While 1978's Superman: The Movie let Hollywood know that superheroes could legitimately be done on the silver screen (by making us all believe a man could fly), it was the sequel that really perfected the series. Expanding the Superman mythos by including a trio of Kryptonian killing machines as well as the genius of Hackman's Lex Luthor, Superman II answers the question, "What if the world had no Superman?" Better than the original and far better than its three predecessors (and, yes, I'm including 2006's 'should-have-been-a-relaunch' Superman Returns), Superman II is the beacon of the Superman series.
4. X2: X-Men United (2003)
Yet another sequel that surpassed the original (which seems to be a trend on this list), X2 took everything that was good about the first X-Men film and made it bigger! From the opening sequence involving Nightcrawler 'porting through the White House to the first appearance of Colossus to Wolverine going berserker... X2 has it all. Of course it helps that Nightcrawler - one of my favorite mutants - finally got time on the big screen. X2 also did what the first film couldn't do in terms of story - it fleshed out the characters even more and created some truly unforgettable moments. It's a shame that Brett Ratner had to come along and ruin the whole franchise...
3. Batman Begins (2005)
After the horrid Joel Schumacher renditions from the late 1990's, Batman needed a Hollywood makeover... so thank heaven for Christopher Nolan, critically-acclaimed director of Memento and Insomnia, who gave the Batman franchise the shot-in-the-arm it desperately needed. Defying convention, Nolan concentrated on the origins of the Caped Crusader only putting Christian Bale (in my mind, the best Batman to date) in costume for little over a half an hour. He also opted to focus on some lesser-known Bat-villains like the Scarecrow and R'as al Ghul rather than bigger names like the Joker or the Penguin. All these risks paid off in full as Batman Begins reminded moviegoers of just how awesome the Dark Knight really is.
2. Iron Man (2008)
Marvel has had a lot of hits on their hands ever since the first X-Men movie in 2000, but none have been quite as well-done as this year's summer smash, Iron Man. The elements of story, direction, effects, characterization, and score fit together so well. Robert Downey, Jr. owned the film as the charismatic billionaire industrialist Tony Stark. Jeff Bridges was villainous perfection as Obadiah Stane (a.k.a. the Iron Monger) while Gwenyth Paltrow lit up the screen as the sweet Pepper Potts. The biggest weak point of the film was Terrance Howard's far-t00-subdued performance as James 'Rhodey' Rhodes, making me happy to see Don Cheadle stepping into the role for the sequel. With the Nick Fury cameo leading to an Avengers movie and the fact that this is Marvel's first film as their own independent studio, I would say that Iron Man is Marvel's greatest achievement to date.
1. The Dark Knight (2008)
If Superman: The Movie proved that Hollywood could do a superhero film well, then The Dark Knight proved that a superhero film could be an Oscar-caliber event. Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale, and the rest of the cast of Batman Begins returned to pit the titular Dark Knight against his greatest foe: the Joker, masterfully played by Heath Ledger. I'll admit, I was as skeptical as anyone when I heard Ledger was going to play the Joker... but, like so many other comic fans and moviegoers, I was blown away by the caliber of his performance. Ledger was a runaway freight train, bowling over every other character in the film and giving audiences a new vision of horror and villainy. Now, with The Dark Knight being re-released in theaters to remind the Academy of Ledger's performance, it seems legit that some Oscar attention might finally be paid to a superhero movie... and, in my mind, it's long overdue!
Honorable Mentions: Spider-Man 2 (2004), Sin City (2005), X-Men (2000), 300 (2006), Spider-Man (2002), Superman: The Movie (1978)
So... what are some of your favorite comic book movies?
4. X2: X-Men United (2003)Yet another sequel that surpassed the original (which seems to be a trend on this list), X2 took everything that was good about the first X-Men film and made it bigger! From the opening sequence involving Nightcrawler 'porting through the White House to the first appearance of Colossus to Wolverine going berserker... X2 has it all. Of course it helps that Nightcrawler - one of my favorite mutants - finally got time on the big screen. X2 also did what the first film couldn't do in terms of story - it fleshed out the characters even more and created some truly unforgettable moments. It's a shame that Brett Ratner had to come along and ruin the whole franchise...
3. Batman Begins (2005)After the horrid Joel Schumacher renditions from the late 1990's, Batman needed a Hollywood makeover... so thank heaven for Christopher Nolan, critically-acclaimed director of Memento and Insomnia, who gave the Batman franchise the shot-in-the-arm it desperately needed. Defying convention, Nolan concentrated on the origins of the Caped Crusader only putting Christian Bale (in my mind, the best Batman to date) in costume for little over a half an hour. He also opted to focus on some lesser-known Bat-villains like the Scarecrow and R'as al Ghul rather than bigger names like the Joker or the Penguin. All these risks paid off in full as Batman Begins reminded moviegoers of just how awesome the Dark Knight really is.
2. Iron Man (2008)Marvel has had a lot of hits on their hands ever since the first X-Men movie in 2000, but none have been quite as well-done as this year's summer smash, Iron Man. The elements of story, direction, effects, characterization, and score fit together so well. Robert Downey, Jr. owned the film as the charismatic billionaire industrialist Tony Stark. Jeff Bridges was villainous perfection as Obadiah Stane (a.k.a. the Iron Monger) while Gwenyth Paltrow lit up the screen as the sweet Pepper Potts. The biggest weak point of the film was Terrance Howard's far-t00-subdued performance as James 'Rhodey' Rhodes, making me happy to see Don Cheadle stepping into the role for the sequel. With the Nick Fury cameo leading to an Avengers movie and the fact that this is Marvel's first film as their own independent studio, I would say that Iron Man is Marvel's greatest achievement to date.
1. The Dark Knight (2008)If Superman: The Movie proved that Hollywood could do a superhero film well, then The Dark Knight proved that a superhero film could be an Oscar-caliber event. Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale, and the rest of the cast of Batman Begins returned to pit the titular Dark Knight against his greatest foe: the Joker, masterfully played by Heath Ledger. I'll admit, I was as skeptical as anyone when I heard Ledger was going to play the Joker... but, like so many other comic fans and moviegoers, I was blown away by the caliber of his performance. Ledger was a runaway freight train, bowling over every other character in the film and giving audiences a new vision of horror and villainy. Now, with The Dark Knight being re-released in theaters to remind the Academy of Ledger's performance, it seems legit that some Oscar attention might finally be paid to a superhero movie... and, in my mind, it's long overdue!
Honorable Mentions: Spider-Man 2 (2004), Sin City (2005), X-Men (2000), 300 (2006), Spider-Man (2002), Superman: The Movie (1978)
So... what are some of your favorite comic book movies?
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