Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
This list was first published in 2014, and has been updated periodically to reflect new superhero movie releases.
Hell, the idea of an industry for movies about costumed heroes was ludicrous.
No such thing had ever existed.
Then Wesley Snipes came along and changed everything.
The picture earned more than $131 million worldwide.
Quietly, a revolution began.
In the nearly two decades since, successful caped-crusader movies started trickling, then flooding, into theaters.
Now we live in a world where the global film economy is largely built on them.
Studiosannouncetheir superheroslateslike Stalin announced five-year plans.
High-profile directors getattachedto adaptations of comics few have ever heard of.
Here are the 30 best superhero movies sinceBladekicked off their modern renaissance.
But first, lets talk methodology.
Theres also a certain amount of Potter Stewartesque logic here: You know a superhero when you see one.
Butboy, oh boy,is it pretty.
And people really undervalue Tom Hardys line readings.
in a Bane voice to yourself while alone, youre really missing out.
Thats a damn shame, asDreddis a compact delight.
Plus, the whole things about as decadent anode to slo-moas any movie ever released.
27.X-Men(2000)
In retrospect, its astounding how good the casting inX-Menwas.
AlthoughBladecame first, it wasX-Menthat really made the rest of this list possible.
Usually, Batman movies pretend that stuff never happened, butThe Lego Batman Movieis a blissful exception.
Anyone who turns their nose up at this flick should ask themselves whether theyre truly a Batman fan.
Its unsparing in its answer: Theyd raze the world.
24.Spider-Man(2002)
Tobey Maguire was a supremely, delightfully odd choice to play Spider-Man.
But his performance, like the rest of Sam RaimisSpiderdebut, is as charming as it is awkward.
Oh, and Macy Gray is there, too, for some reason.
The result is an uneven mishmash that, nevertheless, confidently set the template for solo superhero origin stories.
Luckily, it isnt just momentous; its actually very enjoyable.
Chris Pine is a total delight as the male damsel in distress.
(Call him a dude in dire circumstances, perhaps.)
Though shes only in a few minutes of the picture,Robin Wright is fantasticas Wonder Womans mentor.
Taika, kindly stick around; the game needs you.
This is a pretty standard-issue World War IImovie story, but thats kinda the point and its executed deftly.
The alleys and tunnels feel dank and lived-in.
Or Hugh Jackmans Wolverine using his claws to skewer a black-ops soldier into a refrigerator.
The action is pulse-pounding and the story is just compelling enough.
And cmon, how great is Brian Cox as Svengali mastermind Stryker?
(Has thereeverbeen a bad Brian Cox performance?)
The gentle final scene wouldve been a perfect capstone to the franchise.
For now, it feels like a shame that it wasnt.
But the stuff it gets right changed modern cinema.
Oh, how charming he was.
It promised the vast world we now inhabit.
He jettisoned the previous movies yawn-inducing audience surrogate John Myers, as well as Hellboys textbook crisis of confidence.
13.Punisher: War Zone(2008)
Good lord, is this a wonderful little movie.
Its taut, its inventive, and its tragically overshadowed by its fellow 2008 flicksIron ManandThe Dark Knight.
Those latter two subsequently locked superhero movies in templates that mostly exclude the wild excitement of Alexanders forgotten gem.
Speaking of which: Hoo-boy,Michael Keaton is great as that particular baddie.
But can he reallyregrethaving superhuman capabilities if they allowed him to save lives?
Shane Black, drawing on a screenplay he co-wrote with Drew Pearce, gives us a nimbly enchanting narrative.
How can you not greet that moment with a heartyawwww?
ButWinter Soldierdoesnt solely rely on the winning nature of its lead.
It lets old hands like Robert Redford and Samuel L. Jackson have fun and mostly avoid comic-book-y jargon.
8.Superman Returns(2006)
Okay, hear me out.
Like most viewers, I despised this aborted franchise-reboot upon first seeing it on opening day.
There has never been a more beautiful ode to Superman committed to film.
Nowadays, the greatest challenge to enjoying the movie is watching Kevin Spacey play Lex Luthor.
Its a triumph of a performance; one of the greatest bad-guy outings in the history of superhero-dom.
7.Batman Begins(2005)
No one wouldve been surprised if this movie had bombed.
But theres no self-effacing wink about this being a story inspired by a comic book.
This movie isnt ashamed, and thats why it had such an impact.
The politics ofThe Incredibles, once you interrogate them, should be uncomfortable for a progressive audience.
5.The Avengers(2012)
To this day,The Avengersis the Marvel Cinematic Universes crowning achievement.
Joss Whedons primary-colored epic combines an admiration for elbow-greased American know-how with an exuberant embrace of sci-fi swashbuckling.
I suppose we could list its flaws and plot holes (how on earth does Gordons faked death work?
how does Two-Faces face medically function?).
But those elements hardly matter in the face of Christopher Nolans masterful cinematic brutalism.
Its a story told with long takes, calm dialogue, and nary a stitch of spandex.
Second is the violence the film is a charnel house of severed heads and bloodstained claws.
But these are ultimately merits, not missteps.
Plus, the ultraviolence is something of a subversion and commentary on superhero cinema.
Here is a rare story about a superpowered individual fighting for something: love.
Not bad for a story about a guy with big ol knives in his knuckles.
1.Black Panther(2018)
Most superhero movies are fundamentally conservative.
They rarely take a stab at invent anything or push the genre forward in a substantial way.
The characters eponymous film is so stunning that words fail in the immediate aftermath of a first viewing.
Youve seen something not conservative, not even progressive, but downright revolutionary.
On a purely superheroic level, it fires on all cylinders.
If youre watching it right, you finish the movie and feel thrilled, but also stirred to action.
Related
Tags:
