Five pathbreaking superhero films, ranked in order
What's the story
There have been a few superhero films that changed how we perceived the genre. From the early ventures to the classic Blade and subsequently, Spider-Man and The Dark Knight, superhero movies have undergone some serious thematic changes over time, leading us to the present day, where history's highest grossing movie is a superhero film! Here are five superhero films that changed the genre forever.
Movie #5
'Black Panther': The first superhero film nominated for Best Picture
Black Panther did what even Dark Knight couldn't. The film made it to the Oscars, getting nominated in the Best Picture category. 10 years ago, no one would've thought that a character like Black Panther would feature in a solo outing and the film would become this big a phenomenon. Brilliant performances, a relevant message, and a good story- Black Panther had it all.
Movie #4
'Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse'- Animation was never this beautiful
This brilliant piece of animation is the best Spider-Man film made to date. It wasn't a reboot or a sequel but a standalone film that broke conventions and featured a completely different rendition of the hero known as Spider-Man. In fact, it featured multiple versions of the webslinger. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was a leap of faith taken in the best possible manner.
Movie #3
'The Avengers': A few surprising choices that changed Marvel forever
Most fans wouldn't believe that The Avengers weren't considered bankable before the MCU films. The X-Men and Spider-Man were Marvel's hot properties before Kevin Feige entered the scene and gradually created a behemoth we today know as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Avengers was Marvel's experiment with some surprising character choices that went on to become a masterpiece and ended up changing Marvel forever.
Movie #2
'The Dark Knight': The very definition of flawless filmmaking
Christopher Nolan's second film in the Dark Knight trilogy will feature in every 'Best Film' list for years to come, superhero-based or otherwise. It is really difficult (near-impossible) to find a fault in it because of its sheer flawlessness! From Bale's Batman to Ledger's Joker and Nolan's direction, The Dark Knight has every ingredient of a superlative film. This one really deserved an Oscar.
Movie #1
'Watchmen': An underrated gem most of us haven't seen
Alan Moore's Watchmen was long considered to be un-filmable. In 2009, Zack Snyder adapted it to the big screen. The result was a cult-classic that captured the tone of the comic book perfectly. Watchmen is like poetry in motion and is one of the hidden, underrated cinematic gems that most people don't get to see. No superhero film has better casting than this one.