Liam Hoofe ranks this year’s superhero movies from worst to best…
To describe a year as being ‘a marquee year’ for superhero movies feels redundant by this point. Every year fans are treated to at least five superhero movies and 2017 was no different. With DC, rather haphazardly, having entered the game in 2016, all eyes were on their first team-up attempt, Justice League this year, to see whether or not their cinematic universe could really compete with Marvel.
Fox, having hit the jackpot (financially, at least) with Deadpool last year, turned their attention to bringing to an end one of cinema’s most iconic characters with Logan, while Marvel delivered the last of their phase 3 movies before next year’s Avengers: Infinity War. But in a year where six movies were released between the three major players, who reigned supreme? Let’s take a look back at the six superhero movies released in 2017, and rank them, from worst to best.
6: Justice League
Before the DC fanboys start jumping down my neck in the comments section, let me just start this entry by saying that I actually enjoyed Justice League.
It was certainly very flawed as a movie- the CGI was shoddy, the villain was so bad it probably made Marvel think they were doing a good job in that department, and the script was pretty laughable. That aside, though, I couldn’t help finding myself drawn into the movie’s action pieces and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t laugh from time to time.
Justice League was far from perfect, and the very fact that it was considered a success just because it wasn’t a complete car crash highlights just how far behind Marvel DC really is, but it still did enough to keep me mildly interested in the DCEU as a whole.
5: Spider-Man: Homecoming
Spider-Man’s big return to the MCU was one of the most hyped comic book movie moments of 2017, and for the most part, Sony and Marvel succeeded in their joint venture.
Tom Holland’s take on Spider-Man was incredibly loyal to the comics and at times, the movie felt like it had been stripped straight from the page and put onto the screen. Michael Keaton’s Vulture was a fairly solid villain, at least by Marvel standards, and the supporting cast all played their parts superbly.
So then, why wasn’t I more satisfied with this movie? I did at times think the whole thing was trying too hard and while a lot of the humour landed, I found it a bit repetitive at times. The references to other teenage movies, while fitting, felt a little too on the nose, and there was a little too much Tony Stark for my liking.
4: Wonder Woman
While I did enjoy the first two movies on this list, the top four really shone, and pitting them against each other was no easy task. Wonder Woman arrived on screen with a lot of pressure on its shoulders. Not only was it the first female led superhero movie since Elektra damaged all of our retinas back in 2005, it was also the film tasked with saving the DCEU after the very, very polarising Suicide Squad and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. No pressure, Diana.
It was a massive surprise then when Wonder Woman smashed all of our expectations to smithereens. Gal Gadot was a revelation in the titular role, and Patty Jenkins’ direction was outstanding. The movie was not only action packed but also hilarious and surprisingly heartfelt. David Thewlis was wasted as Ares but I’ve given up all hope when it comes to villains these days anyway.
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Originally published December 17, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
