100 Greatest Comic Book Movies Of All Time
46. Hellboy
We owe Guilermo Del Toro for Hellboy. In the same way that Ryan Reynolds was instrumental in bringing Deadpool to the big screen (real Deadpool, not that mouthless lie from Origins), Del Toro laboured in love on making Big Red a thing. He was forced to jump through loops for it (specifically, he was told to prove himself on Blade II) and had to argue for Ron Perlman in the lead rather than Nic Cage.
Imagine that and now think about how brilliant the introduction to the devilish anti-hero is compared to the nightmarish vision that could have been had Sony forced Cage on Del Toro. It's another of those delightful oddball superhero movies, celebrating those who live at the edge of things and what's not to love about a pathos-filled Perlman resisting his nature, seeking love and companionship and chewing cigars like a badass?
[SG]
45. X-Men: First Class
X-Men: First Class doesn’t just revive the franchise after the mess that was The Last Stand, but it gives it a completely new life. There’s a whole new kind of energy brought to this film, courtesy of Matthew Vaughn’s slick direction and the superb new cast.
Replacing Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan is no easy feat, but James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender bring new shades to two iconic characters in ways that feel fresh but without losing the essence of them, and their relationship is the lynchpin of this.
Jennifer Lawrence is great too as Raven, as part of what’s an extremely talented cast, and the whole thing is a smart, sleek, and confident return to form.
[JH]
44. Big Hero 6
Big Hero 6 takes all the heart and warmth of a Disney movie and combines it with the heroic arcs of Marvel, creating something both exciting and emotional in the process. The whole film is an act of bringing clashing qualities together - like western San Francisco and eastern Japanese culture, nurturing and familial love with aggression and violence, and the various qualities of individual personalities into one big superhero team: it’s a celebration of all things different and unique brought to life in gorgeous animation.
And of course, the giant ‘huggable robot’ Baymax built for bringing happiness to those around him is a genius concept. We all need a Baymax in our lives.
[AM]