My Favourite Superhero Movies of All Time

I maintain this blog to talk about movies in general, however, if you have followed it regularly, I talk a lot about comic book movies. The word ‘nerd’ is used in the blog’s name! So, let’s not waste time jump into the movies of this genre that completely blew me away.

1. Superman: The Movie (1978)

“You’ll Believe A Man Can Fly” was the tagline used to market this movie to the general public in 1978. However, the 70s was not an era where comic book movies flourished like today, as comic books were still considered for kids back then. So the team behind this movie had to hunt for legitimate talents to give this movie credibility. Thus, director Richard Donner teamed up with screenwriter Mario Puzo (the author of The Godfather) to bring the story of the first and iconic superhero Superman. The movie surprised everybody its serious (well, serious for at least back then) and sombre tone. In my opinion this is a really good movie and Christopher Reeves made even the silliest part of this movie work. The repartee between Superman (Reeves) and Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) made this movie iconic.

9. Watchmen (2009)

Directed by Zack Snyder, Watchmen was based on prolific writer Allan Moore’s 1986 seminal graphic novel of the same name. Deemed unfilmable, Snyder accomplished the impossible when he recreated the images and dialogues on the big screen (amidst some changes I don’t like). Instead of being a traditional superhero movie, Watchmen is a scathing critique of superheroes in general and suggests that if they were real, the world would be in a bad shape.

8. Hulk (2003)

There are bad movies and then there decent movies with ambition of doing something different. Director Ang Lee’s Hulk falls into the latter category. Instead of giving the audience were look for back then, i.e. “HULK SMASH”, the movie explores the psyche of scientist Bruce Banner (Eric Bana) by portraying his relationships with others and how they factor into his transforming into the mindless green beast. Audience found boring way back in 2003 and to this day, this is one of those unfairly hated movies. I hope that in time, the movie is appreciated for what it was trying to do.

7. X-2: United (2003)

Picking up from where the first movie left off a new legislation threatens the mutant population in America. Meanwhile, a mysterious figure is hunting the X-Men, forcing the team to form a truce with Magneto (Sir Ian McKellen) and his team. As the mutants come close to solving the mystery, they discover that the figure has a deep connection to one of their team members.

6. Spider-Man (2002)

This movie has a special place in my heart. This was the first ever superhero movie that I saw in a cinema hall. Directed by Sam Raimi, Spider-Man is the celebration of the comic books of 60s in a completely modern time period. Instead of ditching the colourful Spider-Man costume for something black like the X-Men films, the movie beautifully recreates the costume with a rousing soundtrack by Danny Elfman. Spider-Man is a bright and happy movie that takes the audience “for the ultimate spin” as the tagline said it would and I love the movie for it.

5. East Rail 177 Trilogy (2000, 2015 and 2019)

Despite a rough patch, director M. Night Shyamalan managed to complete his superhero trilogy which began with Unbreakable in 2000. Both Unbreakable and Glass revolves around the trails and tribulations of an Everyman who has some powers.

4. Spider-Man 2 (2004)

How to make a sequel to one of the biggest blockbusters of all time? By improving upon the weaknesses of the first movie. Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 is one of those examples where the sequel is better than its predecessor. It has it all, a compelling storyline, excellent villain and exhilarating action. The train scene is still one of the best action set pieces in the entire genre. For a long time, this was the best Spider-Man movie, until…

3. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was one of those rare movies that looked impressive ever since the first trailer was released to the general audience. It has everything, from funny and likeable characters to sympathetic villain and engaging storyline. The most impressive aspect of this movie is its strict adherence to the comic book style. The only movies to do that until this movie was the Sam Raimi films.

2. Logan (2017)

After Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman is the only superhero actor to conclude his character’s arc on a high note until now. Logan is a sombre and depressing take on the comic book genre. The film revolves around an ageing Wolverine whose body and powers are failing him. He has given up the violent life for a job. However, when a mysterious girl enters his life, Logan is thrust back to the ultimate fight of his life.

1. The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005, 2008 and 2012)

If you have followed my blog regularly, You knew this was coming. I am a huge fan of Christopher Nolan and he was director who managed to earn the respect of even the snobbiest of the critics with his interpretation of Batman. He was the first one to properly map out the caped crusader’s origin on the big screen and again beat other directors to conclude The Dark Knight’s (and mean the character and not the movie) character arc on film.

Well, that’s it! These are my absolutely favourite superhero movies of all time. However, apart from these ten there are some movies that ALMOST made into this list. Here are the honourable mentions:

• Captain America “Trilogy” (using the word to describe the three movies)

• Bhavesh Joshi: Superhero

• V For Vendetta

• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. I

• Man of Steel

• Super

• Batman Returns

• Iron Man

• Avengers: Infinity War

• The Incredibles