in advance of the release of the avengers in theaters, logan j. fowler looks at the top 10 moments from the marvel movie catalog…
Make mine Marvel. While there have been some rough spots in the Marvel movie library, overall the cast and crew of the properties featuring famed superheroes based on graphic novels in the Marvel universe have been decent to really good. With The Avengers arriving soon enough, I decided to list some of my favorite Marvel movie moments. It’s not just Marvel Studio movies…it’s all Marvel movies.
Excelsior!
10. “Blood Bath” — Blade
Most people think X-Men started the comic book movie boom. No, it took a day walker to do so. Based on a somewhat lesser known Marvel character, Blade was a gritty and action packed film featuring Wesley Snipes as the titular character. The film opens up in a techno club where vampires are getting soaked in red stuff, and no, I’m not talking about Kool-Aid. All of a sudden, our hero shows up, clad in black, and ready to whoop ass. As the beat accompanies the vampire destruction, there is a statement being made here; this is how you open a movie, especially a comic book one. Blade opened the flood gates of how to properly do a movie of this genre the right way.
9. “White House Noise” — X-Men 2: X-Men United
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrVdCkKxty4
How to open up a comic book movie part 2, file under X for X-Men 2. Coming off the entertaining X-Men, we had no idea that X-Men 2 would open with such an astounding sequence, but we had little reason to doubt director Bryan Singer at this point. Anyway, we see mutant Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) “BAMF”-ing (he teleports) around the White House, taking out secret service agents, doing round house kicks in the air, making it all the way to the President who he is about to assassinate, only to get a bullet to the back, making him teleport out of there.
8. “America! F**K YEAH!” — Captain America: The First Avenger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qm0kdA9ii3o
A very memorable scene from Captain America, we see our hero clad in a suit with fabrics that would be at home in the pajama drawer. Speaking out about the war, socking a mock Hitler in the jaw, and lifting ladies up on a motorcycle, Chris Evans embodies the boy scout pre-war hero in Captain America. Along with the catchy “Star Spangled Man With the Plan” tune being sung by the USO show ladies, the scene perfectly sets the time frame of the surrounding war.
7. “Frost Nipping at Your Nose” — Thor
Thor was a delight and definitely a surprisingly god comic book movie. I say surprisingly because I had very little idea about who Thor was or if his character could find a place in the movie world. However, he did, and in the first major action sequence featured, Thor invades enemy territory, along with his brother Loki and gang of friends, going to brawl with the massive frost giants. It’s an epic sequence, and one that brought a geeky grin to my face.
6. “Monster Mash” — The Incredible Hulk
The Hulk, directed by Ang Lee, was a disappointment. The reboot of the franchise, The Incredible Hulk, gathered about the same amount of money as Lee’s vision for the Green Goliath, but it was a far more entertaining film. In any case, the final showdown between Hulk and bad guy Abomination, a monster that erupted from the body of army man Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) takes place in the streets of New York in one huge slug fest. The CGI made it look like that of a video game, but I thoroughly enjoyed the climactic battle between the two big brutes.
5. “Don’t Hate the Player, Hate the Game” — Blade II
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF9LpOWIJmA
While the original Blade was a comic book movie done right, its sequel improved upon the predecessor in almost every way. Even though the scene I am referencing here takes a cue from the first film in the fact that the daywalker sips blood to gain strength and then kicks ass (it happened in the first film in almost the same way), adding “Name of the Game” by the Crystal Method was a plus. Also, Blade pulls off moves like that of a pro wrestler, and when he cleans up the mess, he comes face to face with future Hellboy Ron Perlman, who spouts a hilarious line before Blade sends him to meet his maker.
4. Berserker Boy — X-Men 2: X-Men United
Because X-Men 2 is so good, it is hard to allow it only one mention on this list. Props must be given to a fellow (albeit fictional) Logan, aka Wolverine, who unleashes fury (Not of the Nick kind) in PG-13 fashion (I’d still love to see an R rated flick featuring the Canuck), but still, it’s a fanboy dream. When invaders set foot on Xavier’s mansion property, Wolvie pops claws, stabs, and even decapitates the fools who dare try to interrupt his babysitting duties.
3. “C’mon Ride the Train” — Spider-Man 2
This isn’t Spider-Man bias that puts this memorable moment so high in the ranking. Ask anyone; the train sequence in Spider-Man 2 is an edge-of-your-seat breath taker. Sitting in the theater on opening day, I watched this scene and was left gasping for air when it was all over. While many people have complained that there are no elevated trains in Manhattan, but that fictional form of transportation spotting does not take you out of the movie. A fantastic sequence that’s a joy to watch over and over again.
2. Man in the Machine — Iron Man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8WRZcYVbVg
Iron Man stands as my favorite comic book movie (so far). It’s fun, has a boss soundtrack, and RDJ owns every scene he’s in, making the perfect choice for Iron Man’s alter ego, the billionaire playboy Tony Stark. There’s a lot of glee inducing moments in the film, but when Stark gets the red and gold armor on for the first time, it’s utterly awesome. Machines pop out of the floor, assembling (No pun intended) the suit into place, the score perfectly setting the tone, and the final shot of Starks “man on a mission” face sends chills down your spine. That’s how you put on an outfit, folks.
1. “Avengers Almost Assembling” — Iron Man, Iron Man 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9o2lJ19qML0
In 2008, if you stayed post credits for Iron Man, you were gifted with the start of something special. Nick Fury, head of S.H.I.E.L.D, greets Tony Stark in his home, stating “I’m here to talk to you about the Avengers initiative.” With that, the ball started rolling on the lead up to The Avengers, a film that will include a ton of superheroes under the direction of Joss Whedon, the man behind acclaimed series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly, along with the film Serenity and web series Dr. Horrible’s Sing-A-Long Blog. Arriving May 4th, the movie looks to break all sorts of records, as this massive superhero saga undertaking has a lot of people intrigued and excited. And why not? We’ve been only waiting for it for 4 long years. Besides Iron Man, many other cameos/appearances of fellow future Avengers have been littered in the Marvel Studios films. Stark drops in on The Incredible Hulk, Hawkeye is ordered to put a stop to Thor in the movie based around the hammer wielding God, Black Widow is meant to keep an eye on Tony Stark in Iron Man 2, and Nick Fury encounters Captain America/Steve Rogers in the present day after the soldier realizes he’s been frozen for 70 years. These little nods brought a smile to my face and only strengthened my anticipation for #1 film I can’t wait to see this summer.
