You may be wondering why,
after several months without a post, I’ve chosen to review yet another super
hero movie instead of something with more substance like say… Ex
Machina. It’s a good point, I admit, as The
Avengers age of Ultron turns out to be just another loud and long
comic-book action-hero movie – no better and no worse really than most of the
group that is slowing reforming, on film, the Marvel Universe (and making boat loads
of money while doing it). But I have ulterior motives. Sure, I’ll jot some
thoughts down here on the mighty team’s latest chapter, but watching Ultron reminded me of the mediocre
nature of the recent mega-hit Avengers,
Iron Man, and Captain America films and has motivated me to make… drum roll… yet another
list! Yes it’s true! Announcing… louder drum roll with big tympanis behind the
snare… Pat’s Top 9 All Time Best Super Hero Movies.
But first, some words on Ultron to allow the suspense and
anticipation to build.
Age of Ultron is a very long movie as far as super-hero films go – 2 hours 21 minutes.
And yet, with all of this time, writer-director Josh Whedon (Toy Story, X-Men) fails to create any
depth of story – rushing, instead, fast-forward through the source, reason,
and context for his new villains and heroes in a race to get to another
machine-filled action scene. And there are more than enough battles to exhaust
you, spreading wide across a cacophony of super bells and whisltes like artificial
intelligence in Loki’s scepter turned peace keeping robot gone mad, a giant
Iron Man, an infinity-stone power-laced human, thousands of metal (but fragile)
flying Ultron-bots, brooding eastern European super villains with bad accents
wearing obligatory Adidas warm up jackets (see Behind Enemy Lines or any other film with bad guys from countries
with names ending in -slovia), and cities hovering above the ground for
not-well understood purposes. And for what? To set up the next three blockbuster
movies that’s what.
Whedon does try to bring in
some non-super-power back-stories but the attempts come off as awkward and a
little silly. Take for example the budding romance between Black Widow and the
Hulk… ummm… in the words sung by Belle to the The Beast – “new, and a bit…
alarming” (hey, Ultron was
distributed by Disney so I’ve got a tie). Or the discovery that Hawkeye is just
a family guy who sets the table with his wife and helps his kids do their
homework, then carpools with Captain America to the next world-saving event – “you
be safe dear, and keep your hands off of that Black Widow girl.” Give credit to this edition though for acknowledging the discrepancies in abilities among
the Avengers – it always seems odd when danger strikes and Black Widow pulls
out her pistol and starts firing 22-caliber bullets along side the god-like
powers of Thor and the nigh-invincible strength of the Hulk. But they’re the
glue guys we learn – relatively worthless in the fighting arena but holding the
more powerful prima donnas of the team together (and wearing tight black
leathers in the case of the Widow).
I guess when I agree,
sometimes reluctantly, to go to another one of these films, that I’m hoping there
will be something different – something that is as fun as the comic books I
read as a kid but then more – more of something that I can’t easily explain.
Comic-book movies are sort of like soda pop I guess – there are a lot of them
in different flavors but they’re all pretty common to us. But on occasion you
find a good vanilla coke, like the one I sometimes get at Hires down on 4th
South, that has a special balance of coke, vanilla, and that great drive-in
crumbly ice that makes you take a second of pause to be thankful for the small
blessings of life. Ultron aint one of
those special things. It’s cool and marginally refreshing, but it’s just coke
in a can and when you’re done, what’s left is just tossed in the recycle bin. 6
out of 10.
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Pat's Best Super Hero Movies
OK, so now let’s take a look
at 9 super-hero films that have that special “something.” My choice of 9
instead of 10 is just a reminder to me that most super-hero films are not
made to be great so there should be no surprise that there aren’t even enough
good ones to make a top 10 list. I’m sure you’ll disagree with what I’ve got
here so let me know what you think. Here we go!
#9 – Hellboy
Looking at the
list as a whole I note that I’ve got some of the darker pieces in here. Hellboy
is kind of grimy dark with a character group that may be better described as
monster misfits than super heroes. Hellboy is, in fact, an non-malevolent demon
working for the Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense. The character is
not a Marvel or DC creation (it was originally published by Dark Horse Comics)
and he forms a much more interesting group around him than the Avengers. The Hellboy
world is rich and odd with the story and it’s characters given as much
attention in the film as the well crafted fight scenes it produces. A
refreshing addition to the genre.
#8 – Thor
Thor is, for me,
the Marvel hero that works the best in transition to full-length film. The
co-mingling of Norse mythology into the super hero genre seems to fit well on
film and provides a rich and surreal setting for interesting story telling.
Another key might be the screenplay writing for Thor of Joe Straczynski who
wrote for comics and graphic novels before teaming for big-screen efforts – he
knows the craft and the two Thor stories to date are much tighter than the
hubbub found in the other Avenger heroes’ movies. Thor is beautifully designed
and the muscled Hemsworth as Thor, Anthony Hopkins as Odin, and Tom Hiddleston
as the wickedly unpredictable Loki form a fascinating triangle among the 9
Realms.
#7 – Watchmen
Different is
key here. Sourced from a graphic novel series, it's not quite clear what makes some of these characters super but they are super interesting. And they claim as a team
member one of the most fascinating characters of any of my list of nine – Dr.
Manhattan (who lives on Mars now I believe). Combine Dr. Manhattan and the
Smartest Man in the World with a good story and a catchy ending and you have a
memorable super-hero film – which is rare.
#6 – The Crow
Darkly dark. A
risen-from-the-dead rock star with a crow as his guide – great starting point for a different type of super-hero film. Maybe most famous for the death if its
star, Brandon Lee (son of Bruce Lee), during filming, the film is more scary
than action-thriller. Gothic and Poe-like, it crosses horror and science
fiction genres to give us a story of the anti-hero vs. a decaying society that is not
easily forgotten.
#5 – Superman II
Best of all
the Superman movies (how many are there now… 30?). The second sequel film I’ve
put on this list – its just much better than the first good but not great Superman
offering. Superman II gets right to it. With all the origin description and
character building handled in the first installment, the cool trio of villains
from Superman’s home planet propels the series to a significant acme. The
oldest movie on my list lacks the special effects of the modern super-hero films,
but its characters and story telling are much better than what we’ve been
getting out of Marvel and DC lately.
#4 – Guardians of the Galaxy
What a joyous surprise. Anti-serious but surprisingly entertaining, Guardians
gives a fresh breath to the genre with a dumb (sort of) lunk of a hero and his
odd-ball gang of Guardians. Super big and colorful like the comic book it
sprang from. Can’t wait for GOTG-II.
#3 – Spiderman II
Spidey has
always been my favorite super hero and he hit his stride in this one. Great
super villain (Doc-Ock is one of the best), great aunt, and great girlfriend –
its like that vanilla coke. Every thing clicked in this one and the
out-of-control train ending is superb.
#2 – The Incredible
Just a
really good super-hero movie. Don’t get caught in not considering this since it’s
Pixar animated. True, the story appeals to kids and adults (and adults who act
like kids especially) – but it’s a really, really, really good film.
#1 – Batman Begins
My
favorite of all the super hero movies. No cartoony stuff here - no Arnold as
Mr. Freeze or DeVito’s sad attempt at a penguin. The show is
elevated in my book by its seriousness and superb balance. It is a
dark drama that is the best origins story of the super-hero genre. The action
is surrounded by plot and character. It’s careful and precise. And
they finally got it right with Bale as the Dark Knight.
