100 Greatest Comic Book Movies Of All Time
55. Avengers: Age Of Ultron
The stress of making it might have ended Joss Whedon's time as an MCU film-maker, but Avengers: Age Of Ultron is still very entertaining and works as an escalation off the back of not only The Avengers but also the stand-alones that came after it. And given the production issues, it's a wonder it's even watchable at all.
It works best when Whedon is allowed to show off his eye for characters and spectacle and while there are some who believe it's a little overblown, James Spader's Ultron is a vaudeville delight clearly revelling in his ham. He might not be Thanos, but there are ideas in his dynamic with Tony Stark that are far more interesting than a lot of the rest of the MCU can muster. And it helps that Robert Downey Jr is once again brilliant.
It didn't quite deliver on the peril we were promised, but this is still a very good Avengers movie that deserves better than the critical response it tends to attract.
[SG]
54. Dr Strange
A visual feast full of Inception-level city bending, Dr Strange sure is pretty to look at. The story of a cocky surgeon that breaks his hands in a car crash and desperately seeks healing, Dr Steven Strange soon learns there’s more to life than flashy cars and world renown. Like literal magic-weilding badasses that can manipulate the very time and space we inhabit protecting the world from evil.
Benedict Cumberbatch is perfect as the smarmy Strange, and the effects are quite literally out of this world. That this was the place the time stone was seeded for the incredible Infinity War extravaganza only makes it all the more impressive to look back on.
[AM]
53. Blue Is The Warmest Colour
A patience-testing, three-hour long love story that features more than a couple exhausting sex scenes in place of any plot, Blue is the Warmest Colour is still one of the best romantic films of the decade. The relationship between Adèle and Emma is pitch-perfect, following their story as they explore their sexuality and learn to cope on their own growing up in France.
It’s pretty much just three hours of people eating spaghetti, crying and having sex (not necessarily in that order), but the devastating climax it builds to is more than earned.
[JB]