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HOME arrow THE HITLIST arrow tMF Top Five - Best Superhero Movies
tMF Top Five - Best Superhero Movies Print E-mail
Written by Jeremy Welsch   
Saturday, 19 July 2008

"This is how superhero movies are supposed to be made and its place on the list is only further solidified by its dreadful sequel that proves exactly how they are not."

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Comic books and superheroes have been around forever. Almost as soon as they rose to prominence in popular culture, TV shows and movies began taking shape as a popular vehicle for the art form. Superman started it all but it wasn’t until the 2000’s X-Men that the genre was considered a profitable business. The upside is that over the last decade, a lot of our favorite comic book characters were brought to life on the big screen. The downside is that some of them sucked. 2008, in particular the summer, has been the year of the superhero/comic book movie. Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Hancock, and Hellboy II, have already wowed us in one degree or another, but on the eve of the granddaddy of them all – The Dark Knight – tMF takes a look back at the best of the genre so far.

tMF Top Five – Best Superhero Movies
By Jeremy Welsch

#5 – Unbreakable (2000)

M. Night Shyamalan did his best to channel his inner-Hitchcock in the only good film he has made to date (or ever, I suspect). Unfairly chastised for its lack of a Sixth Sense-type slight of hand ending, the success of Unbreakable was undermined by the fact that it was too smart for fans of the new director. But make no mistake: its unique spin on the genre is full of intrigue and suspense with some of the best original comic book characters to grace the screen.

#4 – X2: X-Men United (2003)

Having gotten the stories of origin out of the way in X-Men, director Bryan Singer was left a blank canvas to take the franchise anywhere he wanted. The emotion was cranked up and Singer was, amazingly, able to balance all of the character additions as well as the old standards. The story? Mutants from both sides join together to fight evil humans; now there’s a twist – and it was just crazy enough to work.
#3 – Superman (1978)

The roots of the modern comic book movie can be easily traced to Superman. The current incarnation of the genre as well as every knock-off in the last 30 years owes its existence to this movie. This one started it all – a high concept, big budget, and a perfect cast of established actors. Made without the aid of modern CGI, Superman also proves you don’t need a bunch of fancy effects to make a great superhero movie. There's an idea a few people could (read: should) take note of.
#2 – The Crow (1994)

The first truly dark comic book movie to be realized on screen, The Crow created a world bleaker than anything Gotham City had previously conjured. The early buzz on The Crow was that it was to be the breakout performance for Brandon Lee – and it was – but the movie was overshadowed by his untimely and accidental on set death. The Crow didn’t break any new ground for the genre but pioneered the idea that movies based on graphic novels is an art form.
(Side note: almost 15 years later, it is still one of my favorite movie soundtracks of all time.)

#1 – Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Spider-Man 2 is an improvement on the original in every sense of the word. An emotionally charged story dealing with the complexities and mental weight that comes with being a superhero, a villain surprisingly complex beyond his maniacal affinity ruling the world, and action sequences that raised the bar for computer generated imagery in all movies, not just ones based on comic books. This is how superhero movies are supposed to be made and its place on the list is only further solidified by its dreadful sequel that proves exactly how they are not.

Have an idea for a Top Five list? Email jeremy [at] themovie-fanatic [dot] com and your idea could be featured on a future list!

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Comments (2)

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Thanks for sharing
This was a fun read and I had to post about it on my Blog at http://blog.grimpuppy.com

As I stated on my blog it is a good list but I don't agree with Spider-Man 2 as I liked part 1 better. The Crow and unbreakable was nice to see on the list! - Grimpuppy
Grimpuppy , July 18, 2008 | url
...
I'm very pleased to see Unbreakable on this list as well, though my M. Night favorites are definitely Signs and The Village.

I completely agree with Spiderman 2 holding the number one spot. No other superhero movie comes close to achieving the greatness of Spiderman 2.
Andy Hollingsworth , September 21, 2008 | url

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