X2 and Spidey 2 still the best Marvel films?

[co2]

So we are into a second decade of Marvel film madness, which is just wild to me because I remember seeing both Blade and X-men at theaters lo' those many years ago. But it wasn't until Spider-man hit, that I knew we were going to be in for the ride we always dreamed of as Marvel fans. There have been a lot of entries..some great, some not so. Both Thor and The Incredible Hulk were terrific, and Iron Man came oh so close to being there, but I still don't feel that any of the Marvel films have equaled either X2 or Spider-man 2 yet. And those 2 films were in '03 and '04 repsectively. I know we still have First class in a few days and Cap in two months...but I'm still waiting for something to feel like it is the same quality as the second X and Spider-man films...and it seems like it's taking a while.
Anyone else feel this way too?

 

[Terence Hill]

Wow! I agree completely. I saw the "make your Marvel top movie list" topic and, having never put any thought to it, realized that my top two were Spider-Man 2 and X2.

I'm also open to seeing something as good or better than these two, but I've yet to feel what I felt at the end of those two films. A lot of good stuff, but not as great.

 

[El Payaso]

Spiderman 2 and Iron Man.

 

[The Morningstar]

X-2 and Iron Man.

I prefer the first Spider-Man to Spider-Man 2.

 

[psylockolussus]

***Ahem***

X-Men: First Class

 

[The Joker]

Spider-Man 2, X-Men 2, and Iron Man are the best Marvel movies to date. In that order, too.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Spider-Man 2 I think is, yes. X2 I was never that high on. Good, far from great. I think Marvel's 2nd best film is hard to call.

 

[kedrell]

To me only Iron Man stands out among Marvel's movies as a great film. All the rest are just playing catch-up(though there are still some good ones in the bunch). Maybe XM:FC and/or Cap will change that. Maybe not. Maybe The Avengers will. Maybe not. I'll just have to wait and see.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Well, I loved Thor personally, was really impressed with it, but no, it wasnt a better effort than either X2 or Spiderman 2, which are still Marvel's best and in that order IMO.

 

[A Necessary Evil]

The Dark Knight is marvel's best movie.

Spoiler

But in all seriousness, yes and No. I like X1 more than X2, but find Ang's Hulk to be Superior to both, and SM2 is still marvel's crown jewel.

 

[Spider-ManHero12]

I think Spider-Man 2 is not only Marvel's best film, but the best superhero film ever. In my opinion, of course.

X2 kicks ass though.

 

[Denny67]

Iron Man & Spider-Man 2.

Although Patrick Stewart and some of tbe others did wonderful acting jobs, IMO every X-Film has been fallen short (by a lot) and has failed miserably in bringing the comic to life.

I can see why some look fondly on them. After all there is nothing to compare them to. I would love to see a good director, who is not afraid if the challenge of making the X-Men work on film rather than black leather cop-outs and shying away from stories if epic scope.

Let's be honest. We've all read the comics and the X-Films don't come close.

 

[cherokeesam]

Iron Man & Spidey 1 for me, with Thor coming in a close third. (Will re-assess after First Class and Cap films come out later this summer.)

I don't get all the hype for Singer's X-films at all, none of 'em. Singer did a great job on Wolverine, Magneto, Mystique, Nightcrawler, Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber only) and The Ol' Bald Perfesser, but I was hugely underwhelmed with his depiction of virtually every other character in the franchise, good or evil.

And I don't get why Spidey 2 is supposed to be "better" than Spidey 1. I literally snoozed through Doc Ock not once, but twice. And even forcing myself to stay awake through a third sitting on FX on cable TV, I'm still not sold. Spidey was still fresh and new and fun in Spidey 1, and even though the armor looked silly, Goblin was still a far more formidable and interesting foe than any that Tobey Maguire has faced since.

 

[psylockolussus]

I really liked The Incredible Hulk and Thor. I thought they were so refreshing and cool and not over the top.

Iron Man was good but it was corny, the Villain is kinda weak TBH. I think its really overrated. Like I don't get why people think its one of the best,

 

[kedrell]

I feel the same way with regard to X2 and SM2. They're good films on the whole but far from great.

 

[El Payaso]

I really liked The Incredible Hulk and Thor. I thought they were so refreshing and cool and not over the top.

Iron Man was good but it was corny, the Villain is kinda weak TBH. I think its really overrated. Like I don't get why people think its one of the best,

I think it's because both Thor and TIH had their good share of corniness too but posed as epic nevertheless.

 

[The Morningstar]

Iron Man & Spider-Man 2.

Although Patrick Stewart and some of tbe others did wonderful acting jobs, IMO every X-Film has been fallen short (by a lot) and has failed miserably in bringing the comic to life.

I can see why some look fondly on them. After all there is nothing to compare them to. I would love to see a good director, who is not afraid if the challenge of making the X-Men work on film rather than black leather cop-outs and shying away from stories if epic scope.

Let's be honest. We've all read the comics and the X-Films don't come close.

I've read plenty of X-Men comics, and I think the movies, well, 1 and 2 do a good job.

The X comics are a convoluted mess. It's be impossible to translate them 100% to movies.

I don't see how the movies were just "black leather cop outs". The essence of the X-Men is there in the films. And the costumes are similar to Grant Morrison's costumes. What more did people want from the X-Men movies? Seriously?

 

[cryptic name]

So we are into a second decade of Marvel film madness, which is just wild to me because I remember seeing both Blade and X-men at theaters lo' those many years ago. But it wasn't until Spider-man hit, that I knew we were going to be in for the ride we always dreamed of as Marvel fans. There have been a lot of entries..some great, some not so. Both Thor and The Incredible Hulk were terrific, and Iron Man came oh so close to being there, but I still don't feel that any of the Marvel films have equaled either X2 or Spider-man 2 yet. And those 2 films were in '03 and '04 repsectively. I know we still have First class in a few days and Cap in two months...but I'm still waiting for something to feel like it is the same quality as the second X and Spider-man films...and it seems like it's taking a while.
Anyone else feel this way too?

I agree with the fact that X2 is probably the best Marvel flick. However my love for Spidey 2 has decreased considerably over the years. Basically I love Molina in it and not much else. I would say the first Iron Man and X2 are probably Marvel's best films so far.

 

[cherokeesam]

I don't see how the movies were just "black leather cop outs". The essence of the X-Men is there in the films. And the costumes are similar to Grant Morrison's costumes. What more did people want from the X-Men movies? Seriously?

Other than the fact that those "New X-Men" costumes were designed by Frank Quitely, easily one of the worst in Marvel's harem....?

Bottom line: uniforms don't make sense at all for a group that is supposed to espouse individuality. That's what Len Wein recognized in 1975 and had the First Five shuck their school uniforms in favor of their own personal styles, and it worked great for almost three decades.

The X-Men are supposed to have their own individual identities, and that includes unique costumes, *not* a one-size-fits-all uniform that forces them into the collective --- which is *exactly* what Prof X has been preaching against all these years.

 

[Denny67]

I've read plenty of X-Men comics, and I think the movies, well, 1 and 2 do a good job.

The X comics are a convoluted mess. It's be impossible to translate them 100% to movies.

I don't see how the movies were just "black leather cop outs". The essence of the X-Men is there in the films. And the costumes are similar to Grant Morrison's costumes. What more did people want from the X-Men movies? Seriously?

Seriously?

How about a story that is not “Wolverine and the other guys?” That would be a good start. The "team" is a blend of very interesting characters who have all trained to work together and all bring something to the party. Even then they took a character like Wolverine and made him a weepy James Dean type of character who is in need of a few Midol. Sabertooth, Toad and Lady Deathstrike were stupid and not even close to being used properly. Rouge was horrible.

Sorry, they did not come close to "capturing the essence" of the X-men. It was some bastardized version of them. Which is not surprising since Singer turned down the initial two (or was it three?) offers to direct X-men; stating “comic books were unintelligent literature.”

You like them? Cool. The OP asked for opinions and I gave mine.

 

[henzINNIT]

I'd say SM1 and X2 are the gold standard for Marvel films so far. Both have flaws however, so I hope to see them beaten in the future.

Other than the fact that those "New X-Men" costumes were designed by Frank Quitely, easily one of the worst in Marvel's harem....?

Bottom line: uniforms don't make sense at all for a group that is supposed to espouse individuality. That's what Len Wein recognized in 1975 and had the First Five shuck their school uniforms in favor of their own personal styles, and it worked great for almost three decades.

The X-Men are supposed to have their own individual identities, and that includes unique costumes, *not* a one-size-fits-all uniform that forces them into the collective --- which is *exactly* what Prof X has been preaching against all these years.

Reading that I can't help but dwell on "school uniforms". The X-Men in the films are grown men and women, they don't need to customize their outfits in order to celebrate being unique. There are subtle differences in each person's uniforms and that's enough.

 

[Doc Ock]

X2 and Spidey 2 is still probably Marvel's best films IMO. I felt the films had spot on portrayals of most if not all of its characters and a excellent story to boot. I have a soft spot for TIH though.

 

[kedrell]

For me, SM2 & X2 ceased being any sort of gold standard for Marvel films as soon as Marvel started making their own(every single one of which I'd gladly match up against those two).

SM2 & X2 are still the gold standard to me only for outside studio-made Marvel films(though it looks like XM:FC might be a serious challenger)

 

[The Morningstar]

Seriously?

How about a story that is not “Wolverine and the other guys?” That would be a good start. The "team" is a blend of very interesting characters who have all trained to work together and all bring something to the party. Even then they took a character like Wolverine and made him a weepy James Dean type of character who is in need of a few Midol. Sabertooth, Toad and Lady Deathstrike were stupid and not even close to being used properly. Rouge was horrible.

Sorry, they did not come close to "capturing the essence" of the X-men. It was some bastardized version of them. Which is not surprising since Singer turned down the initial two (or was it three?) offers to direct X-men; stating “comic books were unintelligent literature.”

You like them? Cool. The OP asked for opinions and I gave mine.

The essence as in, what they stand for. I'm not talking about individual characters. Professor X and Magento's philosphies were pretty spot on.

And I always laugh when people say the X movies became "Wolverine and his friends". That wasn't new for the movies. The movies just carried on that thing from other media, including the comics.

X-2 had plenty of focus on other characters though anyway. Iceman and Rogue's relationship. Pyro's growing resentment. The scene where they are at Iceman's house and he is looking at all the happy family pictures is brilliantly done. Jean with her powers starting to grow and go out of control. Storm had some great character moments with Nightcrawler, who in turn was very well characterised even if he wasn't 100% comic book accurate. Mystique was awesome, and had a great line of dialogue with Nightcrawler. Sometimes all it takes is a single line to get good characterisation.

I'm judging it as a film, I don't give a **** about it being 100% comic book accurate.

 

[DACrowe]

1. Spider-Man 2


2. Spider-Man
3. Iron Man
4. X2
5. X-Men

Just stating facts.