Saturday, May 4, 2013

What is Your Favorite Superhero Movie Sequel?

It is the chilling sound of your doom.

Iron Man Three is taking everyone's money this weekend and getting MOSTLY good reviews, with many critics calling it the best in the series and one of Marvel Studios' best movies. That's pretty unheard of for a 'part three' in a superhero series. So what is the best superhero sequel? Could be a part two. Could be a part four (see: photo above).

18 comments:

  1. So many choices: "Spider-Man 2," "The Dark Knight" (technically a sequel, though "The Dark Knight Rises" feels more like it follows "Batman Begins"), "X-Men 2," etc. If it were just for the 'let's have fun' excuse then it would easily be "Spider-Man 2."

    I'm going with my gut though, and I'm voting for BATMAN RETURNS. It's far darker, meaner (Danny DeVito's Penguin is a real bastard), gorier (not really but it sure feels that way) and sexier (Pfeiffer in a cat suit: YOW MEIN!) than any other "Batman" movie before or since. That it takes place in an artificial, nowhere-near reality Gotham City separates it from the Michael Mann urban crime drama setting of "The Dark Knight" and its amazing Heath Ledger Joker. It's what I wanted the '89 "Batman" to be but either Burton or the studio wouldn't go there for now-obvious reasons. Then, when the first "Batman" hit the roof, the studios let Burton do what he wanted. The result is what I feel is all the negativity and darkness of Tim Burton's creative vision without the filter of colorful quirk that he has used since on all his movies (except maybe for "Sleepy Hollow," which still has some). When I think of the perfect Bruce Wayne I think of Michael Keaton in "Batman Returns," more brooding and less normal-looking like he was in "Batman" and not the guest-star-in-his-own-movie treatment Christian Bale's take was reduced to.

    "Batman Begin's" mean and nasty vision would be a perfect match for comic book Batman motifs if the movies weren't expensive, engineered to have 'good guy wins, happily ever after' narratives and made by studios with an eye for the PG-13 rating to maximize revenue. That's why I love this superhero sequel. It not only fixes the problems of the previous film but it gleefully says 'Fuck you' to its own Happy Meal-endorsing, toy-selling obligations and shows nasty people being nasty while doing nasty things to one another, including Batman (who "wins" at the end but in an ugly, dark and mean way). It's because of "Batman Begins" going so far into operatic, nightmarish goth that we got the 180 degree turn into slapstick of the Schumacher "Batman" movies that killed that franchise. Except for non-franchise one-offs ("Watchmen," "Super," etc.) we're never going to see another movie like "Batman Begins" ever again, which is why I love it.

    Some more NEW-TO-ME MOVIES:

    5/6/13:
    The Dude, Keyser Söze, Bruce Wayne and Renton in the same regimen? Boss! Grant Heslov's THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS (2009) on Blu-ray.

    5/7/13:
    'You're destroying me, you're good to me!' Alain Resnais' HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR (1959) on DVD.

    CLICK HERE TO READ REVIEWS

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    1. I'm with you J.M., Batman Returns really works for me as well. I really like the look, tone, and overall mood of the film. Critics of the film just point at those aesthetics as being typical Burton, (Elfman music included) things that have become tired over the years but I think when the film came out they were still fresh and different. Moreover, people tend to poo-poo the Burton films since the Nolan ones came out. But I would rank both of Burton's above The Dark Knight Rises. Both directors have different aesthetics and approaches to the character and I still enjoy both. Batman Returns is actually one of my traditional Christmas season movies.

      I would say Batman Returns along with Spider-Man 2 are my favorite superhero sequels.

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    2. I find Batman Returns to be an intensely problematic film. Actually, it's 3 different movies jockeying for position. The one starring Michelle Pfeiffer is brilliant, a feminist take on Catwoman that is much more successful than The Dark Knight Rises. The movie starring Christopher Walken is a whole lot of meh, and the one starring Danny DeVito as Penguin is one of the most repulsive, repellant things I've ever seen. It has uncomfortable anti-Semitic undertones (a hook-nosed creep looking to kidnap Gotham's first-borns and then murder them) and is mostly incoherent. If this is what it really looks like in Tim Burton's heart of hearts, I'd rather he waste his time with garbage like Alice in Wonderland or Dark Shadows.

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  2. I'm going to call it a draw between Spider-Man 2 and Iron Man 3.

    These are both vastly different movies, but I liked how each focused on the hero and his reaction to being a superhero. Both also have a Lost Power story line, which I'm less fond of. They make it work better in Iron Man, or at least make it more integral to the plot.

    It might just be too early to tell. I am riding a real high on Iron Man 3 right now. As I sit here thinking about it, I feel like they did everything right.

    Sooo yeah, I'm gonna go with Punisher: War Zone, even though I still haven't seen it.

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  3. It's gotta be the Dark Knight, hands down.

    Also I don't think the third movie curse counts when the second movie is an inferior entry. Usually the second movie is the great one in the superhero series, but iron man 2 seems to have been the disappointing entry that is usually saved for part 3.

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    1. And I would say the stuff that didn't work in Iron Man 2 was because it didn't function as "Iron Man 2" but as "Avengers - The Prequel". I feel like Tony Stark's character arc was shelved for the middle third of the movie... and then resolved as an afterthought at the end.

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    2. Oh for sure. No doubt.
      Its just that when we look at the superhero franchises (Spiderman, X-Men, Nolan Batman) the pattern has been a solid first entry, a stellar/very popular second entry and an underwhelming third movie. So when people refer to the "third movie curse" it usually refers to this pattern. But when people say that Iron Man 3 has broken the curse etc, then I say it doesnt really count because the second film was the worst of the series, rather than the best of the series as per the pattern.

      But when it comes to Iron Man 3 I find it very interesting that it follows many of the same beats that Dark Knight Rises did, except it infused it with the Marvel/Iron Man "fun" which made a massive difference to the emotional feel of the movie.
      Still dont know where I stand on IM3 though.

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    3. Fair point. Iron Man 3 also bucks the trend in that usually when a comic book franchise changes director, it's often to the series' detriment (e.g. X-men: The Last Stand, Superman II/III, the 90s Batman films). Although I think the revolving door for directors is a more commonplace thing now in comic book movies.

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  4. My favourite superhero movie sequel would probably be a tie between Spider-man 2 and X-men 2. Those movies were the reason why I got into superheroes and comic books. And while I recognise the brilliance of The Dark Knight, I'm more likely to put on Spider-man 2 or X-men 2.

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  5. Can The Avengers be considered a sequel to Thor, Captain America & Iron Man 2? It picks up each story where those movies left off.

    If so, it's a tie between that and Iron Man 3.

    Think IM3 does the "tortured superhero" thing better than The Dark Knight did. Or RDJ does it better than Bale. Tony Stark jokes to cover his fear and fights to control his anger. Bruce Wayne mumbles and stares at things.

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    1. I think The Avengers could be considered a sequel. Since you kind of needed to see the other movies to understand the characters.

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    2. On the other hand though, "The Avengers" is a one-of-a-kind superhero movie unlike any other: a team superhero characters appearing together. It's both a sequel and original. If it's considered a sequel then I guess "The Avengers" rockets to the top of superhero sequels. But then what if "Avengers 2" turns out to be better? :-O

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  6. Its Dark Knight for me,although a close second would have to go to Spider-Man 2. Dark Knight just had so much going for it and its one of a very small list of movies that just grips me every time I see it. I haven't seen IM 3 yet although I am hopeful it will wash out the bad taste of IM 2.

    It seems whenever there is a good or great superhero sequel its followed by another sequel that just nosedives in quality (Examples: Blade Trinity, X-Men Last Stand, Superman III, Batman Forever to name a few.)

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  7. The Dark Knight, which barely beats Spider-Man 2, which barely beats The Avengers, which barely beats X-Men 2, which barely beats Blade 2, which barely beats Batman Returns, which barely beats Hellboy 2, which beats...what was the question again?

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    1. Why did "Iron Man 2" shit the bed upholding the 'second sequel's always excellent' track record? Answer: someone had to sacrifice the bulk of their flick setting up "The Avengers," and Thor and Captain America passed.

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    2. Casting Mickey Roarke didn't help either.

      And 'second sequel's always excellent' sure doesn't apply to Spielberg movies.

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    3. My bad, I should have clarified "superhero" movies instead of sequels. Even DC, whose movies aren't as good as Marvel's, have excellent #2's ("Superman II," "Batman Returns," "The Dark Knight," etc.).

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  8. Batman Returns is my top movie of all time. I love the way the film looks and feels to the viewer. I love the actors (esp Michelle as Catwoman). The score to the film is epic!!! And it out shines its original BATMAN 89 which a good sequel should.

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