I don’t want to spoil it for anyone – REPEAT **NO SPOILERS** but I had to put the word out that this is a MUST SEE MOVIE!
Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Incredible Hulk, Hawkeye, and Black Widow… congratulations! You have not only assembled and saved earth, you have rightfully taken back the mantle of greatest comic book movie from The Dark Knight after a 4 year reign.
It’s not even a debate anymore that Marvel Studios is king. The DC Universe only has the success of the Batman films to boast. Marvel has a huge list of titles and blockbuster success.
- Spider-Man
- Iron Man
- X-Men
- Thor
- Captain America
Marvel took comic adaptations to a whole new level with the release of The Avengers, plain and simple.
I’ve been excited about this movie for a while, but I didn’t expect to go witness utter perfection, which is exactly what it was. I thought it would be really hard to pull off a huge lead cast without having anyone get lost in the shuffle. I’m not sure how hard it actually was for the filmmakers, but they made it work and it seemed effortless.
Avengers was 2 hours and 20 minutes of pure awesomeness. No prior comic book knowledge is needed to enjoy this flick, but if you are familiar and love comics, none of the characters are done any injustice. (Except that Hawkeye doesn’t wear his purple get-up) If you saw any previews or pictures from the set, you knew that going in.
Since I do not intend spoiling anything, that is all I am going to give you at this moment. I want every waking soul who is able to go watch this movie to go do so now, then we’ll chat a bit.
Now… My revised Top 5 Comic Book Movies!
- Avengers – Even though I mostly read DC Comics, I’m willing to admit greatness when I see it.
- The Dark Knight – No shame in sitting #2 here, truly great movie.
- Sin City – No epic heroes, but a host of awesome characters and layered story lines.
- Iron Man – 2008 was a great year (Dark Knight and Iron Man were released)
- Spider-Man – I saw this movie in the theaters 3 times. Will always be near and dear.
I have a feeling this list will be getting revised again in the very near future.. or maybe I’ll just have to make a top 10?
Especially with The Amazing Spider-Man and The Dark Knight Rises due out this summer yet. Stay tuned!
Matt Horn's Blog 
I very much agree with your view of the films (I’m sure I’l like Avengers when I see it in the next week or two), but I still don’t get your love of the original Spiderman which qualifies for the category of “Weak-ass Shit”. 🙂 Replace it with either X2 or Xmen: First Class and you have yourself a great list. BTW, it’s not a comic so it doesn’t qualify but Unbreakable is still the greatest Super Hero movie.
Well.. it just might get knocked off the top 5 if The Amazing Spider-Man or Dark Knight Rises delivers like I think they will.
Then again, I thought Albert Pujols, Erick Aybar, Kenderys Morales, Francisco Liriano and a host of others would deliver when I drafted them this year. Still playing the waiting game with some, but I might have to make some major shake-ups very soon.
I still don’t get why you feel Spidey 1 is *Weak-Ass Shit”? When Spidey came out in 2001, the world was buzzing like it is right now with Avengers.
X-Men got worse, by X3 it’s almost unwatchable. First Class is the best one by far.
The 5 spot was between Batman Begins, and Spider-Man.
When Spiderman 1 came out the world buzzed, so I went to see it…and left the theatre shaking my head. Peter Parker is a little weeny boy who uses his powers to do acrobatics, thwart bad guys through as much luck as skill, and ends up dissing a woman a million miles out of his league because he feels so noble as Spidey that he thinks celibacy will help him fight bad guys. The whole thing is just goofy and his character is unlikeable. They gave him a little more depth in the sequels but the first Spiderman is just amateur and only of note for effects…same as Ghost Rider. Haha. I think I enjoyed Ghost Rider more. Nicky Cage!
I was really surprised by First Class because I had low expectations going in and it was really well thought out.
Also, where’s the love for Daredevil?
The Daredevil movie is very lack luster, borderline horrible. Plus after Benifer.. people aren’t so quick to jump on Affleck’s bandwagon. The only way I would choose to watch Daredevil would be if my only other options were either Fantastic 4 movie and/or Elektra. If I had to make a bottom 5, those 4 would be on it with Ghost Rider as the most watchable of the 5. I didn’t see Ghost Rider 2.. but I heard it’s a complete disaster.
Back to Spidey. It was supposed to give the feel he was an amateur hero.. he had literally just gotten the ability to do incredible things. He was basically learning trail by fire…
And the reason he didn’t hook up with Mary Jane was because he didn’t want to put her in jeopardy…. not because he thought he’d fight better because he wasn’t getting any action.
You are just not giving him a fair shake. I thought Spidey 2 was really good also. Spidey 3… wow, talk about a drop off….
Avengers quickly found a spot at the top of my list for best comic book movies and all-time favorites. Well scripted, acted, and edited, the movie appeals to adults and kids alike. I also don’t want to go into detail and breakdown why the movie is so great because that would spoil the fun. I will say that there is a good balance of characters, although one character steals the LIME-light. haha. I enjoyed the non-stop action and wit it brought to the big screen.
As for the Spiderman series, I believe the movies are put on a pedestal for me because Matt and I saw Spiderman 2 on our first date. We even had “spidey kisses” in which I would kiss him upside down. Yeah, we’re nerds. It’s kinda difficult not to like a movie that brought us closer together.
Oh, and, Ghost Rider is lame. Nick Cage is the absolute worst.
Spidey kisses…hang on…ok, i’m back: had to throw up. It burns.
I pretty much hate Ghost Rider and Daredevil. I was just comparing Ghost Rider to Spiderman 1 because both have impressive effects and dislikeable super heroes. I think my problem with Spidey 1 is exactly what you said, Matt: they’re trying to show what it would be like if a dorky teenager was given super powers. But as a former bad-ass teenager, I just don’t relate to that at all. 🙂 Also, I didn’t buy Mary Jane being in mega-danger if they were together like you do with Batman and Rachel. The villains in Batman are much more twisted and totally would go after her. Spidey…eh…felt cliche more than logical.
I’ll send my Avengers 1-10 rating later this week…too much baseball and hockey going on this weekend to stand in line for it.
Well, Doug…you’re a rarity to have been a “former bad-ass teenager” and yet not an A-hole now…but to the point, as a non-bad-ass-teen, I found Spiderman to be more relatable than just about any other. He is, to be sure, an exaggeration, and quite whiny, but that’s a part of the character. I’d say Spiderman has more heart than other movies…it doesn’t need anything else to be good. That being said, I’m iffy on the Mary-Jane thing…personally, I think he should just forget her ’cause frankly she’s not that great. But the whole movie is lighthearted; it’s not about being super serious and dirty and “logical” as you use it, although the bad guys DO go after the girl, just like in Batman. The Green Goblin is very much twisted–he’s messed up in the head, that’s why he does everything he does…..but back to the point: Spiderman is one of the best exactly because its good WITHOUT being bad-ass, which seems hard to do these days. Unlike other heroes, he’s highly introspective and actually feels things. Ironman doesn’t (too obsessed with himself). Batman doesn’t (too obsessed with what he does)…anyway, I’m done with ramble number 1. On a side note, putting all my ideas at risk of being outright dismissed: I actually enjoyed Ghost Rider.
Update: Over the past week or so I have re-watched Ghost Rider, Daredevil, and Watchmen.
Watchmen is so deep and dark that it will never get as much recognition as a “great” comic book movie, but I would suggest people watch it.
Daredevil… totally bottom 5 material. Storyline – not the greatest, acting – bad, and it’s not even fun to watch. Only one highlight from that movie: Jennifer Garner looking hot standing on the balcony during the black and white party seen.
For Ghost Rider.. I have to say that I logged onto IMDb and updated my vote, changing it from a 4 to a 6. They had a good story line to work with… but they left much to desire.. which kinda makes me want to watch the second one.
I actually checked online for a list of other comic related movies to see how many I’ve watched. Only to find that there were some that I completely forgot about or didn’t know were comic book movies.
Shaq in Steel has to be horrible.
League of Extraordinary Gentleman… uh
The Spirit.. haven’t seen it, but would be willing to watch it.
Hulk with Eric Bana.. I’ve seen maybe 5 minutes.
Howard The Duck was listed as a Mavrel production.. I don’t even know what to say about that??
Ones that deserved to be recognoized in some fashion.
Punisher
V for Vendetta
Hulk with Ed Norton
Punisher is awesome. He’s not really a superhero, but definitely a bad ass. I know it’s a comic, but it’s closer to Commando than a superhero movie as he’s just a pissed off tough guy who had his family fucked over. If only Matrix had dragged Bennett behind a car like that. Eh, I guess it’s good he just had him let off some steam.
Howard the Duck is great. Leah Thompson looking hot and punk. Tim Robbins. The principal from Bueller. I dig it. I don’t care if it bombed in 1985: it’s a good flick and probably the best movie set in Cleveland that didn’t have Willie Mays Hayes.
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is atrocious! It was so bad Connery basically retired after it. It had some potential but was just boring and unpleasant. The worst combo you can have in film.
I might actually have to make two lists now… a favorites list, and opinion of the best list.
First – Opinion of the Best
1 – Avengers – still at the top!
2 – The Dark Knight – TDKR was awesome, but that stage couldn’t have been set without TDK.
3 – Sin City – interwoven awesomeness of the good, the bad, and the yellow bastard.
4 – Iron Man – Rock solid in every facet.
5 – The Amazing Spider-Man – a simple kind of complicated. Super relate-able.
Favorites… A list that is much longer than 5 movies, but will not waste peoples time and go with some movies I haven’t mentioned yet.
Thor, Captain America, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight Rises, Dredd 3D, Punisher, X-Men First Class, and Green Lantern.
Maybe it’s the Norwegian ancestry, but I really liked Thor, too. Although, it was more of a mythology movie than a super hero movie as it stayed fairly well based in the Norse mythology. I’d put it closer to Clash of the Titans than other super hero movies as a modern take on myths.
Is Green Lantern really worth watching? The average opinion I’ve heard of it centers at about “lamest shit ever” level. If you’ll vouch for it I’ll throw it on the Netflix queue, Matt.
I’m a bias entity when it comes to Green Lantern. I think it could have been better after watching it a bunch, but I will sit down at any time and watch it. GL is one of my favorites!! One of the few I make an effort to read the comics.. along with Green Arrow.
I would say that 90% of people I run into that have seen it do not recommend it. Some hardcore Lantern fans I know wouldn’t recommend it. So I will not tell you to check it out.