The 2017 crop of superhero movies is pretty impressive and it's safe to say that more
than one wildly exceeded expectations.
If you're looking for the best, we're running down the seven superhero movies released by
the major studios in 2017, ranked from worst to best.
Minor spoilers follow.
Justice League While audiences have been somewhat forgiving
of the DC Extended Universe's growing pains, critics have been merciless.
Unfortunately, Justice League proved no exception.
On the bright side, fans were finally treated to the visceral thrill of seeing Batman, Superman,
Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg, and the Flash together on the big screen.
But the film's uneven plotting and forgettable villain are hard to overlook.
Those weaknesses were mitigated to an extent by a couple of rousing action sequences, and
the winning presences of Jason Momoa's Aquaman and Ezra Miller's scene-stealing Flash.
So, it may not have been the Justice League all fans wanted, but it was ultimately an
enjoyable, if flawed, vehicle for some of the most beloved comics characters ever to
grace the page.
The Lego Batman Movie Fans were delighted when The Lego Batman Movie,
a spinoff of 2014's surprisingly excellent animated feature The Lego Movie, was announced.
The film continued the emphasis on clever, quirky, layered humor, and rewarded fans of
the Dark Knight with a steady stream of references to his past cinematic incarnations.
As good as it was, however, The Lego Batman Movie is still largely inessential.
It broke no new ground in terms of superhero films or Batman stories, failing to hit the
creative highs that the year's superior superhero movies all reached in one way or another.
It's squarely in the middle of the pack—but as an animated Lego outing, it's still a heck
of a lot better than the disappointing Lego Ninjago Movie.
Logan
Hugh Jackman's stunning 17-year run as Wolverine
in the X-Men series may never be surpassed, and he could hardly have gone out on a higher
note than Logan.
The film hit the right notes for the character in a way that no previous X-Men movie truly
had, thanks to its grim storyline and hard R rating, which finally allowed for an appropriately
Wolverine-esque level of violence.
If there was one consistent complaint about the film, it's that it may have taken its
grim and melancholy tone a bit too far.
The bleak and unforgiving world is consistently rendered in stark, dusty tones, and the fates
of our major characters aren't pretty.
Logan is a great Wolverine movie at long last, but this year's best superhero movies were
able to tell stories every bit as compelling—and not quite as bleak.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
2014's Guardians of the Galaxy certainly overperformed.
Nobody expected a team of virtually unknown characters featuring a tree and a
gun-toting raccoon to capture the hearts of moviegoers, but writer/director James Gunn
brought passion and vision—not to mention a stellar cast—to the project.
Guardians overcame low expectations to become one of Marvel's most-loved films, meaning
that its sequel faced expectations that were anything but low.
Fortunately, Gunn and his ragtag team of space heroes largely delivered with Guardians of
the Galaxy Vol. 2.
The action sequences are even crazier this time around, but the family-oriented story
also serves as a framework for Gunn to explore some of the more unlikely family dynamics
of his characters, and to delve into some of the more complex aspects of their personalities.
"Hahaha.
You just told everyone your deepest darkest secret."
"No, come on, I think you're overreacting a little bit."
"You must be so embarrassed!"
Vol. 2 may not quite have lived up to its predecessor, but it benefited from not trying
too hard to achieve that lofty goal.
Plus: any film that features Kurt Russell as a quasi-immortal living planet in human
form earns points for sheer awesomeness.
Wonder Woman
The DC Extended Universe has largely failed
to live up to expectations, but there's been one brilliant exception.
Director Patty Jenkins' Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot as the legendary Amazonian, blew
away audiences, single-handedly resurrecting hope for the DCEU as a whole.
Jenkins knocked all kinds of holes in the well-worn theory that audiences wouldn't respond
to a female-centric superhero movie by turning in a spectacularly shot and choreographed,
well-paced, and flat-out entertaining feature, anchored by Gadot's alternately graceful and
badass performance.
Wonder Woman suffers from only minor imperfections: plot-wise, it bears more than a passing resemblance
to Marvel's Captain America: The First Avenger, and some critics felt Chris Pine's Steve Trevor
could have been de-emphasized in terms of the title character's motivation.
But overall, Wonder Woman is a spectacular big-screen solo debut for a character Hollywood
has famously struggled to adapt.
Jenkins' deft directorial touch and refusal to objectify her lead only served to make
the character's subsequent appearance in Justice League function as a reminder of this far
superior film.
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Until 2015, Sony Pictures held the sole film
rights to Spider-Man.
The first appearance of Spidey in the MCU—in 2016's Captain America: Civil War—proved
what audiences have long known: Spider-Man belongs in a larger universe with the rest
of Marvel's heroes.
"Underoos!"
"Hey everyone!"
It doesn't hurt that Tom Holland is terrific in the role of Peter Parker, or Michael Keaton—in
a casting masterstroke—creates one of the more compelling villains in the MCU as Adrian
Toomes/Vulture.
But the true genius of Homecoming is in the decision to give us the bumbling, insecure,
15-year old Peter that previous cinematic incarnations never showed, and to let interactions
with classmates and other heroes inform and develop the character as they've always done
in the comics.
This Spider-Man has plenty of room to grow, and his first solo vehicle is an outstanding
beginning.
Thor:Ragnarok
Thor: Ragnarok The best superhero film of 2017 had the lowest
expectations of them all.
Thor: Ragnarok seemed like almost an afterthought—except to fans who'd been paying attention.
The signing of indie director Taika Waititi piqued the interest of those familiar with
his unique comic voice.
"When you're a vampire, you become very sexy"
And the news that the plot would incorporate
elements of the Planet Hulk storyline from the comics—as well as intriguing cast additions
including Cate Blanchett and Jeff Goldblum—clued them in that they might be in for something
special.
Thor: Ragnarok destroyed critical and box office expectations by finding the innate
silliness in the MCU's God of Thunder.
"Revengers'
"Revengers?"
"We don't have to have a name, we can have no name."
The movie's nonstop humor is liberally balanced with plenty of stunning action, a brilliant
soundtrack, and a truly threatening villain in Blanchett's Hela.
The welcome returns of Tom Hiddleston's Loki and Mark Ruffalo's Bruce Banner/Hulk—not
to mention some strongly drawn new characters and one well-placed Doctor Strange cameo—connect
the film to the larger MCU, but Thor: Ragnarok is its own singularly insane flick—and one
of Marvel's best.
Here's hoping we get a Waititi-directed Thor 4 as soon as possible.
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