20. X-Men (Bryan Singer, 2000)
The original and best entry in the X-Men series just makes it into our top 20. Back in 2000 we hadnt seen anything quite like Bryan Singers adaptation of the essential X-Men works, now, 12 years later weve probably seen more than enough. For the comic book geeks amongst us there were high hopes for this film, especially as to which mutants would make the final cut. Generally speaking all the favourites are there but this is definitely Wolverines movie - as are the rest. In this first outing for Xavier et al, two warring groups of mutants butt heads over what is right and wrong when the sinister Magneto, leader of the Mutant Brotherhood, decides he will attack and then mutate the worlds leaders at a UN summit, feeling it will help prevent the governments from segregating mutants from normal society and allow his mutant master race to become the dominant species. Some fantastic casting choices (Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen), a fan pleasing script, great character development and some white hot action sequences will keep you entertained throughout. Its just a shame that Gandalf and Picard ... I mean McKellen and Stewart are so underutilised.
19. Spider-Man (Sam Raimi, 2002)
Spider-Man is pretty much everyones favourite Marvel superhero. When a big budget movie was announced with Sam Raimi at the helm the nerdiverse was more than a little nervous. Yes Raimi is a fantastic visionary, but hes more accustomed to smaller budgets, cheap scares and the closest hed ever come to a comic book piece was producing 1994s Time Cop (number 77 in this list, in case youve forgotten). So when Spidey finally hit cinemas in 2002 everyone sighed with relief because it was simply excellent, and not only because it had a guest cameo from Bruce Campbell. In his first big screen outing we learn all about Spideys backstory including his brief run as a wrestler where he fights the legendary Macho Man Randy Savage; ooooh yeah! Fast forward a few months and Peter is in full superhero mode forced into a dangerous liaison with the sinister and deadly Green Goblin. Queue lots of explosions and sky battles as Spider-Man swings between skyscrapers to avoid the flying Goblins attack. The first Spider-Man grossed over $800,000,000 and spawned 2 sequels, countless video games and toy lines. The recent reboot will not be released in time to be considered for this list but you can expect it to rank highly here next year.
18. Spider-Man 2 (Sam Raimi, 2004)
Superior sequel in many ways to Raimis 2002 blockbuster. This is a much better, much more fun version of the classic Spider-Man story with Alfred Molinas Doctor Otto Octavious as the primary bad guy out to ruin Peters teenage years. Tobey Maguire returns as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, with Kirsten Dunst back as love interest Mary Jane Watson. Also returning to the cast is Bruce Campbell. This time Campbells stand out performance is as a snooty doorman. My God, how has this man not won an Oscar yet? Hes just so versatile! Another appearance from Dr Curt Connors gives fans false hope as to who might be making an appearance sooner or later. Those fans will finally get what they want in 2012s Amazing Spider-Man.
17. X-Men: First Class (Matthew Vaughan, 2011)
If you lost all faith with the franchise post X3 then youll be pleasantly surprised at how different this entry actually is. Starting in 1944 Poland and ending in 1960s America, First Class traces the long history of the relationship between Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr. Starting out as brothers the two mens clashing ideologies eventually tear them apart creating the earliest incarnations of the Brotherhood of Mutants and the X-Men. This is easily the best of the X-Men franchise, banishing the horrendous Wolverine movie into memory. OK, so the 60s backdrop is a little too swinging for the most part and some of the casting is a little questionable but if you can get passed that and lets face it you can then this is a fan boys wet dream of a movie for the most part. Original Kirby costume designs, fairly accurate backstories and some impressive visual effects keep the film on track, however an awful lot of action takes place over the 2 hours screen time too much perhaps. Fortunately it all seems to make sense so dont worry too much about having your brain fried. A successful reboot to the original team up movie that is due to spawn a sequel very, very soon.
16. Watchmen (Zack Snyder, 2009)
Yet another adaptation of Alan Moores work finds its way onto our list and lands comfortably in the top 20. When you think of Watchmen what comes to mind? For me its the phrase MASSIVE BLUE WANG, or any variation on this, because no matter who I mention the film to thats always the first thing they remember Dr Manhattans somewhat serpent like penis. Truth be told the first few times I watched Watchmen I didnt even notice it, but now its like my brain is tuned in to notice nothing else! My brain seemingly stops my eyes from blinking or my head from turning away just so I can experience this disturbing visual over and over and over again. I once even tried skipping chapters on the DVD and it skipped to THAT EXACT SCENE! I know superhero movies have always had an undercurrent of homoerotic subtext but this is just ridiculous. Anyway, beyond this theres also a subplot about a madman on the loose who is killing superheroes. Determined to get to the bottom of things is deranged anti-hero Rorshach, a mask wearing psychopath who is the only member of the fabled Watchmen that just cant let go. Its excellent and dark and gritty and violent and well ... perfect. Of course Alan Moore thought it was dreadful, but in this instance he was wrong. ot your average superhero movie, perhaps a little too niche to make it into the top 15.