2024 Summer Movie Talk – Part 8

Super Hero Movies

I approach this category with great trepidation.  In the new millennium comic book movies have exploded into the only profitable movie type.  The billion-dollar box office totals for several of these films rival the money made by the Star Wars franchise at its height.

But the cinematic quality has varied drastically and of late social justice themes have poisoned several franchises and tanked the profits on several of these “blockbusters.”

In most cases the sequel moves (with a few important exceptions are usually weaker than an initial strong entry film.  The most notable exception is the “The Dark Knight.”  It is the middle movie of a trilogy but may be the best of the three.

Disney’s endless chapters in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) as they term their merging of the various Marvel super hero franchises (Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow, Avengers, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spiderman, etc., etc., etc.) are fairly hit and miss.  I’ve listed the ones I thought were relatively well done and entertaining.

I’ve listed the old Superman movie from the late seventies.  It was entertaining and featured a fair amount of comedy.

Batman has had several iterations.  I’ve listed the ones I liked.  Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy is considered by some to be the best overall version by many, but who’s to say?

The last five films are stand alone stories that are notable in some way.

Warning:  Just because these are comic book movies doesn’t mean they are to be assumed safe for children.  For instance, Deadpool and Watchmen are specifically adult fare.

1. SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE (1978)
2. BATMAN (1989)
3. BATMAN BEGINS (2005)
4. THE DARK KNIGHT (2008)
5. THE DARK KNIGHT RISES (2012)
6. THE BATMAN (2022)
7. IRON MAN (2008)
8. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011)
9. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (2014)
10. MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS (2012)
11. AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (2015)
12. AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR (2018)
13. AVENGERS: ENDGAME (2019)
14. SPIDER-MAN (2002)
15. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014)
16. DEADPOOL (2016)
17. HELLBOY (2004)
18. CONSTANTINE (2005)
19. WATCHMEN (2009)

V FOR VENDETTA (2006)

If I left out one of your favorites or if you detest one of my listed films, feel free to speak up and make your opinions known in the comments below.