The Reel Top 10 Superhero Films

With this year’s crop of superhero films about wrapped up, and a full year to go before the next season, now seemed to be the perfect time to revisit the Reel Top 10 Superhero Films of All Time

A person’s Top 10 list of anything can and will evolve over time. New releases, changing tastes, and the gift of hindsight that comes with old age and a beer gut can change perspectives. Either way, as with any other film, this Blogger judges a superhero film the same way he judges any other film; story, character, entertainment.

To be clear, this list focuses on films based on SUPERHEROS, and not comic books. Big difference. Now to business:

Friends of this blog may be surprised to find Tim Burton’s BATMAN crack the Top 10. Silly as it is with too many stupid dance routines and an asshat of a plot, it cleverly worked in an origin tale which didn’t take things over, and did away with the old images of TV Campy Batman forever by putting the darkness back in the Dark Knight’s universe.

Downright entertainment from head to tail is what CAPTAIN AMERICA, SPIDER-MAN 2, and SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE is all about. SUPERMAN especially; which for a 30 year old film, holds up extremely well against anything today.

Bryan Singer’s X-MEN rightfully makes the list, and nearly in the Top 5. Injecting elements of racism into the mix makes the film timeless; and the characters are ones we can connect with and watch over and over again.

THE INCREDIBLES makes the Top 5; don’t bother to argue that it shouldn’t just because it’s animated. The banished superhero subplot is a stronger angle than anything Marvel or DC has come up with in years. And that’s just the subplot!

The Top 5, with THE INCREDIBLES included, is all about character, character, character. Their stories are what drives each film. BATMAN BEGINS and IRON MAN are remarkably very similar films with distinct styles, and both make their heroes people that we want to hang out with and cheer for. There is a human side to both that a lot of filmmakers tend to leave behind.

Singer’s X2 is epic on many levels while capitalizing on important themes established in the first film.
X2 was No. 1 on this Blogger’s list for many years; right up until that pesky Caped Crusader came out with his second film in his new series. THE DARK KNIGHT is difficult to top, as it is not just a movie about a guy in a cape. It’s a crime drama and a character study; it can work with the guys in masks and makeup or without them. And speaking of makeup, KNIGHT capitalizes on the theory that your villain should be more interesting than your hero; KNIGHT’s Joker is a silver-screen Big Bad that ranks up there with Vader and the Corleones.

THE REEL LIST:

1. THE DARK KNIGHT
2. X2
3. IRON MAN
4. BATMAN BEGINS
5. THE INCREDIBLES
6. X-MEN
7. CAPTAIN AMERICA
8. SPIDER-MAN 2
9. SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE
10. BATMAN

What say you?