One of the most unexpectantly touching parts of Deadpool and Wolverine was that it was a love letter to the Fox Marvel films. While poking fun at those films, there was a real sense of appreciation of those movies that set the stage for the MCU to dominate the movie industry.
With that in mind, I thought I would look at the Top Ten Fox Marvel movies.
Full disclosure, I have not seen X-Men: Apocalypse, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, Fant4tastic Four, and The New Mutants, so they are not on this list for that reason.
10. Fantastic Four
There is a lot that this movie got wrong, especially with Dr. Doom and Sue Storm. And the ultra-campy tone can sometimes go a bit too far. But they did get a lot right, especially with Ben, Johnny, and Reed. The practical effects for the Thing are great and Michael Chiklas embodied the character so well. This may not be a great movie, but it has a lot of heart and I have a great deal of affection for it.
9. X-Men
This movie is credited with starting the main era of super hero films after the disaster of Batman and Robin, and rightly so. It took the genre seriously and created some of the most iconic pairings of actors and characters with Hugh Jackman/Wolverine, Patrick Stewart/Professor X, and Ian McKellen/Magneto.
8. X2: X-Men United
This movie adds to the established lore and pushes our characters to the breaking point. I love the fact that they make Magneto so complex. His escape scene is one of my favorites in any comic book movie. But the movie was smart enough to remind us that just because he was tortured by bad guys, he is not a good guy. I also love that they got Nightcrawler exactly right as a character.
7. The Wolverine
This is a B-Movie action film in the guise of a super-hero movie, and I mean that as a compliment. I love the action in this movie and the treatment of Wolverine as a character, dealing with trauma of killing the love of his life. This movie doesn't try and re-invent the wheel, but seeks only to give you a thrilling adventure, which it does.
6. X-Men: The Last Stand
This is probably my most controversial pick. There are some who hate this movie and I can understand why. One of my friends in particular hates how they treated Cyclops and I completely understand. But this movie brings a lot of intersting complexity with the question of the mutant "cure" and the implications it could have. Kelsey Grammar as Beast was a fantastic piece of casting that I never could have predicted.
5. Daredevil
One of the things that makes this movie work so well is that you see how Daredevil's power is also his curse. For me, the movie is only okay until the scene where he comes home for the night. The movie shows how Matt has to self-medicate and then seal himself off from the world just to survive. I think Affleck is excellent in this, as well as Colin Farrell and Michael Clark Duncan. Garner also does a very good job as Elektra. The Unrated version of the movie is actually better than the theatrical in most ways (with some exceptions).
4. Deadpool
This movie is so audacious, funny, and shocking that it had to be a big hit. But beyond that, one of the things that makes it so good is that it does the nearly impossible thing of being a parody of super-hero films while still being a super-hero film. The scenes where Wade is being horribly tortured are disturbing and serious in a way that grounds the film's drama no matter how insanly silly the rest of the movie is. I can't think of any other movie franchise that can do this as well.
3. X-Men: Days of Future Past
I thought that this was the best send off to the original X-Men cast. It adapted the most enduring storyline from the comics in a way that could blend the original and First Class timelines. It has some fantastic sequences (Quicksilver's kitchen scene being one), but it also hinges on some great character work, particularly between Charles and Mystique. Of all the movies with X-Men in the title, this is my favorite.
2. Deadpool and Wolverine
It is still fresh on my mind, but I have a great deal of love for this movie. After seeing it a second time, I understood that this movie was meant to be a real crowd-pleaser, a film specifically for the fans. There is such an appreciation for all things Marvel here, even when they are making fun of it. The chemistry between the two leads is off the charts and it creates one of the most fun superhero films ever made.
1. Logan
As I wrote in my original review: "There isn't another super hero movie like Logan. This movie is sober, contemplative, visceral, and heartbreaking in a way I haven't seen in this genre before." And to this day, I have not seen a movie match it in the same way. Over time Logan has only become a stronger film: a story about a strong man at the end of his strength, wondering what his life has been about. This story is existential in a good way. It raises the question why we would even consider some like Logan to be a hero in the first place. A lot of people point out that this is a deconstruction of the superhero. But just like Deadpool paradoxically mocks and embraces the genre, Logan tears down and builds it up too. It strips Logan of everything to reveal who he is at his core. And it is fantastic to watch.
Thoughts?
No comments:
Post a Comment