Superhero Films 2017 Showdown

First, let's have a quick recap/overview about what was released in the superhero spectrum of films this 2017:

• 20th Century Fox, coming off the financially and critically acclaimed Deadpool and the tepid, underwhelming X-Men: Apocalypse, gave us Logan. 
• The Marvel Cinematic Universe, coming off a great year with the highly succesful Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange, continued their hot streak with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Thor: Ragnarok. 
• Warner Animation, having found great success with The Lego Movie several years previously, gave Will Arnett's animated Dark Knight his own feature with The Lego Batman Movie.
• The DC Extended Universe, having financially and critically underperformed with Batman v.s. Superman: Dawn of Justice while critically underperforming, and financially overperforming with Suicide Squad, made their first stab at Wonder Woman while also doing their first big get-together of the Justice League squad.

So without further ado, let's have a recap of whether or not this was a good year for superhero films...

Biggest 'disappointment'?

I'd have to go with Justice League here, although in many ways it was a 'pleasant surprise'. It not a drag, far less offensive than Batman v.s. Superman, and though it's a train wreck of editing, CGI, and messy plot points, there's fun to be had in there. Having said that...it could have been done a lot better. The villain is horrible, there's too much world-building distracting from the flimsy plot, and Superman's turnaround felt extremely forced. It's not one of the worst films of the year, but as their other film this year showed, the DCEU can do so much better.  

Biggest (pleasant) surprise? 

Definitely going to go with that other DC film, Wonder Woman here. I was naturally going to be cynical after the misfires of 2016, but I really think that Patty Jenkins, Gal Gadot and co. nailed the character of Wonder Woman and all she represents perfectly here. It's not a perfect film on the whole, the villains are a bit uninspired, but it was a thrilling, powerful and humorous ride which made use of stunning cinematography, a sensitively crafted romance, great music, and a remarkable lack of snide cynicism to create a great superhero origin story. 

Best reprise?

Well I thoroughly enjoyed the return of all the Guardians of the Galaxy, especially Drax, and Thor has never been more delightful, but this easily goes to Logan/Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Charles Xavier (Sir Patrick Stewart) in Logan. I absolutely adored Logan through and through despite some very minor quibbles, and these two actors reprising their iconic characters for the last time was most essential to this. Seeing Wolverine finally utilized in all his R-rated, rage-fuelled glory was mesmerizing, and it was haunting to see the wear and tear of the years in Logan's body. And if seeing Charles in such a mentally frail and unstable state doesn't move you, well, I don't know what will. I don't even like X-Men all that much but these reprises were brilliant final goodbyes to the characters. 

Best new character? 

This would definitely have to go to the other principal character of Logan, Laura/X-23 (Dafne Keen). I have no idea if they're planning on making any more films with her, if they leave it just at that I'm more than fine with it, but Laura is just a fantastic new inclusion to the X-Men universe. Essentially a Wolverine in a kid's body, the character has such a great, heartbreaking backstory, is worked so effectively into the fantastic action sequences, and the way she interacts with Charles and Logan is brilliant.  

Best comic relief?

Giving a big rock monster the voice of a pleasantly soft-spoken Kiwi was an inspired choice, as Korg (Taika Waititi) in Thor: Ragnarok  is the highlight of some of the best comedy sequences in a Marvel film, in one of the MCU's funniest films thus far. I particularly love the recurring joke of the deceased Doug and his sudden arrival in the third act to infuse some much-needed humour. Loved every minute of this new character and I hope he returns.

Best 'villain'?

Well it's about time, Marvel, to step up your non-Loki villain game. Baron Zemo from Civil War was really effective, but Michael Keaton's portrayal of Adrian Toomes, or The Vulture in Spider-Man: Homecoming is brilliant. For most of the film he's menacing as the benevolent but no-nonsense criminal boss, with just the right amount of comedy to balance it out, never falling into the usual Marvel trap of being too much of a joke. Then there's that twist and that scene, which I must say is a tad too coincidental, but results in a downright chilling scene where Toomes threatens Peter Parker. It's the best scene in the film and neither indivdual is even in costume. 

Best 'dark horse' character? 

Let's be honest, Caliban kind of sucks as a mutant, his 'tracking powers' are some of the vaguest 'powers' ever, and on the whole he's a bit of a deadweight. They even used him last year in X-Men Apocalypse as a random plot device. But in the hands of James Mangold and Stephen Merchant (yes, Stephen Merchant) in Logan you grow to really care for the character. He's a funny, pathetic, sympathetic, and surprisingly complex side character in his brief screentime, and has excellent anti-chemistry with Boyd Holbrook's Donald Pierce that results in a final scene which is quite something - one wonders what Karl Pilkington thought of it. 

Best duo: 

I love the original Spider-Man films but one thing I never bought was Harry and Peter being friends, something which worsened in the Andrew Garfield films, as anyone who'd want to befriend that Harry Osborne (played by Dane DeHaan) was clearly not fit to be any sort of Spider-Man. In Spider-Man: Homecoming Tom Holland's Peter Parker and Jacob Batalon's Ned feel like very natural best friends. Their camaraderie and rapport feels so fresh and humorous without trying too hard, like you're really seeing two high school students having a good time. Extra points for Ned being endearing and even kind of helpful towards the end, culminating in one of the biggest laughs from the audience at my cinema with his final scene. 

Most 'surprisingly good' part of a film?

As I've said, Justice League is not without merit, and what they did with Flash (Ezra Miller) and Cyborg (Ray Fisher) is certainly admirable. While they've made Aquaman into a bit too much of a 'surfer bro' for my liking, I really enjoyed the humour and vibrant energy we got from Barry Allen and his fast-talking, fast-running antics even if his costume is a bit on the iffy side. I also was surprised that I liked Cyborg. It's a different take to, say, the Teen Titans version of the character, but I liked his inclusion and thought he was well implemented into the film. Hopefully next time round he'll get to loosen up a bit.

Most 'surprisingly good' part of a film?

Drax (Dave Bautista) once again being the highlight of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. It's a bit more of the same thing with a bit less focus, but I was delighted every time he was onscreen, laughing at his own dumb jokes, asking inappropriate questions, giving terrible romantic advice or going all-out in battle sequences. 

Most surprisingly bad part of a film?

The CGI Spider-Man in certain scenes in Spider-Man: Homecoming was pretty bad, he looked a bit like a video game recreation at certain points. Most of the time the technical aspects were good, but there's a few shots where he's webslinging which feel really artificial. I usually don't nitpick, but given that Marvel have all the money in the world, this is one aspect that I hope they'll rectify in the future. 

Best direction? 

Though I have a few issues with the finale, what Patty Jenkins did with Wonder Woman is really admirable. She controls the fine line between humour and darkness brilliantly, and each action sequence feels organic and integral to the storyline. She brings out excellent performances from both her leads, and I really appreciated the effort she took into making what could've been a very disposable.

Best screenplay? 

I loved all the little references Logan made to the wider universe, from Laura's comic books to the callbacks to Charles Xavier's school of mutants he so loved and who haunt his memory. It's a terrific screenplay that does not shy away from its comic book roots, but uses them to reinvent itself into a neo-Western, to brilliant effect. 

Best costumes? 

Thor: Ragnarok. It wins on account of whatever Jeff Goldblum was wearing alone. 

Best visual effects? 

Thor: Ragnarok was honestly the best-looking Marvel film, and possibly the best-looking superhero film this year. Every Flash Gordon-esque aesthetic scene was pitch-perfect and I loved every frame of the film. 

Better Batman? 

The Lego Batman Movie > Justice League. One of the weakest things about Justice League was that honestly, I did not care the least about Batman or Bruce Wayne, and it's not really Ben Affleck's fault. There were flashes of brilliance in BVS, especially in that very entertaining warehouse scene, but here all of that is disposed of, while the problematic aspects of the character are still retained. The film never seems to know whether it wants Batman to be the darker, brooding figure or the wisecracking Tony Stark-esque figure, and it ends up being a complete mess. Whereas Will Arnett's take on Batman is as great as it was in the first Lego movie. His voice is a pitch-perfect fit for the Caped Crusader, and he manages to be equal parts funny and believable just through the vocal performance. I really hope we get more of Lego Batman. 

Best action sequence?

HM: Hotel Showdown, Logan

Slo-mo gore and high stakes make for a very taut, entertaining bout of Wolverine violence. 

5. Yondu's Arrow, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

A perfect song choice intertwined with the most lethal weapon in the MCU. Technically this is a very questionable group of individuals to root for, but this scene makes it work. 

4. Chase through Sakaar, Thor: Ragnarok

Just a bonkers and delightful fun ride throughout Waititi's crazy mind, peppered with great one-liners and amazing visuals throughout. I couldn't find a clip of that so here's one of another scene analysed/broken down by the great Taika Waititi. 

3. Laura's very much like Logan,  Logan

The moment I realized just how violent the film was going to be, but it's a great sequence involving some very fine editing, and summed up brilliantly by Wolverine's incredulous expression. 

2. Logan's Final Run, Logan

No words needed - this is the Wolverine we've always wanted to see: no-holds-barred direction allows for Hugh Jackman to go ape on a bunch of soldiers, and it's a magnificent moment. 

1. No Man's Land, Wonder Woman 

The perfect buildup leads to a perfectly executed moment. The film does itself a great service by not shooting its wad too early, allowing us to get glimpses into Wonder Woman's abilities before unleashing them all in a truly astounding sequence where she daringly steps where no man has stepped before. The best scene in the film. 

Most heartbreaking moment? (SPOILERS)

5. Losing two dads, The Lego Batman Movie

I actually think this is the best execution of the 'Batman needs a family' subplot in any of the Batman films, Nolan's included. It's a heartbreaking moment and the film does a superb job of making you care for Bruce Wayne's loneliness and the solace he finds in his few friends.

4. Yondu's redemption, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Okay, so it's a bit rushed, and perhaps we needed more scenes between Yondu and Peter, but I do think this goodbye to the loveable, flawed but ultimately redeemed rogue is a breathtaking scene. I've always criticized Marvel's reluctance to kill off their 'heroes' while being all-too keen to kill off their 'villains'. Here it works very well in making the film's conclusion rather affecting. 

3. Charles Xavier's last Night of happiness, Logan  

This was brutal to watch in the cinema. The sudden, jarring change from peacefulness and Charles's sorrowful rumination about his past to a terrifying massacre makes for an extremely effective sequence. The most troubling touch to the scene of course, is Logan's desperation to tell the dying Charles that it 'wasn't him' who killed him. 

2. Steve Trevor saves the day, Wonder Woman

Above average Chris Pine made us weep for the heroes of Wonder Woman, as he dashes off into the skies, elated at having saved the day...only to realize there's one more thing he must do. It's superb acting on Pine's behalf (some of the best of his career) and makes for a very resonant heroic sacrifice. 

And to cap it all off, it'd have to be Logan's Final scene in Logan I'm going to discuss it in more detail in the near future, but here's the clip of it for now.