We’re down to our final top 10 but if you missed out on the other four parts we’ll conveniently link them like so: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. When the list was originally started it was before the release of Marvel’s ‘Guardian of the Galaxy’ so keep an eye out at the bottom for a special mention!
10 – The Dark Knight Rises
The exciting conclusion to Nolan’s Bat saga, it was a perfect wrap up to an amazing trilogy. Perhaps a bit too overreaching, it was kept from being bloated by the likable Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Anne Hathaway’s Catwoman and Tom Hardy’s impeccable Bane. As far as enjoying Batman movies, the Nolan saga was as good as it comes, even with the controversial ending.
Box Office – Domestic: $448.1, Worldwide: $1.08 (billion)
9 – Watchmen
One of my favorite books, I was hesitant to see any Watchmen adaptation, but thankfully, Zach Snyder was just as hesitant and opted to create an almost page for page adaptation instead of allowing someone else to take it on. Even as Alan Moore railed against adaptations and refused to watch the movie (while DC moved ahead with the even less favourably greeted prequel comics), this one ended up with a great cast, in particular the returning Jackie Earle Haley (Malin Akerman though…), great effects and an arguably better ending. Watchmen proved that even with a near perfect book, a movie adaptation doesn’t have to flounder under the weight of its source material. If you have the extended version, you’ll fully appreciate how in-depth Snyder got with his love of Watchmen.
Box Office – Domestic: $107.5, Worldwide: $185.2
8 – Batman Begins
This goes down as one the best origin stories out there. Pulling from the brilliant Frank Miller book, this movie reinvented the Caped Crusader as a dark, gritty and violent hero, with a movie that was huge in scale. Basically, this movie made Batman cool again and launched us into Chris Nolan’s Batverse and away from the silly antics of the Tim Burton Batman.
Box Office – Domestic: $206.8, Worldwide: $374.2
7 – Spider-Man 2
The peak of either Spider-Man franchises, this follow up when the route of Empire Strikes Back and surpassed the original in every sense. Darker, with more character depth, a better villain and the best action of the series, this was a high point for Spidey and would include him (and Doc Ock) near the top of every CBM discussion to this day.
Box Office – Domestic: $373.5, Worldwide: $783.7
6 – X2: X-Men United
Much like Spider-Man, the second X-Men was easily the best of the series. The opening scene in the White House, the raid on the school, the Lady Deathstrike fight, are amazing action pieces all the while delving deeper into the isolation and prejudice that the mutants face (thinly masked as the struggles of the homosexual community). It also leaves the X-Men leaderless and having to ally with their greatest enemy to stop a bigger threat and retrieve Professor X from the dastardly Stryker. With the Phoenix teaser at the end of the film, who knew it would be so very long between decent X-films?
Box Office – Domestic: $214.9, Worldwide: $407.7
5 – X-Men: Days of Future Past
More than a decade after X2 solidified itself as one of the best CBM’s of all time, another worthy X-contender came in the form of this year’s Days of Future Past. Using some nifty time traveling to circumvent the X-Men franchise history, the movie blended the cast of both movies together to make up a dual time line, mega cast, X-travaganza that finally gave the First Class cast the proper reboot treatment. With a great story, simply amazing action, the Sentinels and bringing in great new X-Men, DOFP managed to be at least as good as the rest in the series. What puts it over the top is the stunning acting turns from the whole cast, but in particular, McAvoy and Fassbender (again). Their monologues alone were so enrapturing that I was pretty ready to join Magneto’s fight against human oppression right until McAvoy convinced me not to. Did I also mention the Sentinels? Go ahead, watch this trailer and try not to get chills.
Box Office – Domestic: $230.7, Worldwide: $736.8
4 – Iron Man
In 2008, Robert Downey Jr. was struggling to get back to his glory days before his notorious drug fueled implosion in the 90’s and Marvel was putting all their eggs into the film basket, looking to bring their long history of comics to the big screen. Enter Iron Man, the B list hero who Robert Downey and Marvel Comics used to literally revolutionize cinema. Downey is at his charismatic best as the pompous and wealthy Tony Stark who gets injured and kidnapped by a terrorist cell in a war zone and has to build himself a robotic suit to help him escape. Funny, charming, and action packed this would kick start the interconnected Marvel Universe and launch Robert Downey Jr. into the position of highest paid actor in Hollywood. Downey did such a good job that Tony Stark in the comics now looks and acts an awful lot like the actor. It’s hard to top this almost endlessly re-watchable movie if only for its extremely likeable lead.
Box Office – Domestic: $318.4, Worldwide: $585.1
3 – The Avengers
Rounding out Phase 1 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers roped in all of its main characters for the ultimate super team up! It was everything it was promised to be, too. The grandest scale we’d seen yet, it was equal parts funny, emotional and action packed. Featuring an alien invasion headed by Loki that resulted in an oh so awesome battle for New York it also featured the Avengers butting heads as egos clashed before they had to put aside their differences to try to save Earth or, at least, avenge it. It also features one of the more memorable quotes from a CBM in ‘I’m always angry’. We can also thank this one for bringing the Hulk back from the obscurity as Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey made legions of fans with their charming banter. Of course, an Avengers comment wouldn’t be complete without mentioning THAT post-credit scene. An amazing conclusion to Phase 1, it left us chomping at the bit for Phase 2. Let’s hope Avengers 2 has even half the mojo this one has!
Box Office – Domestic: $623.3, Worldwide: $1.51 (billion)
2 – Captain America: The Winter Soldier
This will most likely ruffle some feathers, but this isn’t just an ‘it’s new and shiny’ ranking. This movie was straight up brilliant. A riveting spy thriller, our favorite heroes go on the run as SHIELD falls prey to a mole that threatens international security. With Cap and Black Widow as fugitives, this sets up some scathing commentary on our society and its problem with spying while at the same time being an action packed thrill ride that doesn’t forget that story is what inevitably drives a movie. With some great tie-ins to the first Captain America as well as continuing to expand the MCU, this was Cap in top form. Steve Rogers finally found his place in this one, allowing us to see the leader he’s supposed to be. Cap and Black Widow have great chemistry even as Cap is put under both physical and emotional strain by the equally matched Winter Soldier. It’s incredibly violent, taut and suspenseful while not sacrificing its characters or story, using them instead to accentuate an already engrossing movie. A fantastic movie and, obviously, at the top of the CBM list!
Box Office – Domestic: $258.5, Worldwide: $712.9
1 – The Dark Knight
To the surprise of no one, The Dark Knight reigns supreme atop the list of superhero movies. Where to start listing why this is the best; there’s Heath Ledger’s Joker, who is easily one of the best villains of all time, let alone just in CBM’s. It has a shocking death, some amazing and quotable dialogue and the running theme of chaos vs. order that delivers for every minute of the movie. It has amazing set pieces that punctuate gripping tension as opposed to being filler like in some of the others mentioned on this list. It’s pretty much a crime film that just happens to have a guy dressed up in a bat costume. We’ve heard every criticism out there, from Nicholson’s Joker was better (no it wasn’t) to Bale’s Bat voice was absurd but these are all the nitpickings of someone just looking for something to complain about. The script is great, the action is great, the acting is great and it’s tonally and thematically one of the darkest entries on this list. It was even so well received and influential that the Oscars had to change how they nominated films because of this masterpiece. Everything clicked on this one, making it a nearly flawless film and making it the best superhero movie out there, bar none!
Box Office – Domestic: $534.8, Worldwide: $1.004 (billion)
SPECIAL MENTION
Guardians of the Galaxy
So, this one came out post compiling this list, so cut us a bit of slack on this one. If we were to insert it into this list, we think it would go somewhere around #5. Marvel’s space epic is just fantastic! It’s hilarious, it’s well acted and it’s all kinds of zany without ever being cheesy. Think of it kind of like if they’d made Star Wars as a comedy. But while it’s quite funny, it’s not all laughs as it resonates emotionally and has some amazing set pieces. There’s also the fact that it has Thanos in it who was upstaged by Lee Pace’s amazing turn as Ronan the Accuser. That’s how awesome a villain he was! Did I mention there’s a (somewhat) talking tree and heavily armed racoon? It’s also the first Marvel movie to not have a post credit scene that interconnected with the other movies, but that doesn’t stop it from being one of our favorites! You really do need to go see this one. One of Marvel’s best!