Top Ten Best Superhero Movies of All Time- BAYLEY
With the much-anticipated reboot of Superman heading to
theaters this week, you couldn’t color me as a more excited superhero fan. I
love Superman. I’ve loved this character since I saw Christopher Reeve take him
to flight in the 1978 “Superman”. But the genre has seriously become over-blown
since “Spider-man” gave audiences “the ultimate spin” in 2002 (Taglines are
fun).
Today, some consider the “superhero” to be our societies
greek-myths..these herculean god-like wonders whom struggle through the “good
vs. evil” story-arch we know and love. So which of the crop can be considered
the best of the best? Well, it’s open to interpretation of course, but here is
a list of my true favorites. The one’s I feel stand the test of time, adapt the
comic-book characters the best, and ultimately lent themselves to the art of
film in a fashion that will be remembered the most.
10. Spider-man (2002)
Seeing this with my Dad opening night was a big deal for
young Danny Bayley. The theater was completely packed and there was this crazy
excitement in the air I’ll never forget. I remember months before the night, I
had seen this poster in my local movie theater.
Before the age of the Internet, seeing this poster in the
theater was my first exposure that Sony had gone about making a live-action
Spider-man film. This was HUGE! He was my favorite superhero (from the comics
and the fantastic ‘90’s animated series that I highly recommend).
And the film did not disappoint. Sam Raimi made a “straight
from the comic-book” film that was colorful, vibrant, lively, and just a little
bit cheesy (in a surprisingly nice way). He brought the people of America a
gung-ho hero story filled with patriotic nuances the audiences needed after
9/11. And with Willem Dafoe as a pitch-perfect Green Goblin, J.K. Simmons as
the PERFECT J. Jonah Jameson, and the spirit of the original comics intact,
what was really wrong with this movie? For me, it was the CGI that looked
horrible then and looks really horrible now (I’m thinking specifically of the
scene when Peter first suits up to find the man who killed his father and
engages in a wall-crawling sequence in full-on cartoonish CGI crapola). Along
with that is Goblins’ Power Ranger costume, Mary Jane now as the “girl next
door (that’s Gwen Stacy’s job), and some other little nit-picks. But all in
all, a story well told that made way for a much superior film.
Note: It also taught me the greatness of continuity errors
at a young age! (Mary Jane’s glove…)
9. Iron Man (2008)
I never could have imagined Marvel Studios bringing their
comics to life in a cinematic universe so well. With top of the line actors all
together in perfectly casted roles, all intertwining, Phase 1 of the Marvel
films has been simply fantastic, which can be credited in large part to the success
of Jon Faverau’s Iron Man.
A film that was said to have had a script they were
essentially writing as they were shooting, how did this film come out so well?
You would have to say it’s because they not only grounded the character in the
real-world for the audiences craving darker material, but they found a way to
infuse non-stop wit and gusto to the mix.
Enter, Robert Downey Jr. The film is the Robert Downey Jr.
show. It was said that Tom Cruise wanted the role and was in talks for it but,
man, without Robert Downey Jr., do you think this movie would be where it is
today? Sure, people want to see the action, but I would say now that a high
percentage of these fans really want to see Robert Downey Jr. do his
fast-talking and intriguing performances. Look at yourself in the mirror and
ask yourself, “Was Iron Man really
your favorite superhero before 2008”? No. Because he wasn’t this energetic, narcissistic,
and downright fun as he is here. The Stark persona is the driving force of this
film and that’s why Downey is getting paid the big bucks now. But…he still
doesn’t win my favorite line from the movie…
“Tony Stark was able to build this in a cave! With a box of
scraps!” (Cue my laughter in the audience)
8. Batman Begins
(2005)
If you have ever seen me speeding down my streets in my old
1995 Honda Accord, it was because I was blasting “Molossus” by Hans Zimmer aka
the Batmobile track from this film. Yes..the score just gets to the core of me.
And this movie gets to the core of Bruce Wayne.
Now while I personally loved the 1989 Batman more, which I will explain later, this film definitely
brings top of the line cinematography and note-worthy performances by all the
major players (Bale, Caine, Oldman, Freeman, Holmes, Neeson, Murphy, Wilkinson,
etc.). Bringing Batman into a Gotham that showed real struggle and decay of a
city definitely grounds the film in a dark and scary place for Bruce and a
realistic one for audiences to connect to in contrast to the overblown
extravagance of the Schumacher universe. And while Schumacher did create some
fun Hollywood brouhaha in Batman Forever,
Batman Begins is definitely a film I
would recommend. With a psychological undertone of “fear” ruling us, Bruce must
confront all his fears in order to rise up to a symbol that can stand for the
justice Gotham needs. With plenty of special effects to keep your eyes
a-gazing, Nolan and David Goyer take the material as seriously as we wanted and
make a Batman film worth watching.
I just wish Scarecrow didn’t get tasered in the friggin’
face right when he was about to do some cool stuff..
7. Superman 2 (1981)
Say it with me.. “KNEEL BEFORE ZOD”. Terence Stamp is one
great villain. But the real strength of the movie is Clark Kent’s struggle to
expose his true self to Lois Lane (why did that sound dirty as I read that
back?). No, but the film shows Lois figuring out Clark is never around when
Superman comes to save the day (thank God it only took one movie for her to
crack that case), and we ask ourselves what makes Superman’s disguise? As Kill Bill: Volume 2 expertly pointed
out, Superman is awesome because he is unlike the other superheroes in that he
dresses up as a normal person as a disguise rather than the opposite. HE is
truly a superhero who has to pretend to be ordinary. This is a very interesting
and notable trait the story utilizes well here.
Superman here is trying to be with the woman he loves but
when he needs to choose saving the world over that, this was where the film brings
it’s strong romantic themes to the piece. Along with very fun humor placed
around action sequences, and the villains never being too scary, the film has a
light hearted texture to it that kinda just makes you smile.
I actually recommend the original Richard Lester cut rather
than the Richard Donner cut. Go see it.
Even if there are some things I still don’t understand…
6. Sin City- (2005)
Not your traditional super-hero movie, this film was
directed by Robert Rodriguez (his best work in my opinion) and Frank Miller
(the creator of the original graphic novel). Based on three books of the series
(The Hard Goodbye, The Big Fat Kill, and
That Yellow Bastard), this is a very
violent and highly stylized piece of genius, showing that heroes are not always
“black and white”. There are heroes that must face tough choices, that might
need to break the rules, and might not always be the best of us.
My personal favorite story of the three parts is Mickey
Rourke’s opening chapter. He is ruthless, tough, and gives a fantastic
film-noir narration. This is exactly how you should utilize a CGI environment
where it doesn’t take away from the story but lends itself to it and enhances
it (See polar opposite Star Wars Episode
II: Attack of the Clones for a contrast). Nothing but accolades from me
here for Sin City.
5. Superman (1978)
This is what Man of
Steel is up against for me. I think this film is amazing. Christopher
Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder.. everyone is performing this piece
straight. It’s not just a superhero movie. It’s a grand-scale, fantasy piece of
a godlike alien coming to earth that begins with having trouble fitting in but
ultimately embraces the role of the hero and has fun with it. You can see
Reeves enjoying his toying with everyone as he pretends to be the bumbling
doofus Clark Kent. You can see the love in Margot Kidder’s eyes as she flies
with Superman for the first time and has the inner narration “Can You Read My
Mind?”. There is just so much emotion
and truth to this fantastical pop-culture interpretation that could have been
shed away in the hands of the wrong people. Without this first superhero film
being such a major success, we might not have had any other great superhero
films taken seriously.
I will note my favorite performance of the film is Marlon
Brando’s Jor-El. As the stoic, loving, and brave father of the Man of Steel,
Brando has just the commanding screen presence to portray the doomed and
self-sacrificing father of Superman as he delivers his parting words with such
an amazing monologue worth seeing. It is my favorite Brando performance.
There..I said it.
4. Batman (1989)
I remember sitting in my grandparents house for a family party one fall evening as a kid. I had seen Batman & Robin, Batman Forever, and Batman Returns in that order. I knew there was one more I needed to see that I had missed..the one with Jack Nicholson as the Joker. It was on the television and I got sucked in. Michael Keaton WAS Batman (I mean, he says it perfectly in the first scene of the movie).
In a way, he was kind of like how Superman needed to pretend
to be Clark Kent to fit in. Michael Keaton, as he notices Vicky Vale in the
party scene early in the movie, looks very uncomfortable in the setting but
also looks like is intrigued by the world around him. He has the air about him,
I don’t know. I can imagine Keaton putting on a Batsuit at night and thinking
that was who he truly is and not this guy in a suit keeping up appearances.
I love Burton’s “Gotham” the most. This sorta-gotchic-noir
city caught in shadow that Batman can hide around at night and call his home.
Burton may not have been the biggest superhero fan in the world, but he knew
how to bring this imagery to the big-screen that creator Bob Kane had to have
enjoyed as much as we did.
Sitting in my grandparents house, there was one scene that
gave me goosebumps. The “Descent Into Mystery” scene, as Danny Elfman’s creepy
score rises and rises into the crescendo of the Batman Theme. As Batman takes
Vicky Vale to the BatCave and whizzes through the back-roads of this autumn
set, I don’t think any scene could have captured what trying to discover the
mystery of a man dressed like a Bat fighting crime at night really could be
like. Check it out..
3. Spider-man 2
(2004)
This was my favorite super-hero movie for a while. Finally
upping the anty on the CGI, this Spider-man film I think gives old Spidey his
most realistic web-swinging action to date. There is a real sense of drama in
this one. Should Peter Parker continue to be Spider-man, or should he give it
all up to indulge in his true happiness? Is this really his cross to bear? Does
he need to handle this responsibility?
This film is true to the source material as the first
Spider-man was from Raimi, adds a very charismatic villain with Molina’s Doc
Ock, and has a cinematic canvas of Manhattan’s tallest skyscrapers to a tee. My
favorite scenes are three that I feel showcase what this trilogy did best when
they got it right.
1.
The “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head”
Scene-The comedic sequence.
2.
The Train Fight- An amazing, quick, and expertly
crafted fight sequence.
3.
The Web Dialogue- Peter tells Mary Jane in a web
at the end of the film he can’t risk her life and can’t be with her and let’s
her go by sending her down to her fiance’ via his web. It’s great imagery
loaded with heavy emotion (aided by another fantastic superhero score by Mr.
Danny Elfman).
2. The Avengers (2012)
I’ve written about this movie in two other posts. It’s
amazing. Go see it. Eat schwarma.
1.The Dark Knight
(2008)
There’s not much more I can say that others haven’t already.
You could have guessed this was my number 1. It’s the most dramatic, realistic,
and threatening superhero movie to date. It showed what superhero movies could
be.. not just pop entertainment but a piece that can question heavy topics of
morality, evil vs. good (with evil conquering in many cases), and anarchy vs.
established order.
I sat in a theater in July with no air-conditioning,
sweating my ass off as I watched this film at midnight but didn’t care at all
about the conditions. I was hooked. This film grips you from the opening “Heat”
inspired bank-robbery sequence to the closing dialogue between Batman, Harvey
Dent, and Jim Gordon. And that’s really what makes this film great. I
mean..Heath Ledgers performance IS the big noteworthy element of this movie and
I’m not going to ever let the vast array accolades over-expose its goodness.
But the three heroes trying to fight crime in their own ways (as a vigilante in
the shadows, as a public official in the public eye, and as a commissioner
leading a crooked group he cannot even trust against crime), and watching them
succeed and fail.. this is what stuck with me the most.
“You either die a hero or you live long enough to see
yourself become the villain.” It’s a heavy movie with heavy messages but it’s
the movie that took superheroes to the next level. I hope future superhero films
can live up to this.
Thanks for reading! Let me know what you thought of my list,
if you think I left anything out, and what your favorite super-hero movie is.
-BAYLEY
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