Our events writer and reviewer Toby sits down and discusses his favourite superhero movies.
Superhero movies are very much a major part of our society these days, and with the recent release of both The Amazing Spider-man 2 and X-Men: Days of Future Past I thought it’d be a great time to talk about my three favorite Superhero movies!
Honorable Mention: Kick-Ass
Kick-Ass is my favorite film of all time and it’s a wonderful look into what it’d actually be like to be a superhero in today’s modern society. Directed by Matthew Vaughn, the film never lets up and wonderful performances by Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Morëtz and Nicolas Cage truly propel the narrative up a couple of notches. I decided not to throw this into the mix as it’s not in essence a true ‘superhero’ movie as there’s no flying, no web-slinging and just a kid getting his ass kicked, which was great.
3. Spider-man 2
Spider-man is my favorite superhero hands-down. Before I used to sit down and watch Rugrats, I’d watch the Spider-man cartoon. That love never dispelled and while I’m saddened by The Amazing Spider-man 2’s mediocrity, Spider-man 2 was an excellent iteration in the Sam Raimi trilogy, showcasing just how much Spider-man/Peter Parker can take before being broken. Tobey Maguire was excellent in this film, unlike Spider-man 3, and really emanated what it was like to be a superhero with such a hectic lifestyle. James Franco was wonderful as usual and Kirsten Dunst was okay, but it was Alfred Molina who truly took the spotlight as the wonderful Doc Ock. The cinematography was excellent and for a film that released 10 years ago it still holds up visually, making it my third pick.
2. X-Men: Days of Future Past
By the time X-Men: Days of Future Past had finished, I had to pick up my jaw from the floor as it was in constant awe throughout. Days of Future Past is an amazing film in its own right, but stands tall as one of the best superhero movies made in quite some time due to the stellar acting from both the new kids on the block (from First Class) and the old-timers (from the original trilogy), an incredibly dark story and beautiful cinematography. I’m not much of an X-Men fan myself due to the couple of mediocre X-Men films released over the last 14 or so years (I’m looking at you X-Men 3 and Origins) but my hopes were heightened right from the opening sequence of Days of Future Past as it was clear that it was going to be a quality film from beginning to end and so that’s why it’s my second favorite superhero film.
1. The Dark Knight
Honestly, it really couldn’t have been anything else. Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy will go down in history as the best of the best when it comes to quality, and The Dark Knight is the epitome of that. Combining an incredible performance from both Christian Bale and Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight encompasses everything Batman stands for, from the brittle frame of hatred he once was to the overarching hero of Gotham, these themes are thoroughly pressed on throughout its duration and make for one of the best films to come out of 2008. The visual effects, the cinematography and the wicked story all mould together to create one incredible achievement of a movie and that’s why it’s my favorite superhero film of all time.
It’s clear that superhero movies are going to be prevalent for quite some time with releases from both DC and Marvel scheduled for the next 10-or-so years. Given the recent influx of mediocre superhero films, I’m hopeful that we’ll be getting more movies like X-Men instead of films like Iron Man 3, but one can only hope.
What are your favorite superhero films? Leave them in the comment section below and I’ll definitely check them out if I haven’t already!