Ranking All Major Comic Book Movies (2017)

Ranking All Major Comic Book Movies (2017)

As 2017 winds down and comes to a close, the superhero film industry seems to be doing no such thing. With the release of six major comic book films this year, nearly all of them were huge critical and financial success. Today, I'm going to be ranking them in order of what I thought of them based on quality of film - let's begin. 

6. Justice League - I had so many expectations for this film. This was supposed to be the one that DC learned from their mistakes and made a film that was worthy of the cast of characters. A film with Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Cyborg, and Aquaman should not have been this subpar. And yet, here we are, in 2017 with DC still struggling to produce quality content. While it did have many redeeming elements, such as performances by indidvual cast and some good action set pieces, the storyline dragged the film down, both in the theater and to the bottom of this list. 

5. Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume II - Much like Justice League, though to a lesser extent, this film was somewhat of a disappointment. That is not to say that this is a bad film by any stretch of the imagination - however, after the monumental success of James Gunn's original, this film had a lot to live up to. And while the film was hilarious about 80 percent of the time, the jokes felt rushed and forced often and the storyline felt slightly convoluted. Yet, what held this film together and still made it as entertaining as it was was the cast and characters; their chemistry together is what made us love the first film and what excites us so much about seeing them in next year's Infinity War. 

4. Wonder woman - These films from here on out are almost on the same level - all excellent, quality films. It was very hard to make this ranking because of how good each one of these next four films are in their own right. Wonder Woman was a huge leap forward for the DCEU until Justice League took two steps backwards. The fresh, bright and simple take on a wonderful character (Diana Prince) was such a great thing to see. Chris Pine's Steve Trevor stole the movie. The only reason that this film was ranked below the next three was because of the third act; the third act felt so anti-climactic after having seen such a great film. But on the whole - this is EASILY the best DC has had to offer since Christopher Nolan and I cannot wait to see Wonder Woman in other properties.

3. Thor: Ragnarok - Ragnarok signaled the end times for the characters in the film, but for us movie fans, we saw the rebirth of an Avenger that had previously been sidelined by mediocrity and lack of depth. Thor came to the forefront in a huge way with this film as Taika Waititi delivered on a film that was chalk full of comedy and a warmth that is not seen much today. This film brought such fun to the comic book genre and proves why this genre is not stale in the slightest. While it may not be the most substantial film in the world, with a slight lack of depth and heart, this film fires on all other cylinders. 

2. Spider-Man: Homecoming - When people heard that Spider-Man was again being rebooted for the third time the last fifteen years, people were skeptical. Yet, after seeing Tom Holland's brilliant performance in Captain America: Civil War, we began to think " Maybe we do have the right Spider-Man." And after seeing Spider-Man: Homecoming, I can gladly see that our faith in the wall-crawler has been restored. This film was so youthful and energetic as it follows a high school Peter Parker struggling to balance his life with what he really wants to: become an Avenger. And perhaps what elevates this movie above the other ones - the excellent villain. Vulture, played by the great Michael Keaton brought a gravitas and a real set of stakes to the film not seen in a long time in the MCU. 

1. Logan - What can we say about this film that hasn't been said before - Logan, in my opinion, i s modern masterpiece and completely subverted the entire genre. Instead of big blockbuster action with the world at stake, this film deliberately decided to focus on the idea of growing old and having to give up your dreams. This film brought Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart to the top as they gave their performances of their lifetimes as these two characters. The real emotion and heart felt throughout the film, as well as the real desperation that we saw through the characters is undeniably what makes this film so amazing. This film will be remembered for a long time to come.