What are your top ten superhero movies post Captain America.

[Flex Mentallo]

Straw Man and I have been chatting back and forth about super hero movies since speculation began about how good Captain America was going to be. We didnt necessarily agree in our choices, and indeed when I mentioned Hellboy I thought Billy was going to spit - so although this is not an original idea for a thread I thought it might be worth reprising the idea, if nothing else to see where Cap falls in everyone's lists.

 

Hopefully there will be some radical diversions of opinion about the top ten super hero movies, ideally leavened with mocking laughter as we pick each others lists to shreds and explain why our choices are so much better than anyone else's!

 

 

So with the promise of faint but mocking laughter wafting across the Atlantic here is my list of top 10 super hero movies!

 

10. Spider-Man (2002)

The scene at the end where Kirsten Dunst realises that Peter Parker kisses like Spiderman had me utterly gripped - far more compelling than the fight with the Green Goblin!

 

9. Hellboy (2004)

Okay, I confess that I'm a sucker for leather clad female nazis! The wartime back story added density to the plot. Selma Blair was brilliant as the fire starting Liz Sherman. The sequel was a major disappointment! Guillermo del Toro is one of my favourite directors. His early movie Cronos was a wholely original take on the vampire mythos.

 

8. Batman Begins (2005)

Loved the scenes in China, especially the prison fight and the battle on the ice with Ra's al Ghul. I'm sure others will disagree but to me Christian Bale's take on Batman is far superior to any other.

 

7. Unbreakable (2000)

Fantastic music score. Wonderful, pained performance by Bruce Willis. Loved the scene where his son gradually adds weights to his father's training regimen, and the rescue of the two young girls from a truly monstrous villain. One of the most perfect parting lines in movie history - "They call me Mister Glass!"

 

6. X2 (2003)

One of the rare occasions where the sequel outshines the original. Favourite sequence: the rip-roaring fight between Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike! Anna Paquin as Rogue was a stand out performance in a movie so crowded with characters some had no more than a few seconds of screen time - my only complaint.

 

5. Blade 2 (2002)

Another sequel that arguably improved on the original, which just failed to make my top ten. Favourite scene: the final embrace at sunrise between Blade and Nyssa as she literally goes up in flames!

 

4. V for Vendetta (2006)

Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, the Gunpowder Treason and Plot. I know of no reason why the Gunpowder Treason should ever be forgot...

Alan Moore's original story remains one of my favourite comics and the scenes in which Evey is imprisoned by V and reads the letters of a former inmate are among the most powerful and affecting the comic book format has ever presented. The movie didnt disappoint - and in particular, I loved the cathartic ending - even if wholely unbelievable!

 

3. Kick A*s (2010)

Come on, be honest with yourself, at some point in our lives we all wanna be a superhero.

In this movie I learned too late that the answer to requiting unrequited love is to pretend you are gay, then get as close as possible to the object of desire. Chloe Moretz channeling Nadia Comăneci was terrifyingly convincing as Hit Girl - my only qualm being the sub-text referencing the warping of childhood (as with child gymnasts) which seemed to wink at what it pretended to critique. But the barnstorming finish where Hit Girl utterly terrorises a whole bunch of hit men is fantastically well played.

 

2. The Dark Knight (2008)

Almost a horror film. Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker is one of the most astonishing I can ever recall - arguably the most complex depiction of a sociopath ever filmed. The transformation of Harvey Dent into the crazed Two Face hints at darker things always in his nature. If the death of his beloved is what makes a monster then what made the Joker? This is a rigorous journey into Joseph Conrad territory, which makes Batman's final sacrifice all the more challenging and profound. What would we be willing to sacrifice in order to redeem the world? Now that's a super power!

 

1. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

I found it refreshingly unsentimental; the skinny Steve sequences could have been maudlin, so someone must have kept the deathly hand of Stan Lee far far away. And the ending was bettered only by Joe E. Brown in Some Like it Hot.

 

I had been wondering how they would solve the Bucky problem, and the relationship between the two lifelong friends was genuinely touching.

 

To have "Captain America" as a war bonds entertainer wa a stroke of genius, and carried us far, far way from the usual superhero movie tropes.

 

The transitional phase, or "Schomburg newsreel" was also great, throwing away about 5 possible sequels in the space of - what? - 5 minutes screen time? Loved him leaping from the giant tank!

 

I was pleased by the brevity of the ending, and thank goodness they didnt wheel out a 100 year old Hayley Atwell a l a One Moment in Time!

 

Of course the whole movie is by another interpretation a prequel to The Avengers movie, but despite the transparent plot mechanisms, these were still characters that lived and breathed - at least in the case of Cap and Bucky, Peggy Carter and Col. Phillips.

 

Cant quite say the same for Hugo Weaving as the Red Skull. And it has to be said that Hydra went down too easily, and I'm sure others will have commented on the too obvious references to Star Wars.

 

I'm now officially in love with Hayley Atwell, who looks significantly more zaftig in 3d! English roses are, alas, rarely this dewy!

 

 

So there's my top ten - no Iron Man, no Spiderman 2, no Superman Returns - in fact no Superman! So bring on the mockery - but if you're going to snigger, do the right thing and post your top ten also!

 

[Bill Robinson]

Haven't seen cap yet . . .

[Tsimanga]

In no particular order

 

 

 

X-MEN FIRST CLASS

 

WATCHMEN

 

DARK KNIGHT

 

SPIDERMAN 2

 

X-MEN 2

 

KICK

 

MEN IN BLACK

 

HELLBOY

 

BATMAN 1989

 

SUPERMAN #2

 

 

[pennynike1]

For me, Batman Begins and Dark Knight are definitely up there, along with the first 2 Spiderman movies. Watchmen was great, as was Hellboy 2. I am surprised you guys like Hellboy 1 versus the 2nd movie. X-Men: First Class was well done, but I also really liked X-Men Origins: Wolverine. I am a huge fan of Doctor Doom, so the first Fantastic Four movie was made to order. V for Vendetta was really well done.

[sfcityduck]

Too subjective a debate for me, although I don't think CA would make my top 10 (which would span more than the last ten years).

 

My only thought worth sharing is that although it is not a movie adaptation of a comic book, I've always thought the very best "comic book movie", in that it is a movie which expresses better than anything else the true significance of comic books in our society as modern mythos and shapers of our kids values, is the Iron Giant (a movie I'd denote as one of the top ten movies of any type ever made). I still choke up at that final sequence. That movie is more about comic books than anything else I can think of.

 

Brad Bird clearly has thought a lot about comic books. Which is probably why he was also able to make the best superhero movie I can think of (although, again, not based explicitly on a comic book).

 

 

[Crowzilla]

Really hard to take a top ten list seriously that doesn't have either Superman II or Iron Man in it.

[Straw-Man]

Really hard to take a top ten list seriously that doesn't have either Superman II or Iron Man in it.

 

i like a lot about my buddy's list, but no spidey 2? blasphemous.

 

and i'm with you on iron man, but supe 2 would miss mine as well---now supe 1 will get in with a bullet.

[Straw-Man]

mine:

 

spidey 2

dk

spidey 1

cap

supe 1

iron man 1

batman begins

x-2

thor

v for vendetta

 

 

this probably changes now and then, but it's how i feel today. i'll always be a marvel guy, so that particular ratio will never change much, i'd expect.

[Crowzilla]

i like a lot about my buddy's list, but no spidey 2? blasphemous.

 

and i'm with you on iron man, but supe 2 would miss mine as well---now supe 1 will get in with a bullet.

 

I read too fast, I saw Spidey (2002) and just read it as Spidey 2 (which of course it should be).

I go back and forth between Superman 1 and 2, first hour or so of Supe 1 combined with Supe 2 is pretty awesome. just kinda get upset with the spinning the earth backwards thing (and will try not to comment on time travel).

 

 

[CR]

I won't list all the usual suspects again (Dark Knight et al), but these gems would probably be on my list as well:

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

 

The Incredibles

 

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

[Flex Mentallo]

Really hard to take a top ten list seriously that doesn't have either Superman II or Iron Man in it.

 

i like a lot about my buddy's list, but no spidey 2? blasphemous.

 

and i'm with you on iron man, but supe 2 would miss mine as well---now supe 1 will get in with a bullet.

 

Actually quite a lot harder than I expected to get it down to only 10! My top 15 would include Spiderman 2 and Iron Man, plus Superman Returns - but neither Superman 1 or 2!

[Flex Mentallo]

Really hard to take a top ten list seriously that doesn't have either Superman II or Iron Man in it.

 

Your turn!

[sfcityduck]

0. Iron Giant/Incredibles (tie for comic book movies not adapted from comic books)

1. Spiderman 2 (hands down)

2. Spiderman 1 (very true to Ditko)

3. Superman 1 (you will believe a man can fly -- huge at the time)

4. Iron Man (great acting)

5. X-2 (Claremont-Byrne spirit captured)

6. Batman (great styling)

7. Superman 2 (fun!)

8. Rocketeer (better period piece than CA)

9. Batman Dark Knight (great acting)

10. Wonder Woman/Batman Movie (tie campy guilty pleasure)

 

[Flex Mentallo]

0. Iron Giant/Incredibles (tie for comic book movies not adapted from comic books)

1. Spiderman 2 (hands down)

2. Spiderman 1 (very true to Ditko)

3. Superman 1 (you will believe a man can fly -- huge at the time)

4. Iron Man (great acting)

5. X-2 (Claremont-Byrne spirit captured)

6. Batman (great styling)

7. Superman 2 (fun!)

8. Rocketeer (better period piece than CA)

9. Batman Dark Knight (great acting)

10. Wonder Woman/Batman Movie (tie campy guilty pleasure)

 

Thanks for posting! Nice to see some idiosyncratic choices - The Rocketeer was an underrated movie and a convincing period piece. I thought about The Incredibles, and indeed Megamind - but realised that the animation movie I would really like to have included was Despicable Me - which didnt quite fit the bill as it has no superhero!

[BB-Gun]

In no particular order:

0. Incredibles (Pixar knows how to tell a story)

1. Spiderman 2 (Doc Oc!)

2. Spiderman 1 (very believable Peter Parker)

3. Superman 1 (Reeve was great as Superman and Clark Kent)

4. Iron Man (great action)

5. X-Men 1 (So many characters, so little time but they made it work)

6. Batman (1st by Tim Burton)

7. Captain America (terrific effects)

8. Batman 2 (Catwoman, yes)

9. Hellboy (everything worked, Selma too)

10. Fantastic Four

 

I don't like the second Batman as much as Burton's. The lead character was too much like the Shadow. Bats was an expert at boxing, acrobatics, judo, scientific investigation, inventions, aeronautics and everything else. Oh yeah he had money but he was a man driven to excel at everything. He didn't need mystical training in the orient or a selfless inventor to help him out.

 

I edited this to ad Fantastic Four. I was saving a place for Green Lantern but shouldn't since I missed it.

[nearmint]

i like a lot about my buddy's list, but no spidey 2? blasphemous.

 

and i'm with you on iron man, but supe 2 would miss mine as well---now supe 1 will get in with a bullet.

 

I read too fast, I saw Spidey (2002) and just read it as Spidey 2 (which of course it should be).

I go back and forth between Superman 1 and 2, first hour or so of Supe 1 combined with Supe 2 is pretty awesome. just kinda get upset with the spinning the earth backwards thing (and will try not to comment on time travel).

 

 

I have a hard time with the end of Supes 2, when he makes Lois forget with a kiss.

[Flex Mentallo]

 

 

I don't like the second Batman as much as Burton's. The lead character was too much like the Shadow. Bats was an expert at boxing, acrobatics, judo, scientific investigation, inventions, aeronautics and everything else. Oh yeah he had money but he was a man driven to excel at everything. He didn't need mystical training in the orient or a selfless inventor to help him out.

 

Good points well made BB! To be honest, I'm wondering how I could've forgotten Michelle Pfeiffer as Catwoman. She was a revelation. If only they had made the Catwoman movie with her in the lead as once promised - not the one Halle Berry starred in!

[Crowzilla]

I have a hard time with the end of Supes 2, when he makes Lois forget with a kiss.

 

Once you swallow that he can spin the earth backwards without it breaking apart, re-spin it in the correct rotation and the time travel paradox, making people forget things with a kiss is easy.

 

[Flex Mentallo]

i like a lot about my buddy's list, but no spidey 2? blasphemous.

 

and i'm with you on iron man, but supe 2 would miss mine as well---now supe 1 will get in with a bullet.

 

I read too fast, I saw Spidey (2002) and just read it as Spidey 2 (which of course it should be).

I go back and forth between Superman 1 and 2, first hour or so of Supe 1 combined with Supe 2 is pretty awesome. just kinda get upset with the spinning the earth backwards thing (and will try not to comment on time travel).

 

 

I have a hard time with the end of Supes 2, when he makes Lois forget with a kiss.

 

I forgot that part! Okay, who kissed me, hmmm?

[Ted Knight]

In terms of raw impact for when the movie came out, I'll go with the following

 

1) Dark Knight (2008)

2) Batman Begins (2005)

3) V for Vendetta (2006)

4) Superman (1978)

5) Superman II (1980)

6) Iron Man (2008)

7) Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

8) Superman Returns (2006)

9) Watchmen (2009)

10) Incredible Hulk (2008)

 

Apologies in advance to all Spider-man fans, but Tobey Maguire sucked as Peter Parker. Time will prove me right.

 

I think what all my top ten have in common is that everyone involved took the movie very seriously. It wasn't treated like it was cute or comical, but rather serious and dramatic dealing with real themes about the human condition. Much like the best comic books.