Superhero Movies from Worst to Best: 36-31

Those that know me well, know that superhero movies are one of my favorite types of movies. I'm not too sure where my fascination for these larger than life characters first started, but I know I have always been inspired and entertained by them. I kind of like to think of superhero movies as the westerns. Westerns use to be very popular, with some being very good, and other not so good, just like superhero movies today. 

I haven't seen every Superhero movie ever made, but I would say that I have probably seen most of them, and I've at least seen the good ones. So what I'm going to do is attempt to create a list of all the Superhero movies I've seen and rank them from worst to best. Since I haven't seen all of them there will be some missing from the list. Some notable ones missing will be the Blade series (never seen them), the old Superman 3 and 4 (I saw them when I was kid, and wasn't really impressed with them then so I don't see the need to re-watch them), Catwoman (with Halle Berry), and Shaq’s attempt at being a superhero, Steel.

Yes, this movie really did happen, maybe I should check it out? Anyone want to watch it with me?

So with that said, here is my list of my favorite superhero movies in order from least to greatest……

36. Fantastic Four

Directed by: Tim Story

Starring: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans

Released: June 2005

First watched: At a friend’s house in the summer of 2006

…..And the winner of my least favorite superhero is the not so fantastic Fantastic Four movie. This movie was pretty bad. I remember when it came out I went to the movies with a friend, and I really wanted to see it. He worked at the movie theater and had already seen it, and he refused to let me see it because he thought it was so that bad. I remember thinking it couldn't be that bad, but when I finally watched it a year later I could see what he was talking about. Half of the movie was them trying to figure out how get rid of their powers and not use them. That’s not what superheroes do! The action was lame, the dialogue was cringe worthy, and the movie was just really boring, and superheroes should not be boring! So there you have it, a boring and uneventful superhero movie that has become my least favorite superhero movie.




35. Ghost Rider

Directed by: Mark Steven Johnson

Starring: Nic Cage, Eva Mendes

Released: February 2007

First watched: In theaters, with my buddy Jacob.

Nic Cage as a superhero, that’s a great idea! Not! Look I'm not a Nic Cage hater, he’s actually done some pretty good stuff in his career, but this was not one of them. I remember as kid having trading cards of the Ghost Rider character and thinking that he looked so cool, but I never really knew much of his back story. So when the movie came I was super excited to see it and figured out more about this awesome looking character. Well, I soon came to find out that he wasn't as awesome as he looks. I’m not sure if it was because Nic Cage was miscast, or the bad script, or a bad director, but this movie was just not that entertaining, or inspiring. There just wasn't really anything fun about it. I never ended up seeing the sequel, but I don't think I've ever heard any good things about it. 

34. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Directed by: Tim Story

Starring: Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans

Released: June 2007

First watched: In the theaters at the midnight showing with friends

The sequel to the Fantastic Four much pretty suffers from the same things that made the first bad. The only redeeming quality and the one thing that makes this one better than the first was the Silver Surfer. His scenes helped bring a little bit more life into the series, but still not enough, since they left him underdeveloped. This movie had so much potential with introducing one of the coolest marvel characters, the Silver Surfer, and one of marvel’s best bad guys, Galactus, but instead they made of one of Marvel’s most fearsome bad guys into a giant cloud. Not cool guys! With the Fantastic Four being rebooted in 2015, hopefully we can finally get a movie these characters deserve.

33. Batman and Robin

Directed by: Joel Schumacher

Released: June 1997

Starring: George Clooney, Chris O'Donnell, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Uma Thurman

First watched: In theaters with my dad and brother Matt

I'm sure a lot of people would say that this is the worst superhero movie ever, but I will have to disagree. I'm not saying it’s good by any means, but this movie is so bad that it’s actually kind of funny to watch. It’s embarrassing and entertaining at the same time. Arnold Schwarzenegeger's one liners are so ridiculous that it actually turns out to be funny. It's one of those movies that's so bad it's funny, but at the same time you keep asking yourself how in the world did they actually think this was going to be any good. Now when this movie came out, I was 8 and I loved it. I pretty much owned every action figure that they released with this film as well, which was actually the goal of this movie; sell toys. Well they got their target market, which was probably only age 8, because anyone else older could probably start to see how bad it was. When I was about 9 or 10 I started to come to my senses and I realized just how bad this movie is. In retrospect I'm actually kind of glad this movie happened because without it we would not have the amazing Dark Knight trilogy.

32. X-men Origins Wolverine

Directed by: Gavin Hood

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber, Ryan Reynolds

Released: May 2009

First watched: New Year’s Eve 2009 at a friends house

This film isn't totally bad, but it really had so much potential, and that’s why its hard for me to watch. Wolverine has an amazing backstory in the comics that would make for a pretty epic movie, and so of course making a movie about it would be a no brainer. For some reason though this movie turned out to be a mess. Hugh Jackman does well with his role, but he’s about the only one, and it’s a real shame because they had two of Marvel’s coolest characters in it, Gambit and Deadpool, and both of them ended up being really lame in this movie. The one cool part about this movie was the opening sequence, which shows Wolverine fighting in all the American Wars. It’s too bad they couldn't carry that tone throughout the rest of the movie.

31. The Green Hornet

Directed by: Michel Gondry

Starring: Seth Rogan, Jay Chou, Christoph Waltz, Cameron Diaz

Released: January 2011

First watched: In theaters with Taylor

This movie was actually pretty entertaining, but it was really annoying how Seth Rogan’s character was such a jerk, and how he treated everyone around him like crap. I know that’s how Tony Stark starts off in the Iron Man movies, but for some reason it just didn't work for me in this movie. I enjoyed Jay Chou’s character, and Chrisoph Waltz as the villain, but then they had to throw in Cameron Diaz, and I'm typically not the biggest fan of her. Anyways this movie turns out to be okay, but nothing special, or superhero worthy.

Stay tuned for the rest of the list soon to come! 

250 Great Movies for Latter-Day Families

Anyone who knows me well and has read my blog before knows that I love movies! I love to watch them, talk about them, analyze them, and watch them again. With so many movies that come out each year and ticket prices to movies constantly going up it can be difficult to know which movies to I should spend my time with. Also add in the fact that I'm LDS and I try to live by certain standards, it can be really hard to find movies that are worthwhile.

Over the last year I have had the great pleasure of getting to know a pretty cool dude named Jonathan Decker (aka the Mormon Movie Guy). Jonathan runs a blog called Mormonmovieguy.com, and a podcast called Mormons at the megaplex. His blog and his podcast are both designed to give reviews of movies from an LDS perspective. He reviews the films, the content in the films, and then outlines what messages we as an audience can take away from the films. His site has become my go to place for movie reviews. Even if you are not LDS, his insight and knowledge into the film industry is very vast and he provides a unique perspective into film. He has a great understanding of film that has helped me see movies as more than just entertainment.

Not only does he have his website and podcast, but he recently just released a book, which is what this post is really about. The book is title 250 Great Movies for Latter-Day Saint Families. I had the opportunity of reading the book before it was released and I wanted to share some of my thoughts about it.

This is a pretty simple and straightforward book that is designed to suggest films that will help people find movies that they can feel comfortable watching. It is an easy to use reference to 250 great movies. For each film there is brief review and synopsis of the what the movie is about, with a final letter grade review. Next there is a paragraph about the overview of the content of the film. Finally there is a section titled Messages to Discuss. This is my favorite part of the book, and the section I find the most valuable. With so many movies coming out these days, and with Hollywood's standards declining, this book helps LDS moviegoers and families find films that can uplift and keep within the standards of the gospel. I look forward to now not only being entertained by watching a movie, but also being able to find gospel themes and discussing them with my family.

Here is an example of the messages to discuss for my favorite film The Empire Strikes Back:

MESSAGES TO DISCUSS: There are no miracles without belief (Moroni

7:35–37; Mormon 9:19–20). Vengeance, fear, and anger are not righteous

(3 Nephi 11:29–30); the path to wickedness is easier and quicker.

The difference is discernible (Moroni 7:15–17); the “good side” (i.e.

the Holy Ghost) speaks peace to our minds and hearts (Galations

5:22–23).

Another thing that is great about this book is that it's not just reviews about Disney and animated movies (don't get me wrong I love Disney and animated movies, there's just a lot of other good stuff out there too). He journeys outside of those types of films and finds movies from all different types of genres. There is such a wide variety of films such as classics like the Swiss Family Robinson, to more recent films like the Blindside, and epic movies like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and of course Star Wars.

Overall, this is a great book for anyone who is searching for media that is uplifting and worthwhile. It's especially great for families, but it's also a great resource even if you don't have a family yet. If you are interested in purchasing it you can pre-order it here at amazon.com or here at Desert Book. It will be released on September 10.

Also check out Jonathan's site! I can't say enough good things about what he is doing!