Our Top 10 Marvel Films: 10-7

We rank our top 10 Marvel films so you can yell at us.

Story by: Matt Cummings

If anyone had told us back in 2008 that Marvel would become the profitable franchise in recent history, we would have laughed them out of the room. Who could blame us: after selling their soul (and several famous properties) to Fox and Sony, Marvel rebounded with an impressive list of their own films. But of the entire universe, which rank the highest and which deserve to languish in the Blu-ray bargain bin?  DC had better get its act together, before Planet Earth forgets them entirely.

To make it easier to read, we've broken it down into two articles.  We'll release our top 5 list sometime this week.  You'll soon see why we only took four this time and not five.

Here now is our top favorite Marvel films from 10 to 7:

10) X2 (2003) 

Up to this point, we hadn't seen a film quite like X2, a film which actually upped the stakes for comic book movies by outdoing the original in several ways.  Chief among them was honoring characters as they were actually depicted in the comics.  From the terrific opening as Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) attempts to assassinate the US President to Magneto's (Ian McKellen) scheming, X2 was also great because it allowed major characters to die.  Famke Jansen's Jean Grey saved Wolverine and team by sacrificing herself, evolving into the dreaded Phoenix force.  Whether that character received fair treatment in X-Men: The Last Stand will have to wait until a 'Worst-Of' article appears on our site.  For now, X2 was a game changer that looks a tad dated by today's standards.

9) The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Say what you want about current Hulk Mark Ruffalo: he pales in comparison to Ed Norton who made a great Bruce Banner/Hulk in this sequel.  Featuring a new cast including Liv Tyler and William Hurt, the production was plagued by Norton's demand for script rewrites and for arguing with Director Louis Leterrier.  Perhaps that's why Big Green didn't do so well, and why we haven't seen a follow-up since.  If there was one issue we had with IH it lies in third act as Banner and Abomination (Tim Roth) break Harlem with a punch-fest that gets a little old.  We're not convinced that a Hulk follow-up would draw the crowds, unless a compelling story arose that placed Banner in extreme danger, such as the Planet Hulk comic series.  There, he ran his own planet, which is probably what the big guy needs - he's got a big appetite you know!

8) Spider-man 2 (2004)

If you've read our review of 2012's The Amazing Spider-man, you know we don't quite love it...and really don't like it at all.  While we're happy Director Marc Webb has gone back to the comic books for inspiration, we just didn't like the sappiness between Spidey's Andrew Garfield and Gwen Stacy's Emma Stone.  Here, Director Sam Raimi hits all the points, giving Tobey Maquire's Spider-man quality baddies in Dr. Octopus (Alfred Molina) and The Green Goblin (Willem Dafoe).  The result is great action set pieces and a story that makes us think Peter Parker can be killed.

7) X-Men: First Class (2011)

A good friend of mine constantly says that X-Men: First Class was a happy accident.  Who could blame him?  Fox has been inconsistent in providing us with great Wolverine stories, and you already know about our disdain for X-Men: The Last Stand.  Which is why we loved FC so much: James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender excel as younger versions of Professor X and Magneto, while Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult round out a great cast that also includes hottie Rose Byrne.  There's even a Wolverine cameo that features perhaps the best line of the film.  And while we're genuinely worried about Days of Future Past, we at SJF find ourselves watching First Class far too much.

Which Marvel movies do you have on your list?  Stay tuned for the top of our list in a future article.

Discuss this article with fellow SJF fans on Facebook. On Twitter, follow us at @SandwichJohnFilms, and follow author Matt Cummings at @mfc90125.

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