Shazam! his theaters this weekend and my review for it is currently available for you to check out. In this edition of Top 5 Friday, in honor of the aforementioned Shazam, we’ll be taking a look at the best superhero movies of the latter half of this decade. For argument’s sake, I’m going to keep this list to 2015-2018 because Hellboy comes out next week and Endgame comes out in 3 weeks so to avoid quickly dating this post, I’m excluding this year altogether. Without further ado, Wham Pow Woosh!
Honorable Mentions:
Yeah, there are just too many great superhero movies nowadays so to avoid thoughts of “But wait, why didn’t you put…?” So, here are four superhero films that I absolutely love but couldn’t find room for on the final Top 5.
- Aquaman is a wonderful superhero fantasy that not only balanced humor and action but told a beautiful story with incredible stakes. Unmatched joy from DC.
- Avengers: Infinity War is everything that I hoped it would be. Although it seemed to have trouble balancing tones at times, it managed to squeeze so much into 145 minutes that it became just about the most super that a movie could get.
- Thor: Ragnarok is a movie that did more for a single comic book character than any Marvel movie ever has done. Changing a fairly one-note action hero into a wonderfully deep individual with desires and regrets. Oh, and it’s simply a blast.
- Deadpool 2 proved that what Ryan Reynolds wanted to achieve with this character works on every level. Taking the blissful formula of the previous film and injecting a high level of emotional stakes truly makes this one great ride.
Number 5…Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is at number five because it’s still very recent and although I’ve seen is more than three times, I can’t put it any further so soon. Either way, this movie is simply superb in every way. It is The Princess Bride of superhero films as it has everything you could hope to see in a single story. Some people disregard it for being an animated film but I think that’s a grave mistake as this has more to love than almost every other film released in 2018.
Number 4…Captain America: Civil War is the sequel to my favorite superhero film of all time (2014’s The Winter Soldier) and easily one of the best Marvel movies ever made. Even though this movie is Civil War, pitting together more than a dozen heroes, what makes this movie so special is the intimate story of friendship between Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes, and how far one will go to protect who they love. Sprinkle some other heroes in there and you’ve got one of the best action movies of the century.
Number 3…Wonder Woman is a film I really enjoyed in theaters but took me more than 18 months to watch for a second time. Having watched it last night, I feel as though its place in my Top 5 is more than well-deserved. It’s social commentary on the disparity amongst the military hierarchy from grunt to general resonated with me, and what it had to say about the role of Ares possibly falling to humans to perpetuate resonated greatly. On top of that, the action is amazing and the humor works on all levels…aside from Dr. Poison who is best just to ignore. Highly recommend this one.
Number 2…Logan is on here because, well, it’s Logan. Not only was this one of the best movies of 2017, but it was the first superhero movie that got a serious Oscar nod via the Adapted Screenplay category. The way it puts a nice bow on Hugh Jackman’s career as the titular Wolverine and how it feels like a very self-contained story even though it’s in a series with a dozen other films makes the environment even more desolate and depressing. It’s a beautiful film with a perfect conclusion.
Number 1…Black Panther is a film that I’ve seen three times now, with the most recent viewing being within the last week. With one of the greatest villain-hero relationships in cinematic history, with Killmonger blaming Black Panther for the entirety of slavery, this movie is awe-inspiring on all fronts and becomes so much more than a superhero movie after the very first scene. It’s Oscar nomination for Best Picture seemed patronizing at first but after letting it settle, I think it’s great that people are finally taking these movies seriously. I mean, it’s only taken more than a decade but here we are.
Good job, superhero films! Next stop: Endgame…
If you liked this, feel free to check out my other content! If you didn’t like it, then maybe you’ll enjoy my other content instead? It’s worth a shot 🙂
As always, thanks for reading and I’ll see you soon!
-Blake
The Entertainment Elite 