Like I already did for DC movies a while back, these are my thoughts on the Marvel movies.
Excluding the MCU, which will get its own ranking down the line.
I’m handling this slightly differently from the DC one, ranking based on the following scores:
1) First impression. What I thought of the movie the first time around.
2) Rewatchability. How the movie lends itself to multiple re-watches, whether I’ve done it or not.
3) Current impression. What I think of the movie now, thanks to multiple watches or because of other movies or simply by the passage of time.
Additional rules:
A) Marvel movies released during the MCU are still part of this, including the ones later incorporated into the larger multiverse.
B) direct-to-DVD and made-for-TV movies are still included
C) most animated projects are excluded from the list, with a couple of exceptions that I find worthy of being discussed
D) this is 100% personal preference and taste
Also: when it comes to the more modern movies, it’s really hard for me to go full “this is the worst thing ever produced by mankind” when I’ve seen TRULY bad ones.
So if you’re looking for a rant about how modern movies are somehow a crime against humanity and the death of cinema… you’re forgetting how bad a bad superhero movie can be and this definitely isn’t the post for you, sorry.
Captain America
Year: 1944
Format: theatrical serial
We’re not off to a great start because I have yet to see this 15-chapter movie serial.
Which is a shame since, as the first-ever live action Marvel adaptation, it’s historically significant.
The fact that it apparently bears little resemblance to the comics doesn’t inspire much confidence, and movie serials can be really hit-or-miss with me. I’ve seen a couple of surprisingly good ones, but it’s so easy for them to turn very boring.
Dr. Strange
Year: 1978
Format: made-for-TV
And speaking of characters who bear little resemblance to the comics!
I haven’t watched this on its entirety, but unlike Captain America’s serial I have seen multiple scenes so I can at least give a partial opinion.
First impression: 0/10
Rewatchability: ???
Current impression: 0/10
Yeah, uhm… what I have seen is reeeeally bad. From what I’ve seen Strange acts nothing like the character and the story doesn’t seem to fit him.
It was intended as a pilot for a TV series and I completely understand why they didn’t pick it up; I’m not even convinced they had the budget for a pilot, let alone a movie.
Let me put it this way: I have seen scenes from this movie about 20 years ago and not even once I’ve though about looking them up again. I do have the lowest possible interest of checking out the whole movie, just in case I decide I have too many working brain cells.
In this movie’s defense, it’s probably a blast if you’re on drugs.
Captain America
Captain America II: Death Too Soon
Year: 1979
Format: made-for-TV
I’m putting these to together because, exactly like Doctor Strange, I’ve only seen scenes from both movies.
First impression: 2/10
Rewatchability: ???
Current impression: 2/10
What do I even have to say? It’s Captain America as a motorcycle hero with a transparent shield, played by Reb Brown. Whose acting range would have made him a better choice to play the shield.
From what I’ve seen it’s probably not anywhere near as boring as Doctor Strange, and you can at least laugh along the campiness sometimes.
Shockingly it MIGHT have had a bit of an impact on the character, as Cap’s love for motorcycles later showed up. More importantly, Steve Rogers… who has no connection whatsoever to WWII in this version… is an artist, long before the comics introduced that as Steve’s passion.
Although Steve would never be caught dead with a goofy helmet like this.
Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned
Year: 1980
Format: made-for-TV
Another one I haven’t seen… I will reach movies I’ve actually watched, I promise!
This is one of the few animated movies I’m including in the list, given just how unusual it is.
This was an anime produced by Toei Animation… yes, THAT Toei… and very loosely based on the Tomb of Dracula series.
Apparently it’s pretty bad as both an anime and as an adaptation, but I really want to see this one some day.
Its claim to fame, besides being the very first Marvel anime, is that it might also be the first movie to ever show Dracula eating an hamburger.
Howard the Duck
Year: 1986
Format: theatrical
Hey finally a movie I’ve actually watched!
Not that there’s a whole lot to be celebrated.
First impression: 7/10
Rewatchability: 4/10
Current impression: 4/10
I’m pretty sure I had no clue this was based on a comic book the first time I saw it.
As a kid I didn’t find it all that funny, but I do remember being intrigued by the villain and finding it quite scary. Hey I must’ve been like seven the first time I saw it, give me a break.
I’ve seen this one quite a few times… it was on Italian television with surprising frequency for a long time… and I mostly just stuck around for the fight scenes with the villain at the end.
Years later, even the villain wasn’t that great, although the visual effects still mostly hold up.
For what it’s worth, Steve Gerber liked the movie.
To this day it’s one of the extremely few movies in this list I have yet to see in English… I’ve only seen the dubbed version.
It’s not exactly high on my list of priorities.
The Incredible Hulk Returns
Year: 1988
Format: made-for-TV
A follow-up to the TV series, which had ended its run in 1982. Surprising it took THAT long, considering the series was a commercial success.
While I have seen the TV series, I have very little memory of it and haven’t had the chance to re-watch it. But I do remember this one quite vividly because I made sure to record this one on VHS; this was also the very first team-up movie, because Thor was basically the co-star.
Not a very good version of Thor: this one is summoned by Don Blake, instead of being a transformation… but as a separate character, he wasn’t that bad.
Extremely dated and cheap by today’s standards, but it does have its charm.
First impression: 8/10
Rewatchability: 6/10
Current impression: 7/10
The Trial of the Incredible Hulk
Year: 1989
Format: made-for-TV
In retrospect, I wish I had recorded this one too; I wouldn’t get to watch it until years later.
It has a much better script than the previous one, and Daredevil is adapted FAR better than Thor.
In fact this was intended as a backdoor pilot for a Daredevil series, which wasn’t picked up.
I’m still amazed that it took THAT long for Daredevil to get a TV show: how hard would it have been to give him a procedural where he puts on the suit five minutes per episode?
Not that I can complain about what Daredevil eventually got, but still weird.
First impression: 8/10
Rewatchability: 7/10
Current impression: 7/10
I’m not saying that Daredevil looks the way he does in Frank Miller’s “Daredevil: The Man Without Fear” and in nearly the whole first season of his Netflix series because of inspiration from this movie… but it’s not THAT unbelievable.
This also has the first Stan Lee cameo in a Marvel movie.
The Punisher
Year: 1989
Format: direct-to-video (USA), theatrical (international)
Speaking of characters who had FAR better luck in TV shows than in movies!!!
If Daredevil should be easy to adapt, the Punisher should be incredibly hard to mess up… just give him a skull on his chest and make him kill criminals for a hour and a half, how hard is that!?
They took away everything that makes the Punisher unique, and even Dolph Lungren (who isn’t that bad but has absolutely nothing to work with here) could salvage this one.
Completely interchangeable with tons and tons of forgettable 80s action movies.
Its only redeeming quality is that the action is pretty solid, especially the fight scenes with Japanese assassins. Weird how in movies the Punisher fought ninjas before Daredevil.
Trivia: this was retitled “Il Vendicatore” in its Italian release, which I find funny given that it literally translates as “The Avenger”.
Yes, this is the exactly the same translation used for the Avengers.
First impression: 6/10
Rewatchability: 4/10
Current impression: 4/10
The Death of the Incredible Hulk
Year: 1990
Format: made-for-TV
I’ll be honest, I completely forgot everything about this movie except the ending.
Which does indeed feature the death of the Hulk as promised… because he fell from a helicopter.
That’s it. Not even from high altitude, maybe three floors at most.
Not that unbelievable considering TV Hulk is noticeably weaker than comics Hulk, sure, but quite anticlimactic and a very sour ending for the character.
If I watched it more than once I definitely forgot about it.
First impression: 6/10
Rewatchability: ??? Seriously, what even happens in this movie?
Current impression: 5/10
Captain America
Year: 1990
Format: direct-to-video (USA), theatrical (international)
I was aware of the abysmal reputation of this movie long before I managed to actually watch it.
And up to this point I thought it had to be an exaggeration… the movie couldn’t be THAT bad, right?
Yeah, it wasn’t as bad as its reputation. I think it’s actually WORSE.
The story is all over the place; this time they do keep the WWII connection, but change the Red Skull from a Nazi from Germany to a fascist from Italy.
As Captain America, Matt Salinger (son of the Catcher in the rye writer) somehow manages to turn a worse performance than Reb Brown.
There is a director’s cut that is supposed to be way better than the theatrical version, but somehow I doubt that’s enough.
First impression: 1/10
Rewatchability: 0/10 alone or 6/10 with friends to make fun of it
Current impression: 1/10
And in case you’re wondering yes, they do butcher everything that is supposed to be Italian in this.
The fact that Red Skull looks like this for a considerable chunk of the movie doesn’t help.
Which is a pity because honestly he doesn’t look THAT bad when in full costume, especially given the abysmal budget.
The same can’t be said for is easily THE worst superhero costume ever.
Seriously, how do you make Captain America look scarier than Red Skull???
Fantastic Four
Year: 1994
Format: unreleased
As you’re probably aware, this movie was not even officially released… and they didn’t tell the actors about it.
I did manage to see it through perfectly legal means.
Is this a good movie? Oh God no!
But shocking a lot of passion does manage to slip through, to the point that I consider this the best live action adaptation of the Fantastic Four for the following 31 years.
First impression: 6/10
Rewatchability: 6/10
Current impression: 7/10
Strange how it included the only time Doctor Doom has ever been adapted in live action from 1994 to 2026.
Generation X
Year: 1996
Format: made-for-TV
Another failed pilot, as well as another one I have not seen.
How weird is it that the first X-Men to ever get a live action adaptation are Jubilee, Banshee and Emma Frost? The latter wasn’t even a proper X-Man at the time!
First impression: ???
Rewatchability: ???
Current impression: ???
Granted, nothing I’ve seen from this movie makes me believe it’s a good adaptation.
Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Year: 1998
Format: direct-to-video (USA), theatrical (international)
This one has all the hallmarks of being a trainwreck, so imagine my shock to finally watch it and realize… it’s actually pretty good? What!?
Seriously! It’s not a masterpiece and it probably owes more to G.I.Joe than SHIELD (not that surprising if you know the history of the franchise), but it’s way better than it has any right to be.
I bet you didn’t expect this one to be written by David Goyer, the same writer of the Dark Knight trilogy.
First impression: 6/10
Rewatchability: 8/10
Current impression: 7/10
David Hasseloff just nails Nick Fury. You’d expect the Hoff to ham it up, and he certainly does… but in a way that I found fitting for the character. He’s just missing a bit of white hair to be perfect.
As you can expect the budget isn’t stellar, but they do manage to almost pull off the Helicarrier.
Blade
Year: 1998
Format: theatrical
If you don’t count TV movies, this is the first Marvel movie since Howard the Duck.
They definitely went into a different direction! And with a character 99% of comic book readers never heard of at the time.
You kind of have to switch off your brain for most of the movie to enjoy it, but it’s worth it.
Do I have to say anything? It’s Wesley Snipes being a badass, killing vampires for 120 minutes, and becoming the only reason anyone today cares about Blade.
First impression: 8/10
Rewatchability: 9/10
Current impression: 9/10
X-Men
Year: 2000
Format: theatrical
First Marvel movie I actually saw in theater! I even managed to bring my parents with me, and both loved it despite knowing nothing about superheroes.
I was really hyped about this one, but I made a tragic mistake: I read EVERYTHING about this movie before seeing it: the movie had been released in the US in July, but wouldn’t be released in Italy until October.
So by the time I actually watched it, while I liked it… I wasn’t surprised by anything given the amount of spoilers. I made sure to never make that mistake again, something way easier today when movies tend to be released simultaneously or at worst a few days apart.
First impression: 9/10
Rewatchability: 8/10
Current impression: 7/10
With the hindsight of several years and several movies… it has issues. Xavier, Magneto and Wolverine are the only ones where the actors nail the characters: everyone else is forgettable.
And of course it starts the plague of movies trying their best to avoid adapting the costumes.
Still, one positive outcome that cannot be overstated is that the success of this movie is what FINALLY brought the school setting back to the X-Men! It’s amazing how underutilized it had been for two decades at that point.
Blade II
Year: 2002
Format: theatrical
While the first Blade is something of a guilty pleasure, I’ve always felt that the character isn’t interesting enough to sustain more than one movie.
It has Guillermo del Toro directing and Ron Perlman as one of the bad guys, and yet I can barely remember what happens in this movie besides Blade killing vampires.
On a purely technical level it’s superior to the original, but this felt like a rethread to me (possibly because it’s written by the same guy of the original).
First impression: 7/10
Rewatchability: 6/10
Current impression: 6/10
Spider-Man
Year: 2002
Format: theatrical
If Blade proved that Marvel movies could be successful even if they star minor characters and X-Men proved it wasn’t a one-off… more than anything, THIS movie is the real start of the superhero boom.
At the time Spider-Man was my favorite superhero (he’s gone down a couple spots given the abysmal treatment in comics), so you can imagine my hype.
It completely exceeded my expectations for it was possible to translate from comics to the big screen, on top of being a good movie.
With a few asterisks.
First impression: 10/10
Rewatchability: 8/10
Current impression: 7/10
Don’t get me wrong, it’s still a good movie… but in the long run I believe it did a disservice to the character. Because for A LOT of people, this is what they think of when they think Spider-Man… which is fine, but the problem for me is that they identify Peter Parker with Tobey Maguire’s performance.
And because of him, a lot of people view Peter as this dorky goody-two-shoes who barely ever cracks jokes and has no edge to his personality.
Controversial opinion, but I believe Maguire is both the worst Peter Parker AND the worst Spider-Man out of all the theatrical movies.
As if that wasn’t enough, this franchise also has the worst possible rendition of Mary Jane: she’s just TERRIBLE in this.
To balance things out, however, this movie has THE BEST MOVIE CASTING EVER with J.K.Simmons.
Not only he’s become THE voice of J. Jonah Jameson in multiple media, even as a detractor of this movie I now hear HIS voice when I’m reading JJJ.
Daredevil
Year: 2003
Format: theatrical
This movie wants to be Spider-Man soooooo badly. And it ends up failing spectacularly at it.
The movie is all over the place, it rushes WAY too much and its characterization is inconsistent.
That being said… while Ben Affleck is a terrible Daredevil, he’s not that bad as Matt Murdock.
First impression: 6/10
Rewatchability: 6/10
Current impression: 5/10
I especially liked his scenes with Foggy, played by Jon Favreau… weird how both Foggy and Happy Hogan were played by the same actor, isn’t it?
But on the other hand, Jennifer Gardner plays a very generic Elektra and Colin Farrell plays a Bullseye so embarrassing he feels like he’s from a different universe… he’s so over the top he would fit in the Adam West Batman series.
On the plus side, Michael Clarke Duncan plays an outstanding Kingpin.
I don’t care if he’s not white or overweight, the moment he enters the scene he IS Kingpin.
X2
Year: 2003
Format: theatrical
Yes that’s officially the title, although it’s better known as X-Men 2.
An improvement over the original in most regards, even if it still has no clue what to do with half its cast. But what it does with the characters it DOES use makes up for it.
First impression: 9/10
Rewatchability: 9/10
Current impression: 8/10
Hulk
Year: 2003
Format: theatrical
I had high hopes for this one, as a big Hulk fan. I wasn’t familiar with Ang Lee as a director, but given his fame I was expecting something different from any other superhero movie.
And the movie WAS different… in being extremely hard to follow thanks to the baffling decision to replicate the panel structure in the worst possible way.
This movie also felt unbearably long: with 138 minutes it’s not anywhere NEAR the longest superhero movie, heck it’s not even the longest in this list probably, but this feels like a four hour movie.
First impression: 6/10
Rewatchability: 4/10
Current impression: 4/10
I know this movie has its hardcore fans, but… sorry, the movie is not as smart as it thinks it is and you will never convince me the editing wasn’t commissioned to an insane asylum.
The Punisher
Year: 2004
Format: theatrical
I remember only 3 things about this movie. John Travolta being a very disappointing villain, the movie deciding the Punisher’s backstory wasn’t tragic enough so instead of just having his wife and children murdered by criminals they kill his ENTIRE extended family at a family reunion…
…and the fight with the Russian. Where the actor was injured for real with a real knife and then proceeded to just act the rest of the scene!
First impression: 6/10
Rewatchability: 4/10
Current impression: 6/10
Spider-Man 2
Year: 2004
Format: theatrical
As of today, STILL the best live action Spider-Man movie.
My issues with Tobey Maguire and the writing for Mary Jane still remain, but holy crap is this a good movie with an amazing villain. Pun intended.
First impression: 10/10
Rewatchability: 10/10
Current impression: 10/10
Blade: Trinity
Year: 2004
Format: theatrical
Given my disinterest in the character, you might be shocked to know I’ve never seen this one.
Apparently it’s bad? Still not convinced Blade can sustain more than one movie.
Man-Thing
Year: 2005
Format: made-for-TV (USA), theatrical release (international)
With the exception of movies prior to 2000, I’m betting THIS is the movie most of my readers have not watched.
Don’t bother. It’s an incredibly generic monster movie that has nothing to do with Man-Thing.
First impression: 4/10
Rewatchability: 0/10
Current impression: 2/10
Surprisingly good special effects for Man-Thing when he bothers to show up.
For like five minutes.
Looking nothing like Man-Thing.
Elektra
Year: 2005
Format: theatrical
If you though Jennifer Garner was disappointing in Daredevil… well you were right, but she’s even more disappointing here.
However I do have something good to say about this movie! At some point in the middle of the movie, there is a plot twist regarding the little girl Elektra is protecting that is handled REALLY well.
Like, the “recontextualizes every single scene before it” and “it belongs in a good movie instead of this trainwreck” sort of plot twist.
First impression: 7/10
Rewatchability: 8/10 to see if you catch the clues for the plot twist
Current impression: 6/10
Fantastic Four
Year: 2005
Format: theatrical
You’d expect a superhero team movie in this period to be aiming to copying the X-Men, but this one opts for doing its own thing.
Badly.
There are some good points: Michael Chiklis delivers an outstanding performance as the Thing despite the restrictive makeup, and some of the team banter is great.
Chris Evans does his job for what the script says, but it’s ultimately damaging for the character since it lead the public to think the Human Torch should just be a horny moron.
But I did not buy for a second that Ioan Gruffudd and Jessica Alba were Reed and Susan.
First impression: 6/10
Rewatchability: 6/10
Current impression: 4/10
Also, weird choice to have a Lex Luthor knockoff as the bad guy instead of someone from the comics.
X-Men: The Last Stand
Year: 2006
Format: theatrical
A prophetic title considering this is the last X-Men movie before effectively a soft reboot.
The director is a monster, a lot of characters still have nothing to do, Cyclops receives possibly the worst character assassination I’ve seen outside of comics, and it butchers the Phoenix saga… and despite all that, I actually like this one.
Yeah controversial opinion, but I don’t think this is that much worse than the previous two movies.
First impression: 8/10
Rewatchability: 9/10
Current impression: 8/10
Ghost Rider
Year: 2007
Format: theatrical
You probably know this, but Nicolas Cage is a HUGE fan of comics. In fact that’s even why he has that name: he was born Nicolas Coppola, but he took his stage name from Luke Cage.
I have no proof, but I just KNOW that at some point he MUST have tried to play Luke Cage.
This is an incredibly stupid movie, but it rocks thanks to two things: Nicolas Cage being his gloriously unhinged self, and Ghost Rider being the coolest thing ever put on screen.
Too bad they never made a sequel.
First impression: 7/10
Rewatchability: 10/10
Current impression: 7/10
No, seriously, this movie makes no sense if you think about it for thirty seconds.
Time better spent watching a flaming skeleton on a flaming bike race another flaming skeleton on a flaming horse skeleton.
Don’t try to convince yourself you’re watching this movie for the plot.
Spider-Man 3
Year: 2007
Format: theatrical
I would pay to watch a cut of this movie that completely cuts both Venom and Green Goblin.
I’m fully convinced that if this movie focused only on Sandman he would be regarded as one of the best written and most convincing villains put on the big screen.
The scene where he reforms his body for the first time alone is pure cinema and I would argue is the best scene of ANY Spider-Man movie.
Unfortunately it has to share the screen with everything else.
First impression: 6/10
Rewatchability: 6/10 except that 10/10 Sandman scene
Current impression: 5/10
Did you even remember Gwen Stacy was in this? And that she was EVEN WORSE as an adaptation than Mary Jane?
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Year: 2007
Format: theatrical
Who came up with the idea of adapting the Galactus trilogy in the second movie?
Well, after 2025 we know that you can do it well even in the FIRST movie… if you have a good script and a good director, something this movie desperately needed.
Because while it toned down the goofiness of the first movie, it completely butchers the storyline.
First impression: 7/10
Rewatchability: 5/10
Current impression: 4.5/10
Despite that I believe this is BARELY better than the original thanks to Silver Surfer.
Quite easily THE best transfer from comics to movies, at least for looks and voice.
I still don’t get why they keep pushing this Discount Lex Luthor into these movies. Is he supposed to be somebody I should recognize from the comics?
Punisher: War Zone
Year: 2008
Format: theatrical
I haven’t seen this one. Apparently it’s much better than the previous one?
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Year: 2009
Format: theatrical
Finally the movies adapt something from the comics that was missing so far: needlessly convoluted and nonsensical retcons!
Yeah even Hugh Jackman can’t save this one from being very disappointing. I did like the plot twist regarding the murder of Logan’s love interest, I did not see that coming.
First impression: 5/10
Rewatchability: 4/10 just to look for the plot twist
Current impression: 5/10
X-Men: First Class
Year: 2011
Format: theatrical
Finally the movies adapt something from the comics that was missing so far: needlessly convoluted and nonsensical retcons… that actually make the franchise better? Wait, what?
Yeah excluding the spinoffs, this is my favorite X-Men movie so far.
It does introduce several things that will eventually crash the whole franchise, but tying itself to a specific time period made it stand out. And I also feel like this movie addressed the parallels between mutants and real life oppressed minorities WAY better than the previous one.
First impression: 8/10
Rewatchability: 10/10
Current impression: 9/10
The movie deserves some sort of prize for “dumbest superhero death” though, considering the way they kill off Darwin.
At least actor Edi Gathegi got the last laugh: his role as Mister Terrific in 2025’s Superman received a very deserved praise.
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
Year: 2011
Format: theatrical
This must be some sort of concept artwork. I haven’t spent the past 15 years denying the existence of a second Ghost Rider movie for nothing.
This deserves an explanation: I have a running gag with my friends where I staunchly deny Ghost Rider has never had a sequel.
Just in case you were wondering if I am sane in real life.
First impression: how can you watch…
Rewatchability: …a movie…
Current impression: …that does not exist?
Which is a pity because, if this movie existed, the scene where Ghost Rider transforms a gigantic machine into a fire monster would be the only cool thing in it.
The Amazing Spider-Man
Year: 2012
Format: theatrical
If you thought I have weird tastes in superhero movies so far, that was nothing.
Because I’m going against the mainstream opinion here: this is an infinitely superior Spider-Man when compared to the Raimi movies.
Notice I didn’t say this is a better MOVIE than the Raimi trilogy… God no!!!
The story is crap, the villain is terrible, and the cinematography is way worse.
But this movie has a better Spider-Man. In fact, even we consider ONLY the “knifes are my weakness” scene, that’s ALREADY more Spider-Man than ALL the Maguire scenes COMBINED.
I mentioned the damage of Maguire’s portrayal before, and here it comes into play: it’s because of those movies that people thought Andrew Garfield was “too cool to play Peter Parker”.
Because the Raimi movies convinced people that Peter’s personality was supposed to be stuck to what it was in the first ten issues of the Ditko run, completely forgetting his MASSIVE character development. And Garfield is not just a perfect Peter Parker from the Romita run forward… I consider him the best live action Peter Parker so far.
And that’s not even mentioning Emma Stone as Gwen Stacy, possibly the best chemistry between protagonist and love interest I’ve seen in a superhero movie!
So the first two Raimi MOVIES were better than this, but this one has the best Spider-Man.
And while I acknowledge the flaws, I watch a Spider-Man movie to see Spider-Man first and foremost.
First impression: 9/10
Rewatchability: 8/10
Current impression: 8/10
The Wolverine
Year: 2013
Format: theatrical
The forgotten middle child of the Wolverine sort-of trilogy.
Seriously, the first Wolverine movie is laughed at and the third is praised… both deservedly so… but everyone forgets about this one.
Which is a pity because I think it’s very good.
Sure the villain is ultimately disappointing and you can see the twist regarding him a mile away, but the story is not ABOUT the villain: it’s about Logan’s personal journey, and I think it really succeeds at that.
Plus this is the only version of Mariko I actually care about, and Yukio is a fantastic sidekick that I wished was in the comics too (she’s NAMED after the comics character but she’s nothing like her).
First impression: 8/10
Rewatchability: 8/10
Current impression: 9/10
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Year: 2014
Format: theatrical
Everyone praised this movie when it came out. I think it might be the dumbest X-Men movie ever.
Seriously, this is in the movie:
A) Magneto takes control of the Sentinels
B) Magneto lifts a whole stadium and drops it over the White House, about to kill Nixon
C) Mystique takes out Magneto with a plastic gun
D) Mystique is about to kill Nixon but Xavier convinces her to stand down
E) because she stopped Magneto and didn’t kill the President, the Sentinel program is dropped. Because apparently having one mutant stop another mutant negates the urge to have human weapons that can deal with mutants.
Cool visuals, especially the Sentinels of the future, but man is this movie dumb.
First impression: 6/10
Rewatchability: 4/10
Current impression: 5/10
I also didn’t care about Quicksilver as much as apparently everyone else.
Yes his slow motion scene was cool, but 1) I was already tired of the speed-as-slow-motion gimmick 2) he doesn’t have Quicksilver’s personality AT ALL.
That wasn’t Pietro, that was Wally West with white hair!!!
Big Hero 6
Year: 2014
Format: theatrical
How this didn’t become a huge franchise is just beyond me.
Maybe because most people don’t realize it’s a Marvel movie? I wouldn’t blame them, the Big Hero 6 are absolute nobodies in comics. Shockingly, even after this movie!
Still a great kids movie with the perfect balance of humor, action and heart.
There are better movies on this list, but almost nothing else does exactly the job it wants to do to this level.
First impression: 10/10
Rewatchability: 10/10
Current impression: 10/10
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Year: 2014
Format: theatrical
And the controversial opinions keep coming because I’m apparently one of the five people alive who defend this movie.
It has the best live action Spider-Man AND the best live action Peter Parker AND the best live action Gwen… all three are even better than the first one… aaaaaand they’re stuck in the worst Spider-Man movie.
Had they ditched Electro-in-name-only as the main villain, MAYBE the plot could have worked? I actually like Harry Osborn’s plot better HERE than in the Raimi movies, despite the fact that he’s introduced WAY too quickly without any buildup.
It’s a real pithy… Garfield runs circles around Maguire when it comes to acting as Peter if you take off your nostalgia glasses… but I have to factor that the main plot of the movie sucks.
Still, like I said I watch a Spider-Man movie first and foremost for Spider-Man, and man do I love his portrayal in this.
So it REALLY balances things out for me, even if it probably means I have trash tastes in movies.
First impression: 8/10
Rewatchability: 7/10 but just fast forward the plot
Current impression: 7/10
Fantastic Four
Year: 2015
Format: theatrical
I straight up refuse to watch this movie. Its very existence goes against everything I love about the Fantastic Four.
There are people who insist this would have been a great movie without the studio interference.
But when your movie’s premise is “Fantastic Four done as body horror with people who barely know each other and can barely stand each other”, I simply don’t believe you.
The idea that any comic book can be re-interpreted as a “realistic and grim” story will never die soon enough.
I’m breaking the rules for this one to give my impressions even if I have only watched specific scenes and summaries.
First impression: 0/10
Rewatchability: -10/10
Current impression: –∞/10
Think I’m being too harsh? It establishes that the origin of the Thing’s “It’s clobbering time” catchphrase… it’s what his older brother used to tell him as a kid before beating him up.
This movie deserves to be thrown into the Negative Zone.
Deadpool
Year: 2016
Format: theatrical
Deadpool can be a bit much, but his chaotic nature translated perfectly into the movie.
Just don’t take your kids to see it.
First impression: 10/10
Rewatchability: 9/10
Current impression: 10/10
This joke makes me laugh every. Single. Time.
X-Men: Apocalypse
Year: 2016
Format: theatrical
The movie that exists to explain why Xavier was bald in the first movie.
I am not kidding. That is the biggest consequence of this movie where Apocalypse probably kills like a couple million people.
I’m not even a big Apocalypse fan and even I am offended by how the character is treated.
First impression: 4/10
Rewatchability: 4/10
Current impression: 4/10
Logan
Year: 2017
Format: theatrical
What if we made a superhero cowboy dystopia tragedy as a character study?
We’d have a masterpiece, that’s what would happen.
One I’m not in a hurry to re-watch because holy crap are Xavier and Logan’s final scenes heartbreaking.
First impression: 10/10
Rewatchability: 4/10
Current impression: 10/10
Deadpool 2
Year: 2018
Format: theatrical
How is it even possible that DEADPOOL has the best “X-Men saving the life of actually oppressed mutants” plot out of all these movies???
This movie has no business being as good as the original.
First impression: 10/10
Rewatchability: 9/10
Current impression: 10/10
Venom
Year: 2018
Format: theatrical
This is the best “dumb movie who knows it’s dumb and we’re here for the badass character” movie since Ghost Rider.
It does sound strange to make a movie about a Spider-Man villain in a universe that has no Spider-Man, but that’s not the point.
This is a buddy movie. Specifically, it’s “Eddie and his monster”.
The chemistry between Eddie Brock and Venom makes this movie. Thank God for that because the plot makes no sense and the villain is crap.
But the movie makes no pretense of being anything but dumb shlock, which I respect.
First impression: 8/10
Rewatchability: 8/10
Current impression: 8/10
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Year: 2018
Format: theatrical
Still the best Spider-Man movie and the only reason why 99% of people care about Miles Morales.
I had absolutely ZERO expectations for this movie and went to see it entirely thanks to word of mouth.
This truly is a comic book put to screen, in ways that only animation can (sorry Ang Lee’s Hulk); they even had to invent whole new animation tricks to pull off some of this stuff.
And every single time I watch this I notice some small detail I had missed before.
First impression: 10/10
Rewatchability: 10/10
Current impression: 10/10
I mentioned Andrew Garfield is my favorite Spider-Man… in live action.
Jake Johnson as “Peter B. Parker” is the best Peter AND the best Spider-Man.
And it’s not even close.
Dark Phoenix
Year: 2019
Format: theatrical
Alternative title: “Wait are they still making these?”.
Very easily the worst X-Men movie so far. Yes, even worse than Wolverine Origins, by a lot.
I struggle to find any redeeming qualities: for completionists only.
First X-Men movie I’ve only seen once without any desire to watch it again.
First impression: 3/10
Rewatchability: 0/10
Current impression: 3/10
The New Mutants
Year: 2020
Format: theatrical
This one would’ve been dead on arrival even if it hadn’t been released in full Covid lockdown.
I’m not a huge New Mutants fan, so the fact that this has BARELY anything to do with the characters didn’t bother me.
Unfortunately it doesn’t have much going for it; another one I’ve seen only once, but at least I would watch this one without being paid to do so.
First impression: 5/10
Rewatchability: 2/10
Current impression: 5/10
In the movie’s defense, though, Anya Taylor-Joy’s portrayal made me care just a little bit about Magik. And I’ve never liked Magik as a character before, so that’s something.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage
Year: 2021
Format: theatrical
If the first one is a guilty pleasure, the sequel falls utterly flat for me.
Mostly because it commits two unforgivable sins.
First, it hypes the shenanigans of the first movie without bringing the charm or the laughs.
Second, Carnage is sooooo disappointing it’s not funny anymore.
First impression: 4/10
Rewatchability: 2/10
Current impression: 4/10
Morbius
Year: 2022
Format: theatrical
Nobody told me it was morbin’ time, so I never managed to see this one.
At this point it’s been memed so much that I’m afraid it’s either:
A) not as bad as its fame, but still not a fun watch
B) even worse than its fame, but still not a fun watch
Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
Year: 2023
Format: theatrical
Unpopular opinion: I think this is much worse than the first.
Which isn’t to say it’s BAD, and it does have many things in its favor.
It fleshes out both Miles and Gwen, with the former exploring a Spider-Man who still has both parents and the latter exploring a lot of trauma quite well.
Plus the Spot was just perfectly, both as a failed villain and an eldritch abomination.
However the multiverse stuff got a little distracting, and I have A BIG problem with the whole “canon events” plot point. It doesn’t ruin the movie but it sours it for me… so read further only if you have already seen the movie.
SPOILER ALERT – CLICK TO SEE
So EVERY Spider-Man version, including EVERY version of Peter Parker, is just okay with the concept of allowing innocent people to die because it’s their destiny? Including, quite specifically, letting each version of Uncle Ben die!?
Sorry, any Spider-Man that is okay with it is not Spider-Man. I can accept the existence of variants that agree, but EVERYONE except Miles and a couple of allies? REALLY???
First impression: 7/10
Rewatchability: 4/10
Current impression: 8/10
Rewatchability would be higher without the spoiler, but man does that rub me the wrong way.
Madame Web
Year: 2024
Format: theatrical
I had the chance to watch this one for free since it was bundled with a streaming service I already paid for in order to watch something else.
I still want my money back.
This might be the dumbest movie in the entire list. Absolutely NOTHING in this movie works.
First impression: 0/10
Rewatchability: 0/10 alone or 10/10 with friends to make fun of it
Current impression: 0/10
Venom: The Last Dance
Kraven the Hunter
Year: 2024
Format: theatrical
I haven’t seen either one. I doubt either is good unless you watch it with someone else just to make fun of it.
Lots of probably controversial takes there, I guess.
There’s a reason why I review comics and not movies…
Expect an MCU version of this later this year.