Marvel Studios is currently enjoying worldwide domination by their characters at the box office and in the minds of the audience. From Iron Man to the X-Men to Spiderman, Marvel is undoubtedly at the top of their game, and this weekend, they hope to continue their amazing string of colossal successes with the release of Thor: The Dark World. So in honor of the opening of the new Marvel film, I thought I would take a look at Marvel's finest works.
First of all, let's get something straight. I LOVE every Marvel film. No film is below the 'very good' category in my opinion. That being said, however, this list only consists of their Top 10, but I would remiss not to mention the great films that just missed getting on this list.
First of all, the Spiderman franchise started all of this Marvel craze way back in 2001 with the first Spiderman. Spiderman 3 ended the franchise under the direction of Sam Raimi for a mere five years before Andrew Garfield became the webslinger in The Amazing Spiderman. The Spiderman series is definitely one of Marvel's greatest achievements, and they look to keep that fact true next May with The Amazing Spiderman 2.
The X-Men franchise is, without question, one of the finest franchises in Hollywood. X-Men: The Last Stand is a superb film and the same can be said for X-Men Origins: Wolverine (a vastly underrated/underappreciated film) and The Wolverine.
Finally, Iron Man 2 is some very fine entertainment while Hulk and The Incredible Hulk are two overlooked gems in the Marvel world.
Now, let's get to the Top 10!
10. Thor: The Dark World
When The Avengers' box office run came to an end, all Marvel fans looked at what was coming up in the universe of superheroes. Iron Man 3 was first (see further down the list) and it cashed in on the success of The Avengers both financially and with the critics. Then came Thor: The Dark World, and I can safely say that you will not be disappointed with this sequel. Chris Hemsworth is back and better than ever as a more mature Norse god of Thunder as he commands the screen from beginning to end. Tom Hiddleston returns as the lovable and so very evil Loki and he, unsurprisingly, shines. The rest of the cast, led by Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins, deliever the goods as well. The storyline is complex but very intriguing, and the connection to The Avengers is beautifully done. Props also goes to director Alan Taylor for crafting another home run for Marvel Studios.
9. X-Men
Starting a franchise is extremely difficult to do. More often than not, the proposed "franchise" ends up being only one, maybe two, movies and it's done, but Marvel just seems to have knack for kick starting a global hit. The way they started the X-Men franchise was nothing short of a stroke of genius. First of all, the cast is impeccable, led by Ian McKellan and Patrick Stewart. The real proof of brilliance on Marvel's part, however, was casting the relatively unknown at the time Hugh Jackman as the X-Men's most popular figure, Wolverine. Luckily, though, Jackman is all in in this role and the film overall benefits tremendously from his total control. The plot is ultra awesome and sets the stage for a franchise that is still going strong today.
8. Thor
When Marvel was attempting to create the monster known as The Avengers, questions were abundant regarding the film adaptions of Captain America and Thor to accompany Iron Man. Some people believed that they couldn't pull it off, but on the first weekend of May 2011, Marvel once again proved the public wrong with their hit, Thor. When audiences first lay eyes on Asgard, they are immersed in a world of endless possibilities and storylines, but it's the characters that we grow to know and love, led by Chris Hemsworth who is perfect as Thor and Tom Hiddleston who begins to become one of the world's finest villains here with his portrayal of Loki. Director Kenneth Branagh deserves the bulk of the credit, however, for crafting a Thor film that is humorous while being serious and mature instead of being too cartoony.
7. Spiderman 2
When the first Spiderman was released, we knew we had a worldwide hit on our hands, but when Spiderman 2 was released, we knew that Marvel was here to stay for the long run as they produced one of their finest achievements with the webslinger. Tobey Maguire delivers his best turn as Peter Parker in this film and James Franco begins to prove that he has the goods to be a solid actor. The real star, however, is Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus (aka- Doc Oct). His back story is explored just enough that he becomes a sympathetic villain while also being evil personified, a method Marvel would once again utilize with a certain villain named Loki. Sam Raimi directs his best work of his career with this film and reinforces the statement that Spiderman is just awesome.
6. Captain America: The First Avenger
The pressure was on this film tremendously to produce big time. Iron Man had become a worldwide icon, Thor was on his way up, and Hulk was...Hulk. We knew that the Avengers would assemble in the following year after this movie, but could Marvel execute a Captain America movie? Answer: absolutely! Chris Evans is picture perfect as the first Avenger and the back story is told beautifully. The connection between this film and The Avengers needed to be strong, and it most definitely was as it explains the role of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the grand scheme of things while alse unveiling how Captain America would even be around in the present day setting of The Avengers. The stage was now completely set for the biggest superhero movie of all-time.
5. Iron Man 3
The first movie of Marvel's Phase Two (the movies released after The Avengers and before The Avengers: Age of Ultron) was Iron Man 3, an incredible piece of filmmaking with a top notch cast firing on all cylinders and creating one of the best plot twists in recent movie history. Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark is, once again, brilliant. Gwyneth Paltrow and Rebecca Hall are great in their short screen appearances, but the scene stealers of this film are Ben Kingsley and Guy Pearce. Kingsley as The Mandarin is comical while also being extremely devious and Pearce turns in his best performance in years. Director Shane Black alos infuses genuine emotion into the story and life on Tony Stark as we see how Iron Man is dealing with the aftermath of The Avengers. With Iron Man 3, it's safe to say that Phase Two will be just as good as Phase One if not better.
4. X2: X-Men United
With the first X-Men installment, audiences got everything they desired in a comic book movie, but in X2, they got even more. The story takes a dramatic turn as the feud between the mutants and the humans intensifies. Director Bryan Singer produces his best work of his career with this film and really highlights the full potential of the franchise.
3. Iron Man
Although Marvel has Spiderman and the X-Men becoming worldwide icons, they never truly delved into their biggest calling card, the Avengers, until 2008 with Iron Man, and on paper, this film was not supposed to be good. Iron Man, at the time of the release, was not a very popular character in the Marvel universe, and the star that Marvel called on to embody Tony Stark, Robert Downey Jr., was essentially one of the last choices by the public to portray this character. But that's why movies aren't judged on paper. Iron Man was a knockout, and with a post-credits scene for the ages, the craze for more Marvel began.
2. X-Men: First Class
A prequel to X-Men wasn't exactly what a lot of fans were calling for, but in 2011, that's exactly what they got, and Marvel ended up producing one of its finest pieces of film making. Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy are stellar as the younger Magneto and Professor X as are Jennifer Lawrence and Nicolas Hoult as Mystique and Beast respectively. With this film, the audience now has previously unknown knowledge about where the X-Men really came from, and this film's success has set up the greatest X-Men movie ever assembled coming out next summer with X-Men: Days of Future Past.
1. The Avengers
There's really no competition in my opinion. Thor, Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Nick Fury, and Agent Coulson on one silver screen, uniting together to fight against the villainous Loki is pure Marvel magic. The cast is perfect, the visuals are perfect, the storyline is perfect, but the superstar of these superheroes is director Joss Whedon who somehow managed to give all these actors equivalent screen time while also crafting the greatest superhero movie of all-time.
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