• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Paste: The 100 Best Superhero Movies of All Time

Status
Not open for further replies.
U

unpopularblargh

Member
via Paste:
Two things quickly become evident when putting together a list of the 100 Best Superhero Movies of All Time. First, this is the Golden Age for such films, a decade where technology, long-unrequited fandom and surging popular awareness have all combined to thrill moviegoers and make Hollywood billions of dollars. Second, it's still fair to say that most superhero films are not that good. There's no real contradiction at play here. The niche just lacks the pedigree of its fellow movie genres. Though superhero comic books may have started to make a dint in popular culture 75 years ago (give or take), technology only crossed over from hindrance to enabling force in the last 20 years or so. As a result, while curating a 100 Best Westerns of All Time or 100 Best Documentaries of All Time list requires the exclusion of arguably good films to select the best 100—for superhero movies? The pickings get slim after 40. In fact, the real challenge for this list was choosing amongst the dreck (some of it beloved dreck!) that would fill out the bottom half.
Click to expand...

Finally, some criteria. To be considered for this list, a film must possess at least two of the following three qualities: 1) It must involve costumed shenanigans, 2) It must involve a superpowered protagonist and/or 3) the protagonist must exist in a world where the supernatural/extraordinary is demonstrably present. These criteria are why meta-commentary films like Kick-Ass and Super are not on this list. And it's also why some films with pulpy characters like Zorro, Tarzan and Conan are not, while others like The Phantom are. (Zane's costume combined with the Skulls of Touganda do the trick.) Admittedly, the lines gets blurry. Also absent from this list is any consideration of foreign superhero films. That's not because some are not worthy—especially given the movie quality issue mentioned at the top—it's just an area we'd rather get better versed in before pouring into this list. Next year, perhaps.
Click to expand...

Instead of listing the top ten wholesale I'm just going to post excerpts about the ones I found interesting from the bottom half of the ranking. You can visit the link above for the whole top 100:

84. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
By the film's end, fans of the series got to leave the theater knowing they have just seen a bad film that pretty much guaranteed a good version of the material would not be seen any time soon. It would also be Sean Connery's final role before retiring from acting. It feels like that should be held against the movie, too.
Click to expand...

79. The Green Hornet
The Green Hornet isn't most superhero movies. It's its own entity, a disarmingly peculiar movie boosted by Rogen's chemistry with Jay Chou, playing his exasperated sidekick, and by Gondry's refusal to play by the established expectations and rules of the superhero mode.
Click to expand...

78. The Shadow
Nonetheless, even as the script hobbles the film's otherwise sleek design, Baldwin shows an Alec Guinness-worthy ability to inhabit strange characters and deliver potentially hokey lines with sincerity and charm. (Seriously, check out his turn as The Conductor in 2000's Thomas and the Magic Railroad—the man kills it.) But while that may make the film must-see for all his fans, it's probably not enough to justify anyone else seeing it.
Click to expand...

75. Green Lantern
Proof that Warner Bros.' negative aptitude for the DC Universe's potential-laden source material existed before the arrival of Zack Snyder, Green Lantern wastes a solid cast—Mark Strong's turn as Sinestro should have lasted longer than a single movie, or at least survived the reboot—and the enviable but too often fumbled ”first pick" of an established hero's mythos.
Click to expand...

73. TMNT (2007)
Calling TMNT the second-best of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies is probably the damning-est of faint praise, but Kevin Monroe's CGI-animated adaptation is at least better moored to the spirit of its comic book source and, to some extent, the original animated cartoon. The film wisely ignores the third film from the original Muppet-y, live-action trilogy.
Click to expand...

65. Mystery Men
The movie opened in 1999, just a few years before the start of the 2000s superhero boom, back when comic book films weren't an industry unto themselves. These were the days when no one took superheroes seriously and most representatives of the classification were straight-up garbage, so intrinsically bad that they well near spoofed themselves. A dedicated send-up didn't make a lot of sense then, but it makes more sense now.
Click to expand...

59. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Ultimately, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is noteworthy for one thing—not waiting until the third or fourth film to achieve the overstuffed, increasingly garish look one associates with less popular (2007's Spider-Man 3) and outright ridiculed (1997's Batman and Robin) franchise efforts.
Click to expand...

56. The Phantom
Billy Zane is beefy and believable as the 21st Phantom out to avenge the death of his dad (the 20th), and I sort of wish Catherine Zeta-Jones had spent more of her career playing rogue-ish femme fatales who lead a squadron of female mercs.
Click to expand...

51. The Crow
Alex Proyas's gothic cult classic, in which Brandon Lee's Eric Dravin flits from rooftop to rooftop, makeup supernaturally intact, is almost hilariously bleak, a sort of Hot-Topic-toned cousin to something from Hermann Warm's wettest of dreams. Because of that, The Crow is either something completely understood, an object with which a select few audience members can truly sympathize, or something to be consumed in bewilderment
Click to expand...

47. Constantine
At the same time, though, Constantine does boast some absolutely mesmerizing supporting performances that have helped the film develop a late-blooming appreciation: In particular, the radiant, androgynous Tilda Swinton as the scheming angel Gabriel and the malevolent Peter Stormare in a sadly brief but brilliant portrayal of Lucifer. It almost makes one hope for a different film featuring the same characters in more depth, rather than the somewhat generic plot of Constantine itself.
Click to expand...
 
F

Fancy Clown

Member
When you're including shit like LXG and Amazing Spider Man 2, I think you gotta rethink the number of entries in your list or retitle it. This is more like "we ranked all 100 comic book movies".

32. Thor 2 The Dark World
33. Scott Pilgrim


R u fucking kidding me? Avengers #2? This list is all kinds of basura.
 
S

SpaceWolf

Banned
Top 10:

1. The Incredibles
2. The Avengers.
3. The Dark Knight.
4. Spiderman 2.
5. Captain America: The Winter Solider.
6. X2: X-Men United.
7. Captain America: Civil War.
8. Guardians of the Galaxy.
9. Iron Man.
10. X-Men: Days of Future Past.

The Avengers and Civil War are way too high and Unbreakable is way too low. Otherwise, solid list.

Also, really good to see Constantine getting some love. Really fun film.
 
T

T Dollarz

Member
Good lord that list is terrible. It didn't even get respectable until the top 10, and then they go and put The Avengers at #2.

GTFO with this basura!!
 
Strangelove77

Strangelove77

Member
The Avengers is better than TDK and Spider-man 2?
Ugh.
I guess Avengers is that high because it was the first and still only of its kind in that it pulled off the connected universe of movies and a competent movie was made out of it. It could have turned out terribly, but it actually was alright.
Maybe that way I can justify it being that high.
But honestly, it's not even a top 5 MCU movie for me.

Anyways, this thread is going to get ugly/hilarious, isn't it?
 
Certinty

Certinty

Member
That's a pretty awesome top 10, just not in that order probably.

I disagree why some movies are so low and others so high (Iron Man 3 being that high, what the hell?) but overall a solid list.

Also the right movie at number 1, not even close.
 
G

Glass Rebel

Member
I don't get the love for the first Avengers. It's not even in my top 5 of the MCU and has aged terribly compared to other movies.

Happy to see some recognition for the first Cap, IM3, Blade fucking II and Unbreakable.
 
O

opricnik

Banned
Hulk-Smash-Puny-Demi-God-Loki-In-The-Avengers.gif


this as #2?

really*
 
A

aussiedude08

Member
Thor 2 if ranked higher than Batman: Mask of Phantasm.

What the fuck?

Also some of the DC animated original/Universe movies should of made it. They were good till Bruce Timm was taken off them.
 
G

Glass Rebel

Member
Also Batman Begins at #12 is genuinely surprising to me because usually people just gush over TDK and bitch and moan about Rises when it's Begins that's actually the best Baleman.

respek_knuckles.jpg
 
D

DerZuhälter

Member
Having seen The Incredibles recently I'm asking myself constantly now how the idea of "remasters" of old Pixar movies would be received.
 
S

singhr1

Member
Wanted @ 61 under trash like the new Spider-Man flicks, Spider-Man 3, Man of Steel, and Incredible Hulk is baffling.
 
F

Fancy Clown

Member
*Deep breaths*

1. The Incredibles
2. The Dark Knight
3. Scott Pilgrim
4. Spider Man 2
5. Mask of the Phantasm
6. Batman Begins
7. X2
8. Dredd
9. Spider Man
10. Deadpool

ok this feels much better.
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Mask of the Phantasm should be in the top 3 but the fact its in the top 5 is nice to see. It really needs to get more recognition as its probably one of the, if not the, best on screen depiction of both Bruce and Batman we have ever gotten.

Oh and #1 is spot on. The Incredibles is, well incredible.
 
F

Fudgepuppy

Banned
1. Spider-Man 2
2. Incredibles
3. Days of Future Past
4. Winter Soldier

The rest are imo impossible to rank accurately. TDK and TDKR are both enjoyable movies, but TDK has issues with the narrative thrust and interpretation of Batman, and TDKR is enjoyable, but also very clunky with a lot of smaller issues that makes it feel very sloppy and forced.
 
A

autumnleaf

Member
The salt regarding the Avengers is always amusing.

I've seen almost every film on that list and lots of them in the cinema and none of them match the cinema experience of watching Avengers opening night. The audience were practically bouncing off the walls by the end. It deserves all the praise it gets.
 
E

Emarv

Member
I'm not gonna sit here and debate list placement. All I know is that that was a nice blurb about The Shadow (that movie does have style and Baldwin is having a blast), and that Constantine deserves every little praise it gets.
 
Z

zeemumu

Member
No way Watchmen is better than Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Sky High


I'll take The Incredibles at #1 but not the rest of that list.
 
F

Fudgepuppy

Banned
Ang-Lee-Hulk is incredibly underrated in my opinion. You will never get a superhero movie with so much focus on anger, sadness and depression. It's a miserable experience, but such a good commentary on the effects of anger.
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Fudgepuppy said:
Ang-Lee-Hulk is incredibly underrated in my opinion. You will never get a superhero movie with so much focus on anger, sadness and depression. It's a miserable experience, but such a good commentary on the effects of anger.
Click to expand...

And it has monster poodles
 
E

Exterminieren

Banned
I can quibble about placings all day (seriously, Batman the Movie, Mask of the Phantasm, The Green Hornet and Scott Pilgrim are FAR too low), but any list that gets the number 1 spot that right is on to something.
 
S

Sephzilla

Member
Batman Begins not being in the Top 5 is a crime. It's better than Dark Knight. Mask of the Phantasm is too low, as well
 
A

Anth0ny

Member
their 2-4 is my 1-3 so good job! Dark Knight, Spidey 2 and Avengers is THE god tier.

still haven't watched incredibles ._.
 
B

BlueTsunami

there is joy in sucking dick
Fancy Clown said:
*Deep breaths*

1. The Incredibles
2. The Dark Knight
3. Scott Pilgrim
4. Spider Man 2
5. Mask of the Phantasm
6. Batman Begins
7. X2
8. Dredd
9. Spider Man
10. Deadpool

ok this feels much better.
Click to expand...

Agree with this simply because Dredd should be top 10

I'm surprised at the lack of regard for it by some considering Deadpool, its violence, and how popular it is.
 
R

ReplacementPelican

Member
It's a good enough list and offers an interesting short paragraph on movies that I either haven't seen or have seen before but forgotten slightly.

As for the upset over TDK and Avengers, I can only assume it's for three things; firstly, maybe they feel Avengers is a better superhero movie rather than movie overall; secondly, Avengers changed the landscape of Hollywood and the way Superhero movies work; thirdly, maybe the author just liked it more? There is a thing called 'taste' and it sometimes means people don't think what you like is the best.
 
A

A Link to the Past

Banned
Ew, Avengers at 2. :(

1. The Incredibles
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
3. Dredd
4. Batman
5. X-Men: Days of Future Past
6. Deadpool
7. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
8. Captain America: Civil War
9. X2: X-Men United
10. Batman Begins

I was tempted to put Scott Pilgrim at 10, but the adaptation issues really bug me too much.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

Kraven the Hunter - Review Thread
News Cringe
30
2K
AJUMP23 replied
31 Days of Horror 2024 |OT| We are the ones who dwell within
2 3 4 5
243
10K
ForAcademicPurposes replied
[NY times] Is the Awkward ‘Diversity Era’ of Hollywood Behind Us?
Opinion 2
71
5K
Futaleufu replied
Netflix's "Society of The Snow" is one of the best survival movies I've ever seen, and arguably the best movie they've made
33
9K
Represent. replied
With All The Superhero Movies, Surprised There Isn't A "Darkness" Film Yet
0
653
Darkmakaimura replied
Top Bottom