5) Thor: Ragnarok
Full disclosure, I’m a massive Thor fan. Even as the quality of the Marvel books fell dramatically in the recent past, Jason Aaron’s Thor books were always a bright spot in the seemingly endless drek. In the MCU, I think everyone is well cast, but Chris Hemsworth seemed destined to play this role. Even in saying that, Ragnarok was actually further down the list in the face of the other terrific films on this list. But, then they decided to release the synopsis and some pictures.
Thor the Unworthy – check. World War Hulk – check. Introducing an Elder of the Universe, played by Jeff Goldblum – check. Destruction of Asgard – check. Hela as the villain played by Cate Blanchett – check. Doctor Strange appearance – check. Valkyrie and Skurge – check. Basically, there’s a lot of heavy breathing going on right now.
The only thing that could possibly derail this one is director Taika Waititi not having any blockbuster experience under his belt. However, given his Hunt for the Wilderpeople being on or around the top of most people’s best film of 2016 list and Marvel’s track record of having seemingly out of their depth directors make a smash hit, I think we’re probably safe. I mean, who would have thought the guys behind Community were going to make one of the greatest superhero films of all time? I think it’s safe to assume this one isn’t going to trip up.
4) Spider-Man: Homecoming
If you ask my younger self or basically any kid out there, Spider-Man is always going to be their favourite. I mean, there’s the occasional kid who loved Batman more, but the majority always seemed to like ol’ webhead most. Which makes it so difficult that he’s also the most poorly done by hero outside of maybe the Fantastic Four. So, imagine my glee when Marvel was able to bring their most popular hero to the fold. Imagine my further glee when I watched Civil War and it turned out to be the best Spider-Man yet!
Tom Holland was perfect! Funny, quippy, but also very smart in his jokes with a touch of awe thrown in for the heroes he was suddenly rubbing elbows with – you can’t ask for a better Peter Parker or Spider-Man than what Holland brought to the screen. With the previous iterations of Spidey having already dealt with a big portion of his major baddies, Marvel hopped on the chance to finally bring Vulture to the screen and signed Michael Keaton for the role (insert ironic Birdman joke). Coupled with some Avengers cameos, Tony Stark in a starring role, and a very excellent supporting cast, Homecoming may just be the best Spider-Man we’ve ever seen.
Much like with Thor, the director is relatively untested, but much like I previously stated, Marvel has a knack for moulding directors to turn in a great end product.
You better believe I’m there opening night for this one!
3) Logan
Now I’ve gone on quite a bit about trailers that sell a movie but can’t deliver the goods or trailers that can get you excited etc etc. The trailer for Logan may be one of the single greatest trailers that I’ve ever seen. With Johnny Cash’s cover of ‘Hurt’ overlayed on it, the dark, brooding and bleak tone of the film comes ripping through. Then come the images of a broken Wolverine, a world without mutants and the possibility for redemption for our most broken of heroes.
Director James Mangold (who also directed Walk the Line for a bit of trivia for you) returns for Hugh Jackman’s last stab at the Wolverine. There’s no more fitting way for Jackman to say goodbye to a character he’s played for 15 years than a story loosely based on the Old Man Logan book, a story where Logan was a leading cause in the death of Earth’s heroes. Logan is losing his powers and is a broken shell of what he used to be and the film is using X-23 as his way to redemption and the rebirth of the mutant race.
After the runaway success of Deadpool, Fox gave Mangold and Jackman free reign to make a hard R version of Wolverine, another fitting send off for Jackman. Jackman has played so many iterations of Logan, it’s a perfect farewell to let him completely off the chain as he explores the darkest parts of Logan’s psyche. If you can watch this trailer and not get the chills, you should go see a professional about that.
Click on through to the next page for the top 2 movies on our list and an honorable mention…