With Captain America: The First Avenger opening today and thousands descending upon San Diego this weekend for Comic-Con, I thought it appropriate to showcase some of the best super-hero films over the years.
What makes a good super-hero film? Well, the character first and foremost: is he or she's story engaging enough to carry their own movie? Second, the villain: you need an adversary just as compelling as your hero. Finally, you need the right crew: having a great character and villain means nothing if you don't have the right director, actors and composer to pull things together and deliver a truly memorable, timeless piece of entertainment. Below are five that have all of the above and then some.
1. Superman: The Movie (1978) - 33 years after first believing a man could fly, the father of the modern super-hero film remains the gold standard. The setting and effects may look a bit dated but it's still the best due to four simple ingredients: Richard Donner, Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman and John Williams. These guys working in concert could have made Ernest Goes to Camp an Oscar winner.
2. The Dark Knight (2008) - Christopher Nolan's second Batman feature is much more than a great super-hero flick, it's a multi-tiered crime epic in the tradition of Michael Mann's Heat and Brian DePalma's Scarface. Heath Ledger provides a wholly original, chilling take on the Joker and Christian Bale is simply the best Caped Crusader ever.
3. Iron-Man (2008): John Favreau's tale of egocentric weapons manufacturer Tony Stark who escapes death and grows a conscious with the help of a super-charged suit of armor is an adrenaline-fueled blast from start to finish, mainly due to Robert Downey Jr.'s charismatic, pitch-perfect performance as Stark. Having Jeff Bridges as the heavy doesn't hurt either.
4. The Rocketeer (1991) - Joe Johnston's adaptation of Dave Stevens' beloved comic about test pilot Cliff Secord who finds a rocket pack and uses it to battle gangsters and Nazis in 1930s Hollywood is pure cinematic gold, a throwback to Saturday-morning serials of yesteryear (think Raiders of the Lost Ark). The entire cast - Billy Campbell as Secord, Alan Arkin as Peevy, a voluptuous Jennifer Connelly as Betty and Timothy Dalton as the nefarious Neville Sinclair - is absolutely first rate. James Horner's soaring score only helps make it that much more of a classic.
5. Batman (1989) - Ok, I'll probably take some flack for including this in the top five but if you were between the ages of 5 and 55 in the summer of '89, chances are you saw and least somewhat admired Tim Burton's dark reimagining of the Batman legend. Sure Michael Keaton was a bit stiff as Bats and we could have done without the comedic stylings of Robert Wuhl, but the film's pure visual splendor, coupled with Danny Elfman's brooding score and Jack Nicholson's over-the-top performance as the Clown Prince of Crime are enough to to warrant a return to Gotham every few years.
If I could pick five more: 6. X-Men 2 (2003); 7. Superman II (1981); 8. Spider-Man 2 (2004); 9. Hero at Large (1980); 10. Batman Begins (2005)
