10. The Amazing Spider-man
Directed by: Marc Webb
Starring: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys
Ifans, Denis Leary, Martin Sheen, Sally Field
Released: July 2012
First watched: In California on vacation
with the Jacksons
The Amazing Spider-man does a great job at
living up to its name. The thing that I like most about this movie is Andrew
Garfield as Peter Parker. I talked about in my review of the first Spider-man
how I thought that Tobey MaGuire nailed the part of being the awkward and nerdy
Peter Parker, but he was never really able to pull off the sarcastic and fun
side of Peter Parker, that is part of who Peter Parker really is.
Andrew Garfield was able to portray both of theses aspects of Peter Parker.
While this movie can feel like a repeat of the first Spider-man movie by rehashing
the origin story, the filmmakers were still able to do in an interesting way
that felt different from the other film. Even though I knew the death of Uncle
Ben was coming I was still nervous and anxious for it to happen. They did a
great job of tying you emotionally to the story, even a little bit more than
the first did. I like also how they decided to go with Gwen Stacey as Peter’s
love interest instead of Mary Jane. Emma Stone was great in this role, and they
really nailed the chemistry between the two characters. I know I keep comparing
this to other Spider-man, but their chemistry and love story was a lot better
than Mary Jane and Peter in other films. I never really cared that much if he
didn't end up with Mary Jane, were as in this one I was rooting for them to be
together. The fight scenes were pretty awesome as well, and I thought they did
a good job at showing us something new. With that said the villain, The Lizard,
felt a little similar to the villains in the other films, but overall he was
pretty good. I really enjoyed this movie and I’m looking forward to seeing this
story continue in the Amazing Spider-man 2, which comes out next summer.
9. Iron Man
Directed by: Jon Favreau
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges,
Gwyneth Paltrow , Terrence Howard
Released: May 2008
First watched: December 2009 at my friend
Jacob’s house
When I first saw this movie I was actually a
little disappointed. I had just got done with my two year mission to Australia
and I had not yet seen it. I heard so many good things about this
movie, and I was really excited to watch it. I’m not sure if it was still hard
for me to sit through a movie since I hadn't watched any for two years, or if I
just wasn't digging Robert Downey’s arrogant portrayal of Tony Stark, but I
just wasn't too impressed with the whole thing. About year and half later I
decided to give this movie another try and I was surprised at how much I was
actually enjoying it. Tony Stark started out very arrogant but he was humbled
and I really liked that aspect of the movie. Tony building his suit in the
cave, and the sacrifice of his friend Yinsen are probably my favorite parts of
the whole movie. I started to see, that this movie was
smart, funny, and thrilling. These were three elements that seemed to be
missing from a lot of superhero movies up to this point. Before this movie Iron
Man, wasn't one of Marvel’s most popular characters, but now he’s probably one
of the most recognizable names in the world. This movie put Iron Man on the map
to stardom, and rightfully so since it’s a very entertaining and enjoyable
film.
8. X-Men First Class
Directed by: Matthew Vaughn
Starring:
Released: June 2011
First watched: In theaters at Harkins
Superstition with my buddy Rock, and my brother Matt
After the disappointing Wolverine movie in
2009, I began to wonder if we would ever see another good X-men movie. When
they announced that the next X-men movie was going to be a prequel and it
wasn't going to have Wolverine or any new characters, I was not too excited
about it. Lucky though director Matthew Vaughn created a film that was fresh,
innovating, and fun. Sure there are some continuity issues with it, and a
couple of characters that don’t do much, but this is still one exciting movie.
Like Captain America one of this movie’s strengths is setting the film in the
60’s and creating a parallel conflict to the civil rights issues of those days.
They were successfully able to make the back stories of Magneto and Professor X
very interesting. While most of the movie delivers fun and entertaining scenes,
there are also a few very emotional scenes that connect you to the characters.
This movie made the X-men movies cool again, and I can't wait for the sequel, X-men:
Days of Future Past, next summer!
7. Thor
Directed by:
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman,
Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Anthony Hopkins
Released: May 2011
First watched: Opening day with our friends the Johnsons
I was not really excited for this movie.
Growing up, Thor was one of the few superheroes that I didn't really like, and
it was mostly because I didn't know much about him. The trailers looked
unimpressive, and I thought that a movie about Thor wouldn't be very good. I’m
glad to say though that I was terribly wrong. This is the best standalone movie
in the marvel cinematic universe. I think maybe since I didn't know much about
Thor and his universe that I didn't really have any expectations for this movie
and that’s why I was pleasantly surprised. I found the world of Asgard and their
philosophy of mixing science and magic so fascinating. It’s something that
hasn't really been done in other movies (besides Masters of the Universe, of
which this movie has many similarities with). Like Iron Man this movie also had
a theme of a hero that needs to be humbled, but I liked how this movie was also
about a relationship between fathers and sons. The relationship of Loki and
Thor was also a big highlight of this movie. For me Tom Hiddleston as Loki was
probably one of the best comic book villains since the Health Ledger's
Joker.
6. The Incredibles
Directed by: Brad Bird
Released: November 2004
Starring: Craig T. Nelson, Holly Hunter,
Sarah Vowell, Spencer Fox, Jason Lee, Samuel L. Jackson
First watched: With friends at AMC theater
This is one awesome superhero movie, and
totally different from your typical superhero movie. I think this is the only
superhero movie about a family of superheros. There is so much fun to be
had in this movie. The animation is crisp and top notch, the music is fun and
emotional, the story is exciting and unpredictable, and the characters are
engaging and relatable. This movie has all the right elements for a great
superhero movie. It’s funny, intense, action packed, and also very moving. This
movie is pretty much the perfect superhero movie. The only reason this movie
isn't number one is because the next five movies all connected with me in a
more personally way. Besides that though, this is not only one of the best
superhero or animated movies ever, it also one of the best films ever.
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