I'd put the Marvel hero pre-"comic book movie era" popularity tier list as
S - Spiderman, Wolverine, Xmen (consistently popular household names, always in new TV shows & games)
A - Hulk, Deadpool, Punisher (popularity waxes and wanes, often on TV or games in some form)
B - Iron Man, Capt America, Dr Strange, Thor, F4, Daredevil (Consistent comic runs, sometimes have their own shows or games)
C - Black Widow, Hawkeye, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Thanos (side characters with occasional solo comic runs, occasionally show up in other hero's stuff)
D - GotG, Capt Marvel (mostly unknown despite consistent comic runs)
F - Ego, Celestials (barely in the comics)
As someone who has loved superheroes since I was a kid, but never really read comics, mostly watched cartoons, I'd say your list needs a re-order. Seems more based on comic book readers preference/knowledge. From a broader pop-culture perspective I'd say it was more like this:
in new TV shows & games)
S - Spiderman
A - Xmen
B - Hulk, Iron Man, Capt America, Punisher, F4, Blade
C - Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thor, Daredevil
D - Deadpool, Dr Strange, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Thanos, Capt Marvel
F - GotG, Ego, Celestials
I love XMen, and so do a lot of people. The cartoon was massive. But Spiderman is largely his own class. People know the B-Class, and the Ironman cartoon was pretty popular as well. The C-class existed in arcade games and as side characters in the cartoons. Deadpool's huge now, and has always been big with comic fans, but I bet if you polled 1000 random people in 2000 asking who Deadpool was, I wouldn't be surprised if none of them know. I didn't know and I was one of the bigger nerds I knew. The other D's had some video game appearances as well, that was the only way I knew them. Never heard of the F's before the movies.
I guess Hulk probably should be at least an A. Everyone obviously knows him, but the popularity was thin in the years preceding movies.
__________________
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Coach For This Useful Post:
Took me 4 goes to get through All Quiet on the Western Front. Such a bleak, dark, and depressing film that does not shy away from showing you the horrors of war. The cinematography is excellent and does well shifting between sweeping panoramas of no man's land and close ups of human emotion. Also liked the music with the sense of dread it added to the film. Am still unsure about the armistice negotiation side plot. Liked the greater context without adding exposition but felt this took away from the personal story in the trenches. Also not sure how realistic the final scene was, given I thought the Germans spent the last 100 days of the war on the retreat. A very well made film with a few issues. 8/10
__________________
The masses of humanity have always had to surf.
The Following User Says Thank You to FireGilbert For This Useful Post:
I watched the original Fame movie from 1980 and it was great. Much like Saturday Night Fever I always assumed it was a light watch but nope it's got that 70s grit to it . It can be light and fun but it's also dark and deals with topics like abortion, sexuality, religion, and child abuse. It follows kids as they go through 4 years of school at the New York school of performing arts, and the ups and downs of their time there. It's got a cast of likeable characters that you want to see achieve success, and you really root for these kids, I highly recommend it.
The remake is absolutely not on the same level. Strip away all the drama, the darker parts of the film, throw in cliched family drama that gets resolved in hilariously easy ways and that's what you get with it. There is almost no character development and nothing really happens in the film, it's so safe it's bland and soulless . If you want to do a study on how not to remake a film, then I highly suggest watching these two back 2 back. This and Nightmare on Elm Street might be the two worst remakes I've ever seen.
I'm the same. Actually I can't stand superhero movies anymore except for Guardians. I was pretty confused at the beginning of 3 because I didn't realize how important plot points happen in these other Marvel movies. So after watching Guardians 3 I watched the last 2 Avengers just to understand what had happened. Hated them!
Hate is a strong word.. Interesting.
I was actually impressed by Infinity War. Not knowing the source material I thought it was a refreshing curveball of a film.
Endgame was interesting in the first half finding out how they'd be able to resurrect the snapped. Once that conundrum was solved (and boy were there a lot of conveniences in getting there), it was pretty meh and vanilla the rest of the way with loads of fan servicing that were hard to care that much about.
By the time you get to the last battle you're kind of too checked out to care for anything but the whole thing to be over.
But then Tony happened and it hits pretty good.
Some mediocre, some good, and a couple great moments.
I'm not a big comic book guy but hate seems strong. It's not the greatest cinematic event ever like some hyped it to be. But it's a fun watch that's worthwhile.
I've sat through a worse 6 hours of movie for sure.
Deadpool was the hardest to place since his meteoric rise happened adjacent to the comic book movie era. I placed him high because his popularity was independent of the comic book movie era. He starred in a AAA game 3 years before the first movie came out. All Ryan Reynolds had to do to secure studio support for that movie was release a 2 minute clip that generated a overwhelming wave of support.
Rewatched Copland last week. Really damn good, might be my favorite thing Stallone has done. De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Robert Patrick with a moustache, Ray Liota, Michael Rapaport, Annabella Sciorra, great cast.
Listen, you deaf ####. I offered you a chance when we could have done something, I offered you a chance to be a cop, and you blew it! You blew it.
Same director who did Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma, Logan, Ford Vs. Ferrari and the upcoming Indiana Jones.
The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Engine09 For This Useful Post:
Since I've generally liked all the recent MCU films most people here seem to dislike, I guess it's not much of an endorsement if I say that I thought GotG3 was pretty good?
I do think it's a film that will be catnip to a lot of people who dislike the jokier sider of MCU. While there's humor in the film, it has a pretty different overall tone compared to... well most superhero movies really.
I think it's becoming increasingly apparent that James Gunn is if not the best, at least the most interesting writer-director working in the superhero genre. Despite all the limitations studios put on these movies, his Guardians of the Galaxy series has been crucial in setting the pace and style within the MCU, and The Suicide Squad is in my personal opinion easily the most interesting DC movie since anything Nolan did. (I don't really like Nolan, but he definitely has talent and vision which I respect.)
(The DC Snyderverse was in many ways pretty fascinating, but more in the "this is reaching new standards in how to make terrible movies with talented people" sense.)
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 has quite a lot of problems as a movie, it's got some structural issues, dialogue feels off at times, some character moments feel disconnected from previous material etc, but what it does have is A LOT of heart and a lot of personality, and a really despicable villain, and those are all things that are kind of rare in movies, especially in the blockbuster category. It's just so obvious this film maker wanted to make a certain kind of film and then delivered that kind of a movie, and it's very easy to look past things like "well it started slow" or "that sure is a bit of a weird take on that character" or "they really could have come up for a better reason for that thing to happen".
There's movies I'd say are probably technically better in the MCU, but this is one of the MCU movies I notice myself actually thinking about several days after watching it. It doesn't feel disposable. I'll have to watch it again, but I think this might be my other favorite MCU film after GotG2.
Last edited by Itse; 05-12-2023 at 01:33 PM.
The Following User Says Thank You to Itse For This Useful Post:
I watched the original Fame movie from 1980 and it was great.
I don't rememeber much about the movie, but I could probably sing all the songs on the soundtrack by heart. It was one of.. 5? tapes we had in our car when I was a kid. Soooo much repeat. I preferred the Fame soundtrack to Zamfir though.
The Following User Says Thank You to woob For This Useful Post:
I do think it's a film that will be catnip to a lot of people who dislike the jokier sider of MCU. While there's humor in the film, it has a pretty different overall tone compared to... well most superhero movies really.
I think it's becoming increasingly apparent that James Gunn is if not the best, at least the most interesting writer-director working in the superhero genre.
Since we're recommending older movies in this thread as well I have to mention an older film of James Gunn's. If you like that style of jokiness mixed with action/horror, I recommend one of his first films called Slither. Stars Nathan Filion and an up and coming Elizabeth Banks, along with Michael Rooker for added coolness. Even has a small role for Corb Lund for those Alberta people in the know. Pretty fun (and kinda gross) film.
__________________
"You know, that's kinda why I came here, to show that I don't suck that much" ~ Devin Cooley, Professional Goaltender
The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Cali Panthers Fan For This Useful Post:
Rewatched Copland last week. Really damn good, might be my favorite thing Stallone has done. De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Robert Patrick with a moustache, Ray Liota, Michael Rapaport, Annabella Sciorra, great cast.
Listen, you deaf ####. I offered you a chance when we could have done something, I offered you a chance to be a cop, and you blew it! You blew it.
Same director who did Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma, Logan, Ford Vs. Ferrari and the upcoming Indiana Jones.
Hell yeah. I re-watched this movie not too long ago myself and thought it was damn good.
__________________ "It's a great day for hockey."
-'Badger' Bob Johnson (1931-1991)
"I see as much misery out of them moving to justify theirselves as them that set out to do harm." -Dr. Amos "Doc" Cochran
Rewatched Copland last week. Really damn good, might be my favorite thing Stallone has done. De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Robert Patrick with a moustache, Ray Liota, Michael Rapaport, Annabella Sciorra, great cast.
Listen, you deaf ####. I offered you a chance when we could have done something, I offered you a chance to be a cop, and you blew it! You blew it.
Same director who did Walk the Line, 3:10 to Yuma, Logan, Ford Vs. Ferrari and the upcoming Indiana Jones.
Excellent movie. Arguably Stallone's best performance.
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 has quite a lot of problems as a movie
I think it's the first Guardians movie to have Gunn as the sole writing credit. I like it when there's other writers in there to keep the talent grounded, some of these guys when they have the bit in their teeth can go off the rails with cool stuff and neglect what makes a great movie.
That's why I do have some reservations about Gunn's DC.. imagine all the DC movies laced with GotG3 quips and humour lol. But hopefully he'll be the visionary guy and won't be writing all the movies.
__________________ Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position.
But certainty is an absurd one.
Since we're recommending older movies in this thread as well I have to mention an older film of James Gunn's. If you like that style of jokiness mixed with action/horror, I recommend one of his first films called Slither. Stars Nathan Filion and an up and coming Elizabeth Banks, along with Michael Rooker for added coolness. Even has a small role for Corb Lund for those Alberta people in the know. Pretty fun (and kinda gross) film.
Slither was awesome. I generally love Nathan Fillion, and that was him at his most Nathan Fillion-ness. Bonus points for Gregg Henry as the mayor.
Since I've generally liked all the recent MCU films most people here seem to dislike, I guess it's not much of an endorsement if I say that I thought GotG3 was pretty good?
I do think it's a film that will be catnip to a lot of people who dislike the jokier sider of MCU. While there's humor in the film, it has a pretty different overall tone compared to... well most superhero movies really.
I think it's becoming increasingly apparent that James Gunn is if not the best, at least the most interesting writer-director working in the superhero genre. Despite all the limitations studios put on these movies, his Guardians of the Galaxy series has been crucial in setting the pace and style within the MCU, and The Suicide Squad is in my personal opinion easily the most interesting DC movie since anything Nolan did. (I don't really like Nolan, but he definitely has talent and vision which I respect.)
(The DC Snyderverse was in many ways pretty fascinating, but more in the "this is reaching new standards in how to make terrible movies with talented people" sense.)
Guardians of the Galaxy 3 has quite a lot of problems as a movie, it's got some structural issues, dialogue feels off at times, some character moments feel disconnected from previous material etc, but what it does have is A LOT of heart and a lot of personality, and a really despicable villain, and those are all things that are kind of rare in movies, especially in the blockbuster category. It's just so obvious this film maker wanted to make a certain kind of film and then delivered that kind of a movie, and it's very easy to look past things like "well it started slow" or "that sure is a bit of a weird take on that character" or "they really could have come up for a better reason for that thing to happen".
There's movies I'd say are probably technically better in the MCU, but this is one of the MCU movies I notice myself actually thinking about several days after watching it. It doesn't feel disposable. I'll have to watch it again, but I think this might be my other favorite MCU film after GotG2.
It's not that the post endgame entries are unwatchable, they just pale in comparison to the pre endgame saga, which had an interesting central storyline that each periphery installment moved forward that little bit until an Avengers movie came along to bring them together. It was a good and consistent formula where you watched for both the micro and macro plots.
Since it's been pretty directionless and overall missing a couple iconic leading characters to build the rest around like before. So the universe as a whole is less interesting to follow even if the individual stories are fine and entertaining on their own.
Like who waits with baited breath for end credit scenes any more? They're just a chore to wait for now.
Guardians is pretty special, in part because it almost brings its own universe of characters and set of alien species (like the mythos of star trek or star wars) with its own set of rules and a distinctly Gunn comedic tone that balances ridiculousness with loads of heart.
The vintage soundtrack really works with it too. You can't go wrong with adding nostalgia.
Last edited by TrentCrimmIndependent; 05-13-2023 at 12:52 AM.
It's not that the post endgame entries are unwatchable, they just pale in comparison to the pre endgame saga, which had an interesting central storyline that each periphery installment moved forward that little bit until an Avengers movie came along to bring them together. It was a good and consistent formula where you watched for both the micro and macro plots.
Since it's been pretty directionless and overall missing a couple iconic leading characters to build the rest around like before. So the universe as a whole is less interesting to follow even if the individual stories are fine and entertaining on their own.
Like who waits with baited breath for end credit scenes any more? They're just a chore to wait for now.
Guardians is pretty special, in part because it almost brings its own universe of characters and set of alien species (like the mythos of star trek or star wars) with its own set of rules and a distinctly Gunn comedic tone that balances ridiculousness with loads of heart.
The vintage soundtrack really works with it too. You can't go wrong with adding nostalgia.
Yeah I get why people disagree with me about the overall quality of the latest batch of movies.
I much prefer the latest batch of films as a whole in the sense that directors are clearly given much more freedom to do their own thing stylistically now. This makes the movies much more varied and quirky, but that also means inconsistent, and it kind of inevitably means that the new movies are going to be a lot more divisive. However, being active in the fandom I've noticed how when you start asking people of their favorites, almost everyone has one of the post-Endgame films on their list of favorites. There's little collective agreement on which are the good ones and which are the bad ones, but some people really love Shung-Chi, some people really love the Eternals, and some people love Love & Thunder, etc. And of course most people really like No Way Home, which is why it's the second biggest MCU film of all time after Endgame.
People are also trying very hard to watch the MCU as a "long TV series", which it just isn't. People used to just skip MCU entries during the infinity saga without anyone thinking it was somehow necessary to catch them all to keep up. You can still just go watch the ones that look fun to you, but post-Endgame there's now a part of the fandom that seems to force themselves to watch all new Marvel content even when they don't like almost any of it, and then they spend their time complaining about it online, as if this is somehow Marvel's fault.
Personally I'm also of the opinion that people have painted the infinity saga with rose coloured glasses in retrospect, and have forgotten how meh many of those movies were when they were released. It's also worth remembering that there wasn't a real plan, they made it up as they went along.
(Especially obvious in a movie like Avenger 1, or Guardians of the Galaxy 1, where if you stop to think about it for one second you realize that in the light of Infinity War, it makes absolutely zero sense that Thanos would have given away infinity stones to his henchmen to conquer or destroy individual planets. It did make some sense when Thanos was still presumed to have his original backstory from the comic books, where he was literally courting Death, something obviously hinted to in the post-credit scene of Avengers 1.)
The Following User Says Thank You to Itse For This Useful Post:
I think it's the first Guardians movie to have Gunn as the sole writing credit. I like it when there's other writers in there to keep the talent grounded, some of these guys when they have the bit in their teeth can go off the rails with cool stuff and neglect what makes a great movie.
That's why I do have some reservations about Gunn's DC.. imagine all the DC movies laced with GotG3 quips and humour lol. But hopefully he'll be the visionary guy and won't be writing all the movies.
It would be logistically impossible for him to write all the movies, I assume, and I doubt he'd even want that.
I do think his plans sound a lot more interesting than anything in the previous DCEU. The Authority? Swamp Thing? A TV-series starring Booster Gold? Another TV-series about Themyscira? Damian Wayne version of Robin? I have no idea if these are going to be good, but for once these are ideas that are already interesting on paper.
It sounds like new stuff, not just new versions of old stuff.
The Following User Says Thank You to Itse For This Useful Post:
Since we're recommending older movies in this thread as well I have to mention an older film of James Gunn's. If you like that style of jokiness mixed with action/horror, I recommend one of his first films called Slither. Stars Nathan Filion and an up and coming Elizabeth Banks, along with Michael Rooker for added coolness. Even has a small role for Corb Lund for those Alberta people in the know. Pretty fun (and kinda gross) film.
I wish Gunn would do some non-marvel violent action or horror movies. I just find it really hard to get excited about comic book movies these days.
