I'm only counting the curent "MCU". Never seen man thing and never heard anything good about it. Love unbreakable. One of my all time favorite movies, but it is its own thing imo so I have a hard time including it in such lists. Kindve like with the incredibles, which also appears on many people lists. Personally I have a hard time equally / fairly comparing and evaluating animated against live action and need to separate them. But incredibles and big hero 6 are both masterpieces imo. I remember liking Howard the duck and bot understanding the hate for it, but havnt seen it in so long I can't fairly say now. My non mcu best of list would include Xmen2 and spiderman1+2 in the top. then basically everything else. Then PunisherWZ, Ghost Rider2 and blade3 definitely at the very bottom.
So, for fun, I thought I'd try to include more films and do another ranking. Ranking all comic movies I've seen is quite a task.. here's my first stab at it, starting with these qualifiers:
- I am not counting Conan movies, despite being a big Conan fan, I will consider them movie adaptations of REH story material, not adaptations of comics, for the purposes of the discussion - I am not counting Unbreakable, BH6, Incredibles.. Just need to compile a more complete list of the non Marvel/DC/Hellboy/Sin City comic movies that I've seen to include them all. Of those, only Big Hero 6 is a movie really adapting a comic. - I do tilt praise more towards recent films.. "Does it hold up" is a question I consider a lot and many films I may have liked or even loved when I saw them just do not hold up now.. The form has been improved through the years and my opinions reflect that. - There's quite a few I still have not seen. And others where I veer wildly off majority opinion.. I have never been an X-men fan, although I did enjoy First Class a lot. (I know the reputation of X2 but honestly I fell asleep when I rented it). I haven't seen Watchmen, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, etc.
As with all rankings of any kind, YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY-
JUST PAINFUL 41. Batman & Robin 40. Batman Returns 39. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 38. The Amazing Spider-Man 37. Fantastic Four 36. Superman IV - #36-41 are the bottom of the barrel for me.
WORTH 20 MINUTES OF YOUR TIME WHEN FLIPPING CHANNELS 35. Superman III - A bad film, that has aged poorly, with Richard Pryor misplaced. However misplaced they may be, I still love Pryor and those are the scenes I watch when I'm flipping channels and come across this. 34. Batman Forever - Ah, the mid '90s. 33. Green Lantern 32. X2 31. Hellboy II 30. Hellboy 29. Superman II - This whole group of films is very average, with the exception of Superman II which was good in it's day but as with all the Reeve films, hasn't aged well. Reeve as Clark Kent is the reason to watch the Superman films.
JUST OKAY 28. Captain America: The First Avenger (MCU #12) 27. Guardians of the Galaxy (MCU #11) 26. Blade: Trinity 25. The Incredible Hulk (MCU #10) 24. Daredevil - Original, not director's cut, although come to think of it I think I'd still rank it here. 23. Superman 22. X-men 21. Blade II 20. Sin City
AWESOME WITH ISSUES 19. Iron Man 3 (MCU #9) 18. Man of Steel 17. Iron Man 2 (MCU #8) 16. Spider-Man 3 15. X-men: First Class - Probably the only film in this group where I wouldn't find a quibble with something, because I just don't know the X-men well enough. My personal lack of interest probably drops it a few spots, but I did really like the film. 14. Batman - Maybe nostalgia is taking hold with this ranking.. I loved it in '89 when it just had a stranglehold on the summer. It hasn't aged well but there's still a lot to like. 13. Thor: The Dark World (MCU #7)
FAVORITES 12. Spider-Man 11. The Avengers: Age of Ultron (MCU #6) - Some quibbles with these two but I still come out thoroughly entertained.
TOP TEN 10. Ant-Man (MCU #5) 9. Blade 8. Thor (MCU #4) 7. The Dark Knight Rises 6. The Avengers (MCU #3) 5. Iron Man (MCU #2) 4. Batman Begins 3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (MCU #1) 2. Spider-Man 2 1. The Dark Knight
I don't really count Man-Thing as part of the MCU. Like Agents of SHIELD, it was made for television, or am I mistaken? Was it released theatrically? And if we ARE counting it, then do we need to include films featuring Blade, Ghost Rider, Punisher, et al in our rankings too? What about Fantastic Four and X-Men films?
Though I still say Unbreakable is the best in the genre.
Agreed!
There may have been some superhero movies I have enjoyed more, but as a complete work, I think nothing Unbreakable has been the best superhero movie we've had yet. (Or, at least, that I've seen.)
I read an interview with M. Knight Shamalan (sp) once in which he explained unbreakable was invisioned as the first part of a trilogy. One he finished filming though he reazlized that the opening bit (act one for lack of a better term) was really the only part of the story that interested him. So he never returned to the sequels.
I don't really count Man-Thing as part of the MCU. Like Agents of SHIELD, it was made for television, or am I mistaken? Was it released theatrically? And if we ARE counting it, then do we need to include films featuring Blade, Ghost Rider, Punisher, et al in our rankings too? What about Fantastic Four and X-Men films?
Though I still say Unbreakable is the best in the genre.
Agreed!
There may have been some superhero movies I have enjoyed more, but as a complete work, I think nothing Unbreakable has been the best superhero movie we've had yet. (Or, at least, that I've seen.)
I read an interview with M. Knight Shamalan (sp) once in which he explained unbreakable was invisioned as the first part of a trilogy. One he finished filming though he reazlized that the opening bit (act one for lack of a better term) was really the only part of the story that interested him. So he never returned to the sequels.
I'm glad, actually, that he stuck with just the one. I like that it is just the complete, standalone thing.
12. Hulk It's kind of forgettable even though I've seen it a few times. Not a good sign...
11. Age of Ultron I know everyone will burn me for this one but it felt so forced and awkward. Not that there weren't great scenes, it just made me feel like it was filler until they were ready for the Infinity War. I kind of had an annoying crowd in the movie theater when I saw it too, so I need to watch it again, but It didn't live up to the hype like I wanted it to.
10. Thor: The Dark World Loki made me not put this movie any lower than I did, but he didn't really save it from a clunky plot.
9. Iron Man 2 Not bad, just didn't really do anything groundbreaking in my opinion. It was cool to see Rhodey don the War Machine and drunk Tony. "Vhere's My Boid!"
8. Thor Humanizing Thor might have been better as a second movie, because I would have preferred more over-the-top comic book goodness from this rather than street level stuff, but cool anyway.
7. Iron Man 3 The Mandarin left me feeling a little cheated but Extremis made up for it. It seems to get better the more I watch it.
6. Ant-Man Not really what I was expecting and a little predictable at times but it was good fun and I enjoyed the more personal aspect of the story telling. It gave me a warm fuzzy 80's movie feel and that made me enjoy it a little more than some of the others.
5. Captain America I had Cap lower on the list and then I remembered how much I enjoyed seeing a period piece superhero movie. It did a lot to make the MCU seem larger and more diverse than just starting with Iron Man.
4. Avengers It isn't perfect but it shines because of what it represents and how well it was accomplished. I would have used a more established alien race like the Kree or the Skrull as invaders but the Chitauri were okay as cannon-fodder.
3. The Winter Soldier Not at all what I expected. So much better, and so much deeper than I could have ever guessed this movie would have been.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy Another movie that tugs at my love for 80's cinema. The characterization of everyone (except maybe the nova corps) was spot on.
1. Iron Man It opened the door for this great cinematic age we are in and it set the standard for all things to come.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy Another movie that tugs at my love for 80's cinema. The characterization of everyone (except maybe the nova corps) was spot on.
I thought the characterizations in GoTG were good as far as the movie was concerned, but that they were way way off from the comic versions of these characters (Pre-Bendis GoTG, that is. They have skewed more and more MCU ish every month). Star Lord is a theiving horndog? Rocket a borderline psycho? Gamora a not so dangerous sad sack? Drax a noble moron? Groot, a passive childlike creature?
DnA Star Lord was much more like the dad to a bunch of misfit orphans, Rocket was the pragmatist, Gamora was the Han Solo of the group, Drax less noble warrior than driven assassin whose alleigence was unreliable but useful, and Groot the regal, deposed noble who was clearly smarter than any of them, if they could be bothered to understand him.
DnA Star Lord was much more like the dad to a bunch of misfit orphans, Rocket was the pragmatist, Gamora was the Han Solo of the group, Drax less noble warrior than driven assassin whose alleigence was unreliable but useful, and Groot the regal, deposed noble who was clearly smarter than any of them, if they could be bothered to understand him.
I miss those guys.
Having never read Guardians, I would be much more interested in seeing these characters than the ones we actually got on screen. There was nothing compelling about the movie versions of Gamora, Drax, Groot & Rocket for me.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy Another movie that tugs at my love for 80's cinema. The characterization of everyone (except maybe the nova corps) was spot on.
I thought the characterizations in GoTG were good as far as the movie was concerned, but that they were way way off from the comic versions of these characters (Pre-Bendis GoTG, that is. They have skewed more and more MCU ish every month). Star Lord is a theiving horndog? Rocket a borderline psycho? Gamora a not so dangerous sad sack? Drax a noble moron? Groot, a passive childlike creature?
DnA Star Lord was much more like the dad to a bunch of misfit orphans, Rocket was the pragmatist, Gamora was the Han Solo of the group, Drax less noble warrior than driven assassin whose alleigence was unreliable but useful, and Groot the regal, deposed noble who was clearly smarter than any of them, if they could be bothered to understand him.
I miss those guys.
I never saw the D&A version -- or, for that matter, much of what's been done recently since, apart from the movie and a few freebies here and there -- I remember the characters from earlier appearances, most of which was by Jim Starlin or, in the case of Rocket, by Bill Mantlo... and most of what I see now is totally unrecognizeable in terms of characterization. Rocket's thing for big guns and his attitude are especially puzzling to me, being at odds with his earlier, swashbuckling protector characterization.
Best of the Best: Marvel's The Avengers Captain America: The Winter Soldier Guardians of the Galaxy Iron Man Ant-Man X-Men: First Class
Just a Smidgen Lower the First String: Avengers: Age of Ultron (I'm hoping there's a directors cut that fills in some holes!) X-Men X2: X-Men United Spider-Man Iron Man 3 Spider-Man 2 The Wolverine (Directors Cut - the cut down theatrical release was much worse)
Worth Seeing Twice: X-Men: Days of Future Past Thor Thor: The Dark World Captain America: The First Avenger The Incredible Hulk Blade
Worth Seeing Once: Iron Man 2 X-Men: The Last Stand The Amazing Spider-Man Blade II Blade: Trinity
Wait for the DVD. If you fall asleep, you won't miss much: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 Spider-Man 3 X-Men Origins: Wolverine Fantastic Four Ghost Rider Daredevil Hulk Elektra
Just Don't: Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance The Punisher Howard the Duck
Never Viewed: Big Hero 6 Punisher: War Zone Man-Thing (although this is on iTunes. Maybe....)
I'm going to stick with just ranking the current MCU for now. Perhaps I'll edit this later to include other Marvel-related projects but rating them all against one another is extremely subjective. I can't really judge Howard The Duck by the same criteria by which I would Big Hero 6 or Kick-Ass.
Even comparing two flicks such as the Roger Corman Fantastic Four and X-Men Origins: Wolverine is problematic. While both were made under similar pretext, the results varied wildly.
Current Marvel MCU
12. Thor: The Dark World 11. Thor 10. Iron Man 3 9. Iron Man 2 8. Avengers: Age Of Ultron 7. Iron Man 6. The Incredible Hulk 5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier 4. Captain America: The First Avenger 3. The Avengers 2. Ant-Man 1. Guardians Of The Galaxy
Fascinating discussion here regarding the near cult movie status of Punisher: War Zone on the How Did This Get Made? Podcast with a discussion featuring Patton Oswald (very vocal supporter of the movie) and the director of the film, Lexi Alexander
In this episode, they honestly explain how this movie got made: From the very first pitch meetings to the week after it was released. Hear how unfortunate timing, poor marketing, and mixed expectations affected the success of one of the coolest, craziest, most fun comic book adaptations of the decade (at least).
1. Winter Soldier - Totally invalidates that all super-hero movies are the same. This was a spy thriller. 2. Age of Ultron - Great action. Whatever issues with plot, dialogue, or characterization was not a deal breaker for me. Great entertainment but not a great film which is why I understand why its lower on other people's list. 3. Avengers - Put all the heroes in one movie did the trick. 4. Iron Man - Great origin story. Let us know MCU was going to be different. 5. Guardians of the Galaxy - Made me realized that the movies are becoming more comic based rather than real world based. It was beautiful to look at in IMAX. Being fifth show the strength of my top four. 6. Captain America First Avenger - Great period piece. I hope they somehow do another Cap Movie in this time perior. 7. Ant Man - Worked well. Another genre covered by the MCU. The heist film. Even better we saw how Ant-Man and Wasp were part of the universe and will be again. 8. Irom Man 2 - The suitcase suit was nice. The Black Widow introduction was great addition. I was bothered that this movie was used to bridge things to the Avengers. 9. Incredible Hulk - If this movie has the CG Hulk from Avengers then it would move higher up the list. I like this film. 10. Thor - Okay film 11. Thor: The Dark World - As time goes by I remember less and less about this film. 12. Iron Man 3 - aka Tony Man 3
Maybe next year after we get Luke Cage, Daredevil, and the ends of the next Shield and Agent Carter seasons we can rank the MCU TV shows or seasons?
Comments
Love unbreakable. One of my all time favorite movies, but it is its own thing imo so I have a hard time including it in such lists. Kindve like with the incredibles, which also appears on many people lists. Personally I have a hard time equally / fairly comparing and evaluating animated against live action and need to separate them. But incredibles and big hero 6 are both masterpieces imo.
I remember liking Howard the duck and bot understanding the hate for it, but havnt seen it in so long I can't fairly say now.
My non mcu best of list would include Xmen2 and spiderman1+2 in the top. then basically everything else. Then PunisherWZ, Ghost Rider2 and blade3 definitely at the very bottom.
- I am not counting Conan movies, despite being a big Conan fan, I will consider them movie adaptations of REH story material, not adaptations of comics, for the purposes of the discussion
- I am not counting Unbreakable, BH6, Incredibles.. Just need to compile a more complete list of the non Marvel/DC/Hellboy/Sin City comic movies that I've seen to include them all. Of those, only Big Hero 6 is a movie really adapting a comic.
- I do tilt praise more towards recent films.. "Does it hold up" is a question I consider a lot and many films I may have liked or even loved when I saw them just do not hold up now.. The form has been improved through the years and my opinions reflect that.
- There's quite a few I still have not seen. And others where I veer wildly off majority opinion.. I have never been an X-men fan, although I did enjoy First Class a lot. (I know the reputation of X2 but honestly I fell asleep when I rented it). I haven't seen Watchmen, League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, etc.
As with all rankings of any kind, YOUR MILEAGE MAY VARY-
JUST PAINFUL
41. Batman & Robin
40. Batman Returns
39. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
38. The Amazing Spider-Man
37. Fantastic Four
36. Superman IV
- #36-41 are the bottom of the barrel for me.
WORTH 20 MINUTES OF YOUR TIME WHEN FLIPPING CHANNELS
35. Superman III
- A bad film, that has aged poorly, with Richard Pryor misplaced. However misplaced they may be, I still love Pryor and those are the scenes I watch when I'm flipping channels and come across this.
34. Batman Forever
- Ah, the mid '90s.
33. Green Lantern
32. X2
31. Hellboy II
30. Hellboy
29. Superman II
- This whole group of films is very average, with the exception of Superman II which was good in it's day but as with all the Reeve films, hasn't aged well. Reeve as Clark Kent is the reason to watch the Superman films.
JUST OKAY
28. Captain America: The First Avenger (MCU #12)
27. Guardians of the Galaxy (MCU #11)
26. Blade: Trinity
25. The Incredible Hulk (MCU #10)
24. Daredevil
- Original, not director's cut, although come to think of it I think I'd still rank it here.
23. Superman
22. X-men
21. Blade II
20. Sin City
AWESOME WITH ISSUES
19. Iron Man 3 (MCU #9)
18. Man of Steel
17. Iron Man 2 (MCU #8)
16. Spider-Man 3
15. X-men: First Class
- Probably the only film in this group where I wouldn't find a quibble with something, because I just don't know the X-men well enough. My personal lack of interest probably drops it a few spots, but I did really like the film.
14. Batman
- Maybe nostalgia is taking hold with this ranking.. I loved it in '89 when it just had a stranglehold on the summer. It hasn't aged well but there's still a lot to like.
13. Thor: The Dark World (MCU #7)
FAVORITES
12. Spider-Man
11. The Avengers: Age of Ultron (MCU #6)
- Some quibbles with these two but I still come out thoroughly entertained.
TOP TEN
10. Ant-Man (MCU #5)
9. Blade
8. Thor (MCU #4)
7. The Dark Knight Rises
6. The Avengers (MCU #3)
5. Iron Man (MCU #2)
4. Batman Begins
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (MCU #1)
2. Spider-Man 2
1. The Dark Knight
You may fire when ready.
It's kind of forgettable even though I've seen it a few times. Not a good sign...
11. Age of Ultron
I know everyone will burn me for this one but it felt so forced and awkward. Not that there weren't great scenes, it just made me feel like it was filler until they were ready for the Infinity War. I kind of had an annoying crowd in the movie theater when I saw it too, so I need to watch it again, but It didn't live up to the hype like I wanted it to.
10. Thor: The Dark World
Loki made me not put this movie any lower than I did, but he didn't really save it from a clunky plot.
9. Iron Man 2
Not bad, just didn't really do anything groundbreaking in my opinion. It was cool to see Rhodey don the War Machine and drunk Tony. "Vhere's My Boid!"
8. Thor
Humanizing Thor might have been better as a second movie, because I would have preferred more over-the-top comic book goodness from this rather than street level stuff, but cool anyway.
7. Iron Man 3
The Mandarin left me feeling a little cheated but Extremis made up for it. It seems to get better the more I watch it.
6. Ant-Man
Not really what I was expecting and a little predictable at times but it was good fun and I enjoyed the more personal aspect of the story telling. It gave me a warm fuzzy 80's movie feel and that made me enjoy it a little more than some of the others.
5. Captain America
I had Cap lower on the list and then I remembered how much I enjoyed seeing a period piece superhero movie. It did a lot to make the MCU seem larger and more diverse than just starting with Iron Man.
4. Avengers
It isn't perfect but it shines because of what it represents and how well it was accomplished. I would have used a more established alien race like the Kree or the Skrull as invaders but the Chitauri were okay as cannon-fodder.
3. The Winter Soldier
Not at all what I expected. So much better, and so much deeper than I could have ever guessed this movie would have been.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
Another movie that tugs at my love for 80's cinema. The characterization of everyone (except maybe the nova corps) was spot on.
1. Iron Man
It opened the door for this great cinematic age we are in and it set the standard for all things to come.
DnA Star Lord was much more like the dad to a bunch of misfit orphans, Rocket was the pragmatist, Gamora was the Han Solo of the group, Drax less noble warrior than driven assassin whose alleigence was unreliable but useful, and Groot the regal, deposed noble who was clearly smarter than any of them, if they could be bothered to understand him.
I miss those guys.
Marvel's The Avengers
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy
Iron Man
Ant-Man
X-Men: First Class
Just a Smidgen Lower the First String:
Avengers: Age of Ultron (I'm hoping there's a directors cut that fills in some holes!)
X-Men
X2: X-Men United
Spider-Man
Iron Man 3
Spider-Man 2
The Wolverine (Directors Cut - the cut down theatrical release was much worse)
Worth Seeing Twice:
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Thor
Thor: The Dark World
Captain America: The First Avenger
The Incredible Hulk
Blade
Worth Seeing Once:
Iron Man 2
X-Men: The Last Stand
The Amazing Spider-Man
Blade II
Blade: Trinity
Wait for the DVD. If you fall asleep, you won't miss much:
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 3
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Fantastic Four
Ghost Rider
Daredevil
Hulk
Elektra
Just Don't:
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
The Punisher
Howard the Duck
Never Viewed:
Big Hero 6
Punisher: War Zone
Man-Thing (although this is on iTunes. Maybe....)
Even comparing two flicks such as the Roger Corman Fantastic Four and X-Men Origins: Wolverine is problematic. While both were made under similar pretext, the results varied wildly.
Current Marvel MCU
12. Thor: The Dark World
11. Thor
10. Iron Man 3
9. Iron Man 2
8. Avengers: Age Of Ultron
7. Iron Man
6. The Incredible Hulk
5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
4. Captain America: The First Avenger
3. The Avengers
2. Ant-Man
1. Guardians Of The Galaxy
In this episode, they honestly explain how this movie got made: From the very first pitch meetings to the week after it was released. Hear how unfortunate timing, poor marketing, and mixed expectations affected the success of one of the coolest, craziest, most fun comic book adaptations of the decade (at least).
http://www.earwolf.com/episode/punisher-war-zone/
Worth your time.
Punisher: War Zone
Domestic Total Gross: $8,050,977
+ Foreign: $2,049,059
Exec Producers: Kevin Feige
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=punisher2.htm
can't believe this movie completely ruined this directors career...
And here's Patton Oswald's original blog post he wrote immediately after watching it for the first time: http://www.pattonoswalt.com/index.cfm?page=spew&id=90
1. Winter Soldier - Totally invalidates that all super-hero movies are the same. This was a spy thriller.
2. Age of Ultron - Great action. Whatever issues with plot, dialogue, or characterization was not a deal breaker for me. Great entertainment but not a great film which is why I understand why its lower on other people's list.
3. Avengers - Put all the heroes in one movie did the trick.
4. Iron Man - Great origin story. Let us know MCU was going to be different.
5. Guardians of the Galaxy - Made me realized that the movies are becoming more comic based rather than real world based. It was beautiful to look at in IMAX. Being fifth show the strength of my top four.
6. Captain America First Avenger - Great period piece. I hope they somehow do another Cap Movie in this time perior.
7. Ant Man - Worked well. Another genre covered by the MCU. The heist film. Even better we saw how Ant-Man and Wasp were part of the universe and will be again.
8. Irom Man 2 - The suitcase suit was nice. The Black Widow introduction was great addition. I was bothered that this movie was used to bridge things to the Avengers.
9. Incredible Hulk - If this movie has the CG Hulk from Avengers then it would move higher up the list. I like this film.
10. Thor - Okay film
11. Thor: The Dark World - As time goes by I remember less and less about this film.
12. Iron Man 3 - aka Tony Man 3
Maybe next year after we get Luke Cage, Daredevil, and the ends of the next Shield and Agent Carter seasons we can rank the MCU TV shows or seasons?