Even by the ambitious standards of Marvel, 2014 is going to be a big year. They’ve got this weekend’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (review here) and hopeful franchise-starter “Guardians of the Galaxy,” while rival studios have the forthcoming “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (at Fox) and “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” (at Sony). No matter who is bringing them to the screen, Marvel has become a blockbuster brand, underscored by “The Avengers” scoring the third-highest-grossing-film of all time.
But with the silver lining of world-conquering ubiquity, comes the cloud — overfamiliarity, potential consumer burnout (we have to confess the “Spider-Man” reboot still falls squarely into the “What? Again?” arena for us) and at the very least, their product being regarded as something plasticky and disposable and free inside every cereal box. Especially compared with rivals DC, who’ve taken their properties in the opposite direction, delivering gritty, brainy blockbusters instead (and “Man of Steel,” meow) that aim to be as prestige pic somber as Marvel’s are colorful and quippy. But before we get caught in the crossfire of a Biggie/Tupac style turf war, let us just say that we believe there’s plenty of room for both approaches, and both studios have produced films we’ve counted as among our favorite tent poles of recent years.
And so we thought it high time we took a long, hard look at the films stamped with the Marvel logo, from best to worst (ranking them in reverse order), looking at all the Spider-Mans, Avengerses, X-men, Blades, Punishers, Daredevils, Fantastic Fourses and, um, Howard the Ducks. Or to put it another way: who’d win in a fight?
36. “Captain America” (1990)
Even if you’re not a fan of the current “Captain America” movies, you have to acknowledge that they’re “Rome, Open City” in comparison to the 1990 take (which never surfaced in U.S. cinemas, though got a theatrical release in some international territories). A low-budget tossed-off take produced by D-movie legend Menahem Golan, and directed by “Cyborg” helmer Albert Pyun, it’s a moderately faithful take on the character (other than the Red Skull being Italian, for some reason), but a pretty terrible, and weirdly nasty, actioner that sees the Captain (Matt Salinger, son of J.D) battle the Red Skull in WW2, then have to save the world all over again in the present day in an attempt to rescue the President. The split structure is baffling and overstuffed, the dialogue terrible (“He’s still alive. We don’t know where he is, or who he is”), the casting baffling (Ronny Cox and Ned Beatty crop up in the weirdest possible “Deliverance” reunion, while Salinger is just terrible), and even the most vulgar auteurist couldn’t defend Pyun’s inept direction. There’s the occasional decent idea in among them, but if you’ve ever wanted to appreciate the modern-day movies, this is a good way of doing so. [F]
35. “Man-Thing” (2005)
In fairness, “Man-Thing” is hardly one of Marvel’s best-known characters (originally a scientist who turns into a plant monster), and these days would probably be lucky to be a one-off villain in “Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.” But even someone who’d never heard of him would feel that he’d been hard done by this 2005 film (which aired on SyFy in the U.S, but hit cinemas in Asia and China). Directed by Brett Leonard, helmer of “The Lawnmower Man,” it’s about as generic a horror film as you could come up with, as various low-grade Australian actors wrangle with Louisiana accents (unsuccessfully: most sound like they’re having strokes), as they’re picked off by the swamp’s guardian spirit, who turns out to be Man-Thing. Who looks ridiculous. Leonard does layer on some atmosphere occasionally, but the plot is both rammed with clichés and unnecessarily convoluted, there’s little in the way of decent gore or scares, and fans of the character, if such things exist, are surely still furious by the way it turns him from sympathetic creature to mostly-off-screen killer monster. This (man) thing probably still brings Kevin Feige out in hives. [F]
34. Ghost Rider” (2007)
Nicolas Cage is a long-time comics fan, who’s flirted with a number of characters over the years, most notably DC’s “Superman” for an aborted Tim Burton movie in the late 90s. He finally got his chance for Sony’s “Ghost Rider” in 2007, having been attached to versions of the project since the turn of the decade. Unfortunately, the final product saw him team up with writer/director Mark Steven Johnson, who hadn’t got the message from the reception to “Daredevil” (see below) that maybe superhero movies just weren’t for him. The character, Johnny Blaze, is a motorcycle stunt rider who sold his soul to become the Devil’s flame-headed bounty-hunter to save his father’s life, but there’s little chance for Cage to do what he’s do best — when in human mode, he looks sleepy, and when he’s the rider, he’s replaced by an unconvincing CGI head. Some of the casting is nominally fun (Sam Elliott as a previous Ghost Rider, Donal Logue as the best pal, Peter Fonda as the Devil), but everyone’s thinking principally of the paycheck, not least Wes Bentley, at the height of his troubles with drugs, as super-generic principal villain Blackheart. Johnson can’t write the script, he can’t handle the tone, which lurches from morose to campy, and he can’t shoot action: thankfully he hasn’t yet tried to complete his trilogy of terrible comic book movies. [F]
33. “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009)
As we’ll see, the “X-Men” movies have covered basically the complete range of the quality spectrum, but whatever happens, it’ll be some feat if this summer’s “X-Men: Days Of Future Past,” or any future X-movies, turn out to be worse than this. Hugh Jackman’s mutton-chopped semi-immortal was always better suited to a solo effort than most of the other characters from Fox’s franchise, and on paper, it should have worked: Oscar-winning “Tsotsi” director at the helm, Jackman facing off against great actors like Liev Schreiber and Danny Huston, etc. And in fairness, the film was one of many hampered by the 2007 writers strike, going into production without a finished screenplay. But one can only imagine from the results that Fox used a room full of monkeys with typewriters as scabs, because the result is nonsensical, illogical, wasteful, overstuffed with inconsequential characters and hugely uninvolving. Gavin Hood’s direction seems concerned principally with finding shots for the trailer (there are at least two moments when Wolverine looks to the sky and cries out), too. Having adamantium grafted to your bones would be preferable to sitting through this again. [D-]
32. “Howard The Duck” (1986)
Technically the first-ever Marvel movie (the “Captain America” serials in the 1940s predate the existence of Marvel as a company), and what a weird, weird place to start. Howard, a cigar-smoking anthropomorphic mallard, was always an outlier in the Marvel stable, closer to the subversive alt-comics world than to Spider-Man, and it’s hard to think of an unlikelier person to bring it to the screen than George Lucas, who made it a passion project after he left directing to focus on producing. Originally intended to be an animated film, it eventually ended up as a live action film helmed by “American Graffiti” co-writer Willard Huyck, with Howard (the voice of Chip Zien) transported to Earth, and battling an alien Dark Overlord (Jeffrey Jones) with the help of scientist Phil (Tim Robbins) and musician love interest Beverly (Lea Thompson). With superhero movies following such a close formula these days, in some ways one should be thankful for something as weird as this, but there’s a reason it’s still a byword for critical and commercial failure: there’s little consistency to the way that Howard interacts with the world, it tries to water the weirdness down into a very 1980s family adventure, and it simply isn’t very funny. [D-]
31. The Punisher” (1989)
We’ve never really seen the appeal of Frank Castle, aka The Punisher, as a character: even, or especially, within the context of the Marvel universe, he’s just another ex-cop vigilante, who could have walked out of “Death Wish” or a dozen B-movies like it. But we suppose that the generic nature of the character (and the relative budgetary ease of bringing him to the screen) appeals to studios, because he keeps coming back. This 1989 version, the first and worst, stars Dolph Lundgren as Castle, who’s persuaded to help the Mafia he hates so much when the Yakuza kidnap the mobsters’ kids. Despite a script by some reasonably well-known writers (Robert Mark Kamen, who’d later pen “Taken,” and Boaz Yakin, who went on to direct “Fresh”), the script might as well be a Steven Seagal vehicle, and veteran editor Mark Goldblatt shows that he probably should have stuck to the day job with some pretty uninspired action direction, and a complete lack of interest in the dialogue scenes. Unless you’re writing a thesis on Hollywood’s late ’80/early ’90s xenophobia/paranoia towards the Japanese (see also: “Die Hard,” “Black Rain,” “Rising Sun”), there’s basically nothing to recommend this, and Lundgren’s bland presence firmly makes it the least of the three “Punisher” films to date. [D-]
30. “Elektra” (2005)
You’d have thought that the odds of “Elektra” ever getting made were slim; not only did no one really give a shit about “Daredevil,” in which Jennifer Garner’s character first appeared, but she died at the end of it. But historically, such things have never been obstacles to poor studio decision-making, and so we ended up with this 2005 spin-off, in which Elektra is resurrected by ninja master Terence Stamp for some reason, goes on to become a contract killer, and then swiftly finds a conscience after being asked to kill hansome Goran Visnjic and his OCD-suffering daughter. It’s a plot you’ve seen a dozen times before, this time with a smattering of superpowers (highlight/lowlight: a guy who can turn his wolf tattoo into an actual wolf), and is pretty much uninvolving from the first frame to the last. Garner can be a gifted comic actress in the right role, but she’s completely adrift here, and the rest of the no-name cast can’t even match her uncomfortable level of engagement with the material. In theory, a superhero-ish martial arts film (the action cribs from then-recent wushu hits like “Hero” in places) could have been fun, but director Rob Bowman, whose “Reign Of Fire” was so guiltily entertaining a few years earlier, pretty much half-asses this throughout. When the nicest thing you can say about something is that it probably didn’t cost that much, you might be in trouble. [D-]
29. “The Punisher” (2004)
The best thing you can say about 2004’s reboot of “The Punisher,” in comparison to its predecessor is that it’s well-cast. Thomas "I Just Want My Kids Back" Jane is reasonably charismatic and handles the action well, John Travolta chews scenery (even if it’s a reprise of the villains he’d played better in other movies), and reliable character actor types like Ben Foster and Will Patton pop up, alongside a slumming-it Roy Scheider. And there’s a moderately crunchy satisfaction to some of the action, though little of it is well-handled. But otherwise, it’s something of a washout. Writer/director Jonathan Hensleigh (behind “Die Hard With A Vengeance” and “Armageddon,” among others) wanted the film to be a throwback to ’70s-style no-nonsense action films, but even those had a little more going on upstairs: so much of the dialogue might as well be replaced by “bla bla bla revenge bla bla” with no real weight or emotion to it, and there’s little invention to the way the combat’s staged. More than anything, it’s just unrelentingly and upsettingly dour, not as unpretentious and unapologetic as its successor, and pretty boring to watch as a result. It could have been worse, sure, but it certainly could have been better. [D]
28. “The Fantastic Four: The Movie” (1994)
Look, no one around is going to tell you that the 1994 edition of “The Fantastic Four” is a good movie. That’s what happens when you make a film on a dime in order to hang on to the rights to the character: producer Bernd Eichinger had picked up the rights to one of Marvel’s most beloved properties, but had to put something into production before the end of 1992, and he teamed with B-movie legend Roger Corman to get something done in only three months. The finished product (never officially released, but available on YouTube) is unbelievably cheaply made, probably written in less time than it would take to read, badly acted by an uncharismatic cast, and generally pretty mockable (indeed, it inspired one of the best gags in the fourth season of “Arrested Development”). But for all its “Power Rangers” production value and inadvertently funny dialogue, there’s something charming about it that elevates it above some of its more expensive and self-aware competition. You sense that, despite the craven intentions of its producers (which worked — Eichinger produced the two big-budget “Fantastic Four” films before his death in 2011), it’s been made with a certain level of love, if not necessarily competence. [D]
27. “Daredevil” (2003)
Blind attorney-turned-crimefighter Matt Murdoch, aka Daredevil, has always been one of Marvel’s very best characters, enabling a certain level of grittiness and heft without necessarily losing his sense of fun, so when the superhero movie was revived in the early ’00s, it was natural that he’d be one of the first to arrive. It’s a shame that it was in this form, though. Writer/director Mark Steven Johnson was something of an unknown quantity, but had reportedly won over 20th Century Fox through sheer passion, so in advance, there was every reason to think it could be something fun, especially with a likable cast: Ben Affleck as the lead, Jennifer Garner as his love interest, Michael Clarke Duncan and Colin Farrell as the villains, and ringers like Joe Pantoliano and Jon Favreau in support. But Johnson’s script is superhero-by-numbers, and the execution is worse: there’s something thoroughly naff about the look and feel of the action, aiming for Frank Miller stylization, but not really committing to it. Some will tell you that the Director’s Cut is superior, but it doesn’t add much except a subplot involving Coolio. Fingers crossed the upcoming Drew Goddard-penned Netflix series gets it right. [C-]
26. “The Amazing Spider-Man” (2012)
Rebooted only five years after the last Sam Raimi/Tobey Maguire film (a fourth installment of that series, with John Malkovich and Anne Hathaway as villains got close to production before it was canned), Peter Parker swung back onto screens in 2012 with a new youth-friendly take, spiked with added "darkness" inspired by Christopher Nolan’s “Batman” films, courtesy of “Zodiac” writer James Vanderbilt and “(500) Days Of Summer” director Marc Webb. Webb did some things right: the casting is pretty much bang on, with Andrew Garfield making an excellent Parker and Spidey, Emma Stone a spunky Gwen Stacy, and the pair sharing plenty of chemistry together. Indeed, when it’s just the two of them hanging out (or scenes with Aunt May and Uncle Ben, nicely played by Sally Field and Martin Sheen), the film displays promise of matching or even topping the Raimi pictures. The trouble is everything else: the story (hacked up heavily in the cutting room, with entire sub-plots or characters left dangling) is nonsensical and unsatisfying, the villain (Rhys Ifans) weakly motivated and underdrawn, and the action pretty poor. If the imminent sequel were just Garfield and Stone in a rom-com, we’d be delighted, but we’re a lot warier of the villain overload promised by the bajillion trailers. [C-]
25. “Blade: Trinity” (2004)
David Goyer, the man arguably involved with more modern-era superhero movies than anyone bar Stan Lee, finally gets to direct one, and the result pretty much sunk the franchise that Goyer had helped to create. The script feels like Goyer neglected it in favor of preparing to direct, with a silly story involving Dracula (Dominic Purcell) that doesn’t do much to differentiate itself from its predecessors. But that would suggest that the film’s well-directed, and here, the action is choppy and unsatisfying throughout. Then again, given that star Wesley Snipes was apparently perma-stoned, trying to fire and/or kill the helmer, and only on set for his close-ups, it’s something of a feat that Goyer got it made at all. And there is some fun to be had here thanks to the supporting cast, most notably a scenery-chewing Parker Posey and an entertainingly smarmy Ryan Reynolds, who gets some of the best insults we can remember in modern times. If nothing else, the film added “cock-juggling thundercunt” to the lexicon… [C-]
24. “Thor: The Dark World” (2013)
At this point, it feels a little like “Thor” is the runt of the Marvel Studios litter, not least because the character’s second solo outing is the weakest film since the company started making their own movies. What worked about the first film —the strong performances by Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, the unexpected humor — is generally retained, and there are a few moments of spark, most notably an inventive, world-hopping final action sequence. But the much-mooted hiring of “Game Of Thrones” director Alan Taylor doesn’t do all that much to bring specificity to Thor’s homeworld of Interchangeable Fantasy Land, wastes the now Academy Award-winning Natalie Portman (and most of the other returning-by-contractual-obligation co-stars like Idris Elba and Anthony Hopkins), fails to find much good reason to bring back Hiddleston’s Loki (although he is responsible for some the rare moments when the film feels engaging), and generally has a messy, messy script. Worst of all is villain Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), who doesn’t have anything resembling a personality, or even all that much screen time. [C]
23. “Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance” (2012)
Speaking of things that were made in haste in order to hang on to rights: “Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance.” The original film was, like we said above, irredeemably terrible, but appeared to perform just well enough that it was worth Sony continuing on, with “Batman Begins” writer David S. Goyer hired to pen a script. It took nearly five years to get it together, but, just before the rights were set to revert to Marvel, they went into production, with “Crank” madmen Neveldine and Taylor at the helm. And the result is something… very slightly better. The script remains as dumb as anything, and some of the casting is questionable (someone called Johnny Whitworth plays the second-tier villain, and is terrible), but Neveldine and Taylor have the right approach to material as ridiculous as this, which is to fully acknowledge that it’s silly, and get on with having fun (which is how the Rider ends up pissing flames at one point). They bring real energy to the action sequences (which also benefit from improved effects), while the only direction they seem to have given their actors is "bigger," which in this case, feels appropriate: Cage actually seems to be having fun this time. As a story, it’s eminently and entirely disposable, but there’s a lot more to like here. [C]
22. “Spider-Man 3” (2007)
Much derided at the time, Sam Raimi’s overstuffed, sometimes ill-judged “Spider-Man 3” certainly remains the weakest of the “Evil Dead” helmer’s three films in Marvel-land, but retains just enough of what the director did right in the first place to, seven years on, make it worth a little reevaluation. Yes, Peter Parker’s emo makeover is questionable, yes that musical sequence is kind of lame, and yes, there are probably two villains too many, particularly when it comes to Topher Grace’s Venom, whom Raimi was forced to include by the studio. But the director still has an excellent sense for energy, tone and comic-book framing, it’s well cast across the board (even Grace, playing Eddie Brock as a sad mirror image of Parker, is strong), and in Thomas Haden Church’s Sandman, has a villain with pathos to match that of Doctor Octopus in the second film. And to go with it, one truly remarkable visual effects sequence: the desperately sad birth of the Sandman, a monster sequence that James Whale would be proud of. [C]
21. “Fantastic Four” (2005)
Released in that awkward period of superheroics in the ’00s between the ‘Spider-Man’ and ‘X-Men‘ movies that birthed the modern craze, and the Marvel movies that took them to new heights, Tim Story’s “Fantastic Four” movies don’t get much love these days (or even at the time). But maybe it’s having spent a few days wallowing in the worst of what the genre has to offer, but we’d say that Story could have done a lot, lot worse, even with his inferior first attempt. The 2005 film is, admittedly, essentially plotless, focusing on the origin story at the expense of an actual story, and has a bright, cheap look that’s aged it remarkably quickly (what you get from hiring a studio comedy journeyman like Story, we’d wager). But the brightness carries over to the tone, which is about right, and while Ioan Gruffud and Jessica Alba are pretty bland as Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, future Cap Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis are enormously likable as the other half of the central quartet. The action sequences also do what too few superhero flicks even attempt, and make the characters actual heroes, rather than gods who punch other gods into buildings. It’s slight and instantly forgettable, but not a particularly bad time at the movies. [C]
20. “X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006)
How to disappoint fanboys: make a third film of the trilogy that started the comic book movie craze, but replace credible original director Bryan Singer with internet whipping boy Brett Ratner. “X-Men: The Last Stand” is certainly the weakest of the first three X-films, with too many characters, too much plot, and with some decidedly half-assed performances. But it’s not a write-off either. Yes, the screenplay (credited to Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn) appears to have literally been written by a committee and the new additions, bar perhaps Ben Foster’s Angel, are unmemorable. But Ratner has a better handle on the subtext than most would give him credit for (the scenes involving a mutant "cure" are often fairly potent), and he does know how to stage a set piece: the battle in Jean Grey’s house might be the best action sequence in the trilogy. And it’s hard to dislike a film with the wanton ballsiness towards killing of its characters. It’s still an absolute mess, but one that has stuff to like in places. [C]
19. “Iron Man 2” (2010)
The rocky transition between the first “Iron Man” and the triumph of “The Avengers,” “Iron Man 2” was undoubtedly disappointing for everyone concerned, but again, one with enough going for it that it doesn’t prove to be a complete waste of space. The one element where the film improves on its predecessor (other than the upgrade from Terrence Howard to Don Cheadle) is in its villains: in place of Jeff Bridges’ half-baked businessman, we get snarling Russian convict Mickey Rourke, and the charmingly smarmy Sam Rockwell (the latter having a total blast, with one of the best performances in a Marvel Studios film to date). But Justin Theroux’s script is a bit muddy (likely the result of conflicts between director Jon Favreau and the studio), being unable to commit to the darker character arc it seems that Favreau and Robert Downey Jr. want to go for, and for all the benefits of their performances, not making Rourke or Rockwell much of a threat. The action is still pretty disappointing too, with a rushed finale and a general lack of memorable sequences. But Downey Jr. is still charm personified, Scarlett Johansson has fun as Black Widow (even if, like much else with the script, she’s extraneous set-up for “The Avengers”), and it’s generally watchable. [C]
18. “X-Men: First Class” (2011)
There were high hopes for the semi-reboot/prequel “X-Men: First Class,” with a promising retro setting that looked to play more into the subtext of the characters than ever before, and some top-notch casting, with Michael Fassbender as Magneto and James McAvoy as Xavier (and Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult also joining). The actors certainly lived up to the promise: when Fassbender and McAvoy share the screen, you see the potential of the series. And there are, here and there, some vivid images and good ideas. But the short gestation period (director Matthew Vaughan was hired with writing partner Jane Goldman barely a year before the film hit theaters) shows, with a forgettable villain in Kevin Bacon’s Sebastian Shaw, and a general sense of unfulfilled promise, particularly when it comes to depth: Vaughn and Goldman show little engagement with real ideas except on the surface level. Like most of the X-movies, it suffers from too many mutant characters, has a particularly icky view of the female characters, almost every one of whom ends up in a state of undress at some point. It’s still better than the two X-films that came before it, but it could have been so much more. [C]
17. “Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer” (2007)
For better or worse, no super-hero movies are as close to each other in quality as the two “Fantastic Four” films. If you liked the first, you’ll probably like the second, if you hated the first, you’ll probably hate “Rise Of The Silver Surfer” too. By a hair’s breadth, we’d probably pick the second film over the first: the cast are more settled in their roles, the action is more memorable, and most importantly, it has the Surfer, a genuinely impressive visual effects creation (played by Guillermo Del Toro alumnus Doug Jones, voiced by Laurence Fishburne) that gets surprisingly close to nailing a tricky character who’d been in failed development for years. It still basically botches Doctor Doom (in part because Julian McMahon is terrible as the character), but the script, by “Simpsons” writer Don Payne and “Twin Peaks” co-creator Mark Frost, has some zip to it, and the scope and scale is much greater this time around. The bar is still low enough that Josh Trank’s upcoming reboot doesn’t have to perform a miracle to clear it, but there’s fun to be had here. [C+]
16. “Punisher: War Zone” (2008)
We’re very much aware that the placement of this one will raise some eyebrows (it did around Playlist HQ as well, in fairness). But hardcore genre fans know what we know: that this is a stupid, nasty, bloody blast that’s rather well directed, even if you need a bit of a shower afterwards. We’d repeat what we said earlier, that the character’s sort of a nothing, and we don’t really see the point of bringing him to the screen. But if you’re going to do it, do it like director Lexi Alexander does here: shamelessly. This time, The Punisher (played indifferently by Ray Stevenson) faces off against classic villain Jigsaw (Dominic West, devouring the scenery and then picking bits of it out from between his teeth), and it’s still a deeply generic set up, one that’s weirdly reminiscent of old-school 1990s superhero flicks. But she does shoot the action beautifully with real style, and with an absolute delight — Castle doesn’t just take a bad guy out when he can cut off their head with a butter knife and fire a rocket into the remains. It’s far from being a good movie, but the splattery grindhouse glee with which it’s executed makes it oddly pleasurable. [C+]
15. “The Incredible Hulk” (2008)
Second time around for Marvel’s green giant, for the second official Marvel Studios ‘Avengers‘ tease (tied in through a Robert Downey Jr. cameo, though little else, given the subsequent recasting), and it’s something of a mixed bag, likely because of the conflicts between star Edward Norton, who took a pass on the script, director Louis Leterrier, and the fledgling studio. It’s a much less interesting film than Ang Lee’s, but has some charms, at least in the early going: the “Fugitive”-esque feel of the first half, throwing back to the TV series, is fun, and the high caliber of casting (Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, Tim Blake Nelson and William Hurt joining Norton) pointing the way, along with “Iron Man,” to the likes of Robert Redford and Glenn Close in Marvel movies to come. Even so, there isn’t much in the way of substance, and things really fall apart in the third act, culminating in a punch-up that feels more like a round of “Tekken” than anything remotely involving. It remains to be seen whether a really good “Hulk” movie can ever be made (“The Avengers” suggests that he might be best as part of an ensemble), but it’ll need someone less workmanlike than Leterrier to pull it off. [C+]
14. “Thor” (2011)
Marvel’s first big risk. If “Thor” had tanked like, say, “Green Lantern” did for Warners, it made the “Avengers,” and everything after it, a much, much dicier prospect. There’s plenty wrong with the finished product — some garish design, an anonymous setting for the third-act, the “Iron Man 2”-esque shoehorning in of S.H.I.E.L.D, and in particular the Jeremy Renner afterthought cameo. But it gets some of the important things right, and that helped the movie become a hit. The fish-out-of-water humor embraces and owns the inherent silliness of the character. The unlikely choice of Kenneth Branagh lends some gravitas, and though much-mocked, his fondness for dutch angles gives a nice comic-book feel to proceedings. Two movie stars were born, in Tom Hiddleston’s surprisingly multi-faceted Loki, and Chris Hemsworth’s charismatic, deftly comic Thor. There’s enough room to grow from this one that we’re still a way off from seeing a definitive movie starring the character, but Branagh and co. did a pretty good job at laying the groundwork, and making a space Viking someone to root for. [C+]
13. “The Wolverine” (2013)
Director James Mangold (who replaced the much more tempting Darren Aronofsky on this long-delayed second Logan-centric spin-off) talked a big game in the lead up to the film’s release, dropping references to Ozu and Kurosawa in relation to his Japanese-set tale, which sees Hugh Jackman’s mutant embroiled in the battle for succession for a major Japanese corporation. It’s hard to really see the influence of either in the final film, but for much of the running time, the “3:10 To Yuma” helmer does a pretty good job — the smaller scale, more character-led plotting is a good guideline for how to make a solo movie like this one work, and Jackman’s as good as he’s ever been in the role, with a new vulnerability that stops the character from getting old the sixth time around. Unfortunately, it screws the pooch a bit in the final moments: Fox, it seems, couldn’t resist stuffing in extraneous mutants and CGI setpieces, and the final act is overblown and uninvolving. But it is a moderately valiant effort, even if there’s little trace of “Floating Leaves” when all is said and done. [B-]
12. “X-Men” (2000)
The film, more than any other, that revived the comic book craze, and finally made Marvel characters viable on the big screen, Bryan Singer’s adaptation of the mutant heroes arguably changed cinema, or at least studio thinking, in a big way. After a 1990s full of campiness and gaudiness like “Batman and Robin,” Singer found a way to connect with far-out material in the parallels he drew with civil and gay rights (which, in fairness, were always there in the comics), and approached them with a seriousness that fans appreciated. And in Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, Ian McKellen’s Magneto and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, he had three immediately iconic performances that, fourteen years on, are still gracing our screens when almost every other franchise has been rebooted at least once. That said, his first attempt wasn’t entirely satisfying: the script has the fingerprints of many hands, and the tone wobbles occasionally (that famously botched Halle Berry one-liner being one example), while Singer’s not especially confident with action at this stage, probably in part thanks to a surprisingly thrifty budget for the genre. Nevertheless, the solid foundations were here: it’s just a shame that only one subsequent film really went on to build on them. [B-]
11. “Blade” (1998)
All that said, if “X-Men” was the film that opened the door, “Blade” was the one that wedged its foot in first — the first moderately successful Marvel movie, and one that suggested that an audience existed for these films beyond the geek crowd. “Blade” stars Wesley Snipes as the titular part-vampire vampire slayer, who takes on dickish upstart Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff), and the moderately-budgeted B-movie proved a surprise hit for New Line, giving them a new franchise. The film might mark Snipes’ shift from being a decent actor to being a lunatic, but there’s no denying the power of his screen presence here, and there’s fun to be had in the supporting cast below him, with Kris Kristofferson lending gravitas, and Donal Logue lending further dickishness. Goyer’s script is genuinely inventive with vampire lore and goes through some fun twists and turns, and director Steven Norrington (who would blow up his own career a few years later with the execrable “League Of Extraordinary Gentleman”) directs with real style. Some of the trendy nightclub scenes have aged swiftly, but this is still mostly something to be thankful for, and not just for the most baffling kiss-off line in film history (“Some motherfucker’s always trying to ice skate uphill”). [B]
10. “Spider-Man” (2002)
Like Bryan Singer, Sam Raimi did a lot right the first time around with his big-budget superhero property, while leaving enough wrong that there would later be things to correct. The filmmaker, who’d worked in the studio system before but never with a budget like this, was a somewhat surprising choice to direct, but immediately felt like a safe pair of hands: he gets the underdog nature of the character, the thing that makes Spider-Man unique among heroes, and nails the origin story side of things, with a loose and fun teen-movie feel to the early proceedings — there’s genuine heft to the death of Uncle Ben, and the change it causes in Peter. He’d go on to make bigger and more confident action sequences in the franchise, but there’s still some iconic moments here (that swoonsome upside-down kiss, for one). The biggest downside to the film is, as is often the case, the villain: Willem Dafoe gives a good performance, but the design of the Green Goblin is ill-conceived, and the arc somewhat rushed. Still, as the first movie to open over $100 million in its first weekend, Raimi had done his job, and had more to build on the next time around… [B]
9. “Captain America: The First Avenger” (2011)
“Thor” was the trickiest task of Marvel Studios’ Phase One, but “Captain America: The First Avenger” presented an equally difficult challenge: a patriotic and irony-free hero in a time where neither of those things are popular. But making “Captain America: The First Avenger” a period piece was the perfect way to introduce the character, and Joe Johnston’s film is the rare superhero film to really make the origin story sing — you love little Steve Rogers (ably played by Chris Evans) from the first moment, and the film makes his transformation into an unlikely superman relatable and genuinely moving (it helps that strong performances from Stanley Tucci, Tommy Lee Jones and Hayley Atwell are around to make this arguably the most purely human of the Marvel movies). The retro feel makes it visually distinctive as well, at a time when more and more superhero films were clogging up multiplexes. But like Captain America himself, the film can’t stick the landing: the second half, so much of which is delivered in montage, descends into rather interchangable superheroics, and some faintly disappointing action. It pulls it back with somewhat of a tearjerker ending (a rarity for one of these films), but it’s still hard not to feel that, had the whole film been as a good as the opening, we’d have had a different movie atop this list. [B]
8. “Hulk” (2003)
Ah, Ang Lee’s “Hulk”: the red-headed (green-skinned) totally bonkers step-child of the Marvel movies. The chameleonic Lee was always a bold choice for a superhero movie, even after the majestic action of his “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” but no one expected anything like what he eventually delivered: an existential actioner with a unique pop-art look and feel (he seemed to be literally mimicking comic books with his cutting), and a final act that sees Nick Nolte growling incomprehensibly before turning into a giant jellyfish or something. The film was extremely divisive at the time, but it’s aged well: an esoteric and idiosyncratic picture with more personality than most of the films below it on this list combined. But it’s not without its problems: the cast feel a bit adrift for the most part (Eric Bana, as Bruce Banner, doesn’t quite find a way to let us into his head), and the finale is borderline incoherent. Still, as we approach superhero overload, we find ourselves wishing for more swing-and-misses like this in the genre, versus the competent-but-unexceptional films we already have plenty of. [B]
7. “Blade II” (2002)
Speaking of weird, who gave Guillermo Del Toro a superhero movie to make? The first “Blade” was a surprise hit, but it was exceeded when the Mexican madman got his grubby hands on the Daywalker, with a follow-up that saw Wesley Snipes team up with a Dirty Dozen-esque band of vampires to take down a greater threat. Del Toro’s film still has some scripting issues, and a more anonymous villain than the original in the shape of former Boy Band-er Luke Goss (although the grisly design of the Reaper creatures is great), but the action is terrific, the atmosphere nicely rank, and the engagement with vampire mythology continually inventive. The CGI can be ropey in places, but the practical effects, and general style with which proceedings are helmed, more than make up for it, while the director’s fine sense of character is kept up with the way he nicely sketches the various members of the Bloodpack. Del Toro would go on to make more expensive superhero pictures with the “Hellboy” films, but we’d argue that this remains his best attempt at the genre. [B]
6. “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” (2014)
The most recent Marvel movie (at least for a few weeks…), and a pretty decent one at that. Our review won’t be long in the mind at this point, and we do still agree with the problems we raised there: the title villain is mostly wasted in the film, it reaches a sense of action fatigue by the time it reaches its conclusion, and the politics are kind of muddy at best (even if it’s pleasing that the film even tries to engage with the real world, which all too few of these films do). But we’ve definitely warmed to it in the few weeks since we saw it, and the benefits of the film have lingered more than the demerits: the fine performances by Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Anthony Mackie and Robert Redford, the confidence with which it’s all executed, the twists and turns of the plot, the stylish way in which the action sequences are executed. Like most of the latter-day Marvel Studios pictures, it overstays its welcome. But the tone is so well judged, and the characters so involving, that you don’t begrudge that extra twenty minutes or so too much. [B]
5. “Iron Man” (2008)
The film that really kicked off Marvel’s billion-dollar mega-franchise, and it’s a rarity among these movies in that it works because of, essentially, one element alone: Robert Downey Jr. That’s not to say that the other elements are disastrous: the script might be a beat-by-beat reconstruction of “Batman Begins,” but it does its job, director Jon Favreau keeps the tone bouncy without losing the stakes, and it even managed to make Gwyneth Paltrow a winning screen presence for the first time in a long while. But really, this is the Robert Downey Jr. show, and it’s really a remarkable tour-de-force of a performance that rightly relaunched the once-troubled actor to being the biggest, and best paid movie star on the planet. His improv-y comic energy lets us warm to Tony Stark even when he’s at his most jackass-like, but he lends the character a vulnerability and, when it matters, a seriousness that made him an instant iconic. More than any of its rivals, Marvel (mostly) understand that the most special effect you can ask for is an actor that people want to pay to see, and it’s hard not to feel that their enormous success simply wouldn’t have happened without that gamble on Downey Jr. to begin with.
4. “Iron Man 3” (2013)
That said, the first one is still not the best “Iron Man” movie — last summer’s threequel took the momentum from the “Avengers” and ran with it, with the most distinctive and, arguably, daring Marvel Studios movie to date. As the director of only one film beforehand (the brilliant, but mostly unseen “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”), the choice of Shane Black to direct the movie raised some eyebrows, but even more surprising was the way that it had turned out that Marvel had let Shane Black be Shane Black — “Iron Man 3” was less superhero formula, more quippy ’80s action movie, and all the better for it. Black (and co-writer Drew Pearce) understood what we were saying above about Downey Jr. being the heart of the movies, and brilliantly decided to put him out of his suit as much as possible, reconnecting him with the audiences that loved him so. They also had the best action sequences of the trilogy (the Air Force One rescue sequence, done mostly with practical skydivers, is one for the ages), and best of all, a humdinger of a twist, a daring subversion of one of Marvel’s best known villains that enraged fanboys, but delighted the rest of us. The film’s imperfect — Guy Pearce’s ultimate villain is a bit weak, and Rebecca Hall is shamefully wasted — but it’s also ludicrous amounts of fun when it does work. [B+]
3. "Spider-Man 2" (2004)
If Sam Raimi got most of the way with his first Spider-film, he lapped back around with "Spider-Man 2," which, short of an unprecedented turnaround with "The Amazing" franchise, is likely to remain the best incarnation of the character for at least another reboot cycle or two. Pitting Peter Parker and his alter-ego against former mentor turned robo-armed bank thief Dr. Octopus (Alfred Molina), it manages the tricky balance of keeping the focus on its hero while also giving him a villain (importantly, one villain) worth fighting (and saving) and a girl worth nearly dying for. Tobey Maguire‘s at his most winning in this installment, even when Peter’s being a bit of a dick (the balance then tipping over in the third film), James Franco‘s a useful foil without developing his full-on subplot, Kirsten Dunst is charming, and Alfred Molina brings real pathos to Doc Ock. Perhaps more importantly, the film lets Raimi off the leash: the famous tentacle sequence is the director through-and-through, while the other action sequences are consistently satisfying. What we’re saying is that it’s good enough that we forgive Raimi for "Oz The Great & Powerful." [A-]
2. "X2" (2003)
Another example of the superhero sequel proving superior to the original (which is unusually common in the genre, it seems), "X2," as it was called for some reason, develops everything that works about the original film and takes it further. From that cracking opening, as Alan Cumming‘s Nightcrawler (still a hugely impressive make-up effect) tries to kill the president, it’s a more confident, rich and exciting film, turning the set-up on its head by forcing the two sides of mutants to uneasily work together, while still giving Ian McKellen‘s Magneto room to plot and scheme. Brian Cox makes an excellent villain (and importantly, a properly motivated one), the new additions mostly work, but aren’t prevalent enough that the film feels as overstuffed as the others, the action is leaps and bounds better than in the first film, and, more importantly, it still has a soul: few scenes in these films are as affecting as when Bobby (Shawn Ashmore) ‘comes out’ as a mutant to his parents. Except, perhaps, for the death of Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) at the end. Laced with humor and thrills, this is the superhero sequel done right, and the only reason at this point that we’re holding out hope for Singer’s return to the franchise with "Days Of Future Past" next month. [A-]
1. "The Avengers" (2012)
The math shouldn’t have added up: films are all too rarely the sum of their parts, and it shouldn’t have held that the movie with the most superheroes — the one that combined four existing franchises into one mega-franchise — would be the best. But somehow, against all expectations, Joss Whedon (only a second-time feature director, let’s not forget) pulled it off. But then, anyone who knows his work wouldn’t have been that surprised: Whedon carried over his strengths — real stakes, disarming humor, a deep abiding love for his characters, an ability to surprise — over to the film. He can’t take all the credit — the casting in the previous films really starts to pay off as the stars, joined by an excellent Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk, butt heads — but Whedon certainly deserves the lion’s share, which is why the studio paid through the nose to have him return for the sequel. With huge laughs, real drama and proper comic book action (one of the few comic book action movies that feels like it has), everyone involved pretty much nailed it. And while box office is rarely an indicator of quality, there’s a reason this is the third biggest grossing movie in history. [A-]
Now we know there’s absolutely no possibility that out of 36 films you agree with the placement of all of them, so go ahead — the comments section awaits.
On the whole I agree, but I think that there is no way that Rise of the Silver Surfer is superior to First Class.
The first hulk was garbage!
It\’s your opinion, but for me. NO WAY. I really loved a lot of those movies you hated on nincompoop. The new Captain America movies are great, the new Spider-Man movies are great. Both Thor movies were awesome. I actually loved all the X men movies, though Last Stand irked me a little bit. I\’ve never been fond of any Wolverine movies, even though I like the character. I\’ve never really liked the Blade movies either. Yes, Avengers was awesome, no denying it, but the Winter Soldier was better in my opinion
where the hell is guardians of the galaxy
edfghj
THIS LIST IS BULLSHIT
this list sucks hard
My top 5 would be Iron Man, Spider-Man 2, Avengers, Age of Ultron, and Iron Man 3. So close.
This is so inaccurate, I don\’t even know where to start
The Avengers is utter crap. A CGI-fest, full of characters I couldn\’t care less about. I seriously cannot understand the good reviews and the hype. If this is deemed a great movie, I weep with despair for the future of the cinema.
eat my fcking balls
did a google search just now……apparently 20+ in the next 10 years is a VERY conservative number………
I\’m going to toss in an inevitably unpopular question since many people worship the DC, marvel, etc universes…..aren\’t people gonna get tired after 20+ superhero movies in the next 10 years? I have mad respect for the origin stories and the books themselves but I feel like the studios are laughing in a bank vault thinking "those nerds can\’t resist seeing every movie we churn out, bwahaha!\’
Wow, is this list all over the place & wrong. Why is X2 even close to the top of the list? I have blocked most of that movie from my memory, it was so bad. The _only_ thing good about that movie was Nightcrawler.
And, why is the unreleased FI movie on here? Yeah, it\’s bad, but it\’s not like it was meant to be good.
Seeing them all lined up like this has made me realise that i really can\’t stand Marvel.
So out of 36 films and billions of box office dollars not one f*cking movie is even an "A"
When will this superhero/fanboy madness stop!?
Wow, just wow. Playlist just lost some credibility with this list.
Wait a minute…WHERE IS GUARDIANS??
Man you really have a terrible taste for movies.
has this person even watched any of these movies?
wow whoever wrote this list needs to be fired. this list is so incompetent I\’m amazed
Ok I\’m confused this list has made comments on the films about the facts and the quality. there should be two lists one rating the viewing quality and one rating the loyalty and truthfulness to the comics then average it out.
I can\’t even fathom that either of the Hulk movies ranked so high. I had remembered liking the second one when it came out, but just rewatched it, and it\’s total garbage. The entire beginning is a flashback montage that would confuse anyone that didn\’t already know the backstory. And Liv Tyler is the worst role I\’ve ever seen her in. Boo.
I stopped reading this after I saw that the green abortion that is "The Hulk" was rated higher than so many movies. Rise of the Silver Surfer was not better than the first, which was in its own right horrible. This list is like saying that "The Room" should be ranked higher than "Schindler\’s List".
to me, winter soldier was the biggest dispointment, while the original captain america was especialy well done
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I agree that DC are way more lavish, but it got nothing to do with somber vs light hearted, it got to do with attention to details and for god`s sake not contradicting the canon.
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The recent marvel cartoon avenger assemble is especially painfull to watch, especially after they cancelled the excellent earth mightiest hero serie (just when the classic cree saga was starting)
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DC just seem to choose the right producers and right cast. not sure why the iron man dude didn`t want to shave his beard and actually try to look like the tony stark in the comic with just a mustache. the third iron man was painfull to watch with endless scenes of putting on armor in flight and removing armor… stollen directly from the animated serie featuring iron man as a kid (that serie was awesome) except the cartoon version had a plot and didn`t waste 99% of the creen time on removing and puting on armor !
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I really loved how DC managed to create a believable Krypton, I wish Marvel could do that with the Cree, Asgard or something. Even in Fantastic four Silver Surfer they turned Galactus into a joke that looked more like EGO. But at least the Surfer was … almost … well done… seems he forgot to use his energy blasts …
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On the other hand, I loved the spiderman reboot, its better than the first try, and I didn`t like the lattest batman reboot. Just doesn`t feel like Batman
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But Superman, and the tv series arrow and flash are really good.
i was talking about the avengers btw , cant edit it !!!!!
its a bad film , i like most superhero films,i tried to watch it twice, just got too bored in the last 20,30 mins, if you look on imdb people have sense about this film ,
"Dumbed down irrelevant nonsense"
"I hated it. My wife and kids hated it. My 9 year old son hated it. That says it all. It made no sense, was utterly talky and boring for a huge chunk of it."
I think only a stupid person with no caring for story or characters could appreciate this crap
u kidding? ghost rider infront of thor? stoped reading at numer 23
marvel is a great studio and marvel always gives best movies
This is quite possibly the worst list I\’ve ever seen. You should find a new hobby. My top five 5. X men first class. 4. The Avengers 3. Guardians of the Galaxy 2. Iron man 1. Captain America winter soldier
This list is quite terrible, ang lee\’s hulk is pretty terrible and winter soldier should be either 1 or two and avengers should not be 1… And you having iron man 3 in the top 10 is H I L A R I O U S… Please stop.. Please
THIS is just wrooooong!!!!!!
Ironman three should be at least in the top three and I didn\’t think Iron man two was that bad. -Just my opinions
Iiiii like it!
This is the worst list I\’ve seen ranking the marvel movies. Iron Man 3 ahead of Iron Man?, First class back in 18 behind the silver surfer? I guess everyone has their opinions but you should really watch those movies again.
I must be the only man on the planet who loved the oldschool Captain America film. Lol – the wonders of being a kid at the time.
The winter soldier should be first
For me : 1. Spiderman 2 2. First Class 3. Winter Soldier 4. Guardians of the Galaxy 5. Iron Man
Nice review, I agree with it 90% EXCEPT for Iron Man 3. That could slide WAY back to the end of the list as far as I am concerned. The tone, the plot, the multitude or armor at the end, Paltrow putting on a suit, the little kid and the armor that flies around. They took the worst of the comics to make this instead of the best. Long, boring and long and tedious.
I think, Garfield is a better Parker than Maguire.. He\’s more agile and stuff..
this ranking is so messed up. 2003 hulk better than recent hulk??
Guardians of the Galaxy??? Also Spider Man 3 was easily the worst
I argue with "Captain America The Winter Soldier" and Thor . They sre my favorite movies and probaly the best.
Really? 2004\’s Punisher film behind the unreleased Fantastic Four movie… OK… I\’m done with this list…
ranking is off the mark, way off
Thor the Dark World was an excellent movie, way better than the first. An it was because of the Game of Thrones input – I wanted to see way more of Asgard and the other realms as a result and the dullest scenes (like the first Thor) were the scenes set on Earth.
Marvel suuk because every one say that hulk can beat superman but that's not true because hulk can't even pick up a building but superman can so you is stronger some weak ass green monster you can't pick up a building or a krptonian you can
I read this article with an open-mind but when I saw that you put Thor: the Dark World BEHIND Ghost Rider 2?!? I mean Ghost rider?? I gave up. I will say that yes evryone is entitled to its own opinion for sure and "tous les goûts sont dans la nature" as we say in french but there is also something called common sense….
HULK SHOULD BE AT THE BOTTOM OF EVERY FILM THAT HAS EVER BEEN MADE
Whoever compiled this list is obviously missing a chromosome
The Amazing Spiderman 2 was great it should be in the top 5
my dickk is wating for a sexxy girl to suckk
Obviously this was not a scientific poll. It will always be somewhat different from person to person, but this list was just stupid.
WHO THE HELL WROTE THIS LIST?!?
Ang Lee's Hulk and Punisher 2 are the worst shit ever. You should feel bad for not having them at the very bottom of the list. Just dreadful movies. First Class is an INFINITELY better movie then them combined.
This list is asasininely ass, HERE'S A BETTER LIST:
1: Captain America: The Winter Soldier
2: X-Men: Days of Future Past
3: Guardians of The Galaxy
4: Thor: The Dark World
5: The Avengers
6: Iron Man 3
7: Iron Man 2
8: Iron Man
9: X-Men: First Class
10: The Wolverine
Worst List Ever, assholes
This list not only sucks, it isn't updated.
X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Guardians of the Galaxy are two great movies that are not in here.
Here's my top 10 (A better list)
1. The Avengers
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
3. Captain America: The First Avenger
4. X-Men: First Class
5. The Amazing Spider-Man
6. X-Men: Days of Future Past
7. Iron Man 3
8. Thor: The Dark World
9. X-Men
10. X2: X-Men United
This list is awful. X-Men First Class, is easily the best x-men film here. Ghost rider 2 over thor 2? are you f***ing kidding me?
1.Avengers
2.Gotg
3.Dofp
4.Winter Soldier
5.Iron Man
6.X2
7.X-men
8.Captain America
9.Spiderman 2
10.X-men First Class
Regular Man(what I call Iron Man 3 since he doesn't have armor for most of the movie) has no business being in the top ten, and rise of the silver surfer has no business being below first class.
1. Guardians Of The Galaxy
2. Avengers
3. Captain America The Winter Soldier
4. Days Of Future Past
5. X2
6. Spider-Man 2
7. X-Men First Class
8. Thor
9. Iron Man 3
10. The Amazing Spider-Man(you may not agree with me)
This list sucks. Out of 36 films, Iron Man 3 should not even be in the top 40, (never mind top 4). Go away, don't come back until you have a clue.
Ridiculous, this list has Xmen First Class behind Fantastic Four 2… Come on.
1. Avengers
2. Days of the Future Past
3. X2
4. Iron Man
5. Guardians of the Galaxy
6. Spider-Man 2
7. X-Men First Class
8. Captain America First Avenger
9. Thor
10. Captain America Winter Soldier
1. X-Men Days Of Future Past
2. Spider-Man 2
3. The Avengers
4. Guardians Of The Galaxy
5. X2 X-Men United
6. Thor
7. Iron Man
8. Captain America Winter Soldier
9. Blade II
10. The Incredible Hulk
Iron Man 3 really? Movie should have been called Smart guy with gadgets.
nice post thanks for sharing
2014 is going to be a big year for comic cinema, but its also going to be a âfix-itâ year. So while the advent of a new spidey series may seem like overload, it also feels necessary. I hated the last threeâ¦the only aspects that didnât disappoint me completely was the adaptation of the newspaper owner. It was cheesy and not the same flavor as the cheese found in the original comics. MORE IMPORTANTLY, you have Bryan Singers return to the X-men series, and what better way to fix-it then by doing the Days of Future past story. Definitely the second most popular story told in the original Uncanny X-men run, behind the Dark Phoenix Saga which nearly got ruined after Singer walked away from the series. The coolest thing about marvel to me was how heroes appeared in other comics, so it pisses me off when Quicksilver appears in two totally different adaptations by the avengers and the x-men. YOU CANT DO THAT!! The comics overlap!!! After Beast leaves the X-men he joins the Avengers, yes that actually happened in the late 70s early 80sâ¦I feel as if the directors of these movies have more inconsistencies then the original comic writers, who did write contradicting stories, but not as bad as these directorsâ¦
nice post thanks for sharing
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Iron Man 3 was almost as bad as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.
Top 10:
1. Spider-Man 2
2. X2
3. Captain America The Winter Soldier
4. X-Men Days of Future Past
5. Blade 2
6. X-Men First Class
7. Iron Man
8. Amazing Spider-Man
9. Thor
10. Blade
I also agree that avengers is number 1 at this point,
But the rest of the list is way off. You must not be a
Fan of marvel films. Why do they have people write
Articles on things that they don't enjoyed. Like
Comparing bad films to the first did hard or Armageddon .
Really?
I will definitely agree with Avengers being number 1. It was pretty much solid> But the rest of the list? Your opinion. Ang Lees Hulk, should of been way lower in rank. Too dark. X-Men franchise way lower. Just waiting and hoping for Marvel Studios to get back the rights to all the Marvel Characters. Marvel studios really needs to get Spiderman, Xmen, Fantastic Four rights and they will make some great reboots. They finally figured out the recipe.
The rating on Amazing Spider Man 2 in this list completely makes this list a failure.
1. everything written here is fake cause how can you tell iron man 2 disappointing it had realistic villain,unlimited action and what the hell do you need.
2. spider man 2 was also so much good and you should not count the no of villains except watching how spidey takes them off.
3. how the hell can you say x men series disappointment as all the series were outstanding.
common man this list is horrible all the marvel movie are outstanding.
1. avengers
2. iron man
3. iron man 2
4. iron man 3
5. thror
6. thor 2
7. captain america
8. captain america 2
9. hulk
10. hulk 2
11. guardians of the galaxy
12. green lantern (worst movie ever made)
all these movies except green lantern made so much money so no one can tell these movies bad as they were superb.
You are so wrong. I completely disagree with this list.
To all those who insult list writers for their opinions: You would be equally derided by the other 99.99999% of the internet if you were to create a similar list. There's no pleasing people when it comes to ranking movies. So shaddap.
… btw Iron Man 3 sucked lulz
Not sure if 'best', but Hulk (2003) would be my n.1. I enjoy watching all Marvel movies, but hardly ever have a need to watch any of them again (also knowing there will be a new one soon….), except that green bastard. Thanks to Ang Lee the movie is piece of art.
guardians of the galaxy should be #1 Who agrees with me
The list is probably disorganized or personal preferences, there's no need for insults when its PROBABLY AN OPINION.
I personally prefer spider man 2 over the avengers it was more fun to me. But how is x-men days of future past not in the top 3! Heres my order:
1. X-men: Days of Future Past
2.Spider-Man 2
3.Iron Man
RETARDED LIST. LOL. I'M FURIOUSSSSSSSSSS
Rise of Silver Surfer above X-Men: First Class??? The f***??
Incredible Hulk should be higher, First Class should be top 10. Punisher & Daredevil ere actually pretty damn good films. Days of Future Past should be #1. I agree that Iron Man 3 was great but top 3. I don't think so….
Besides that I agree with most of it. X-Men 1 should be lower tho.
This list is pretty terrible. Why did X-Men First Class get such a bad rating of C? The Wolverine was a dreadful film, one of the worst X-men based films out there. There are so many things I want to change on this list, I can't even type it all without filling the website without spewing hate and disagree.
Update requested: Days of Future Past should be in the top 3.
I know everyone has their opinions and perspectives of cinema, I have mine, and you have yours.
But what i've learned from this is art to acknowledges information, quite easy and obvious points but there's one thing and I know I'm true my family agrees with me on this inevitable fact, and I'm being offense when I say: YOU HAVE HORRIBLE TASTE IN MOVIES!!!
Disappointed that the 1978 Dr. Strange, 1979 Captain America and Captain America II: Death Too Soon and 1998 Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.were not included. Not theatrical films you say? Neither is the 1994 Fantastic Four, and at least these four were given official releases. Anyway, my ranking:
1 Blade
2 The Punisher '04
3 Iron Man Three
4 The Avengers
5 The Wolverine
6 Thor
7 Spider-Man
8 Iron Man
9 X-Men
10 X-Men: First Class
11 X2: X-Men United
12 Spider-Man 2
13 Spider-Man 3
14 Captain America: The First Avenger
15 Captain America: The Winter Soldier
16 Blade II
17 The Incredible Hulk
18 Hulk
19 Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer
20 Daredevil (Director's Cut)
21 The Punisher '89
22 Thor: The Dark World
23 Iron Man 2
24 Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
25 X-Men Origins: Wolverine
26 X-Men: The Last Stand
27 Blade Trinity
28 Elektra
29 Fantastic Four '05
30 The Amazing Spider-Man 2
31 Ghost Rider
32 The Amazing Spider-Man
You seriously put Spider-man 3 higher than Amazing Spider-man 1?? Thats a joke of a movie, and the sand man??? WTF worst motivated, portrayed, insignificant, superflous character in any of these films, Raimi is clearly just adding more subplots to a weak and empty script. Just the emo scene should be enough to walk out of the theater and ask for a refund. What a sad finish to the trilogy. The second managed to up the anties but the third failed to meet its expectations completely. SHIT LIST
Horrible list. You only nailed the obvious which was Avengers. The first (youtube version) of Fantastic Four could have been left off the list all together but to have it ranked above any other Marvel film is a bigger joke than the movie itself. Howard the Duck should have also been at the bottom of the list.
Thor 2 is WAY too low on this list! In some ways it's even better than the 1st movie.
Wow, this is list is wacky. So many questionable choices. Cap 2 should definitely be in tops 3 and IM 3 should be behind IM 1 and far from the top 3. Ang Lee's Hulk also belongs way lower than Incredible Hulk and the Wolverine despite its horrible third act should definitely be better placed. So many strange choices, lol
I honestly stopped taking this list seriously when you put The Incredible Hulk ahead of The Amazing Spiderman, Thor 2, Fantastic Four 2 and X-Men First Class. There hasn't been a decent Hulk film to date and Mark Ruffalo was the first Hulk character that i actually liked and Iron Man 3 at #4? I'd put that film well away from the top 20 let alone the top 5? I mean it's bad enough that you put the four that i mentioned so low but to put Iron Man 3 AHEAD OF THEM? Nah this list is b*******
The Avengers always #1
About the only one I agree with is The Avengers, which isn't just the best Marvel movie, but the best of the entire genre. For the rest, Oliver Littleton, you couldn't be more wrong! It's true that which is the absolute WORST will be open for discussion forever, but Ghost Rider–ANY film–lower thant HOWARD THE DUCK?? Really?
I agree with quite a few of these, but First Class behind Fantastic Four 2? The most offensive? The first Hulk movie being anywhere near the top. It was a borderline offensive snooze-fest.
X-men first class … Worst than Fantastic 4 2 … Just go and fap this bullshit in another world will ya
Sorry but probably the worst list I've ever read on the internet. No idea what kind of criteria that this list was based on but it was just BAD.
what kind of half blind retard put this list in order?
I thought this list pretty good.
However, I would've put Winter Soldier at 4, and Iron Man 3 nowhere near the top 5. Or 10, possibly.
I agree with #37 and #1-3. But with the rest, hell no.
Iron Man 3 above the first? And Amazing Spider-Man lower than Blade: Trinity, Spirit Of Vengeance and… Spider-Man 3? Seriously? O_o
WUT THE HECKZ AUTO CORRECT IS TOTZ LAME, IT GOT MY NAME RONG!!! AUTO CORRECT IS MADE BY NOOBZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
WHUTEVER U GUYZ R ALL NOOBZ!!!! BATMAN IS THE COOLIEST CAUSE HE HAZ A BATERANG!!!!!!
Yeah totally agree! I also think Captain America: The Winter Soldier is better than Spider-Man 2 and Iron Man 3!!!!
The Amazing Spider-Man was WAY BETTER than both of the Fantastic Four movies and Spider-Man 3 and deserves a MUCH higher spot. Plus The Incredible Hulk (2008) was better than Hulk.
Blade II and Iron Man 3 are in the Top 10???? There's complimentary nods for under-appreciated films and then there's undeserved placements that ruin the validity of an entire list.
what a shitty ranking.
Oh, and I forgot, what they did to the Mandarin , one of Ironman's greatest enemies in Ironman 3 was a crime against the Marvel universe!
Sad, sad, sad , when good actors give bad performances in the name of money and attention whore seeking.
All I can say about Ironman 3 thats good is it may be the last one that has these weak assed actors in it.
This list is so way off base it looks as if you're trying to steal second but got your foot caught in the sand… IronMan 3 as being good?
And Thor 2 as bad?
What industrial cleaning products have you been sniffing? Apparently you like NCIS type shows because that is all Ironman 3 was.
Robert Downey playing detective. Crying about anxiety attacks to a boy, blowing up million dollar suits for special effect fanboys such as yourself , and Being Ironman for I think a total of 3 minutes in the whole movie.
Oh and lets remember, Ironman can fly. so why the hell did he keep getting close enough to be burned? constantly…same with the guy in the first what 10 minutes of the movie? with the shotgun, running up next to the firewoman so she can burn his gun too? smart people these characters.. all
So in the end , Ironman 3 was and is Robert Downey's r'esum'e for any future film so he could show his moodly, self involved, upstaging , "look its really me Bob under this suit" , jealous of his own Armor getting all the attention, William Shatner ranting about Spock getting more air time them himself , side!
You should be banned from making any future lists involving any type of Super Powered Beings, and should stick to the Overblown and Over used , on TV , Smarmy , badly acted, wait till the last fives minutes detective series that are all the rage with the 50 year olds.
You have lost all credibility, simply by placing "Hulk" number 8 on this list. I do not even have to go past that and address the countless flaws in this list.
Without question, Spiderman 2 is the greatest comic book character movie ever made. Period.
Not a bad list – I would have put X-Men First Class a bit higher, and the original Hulk a lot lower (I wasn't even aware people liked that movie) along with the Blade films, but all in all the list is fine.
Clearly, being drunk was a requirement at the time this list and it's 'opinions' were compiled. Iron Man 3 "sucked" and Shane Black should be flogged for what he did the iconic villain that is the Mandarin…there's your # 36. To hold back an A+ rating from the Avengers shows the list was compiled by DC employees. I suggest you sit down and rethink your rankings & ratings…………NOW!
You know… I think this list is well thought out, reasonably argued, very knowledgeable, and wholly accurate. Were it mine I think I'd have switched #2 and #3, and maybe placed "X-Men: First Class" a little higher. Otherwise, no disagreements. I think the author should be commended. Excellent work.
This is the worst list! Iron man 3 sucked, Iron man 2 sucked, x-men first class was amzing
nice post thanks for sharing
nice post thanks for sharing
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THIS IS GARBAGE!! holy s**t…..
Other than some exceptions, like the Avengers at #1, this list is almost completely backwards.
this list is garbage
"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son." â Dean John Vernon, Animal House
Are you phucking retarded?
I largely agreed with this list and appreciated many of its observations. *fuels fedora rage*
I normally don't fly into a rage over hastily compiled internet lists, but goddamn this one is bad. Ang Lee's 'Hulk' gets better placement than either Thor, the original X-Men, The Wolverine, Captain America, and Blade? First Class coming in behind all of those in addition to falling behind both Punisher: Warzone and Rise of the Silver Surfer? This is a bad, bad list.
This list is for shit. You actually had the nerve to put Ang Lee's abortion of an adaptation BEFORE Thor 2?!? Don't know who you really are, but your lack of knowledge of the Marvel Universe (and movies in general) is so staggeringly ignorant, all I can say is to give your laptop back to your mommy and daddy and ask them to take you to a comic book shop and ask for an encyclopedia of the Marvel Universe. Not only will you gain insight on the subject, but maybe, (just maybe) you might make better decisions about anything Marvel related, such as thinking before publishing your stupidity for all to read on the internet.
This is one of the worst lists I have ever read. If you have read this list don't listen to any of it. A list like this should be made from a poll, not one persons opinion. Complete crap
Hahahaha!
Nerd blab.
For me it will always be the first Spider Man movie…. Kirsten Dunst is the reason, in Spider Man 2 she just had eyes like she was on drugs, why I don't like that movie, never bothered with the third.
This list is complete crap. I can not even start to list the reasons. I mean wow!
I'm curious, who made this list? Was there a poll? The reasons sound pretty one sided. It shows when you see movies like Ghost Rider: Spirit top over First Class and Amazing Spider-Man. It almost seems like it was more of a personal distaste for certain movies and reboots(ASM) over the movies have great dialogue, cinematography and acting.
Just curious… but why did #1 only get an A- ? I mean, if it sets the bar for the other films then shouldn't it be at least an A? I understand it not being A+ because then it'd be silly if a future movie surpassed it, but still
I stopped reading when I realized that IM3 was above Winter Soldier and actually above the original Iron Man, that makes no sense, I disagree with some positions of the list, Daredevil belongs to the up 15 movies with the Directors cut and the fact that it delivers the first tragic ending of these movies, Incredible hulk is superior to Hulk tough both are good, Spirit of Vengeance should be the last one, First Class is the second best X-men film, but to have Iron Man 3 this high is stupid not only because of the Mandarin, but because of the many plotholes, the comedy killing all sense of danger, the unremarkable villain and the stupid ending among many little details.
Sooo Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance was one of the worst movies I have ever seen. Period. It isn't just oddly/poorly acted, the cinematography makes the film look homemade at some points. In addition, its almost impossible to tell whats going on. Add on to that the fact that the special effects got worse since the last film and they gave up on anything resembling character development. I don't think anyone who saw both Ghost Rider films would say the second is better (not that the first is good, but its not nearly as bad) This list is poorly constructed by people who disliked certain films and exaggerate how bad they were to the point where they illogically say the 90s Fantastic Four movie is better than X-Men Origins or Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is better than the Amazing Spider-Man. Give me a break.
list is pretty good, besides the high ranking of Iron Man 3, and the low ranking of the amazing spiderman.
Just laughing at all the comments by the geeks who seem genuinely offended that someone ranks the Marvel films differently to them. Guys, we know it's some kind of Holy Text to you, but to everyone else, they are just movies.
Avengers was decent but nit the best, by far. Why is Blade, Lee Hulk, the Wolverine so high?
Overall it's nit a bad list but many don't make sense even with critic rankings.
Why is anyone even bothering to argue about this list? It's title is "Best to Worst: Every Marvel Movie Ranked", yet the list then proceeds from worst to best, and fails to rank every marvel movie. They couldn't even get the title of their list right.
Personally I can not take anyone seriously who ranks Iron Man 3 as better than either of the other 2. But I especially can't take you seriously if you call it a top 5 marvel movie of all time.
I went through this list first methodically, then in a skimming pattern once I realized how haphazard the rankings were. I was expecting Nick Fury: Agent of SHIELD to come in later on, expecting a "so bad it was good" type of comment, only to learn it was left out entirely.
While I appreciated Bana's Hulk, it was an imperfectly conceived attempt, and is so long-in-the-tooth most viewers today can't even get through it. I loved Thor 2, but wouldn't put it before Avengers, yet easily would have placed Winter Soldier over them all. Placing X-Men Origins: Wolverine so low, as well as The Incredible Hulk was unforgivable.
I don't think this fellow speaks well for the pulse of the comic universe. Skip, delete.
A fantastic well put together list, although I gotta disagree with The Amazing Spider-man, The Dark World, First Class' placement. I find they're my favourite out of their respective series. Mind you I don't mean I prefer The Dark World over Avengers and it's a toss up between TAS and Spider-man 2 🙂
I was pleasantly surprised with where you ranked Punisher: War Zone, Ang Lee's Hulk and the Incredible Hulk for all the reasons you listed. Most especially the Hulk, I was bored by it as a child however I watched it recently and came to appreciate it's subtleties and I think it's a shame such an introverted and well meaning movie has been so maligned
Iron Man 3 is a complete mess and The Avengers is nothing more than a big dumb CGI-fest. Even more perplexing is how The Winter Soldier is behind them when in fact it's the only good movie Marvel has done.
Yeah, this was pretty much just a hastily thrown together pile of dog shit. And also at the beginning, I'm pretty sure DC has gone gritty and intellectual with Nolan's Batman, not with their movies in general. Unless I completely misread The Green Lantern.
You were just making that up right. Pretty random … The first Wolverine movie is apparently worse then the Ash-Can Fantastic Four. The Eric Bana Hulk is #8. Just making it up …
Best to worst: Why are all the worst films the most recent outings, and the number 1 worst is 'The Avengers'? ….which received fairly decent reviews from critics, was a hit with audiences across the world.
seriously? iron man 3 was not good, and you have it as the #4 all time best marvel movie…
FAIL
Where is David Hasselhoff as NICK FURY?
You went to all of this trouble and time and missed the Hoff? Shameful.
(F)
BTW, My favors:
1) The Avengers
2) Iron Man 3
3) Captain America: The Winter Soldier
4) Spider-Man 2
5) Iron Man
Where's "GENERATION X"?!?
Why is everyone so angry that this list doesn't precisely match their own? Quick maths lesson: the number of permutations when putting 36 items in order are '36 factorial', or 371,993,326,789,901,217,467,999,448,150,835,200,000,000. If every single person on earth made up a new list once every minute for 10 years, no two would be identical. Quit stressing.
To break with tradition I'll say: GOOD ARTICLE! Reviews are well written, mostly fair, and I enjoyed reading my way through them, nice work.
And for the record, my own top 5 would be:
1) Avengers
2) Winter Soldier
3) Iron Man 1
4) Blade 1
5) Punisher: Warzone. (Just because it's unashamedly over-the-top)
Oh, and every single spidey movie should be shot, dismembered, burned and buried. But that's just my opinion.
I'm sorry but this list is absolute bullsh!t. It just doesn't make any sense. As soon as I saw X-Men First Class that low down I knew that the author of this list had completely f*cked it up. And by the way Ang Lee's Hulk is one of the biggest piles of crap I've ever had the misfortune to watch. I don't now what on earth you'd have to be smoking to rank it so highly.
This guys opinion is wrong.
Well, this is a terrible list. Only 3 movies warranting even an A-? The Avengers at #1? F this in the A.
Why do all of these movies suck? What?
whomever constructed this list is deranged and/or retarded…
Who the hell made this!? Hulk that high up? The Amazing Spider-Man lower than Spider-Man 3? This list is complete bullshit.
The Amazing Spider-Man: Too low, Ghost Rider 2: Too high, Fantastic Four 2: Too high, Iron Man 3: Way, way too high and Hulk: Way, way, way, way, way, way too high.
My top five would go:
5: Cap: The Winter Soldier
4: Iron Man
3: Spider-Man (2002)
2: The Avengers
1: Spider-Man 2 (2004)
They got most of the top 5 right except for Iron Man 3 and the rest are just BS.
Hey! How come is the Amazing spiderman flim that low! and how in hell is iron man 3 the 4th best since that movie sucked and why is Thor 2 and Xmen first class below Fantastic four? :O
i understand you have opinions. But if your going to make an article like this you need to be un-biased.
My personal opinion is:
I think First Class should be higher. Eric Bana's Hulk lower than Ed Norton's Hulk. Iron Man 3 down and Iron Man 2 up. I also think it's a bit harsh saying Howard the Duck is better than Wolverine: Origins but, other than that it's not a bad list. Also, I guessed The Avengers would be No.1 when I started reading!
Amazing Spider Man needs to be moved up and Iron Man 3 needs to be moved down
This list sucks balls. My favorites:
Avengers
Iron Man 3
Cap 2
X2
Spidey 2
How the hell is ANY spider-Man film with Toby "I can't act for shit" Maguire better than Thor:The Dark World, The Amazing Spider-Man or Blade Trinity?
This list is utter rubbish.
I honestly just think this is not in any order… if it is, it's just utterly wrong!!!
Wow. I mean, Wooow. This list it's completely outrageous. Come on dude. I know reviews are subjetive but have some common sense dude. Spiderman 2 over Edward Norton's Hulk? Over Ironman!?!? Fantastic Four 2 higher than X Men First Class!?!? Eric Bana's Hulk was a MESS, incomprehensible. Thor was really shitty, poor acting, terrible character development. Poorly executed. The 1994 Fantastic four shouldnt be above anything, its like a fan made movie. Why do you put it above anything!
Wow….this is the worst list I've ever seen.
Spiderman 2 as number 3??? IRONMAN 3 as number 4?!?!?!?!?!? FanFour: Silver Surfer BETTER than Xmen first class???? Ghost rider 2 better than ghost rider 1 AND being better than…well, ANYTHING???
Holy ****, whatever this guy is smoking, I want some!
I don't like Captain America: the First Avenger much at all. I like X-Men: The last Stand more than most (though it could have done with ten minutes more of a middle and no Vinnie Jones). I loathe the Spider Man movies.
It was fun reading a little review of every movie in one tidy article though.
New working title for this article (Best To Worst: Every Marvel Movie Ranked by a idiot)
I kept reading this list thinking "Wow, they thought 'Dr. Strange' was better than all of these?" until I got to the end and realized that the title of the article was a lie.
Leaving of the various Indian and Asian Spider-Man rip-offs is understandable but not including the Nick Hammond Spider-Man, the TV Dr. Strange, the Reb Brown Captain America, The Matt Frewer Generation-X, the Hasselhoff Nick Fury… You see my point, right? If you little kids are going to make lists of movies you saw when they first came out and ignore everything that was produced before you were born then don't claim your list is "complete".
And yes I know the difference between theatrical and television movies, but the title of the list said EVERY Marvel movie and in the phrase "made for television movie" the noun is MOVIE, everything else is the adjective.
What a terrible list. you know nothing about comics and obviously even less about the films. what shitty taste you have Oliver.
You put Two Blade movies, FF: Silver Surfer, Punisher, and Ang Lee's Hulk movie ahead of X-Men First Class….facepalm….
1. Captain America: The Winter Solider
2. X-Men 2
3. X-Men: First Class
4. Spiderman 2
5. Iron Man
X-Men First Class is actually pretty good. It has an 87% approval on Rotten Tomatoes so clearly the view here is in the minority. Also, Ang Lee's Hulk [2003] is truly one of the worst Marvel movies made. It should be down around Ghost Rider. Actually, lower than that because it complete subverts the original story of Hulk and turns it into an overwrought, psychological 'bad daddy complex' Greek drama.
How people continue to cite Raimi's first two Spiderman movies as quality films blows my mind. And it's strange because the same people that love the first two, typically dislike the third installation, yet the third film is essentially more of the same bullshit that was featured in the first two. "What? No it isn't. The third one is nothing like the first two. The third one is soooo silly. Emo Peter Parker dancing down the street. That's so dumb!" It is dumb, but there was plenty of stupid shit in the first and second films as well, and how people don't recognize that is truly baffling. If anyone is interested, I would recommend listening to Down In Front's audio commentaries. They go in-depth into why none of the Spiderman films work.
1.X2
2.Spiderman 3
3.Iron Man 3
The minute I saw Ghost Rider ahead of The Amazing Spider Man is when I immediately stopped taking this list seriously. Truly awful.
I'll say this now. This list is called: Best To Worst: Every Marvel Movie Ranked… it should therefore be made with the evaluation of a critic. This is clearly a list based on some person's personal preferences rather than what was stuff was done well in the movie, what wasn't. I mean, the original Hulk? Really? It is an absolute mess of a movie. Particularly anything revolving around Bruce's dad and the finale. Ridiculous
This list is pathetic.
Im sorry but no … how is the Hulk so high? Ive watched it so many times and still do not even slightly understand the fight at the end … someone explain … The Incredible hulk was a much better film and I'd even go as far to say Edward Norton was my favourite banner (although I prefer the actual Hulk from avengers)
Also Iron Man 3 ruined the mandarin character, built him up so much like his comic book counterpart then basically threw it in our face… terrible decision.
Spiderman 2, X2, Winter Soldier and Avengers I think should be high because theyre are just too good, however Amazing spider man i thought was Good, it was more truer to the source material than raimis trilogy, dont get me wrong i loved them too just don't see how it ranked so low and how people rate it so badly, definately deserves higher than it gets,
All in all this list is complete BS.
My favourite five:
1. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier";
2. "Spider-Man" (2002);
3. "Avengers";
4. "Hulk" (2003);
5. "Spider-Man 2"
IMO the first "Iron Man" is HIGHLY overrated – I don't like anything about this movie (except good acting of Downey Jr., Paltrow and Bridges but that's not enough to call a movie "good"). And Ang Lee's HULK is one of the most underrated movies I have ever seen.
Yeah this article is BS. But everyone's entitled to their opinion, even if they are wrong.
Biggest takeaway: THERE'S A DREW GODDARD DAREDEVIL SERIES COMING TO NETFLIX?!?
Your list loses all credibility with "The Hulk" cracking your top 10. It should be at the bottom.
This list started ok, but wow – you should really never do movie review ever again. Yes, reviews/opinions are all subjective, but honestly, wtf is wrong with you? The original Hulk was awful and I have no idea why Daredevil and the Fantastic Four are not tied for last place – they are truly horrible moments in cinema.
The one movie though that you seriously under-rate, and many other comments have pointed this out is X-Men First Class. Easily one of the top 10 Marvel films (likely top 5), and many people I personally know rate it as the best Marvel film.
Please please please, destroy your computer and never ever type any list ever again. Your opinions are totally invalid and you clearly have horrible taste in movies. Blade? Give me a break you tit.
Look I know that fans and film buffs are going to like different things, being more of the later I find that Thor is my favourite Marvel film while, for instance The Avengers really bored me by the end. Each to their own!
Iron Man 3 should be around the 30 mark. Other than that not too bad. Especially pleased to see X2 as high as it deserves.
Why can't people Just say 'I don't agree, here's my opinion' or 'good job, not what I would have put though'? The internet has made everyone a prick.
For what it's worth I don't think this is a bad list overall. I certainly would rather watch SM3 over the dull as dish water ASM and I thoroughly feel X2 is easily the best (perhaps only truly great) x-men film. Bit suprised by Hulk, but I see your point. In a world were every comic book film feels rehashed at least it tried something fresh.
Can't say I understand Iron Man 3 over Iron Man or Thor:Dark world's low ranking but not a bad effort at all sir.
I was agreeing with this list for the most part but I never expected the 2003 Hulk movie to be that high on the list, especially before Spider-Man! I miss the Sam Raimi franchise a lot.
I'd put Amazing Spider-Man well above Spider-man 3, but otherwise, this seems like a pretty good ranking to me. The top 7 are definitely my favourites out of the bunch, even if I'd re-order them slightly.
what a lame @$$ list… Thor TDW a bad one? no way!
I know it's a matter of taste and perspective, but this list sucks.
Ang Lee's Hulk should be around 30 in that list.
Iron Man 3 is worse than 2.
X-Men First Class is the best of all the franchise, and X-Men Origins is good.
also Thor : The Dark World is too underranked.
The Blade movies are way too high on your list, as is the Ang Lee Hulk. The Rise of the Silver Surfer was also ranked way, way too high. Thor The Dark World was ranked too low.
Other than that, not too bad of a list.
stupid list wtf
This list is ridiculous. I want to support Thor the dark world which I thought was really quite charming and surprisingly brilliant, better than the first and SO SO much better than any of the captain america/johnny storm films which are ranked WAY too high. Iron man 3 above the original Iron man?! WTF?
I also think Ang Lees hulk is generally underrated and way more interesting an offering than the 'transformers with monsters' remake, if slightly quirky and not to everyones tastes
My ranking
1) Iron Man – the most complete a film out of any of the offerings from marvel studios!
2) X2 – also very complete, it actually exciting and the ensemble cast are well balanced
3) Avengers – for its scope and execution
3) Thor Dark world – a charismatic leading duo Thor and Loki, villain was a little weak but it had action, humour, cool things happening in an exciting context with engaging and fleshed out characters
4) Hulk (original)
5) Spider man 2/Captain America TWS – some great bits
After this its just a sea of mediocrity in which I would be sure to include
X-men 'lets leave my best friend, newly paralysed with a bullet in his back on the beach to die' first class, Iron Man 'the lasers at the end are memorable nothing else is' 2, blade films – no strong feeling either way – who cares?, X-men last stand (near the bottom of mediocre),
THEN I would make absolutely sure that the following are relegated to the depths of hell:
Spiderman 3 – atrocious in every way, so weird too.
Ghost Rider's – obviously more nick cage insipid garbage
WORST OF ALL though and by FAR the most overrated film on this list 'The Wolverine' – a complete and utter snore fest, totally lifeless. The DULLEST, BLANDEST steaming pile of 'nothing interesting happening' STOOL I've ever seen. Such a crushing disappointment too – it should be penalised more heavily for that. I would honestly rank X-men origins above this. IT SUCKED.
Feel free to disagree!
this "list" reveals the sorry state of american filmmaking, and to a lesser extent, internet movie critics
Iron Man 3 was way too high, and x-men: first class way too low. Other than that, I can't really find a fault with the list.
you're wrong
Spider-Man 2 won an Academy Award, which is more praise than any other film on this list has received. Roger Ebert himself said that Spider-Man 2 should have been nominated for Best Picture. That means it should be number one on any Marvel film list.
You put Ang Lee's HULK and Iron Man 3 over Sam Raimi's SPIDER-MAN? You put The Avengers and X2 over Spider-Man 2 (a film that won an Oscar)? YOUR LIST HAS BEEN RENDERED INVALID.
List is absolute s***. Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2 should occupy the top two spots, period.
Please tell me you're joking. The fact that you ranked the abomination that is Spider-man 3 above The Amazing Spider-man is a complete joke. Even if you for some idiotic reason like tobey maguire's spider-man over the reboot you have to agree the ASM was worlds and dimensions better than SM3.
Top 5 :
X-Men : First Class
The Wolverine
Iron Man
Spider-Man 2
The Amazing Spider-Man
This is absolute horse-shit!
Just that fact that GhostRider 2 is not last makes me physically ill!
X2 is the best Marvel film, I 'd put Iron Man second. Then XM: First Class (Why on earth he put this so low, I have no idea). Thor and Captain America were horrible. I wish they had to do better with these movies. Didn't see winter soldier, but I have a feeling it will redeem some of the awful script of the first one.
1. X2
2. Iron Man (1)
3. First Class
4. Avengers
5. Spiderman 2 (Mary Jane tho, flip she kills the movies)
Is this an April Fool's joke that got posted two days late? You could not have ranked these movies worse if you had used a random number generator…
this list lost all credibility when ghost rider 2 was placed above the amazing spiderman and thor 2……
Top 5:
Avengers
X2
Iron Man
Spider-Man 2
CA: Winter Solider
Swap Iron Man 3's place with First Class and you're on the right track too.
Literally the WORST – LIST – EVER!
#ShootTheWriter #FailedFilmmaker
I'm actually pretty disappointed by this list. It doesn't seem like the writer(s) actually did the correct research on the popularity of these films. The first sign that it was going wrong was when Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengance and Spider-man 3 rated even as high as they did, but Blade 2 and X2 ranking in the top 10? There better have been payment for such lies! 😛
I'm inclined to agree most with JMAN as far as my top 5.
No particular order:
Captain America: First Avenger
Captain America: Winter Soldier
Iron Man (1)
The Avengers
And maybe Thor or The Wolverine
(However, as a kid in the 80's, Howard the Duck would have been at my list's top ^_~)
What a horrible countdown. Wow. Just wow. Can I be the first to say the Avengers is WAY overrated, gawsh. I guess I should expect it to be number 1, but still, just voicing my opinion.
Oh yeah. HOW DID IRON MAN 3 BEAT THE ORIGINAL IRON MAN??? That takes away a crap load of credibility. X-Men Origins: Wolverine is vastly underrated. Spider Man 3 and the original Thor are mediocre at best, I would rank both below C, but whatever.
Loved the 2011 Captain America and can't wait to see the Winter Soldier!!! Hopefully it's a good sign that it's on the top 10! 🙂
That said, the top 10 is pretty good except for the inclusion of Iron Man 3, which should probably be at least 20 places lower. X-Men 2 should be #1, and aside from those two minor gripes…..good top 10.
Anybody who thinks Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance was better than Thor: The Dark World not only has no business writing this list, but in fact has no business opining on movies in general.
Not going to comment on the ordering, but can you please, please stop referring to the Blade series as "Superhero movies"? Blade is no more a superhero story than Twilight is.
Yes, they're Marvel movies and so belong on this list – they just shouldn't be described as superhero movies.
You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about…..Idiots
Captain America X1.
Other than that you pretty much nailed it.
(Apart from Ang Lee's Hulk of course.)
I just rewatched the Bana Hulk movie last week after hating it in the theaters. I tried to give it some due. But the truth is that Bana was out-acted by the CGI green hulk. He was just too flat and I didn't find any chemistry between any of the other actors. Director Lee tried to combine both comics-paneling and some hamminess as art with an emotionally conflicted David "Bana" but it failed and makes you want the green hulk to never revert to his more plasticy, lifeless human.
[D–]
The fact that the 2003 Hulk with the mutant poodle is number 8 completely destroys this countdown. There was nothing good about that movie. No I don't wish for a swing and miss like that ever again for any movie. It was a terrible disgusting waste of time.
Any list with Daredevil not at the bottom is starting off on the wrong foot. Having said that, I agree with a lot of this list, but can't stomach seeing Spiderman 2 so high.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is definetly the best Marvel movie.
This list is bullshit!
This list is psycho. Some of the best movies at the bottom, some of the worst near the top.
Plus it goes opposite of what the title says which was confusing at first.
This list is so terrible it hurts. The only thing I agree with is Avengers at #1. I could complain about all your choices (like the ridiculously high ranking of Ang Lee's Hulk) but it's not worth it. I just have to say, as a longtime X-Men fan I cannot believe how low you rated First Class. It's the best X-Men movie by far. I didn't want to rip my eyes and ears out (or Singer's). And the main characters were much more true to their comic book counterparts. I didn't have to stomach meek Storm, bitchy Iceman, flaccid Cyclops, mute Mystique… ok I'm just going to stop.
Overall this list isn't bad. There are a few huge mis-placements in my opinion. like X-Men First Class which falls in the top 5 at least and Iron Man 3 which would be in the 20s.
Nice to see Blade 2 and HULK so high.
My Top 5:
Spider-Man 2
X2
X-Men First Class
Iron Man
Blade 2
Screw all the Iron Man 3 haters. Movie was awesome in every way.
But agree that the list would be better posted on April Fools Day
this list is terrible.
When I saw trailers for X2, I swear it was titled "X2: X-Men United". Did they drop the subtitle?
I'm going to avoid a long rant and say I disagree with a lot of these (How is Howard the Duck NOT last?!). Here's hoping this summer's releases bring new movies into the top 10.
X-Men Origins was a brilliant film, why the phuck is it #34? and Howard the bleeding Duck is higher? Mate, are you lost? Or just plain stupid?
To add to this, my top 5 follows:
5. X2
4. X-Men
3. Iron Man
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
1. The Avengers
I thought I'd give the list a shot, but as soon as I saw Howard the Duck and The Punisher rated ahead of Ghost Rider and X-Men Origins, I knew the list had lost all credibility.
terrible f'n list. It started off good, then ASM, First Class etc showed up way lower than they should have. First Class is probably the best or second best X-men film to date. ASM is 10x better than SM3. It sounds like the writer just stopped watching films after SM3 and doled out arbitrary ratings. I wasnt big on thor 2 but even that shouldve been higher. Iron Man 3 is overrated. thor is underrated. And Hulk 2003 at 8?!?? what are you smoking. The Incredible Hulk curbstomps it. You're entitled to your opinion but no fan in their right mind would agree with you.
Sam Raimi's Spiderman movies are shite.
If you actually think Iron Man 3 and Ang Lee's Hulk are anything other than D movies, you're crazy.
Iron Man 3 and Ang Lee's Hulk are waaaaaaay too high on this list.
Top 5:
5. X2
4. Spider-Man
3. Iron Man
2. Spider-Man 2
1. Avengers
The most disappointing films were Spider-Man 3, Iron Man 2, and Iron Man 3. Maybe one day we'll get a Spider-Man movie again where there's only one great villain (maybe the Green Goblin will one day be done correctly) and an Iron Man film like the first that doesn't have a dozen suits of armor flying around all over the place.
The original Iron Man was extremely fresh at the time, but Marvel Studios ran the formula to the ground over the course of half a decade. The Winter Soldier is the first breath of fresh air out of the Marvel camp since then. Most importantly, the plot is much meatier with intrigue. There's harder questions from the key characters about loyalty and trust. For my money, it also has the first action sequences in a Marvel movie that feel hard hitting/well done with an intense score to boot. Plus it has the first villain specifically from Marvel Studios that actually has some balls. Sure, the movie had a few of the same ol' Marvel Studio pitfalls, but overall it's nearly everything it needed to be.
The rest of the movies range from barely passable to downright awful.
I'm all for the crazy high rankings of Hulk and Iron Man 3, if anything these flicks that dug into character over spectacle should be higher. On the same coin, The Avengers has no business being #1. It's clearly The Winter Soldier.
If we could only rank your lists Best To Worst, this would be on the worst side for sure. You've got Avengers, Spidey 2, X2 and Iron Man close to the correct placements, but then you throw it all away with bonkers love for a completely forgettable Iron Man 3, a good but not great Captain America (and while Winter Soldier is better, it's not even top 10 for Marvel), and the huge misfire that was Hulk. You need to re-watch those movies and realize how misplaced your affection is!
where is Nick Fury Agent of Shield with David Hasselhoff?
What a lovely way to get hits on your article. The list is laughable and should not be taken seriously. Now hopefully someone will come up with a respectable ranking of a marvel films.
Iron 3 should not be higher than Iron Man 1, Eric Bana's hulk over Norton's Hulk?… I can't even finish commenting on this stupid list.
I agree with most of the list.
And I take it that nearly all the people commenting here are just bunch of comic nerds bitching.
lol…That list lost any and all credibility when I got #8 and saw Hulk. That movie was horrible in every possible way and should be closer to #30 than #10.
This list is all wrong, the only one I might agree with is the Avengers and none of the original X-Men movies deserve to be in the top 10
I agree with Avengers being #1 personally, but to say that Iron Man 3 is so high is ridiculous. I personally would put Winter Soldier at #2. IM3 was the worst of the current Avengers franchise films so far.
IM3 higher than the original? lol
And The Avengers wasn't as good as the first Iron Man and the 2nd Cap movie.
This list is so embarrassing. IM3 is ranked too high, X2 is ranked too high. Eric Bana's Hulk over Norton's? I only agree with #1 and having SM2 in the top 5. Other than that…horrible list.
But you win, IndieWire. At least you got us talking.
Everybody already said it, but goddamn, this is a bad list. How is Spider-Man 3 considered a better movie than ASM? ASM at least got the plot lines more accurate, and wasn't a jumbled horrible mess of a movie. Incredible Hulk was WAY better than the first outing with Eric Bana, and then, we have Punisher War Zone, Ghost Rider 2, and FF Silver Surfer ALL above ASM.
Terrible, TERRIBLE list.
This has to be the most ass terrible list of marvel movies I've ever seen.
Well played sir, troll successful.
It's depressing that on a website devoted primarily to independent, documentary and foreign cinema, there should be such a huge number of readers/comments nitpicking over the ranking of a bunch of comic book mall movies. Because, of course, those are the movies they–13-year-old boys of any actual age or gender–really care about. I stopped going to them after walking out on "The Avengers," not because it was "bad," but just because I realized I didn't care in the least, having seen the exact same thing in various forms quite enough already. And since that movie is rated #1 here, I guess I'm not missing anything.
Horrible list. Ghost Rider 2 over Thor Dark World?
About all you got right on this is the Top 3, and the bottom 3. Hulk above the Incredible Hulk, and Spider-Man 3 above Amazing Spider-Man is laughable.
Eric Bana Hulk in the top 10? You sir are dumb
According to these comments, all of these movies are bad. Huh.
Anyway, where is the Nick Fury TV movie written by David Goyer?
I got dumb reading this.
Bunk list, kiddos.
I think the director's cut of Jane's Punisher is a really good film. It's almost a different movie! I think Bana is an extremely boring actor and think that film is a stinkbomb! Giant mutated poodle anyone!?? Spider-man 3 should be much lower even though I think James Franco killed it(C-) Norton was a great Banner (B+)! I think Captain America: The First Avenger is the best film. The story is compelling, the acting/casting superb, the action sequences well-done! (A+) Then Avengers (A) and Iron Man (A). The thing that bothers me about First Class is continuity and to a lesser degree: costuming for the period piece (C). XO:Wolverine (D-) also had costuming issues and man what a waste of Gambit and Deadpool…. so poorly written… I'd place it just above Lee's Hulk (F)
this list…is sh*t. lol. was this done intentionally to get reads? clearly this person isnt a true fan of comics or comic book movies.
Wow, this list is ridiculous. Iron Man 3 in the top 5- and over the first Iron Man? IM3 wasn't even the best Marvel film in 2013. The Fantastic Four sequel is ranked higher than X-Men: First Class (arguably the best X-Men movie since X2)? Are you kidding me? Ang Lee's Hulk over the 1st Spider-Man and 1st X-Men films? (The 1st Spider-Man and X-Men were largely responsible for relaunching the superhero genre while audiences rejected the Hulk). And Fantastic 4, Blade Trinity, and even The Ghost Rider sequel are all ranked higher than Amazing Spider-Man? Are you serious? I know it's opinion-based, but come on. Should have thought this list through a little more bc these rankings are laughable at best.
Marvel, kill yourself.
SEQUELS SUCK. GIVE US SOMETHING NEW. SEQUELS SUCK. GIVE US SOMETHING NEW.
This is like ranking turds in a toilet.
Ridiculous list…
mostly agree
I really love IM, IM3 & TA the most
awful awful list! j/k it's a list and I love watching people get infuriated at lists.
Spiderman 2 is gaudy, bloated, unwieldy and mostly boring but doc oc was a beautiful villain, so at least that.
And people who aren't impressed by Avengers are undervaluing that film's need to be the greatest juggling act in pop cinema history (and it mostly succeeded).
Terrible list, Eric Banan Hulk, iron man 3 and Spiderman 3 i would put them lower than Howard the duck!
I would put Spider-Man 2 and Iron Man at the very top. Never cared much for The Avengers and strongly disliked Iron Man 3.
Wish I never saw this list it makes me lose all respect for this website! Please spread the word so we can laugh! Blade 2 over xmen first class get real
Wow some of this list is just downright ridiculous. I mean seriously, who made this list.
Just dropping by to say that I love when you guys do these lists. Really really cool and no other site quite does it like you!
Glad to see Reynolds' "cock-juggling thundercunt" line get an acknowledgement.
Mark my words:DAYS OF FUTURE PAST WILL BE THE BEST MARVEL MOVIE EVER MADE
…anyhow my Top 5
5. The Avengers
4. X-Men
3. Spiderman 2
2. x2
1. Spiderman
This is a piece of shit list. That's not even my opinion. The bubble gum avengers is number 1? Haha. You sir, or ma'am, fall victim to the times. Winter soldier is at 6 already? Haha you're an idiot.
You are so unbelievably wrong about First Class! I was enjoying this trip down terrible memory lane until I spotted your insane blunder. Seriously, put down the Blue Sky and pick up the remote. You need to re-watch it. Not high.
I mostly agree with this list, BUT First Class should DEFINITELY be higher up and Iron Man 3 should be lower.
Spider-Man 2 and X2 are still, in my opinion, the two best superhero movies of all time and have yet to be dethroned.
Amazing Spider-Man is not a good movie. I don't understand the love people have for it. It's a badly made film, that tarnishes the essence of the original comic book.
Top ten for me
10. The Wolverine
9. Spiderman
8. Amazing Spiderman
7. X-men
6. Ironman
5. Captain America
4. Spiderman 2
3. X2
2. Avengers
1. First Class
Ha this is a terrible, terrible list. I can't even begin to point out my difference in opinion but to each their own.
First Class and ASM are waaaayy too low, while Spiderman 3, Ang Lee Hulk, and Rise Of the Silver Surfer are too high.
I think SPIDERMAN 2 and X2 (worst title) are the best two Marvel films to date, but I still give Ang Lee a lot of credit for his valiant effort with HULK. It's surprisingly dark, and visually unlike any other film in the Marvel canon. It;s inconsistent and almost unsure of itself, but it has so much akbition.
Raimi just had the right feel for Spiderman, and he did pretty much everything right with 2: a villain who was a real, genuinely good guy before his villainization (a well-motivated villain, at that); a hero whose struggles with being a hero feel earnest; hard, one-on-one action with great set pieces and laced with just the right amount of silly; and, of course, Raimi's pervasive dark humor.
Iron man 3 top 5? HAAAAAA.. Spiderman-2 should be #1
The top of the list is pretty spot-on, but yeah, The Amazing Spiderman, Thor: The Dark World and X-Men: First Class should be much higher. And of course, the Fantastic Four films should be much, much lower.
Something has to be deducted from a list of 36 films where the top 3 only have A ratings and the first B didn't come until film 13. Like maybe comic book movies suck perhaps??? Oh and Iron Man doesn't have a grade.
Pretty much spot on. IMO, I'd put The Wolverine and both The Fantastic 4 lower and probably slide CA:TWS to the fifth, I'd also put Thor:TDW and Spiderman3 a bit higher, both scripts are a mess but still enjoyable. I agree with the praise for Blade 2.
happy that to hear some love for Blade 2, are you guys going to eventually do one of these articles for DC related films?
Because every comment section needs a "that guy", X-Men 2 is better than the Avengers simply because it doesn't feel like fan-service at any time. The Avengers is fun and all but it drags in certain places and has more than a few weak connections to audiences who aren't MARVEL or overall comic book fans.
This list is shat.
what about the Watchmen?
Iron Man, X2, X-Men: First Class and Raimi's Spider-Man 1/2 are the only ones worth a re-watch.
Iron Man 3 is the worst of the Iron Man movies. I would place Thor and X-Men: First Class higher and The Incredible Hulk, Captain America and The Wolverine lower.
– The Punisher (2004) deserved a better spot… It's not that good, I admit it, the screenplay didn't work but everything else IMO worked, Jane was excellent, Travolta did his thing and the rest of the cast did good… especially I liked the way how Jonathan Hensleigh told the story…
– Also I think that Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance is ranked way high… that was just as bad as the first one…
– HULK is very underrated, I agree with your opinion, the movie never got what it deserved.
and finally, I would find it hard to believe that there's anyone who thinks that F4: The Rise of Silver Surfer is better than X-MEN: First Class …
Ang Lee's Hulkback Mountain above The Incredible Hulk?
I have all the respect in the world for Ang's directing ability but that movie suffered massively from a lack of compelling or even entertaining story. The Incredible Hulk may not showcase a master behind the camera but it at least had a story that kept you awake throughout.
moron
Wow. I couldn't agree less. Guess everyone is entitled to their opinions. Still… Wow.
lmao spider-man 3 over amazing spider-man no no and ehhh naw x2 spider-man 2 I understand but a lot of this is really messy ang lee hulk that high ….
For the rest of my life i will never understand how anyone can think that "The Avengers" is a great movie.