Top 10 Superhero Movies

Okay, below are my picks for my Top 10 Superhero Movies. There's only one restriction: to make the list, the superheroes in the movies had to have been in a comic book first. Which means, unfortunately, that The Incredibles cannot be on the list. Sorry.

Also, a reminder: these are just my favorites. Not the "best", or "highest earning". Just the ones I like the most. Without much more ado, here we go:

10) Watchmen (2009/R)

If you're not a comic fan, I don't recommend this movie. In fact, if you've never read the comic, I don't recommend this movie. It's a great adaptation of the comic, and it's got some incredible visuals. It really does. That being said, it's the only (R) movie on my list. It has some pretty gratuitous violence and sex, as well as some pretty adult themes.

To be honest with you, I actually enjoyed one of the early trailers as much as the actual movie. You can watch it here if you want. I think it's the haunting Smashing Pumpkins song that makes the trailer cool.

9) The Dark Knight (2008/PG-13)

I know this movie probably tops a lot of people's lists. It's a really good movie. I also appreciate Heath Ledger's incredible performance. But my list is a list of favorite superHERO movies. To me, The Dark Knight almost felt like a superVILLAIN movie. The focus was so much on the Joker that I didn't enjoy it as much as some other people did.

Another complaint of mine was that it really felt like a couple of movie stuck together. (SPOILER) To me, once Gordon is revealed to not really be dead and they capture the Joker, it feels like the end of the movie. But wait! We still have another 40 minutes with a lot more dark and demented stuff for you to see.

I don't know. I wouldn't want to give the impression that I didn't like it, because I did, but it's definitely not in my top 5. Actually, I guess technically it's my #9.

8) X-Men - (2000/PG-13)

I've been an X-Men fan for years. I thought this movie did a great job of really bringing the characters to life. And how about that cast? Patrick Stewart? Ian McKellen? Really? How did they manage that? It just really made the movie, having some heavy-weight talent. And the rest of the cast weren't slouches either. (Except for Sabretooth.)

Also, this movie was (in my mind), the first of the latest generation of superhero movies. Before this movie, you had the original runs of Superman and Batman movies, and that was pretty much it. When this movie exploded, Hollywood woke up and realized that superheroes were still bankable, and were the new action stars. Geek was the new sheik.

7) Spider-man (2002/PG-13)

Great superhero movie. Nice origin story. Good villain. A little romance. What's not to like?

6) X2 (2003/PG-13)

Like the original X-Men, but better. Had some absolutely cool scenes. Magneto escaping from the plastic prison. Wolverine defending the kids at the school. And for the geeks, our first glimpse of Colossus and a hint at Phoenix.

5) Superman (1978/PG)

The original iconic superhero movie. The special effects are 1978 special effects. It's a little corny at spots. But...it's Christopher Reeves. IT'S SUPERMAN! C'mon! Thirty-two years later, it's still an awesome movie.

4) Batman Begins (2005/PG-13)

The first Batman (1989) didn't make my list, even though it was very close. I almost included it in place of The Dark Knight, but decided against it. The Batman franchise really floundered, in my opinion, after the first one. Thanks to Batman Begins (in spite of Katie Holmes) Batman was revived with Batman Begins.

I loved how this movie really fleshed out the Batman origin story past "his parents got shot". You learn where all his skills come from, his psychological and moral motivations. Great movie, start to finish (except for Katie Holmes). With a cast like Christian Bale, Gary Oldman, Liam Neeson, Michael Caine, and Morgan Freeman, I could have directed this movie and got it right!

3) Spider-man 2 (2004/PG-13)

Unless you just can't stand Spider-man, then you have to like this movie. Alfred Molina does an incredible job as Dr. Otto Octavius (Dr. Octopus). I'm not a big fan of the "I don't want to be a hero anymore" part of the movie, but there are several other scenes that easily make up for it.

The entire scene from the clock tower battle all the way through the fight on the train and Spider-man stopping the train is golden. I love the part where the evil doctor throws the car through the diner window and Spider-man grabs M.J. and dives out of the way to save her just in time.

The scene at the end where Dr. Octopus redeems himself is especially well done.

2) Iron Man (2008/PG-13)

Robert Downey, Jr. is Tony Stark. I'm a Jon Favreau fan, and I think he did a great job on this movie. I love the look of it, the story, the effects, everything. To me this is the quintessential superhero movie. Serious, but not too dark. Humorous at times, but not campy. The final fight scene was a little weak in my opinion, and that's the only thing that kept it out of the #1 slot. I think people that haven't ever even heard of Iron Man would really like this movie.

1) Mystery Men (1999/PG-13)

Right now, unless I've loaned (forced you to watch) this movie, then you are probably saying to yourself, "Mystery Men? What's that?"

How do I describe it? Let's see...how's about we start with the cast.

This movie is about a bunch of "wannabe" superheroes.

Ben Stiller as "Furious" - he gets mad...that's his power

William H. Macy as "The Shovelor" - he fights with a shovel

Janeane Garofolo as "The Bowler" - she uses a bowling ball containing the skull of her father

Kel Mitchell as "Invisible Boy" - he can turn invisible...as long as no one looks at him

Hank Azaria as "The Blue Raja" - he throws silverware...but not knives

Paul Reubens as "The Spleen"...you don't want to know his power

Round out this cast with Greg Kinnear as "Captain Amazing", the city's one true superhero, and Geoffrey Rush as "Casanova Frankenstein", the villain of the movie.

I will admit, this movie is an acquired taste for some. My wife loves it now that she's seen it a few times. Not so much on her first viewing. But there are so many hilarious scenes in the movie, I can't even begin to do them justice. Just watch it for yourself. If you can get past the first fifteen minutes of the movie, and buy into the world that they've created, I think you'll enjoy it.

This movie stands alone. It's in a class all by itself, and that's why it tops my list.

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I would have loved to put Unbreakable on the list, but again...didn't start in comics, even though it does have comics in it. The Matrix is another (pseudo-)superhero movie that is great, but unfortunately didn't qualify for this list.

What do you think? What movie did I miss? Agree with me? Disagree? Still with me at the end of the list long posting? Thanks!