We here at Simplistic Reviews are honored and happy to be apart of the Top 10 Superhero Films Blog Relay...mainly because we have this same conversation amongst ourselves nearly twice a day. The rules are simple....well actually they aren't. They're a bit more complicated and elaborate than our feeble minds are use to. However it is all in an effort to make a rock solid, no doubt about it, objective/subjective list. Here are the rules:
1. The list of movies will be passed to another blogger who will post their list within a week. 2. The blogger will take their list, remove 3 movies – with explanations, and replace with 3 new movies – with explanations. 3. If a movie lasts five rounds without being removed, it is locked into place. 4. If a movie is removed three different times, it is locked out and can no longer be chosen by someone else. 5. Once four movies are locked into place, bloggers will replace 2 movies. 6. Once eight movies are locked into place, bloggers will replace 1 movie. 7. Once all ten movies are locked into place, the relay will be complete.
Confused yet? Good. Let me explain...no...there is too much. Let me sum up. Bubbawheat from Flights, Tights & Movie Nightsbegan with a list of The Avengers, Batman Returns, The Dark Knight, Hellboy 2, The Incredibles, Iron Man, Spider-Man 2, Superman, X-Men,Unbreakable, Batman: Under the Red Hood & Blade 2. Andrew from A Fistful of Filmsrearranged things by removing Batman: Under the Red Hood, X-Men and Hellboy 2 and adding Chronicle, Mystery Men and The Rocketeer. Ruth from FlixChatteryanked Blade 2, Chronicle and Mystery Men, and replaced them with Batman Begins, X-Men 2 and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Terrence from The Focused Filmographer pulled out The Incredibles, Batman Returns and X-Men 2, before adding Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, V For Vendetta and Guardians of the Galaxy. Jay from Life Vs Film dropped Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Superman, and Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm then put back in Incredibles and X-Men 2 and finally handed the ball over to us. Whew!!!
Our criteria was based primarily on overall quality, difficulty of concept, impact on the genre, and a 10-point must system. That last one was probably a mistake. Lets get started with a few thoughts on the films sticking around this round.
1. The Avengers (Locked)
The Avengers because...well...duh...it's the f%*king Avengers! This film...hell...that moment above was thought to be just a geek fever dream that was impossible to make, let alone, work as a film. Whedon and company made the impossible...jaw droppingly possible. The Avengers is a manifested representation of our childhood imaginations. What? Too much?
2. The Dark Knight (Locked)
Chris Nolan took the skeleton of the great crime drama Heat and put Batman and The Joker in it. Are you freakin' kidding me?! As a result, came one of the finest performances we have ever, and maybe, will ever see.
3. Spider-Man 2 (Locked)
Still holds up in our opinion and nails Spidey's world, look, motivations, and characters...which is more than we can say for its two bastard stepchildren The Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2.
4. Iron Man (Locked)
The unquestionable birth of a cinematic superhero icon. Close your eyes and try to come up with an actor who could play Tony Stark better than RDJ did in this...NOPE...you're wrong.
5. Unbreakable (Locked)
Hey, remember when Shyamalan was good? Hey, remember when Bruce Willis tried? This film explores and breaks down the mythos and archetypes of superheroes and supervillains in a way we've probably never even thought about. IE: It's literally superheroes for dummies.
6. The Incredibles
Not only is this a terrific superhero film, it is one of the best family films centered on family that Pixar has probably done. And it is the closest we are going to get to a good Fantastic Four movie for the foreseeable future.
7. The Guardians Of The Galaxy
A movie that went from low or no expectations to exceedingly high expectations in a matter of one trailer...and it still delivered Marvel's riskiest success yet. It felt more like Star Wars than the last 3 Star Wars films. That has to count for something.
8. Watchmen
Matt's Zack Snyder hate is high, but even he cannot deny the awesomeness that is Watchmen. Watchmen was thought to be an unfilmable masterpiece. However, Snyder's efforts here are the closest and truest interpretation of Alan Moore's material we'll ever get to see on the big screen. Don't think so. Read up on what Fox wanted to do with Watchmen when they owned the property. It's scarier than a visit from Rorschach himself.
9. V For Vendetta
Any other time we wouldn't consider V For Vendetta as a top film in the superhero genre, but after the events in Ferguson, MO and how Anonymous and other hacker groups have taken the mask of Guy Fawkes that or our "hero" V wears, and turned it into a symbol, this film carries even more meaning in this turbulent time. V is also another great adaptation of the works of Alan Moore and offered us a look at the future that we actually might not be that far away from. Plus, there's nothing wrong with seeing Natalie Portman in a baby doll dress.
10. The Rocketeer
Usually when there is no pressure and expectations are low, you get something great, case in point The Rocketeer. Before Joe Johnston was able to bring justice back to Captain America: The First Avenger, he brought us another hero that kicked some Nazi ass. Before we had The Shadow and The Phantom, The Rocketeer was the first big stab at creating a superhero from the days of radio serials. From the iconic score of James Horner to the slimy turn of former James Bond, Timothy Dalton, everything works for this film. It still captures the imagination of kids and adults because a guy flying around with a jetpack punching Nazis in the face is absolutely awesome.
Now, the superhero films we decided to substitute in are as follows.
11.CaptainAmerica:The Winter Soldier
We know this movie has only been out since April, but after watching it multiple times since then, we can't possibly leave it off this list. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is arguably the second best Marvel film ever made. It has a hero whose righteous indignation actually feels real and earned, a black comic relief character that manages to bring charm, dignity and usefulness to a role no one expected anything from, an enjoyable and self-reliant female lead who doesn't fall into any stereotypical or lazy love interest scenario, an actual scary villain that, which has been poetically said before, may be better at killing people than the hero is at protecting them, and has probably some of the best and grittiest action scenes of any film on this list. (Cap' and Winter Soldier street fight fo' life!) It's one of the few Marvel films and superhero films that feel genuinely important to the grand scheme of its own universe while still overcoming the obstacles of an early release date, a jumping of genres, and being directed by people primarily known for comedy.
12. Batman '89
Say what you will about Tim Burton, but there hasn't been a better marketed movie in the past 30 years than 1989's Batman. It was the birth of the "Dark Knight" and made many people forget about the Bill Dozier "Batman" series from the 1960s. Everything is iconic about this film; from the sets by Anton Furst, the score of Danny Elfman, and of course Jack Nicholson's Joker. Batman '89, despite some shortcomings, created something that hadn't been seen before in cinema and gave us a Batman we could all be proud of.
Now, the superhero films we decided to give the chop.
Batman Begins
It's never easy to cut a film that not only made up for the mistakes of the past but put us on course for one of the most iconic film trilogies of all time. It's not that Batman Begins is a bad film. Quite the contrary. However, there is still something uneven in it tone-wise that Nolan got a better handle on in The Dark Knight. Um...and it's hard for us to get past the fact that the weapon created by Wayne Enterprises in Begins (Essentially a dehydration machine) is eerily similar to a weapon used in 1966's Batman film.
X2: X-Men United
Again, another tough one to remove from the list since X2 was able to fix all of the problems with the first film and add to the X-Men mythology. Even with Hugh Jackman giving his best turn of Wolverine and Brian Cox proving to be one of the X-Men's greatest foes, one film had to go, and X2 is unfortunately the casualty.
In historic Olympic fashion, we are going to hand the baton over to our friends over at Insession Film to make their choices. You have one week. Although, we'd like to think our list is pretty close to perfection so there is no need to change absolutely anything...YOU HEAR THAT JD, BLAKE, and BRENDAN?!? NOT A FINGER!!!!
This is it. This is the movie. This is the actor. This is the moment. Before the recent meteoric rise of Matthew McConaughey and before comic book movies became the most unstoppable form of genre films in Hollywood, there was Robert Downey Jr. and Marvel's Iron Man. It is ground zero for Marvel's entire cinematic universe and also the vehicle that gave one of Hollywood's most talented, charismatic, entertaining actors a much needed career REBIRTH. It's hard to imagine now, but Iron Man was a completely fringe comic book character six years ago. And that was with comic book fans. Sure, the character has been around since the 60s. Sure, he had some famous and groundbreaking storylines. But I'm not going out on a limb by saying that no one gave a good goddamn about Iron Man in 2008. And now I almost feel silly explaining to you the plot of his first film. (A playboy industrialist who is mortally wounded and abducted by terrorist builds a suit of armor to save/liberate himself, then keeps building more advanced armors until he becomes a bonafide superhero.) The fledgling Marvel Studios was taking a risk pushing out a summer blockbuster about Howard Hughes in a robot suit. However, with most of their surefire properties like Spider-Man, The X-Men, and The Fantastic Four belonging to other studios, Marvel was kind of without options. So, who would they get to helm this tricky endeavor? Nick Cassavetes. Yeah, you read me right. The director of The Notebook was set to direct a summer action blockbuster comic book film. Before him was Joss Whedon at New Line. (Whoops!) Before him was Quentin Tarantino. (Interesting.) Before all of them was Stuart "Re-Animator" Gordon. (Wuh?) Finally, Marvel settled on hiring an up and coming actor turned director to right the ship. A guy named Jon Favreau.
Jon Favreau, and all of the other people considered to direct Iron Man, gave me my first clue of how Marvel Studios were going to run things from now on. Where everyone's mind at the time would go to hiring a traditional action director like a McTiernan or a Cameron or a Bay, Marvel was picking guys who ultimately understood characters. Guys who would bring something tangible and real to these characters in the capes and suits of armor. (Take a gander at the directors of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Ant-Man and Guardians Of The Galaxy to see my point.) Favreau was lucky because he had a pretty clean slate when it came to the character of Tony Stark. Other than the basic information that I brought up before, the character could have portrayed in any way. That is why casting him was going to make or break the film and the studio's future. Cast an actor who can create something original, entertaining, believable, and iconic, you cement him into the lexicon of film characters forever and truly put your studio on the map. Cast an actor who is unable to grab the public and give them something they hadn't seen before, your film becomes a marginally successful yet forgotten outing along the lines of a Daredevil and Ghost Rider. Marvel sought out everyone from Tom Cruise, to Clive Owen, to Justin Timberlake for Tony Stark. To Favreau's credit, credit I personally think he does not get enough of by the way, he knew the actor who could reinvent this character. An actor who was in need of a reinvention himself.
Robert Downey Jr. is part of a long list of immensely talented actors who became detoured in their personal and professional lives by substance abuse. Heath Ledger and the recent tragic death of Philip Seymour Hoffman shows us the commonality of Hollywood's best and brightest skirting the edge of self-induced oblivion. I chose Robert Downey Jr. as the actor I simply love the most because, like Ledger and Hoffman, Downey Jr. has always captivated me while equally entertaining the hell out of me despite his personal weaknesses. He has gone through the rabbit hole of self destruction and used his experiences to not only make himself a better actor, but a better person as well. Thankfully, Jon Favreau saw some of the same things in Downey Jr.. But how the hell do you pitch a felonious, drug abusing, career burnout as the title character in Marvel's first big cinematic shot? You explain that Robert Downey Jr. eerily IS Tony Stark. And that is exactly what Favreau did. Stark is a genius at his craft, a celebrity by his birthright, and substance abuser by his own hand who suffers a horrific experience which motivates him to change his life. Though, breaking in and passing out in a stranger's bedroom isn't exactly synonymous with taking a chest full of shrapnel, you can still appreciate the similarities. Favreau put his foot down for Robert Downey Jr., Marvel reluctantly agreed, and Tony Stark became a household name.
Robert Downey Jr.'s performance as Tony Stark is completely magnetic. I had an experience with an audience during the scene below that I hadn't felt in some time. Watching Downey Jr. humorously ramble and strut in the Afghan desert was like watching Indiana Jones trying to switch a bag of sand with a golden idol, or Detective John McClane cracking wise on a walkie talkie in Nakatomi Tower. Tony Stark was introducing himself to the cinematic world, and we could not get enough of it. We still can't. Spider-Man uses humor as a guise for his darker nature. However, Peter Parker can only get so dark. That is because Peter Parker is a genuinely good person. Tony Stark does the same thing. But his darker nature can really be dark. I mean really dark. Watch the scene where Tony starts angrily blasting up his lab after watching the news and tell me you can't see the blackier parts of his conflicted soul bleeding through. Downey Jr. brought that with him. That isn't on the page. Mainly because there weren't a lot of pages actually finished on this script when the film was being shot. The way you hide that problem is by making sure your characters are strong and by making sure the actors playing them are equally so.
That is another forgotten thing about the first Iron Man. The casting, from top to bottom, is practically perfect. Want proof? Clark Gregg's Agent Phil Coulson made his first appearance as a throwaway character here. And now he is practically the MCU's mascot. Favreau cast actors who knew how to hold their own with Robert Downey Jr.'s constantly adapting approach to the material. The best example of that casting was with Gwyneth Paltrow as Tony's Assistant/Counselor/Love Interest Pepper Potts. I always hear how Marvel films don't have strong female characters. Short of Natalie Portman's Jane Foster in Thor, I think Marvel has some of the most underratedly badass, strong willed, well rounded female characters in this genre. From Peggy Carter, to Black Widow, to even Maria Hill. Paltrow's Pepper Potts is easily the best one of them all. Every 95 mile per hour argument or flirtation Paltrow and Downey Jr. have is an automatic injection of life into a scene. It is the truest illustration of onscreen chemistry I can think of. One cannot exist without the other, which is why Downey Jr. persuaded Joss Whedon to put Paltrow in Avengers. There is only one "feel good" couple for me when it comes to comic book films, and maybe films in general. It's not Bruce and Selina, or Clark and Lois, or Peter and MJ. It's Tony and Pepper.
The casting of Jeff Bridges as Obadiah Stane was also a stroke of genius. Putting an actor up against Robert Downey Jr. who is just as fearless and creative and charming as him really makes for some great moments. Watching these two practically create a scene out of thin air is a sight to behold. So, behold it! Tony Stark's biggest flaw as a hero has always been his lacking list of enemies. However, even I have to admit that the actors who have been cast as his adversaries are always top notch. Bridges, to date, has been the best of them.
Embarrassing confession, but the first Iron Man also has the best depiction of Colonel James "Rhodey" Rhodes for me. Now, I love Don Cheadle. I like his version of Rhodey a lot. However, I am a bit skeptical of his depiction because I'm so used to how playfully charming Cheadle is as an actor. Rhodey is the other half of Tony Stark's grounding force in his life. But where Pepper is the spirited verbal sparrer of Tony, Rhodey is typically the more stern and stubborn big brother figure. I believe Terrence Howard nailed that tone of the character more in Iron Man. Whatever fallout he and Downey Jr. and Marvel had has always been a tough set of circumstances for me to take.
If the 900 pound gorilla that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe was an actual living thing, Iron Man and Robert Downey Jr. would be its heart. With Downey Jr.'s days playing the genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist numbered, let's hope Marvel Studios can find a suitable transplant before he's gone for good. Suit up...Watch it...then tell me I'm wrong. Why? Because that's how Dad did it, that's how America does it, and it's worked out pretty well so far. To Peace.
The one thing I didn't expect was that I was going to be laughing more than saying "Wow, the MK 42 Armor just blow an entire shipyard up!" In there lies the rub with Marvel/Disney's newest blockbuster superhero epic, "Iron Man 3." While great at times, I couldn't help but think I was watching "Lethal Weapon," "Predator," and "The Last Boy Scout" all at once, and oh yeah, there happened to be some superheroes doing some superhero-type stuff.
When I first heard that Shane Black was taking over for Jon Favreau with "Iron Man 3" I thought it was really interesting. I know Black from the "Lethal Weapon" series and of course as Hawkins in "Predator." There were moments in "Iron Man" that I thought Jim Rhodes was going to lean over and tell Tony a joke about his sister, but sigh, it wasn't meant to be. Anyway, but with Black at the helm you get a totally different take on a Marvel movie, it's dark, funny, twisted, and bombastic, even more so than "The Avengers" at times. The sequel picks up about a year after the events in New York in "Avengers." Tony Stark is suffering from post-traumatic and has become obsessed with building new Mark Armor, preparing for humanity's next big threat. Jim Rhodes has taken his role as War Machine in stride, now becoming to overly-patriotic American savior, The Iron Patriot. Of course things don't stay quiet for long as The Mandarin, a mysterious new terrorist with a Baptist preacher drawl, begins his reign of destruction, which brings Iron Man back into the fold, ready to stop this newest villain. Stark's newest adventure draws inspiration from the "Extremis" storyline from 2005-2006, and throws in The Mandarin for an added bad guy, which works, but you might be surprised by way he is ultimately used come the end of the film. While the first two "Iron Man" films focused on Stark and his shortcomings, there is more of a sense that while Tony is still a loner at heart, he is broken down emotionally after "Avengers" and relies more on Pepper Potts, Rhodes, and his trusty robot buter, J.A.R.V.I.S. The film talks a lot about demons, and while it could have been said and forgotten about, this theme plays well into what Tony is fighting with, both internally and externally.
The casting is once again pitch perfect, and the additions of Rebecca Hall and Guy Pearce give the film more clout, especially Pearce, who is great and fills the void that Sam Rockwell vacated when Justin Hammer was essentially written out of the Iron Man universe, sadly.
Like Jon Favreau said, it's Kiss, Kiss, Clank, Clank." For some that might not be what you were looking for in the newest Iron Man film, but Black has set the tone for Marvel's "Phase 2" plans, by adding more humor and a few big twists that should hopefully carry over to "Captain America 2" "Thor 2" and what I'm waiting for the most "Guardians of the Galaxy."
Fun Fact: Between "The Last Boy Scout" and "Last Action Hero" Black made a pretty penny; netting over $3 Million dollars for his scripts.
