While not all Marvel films are created equal, 2023 proved just how diverse in quality the films inspired by the company’s iconic characters can be. WhileAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniarepresented the worst of what comic book movies have become, films likeGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3andSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verseprove that Marvel films can still be popular with critics and audiences.
There are a number of films based on Marvel Comics’ characters that were unjustly hated and deserve a rewatch. These 10 movies stand out in particular.
‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ (2015)
Joss Whedon’s first follow-up toThe Avengersdeserves credit for posing a question that many fans ask themselves now: would the world be a better place if The Avengers had never come together in the first place?
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By suggesting a rift within the group was brewing,Avengers: Age of Ultronhelped to set up the conflict inCaptain America: Civil War. Whedon uses the character of Ultron, voiced magnetically by the greatJames Spader, as a representation of all of Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) flaws. This became a critical talking point as the Marvel Cinematic Universe continued.
‘Blade II’ (2002)
Blade IIallowed directorGuillermo del Toroto essentially make his version ofAliensbut with vampires. While del Toro wasn’t as creatively involved with the project as he had been in hisHellboyfilms, he still brought in a level of practical craftsmanship and incredible makeup effects that made the sequel feel like it was made by someone who clearly loved the source material.
In retrospect,Blade IIis a far more action-packed and entertaining film than its predecessor, which had a lot of backstory to get through before it delved into the plot.
‘Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer’ (2005)
It’s hard to understate how significantlyFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surferimproved upon its predecessor. While the 2005 film felt like a botched romantic comedy that happened to use the characters from Marvel’s “First Family,” the 2007 sequel was simply a wild, silly cartoon that got into the outer space weirdness of the source material.
Doug Jones’incredible motion capture performance andLaurence Fishburne’s booming voice make the titular Silver Surfer far more interesting than any of the heroes. While none of it is high art,Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surferembraced the tone of the original 1960s comics.
‘Spider-Man 3’ (2007)
Spider-Man 3is flawed but too ambitious to be discounted entirely. It’s a film that’s overlong and stuffed with subplots, and the characters of Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) andGwen Stacy (Bryce Dallas Howard)feel like they would have benefited from being saved for another film.
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However,Sam Raimicreated some truly beautiful moments, such as the creation of the Sandman (Thomas Hayden Church) and Peter’s (Tobey Maguire) touching final farewell to his best friend Harry Osborn (James Franco).Spider-Man 3is also responsible for the “emo Peter Parker” dance sequence, which Raimi had always intended to be campy on purpose.
‘The Incredible Hulk’ (2008)
The Incredible Hulkplaces low in many Marvel fans’ ranking of the MCU movies, and it’s often because some preferMark Ruffalo’s depiction of Bruce Banner overEdward Norton’s. While Ruffalo certainly nails the role, Norton provides a different perspective as a darker, more contemplative character on the run for answers.
If viewed as a standalone film without the context of the MCU,The Incredible Hulkdoes a great job of condensing the origin story into a brief section early on. The opening favella chase remains one of the best-directed action sequences in the entire Marvel universe.
‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ (2016)
LikeSpider-Man 3,X-Men: Apocalypsewas a highly ambitious film that certainly had its flaws. However, it’s interesting how each of theX-Menfilms with the younger cast representative of the decades that they are set in.
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X-Men: First Classfelt like a 1960s espionage film, andX-Men: Days of Future Pastfelt like a 1970s dystopian sci-fi adventure. It only makes sense thatX-Men: Apocalypsewould end up feeling like a goofy 1980s disaster movie.Oscar Isaacdeserves all the credit in the world for putting such passion behind a character that is so inherently goofy.
‘Daredevil: The Director’s Cut’ (2003)
In recent years, many comic book films likeThe WolverineandBatman v. Superman: Dawn of Justicewere released theatrically and rated PG-13, but received an extended edition that was rated R.
Some fans may not be aware of the darker, R-Rated cut of2003’sDaredevil,which improves significantly upon the cheesy theatrical version.Daredevil: The Director’s Cutfelt much closer in tone to the eventual Netflix series by cutting out many of the goofier elements. It even manages to turnColin Farrell’s depiction of Bullseye into a menacing antagonist and not the laughingstock he was originally.
‘Iron Man 3’ (2013)
Shane Blackis the writer of some of the greatest action comedies of all time; this is the man behindThe Nice Guys,Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and theLethal Weaponfranchise, and there was nobody better to be writing quips for Tony Stark.
Iron Man 3made the bold but admirable decision to divert from the original source material and turn “The Mandarin” (Ben Kingsley) into nothing more than a figurehead representative of the news media’s collective fear of terrorism. It was an interesting idea within a franchise that only rarely seems to take risks.
‘The Wolverine’ (2013)
The Wolverinedoes a great job at telling a more focused story aboutHugh Jackman’s Logan that embraced a specific genre. In the same way thatJames Mangold’s follow-up,Logan, was directly inspired by classic Westerns,The Wolverineis indebted to classic Samurai films and ties in Wolverine’s backstory to events within Japan’s history in World War II.
The Wolverineis a darker take on Logan, as the character struggles with whether he wants to truly be mortal. It certainly served as a good palate cleanser after the disaster that was 2009’sX-Men Origins: Wolverine.
‘Hulk’ (2003)
Ang Lee’sHulktold Bruce Banner’s (Eric Bana) origin story by acknowledging the importance of his father, David (Nick Nolte), in his decision to become a hero. Bana and Nolte do a great job of adding dramatic heft to the characters, showing how David’s mental illness impacted his son’s life.
Lee used Thadeus Ross’ (Sam Elliot) malpractice to directly criticize military policies, an interesting decision given the real-world events of 2003.Hulkhas heavy themes, but Lee inserts enough eye-popping visuals to retain its entertainment value.
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