Empire Magazine put out a feature article called The Greatest
Superhero Movies of All Time, which got me thinking – how many superhero
movies have I seen? The answer is ninety-five. Here is my ranking from worst to
best (broken down into five tiers).
Tier 1: Painfully Bad
These are the superhero films to never see… ever.
95.) Catwoman
(2004), directed by Pitof
94.) Batman
& Robin (1997), directed by Joel Schumacher
93.) Steel
(1997), directed by Kenneth Johnson
92.) Superman
IV: The Quest for Peace (1987), directed by Sidney J. Furie
91.) Supergirl,
(1984), directed by Jeannot Szwarc
90.) Ghost
Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011), directed by Mark Neveldine & Brian
Taylor
89.) Captain
America (1990), directed by Albert Pyun
88.) Elektra
(2005), directed by Rob Bowman
87.) The Phantom
(1996), directed by Simon Wincer
86.) Ghost Rider
(2007), directed by Mark Steven Johnson
Tier 2: Really,
Really Bad
These films are also just bad, but diehard fans may find
some redeeming qualities.
85.) My Super
Ex-Girlfriend (2006), directed by Ivan Reitman
84.) Zoom
(2006), directed by Peter Hewitt
83.) The Shadow
(1994), directed by Russell Mulcahy
82.) The Meteor
Man (1993), directed by Robert Townsend
81.) Blade:
Trinity (2004), directed by David S. Goyer
80.) Mighty
Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (1995), directed by Bryan Spicer
79.) Blankman
(1993), directed by Mike Binder
78.) Superman
III (1983), directed by Richard Lester
77.) Sky High
(2005), directed by Mike Mitchell
76.) Spawn
(1997), directed by Mark A.Z. Dippe
75.) The Toxic
Avenger (1984), directed by Michael Herz & Lloyd Kaufman
74.) The
Specials (2000), directed by Craig Mazin
73.) Daredevil
(2003), directed by Mark Steven Johnson
72.) The Spirit
(2008), directed by Frank Miller
71.) Jonah Hex
(2010), directed by Jimmy Hayward
70.) The
Punisher (1989), directed by Mark Goldblatt
69.) Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014), directed by Jonathan Liebesman
68.) Mystery Men
(1999), directed by Kinka Usher
67.) Fantastic
4: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), directed by Tim Story
66.) Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Secret of the Ooze (1991), directed by Michael Pressman
65.) X-Men
Origins: Wolverine (2009), directed by Gavin Hood
64.) Hulk
(2003), directed by Ang Lee
Tier 3: Fun and Entertaining, but Nothing Special
These are the superhero films you kind of like (maybe even
secretly love), but they are just not that great.
63.) X-Men: The
Last Stand (2006), directed by Brett Ratner
62.) Batman
Forever (1995), directed by Joel Schumacher
61.) Green Lantern (2011), directed by Martin Campbell
60.) The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014), directed by Marc Webb
59.) Fantastic
Four (2005), directed by Tim Story
58.) Hancock
(2008), directed by Peter Berg
57.) The Crow
(1994), directed by Alex Proyas
56.) Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993), directed by Stuart Gillard
55.) Tank Girl
(1995), directed by Rachel Talalay
54.) The
Punisher (2004), directed by Jonathan Hensleigh
53.) Zebraman
(2004), directed by Takashi Miike
52.) Batman: The
Movie (1966), directed by Leslie H. Martinson
51.) Orgazmo
(1997), directed by Trey Parker
50.) Superman
Returns (2006), directed by Bryan Singer
49.) The Green Hornet (2011), directed by Michel Gondry
48.) Hellboy II:
The Golden Army (2008), directed by Guillermo del Toro
47.) TMNT
(2007), directed by Kevin Munroe
46.) Iron Man 2
(2010), directed by Jon Favreau
45.) The
Incredible Hulk (2008), directed by Louis Leterrier
44.) Spider-Man
3 (2007), directed by Sam Raimi
43.) Blade II
(2002), directed by Guillermo del Toro
42.) Punisher:
War Zone (2008), directed by Lexi Alexander
41.) Push
(2009), directed by Paul McGuigan
40.) Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtle (1990), directed by Steve Barron
39.) Hellboy
(2004), directed by Guillermo del Toro
38.) Darkman
(1990), directed by Sam Raimi
37.) Defendor
(2009), directed by Peter Stebbings
36.) The Amazing Spider-Man (2012), directed by Mark Webb
35.) Megamind
(2010), directed by Tom McGrath
34.) Kick-Ass 2
(2013), directed by Jeff Wadlow
33.) Constantine
(2005), directed by Francis Lawrence
32.) The Wolverine (2013), directed by James Mangold
31.) Superman II
(1980), directed by Richard Donner & Richard Lester
30.) The
Rocketeer (1991), directed Joe Johnston
29.) Unbreakable
(2000), directed by M. Night Shyamalan
28.) Batman
Returns (1992), directed by Tim Burton
27.) Big Hero 6
(2014), directed by Don Hall & Chris Williams
Tier 2: Very Good Superhero
Films
These are the superhero films you love.
26.) X-Men
(2000), directed by Bryan Singer
25.) Thor (2011), directed by Kenneth Branagh
24.) Blade
(1998), directed by Stephen Norrington
23.) Captain America: The First Avenger (2011), directed by Joe Johnston
22.) Man of Steel (2013), directed by Zack Snyder
21.) Kick-Ass
(2010), directed by Matthew Vaughn
20.) X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), directed by Bryan Singer
19.) Thor: The Dark World (2013), directed by Alan Taylor
18.) X-Men 2
(2003), directed by Bryan Singer
17.) Watchmen
(2009), directed by Zack Snyder
16.) Batman
(1989), directed by Tim Burton
15.) Superman
(1978), directed by Richard Donner
14.) Iron Man
(2008), directed by Jon Favreau
13.) Chronicle (2012), directed by Josh Trank
11.) Spider-Man
(2002), directed by Sam Raimi
10.) Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), directed by Anthony Russo & Joe Russo
With Phase II of their MCU,
Marvel has taken their films to a new level of quality, fun and entertainment.
Marvel also positioned their solo-hero films to fit character specific genres
(Iron Man 3’s 80s/90s style action movie, Thor: The Dark World’s adventure
fantasy feel and Guardians of the Galaxy’s space opera vibe). Captain America:
The Winter Soldier wonderfully works as an action spy/thriller, feeling just
gritty enough while still holding onto the MCU’s overall lighter tone.
9.) Batman:
Mask of the Phantasm (1993), directed by Eric Radomski & Bruce Timm
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is
the feature film incarnation of Batman: The Animated Series. It is just
brilliant, bring fans what is probably the best versions of Batman, the Joker
and a Batman movie (until Christopher Nolan made his Dark Knight Trilogy).
8.) Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), directed by James Gunn
First there was Star Wars; next
there was Firefly; now there is Guardians of the Galaxy. The film is just plain
fun, mixing great sci-fi elements with awesome action, funny writing, maybe the
year’s best soundtrack, and a stellar group of characters (and our latest Han
Solo/Malcolm Reynold in Star Lord).
7.) The Incredibes (2004), directed by Brad Bird
Brad Bird’s first Pixar film
showcases a family of superheroes in a world of superheroes, but the genius of
the film is that he takes these extraordinary characters and makes them first
exist in the mundane tediousness of normal, everyday life.
6.) Iron Man 3 (2013), directed by Shane Black
Shan Black is known for writing some of
Hollywood’s best action films in the 80s and 90s (most famously Lethal Weapon).
With Iron Man 3, he gives the Tony Stark adventure the same vibe, while also
giving Robert Downey Jr. some of his best dialog to date (recapturing the magic
of their Kiss Kiss Bang Bang collaboration).
Tier 1: Simply the
Best
These are the films that changed the rules, making superhero
films the massive critical and commercial successes they are today.
The first half to two-thirds of
The Avengers is a little rocky, but once things finally kick off in New York
the film is nothing but pure gleeful joy.
4.) Batman Begins (2005), directed by Christopher Nolan
Origin stories are the hardest to
tell, as so much story is devoted to the how and why. Christopher Nolan,
however, set the new standard with Batman Begins, one that has not yet been
eclipsed.
3.) The Dark Knight Rises (2012), directed by Christopher Nolan
Epic is a simple and short way to
describe the last chapter of the Dark Knight Trilogy. Nolan’s film feels
massive in scale, but everything is rooted in character and emotion.
Spider-Man 2 is the perfect mix
of Sam Raimi’s campy style and great storytelling, creating the best comic book
feeling superhero film. It is infinitely watchable, and always enjoyable.
Brilliantly capturing the essence
of Michael Mann, Nolan creates a superhero film that completely transcends the
genre (forcing the Oscars to change their rules so they do not look like fool
again after they snubbed it in 2009), rewriting the rules of what a superhero
film could aspire to be. It is a magnificent piece of entertainment and art
(and let us not forget Heath Ledger’s chilling portrayal of the Joker – it is
breathtaking).
