, Americana, spectacle and Donner’s devotion to “verisimilitude” blend to create the grandest superhero film of them all.
July 23rd, 2008 at 10:51 am
Amazing how much overlap there is in these lists. Could we both be missing a few worthy challengers?
Doubt it.
July 23rd, 2008 at 11:21 am
Sal: Ang Lee’s Hulk? X3? Srsly?
Joe: I really applaud the inclusion of Die Hard here.
Iron Man
Spider-Man 2
The Incredibles
Batman Begins
Batman (1989)
Hellboy
Flash Gordon (1980)
Blade
The Crow
Sin City
Now a Top 10 WORST superhero movie list? There’s a raging debate …
July 23rd, 2008 at 11:27 am
Spawn.
July 23rd, 2008 at 11:29 am
David: Uh, did you hear me cackling when I wrote my list? Yeah, I’m serious. Hulk and X3 rock the house.
I always knew you loved Joe more than me.
July 23rd, 2008 at 11:52 am
David, I gladly accept that you love me more than Sal.
The list of the worst superhero movies would easily exceed 10. Off the top of my head:
Batman and Robin
Superman 4: The Quest for Peace
Darkman 2
Captain America (Never saw it … because it didn’t even get released it was so bad!)
Elektra
Spider-Man 3
Steel
Shazam
Sorry, I got off on a Shaq kick at the end.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Here’s my list of the worst:
Batman and Robin
Fantastic Four (both of the recent abominations)
Superman III
Superman IV
Catwoman (I only needed to watch about 5 minutes to realize how bad it is)
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Supergirl
Barb Wire (just because it has Pamela Anderson in it)
Spawn (four words: John Leguizamo as Clown)
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:23 pm
Worst:
Superman 4
Batman and Robin
Catwoman
Fantastic Four (1994)
The Hulk (2003)
Spawn
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2
Elektra
The Return of Swamp Thing
Spider-Man 3 was certainly the most disappointing superhero movie I’ve seen, after SM2.
July 23rd, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Sal: Totally jealous of your Barb Wire pick. Excellent!
David: Totally jealous of your Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 pick. Excellent!
Though, your omission of that film’s subtitle, “The Secret of the Ooze” means you lose points, David. ;-)
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I’m still scarred by the Ninja Rap by Vanilla Ice in the movie. Even as a kid, I was ready to walk out of the movie then.
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Ok, I just reminded myself how bad it is …
July 23rd, 2008 at 2:38 pm
Damn it, man! I had completely forgotten the “Ninja Rap.” I don’t know if I can live with myself now that I remember it.
July 23rd, 2008 at 7:04 pm
There, you see what you did Jenkins? Sal went and dug that Ninja shit up and I just accidentally watched it.
Another Wednesday ruined.
July 24th, 2008 at 12:20 pm
Sorry, man. I will try to counter bad early ’90s movie rap with good early ’90s movie rap.
I submit for your approval Fear of a Black Hat. Try out Ice Froggy Frog, F*ck the Security Guards and Just a Human Being.
Oh, screw it, just watch the whole movie. One of the most underrated comedies of its day and one of the finest mockumentaries of all time.
July 24th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
Hey, you all know you loved those radical Turtles. The Crow is a good addition, David. But Blade? Come on!
July 24th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
And I can’t believe you’d choose X3 over the original. Same with the Spider Mans. Except for the Dark Knight, most sequels are all just living up to the first one.
July 24th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Joe: You TOLD me to find that “Ninja Rap” video. You might not remember it, but that doesn’t absolve you of responsibility.
Alex: X3 is the best of the series. Cause I said so.
July 24th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
Sal lies, people. Sal lies!
July 25th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Where are all the good female superhero movies? Sometimes the ladies are part of a team, like in X-Men or The Incredibles, and they get top billing in a few of the bad ones, but why aren’t they out there single-handedly saving the world? And what does that say about who we are as a culture? It’s all well and good to have a steely man in tights fly so fast he turns back time to bring you back to life, but where are my super-human role models?
My favorite female superhero was always Wonder Woman, and I wondered why she doesn’t have a movie. I went to imdb.com to make sure I hadn’t just missed it and, lo and behold, a WW movie is scheduled to come out in 2009. Hope it’s good.
Here are the good (or at least not bad) female superhero movies that I can think of:
1. Mulan – She saves China without any superpowers or gadgets.
2. Alien/Aliens – Sigourney Weaver kicks ass.
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer – But the TV show was better.
4. Firestarter – Drew Barrymore young and mad. I’m not quite sure if she’s a hero, but she does have superpowers. (Ditto with Carrie.) 5. Ghost in the Shell – I don’t remember it very well, but it’s an anime cult classic that influenced The Matrix…and I’m having trouble thinking of more movies. The enormous anime breasts also make it hard to think of as particularly “feminist.” Help me people, I’m floundering here…
July 25th, 2008 at 12:11 pm
If Bruce Willis qualifies as a hero for Die Hard, Ripley certainly qualifies as a great hero. Good one, Emily.
August 26th, 2008 at 3:13 am
John McCain is a perfect hero… he wasn’t prepared but he stuck it out and got the job done
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