Best Superhero Movie of all Time - for releases thru 2012 - Poll

[Brian48]

Yeah, I thought the first X-Men movie was an OK action flick, but it really didn't feel like a superhero movie. Even more detached from the books than the Nolan Batman series. Much more Sci-Fi to it. Also, the story was very forgettable IMO and didn't lend itself to repeat viewings. X2 was much better though.

[Logan510]

Am surprised no one voted for X-Men.

 

Man, when that movie came out, there were viral videos, multiple mini-trailers, a media event for the Mutant Registration Act, special websites and all sorts of great online content. It was a blockbuster back then, fans loved it and it raised the bar for superhero films.

 

 

Not all fans loved it. At the time I was a huge X-MEN fan and had been so for over 20 years. Terribly disappointed with that movie. As a pure action / adventure film I thought it was pretty solid. As an X-MEN movie...

 

In my neck of the woods, it was very popular. 83% on Rotten Tomatoes also shows that it stands the test of time. It was a marketing juggernaut, which no doubt helped it in the box office. And considering that it was making a big move in a not-too-crowded comic book film marketplace ($75M budget), it had to make concessions in it's -script to make it appealing to audiences while running the risk of offending purists.

 

It not only made truckloads of money, it spawned a new generation of fans, increased sales of books, continued to put out more films and sequels allowing the X-men franchise to remain popular and opened the door to a lot more comic book movies being made. Again, not sure why fans have a problem with the movie, as it's done 100X more good than it's done harm in the marketplace.

 

I think you're still angry that Hugh Jackman is Wolverine.

 

 

I didn't like much of the casting and many of the story elements. And please don't feed me the line of making it for a wider audience. If the majority of the audience didn't know anything about the X-MEN, who's to say an actual X-MEN movie wouldn't have been as successful?

[Dr. Balls]

Am surprised no one voted for X-Men.

 

Man, when that movie came out, there were viral videos, multiple mini-trailers, a media event for the Mutant Registration Act, special websites and all sorts of great online content. It was a blockbuster back then, fans loved it and it raised the bar for superhero films.

 

 

Not all fans loved it. At the time I was a huge X-MEN fan and had been so for over 20 years. Terribly disappointed with that movie. As a pure action / adventure film I thought it was pretty solid. As an X-MEN movie...

 

In my neck of the woods, it was very popular. 83% on Rotten Tomatoes also shows that it stands the test of time. It was a marketing juggernaut, which no doubt helped it in the box office. And considering that it was making a big move in a not-too-crowded comic book film marketplace ($75M budget), it had to make concessions in it's -script to make it appealing to audiences while running the risk of offending purists.

 

It not only made truckloads of money, it spawned a new generation of fans, increased sales of books, continued to put out more films and sequels allowing the X-men franchise to remain popular and opened the door to a lot more comic book movies being made. Again, not sure why fans have a problem with the movie, as it's done 100X more good than it's done harm in the marketplace.

 

I think you're still angry that Hugh Jackman is Wolverine.

 

 

I didn't like much of the casting and many of the story elements. And please don't feed me the line of making it for a wider audience. If the majority of the audience didn't know anything about the X-MEN, who's to say an actual X-MEN movie wouldn't have been as successful?

 

I think the audience has a general idea of the X-Men, a lot of it having to do with the popularity of the cartoon in the 90s, along with generic cultural references through the years. The -script - which I agree, was very watered down and generalized - was good enough to get casual viewers interested. Movies like Jonah Hex, The Spirit, or The Phantom - which don't have a lot of audience appeal (coupled with the fact they sucked) tank because there isn't enough customer base to build upon to ensure some sort of financial success, even in the smallest percentage.

 

I think the majority of movie audiences of successful films know a little about the subject matter, but not a lot. Most people go to the movies to be mildly entertained - not intellectually satisfied with concise, accurate, frame-for-frame recreations of landmark storylines. All of us Boardies represent a tiny minority of fanatical ultra-hobbyists, and we are not the be all, end all target of movie studios.

 

Movie studios make movies for the wider audience. They will make more money doing a movie aimed at 6 billion people than one aimed at 300 million people. It's about money, not about how accurate of a film they can make. We should be lucky Hollywood isn't infusing their scripts with Mandarin Chinese dialogue.

[bane]

Yeah, I thought the first X-Men movie was an OK action flick, but it really didn't feel like a superhero movie. Even more detached from the books than the Nolan Batman series. Much more Sci-Fi to it. Also, the story was very forgettable IMO and didn't lend itself to repeat viewings. X2 was much better though.

 

I can identify a lot of Batman books with the Nolan films.

 

My only exposure with the Xmen was the animated series. When I first saw the movie I was disappointed, great casting but everything else was just "meh". Music is hugely important for me and Xmens soundtrack sucked.

 

I can go the rest of my life without seeing that movie again. X2 however was awesome and I still love the opening action sequence with Nightcrawler.

[Dr. Balls]

Music is hugely important for me and Xmens soundtrack sucked.

 

I really enjoy soundtracks. The Crow, Sucker Punch, Watchmen and Avengers had great soundtracks (at least for my taste in music) - and I really liked the Thor soundtrack in terms of mood and feel.

[Logan510]

Am surprised no one voted for X-Men.

 

Man, when that movie came out, there were viral videos, multiple mini-trailers, a media event for the Mutant Registration Act, special websites and all sorts of great online content. It was a blockbuster back then, fans loved it and it raised the bar for superhero films.

 

 

Not all fans loved it. At the time I was a huge X-MEN fan and had been so for over 20 years. Terribly disappointed with that movie. As a pure action / adventure film I thought it was pretty solid. As an X-MEN movie...

 

In my neck of the woods, it was very popular. 83% on Rotten Tomatoes also shows that it stands the test of time. It was a marketing juggernaut, which no doubt helped it in the box office. And considering that it was making a big move in a not-too-crowded comic book film marketplace ($75M budget), it had to make concessions in it's -script to make it appealing to audiences while running the risk of offending purists.

 

It not only made truckloads of money, it spawned a new generation of fans, increased sales of books, continued to put out more films and sequels allowing the X-men franchise to remain popular and opened the door to a lot more comic book movies being made. Again, not sure why fans have a problem with the movie, as it's done 100X more good than it's done harm in the marketplace.

 

I think you're still angry that Hugh Jackman is Wolverine.

 

 

I didn't like much of the casting and many of the story elements. And please don't feed me the line of making it for a wider audience. If the majority of the audience didn't know anything about the X-MEN, who's to say an actual X-MEN movie wouldn't have been as successful?

 

I think the audience has a general idea of the X-Men, a lot of it having to do with the popularity of the cartoon in the 90s, along with generic cultural references through the years. The -script - which I agree, was very watered down and generalized - was good enough to get casual viewers interested. Movies like Jonah Hex, The Spirit, or The Phantom - which don't have a lot of audience appeal (coupled with the fact they sucked) tank because there isn't enough customer base to build upon to ensure some sort of financial success, even in the smallest percentage.

 

I think the majority of movie audiences of successful films know a little about the subject matter, but not a lot. Most people go to the movies to be mildly entertained - not intellectually satisfied with concise, accurate, frame-for-frame recreations of landmark storylines. All of us Boardies represent a tiny minority of fanatical ultra-hobbyists, and we are not the be all, end all target of movie studios.

 

Movie studios make movies for the wider audience. They will make more money doing a movie aimed at 6 billion people than one aimed at 300 million people. It's about money, not about how accurate of a film they can make. We should be lucky Hollywood isn't infusing their scripts with Mandarin Chinese dialogue.

 

1) Wouldn't people who were only familiar with the 90's cartoon wonder why the movie was nothing like it?

 

2) I still don't see how if they had made an actual X-MEN movie it wouldn't have been as popular or successful? Lets not fool ourselves here, the changes made are mostly done out of pure ego or embarrassment, take your pick. As much as us comic book "dorks" would like to think things have changed with the recent successes of movies loosely based on comic books, the vast majority of "civilians" think comic books are fodder for the emotionally / socially retarded.

[Dr. Balls]

I still don't see how if they had made an actual X-MEN movie it wouldn't have been as popular or successful? Lets not fool ourselves here, the changes made are mostly done out of pure ego or embarrassment, take your pick. As much as us comic book "dorks" would like to think things have changed with the recent successes of movies loosely based on comic books, the vast majority of "civilians" think comic books are fodder for the emotionally / socially retarded.

 

I have to agree - the general population thinks of comic book fans as weirdos, immature or what have you. Is that ever going to go away? No.

 

I do think an actual (in terms of accurate depiction of a story) X-Men movie would still have been successful - but I don't think that producers and studios would greenlight something like that in it's entirety. Filmmaking has so many people giving input - and those people's opinions being followed due to politics or preferential treatment (I'm sure Hugh Jackman has input in how Wolverine is portrayed on screen, even if it's not accurate to the true character) - that I think a lot of things are lost along the way. I know a variety of people in different aspects of filmmaking and one thing I have always heard is how drastically things change from -script to screen. Definitely an ego thing, like you said.

 

A shot-for-shot film version of the Dark Phoenix saga? That would be very cool, but it would never happen - there's just too damn many people involved making changes and tweaks to it.

[Logan510]

We can always hope for some Marvel / Disney animated movies done as well as the DC versions

[Bosco685]

We can always hope for some Marvel / Disney animated movies done as well as the DC versions

I've hoped for this ever since the acquisition.

 

[Logan510]

We can always hope for some Marvel / Disney animated movies done as well as the DC versions

I've hoped for this ever since the acquisition.

 

 

You know what I like best about the animated versions ( especially DC )? They generally play it straight, no cutesy one liners acknowledging that they know they're in a stupid comic book movie, no scenes mocking the source material etc I just finished rewatching the first 2 seasons of Justice League and aside from The Flash being comedy relief, they generally get the characters right. Very enjoyable stuff.

[UnboxingTreasures]

X-Men 2 for me.

[sassemble]

 

I'm late to the party but here goes:

 

Honorable mention: Captain America, X-Men 1, Superman 1 and Batman Beyond origin (my son's favorite, his DVD has the first three episodes in movie form; I still use many phrases from it: "Never again!", "I am Batman!" and "Welcome to my world."), and the World's Finest Batman/Superman animated movie.

 

10. Batman Begins (saw it with no expectations and thoroughly enjoyed it; not so much the next one.

9. The Incredibles (Pixar's best, hand's down)

8. Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (Bruce Timm as his best; if only DC would trust him to do live-action movies)

7. Thor (need to see this again on blu-ray to see all the Asgardian stuff I missed at theater)

6. Iron-Man 1 (while everyone was going crazy over The Dark Knight, I was raving about the best comic book movie of 2008; RDJR was born to play Tony Stark)

5. Superman 2 (my favorite movie as a kid; who doesn't love it when Superman has to outthink instead of overpower just-as-strong villains)

4. Spider-Man 1 (Sam Raimi just got it in showing Spidey's world; drenched KD!!!)

3. Spider-Man 2 (the scene where Pete and MJ talk over the fence behind their houses is Kirsten Dunst at her sexiest; you cannot resist her)

2. Batman Beyond: The Return of the Joker (not one to watch with small children; anyone who watches Robin as the Joker's child cannot avoid being queasy; an awesome movie)

and ...

1. Avengers (well worth 40-year wait; they cut loose)

 

[Dr. Balls]

I voted for Spider-Man 2 - I love that movie from a film aspect. Performance, pacing, drama, mood - it may not stand up to the scrutiny of comic book accuracy, but from a story-telling aspect, it's my favorite.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I voted for Spider-Man 2 - I love that movie from a film aspect. Performance, pacing, drama, mood - it may not stand up to the scrutiny of comic book accuracy, but from a story-telling aspect, it's my favorite.

 

I actually just rewatched Spider-Man 2 a few days ago. It's always been my favorite of the trilogy. But, I have to say that this time around, I was bored for about the first half of the movie. When Peter comes back to Aunt May's and they have the hero discussion about Spider-Man quitting, that's when the movie picks up. Pretty much everything after that is gold.

[warburger]

Still X-Men 2 for me.

 

I'm changing my answer.

 

Best comic film for me is X-Men: Days of Future Past, bar none.