2017 Superhero Movies (So Far): Reviewed
(NOT DONE YET)
2017 has been an incredible year for film already, particularly in the superhero department. In a world that may feel oversaturated with superhero movies, every superhero film I’ve seen this year has been amazing, and we’re only halfway through the year! Justice League and Thor: Ragnarok both look amazing, and they are two of my most anticipated movies for the rest of the year.
Instead of ranking all the superhero movies that have come out so far, instead I’d like to just review them and give my overall thoughts on the movies. Why not rank them? Well, frankly, I’m having a difficult time deciding which I like more because they’re all so fantastic in my opinion. So instead, I just want to talk about them! The only "superhero" movies I'm excluding from this list are The Lego Batman Movie, Power Rangers, and Captain Underpants (although I loved all three movies!). Since most of these movies have been out for a while, I'm going to get into spoiler territory, so SPOILER ALERT for those who haven't seen any of these movies yet (go out and watch them!!). Let’s start off with Logan, which was released first.
Logan (dir. James Mangold; starring. Hugh Jackman, Dafne Keen, Patrick Stewart)
The X-Men franchise is one of my favorite film and superhero series. The original X-Men movies are very important to me because they were some of the earliest superhero movies that got me into superheroes. Logan was one of my most anticipated movies of the year as a result, and I'm so happy with how well the movie the turned out. Seeing as it's Hugh Jackman's "final" time playing Wolverine (we'll see if he ever makes a cameo again in the future), I knew going into this movie that it would be very emotional. "Emotional" touches only the surface level of how deep Logan goes. It is one of the most raw, thrilling, and brutal superhero movies I have ever seen.
Right off the bat with the first extremely violent scene, you know you're watching a different kind of superhero/X-Men movie. Logan isn't the same Wolverine he used to be; his healing powers are weakening, and he's flat out dying. Charles, or Professor Xavier, is also not the same. He's losing his telepathic powers and having seizures which are catastrophic to normal people. Mutants are essentially extinct.
Everything about Logan is different, and while I usually hate change, it definitely works for the best in this case. It's the kind of movie that feels like a drama with superhero characters as opposed to a superhero movie. I would even go so far as to call it The Dark Knight of the Marvel world. Having Logan be rated R was one of the best decisions as well because it didn't hold any of the characters back, something many fans felt about Wolverine in the previous X-Men installments. The violence is graphic and realistic (all things considered), and I'm so glad Wolverine got to go out with a bang. Aside from the violence, the film can be depressing and brutally heartbreaking at times. Seeing Charles and Logan, characters I've grown up with for most of my life, in such agony was hard to watch. However, Logan also has some fun and lighthearted parts as well.
One of my favorite aspects of Logan is the character of Laura, a.k.a. X-23. She is a force to be reckoned with in the movie, and it's so refreshing to see a young badass girl, similar to Hit-Girl in Kick-Ass. Dafne Keen plays Laura perfectly, and shows a surprisingly amount of range in her acting abilities. I cannot wait to see more of her in the future. I loved Laura so much, in fact, that I actually cosplayed as her at Awesome Con (#ShamelessSelfPromotion).
Laura's relationship with Logan was also so beautiful to watch. We know Logan is the kind of guy to dismiss emotions and the responsibility of him being like her father is an unknown concept to him. However, by the end of the film Logan shows he cares for her and we can see how much he has grown as a person. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when Logan, Charles, and Laura are invited to eat dinner with a random family. Just like Charles says, Logan gets a glimpse of what a normal life would be like if he just embraced the idea of having love and family in his life.
I thought the finale to the film was superb, and it was the perfect ending to Hugh Jackman's journey as Wolverine. I was very satisfied and it gave me closure, and of course I cried like a baby (I cried four times in the movie, but that's honestly not saying much). His last line, "So this is what it feels like," is such a perfect final statement, and it holds so much weight to it. Just typing it makes me want to cry. He could be talking about what death finally feels like, since it's something he could never truly have, or what love and family feels like, since all his life he's run away from it and now he accepts Laura. Logan is an emotional journey from start to finish, and it has quite possibly become my favorite X-Men film.
Grade: A
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (dir. James Gunn; starring. Chris Pratt <3, Kurt Russell, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Michael Rooker)
The first Guardians of the Galaxy film is my favorite MCU movie ever. Needless to say, I was extremely excited for the sequel - it was my most anticipated movie for all of 2017. Going in, I was a bit scared it wouldn't live up to my expectations or hype, but it actually really surprised me.
Grade: A-
Wonder Woman (dir. Patty Jenkins; starring. Gal Gadot, Chris Pine)
Wonder Woman was a film that *needed* to be good, for so many reasons. Firstly, the DCEU has been a hot mess. Last year's Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad disappointed many fans (particularly the latter, in my opinion), and if Wonder Woman was a miss too, DC would have been in trouble. Secondly, Wonder Woman is the first woman superhero movie in years, and it was directed by a woman. If it was bad, a lot of ignorant people would have pointed blame at the women frontrunners, which would have been such a shame. Thankfully, Wonder Woman is an amazing movie.
Wonder Woman is, without a doubt, the most important superhero movie of the year - possibly the most important movie of the year. Having strong female leads is very much needed in 2017, and the impact that Wonder Woman has already had is incredible to see unfold. The film is such a win in the women department, as it has a woman both in front of and behind the camera.
While I do think there is some excessive slow motion, I don't have much complaints.
Grade: A
Spider-Man: Homecoming (dir. Jon Watts; starring. Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Jacob Batalon)
Spider-Man is my favorite superhero of all time. My earliest movie memory is watching the first Spider-Man movie, and similar to how the X-Men films helped shape me, Spider-Man jumpstarted my interest in superheroes. Although Andrew Garfield wasn't a bad Spider-Man, the Amazing Spider-Man movies were certainly disappointing. Homecoming is the first great Spider-Man movie in over a decade (I don't think Spider-Man 3 is as terrible of a film as people make it out to be, but it's certainly not great).
Grade: A-
Thank you so much for reading my article! If you'd like to see my reactions to the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Spider-Man: Homecoming trailers, click here! Let me know what you think of 2017's superhero movies in the comments or Tweet me @shinjanaytor!