The year is coming to the end and it has been another bumper year for superhero movies. So, in the grand tradition of year end reviews, here is how I rated the superhero movies of the year.
5. KICK-ASS 2
The first film felt very much like an adult and heightened real world take on the costumed vigilante genre. The sequel, however, feels adolescent and takes away some of the realism inherent in its predecessor. Uber-violence and swearing will only get you so far before the vapid nature of the movie comes to the forefront. As with the first film, however, the real star is Moretz and the film lacks any kind of spark when she is not involved.
Not that it wouldn't be hard, but this sequel is a vastly superior movie to X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Sadly, The Wolverine feels like a mash-up of a cowboy film, a travelogue of Japan and Japanese culture and The Highlander and never quite manages to evolve into it's own identity. You cannot fault the filmmakers for trying to explore loftier themes than the average film of this genre, but the movie fails to pull them off.
Much better than Iron Man Two. Much. As ever though Tony Stark is the focal point rather than his armoured alter ego and RDJ relishes the chance to play with crackling Shane Black dialogue. The plot is confused and doesn't quite hold up. There a wonderful turn by Kingsley but at the expense of the character he is playing. Hats off, also, to Black for exploring PTSD is a superhero setting. But, all in all, Iron Man Three is very much a movie that is all style and no real substance.
Following the time honoured sequel tradition, this movie takes the franchise darker. Much like Avengers before it, the film comes to life when Hiddleston is onscreen. Like the initial entry in the series, the mythological aspect of the character, settings and narrative seperates Thor from the other entries in the genre giving it an epic quality. That said, it fails to balance the Asgard with Earth aspects of the film making it somewhat disjointed. Thor: The Dark World is an enjoyable film but it lacks the charm of the first outing for the character.
1. MAN OF STEEL
Whilst Superman: The Movie defined the whole superhero movie genre* Man of Steel was never going to redefine it in the way that Spider-Man did**. Like the Nolan Batman Trilogy, Man of Steel doesn't quite fit into the genre from which it was birthed. This is not a superhero movie, it is a first contact film with the superhero in it. Visually stunning and shows that, with a good script to work from, Snyder is a talented director. Man of Steel is an epic science fiction spectacular that, even though it is flawed, brimming with humanity. A welcome new vision of Superman for a new generation. Superman is back on the big screen and, luckily for us, he seems to be bringing some friends with him next time...
Honourable Mention: THE DAY OF THE DOCTOR
It can be argued*** that the Doctor is the UK's premier superhero. And the episode celebrating his 50th anniversary whilst being a TV event was also shown in cinematoriums across the world****. The fact it is an episode of a TV series rather than a pure film is what makes it an "honourable mention on the list". Steven Moffat had one tough job when it came to writing this one, but he managed it admirably doing more in 75 minutes than a lot of movies do with longer running times (the same can be said for Hurran and his directorial work). Fun, emotional, nostalgic, epic, but most of all exciting.
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* Spider-Man (2002), Batman Begins, X-Men and Superman Returns all get their narrative DNA from the Donner's classic. Appropriate really as, without Superman, there would be no such thing as a superhero.
** I don't class The Dark Knight as a superhero movie. If I did....
*** And I will!
**** It made it to no. 3 in the UK film chart. Can an actual film be far off?
*** And I will!
**** It made it to no. 3 in the UK film chart. Can an actual film be far off?
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