Beware of Spoilers!
So Logan came out yesterday and it was pretty dope. And Lego Batman came out recently and it too was pretty damn dope. That is an excellent track record for Superhero Movies so far and I hope they continue being so good throughout the year.
That said, they probably won't.
My guess is that there will be ups and downs just like there were last year. And speaking of last year:
I decided to rank those Movies in order of how much I enjoyed them.
Yeeees I know it's 2017 by now and it's march and I am way too late to the party but who cares, right?
Now before we begin this I'll say that I won't include The Killing Joke (and anything else that I haven't actually seen).
I still want to watch the movie but I heard mostly negative stuff about it which is a shame as I liked the comic it was based on.
(Poor, poor Barbara...)
Now, let's get to it. We'll start at the bottom and work ourselves up towards glory!
#6 X-Men Apocalypse
Probably not the worst Movie on this list but easily the one I enjoyed the least.
I don't even know were to start with this one so I'll keep it simple.
The whole Movie feels, ultimately, pointless.
I don't even know were to start with this one so I'll keep it simple.
The whole Movie feels, ultimately, pointless.
Half the cast seems to be about to fall asleep, especially Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique.
Xaviers and Magnetos on/off bromance lost it's impact a while ago, Quicksilvers scene is funny but has been done before, the whole Movie takes a detour so we can have a Wolverine scene and Apocalypse himself does his best to make guys like Thor 2's Malekith look like cool Villains in comparison.
Xaviers and Magnetos on/off bromance lost it's impact a while ago, Quicksilvers scene is funny but has been done before, the whole Movie takes a detour so we can have a Wolverine scene and Apocalypse himself does his best to make guys like Thor 2's Malekith look like cool Villains in comparison.
There is no passion, there is no energy, there is no fun and it becomes clear as day that Fox is absolutely fine with riding the Superhero Movie Hype train without any intentions of keeping up with Marvel or the DCEU because that would requiere them to actually care.
#5 Suicide Squad
This Movie has just sooo muuuch wasted potential. They got the chance to show a different side of the DCEU, one that has a bit more personality, depth, shades of gray and fun.
But that would have requiered them to make you care for the team itself. Spoilers: They didn't.
But that would have requiered them to make you care for the team itself. Spoilers: They didn't.
Sure, Harley Quinn and Deadshot are great throughout the whole thing but whats with the rest? El Diablo gets to sacrifice himself for "his family" but that came honestly outta nowhere. Rick Flag gets to bond with Deadshot AND he even has decent motivations for his actions but he is held back by the Stereotype Soldier Guy role he was assigned to and... yeah that is pretty much it. The others are just kind of there.
Introducing all the characters at once but not fleshing out most of them was almost as bad as the endless slow motion finale or the portrayal of the Joker.
But my real main complaint has to be that they played "old" Hit Songs over EVERYTHING.
Yes I know it somewhat worked in Guardians of the Galaxy but here it just didn't.
Introducing all the characters at once but not fleshing out most of them was almost as bad as the endless slow motion finale or the portrayal of the Joker.
But my real main complaint has to be that they played "old" Hit Songs over EVERYTHING.
Yes I know it somewhat worked in Guardians of the Galaxy but here it just didn't.
#4 Batman V Superman - Dawn of Justice
Not many people seem to like that Movie and I get why.
(This) Batman is a murderous psychopath, (this) Superman is just dull and boring and (this) Lex Luthor is maybe the worst character to ever exist on film I mean ...seriously I wanted to punch his fucking face.
And it certainly doesn't help that you have to watch the Extended Cut to even get why some characters do what they do.
(This) Batman is a murderous psychopath, (this) Superman is just dull and boring and (this) Lex Luthor is maybe the worst character to ever exist on film I mean ...seriously I wanted to punch his fucking face.
And it certainly doesn't help that you have to watch the Extended Cut to even get why some characters do what they do.
However I happened to see a lot of redeeming qualities in this one.
Ben Affleck as Batman works really, really well and he is even better as Bruce Wayne, making him the definitive Batman actor in so far in my book.
Then there is the score and the visuals, which are really nice and let's not forget Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman who really steals the show everytime she appears on screen.
Not having liked the trailers up to the release and not being a huge Fan of either Bats nor Supes I didn't think I'd enjoy the Movie at all but I ended up being positively surprised.
Ben Affleck as Batman works really, really well and he is even better as Bruce Wayne, making him the definitive Batman actor in so far in my book.
Then there is the score and the visuals, which are really nice and let's not forget Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman who really steals the show everytime she appears on screen.
Not having liked the trailers up to the release and not being a huge Fan of either Bats nor Supes I didn't think I'd enjoy the Movie at all but I ended up being positively surprised.
#3 - Deadpool
"But Matt", I hear you say. "You talked shit about the X-Men Movies just now, how come you rank Deadpool so high?"
Well, that is an easy question to answer: Because Deadpool was made by people who really wanted to make this movie. It was a passion project of a small group of people, one of them being the main actor himself.
Fox on the other Hand had little faith in it and even cut short the budget. Ironically that might have actually helped the movie as they had to make up for missing action scenes by investing in the relationship between Wade Wilson and his girlfriend, making us actually care for them as a couple.
Well, that is an easy question to answer: Because Deadpool was made by people who really wanted to make this movie. It was a passion project of a small group of people, one of them being the main actor himself.
Fox on the other Hand had little faith in it and even cut short the budget. Ironically that might have actually helped the movie as they had to make up for missing action scenes by investing in the relationship between Wade Wilson and his girlfriend, making us actually care for them as a couple.
That said I don't have a huge amount of faith in the upcoming sequel. Deadpool, for me, never really works for a long time even in the comics were he becomes more obnoxious than funny after a while, making him a better fit for a teambook than a solo title. Clearly the world doesn't seem to agree with me as he has currently like 3 solo titles running simultaniously if I am not mistaken.
Back to topic.
Back to topic.
#2 Doctor Strange
You know, I wish my two top picks wouldn't both be MCU Movies because I don't wanna too seem biased and a little more competition wouldn't hurt but I don't want to lie either.
Doctor Strange is another high quality Superhero Origin Story, this time featuring magic which means everything goes.
And daaaaamn is Marvel taking advantage of that fact.
And daaaaamn is Marvel taking advantage of that fact.
The visuals are stunning, the fight scenes might be the most creative ever seen in a movie of that genre, the humor is, like always, on point and it's just really entertaining to see Stephen Strange develope from an absolute jerk to a powerful good-hearted Wizard (who is still a bit of a jerk).
#1 - Captain America: Civil War
Well what else could it have been? Civil War, while not flawless, is a testament of longtime storytelling.
There is not a single wasted scene. Everything that happens, does so because of stuff that has been setup in earlier Movies and because it makes sense for that specific character. Furthermore the Russo Brothers managed to throw in Spiderman and the Black Panther into the mix without any of it feeling forced or in any way weird, Black Panther especially is tied to the main story which has the balls to not only go small, personal and emotional in the end, it also ends on a downer.
The Avengers, Earths mightiest heroes, are shattered. And the worst part is that there is no one really to blame.
Neither Team Cap nor Team Iron Man are the bad guys, they both do what they think is necessary and when the dust settles and the actual bad guy is revealed even he comes off as kind of sympathethic.
There is not a single wasted scene. Everything that happens, does so because of stuff that has been setup in earlier Movies and because it makes sense for that specific character. Furthermore the Russo Brothers managed to throw in Spiderman and the Black Panther into the mix without any of it feeling forced or in any way weird, Black Panther especially is tied to the main story which has the balls to not only go small, personal and emotional in the end, it also ends on a downer.
The Avengers, Earths mightiest heroes, are shattered. And the worst part is that there is no one really to blame.
Neither Team Cap nor Team Iron Man are the bad guys, they both do what they think is necessary and when the dust settles and the actual bad guy is revealed even he comes off as kind of sympathethic.
Sure Zemo's plan was overall convoluted and he lucked out quite a bit but at least his motivations are logical and crystal clear making him easily the best Super Villain 2016.
And if that wouldn't be enough: The road leading up to the epic finale is a blast as well with the airport battle probably being my favourite action scene ever.
And that is my list. Agree? Nice.
Don't agree? That's okay too! Make your own list while you are at it ;)
Don't agree? That's okay too! Make your own list while you are at it ;)
- Matt over and out
