after having watched most of the most of the comic book movies of 2021, i've gathered my thoughts and have decided to rank them and go on a bit of stream of consciousness write-up.
sorry this is going to be a bit long:
#6. Black Widow
this wasn't bad, it just felt sort of unnecessary .
the storyline's ok. actions ok, sprinkled with a few cool moments.
it does introduce natasha's family who will prolly show up in future mcu movies, with yelena who is most likely going to become her successor in the avengers moving forward. - 6/10
#5. The Suicide Squad
it's a fun movie, not really as much depth to it. though there are a few moments of heart in it.
if u want some comic book action with gore and comedy, then this will be a treat.
it's definitely better than the first suicide squad. - 7/10
#4. Eternals
this was a movie i had to watch a second time in order to enjoy it more, because its a lot of characters and ideas being thrown at you all at once. but for the 2nd viewing, i became used to it and realized it's actually quite brilliant.
it's just very different from the rest of the MCU movies, where this is much more character driven, emotionally layered and philosophical.
the scope and ambition is very good, and it greatly expands on the MCU mythology.
i would say this is like MCU's version of a superman / justice league story.
but i rank this just slightly below snyder's justice league because i thought that had a better pacing and balance of character moments.
but of ALL the cbm's i seen this year, eternals has the best story.
i just thought it would've worked better as a d+ mini-series due to the amount of characters and concepts thrown in. - 8/10
#3. Zack Snyder's Justice League
this was the movie i originally wanted back in 2017 but had to wait till they released it in 2021.
of the many comic book movies, this one feels the one of the most epic and expansive. the world building is great.
the main focus of the story being cyborg is better and more heartfelt than i expected.
this doesn't reach #1 for me, because i thought the final battle still wasn't as good as you need in a movie like this (some of the vfx is still sort of meh) - plus there isn't enough superman in this!
and zack snyder over-indulges a bit in some of his directing, as he tends to do (that epilogue was unnecessary).
this had some of the best visual shots and cinematography of the 2021 comic book films.
whereas eternals had some great cinematography that was more naturalistic, snyder frames things more like a painting to give it a fairy-tale quality.
he's merging myth with comic book storytelling here - almost like he was inspired by tolkien / lord of the rings.
it's mostly great stuff! - 8/10
#2. Spider-man: No Way Home
lot of great spiderman moments - it's tons of fan service and nostalgia - but done very well where it services the story.
there were times where that fan service almost bordered on empty cinematic calories, but they mostly pulled it off.
if anything, this made me miss tobey's and andrew's spiderman's and their worlds all the more.
seeing their villains appear on screen again was such a treat.
dafoe and molina once again show they were some of the best supervillain casting.
i also find it hilarious how all the villains generally look the same as they did, except jamie foxx's max dillion who looks handsome this time.
this was also in an odd way the origin movie for holland's spiderman - where he's back to basics.
it will be interesting to see where they take his story further.
it's a love letter to spiderman and all past spiderman movies. - 8.5/10
#1. Shang-Chi: The Legend of the Ten Rings
this is #1 for me is because overall it had everything i wanted in a comic book movie: a compelling story and heroes, a GREAT villain, great action and a lot of heart.
this had the best fight scenes in the mcu.
yes, the final battle did escalate into a cgi-fest, but i had no problem with it because i found it well done and exhilarating.
the fantasy elements were like the chinese fantasy movies and stories i grew up with but done with a hollywood budget + in comic book / modern day setting.
i probably have some bias in ranking this the top due to the main characters sharing a similar cultural background with mines.
i was able to relate and connect to this movie the most because of that.
there were moments where shang-chi or katy did or said something that was culturally specific and i'd be like:
- 9/10
there were no real losers for 2021.
us comic book fans ate well.