Superhero films don't tend to be Oscar contenders. There's a reason for that, although Guardians Of The Galaxy disputed the matter following some jokes made at the latest Academy Awards ceremony, stating people assume because you make big films that you put less love, care and thought into them than people do who make independent films. Which is fair enough. There's a degree of artistry in aspects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster comic book adaptations, but for the most part they're about commerce more than anything, a packaged product that's made to certain specifications (hence why they all have suspiciously similar plots). That's not to say there aren't Oscar-worthy things going on within comic book movies, however. The script for Captain America: The Winter Soldier tackled similar themes to Edward Snowden documentary Citizenfour, you're unlikely to find better production design than in the Hellboy films, and an increasing number of big-name actors are being attracted to the superhero stuff. From the recent renaissance back to the earlier days of these films, there have been actors that gave it there all, even whilst wearing tights. Actors who elevated their roles, brought their A-game to B-movies. These are the ten most intense comic book movie performances ever.
Tom Baker is the Comics Editor at WhatCulture! He's heard all the Doctor Who jokes, but not many about Randall and Hopkirk. He also blogs at http://communibearsilostate.wordpress.com/
