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1. Logan: The Greatest Non-MCU Marvel Movie. This movie is pretty much the closest thing we’ll get to a mainstream superhero art film, a hyper-violent dystopian Western that gave its hero the respect of transforming him into a gruesome killing machine
and granting him some long-sought redemption. It’s a bleak movie with most of the X-Men dead, Logan dying, Xavier slowly losing control of his powers, mutants going extinct, and an evil company performing secret experiments in order to create their own
mutant army. It’s a bit depressing, but it’s still a thrilling movie. The action in this movie is very brutal, filled with a lot of blood and gore; the violence in this film takes full advantage of the R rating. But, this is one of the few superhero
movies where the fight scenes aren’t one of the main attractions. This movie is more about the acting and writing. Hugh Jackman gives his best Wolverine performance here as a Logan whose powers are slowly fading and who is now feeling the weight of all
the things he’s done in the past. It’s a beautifully weary, cynical performance that builds off of his previous performances. Patrick Stewart is also great in this movie, using all his Shakespearean gravitas to play an Xavier full of regret and
loneliness and who’s a little senile. He gives a sad, melancholic performance, which was a great way to end the character. I was also impressed by Dafne Keen’s Laura/X-23, who does a great job at mimicking Jackman’s earlier Wolverine performances,
and by Stephen Merchant, who is surprisingly good as Caliban, showing a lot of range and pathos the normally comedic actor hasn’t been known for. But, what really makes this movie work is how it does something most movie superheroes don’t do: gives
its hero finality. This movie could have only ended with Logan dying, and his death terrifically done. And, that was Logan’s greatest strength: it doesn’t feature the typical superhero or backtrack on any major deaths. While it does end on a hopeful
note, Logan is still dead at the end; and that’s tragic. It’s not afraid to be a bit of a bummer, and that’s why it’s The Greatest.
2. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse: We need more animated superhero movies, especially the kind like Into The Spider-Verse. This movie is amazing, taking full advantage of its animation and delivering a lot of great colorful visuals throughout. From
that great upside down shot of Miles Morales falling through the sky to Miles and Peter swinging through the woods to the fantastic final battle with the multiverse colliding together, practically every frame of the film contains a beautiful piece of art.
As great as this movie looks, the acting and writing match it beautifully. There are some great voice performances throughout, from Jake Johnson’s world weary Peter B. Parker to Hailee Steinfeld’s too cool Gwen Stacy to Nicolas Cage’s fun, cheesy
Spider-Man Noir to Brian Tyree Henry’s soulful, warm Jefferson Davis. But, the movie does belong to its lead as Shameik Moore nails the role of Miles Morales. He plays Miles well, capturing his confusion over his new powers beautifully while also
making him a funny, nerdy, awkward teen. And, the plot of the film is a lot of fun, with all the different Spider-Men from other universes coming together. The movie has a lot of fun playing with the Spider-Man mythos, from the female Dr. Octopus to the
Spider-Man themed Jingle Bells. I mean, who ever thought we’d see Peter Porker, the Spectacular Spider-Ham, in a theatrically released major motion picture? But, the best thing about this movie is that it's just a whole lot of fun. Freed from having to
set up any plot points in a cinematic universe, Into The Spider-Verse can just do its own thing, with the filmmakers letting their imaginations run wild. It’s like watching a kid play with his or her Spider-Man toys, only we’re able to see what they
are imagining as they play. There were no movies like Into The Spider-Verse when it came out, but hopefully, there will be more movies like it now.
3. X2: X-Men United: The 2nd X-Men movie is still the best, having held up well over the years. It builds on the vision of the first movie, keeping the societal-alienation themes intact, but since it was a sequel and didn’t have to waste time on
getting the team together like in the first, it could do more. It raises the stakes, expands the canvas, and introduces a whole lot of fun new characters, like Alan Cumming’s great take on Nightcrawler, Aaron Stanford having some fun as Pyro, and Kelly
Hu’s cool stoic take on Lady Deathstrike. Though, the real standout from the newcomers was Brian Cox’s fascist blowhard General Stryker. Cox is great at playing a righteous bastard, and he does some great work as Stryker. It’s got a great plot with
the X-Men having to team up with Magneto and Mystique in order to stop William Stryker from tricking Charles Xavier into wiping out all mutants. I also liked the twist that Magneto only helps save the day so that he could use Xavier to wipe out all the
humans instead; it was a great, logical heel turn for the character. There are some great action set pieces throughout: Nightcrawler’s White House invasion is still one of the best action scenes in a superhero movie. The Blackbird crash was
exceptionally well done. Magneto’s escape from his ultra-secure plastic prison was unique. Finally, the fight between Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike is a great knockdown, drag-out slugfest. And, while there’s a slightly lighter, goofier tone, the
movie still brings the drama, especially when Jean Grey sacrifices herself to save everyone. It’s basically everything that a superhero movie sequel should be. While it sucks that the franchise got turned over to a total hack one movie later, X2 still
holds up exceptionally well.
4. X-Men: Days Of Future Past: My two big complaints about this movie are: how 20th Century Fox lazily used it to explain the franchise’s continuity problems (time travel screwed everything up) even though the movie created some more, like how Bolivar
Trask went from being a tall black man in 2006 in The Last Stand to somehow being a white little person in 1973 or how Mystique disguised as William Stryker saves Wolverine at the end only to see Wolverine as Stryker’s prisoner in the next movie. The
other big complaint: how the franchise will introduce cool mutants with cool powers and then just drop them after a scene. I mean, you’d think that Havok would show up to help Xavier, Magneto, Beast, and Wolverine after realizing somethings up with
Mystique after she helps him in Vietnam or that our heroes would keep Quicksilver around after he helps bust Magneto out of prison. They both could have added some visual flair to the big climactic fight. Besides those flaws, I did really enjoy this
movie. Since it was the 5th movie in the franchise, the X-Men world had been fully set-up. So, it didn’t have to waste any time with origins or getting the team together. They could just jump into the action. Also, say what you will about Bryan Singer
and his personal demons, bringing him back to direct was a wise choice as he had a good knack for filming these characters. He did a great job of adapting the Days Of Future Past storyline, nailing the original spirit of the comic. The cast is great as
usual. Jennifer Lawrence’s take on the more radicalized but conflicted Mystique was well done. Ian McKellan does great work as the elderly Magneto, full of regret and perspective, but Michael Fassbender does a better job as the young bitter Magneto.
While the continuity issue with Bolivar Trask did bug me, I did like Peter Dinklage’s take on the character. And, Evan Peters left a big impression as Quicksilver even though his character wasn’t that fully fleshed out. And, the action and special
effects were really well done. The past and future Sentinels were great, both coming off as a great threat. The fights with the future Sentinels were well done. But, the big standout was that Quicksilver scene, where he takes out a bunch of prison guards
in quick succession. It was a unique, well made sequence that showed a lot of playfulness and creativity. And, it told us a lot about Quicksilver’s character. In all, Days Of Future Past is just a great thrillride with the time travel plot making it
unique among other superhero movies.
5. Blade II: As great as the 1st Blade movie is, the 2nd one blows it out of the water. Why? Guillermo del Toro. The future Oscar winning director made a rich, beguiling, visually sweeping movie with a unique premise: Blade has to work with the Bloodpack,
a team of vampire mercenaries originally put together to take him out in order to kill a bunch of mutated vampires called Reapers. The Bloodpack is a great addition to the Blade mythos, mainly because their leader is played by a very game Ron Perlman
and features Donnie Yen doing his usual badass action man shtick. The Reapers are another great idea, mainly because of how f***ing cool they look. They are a typical del Toro creation: ugly and disgusting but so bewitching that you can’t help but look
at them. And, Luke Goss does a good job as Jared Nomak, the Reaper leader. I also have to mention a memorable Norman Reedus as Scud, Blade’s replacement for Whistler (who turns out to be alive, which was a bit contrived but works because it means more
Kris Kristofferson) who turns traitor. And, of course, Wesley Snipes is great as usual as Blade. Plus, he does some good work with Leonor Varela, who plays Nyssa, the daughter of the vampire lord who brings Blade in to help him with the Reapers. They
make a surprisingly deep connection in the film, and she gets an emotional death scene that works a lot better than it should. Outside of the plot and cool characters, the movie looks fantastic. If there was any director who could beautifully capture the
dark tones of the Blade character, it was del Toro. He creates a great dark atmosphere throughout the film. And, the fight scenes are just the best. The scene where Wesley Snipes suplexes a guy through glass and then pops up in Ron Perlman’s face may
or may not have caused me to piss myself a little. The action in this movie is even better than the first and has held up incredible well since 2002. Hell, the whole movie holds up well, thanks in large part to del Toro. The director found ways to
indulge his freaky monster-movie imagination, stage impressive fight sequences, and channel some genuine emotion, all without compromising the monumental badassery of his main character.
6. Spider-Man 2: I do have two complaints about Spider-Man 2: For one, the dialogue. It’s clunky and cheesy at times. There are some lines that are just so bad that no one can make them work. The other, I didn’t like how the movie went out of its way
to get the mask off of Spider-Man. I mean, a train full of people saw his face. It was so stupid. But, other than that, Spider-Man 2 is a great comic book movie. As good as Tobey Maguire was in the first Spider-Man, he’s even better here. He does great
work as Peter keeps getting shit on throughout this movie; he makes a good hapless loser. Alfred Molina makes a great Dr. Octopus. He brings a lot of warmth to the role before he gets the robotic arms fused to his body, and he has a lot of fun when Dr.
Octavius goes full badguy. Sam Raimi keeps up the frantic visual style from the first one, which again adds to the comic book feel. Plus, with the origin story out of the way, Raimi feels free to have a whole lot more fun with the Spider-Man story,
sending Spider-Man careening beautifully through Manhattan corridors. And then, there are the fight scenes. Good God almighty are they great! The fights in this movie look like some of the great fight panels from the old Spider-Man comics come to life.
The real standout is the train fight between Spider-Man and Dr. Octopus. It was a great tour de force of action, suspense, and special effects. It may very well be the best fight scene in a superhero movie. In all, the movie just works, effortlessly
combining special effects and a human story, keeping its parallel plots alive and moving. It’s just a well-made movie that tells a great story so well that you can forgive for some minor flaws.
7. Deadpool 2: The 2nd Deadpool is just as funny as the first but has the added advantage of not having to waste any time in telling Deadpool’s origin. It can spend more time making jokes and showing violent fight scenes. All the things that worked
about the first Deadpool work here, but it has enough new elements to make it shine better than the first one. The new characters add a lot to the movie. Josh Brolin is great as Cable, playing the straight man role with aplomb. Julian Dennison does some
great work as Russell Collins/Firefist. He puts a lot of heart in the role and keeps it from being a token foul-mouthed teenager caricature. And, Zazie Beetz makes a fine Domino, bringing a lot of charisma to the role. I also liked how well they were
able to showcase Domino’s luck powers. That scene with Domino running down the streets as everything falls apart around her looks fantastic. In fact, the action scenes in this movie are really well done. Though, the comedy still remains one of the
strongest elements of the Deadpool movies. There are a lot of great gags in this movie, like the cameos from the X-Men actors who want no part of Deadpool and the fact that they spent a bit of time to build up the X-Force team only to kill most of them
off (with a brief cameo by Brad Pitt as an invisible mutant who only shows his face for like 3 seconds before dying). But, Deadpool 2 works surprisingly well as a movie that deals with getting over the loss of a loved one both in Wade’s job getting
Vanessa killed and Cable going back in time to prevent the death of his family and as a movie that deals with overcoming trauma from abuse with Russell wanting revenge the Mutant Reeducation Center. Audiences expected Deadpool 2 to be just as funny as
the first, but I doubt anyone was expecting to be a tearjerker as well.
8. Blade: It’s amazing that the movie that got the ball rolling on the superhero movie craze was about an obscure character from an obscure Dracula comic Marvel made in the 1970s. Hell, Blade is better known for his movies than for his comics. Which
should really tell you how good the first Blade movie is. Its biggest strength is how it builds its world. You get a full scope of the underground vampire world and Blade’s fight against it within the first scene, and it just builds its world up
beautifully as the movie goes on. Another big strength is the case. Wesley Snipes is great as Blade, displaying a great steely badass cool throughout. Kris Kristofferson leaves a big impression as Whistler. Stephen Dorff wonderfully chews scenery as
Deacon Frost. I really liked N'Bushe Wright as Dr. Karen Jenson. She did a good job with the thankless role as Blade’s sidekick, managing to not make her a damsel in distress; I’m really disappointed she hasn’t done much since. The movie also looks
great. The fight scenes are very brutal and fierce. And, the movie has a great high visual style, using extreme camera angles, bizarre costumes and sets, exaggerated shadows, and confident cutting between long shots and extreme close-ups. It slams ahead
in pure visceral imagery that made it stand out from some of the cheesier superhero movies of the 1990s, like the Schumacher Batman films. And, it still stands out today. Blade showed that a more serious, stylish take on the superhero genre could be very
profitable. And, the fact that it still holds up after over 20 years shows how good the movie is.
9. Deadpool: After X-Men Origins: Wolverine nearly ruined Deadpool, this movie came along to return the character to its glory. The best decision this movie made was to just completely ignore his previous movie appearance (aside from some funny gags
about how awful it was). Instead, this becomes a new origin for Wade Wilson, which does drag the film down a bit as we’re forced to watch Wade get tortured into activating his latent mutant genes. Luckily, the rest of the film is a pure joy. Ryan
Reynolds builds on the brilliant flashes he showed in the pre-mouthless Deadpool scenes in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, nailing the character’s wit, sarcasm, and irreverence to a T. Morena Baccarin is great as Vanessa, Wade’s girlfriend. She has great
chemistry with Reynolds, matching his comedic chops well. And, she has enough toughness to elevate the role from a mere love interest/damsel in distress. I also love the movie’s portrayal of Colossus as the ultimate goody-two-shoes; it was a great
choice, making him unique as well as a great contrast to Deadpool’s more mature personality. The action scenes are pretty well done, being both thrillingly action packed as well as funny. And, speaking of funny, comedy, and its emphasis on being Rated
R, is the movie’s biggest strength. It’s absolutely hilarious, and the movie is the closest to an outright satire/parody of the superhero genre. While comedy has been a big part of superhero films, especially due to the MCU movies, it’s mainly been
just one bit of a filmmaking element to them. Here, it was the main attraction; and it worked well, making Deadpool stand out among the pack. Deadpool easily proved there was an audience for an R rated, raunchy superhero comedy.
10. Spider-Man: There are a lot of elements of Spider-Man that haven’t aged well. Some of the CGI looks bad. The action scenes aren’t anything to write home about. The Green Goblin costume is awful. Kirsten Dunst’s portrayal of Mary Jane Watson is
not great. And, Tobey Maguire’s quips as Spider-Man are just terrible. However, there are elements of the movie that still work. While Maguire doesn’t make a good Spider-Man, he does make a great Peter Parker. He definitely nails the nerdy aspect of
Parker and definitely had the chops for the more dramatic parts of the movie. And, while Dunst might not make a good Mary Jane, she still has great chemistry with Maguire; that famous kiss works well not just because Spider-Man is upside down. It’s
also got a great supporting cast. J.K. Simmons stole the show as J. Jonah Jameson. He so thoroughly nailed the role that Marvel and Sony had no choice but to bring him back for the MCU Spider-Man movies. Willem Dafoe inhales the scenery as The Green
Goblin. It’s not a great performance, but it sure is memorable. James Franco makes a great Harry Osborne, managing to be friendly but hiding a darkness. But, what really makes this movie work is Sam Raimi. The director did a great job to give this
movie a unique visual style. He made it feel like a comic book and not in a bad corny way like with the Schumacher Batman films. Raimi let his imagination run wild and made a Spider-Man movie that looked and felt like a 1960s Spider-Man comic. While some
things haven’t held up, his direction has.
11. X-Men: For much of the 1990s, superhero movies were a bit of a joke. After the Batman franchise crashed and burned, many thought the genre was dead. Blade proved everyone wrong, but X-Men proved that the genre could keep on making money if people
took superheroes seriously. That’s what really makes X-Men work: Bryan Singer made the movie seriously. The characters in the film may make a few jokes, but they treat the events happening as if they’re a matter of life and death. Singer filled the
film with great actors. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan bring their Shakespearean gravitas to Charles Xavier and Magneto respectively. Stewart does a great job of balancing Xavier’s warmth and self-righteousness. And, McKellan plays the role like
Richard III, deadly serious but capable of having some fun. Besides those 2, the big standout was Hugh Jackman, who nailed the role of Wolverine. He beautifully captured Logan’s gruff exterior, weathered intensity, wariness, caged-animal body language,
and hidden warmth. And, I really liked Famke Janssen’s Jean Grey, able to play her sly intelligence and gentle warmth well. I was also impressed by how Rebecca Romijn was able to make Mystique work through her lithe, predatory physicality, which was
nice as she didn’t just rely on the make-up. As great as the casting is, some things in this movie haven’t aged well, like the fight scenes that combine 1990s Michael Bay noisiness and post-Matrix kung fu. The CGI isn’t great; though it was made in
the late 1990s, so it at least has an excuse. And, way too much of this movie takes place in the X-Mansion with the heroes talking about what to do. However, despite those flaws, the movie works. Singer creates a great atmosphere and world in this movie,
and the acting does a great job of elevating the movie. X-Men was basically made to set up its cinematic world, and at that task, it did a great job.
12. The Wolverine: If I have one complaint about this movie, then it’s the movie’s big twist: that Ichirō Yashida (Haruhiko Yamanouchi), the man who first met Wolverine at the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and brings him to Japan to set up the movie’
s plot, is the villain, The Silver Samurai. It doesn’t make any sense. Why would Yashida bring Logan to Japan, ask him for help in curing his cancer, and then fake his death when Logan said no? Why not just kidnap him and force Logan to give up his
quick healing powers? The plot could have just as easily been set up with a kidnapping and an escape with the help of Mariko (Tao Okamoto) and Yukio (Rila Fukushima) rather than the fake death. Other than that, this is a pretty good dry run for James
Mangold. He’d go on to make the great Logan, but this was his 1st foray with Wolverine. And, he does a great job here. Nearly everything that fans and critics loved about Logan was first expressed in The Wolverine, and while Logan is the superior movie,
The Wolverine is a damn fine superhero movie. Mangold made a great adaptation of Chris Claremont and Frank Miller's original Wolverine miniseries. And, the Japanese setting was a great change of pace for locales in superhero movies. I also like how the
movie uses The Silver Samurai and Viper, 2 lesser known X-Men villains. The movie also makes for a great action film. Mangold largely eases up on the CGI theatrics, instead sending Wolverine to Japan and building a low-stakes old-school action movie
around him, letting him battle ninjas and yakuza, staging cool fights on bullet-train roofs. The fights are really well done; the bullet-train fight is excellent, and the shot of Wolverine with chained arrows in his back is exceptionally striking. Though,
to give the fights some stakes, Mangold and screenwriters Mark Bomback & Scott Frank made the wise decision to take away Wolverine’s healing powers and have him face off against a Silver Samurai with a giant heated adamantium sword. It may have been a
little convoluted, but it worked. But, what really makes this movie work is Logan’s arc of getting over Jean Grey’s death. Hugh Jackman does great work with his role here, and the arc helps to break up the monotony of the action scenes. In all, this
is a fine underrated superhero flick. Mangold would do a whole lot more with Wolverine the next time around, but this was a strong start.
13. The Amazing Spider-Man: This may very well be the most underrated superhero movie. It doesn’t get a lot of love, probably because of its association with its terrible sequel and Sony’s botched attempts at starting their own MCU with just Spider-
Man. And, those attempts are on display here with all the hints to the mysterious circumstance surrounding the disappearance of Peter Parker’s parents. Those parts are unnecessary and a bit of a drag. Another flaw is James Garfield. He’s not great as
Peter Parker. He’s just way too cool to be the nerdy Peter, like a jock trying playing geek dress-up. Though, he works very well as Spider-Man, handling Spidey’s quick wit much better than Toby Maguire (though Tom Holland blows both of them out of
water in both aspects of the role). He also has great chemistry with Emma Stone, who’s fantastic as Gwen Stacy. She brings a lot of wit and charm to the role. In fact, the supporting cast is a big factor in what makes this movie work. You can’t go
wrong with Martin Sheen and Sally Field as Uncle Ben and Aunt May. Denis Leary is a surprise treat as George Stacy, Gwen's police captain father; he’s basically a stand-in for J. Jonah Jameson and does well in the role. Rhys Ifan does well as Dr. Curt
Connors, though there was a little too much reliance on CGI for the Lizard parts. Another thing that works in this movie is the action scenes. While not as good as some of the other Spider-Man movies, they get the job done. Though, there is one stand-out:
the library fight between Spider-Man and The Lizard, which was really creative and featured the best Stan Lee cameo of all time. And, the web-slinging parts looked good, especially in 3D. However, there is one other big flaw: the direction is a little
rote and by-the-numbers for superhero movies (I highly suspect director Marc Webb simply got the role due to his last name fitting in well with the whole spider motif). Though, there is a lot to recommend in this movie. It doesn’t really deserve to
have the stink of its sequel to rub off onto it.
14. X-Men: First Class: The biggest flaw in the entire X-Men franchise is continuity, in that there is seemingly none. Characters who first appear in the 2000s will just show up decades earlier played by different actors. Plot developments brought up in
one movie will be completely ignored or changed in another. And, First Class is a big offender of this flaw. The movie ends with Charles Xavier and Magneto having parted ways and with Xavier paralyzed in 1962 even though Last Stand began with both of
them still friends and Xavier walking in the 1980s. Needless to say, this confused some people since it appeared that First Class was trying to be a prequel to the first 3 X-Men movies rather than a full reboot. Continuity aside, this is a very enjoyable
movie. For one, it’s got a hilariously overqualified cast. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are great as Xavier and Magneto respectively. Both fill the roles as well as Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan did. There’s also Jennifer Lawrence who makes
an intriguing Mystique. She does a great job of playing Mystique as sweet and naive in the beginning and slowly toughening up. And, all 3 do a great job with the arc among the 3 as Mystique becomes conflicted between following Xavier’s more peaceful
integration for mutants and her intrigue with Magneto’s more violent approach. Outside of the 3 leads, I also enjoyed Kevin Bacon’s fun performance as Sebastian Shaw; and Rose Byrne’s take on Moira MacTaggert was unique. Another great aspect of the
movie was its 1960s setting. Director Matthew Vaughn has a lot of fun with the time period, basically making the movie into superhero homage to that decade’s spy films, which gives this movie a unique look among the franchise and other superhero movies.
He also has a great eye for the action scene; Shaw’s attack on the CIA is exceptionally well done. Though, there are other flaws besides the continuity. The CGI is not great, another big flaw within the whole franchise. And, some of the other mutants
get treated as afterthoughts, particularly Banshee (Caleb Landry Jones), Darwin (Edi Gathegi), and Havoc (Lucas Till). But, besides those flaws, this is a pretty enjoyable, unique entry in the X-Men franchise.
15. Hulk: This is a mess of a movie, and a big reason for that is director Ang Lee. Lee loved the psychological approach to Bruce Banner and The Hulk, how Banner struggles to keep the Hulk at bay. However, most people just think of the Hulk as a monster
who smashes things. The movie he made was far more cerebral than the typical superhero fare audiences were expecting. However, Lee felt that he also had to deliver something that could work as a summer blockbuster. So, in between scenes of the actors
dealing with abusive parental relationships and the big debate between nature VS nurture, we have scenes with a bad looking, incredibly green Hulk fighting with giant radioactive dogs, shots crosscut together to make scenes literally look like a comic
book, Nick Nolte doing god knows what as Banner’s dad (who eventually becomes The Absorbing Man), and a climactic battle that takes place in pitch black darkness, which makes it impossible to see. It also didn’t help that the Hulk looked like Shrek
on steroids. I know I just mentioned the Hulk looking, but it bears repeating: the Hulk looked awful in this movie. Like I said, this movie is a mess. But, it’s a beautiful mess. There are times that Lee’s vision manages to come together, like when
the Hulk is jumping through the desert, and a serene, sublime beauty comes out. Also, the casting is well done, outside of Nick Nolte, of course (and even his batshit insane performance is memorable). Eric Bana is a fine Bruce Banner. But, the real MVPs
are Jennifer Connelly and Sam Elliot as the Rosses. Connelly is great as Betsy, who’s nicely terse and distrustful in this movie. And, Elliot, one of Hollywood’s most laid-back actors, seems like an odd choice for the boisterously angry Thunderbolt
Ross, but Elliot nails the role. And, while some of the action scenes aren’t great (the aforementioned climax and fight with the dogs), some work well. Hulk’s fight with the Army is well done and leads to that beautiful part with the Hulk in the
desert. Lee is a good enough director that he still managed to make the movie work for the most part, but it is still a jarring experience at times. Like I said, it’s a mess; but it’s a sublime, beautiful, ambitious mess. And, quite frankly, I’d
love it if more superhero movies were as psychologically serene as Hulk is.
16. The Punisher (1989): Another comic book movie that fails because it changes a lot from the comic. I mean, this is a movie made by people who looked at The Punisher’s iconic skull costume and thought, “Nah! Don’t need it!” In fact, the whole
movie is just a basic, generic 1980s action movie that just so happens to feature Frank Castle. In order to turn this a non-Punisher movie, all you’d have to do is change Castle’s name to anything else. But, while this movie fails as a Punisher movie,
as a cheesy 1980s action movie, it’s pretty damn good. Sure, the dialogue is a little stilted, the fight scenes a little cheesy, and the whole comes off as a little silly, but that was just how a lot of action movies were back then. And, compared to
other action movies from the 1980s, this is better than a lot of them. Dolph Lundgren is pretty good as Castle. The only thing terrible about his Punisher is his dye job. And, the film's atmosphere is genuinely comic book-like, rather than cartoonish
like a lot of comic book movies were back then. The movie does a good job of mimicking the dark tones of the source comic even though they changed so much about the character. And, the fight scenes are pretty memorable. I can’t hate a movie in which a
gang of ninjas attacks the hero by zooming down an enormous funhouse slide. In fact, all this movie needs is a rewrite to make things more like the comic. Just change a few names, add in some of Marvel’s mobster characters, and put Lundgren in the
Punisher costume, and you’d have a good Punisher movie. As it is, it’s not a good Punisher movie. But, it’s much more enjoyable than the movies below it.
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