100 Best Movies of 1985 Ranked (Clue)

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The latest: The classic farcical whodunit Clue celebrates its 40th anniversary!

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While 1985 has no shortage of highfalutin cinematic endeavors, it is equally defined by its brash, epic, and often counter-cultural crowd-pleasers. This 100 Best Movies guide highlights the top films of 1985 based on Tomatometer score, with Certified Fresh films first, followed by Fresh and Rotten movies with at least 1,000 user ratings on the Popcornmeter.

And a well-rounded year it was! Academy Award-winning drama The Trip to Bountiful shares room on the list with the gruesome, campy cult horror flick Re-Animator. Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure and To Live and Die in L.A. stand shoulder-to-shoulder as outstanding pieces of enduring art! Even Big Bird, Freddy Krueger, and James Bond make an appearance! (On the list. They unfortunately do not share the screen together.)

Throw on your Live Aid T-shirt, crack open a can of New Coke, and enjoy the journey through this eclectic list of motion pictures from 1985. (Tyler Lorenz)

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1985: An essential year in teen-centered movies!

Back to the Future is one of the most definitive blockbuster films in existence, and 1985 plays such a crucial role in the film’s plot, it could almost be a character. Teenager Marty McFly wants to get home to 1985 so bad, he’ll risk countless time paradoxes over three movies to do it! 1985 is the MacGuffin of the movie! Great Scott!

The Breakfast Club is a deeply important movie to the generation that came up the Brat Pack. It is one of the most parodied and quoted films in pop culture. The lyrics to “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds are so intrinsically tied to the freeze-frame image of Judd Nelson at the end of the film, that they are ironically impossible to forget if you wanted to! But, its earnest depiction of high school tropes and its message about how our differences don’t make us enemies makes this John Hughes teen dramedy a lasting parable for all generations.

The only thing harder than being a teenager, is being a teenager with a bunch of bizarre, paranormal nonsense happening all around you! Teen Wolf, starring Michael J. Fox, explores the perils of puberty… if puberty also involves growing teeth and fur, and absolutely killing it on the basketball court. Once Bitten explores the value of virginity, and the peer pressure to lose it… that peer pressure coming from a 400 year old vampire countess threatening to drink your blood.

For more comical teen fair, don’t skip Just One of the Guys or Better Off Dead. If you need your heartstrings tugged on, watch St. Elmo’s Fire or The Legend of Billie Jean. And Porky’s… well, go ahead and decide for yourself what you are looking for out of Porky’s!

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You can’t speak of horror movie history without mentioning 1985’s gruesome cult hits: Stuart Gordon’s unapologetically gooey and gory B-movie classic Re-Animator, and Tom Holland’s vampiric special effects showcase Fright Night. Old fan-favorite icons are resurrected in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge and Friday the 13th – A New Beginning. And, as if you could sleep after this selection of scary flicks, no movie fan should sleep on George A. Romero’s classic third zombie picture Day of the Dead!

Less spooky, but no less loaded with incredible special effects and stunts are the top action movies of 1985. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, Commando, and Rambo: First Blood Part II, like many action movies of the 80’s are a guaranteed adrenaline infusion. Jackie Chan delivers a kickass, acrobatic performance in the Hong Kong cop classic Police Story. Does a geriatric James Bond movie loaded with cheesy jokes sound like your idea of a good time? If A View to a Kill is your favorite 007 vehicle, it might be! And if it’s not, well, this standout 007 dud is a must-see entry in the enduring spy franchise. Even if it’s just for a laugh.

Some movies aim to be funny intentionally! Such is the case for unmissable comedies like Clue and Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. Two movies with styles that shook up the genre. If a blend of adventure and comedy are up your alley, you can’t skip Steven Spielberg and Chris Columbus’s kid-led treasure hunting caper The Goonies, or Michael Douglass and Kathleen Turner’s romantic treasure-hunting romp The Jewel of the Nile. Man, it was a good year for pirate themed adventures…

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Sydney Pollack’s Out of Africa was 1985’s Oscar darling with seven trophies: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, and Best Sound.

William Hurt took home Best Actor gold for Kiss of the Spider Woman, edging out Harrison Ford for Witness (his sole Oscar nom ever) and Jack Nicholson in Prizzi’s Honor, while Geraldine Page took home the gold for Best Actress in The Trip to Bountiful over Whoopi Goldberg in The Color Purple and Jessica Lange in Sweet Dreams.

Special effects fans will note that Eric Stoltz’s cosmetic transformation in MASK won the Oscar for Best Makeup, while the eerie alien images in Cocoon won the Visual Effects Oscar.

Japan delivered some of the year’s biggest artistic heavy hitters. Juzo Itami’s ramen comedy Tampopo endures as a beautiful and hilarious ode to Japanese food and culture. Film legend Akira Kurosawa served up a Japanese adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear with Ran, which won the Costume Design Oscar on top of four nominations. And, while not an award-winning film, the animated post-nuclear fallout dark fantasy romance movie Vampire Hunter D earned its place in the annals of anime history.

106 Blumhouse Horror Movies Ranked

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The latest: Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 is now in theaters! Critics say it’s “a fan-service mess,” while audiences give it an 88% on the Popcornmeter.

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For some movies, the hype building up to their release isn’t based on its stars or director or plot, but by the boutique company putting it out to the public. Think A24. Think Laika. Think Blumhouse, the production org that’s become synonymous in horror with low budgets, big returns, and bigger thrills.

Over the past two decades, magnate of monstrosity Jason Blum — who has also produced plenty of “normal” movies — has banked his legacy on reinventing how horror scripts are discovered and made, keeping the genre from going stale, like it infamously did in the ’90s. After all, blood dries quickly; gotta keep it fresh. Look to franchises like The Purge, Paranormal Activity, and Insidious: when you watch one Blumhouse horror movie, you’re probably gonna seek out what else they’re up to.

Blumhouse had a very busy 2022 with The Black Phone, They/Them, Halloween Ends, and Nanny among their major releases. And they kick off 2023 with a dolled-up bang with M3GAN, their best-reviewed horror movie since Get Out. Since then, we’ve added Sick, Insidious: The Red Door, Totally Killer, and The Exorcist: Believer, and Five Nights at Freddy’s.

In 2024, they released Imaginary, Speak No Evil, and AfrAId, and this year brings the next chapter of The Black Phone series: Black Phone 2, which hits theaters this month. Now, as we head into spooky season, we’re ranking all Blumhouse horror movies by Tomatometer, with Certified Fresh films first! Be sure to explore these titles on Fandango at Home this season and beyond. In 2025, we got Wolf Man, Drop, M3GAN 2.0, The Woman in the Yard and Black Phone 2.

100 Best Movies of 1995, Ranked by Tomatometer

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The latest: “To infinity… and beyond!” Toy Story is among the list of 1995 films that are celebrating their 30th anniversary this week. Alongside other classics like Casino, Ghost in the Shell, and Goldeneye.

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1995 was a very well-rounded year in film. While kids marveled at the epic visual effect innovations in movies like Toy Story and Jumanji, ma and pops could indulge in the gritty drama of action/thrillers like Heat and Seven. Or bask in the charm and romance of French Kiss and The Bridges of Madison County.

Teens could temper their angst with humor in selections like Mallrats or Clueless. Or, escape the real world altogether with sci-fi faves in 12 Monkeys or Ghost in the Shell. And comedies Friday, Tommy Boy, and Boys on the Side transcended social lines and delivered laughs that audiences wouldn’t soon forget.

With our guide to the 100 best movies of 1995, break down an incredible year for cinephiles of all tastes. It’s ranked by Tomatometer, with Certified Fresh movies first. Next, Fresh movies with at least 20 reviews and a 60%+ Popcornmeter. And then come the audience picks: Rotten movies with a 60%+ Popcornmeter and 20,000+ user reviews!

(Photo by Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection. A GOOFY MOVIE.)

First, a few honorable mentions across genres that did not make the list, like superheroes (Batman Forever, Judge Dredd, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers), comedies (Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls, Casper, Father of the Bride Part II, The Brady Bunch Movie), sci-fi (Waterworld, Mortal Kombat, Species, Johnny Mnemonic). While they didn’t have the outstanding reviews on the Tomatometer or Popcornmeter to make the cut, some hit big at the box office, while others live on in cult infamy.

One movie that had no problem with any metric: Toy Story, Pixar’s first film and the one to rock the animation world to its core. Directed by John Lasseter, the entirely computer-animated feature heralded the era of 3D animation dominance, and Toy Story would franchise into an infinity of sequels, video games, talking action dolls (not a flying toy) and beyond. In what would become the beginning of the end for widespread 2D hand-drawn feature animation, a few movies stand out, like Balto (an Amblin-produced movie based on the sled dog who helped deliver antitoxin to a town in desperate need) and Whisper of the Heart, directed by Yoshifumi Kondo, a Studio Ghibli coming-of-age film about young love and aspirations that will melt your heart. And no 90s kid could forgive a 1995 movie list that didn’t highlight A Goofy Movie, the wacky yet heartfelt father-son road trip movie about Disney character Goofy and his wayward son Max, featuring unforgettable songs from pop idol, Powerline (played by Tevin Campbell).

(Photo by Gramercy / Courtesy Everett Collection. THE USUAL SUSPECTS.)

At the 68th Academy Awards, the 13th-century Scottish rebellion epic Braveheart took home top prizes for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography (as well as Best Makeup and Best Sound Effects Editing). Other Best Picture nominees still got their flowers, like space program disaster film Apollo 13 winning Best Film Editing and Best Sound, the quirky and heartwarming farm flick Babe nabbing Best Visual Effects, the Jane Austen classic Sense and Sensibility earning Best Writing – Adapted, and Il Postino: The Postman taking home Best Music. Other standout Academy Award-winning films include the captivating ensemble crime thriller The Usual Suspects (Best Screenplay – Original), and Disney’s Alan Menken-scored animated romance Pocahontas (Best Music – Musical or Comedy, Best Original Song).

The top acting award winners were Best Actress Susan Sarandon as a spiritual adviser to a death row inmate in Dead Man Walking, and Best Actor Nicolas Cage with raw drama Leaving Los Vegas. Other notable performances include Mira Sorvino as a sex worker struggling with her interpersonal relationships in Mighty Aphrodite, Richard Dreyfuss as a struggling high school music teacher in Mr. Holland’s Opus, and Mare Winningham as a successful folk singer with a strained relationship with her punk-rock sister in Georgia.

Action fans ate good in 1995. Heat united Robert De Niro and Al Pacino for one of the greatest face-offs in crime thriller history. Die Hard with a Vengeance united Bruce Willis’s John McClane with Samuel L. Jackson’s Zeus Carver in a popular franchise shakeup. And for the first time, James Bond is pit against another 00 Agent in the Pierce Brosnan-Sean Bean vehicle, Goldeneye. One action flick you don’t want to sleep on is Robert Rodriguez’s Western gunslinging extravaganza, Desperado, starring Salma Hayek and Antonio Banderas.

Horror and thrillers contributed their fair share. Seven, starring Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman, still has audiences shouting box-related inquiries. John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness still resonates, whether because of the Lovecraftian tone or Carpenter’s signature chilling score. Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci take no guff in Las Vegas gambling thriller Casino. And don’t miss Denzel Washington and Don Cheadle notable performances in the neo-noir mystery thriller Devil in a Blue Dress.

The sci-fi/fantasy genre had a memorable year. Director Kathryn Bigelow teamed with screenwriters James Cameron and Jay Cocks to deliver the dark techno-thriller Strange Days. Tank Girl, based on a post-apocalyptic comic series, employs unique special effects and prosthetics (ever want to see Ice-T get kangaroo jacked?), and has become a feminist cult classic. 12 Monkeys, starring Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt, twisted audiences’ minds with a mind-bending trip through time, so stylish that it earned a Best Costume Design nomination. And few movies stand out more in anime culture than Ghost in the Shell. The animated cyberpunk noir aimed at adult viewers appealed to audiences on two fronts: combining iconic action scenes with philosophical ideas about the future of technology. It would spawn several sequel movies and series, and a live-action adaptation.

(Photo by New Line / Courtesy Everett Collection. FRIDAY.)

In a year of great comedies, a few gems secured their place in film history. Though critically panned, Adam Sandler created an endlessly quotable cult classic for 90’s kids in his back-to-school goof-fest, Billy Madison. It’s no wonder a movie about a man-child going back to school resonated more with 1995’s youth more than it did Siskel and Ebert! Not to be outdone by their SNL co-star, David Spade and Chris Farley give an laugh-out-loud performance in the zany blue-collar road trip flick, Tommy Boy. Coming off a micro-budget hit called Clerks, director Kevin Smith’s gave us Mallrats, a laugh-a-minute love letter to geeks, for geeks. Other the other end of the social class spectrum, Clueless takes a wealthy, popular teen girl and depth and dimension to her and her crew. An adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, Clueless blends 90s-centric humor with a timeless heartfelt story about growing up. And, perhaps more quotable of all is the Ice Cube-Chris Tucker neighborhood comedy Friday. F. Gary Gray delivers a sidesplitting picture of South Central Los Angeles so funny you’ll be screaming “DAAAAMN!” with a side of “Bye, Felicia” to haters.

If you pine for a good romantic film, you can’t go wrong with enduring favorites like Sabrina, French Kiss, and Before Sunrise. And if you desire to see 1995 from an LGBTQ+ perspective, you may be interested in Boys on the Side, Jeffrey, or The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love. (Tyler Lorenz)

All Tim Burton Movies Ranked By Tomatometer

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The latest: Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride celebrates 20 years!

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1995 was a very well-rounded year in film. While kids marveled at the epic visual effect innovations in movies like Toy Story and Jumanji, ma and pops could indulge in the gritty drama of action/thrillers like Heat and Seven. Or bask in the charm and romance of French Kiss and The Bridges of Madison County.

Born in the morbid, decaying wonderland known as Burbank, California, visionary director Tim Burton showed a propensity for the dark arts from a young age, guiding him into a CalArts education, and then the prestigious honor of getting fired from Disney in the mid-’80s. The reasoning: Wasting company money animating things too scary to show kids. This only gave Burton the opportunity to let his imagination run unfettered on the big screen and, with the help of some choice partners-in-crime, produced one deranged hit after another: Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, two Michael Keaton Batman movies, Edward Scissorhands. (And if you’re later wondering why Nightmare Before Christmas isn’t on this list, though he’s often associated with the role, Burton is not credited as director on the film.)

After perhaps his finest hour — turning the cultural tide on the worst director ever with Ed Wood — Burton has oscillated between pet project curios (Frankenweenie, Dark Shadows) and bombastic blockbusters, such as Alice in Wonderland, which made a lot of money for, appropriately enough, Disney.

After an existential corporate crisis creating Dumbo, though, Burton has sworn off the Disney remakes for good. The turn seems to have done him some good as his sequel Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is his first Certified Fresh movie since Frankenweenie in 2012, and his first live-action one since 2003’s Big Fish. Now, we’re ranking all Tim Burton movies by Tomatometer!

23 Margaret Qualley Movies & Shows Ranked (Honey Don’t!)

(Photo by Focus Features/ Courtesy Everett Collection. HONEY DON'T!)

We’re ranking the films and shows of Margaret Qualley! The guide begins with Qualley’s Certified Fresh projects, including Oscar-winning body horror The Substance, limited series Maid, and breakthrough Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

Those are followed by Fresh movies and series, like The Leftovers, where Qualley appeared across its three seasons, Happy Gilmore 2, and Drive-Away Dolls, the first of Ethan Coen & Tricia Cooke’s lesbian B-movie trilogy.

Finally, there’s Qualley’s Rotten-rated material, which includes Netflix’s live-action anime adaptation of Death Note, and Dolls follow-up Honey Don’t!.

All 6 Despicable Me & Minions Movies Ranked

(Photo by Universal/ Courtesy Everett Collection. DESPICABLE ME.)

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The latest: The one that started it all, Despicable Me, celebrates its 15th anniversary!

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We’re ranking all 6 Despicable Me movies from animation house Illumination, including the first two Certified Fresh films and the viral Minions spinoff series!

89 Best Spy Movies, Ranked by Tomatometer

(Photo by 20th Century Fox/ Courtesy Everett Collection. SPY.)

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Spy celebrates its 10th anniversary!

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Spies! Secret agents! Intelligence officers! Undercover operatives! Moles! (Moley moley moley moley!) Some of our favorite characters in some of our favorite movies are adept at sneaking into where they don’t belong and either taking out enemies or gathering crucial information.

To celebrate the release of Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning, the conclusion to the decades-in-the-making story arc that began with Mission: Impossible, we present our top Best Spy Movies, ranked by Tomatometer.

What counts as a spy movie, first of all? Our definition is that the movie has to have spy characters and a political, international, and/or high-government dressing. That’s a pretty broad definition, but it allows us to include a lot of great films. The list is also Certified Fresh movies alone.

(Photo by Sony / Courtesy Everett Collection. CASINO ROYALE.)

You may notice that there are several spy movies conspicuous by their absence in this list. To explain why, a quick history of spy movies during the Cold War is necessary. Buckle up:

During the 1960s and ’70s, there was a constant fear throughout the Western world due to the Cold War. Nuclear attack could happen at any time and students practiced “duck and cover.” Paranoia about communism was rampant. Love of country was paramount, and anyone who dissented was automatically suspect. Spies could be everywhere!

This fear was channeled by filmmakers into some of the best spy movies ever made. They’re not listed here because they don’t meet our minimum review threshold for Certified Fresh: review websites, newspapers and blogs aren’t inclined to review old spy movies when there are new films to be concerned about. Still, it’s important to point out that movies like the British films The Ipcress File and The Quiller Memorandum, British / French film The Day of the Jackal and the later American movie The Falcon and the Snowman are excellent and well worth tracking down.

(Photo by Universal/ Courtesy Everett Collection. THE BOURNE IDENTITY.)

Spy films got a renaissance of sorts in the 1990s and 2000s, after the Berlin Wall fell. Technology developed to the point where high-tech spying was possible through computers and through phone lines. Enemy of the State, starring Will Smith and Gene Hackman, was a spiritual sequel of sorts to The Conversation from 1974. Another great spy film, Ronin, starred Robert De Niro in a series of spectacular car chases to retrieve a briefcase Macguffin. The ’90s was also the decade of wicked satire, so spoofs of spy films were everywhere, kicking off with the Austin Powers series, which mainly satirized British spy films that Mike Myers enjoyed in his youth, like Our Man Flint.

The 2000s brought an updated take on the 1980s Bourne novel spy series, with Matt Damon as Jason Bourne, a man with no memory, mysterious fighting and gun skills, and ties to a strange paramilitary organization.

Since spy movies are usually genre pictures, they generally don’t have much luck at the Academy Awards. Even Hitchcock only won one Best Picture (the non-spy film Rebecca) and one honorary Oscar in his day and never won for Best Director (though he was nominated five times for the latter), which seems mind-boggling today.

In fact, the only spy movie to win Best Picture was Argo in 2012, and no director has won Best Director for a spy movie. Argo, a dramatization of a true story features Ben Affleck (who also directed and produced) as a CIA officer who devises an elaborate plan to get six hostages out of Iran by creating an entire fake sci-fi movie from scratch, including concept art by Jack Kirby! The true story of what happened during what’s now called the Canadian Caper was classified until just recently, which allowed Affleck to make this movie.

Among other Academy Awards involving spy films, Mark Rylance won Best Supporting Actor as Rudolf Abel in Bridge of Spies, and Gary Oldman won Best Actor as Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour. Among women, Ingrid Bergman won Best Actress as Alicia Huberman in Hitchcock’s Notorious, so at least Hitchcock’s movies were still awarded at the time in some way.

(Photo by Universal/ Courtesy Everett Collection. BLACK BAG.)

Though not showered with golden statues, spy movies tend to do very well at the box office, as filmgoers love to return time and again to movie theaters to see characters wear disguises, avoid capture, and find their targets under cover of darkness.

The biggest live-action spy movie of all time going by worldwide gross, and the only one to pass $300 million at the box office, is Skyfall, the third of five Daniel Craig James Bond movies and the one with the Home Alone-like estate-invasion theme. Skyfall is surpassed by Despicable Me 2, a family-oriented animated sequel with equal parts espionage and supervillain themes.

Others that have crested the $200 million mark are The Bourne Ultimatum, the second of the Bourne series and the highest rated; Mission: Impossible – Fallout, the sixth entry in the series and the second pairing writer-director Christopher McQuarrie with Tom Cruise; Mission: Impossible II, the strange second entry by director John Woo and the top-grossing movie of 2000; Austin Powers in Goldmember, the third and arguably best of this satirical series; Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, the sequel to Fallout; Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, the highly anticipated followup to the surprise home video hit; and Spectre, the Bond movie after Skyfall that brought back the classic evil spy organization of the same name and its leader, Blofeld. (Steve Horton)

100 Best Movies of 2015 Ranked

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The latest: Ridley Scott’s The Martian celebrates its 10th anniversary!

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2015 was a year marked by excellent award-winning domestic and foreign movies, and punctuated by some notable blockbusters. And a high number of the films on our guide to the 100 best movies of 2015 contain the same throughline: justice and humanity for the disenfranchised. The award nominations spread covered a large swath of topics, from exposing evil through journalistic justice in Spotlight, to child soldier recruitment in Beast of No Nation, to unlikely interplanetary survival in The Martian.

In foreign film, Embrace of the Serpent covers the plight of the indigenous tribes against the threat of white colonialism, and Mustang follows the demanding lives of five young orphan women living in a conservative Turkish society. Even a blockbuster like Mad Max: Fury Road is about the fight for liberation in a dystopian desert hellscape.

The 100 best movies of 2015 are ranked by Tomatometer, all Certified Fresh with positive Popcornmeters from at least 1,000 user votes. Before we go any further, that means, yep, even Fresh and popular Rotten movies arent’ making the cut, including worldwide box office hits like Jurassic World, Minions, Spectre, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2, and Fifty Shades of Grey.

Spotlight, the thrilling and scarring drama based on The Boston Globe’s investigative reporting into child abuse in the Catholic Church, won Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay for 2015. Best Adapted Screenplay went to The Big Short, Adam McKay’s comedic yet prescient take on author Michael Lewis’s bestselling book about the United States housing bubble and financial crisis in the 2000s. The Revenant, a western revenge film set in the wild American frontier, would win Alejandro G. Iñárritu Best Director and Leonardo DiCaprio his first Oscar for Best Lead Actor. Brie Larson’s simmering performance in the claustrophobic abduction thriller Room would earn her Best Lead Actress. Mark Rylance impresses in Bridge of Spies, the Cold War prisoner exchange drama directed by Steve Spielberg and co-written by the Coen Brothers. Alicia Vikander’s performance in The Danish Girl, a heart wrenching story based on one of the first recorded instances of gender reassignment surgery, would earn her Best Supporting Actress.

Mad Max: Fury Road would take home a staggering six Academy Awards: Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, Best Production Design, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costume Design, and Best Film Editing. The spectacular experiential film spawned a prequel in 2024, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.

Pixar’s Inside Out won Oscar gold for Best Animation. Like Fury Road, its popularity would earn it a follow-up film in 2024: Inside Out 2. British animation fans might consider Inside Out’s win an upset, as it was nominated alongside the hit Shaun the Sheep Movie. Created by Aardman, the studio behind the beloved Wallace & Gromit franchise, Shaun would receive positive reviews from critics and audiences alike and spawn a sequel in 2019: Farmageddon.

Outstanding foreign films include Son of Saul, A War, and Aferim!. Hungarian film Son of Saul follows a Hungarian-Jewish prisoner in Auschwitz who is part of a unit forced to, by threat of death, aid with the removal of gas chamber victims in concentration camps. The devastating drama won Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes. Danish war drama, A War, follows a commander in the Danish military in Afghanistan who, while attempting to thwart a Taliban attack, calls in an airstrike and is charged for the war crime of killing eleven civilians. Aferim!, the Romanian entry from Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards (though not ultimately nominated), is a Western-style comedy-drama about a lawman hired by Wallachian nobility to track down a Roma slave accused of having an affair with the noble’s wife.

In comedy, Melissa McCarthy and Amy Schumer delivered a one-two punch in 2015. In director Paul Feig’s action laugh-fest Spy, McCarthy plays Susan Cooper, a shy CIA handler turned foul-mouthed international agent who must thwart a criminal plot by Rayna Boyonov (Rose Byrne), dodge setbacks from bozo fellow spy Rick Ford (Jason Statham), rescue her work partner/crush (Jude Law), and fend off the advances from a comically pervy undercover contact, Aldo (Peter Serafinowicz). Trainwreck, directed by Judd Apatow, stars Amy Schumer, as a sex-obsessed lush of a magazine columnist who struggles to maintain a steady partnership with her boyfriend (Bill Hader), due to her party girl ways and a severe commitment allergy. Trainwreck’s been praised by critics for being a refreshingly subversive take on the traditional romantic comedy.

And 2015 was not without its fill of action! Tom Cruise returned to the big screen as Ethan Hunt for the fifth time in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation. Hunt and his ensemble of IMF agents (featuring Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, and Ving Rhames), and introducing a disavowed MI6 agent (Rebecca Ferguson), employ their skills to expose and dispose of the shadowy organization known as The Syndicate, in a globetrotting adventure lauded for its gripping pace and exceptional stunts. Marvel’s Ant-Man took a bow, introducing Paul Rudd as Scott Lang, an out-of-work engineer turned petty thief turned microscopic superhero. Ant-Man would eventually receive two sequels, Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018) and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023), though the titular hero would make crossover appearances in Captain America: Civil War (2016), Avengers: Endgame (2019).

Now, it would be impossible to discuss epic 2015 action movies and leave out Furious 7. Dom Toretto and his team of inexplicably superhuman gearheads are back for another white-knuckle adventure. This entry in the pulse-heightening franchise introduces a new villain, Deckard Shaw (Statham again!), who claims to have killed the team’s friend Han (Sung Kang). The film also says goodbye to Toretto’s best friend Brian O’Connor, as actor Paul Walker sadly perished in a real-life auto collision before the film wrapped production.

A few more worthy films! The Lobster, starring Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz, is a bizarre tale set in a seemingly authoritarian world where single adults force themselves to find a partner in 45 days or be transformed into an animal of their choosing. Such an odd concept could only come from the mind of writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos, who later directed the critically acclaimed films The Killing of a Sacred Deer, The Favourite, and Poor Things. Straight Outta Compton, directed by F. Gary Gray, is a biographical account of the early lives of hip-hop artists Ice Cube, Easy-E, and Dr. Dre, who formed the legendary group N.W.A., and was shot on location in Compton, California. The role of Ice Cube was a breakout for actor O’Shea Jackson Jr., who portrayed his own real-life father in the movie. The Witch, starring Anya Taylor-Joy, is an independent folk horror film set in pre-Revolutionary New England, where a Puritan family fears they are being stalked by evil. The film thrust Robert Eggers onto the scene as an outstanding director to keep an eye on. He would continue to make unconventional but well-received movies like The Northman, The Lighthouse, and 2024’s Nosferatu, which earned four Academy Award nominations. (Tyler Lorenz)

67 Best Baseball Movies of All Time

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The latest: Indie bittersweet dramedy Eephus is majorly Certified Fresh!

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The crack of the bat. The roar of the crowd. The smell of ballpark franks, and we’re not just talking of the Thomas variety. At Rotten Tomatoes, we’ve cleared the benches and rushed the field with the best-reviewed baseball movies of all time!

From sentimental favorites (Field of Dreams, The Natural) to inside documentaries (The Battered Bastards) to wild comedies (The Sandlot, A League of Their Own) we’ve got a murderer’s row of heavy hitters. And because we know baseball fans trend towards being stat geeks, here’s ours: We listed Certified Fresh films first, which includes sports classics like Bull Durham and Moneyball. That’s followed by Fresh films like The Bad News Bears, and Rotten movies after that (with quite a few featuring positive Audience Scores, including For Love of the Game, Hardball, and The Benchwarmers.

Batter up! It’s time to go to bat with the best baseball movies ever!

Neil Gaiman’s highly-anticipated The Sandman series and the film premiere of vampire actioner Day Shift starring Jamie Foxx, Dave Franco, and Snoop Dogg lead Netflix’s August 2022 offerings.

Of Gaiman’s extensive roster of work, his Sandman comic series is probably his most famous. Now, his iconic tale of Dream (Tom Sturridge) — also known as Lord Morpheus or the King of Dreams — is coming to the streamer. When Dream is captured and held prisoner for a century, the land of the Dreaming is thrown into chaos. He inevitably escapes, though, and finds the realms thrown into chaos. To set things right, Dream embarks on a mission to reclaim his power and meets some interesting characters along the way. Also appearing in the series is Gwendoline Christie as Lucifer Morningstar, Jenna Coleman as Johanna Constantine, Charles Dance as Sir. Roderick Burgess, Boyd Holbrook as The Corinthian, David Thewlis as Dr. John Dee, Patton Oswalt as the voice of Matthew the Raven, and Mark Hamill as the voice of Mervyn Pumpkinhead.

Jamie Foxx stars in Day Shift, a modern-day horror-themed action flick about an international guild of vampire-hunters and the hard-working father struggling to provide a better life for his daughter — by killing the undead for profit. One part From Dusk Till Dawn and one part Blade, the movie co-stars Dave Franco, Snoop Dogg, Karla Souza, and Meagan Good.

Fans of YA fantasy rejoice: the story of the Locke family is finally back with the third and final installment of the hit fantasy series Locke & Key, based on the comic book run by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez. With more magic being uncovered in Keyhouse, and the most dangerous threat the family has ever encountered let loose, Nina (Darby Stanchfield), Tyler (Connor Jessup), Kinsey (Emilia Jones), and Bode (Jackson Robert Scott) will definitely have their hands full.

For fans of coming-of-age comedies, Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Poorna Jagannathan, and Darren Barnet return for season 3 of Mindy Kaling’s hit high school series Never Have I Ever. And Kevin Hart joins Mark Wahlberg, Regina Hall, and Jimmy O. Yang in the raucous comedy Me Time.

Find out what else is joining them on Netflix and what’s leaving the service below.

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HIGHLIGHTS

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FULL LIST OF SHOWS AND MOVIES COMING TO NETFLIX THIS MONTH

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Coming Soon

Delhi Crime: Season 2*
Partner Track*

* NETFLIX ORIGINALS

Available 8/1

Big Tree City*

33% 28 Days (2000)

76% 8 Mile (2002)

50% Above the Rim (1994)

37% Battle: Los Angeles (2011)

78% Bridget Jones's Baby (2016)

79% Bridget Jones's Diary (2001)

46% Constantine (2005)

42% Dinner for Schmucks (2010)

76% Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

83% Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

68% Footloose (2011)

51% Hardcore Henry (2015)

61% Legends of the Fall (1994)

86% Love & Basketball (2000)

15% Made of Honor (2008)

91% Men in Black (1997)

67% Men in Black 3 (2012)

38% Men in Black II (2002)

41% Miss Congeniality (2000)

19% Monster-in-Law (2005)

47% No Strings Attached (2011)

- - Pawn Stars: Season 13 (2016)

Polly Pocket: Season 4: Part 2: Tiny Taste Adventure

46% Squirrels to the Nuts (2014)

44% Space Jam (1996)

90% Spider-Man (2002)

93% Spider-Man 2 (2004)

63% Spider-Man 3 (2007)

92% The Town (2010)

58% Woman in Gold (2015)

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Available 8/2

77% Flight (2012)

Ricardo Quevedo: Tomorrow Will Be Worse*

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Available 8/3

Buba*
Clusterf**k: Woodstock ’99*
Don’t Blame Karma!*

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Available 8/4

Lady Tamara*
KAKEGURUI TWIN*
Super Giant Robot Brothers*
Wedding Season*

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Available 8/5

32% Carter (2022) *

32% Carter (2022) *

Darlings*

63% The Informer (2019)

79% Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie (2022) *

92% Skyfall (2012) *

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Available 8/6

Reclaim*

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Available 8/7

67% Riverdale: Season 6 (2021)

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Available 8/8

Code Name: Emperor*

- - Team Zenko Go: Season 2 (2022) *

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Available 8/9

I Just Killed My Dad*

91% The Nice Guys (2016)

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Available 8/10

Bank Robbers: The Last Great Heist*
Heartsong*

14% Indian Matchmaking: Season 2 (2022) *

Instant Dream Home*
Iron Chef Brazil*
School Tales The Series*

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Available 8/11

88% Dope (2015)

- - DOTA: Dragon's Blood: Book 3 (2022) *

Stay on Board: The Leo Baker Story*

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Available 8/12

58% 13: The Musical (2022) *

A Model Family*

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Available 8/15

- - Ancient Aliens: Season 4 (2012) *

Deepa & Anoop*

92% Learn To Swim (2021)

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Available 8/16

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Available 8/17

High Heat*
Junior Baking Show: Season 6*

62% Look Both Ways (2022) *

Royalteen*
Unsuspicious*

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Available 8/18

- - He-Man and the Masters of the Universe Season 3*

Inside the Mind of a Cat*
Tekken: Bloodline*

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Available 8/19

- - The Cuphead Show!: Season 2 (2022) Part 2*

Echoes*
The Girl in the Mirror (Alma)*

- - Glow Up Season 4*

Kleo*
The Next 365 Days*

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Available 8/20

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Revenge of Scar*

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Available 8/21

- - A Cowgirl's Song (2022)

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Available 8/23

- - Chad & JT Go Deep: Season 1 (2022) *

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Available 8/24

Lost Ollie*
Mo*
Queer Eye: Brazil*
Running with the Devil: The Wild World of John McAfee*
Selling The OC*
Under Fire*
Watch Out, We’re Mad*

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Available 8/25

- - Angry Birds: Summer Madness Season 3*

History 101: Season 2*
Rilakkuma’s Theme Park Adventure*
That’s Amor*

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Available 8/26

84% Disobedience (2017)

Drive Hard: The Maloof Way*
Loving Adults*
Ludik*
Seoul Vibe*

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Available 8/29

Under Her Control*

- - Mighty Express Season 7*

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Available 8/30

- - I Am a Killer Season 3*

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Available 8/31

Club América vs Club América*
Family Secrets*
I Came By*

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TV SHOWS AND MOVIES LEAVING NETFLIX THIS MONTH

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Leaving 8/4

They’ve Gotta Have Us: Season 1

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Leaving 8/5

93% Screwball (2018)

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Leaving 8/7

68% We Summon the Darkness (2019)

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Leaving 8/9

14% Demonic (2021)

30% The Saint (1997)

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Leaving 8/10

81% Mr. Peabody & Sherman (2014)

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Leaving 8/15

16% Endless Love (2014)

- - Selfless (2008)

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Leaving 8/20

86% The Conjuring (2013)

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Leaving 8/23

- - Young & Hungry Seasons 1-5

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Leaving 8/24

36% The November Man (2014)

- - Celebrity Wheel of Fortune Seasons 35-37

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Leaving 8/25

89% Taxi Driver (1976)

68% The Visit (2015)

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Leaving 8/27

87% Wind River (2017)

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Leaving 8/30

96% In the Line of Fire (1993)

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Leaving 8/31

94% A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)

14% A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)

69% A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011)

57% Crooked House (2017)

66% Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)

68% Cliffhanger (1993)

87% The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

91% The Departed (2006)

93% Goodfellas (1990)

10% Grown Ups (2010)

97% Halloween (1978)

54% Just Like Heaven (2005)

82% Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

- - Major Dad Seasons 1-4

93% Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

67% Mission: Impossible (1996)

58% Mission: Impossible II (2000)

8% Premonition (2007)

68% Public Enemies (2009)

75% Rise of the Guardians (2012)

45% Soul Surfer (2011)

72% Starship Troopers (1997)

88% Titanic (1997)

48% We Are Marshall (2006)

31% Wyatt Earp (1994)

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On an Apple device? Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Apple News.

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Thumbnail images: Netflix

The third Marvel Studios Spider-Man film almost didn’t happen. In the summer of 2019, arguments between the Walt Disney Company and Sony Pictures Entertainment about the former’s profit participation in the project seemingly stopped development dead. Soon after the companies stopped negotiations, Tom Holland used his clout to get both organization to resume talks.

At least, that’s one version of the story.

However it actually happened, Disney and Sony agreed to produce another Spider-Man film (and to feature the Holland version of the character in a yet-to-be announced Marvel Studios film). And if the recent trailers any indication, this third Marvel Cinematic Universe Spider-Man is going to be the biggest film of the webhead’s cinematic career.

So let’s take a look at what we know about the film so far and what it might mean for Peter Parker’s (Holland) future in the MCU, the Spider-Verse, or some combination of the two.

[Updated on 8/24/21]

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The Returning Cast

(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Since Holland leveraged his participation in the upcoming adaptation of Sony’s Uncharted video game series to make it happen, he is definitely back as Spider-Man. Joining him, as they have for the previous few films, are Zendaya as MJ, Jacob Batalon as Peter’s best friend Ned, and Marisa Tomei as Peter’s aunt, May Parker. Tony Revolori will also appear as quasi-nemesis Flash Thompson, and J.K. Simmons will continue on as J. Jonah Jameson following his cameo at the end of Spider-Man: Far From Home. But his appearance was more of a tease than we ever realized about the next Spider-Man and the return of some familiar faces. More on that in a moment.

Behind the camera, director Jon Watts returns to join a very exclusive club of filmmakers who navigated Marvel machinery to make a full trilogy – currently, Ant-Man series director Peyton Reed and Guardians of the Galaxy’s James Gunn are scheduled to join him in that fraternity by 2023.

On the script side, Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers also return for their third outing with Holland’s Spider-Man, as do producers Amy Pascal and, of course, Kevin Feige, who seems to be using the film as an opportunity to introduce a lot of Spider-Man film history into his Marvel Universe.

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The Strange and Familiar Faces

(Photo by ©Columbia Pictures)

Although the COVID-19 epidemic slightly delayed the film – it moved from an initial July 2021 release to the end of that year – news started emerging throughout 2020 that suggested it may be the biggest Spider-Man film to date.

It all began on October 1, 2020, when word broke that Jamie Foxx would appear in the the film as Electro, the character he played in Sony’s The Amazing Spider-Man 2 — the film’s whose relative shortcomings led to the studio’s talks with Marvel about placing Peter in the MCU in the first place. Though it was possible Foxx would play a new version of the character more tailored to the Marvel reality, many began to wonder if he was playing the same Electro from that earlier film, giving it a place in the tapestry of the MCU.

A week later, Benedict Cumberbatch joined the cast to reprise his role as Doctor Strange. According to the reports at the time, Strange was presumed to serve the same “mentor” role as Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) in Spider-Man: Homecoming and Nick Fury/Telos (Samuel L. Jackson) in Far From Home. From the teaser trailer released in August of 2021, though, it’s clear Strange’s role is more “co-conspirator” than mentor as Peter tries to use magic to erase his public outing. In the trailer released in November, Strange also charges Peter with a new task – although some moments suggest they will also come into conflict.

(Photo by Matt Kennedy/©2021 CTMG)

Of course, Strange’s choice to help Peter will lead to his next starring role in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which seems poised to serve as an Avengers-style keystone in the Multiverse plot weaving its way around Phase 4. In addition to returning to threads from WandaVision, it seems pretty clear he will become aware of the Loki problem as well.

When asked about the nature of his role, Foxx played coy at first, but then infamously posted – and subsequently deleted – a picture of the three live-action Spider-Man actors (Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Holland) to his Instagram. It inspired hope that perhaps Holland’s Spidey would meet his colleagues from other realities, echoing Sony’s Oscar-winning animated feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.

(Photo by Marvel Entertainment)

Then, in December of 2020, a flood of info seemed to confirm this notion. Alfred Molina was spotted on set, and the trades subsequently reported he was reprising his Spider-Man 2 role of Doctor Octopus. Just a few short hours later, a report from Collider indicated Kirsten Dunst was in talks to reprise Mary Jane Watson from the first Spider-Man film series, with The Amazing Spider-Man’s Andrew Garfield also planning to join the film. Original Spidey Tobey Maguire and Emma Stone (Gwen Stacy in the ASM series) were also said to be circling the project; Stone’s pregnancy may prevent her from appearing, while Maguire may only need the right deal to make this meeting of the cinematic Spider-Men a dream come true. Aside from Molina’s casting, none of the others has been confirmed, but the November trailer made it clear that both screen Green Goblins, the Lizard, and the Sandman will all appear as more deadly foes Spider-Man must face. It is still unclear, though, if they will be played by the original actors or just appear as costumes and CGI.

Also, eagle-eyed fans on the Internet have already noticed the Lizard reacting to a seemingly invisible opponent at one point, indicating some world-famous Marvel image manipulation may be obscuring certain characters in the trailer.

At this time, it is unknown if the previous Aunt May actors, Rosemary Harris and Sally Field, have also been approached, but other rumors indicate Charlie Cox will play Matt Murdoch from Netflix’s Daredevil series — apparently to represent Spider-Man in court.

While all of these actors represent a huge cast, particularly for a Spider-Man film, it also suggests No Way Home is looking more across the gulf to Sony than a story about Peter’s place in the MCU. Which may not be a bad plan, all things considered.

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Into the Spider-Verse?

(Photo by ©Columbia Pictures)

The wildly successful Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse already established all the fictional architecture required to either transfer Holland’s Spider-Man into Sony’s film universe – a narrative setting it tried to dub the “Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters” in 2019, but shortened to “Sony’s Spider-Man Universe” last August – or bring the Spider-Verse into the MCU. The various realities are all true, after all; even the reality where Spider-Man 2099 is played by Oscar Isaac. Considering the way other realities appear to be converging toward the end of the November trailer, we could imagine the film establishing a long-term explanation for the two movie universes and Peter’s place within them.

Sony, as it happens, was ready to walk away from the MCU in 2019 thanks to the success of its incipient Spider-Verse. The animated film took home a Best Animated Feature at the Academy Awards and created a lasting legacy. The studio’s 2018 film Venom, meanwhile, proved they could launch a successful Spider-Man movie without Spider-Man. That confidence led to some of the disagreements when Disney wanted a larger cut of No Way Home, and it emboldened Sony to finally move ahead with Spider-related projects they wanted to produce since The Amazing Spider-Man 2.

(Photo by Sony Pictures Entertainment)

That film was supposed to lead directly in to a Sinister Six movie in which the most dastardly foes of Spider-Man teamed up against him. The tepid box office and critical response to ASM2 put a hard stop those plans and led to a rebooted Peter Parker’s appearance in Captain America: Civil War and subsequent Marvel releases. Nevertheless, Sony continued to develop Venom, Into the Spider-Verse, and a movie centering on Black Cat and Silver Sable.

As it stands, Sony is currently developing films centering on Madame Web, Black Cat and Silver Sable as separate projects, Silk, Kraven the Hunter, and Spider-Woman, the latter with Olivia Wilde slated to direct. It also has two completed films, Venom: Let There Be Carnage — which bowed in October — and Morbius, set for release early next year.

(Photo by Sony Pictures Entertainment)

Morbius also raised eyebrows with a trailer released in late 2019 that referenced Peter’s current problems in the MCU; that is to say, various shots offered glimpses of posters referring to Spider-Man as a murderer. Making Morbius’s place in the Spider-Verse murkier was the surprise appearance of Micheal Keaton, presumably playing Adrian Toomes from Homecoming and offering Micheal Morbius (Jared Leto) a piece of the action. It left fans wondering whether Spider-Man was finally going to fight the Sinister Six or the group was coming to him to fight on MCU turf. The November trailer presents a sinister group of Spider-Man’s enemies ready to fight him, and Let There Be Carnage’s stinger scene made it clear two Sony characters are definitely in the MCU.

It remains to be seen, though, just how connected the MCU and the Sony Spider-Man Universe will be. There are certain advantages to keeping the MCU and the Spider-Verse close, particularly if the relationship between Sony and Disney warms up. But as with No Way Home’s apparent cast list, the potential universe-hopping plot leaves many breathlessly anticipating its release.

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The Release Date

(Photo by Marvel Entertainment)

Spider-Man: No Way Home is set for release on December 17th, 2021, a date that seemed in doubt even after the August trailer. But with just a month to go before release, Sony is absolutely committed to letting fans see the film soon.

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Thumbnail images by ©Sony Pictures Entertainment

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Tom Holland is riding high as Marvel Studios’ current live-action Spider-Man, but he is far from the first to slip on the Spidey suit. Some would say it was Tobey Maguire, with his three Spider-Man films directed by Sam Raimi, who kicked off the superhero movie era as we know it and respect must be paid; others would say Andrew Garfield was an underrated web-slinger who perhaps failed to soar less because of his performance than the movies that surrounded it. Others would counter with a GIF of Maguire dancing. We’re here to settle the debate once and for all – at least Mark Ellis is. Our Vs. host is breaking down the Spider-Men by Tomatometer, box office, and the villains they faced to determine once and for all who wore it best – “it” being the blue-and-red suit, of course.

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Check out clips of some of Spider-Man’s best moments. 

(Photo by © Warner Bros.)

Neil Blomkamp is reassembling RoboCop, Joaquin Phoenix is getting his own Joker movie, and Robin is about to lead the Titans on streaming. That’s the great thing about our favorite characters: they’re never really gone – someone new can always bring them back. But how many of these adaptations really capture what we love about our favorite characters? And which adaptations do it best?

To find out, we took a deep look at 15 characters who have had at least five different versions of them made, and which have current or upcoming adaptations on the way. For some who’ve had dozens (thanks to public domain), we stuck to the 10 most famous versions. If a role was just recast during the same series – as opposed to a wholly new take – we counted them together. For each character, we also found their highest Tomatometer-rated portrayal – the ultimate arbiter of which version is the best (and likely the ultimate argument-starter among those who disagree!).

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RoboCop

(Photo by © Orion/courtesy Everett Collection)

Number of RoboCops: 6

All the RoboCops: Original Trilogy (Peter Weller/Robert Burke), 1988 animated series (voice of Dan Hennessey), 1994 RoboCop TV Series (Richard Eden), RoboCop: Prime Directives TV series (Page Fletcher), 2014 RoboCop (Joel Kinnaman), Neil Blomkamp RoboCop (TBD)

The Best RoboCop: RoboCop (1987) 92%

No surprise, the original 1987 RoboCop is still rated highest. But we would never bet against Neil Blomkamp giving that version a run for its money.

Poll: Vote for Your Favorite RoboCop

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The Joker

(Photo by ©Warner Home Video)

Number of Jokers: 17 and counting

10 Most Famous Jokers: ‘60s TV Series (Cesar Romero), 1989 Batman (Jack Nicholson), Batman: The Animated Series including Mask of the Phantasm and crossover films and series (voice of Mark Hamill), The Batman (voice of Kevin Michael Richardson), The Dark Knight (Heath Ledger), Batman: The Brave and the Bold (voice of Jeff Bennett), Suicide Squad (Jared Leto), The LEGO Batman Movie (Zach Galifianakis), Joker Origin Movie (Joaquin Phoenix), Martin Scorsese-Produced Joker Movie (Leonardo DiCaprio)

The Best Joker:  Batman: The Animated Series () - -

At 97%, Batman: The Animated Series edges out even The Dark Knight’s 94% if we judge versions purely by Tomatometer. Morgan Jeffery of Digital spy praised the show’s voice cast, saying, “On top of its beautiful visuals and vocals, Batman also boasted a tone far more adult than one might expect from a comic book cartoon.” Hamill’s Joker is so acclaimed that he continued voicing him in many animated incarnations. However, as live-action Jokers go, Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning portrayal is hard to top. Will Phoenix or DiCaprio do it?

Poll: Vote for Your Favorite Joker

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Batman

(Photo by © Warner Bros.)

Number of Batmans: 17 (including a radio show) and counting

10 Most Famous Batmans: ’60s Batman TV series (Adam West), The Batman/Superman Hour/Super Friends (voice of Olan Soule), Burton/Schumacher film series (Michael Keaton/Val Kilmer/George Clooney), Batman: The Animated Series through Justice League Unlimited (voice of Kevin Conroy), Batman Beyond (voice of Will Friedle), The Dark Knight trilogy (Christian Bale), Batman: The Brave and the Bold (Diedrich Bader), Gotham (David Mazouz), DCEU (Ben Affleck), LEGO Movies (voice of Will Arnett), The Batman (TBA)

The Best Batman: Batman Beyond () 100%

Batman earned his highest Tomatometer score in the futuristic Batman Beyond with 100%. EW’s Ken Tucker said, “The new, black-winged, red-blooded Batman on display Saturday mornings will have you pouring a steaming mug of coffee and shouldering aside any nearby children to catch all the fresh fun and action.” In the live-action realm, Christian Bale’s Dark Knight trilogy is the most consistently Fresh Batman series with a high of 94% for The Dark Knight.

Poll: Vote for Your Favorite Batman

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Robin Hood

(Photo by © Lionsgate)

Number of Robin Hoods: Dozens

The 10 Most Famous Robin Hoods: 1922 Robin Hood (Douglas Fairbanks), The Adventures of Robin Hood (Errol Flynn), Disney’s Robin Hood (voice of Brian Bedford), Robin and Marian (Sean Connery), Time Bandits (John Cleese), Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (Kevin Costner), Robin Hood (Patrick Bergin), Robin Hood: Men in Tights (Cary Elwes), 2010 Robin Hood (Russell Crowe), 2018 Robin Hood (Taron Egerton)

The Best Robin Hood: The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) 100%

With 100%, Errol Flynn is hands-down the most acclaimed Robin Hood. Not bad considering Rotten Tomatoes didn’t exist yet in 1938! But our critics still respect the classic, with Village Voice’s Elliott Stein commenting, “Movie pageantry at its best, done in the grand manner of silent spectacles, brimming over with the sort of primitive energy that drew people to the movies in the first place.”

Poll: Vote for Your Favorite Robin Hood

Mulan

(Photo by ©Walt Disney Pictures)

Number of Mulans: 15

The 10 Most Famous Mulans: Hua Mulan Joins The Army (Hu Shan), Lady General Hua Mu Lan (Ivy Ling Po), The Saga of Mulan (Bai Shuxian), Disney Mulan franchise (voice of Ming-Na), The Secret of Mulan (uncredited voice), A Tough Side of a Lady (Mariane Chan), Mulan: Rise of a Warrior (Zhao Wei), Once Upon a Time (Jamie Chung), Live-Action Disney Mulan (Liu Yifei), Alex Graves-directed Mulan (TBD)

The Best Mulan: Mulan (1998) 91%

Since most of the Chinese film and television productions of the Mulan story weren’t available to international critics, the Disney Mulan currently wins on the Tomatometer by default. Film Journal International’s Wendy Weinstein wrote, “it is in the subtlety of its characters’ ‘acting’ that Mulan excels” and it does have an 86% Fresh rating. We have every hope for the upcoming live-action renditions, too.

Poll: Vote for Your Favorite Mulan

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Tinker Bell

(Photo by ©Walt Disney)

Number of Tinker Bells: Dozens

10 Most Famous Tinker Bells: 1924 Peter Pan (Virginia Browne Faire), Disney’s Peter Pan/Return to Neverland (Silent), 1960 Peter Pan (stage light), Hook (Julia Roberts), Peter Pan (Ludivine Sagnier), Neverland (Keira Knightley), Tinker Bell film series (voice of Mae Whitman), Peter Pan Live (CGI), Once Upon a Time (Rose McIver), Live-Action Tinker Bell (Reese Witherspoon)

The Best Tinker Bell: Tinker Bell (2008) 90%

Tinker Bell’s solo movie is even fresher than the original Disney Peter Pan, and subsequent sequels are Fresh too. The L.A. Times’ Michael Ordona wrote, “To its target audience, it will be another self-empowerment fable with loads of imagination and colorful, painterly images (and a keen marketing blast for Disney fairies).” The 1924 film is praised unanimously by a handful of critics, so it’s worth seeking out.

Poll: Vote for Your Favorite Tinker Bell

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Superman

(Photo by © The CW)

Number of Portrayals: 16 (including radio)

10 Most Famous Superman: Live-action serials (Kirk Alyn), Superman and the Mole Men + The Adventures of Superman (George Reeves), Superman: The Movie through Superman Returns (Christopher Reeve, Brandon Routh), Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (Dean Cain), Superman: The Animated Series (voice of Tim Daly), Smallville (Tom Welling), Warner Animation Superman films (voices of Adam Baldwin, Kyle MacLachlan, Tim Daly, Mark Harmon, James Denton, Kevin Conroy, George Newbern, Matt Bomer, Sam Daly, Alan Tudyk, Jerry O’Connell, Benjamin Bratt), DCEU (Henry Cavill), Supergirl (Tyler Hoechlin), Teen Titans Go! To the Movies (voice of Nicolas Cage)

The Best Superman: Superman: The Movie (1978) 88%

You never forget your first Superman, so the franchise that began with Christopher Reeve’s 94% Fresh Superman: The Movie remains the most acclaimed. As recently as this May, The Times UK’s Ed Potton called Reeve “manlier and steelier than recent portrayals by Brandon Routh and Henry Cavill.” John J. Puccio of Movie Metroplis (appropriate name) said of Reeve “the casting department found someone with just the right charisma to pull it off.” Recently, Tyler Hoechlin’s portrayal of Kal El on a few episodes of Supergirl earned new raves. Digital Spy’s Morgan Jeffery says, “Tyler Hoechlin is the best live-action Man of Steel since the sorely underrated Dean Cain hung up his tights.” TV Fanatic’s Stacy Glanzman agrees that Hoechlin “nailed it.” Give him a few more seasons and see if he can catch up to Reeve!

Poll: Vote for Your Favorite Superman

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James Bond

Number of Different James Bonds: 006

All the James Bonds: “Casino Royale” episode of Climax (Barry Nelson), EON Film Series (Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan, Daniel Craig), Casino Royale comedy (Peter Sellers, David Niven, Woody Allen), “The British Hero” episode of Omnibus (Christopher Cazenove in re-enactments), Never Say Never Again (Sean Connery), James Bond Jr. (voice of Corey Burton)

The Best Portrayal: 007: Goldfinger (1964) 99%

It’s the long-running EON films version of the character, obviously. At its height, these films scored a 97%. Roger Ebert remarked of Goldfinger and the franchise, “it is a great entertainment, and contains all the elements of the Bond formula that would work again and again.” Now, whether you pick Daniel Craig or Sean Connery as your favorite from this version…we’ll let that debate continue among Bond fans.

Poll: Vote for Your Favorite James Bond

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Hulk

(Photo by ©Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

Number of Portrayals: 13 including Marvel animated guest appearances

10 Most Famous Hulks: The Marvel Super-Heroes (voice of Max Ferguson), The Incredible Hulk TV series (Lou Ferrigno), The Incredible Hulk animated series (voice of Bob Holt), The Marvel Action Hour (voice of Ron Perlman), The Incredible Hulk (voice of Neal McDonough), episodes of Iron Man: Armored Adventures (voice of Mark Gibbon), Superhero Squad Show (voice of Travis Willingham), Hulk (Eric Bana), MCU (Edward Norton and Mark Ruffalo), The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes through Avengers Assemble and appearances on Guardians of the Galaxy and Spider-Man (voice of Fred Tatasciore)

The Best Portrayal: Marvel's the Avengers (2012) 91%

With a 92%, The Avengers‘ incarnation of Hulk smashes the rest – and the MCU version as a whole, including Ed Norton and Mark Ruffolo’s tale,s has a Fresh average of 81.8% . The animated Earth’s Mightiest Heroes scores higher even than The Avengers, but with only five reviews, we’re still giving the title to the MCU’s Hulk Matt Brunson of Creative Loafing said when reviewing The Avengers, “The scene-stealer is Ruffalo, who provides Bruce Banner with a soulfulness missing in the portrayals by Bana and Norton.” Even CNN’s Tom Charity singled out the Hulk among other Avengers, saying, “Never underestimate the entertainment value of the Hulk Smash.”

Poll: Vote for Your Favorite Hulk

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Spider-Man

(Photo by © Columbia)

Number of Spider-Man: 16

The 10 Most Famous Spider-Men: The Amazing Spider-Man (Nicholas Hammond), Spider-Man (voice of Christopher Daniel Barnes), Spider-Man: The New Animated Series (voice of Neil Patrick Harris), Ultimate Spider-Man and LEGO Marvel (voice of Drake Bell), Sam Raimi Trilogy (Tobey Maguire), Amazing Spider-Man 1 and 2 (Andrew Garfield), Turn Off The Dark (Reeve Carney and Justin Matthew Sargeant), LEGO Spider-Man (voice of Jackson Buffington), (MCU/Homecoming (Tom Holland), Into the Spider-verse (Jake Johnson and Shameik Moore)

Best Spider-Man: Spider-Man 2 (2004) 93%

With a peak at Spider-Man 2’s 93%, the Sam Raimi trilogy remains the most critically acclaimed Spider-Man films (Holland’s appearances in Captain America: Civil War and Homecoming comess close though.) AP’s Christy Lemire praised the series when reviewing the second film: “The web-slinging sequences are bigger-better-brighter-faster than the already spectacular ones in 2002’s Spider-Man, and at the same time, the film’s smaller emotional moments are denser, richer and more resonant than those in the first.”

Poll: Vote for Your Favorite Spider-Man

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Jughead Jones

(Photo by © The CW)

Number of Jugheads: 7

All the Jugheads: Radio show (voices of Hal Stone, Cameron Andrews and Arnold Stang), The Archie Show and spinoffs (voice of Howard Morris), The New Archies (voice of Michael Fantini), Archie’s Weird Mysteries (voice of Chris Lundquist), 1976 Archie pilot and ’78 special Archie Situation Comedy Musical Variety Show (Derrel Maury), Archie: To Riverdale and Back Again (Sam Whipple), Riverdale (Cole Sprouse)

Best Jughead: Riverdale () 81%

Riverdale has a series Tomatometer score of 88%, crowning Cole Sprouse as the best Jughead. It’s also the only take who’s been reviewed enough to have a Tomatometer score, but we have a feeling this CW fan favorite would likely win against his animated competition even if the data was there.

Poll: Vote for Your Favorite Jughead 

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He-Man

Number of He-Men: 5

All the He-Men: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (voice of John Erwin), Masters of the Universe (Dolph Lundgren), The New Adventures of He-Man (voice of Garry Chalke and Doug Parker), 2002 series (Cam Clarke), New Live-Action Film In Development

Best He-Man: He-Man and the Masters of the Universe () 100%

Boy, did all the Tomatometer critics grow up on the weekday afternoon cartoon in the ’80s, or what? Well, this one may still be up for grabs if they make a really cool live-action movie, but for now the original cartoon is the master. Nerdist’s Rosie Knight puts it in perspective saying, “Beloved for many reasons. There’s the notoriously rushed production… giving it a unique and charming look. It’s also revered for its vision of a kid friendly techno-barbarian landscape.”

Poll: Vote for Your Favorite He-Man

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The Punisher

(Photo by © Netflix)

Number of Punishers: 6

All The Punishers: 1989 The Punisher (Dolph Lundgren), Spider-Man: The Animated Series (voice of John Beck), 2004 The Punisher (Thomas Jane), Punisher: War Zone and Super Hero Squad Show (Ray Stevenson), Netflix series (Jon Bernthal), Avengers Assemble episode “Planet Doom” (uncredited)

Best Punisher: Marvel's Daredevil: Season 2 () 81%

Bernthal remains the only certified Fresh Punisher, and his stint on Daredevil season 2 bested even his own series (though Marvel’s The Punisher is still Fresh). New York Observer’s Vinnie Mancuso singles out Bernthal’s haunted portrayal, “Jon Bernthal is the perfect Punisher because there is zero fun in his performance.”In reviewing Daredevil‘s second season, Aggressive Comix’s Steph Cozza adds, “The Punisher is the true MVP here.”

Poll: Vote for Your favorite Punisher

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Godzilla

(Photo by © Toho Films)

Number of Godzillas: 9

All the Godzillas: 31 Toho Films, Hanna-Barbera Godzilla, Godzillaland, Godzilla Island, 1998 Godzilla, Godzilla: The Series, Nike commercial with Charles Barkle, Legendary Films’ Godzilla, Netflix Godzilla

The Best Godzilla: Godzilla (1954) 94%

With a 93% for the classic Gojira and seven more Fresh movies in the franchise, nobody’s done Godzilla better than Toho. The Washington Post’s Stephen Hunter put it best in 2004 when he said, “Its images of the destruction of the cities is far more powerful than in American films, where the cities are trashed for the pure pleasure of destruction, without any real sense of human loss.”

Poll: Vote for Your Favorite Godzilla

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King Kong

Number of Kongs: 9

All the Kongs: 1933 King Kong and Son of Kong (stop motion animation), 1966 King Kong animated series, King Kong vs. Godzilla and King Kong Escapes, 1976 King Kong (voice of Peter Cullen) and King Kong Lives (Peter Elliott), Kong: The Animated Series and Return to the Jungle, 2005 King Kong (Andy Serkis), Kong: King of Atlantis,  Kong: King of the Apes (voice of Lee Tockar), Legendary King Kong (Toby Kebbell)

The Best Kong: King Kong (1933) 97%

Certified Fresh at 98%, the original 1933 Kong is still King (its sequel, rushed into release later in 1933, not so much). Robert Ebert explained why it still works nearly a century later, writing that “there is something ageless and primeval about King Kong that still somehow works.”

Poll: Vote for Your Favorite King Kong

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There are many more characters who’ve been portrayed over and over again. Who are your favorites? Tell us in the comments.

To go by his words and deeds, Avengers: Infinity War’s Thanos (Josh Brolin) may be the most consummate and powerful foe the Marvel Cinematic Universe has yet unleashed. To hear him tell it, his attempt to give the universe balance by obtaining the Infinity Stones is a merciful and humane action. Perhaps more than any other Marvel villain, he is a hero in his own mind with goals he perceives as altruistic.

But will his Infinity War appearance make him one of the great film supervillains of all time? And what makes for greatness when it comes to villainy? Is it a grand plan executed with aplomb? An iconic look or an immediately quotable motto? Or is it a knack for banter with the hero? As more and more people see Infinity War, Thanos’s merits as one of the great villains will be debated, but let’s take a look at 20 of the big screen’s greatest superhero foes he will have to contend with to get that honor.

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20. The Joker (Cesar Romero)

The big screen’s first Joker was also television’s original Crown Prince of Crime. Romero memorably gave the character his psychotic laugh and off-kilter sense of humor. In the film, he also succeeds at being a cabin boy to a senile admiral. Armed with his repertoire and a “dehydration” gun, the Joker — along with the Penguin (Burgess Meredith), Catwoman (Lee Meriwether) and the Riddler (Frank Gorshin) — creates plenty of trouble for the Dynamic Duo.

Film Appearances: Batman: The Movie (1966), though he previously appeared in the Batman TV series.

Tomatometer: 80%

North American Box Office: $1.7 million

Destruction Factor: Turns the “United World” Security Council to a fine powder.

Memorable Line: “I’m afraid they’ll find our humor very, very dry!”

Powers: Puns and gag weapons.

Cosplay Cred: Few are ever willing to grow a Romero mustache for the perfect Joker ’66 look.

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19. Neville Sinclair (Timothy Dalton)

(Photo by Walt Disney Studios)

As a deep-cover spy, Neville Sinclair was the toast of Hollywood with the ability to bed any woman and earn the trust of any man. But his attempt to secure Howard Hughes’s (Terry O’Quinn) experimental rocket pack fills him with a particular mania that serves to be his undoing. Also: his sophisticated movie star image is the perfect counterpoint to the unkempt style of the Rocketeer (Billy Campbell).

Film Appearances: The Rocketeer (1991)

Tomatometer: 62%

US Box Office: $46.7 million

Destruction Factor: Assists in the destruction of a dirigible, the rocket pack itself, and a portion of the “Hollywoodland” sign.

Memorable Line: “It wasn’t lies, Jenny. It vas acting.”

Powers: A strong resemblance to Errol Flynn and Timothy Dalton.

Cosplay Cred: Sadly, none.

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18. The Phantasm (Dana Delany)

(Photo by Warner Bros.)

The Phantasm is one of the most personal villains the animated Batman (Kevin Conroy) ever faced. In costume, the Phantasm speaks with the voice of Stacy Keach and strikes terror into Gotham’s organized crime families. But in reality, she is Andrea Beaumont (Dana Delany), the only woman who could ever pull Bruce Wayne away from his life as a vigilante. Sadly, the dissolution of their relationship leads them both to don masks and face the City’s worst criminals.

Film Appearances: Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

Tomatometer: 82%

US Box Office: $5.6 million

Destruction Factor: Batman’s heart.

Memorable Line: “Your Angel of Death awaits.”

Powers: Combat training and smoke bombs.

Cosplay Cred: Rare, but it’s memorable when you spot a Phantasm cosplay in the wild.

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17. Mr. Glass (Samuel L. Jackson)

Though he seems to be a mentor, Elijah Price is really the architect of all of David Dunn’s (Bruce Willis) problems. (Sorry: Spoiler.) Though he is the only person to recognize the presence of superpowers in the world, years of abuse and neglect — to say nothing of his brittle bones — lead him to one conclusion: be the supervillain the world needs to find the hero it requires.

Film Appearances: Unbreakable (2000), thought M. Night Shyamalan is currently working on a follow-up for 2019 called, appropriately, Glass.

Tomatometer: 68%

Worldwide Box Office: $248.1 million

Destruction Factor: Derails a train to prove David is indestructible, among other acts of terrorism.

Memorable Line: “They called me Mr. Glass!”

Powers: A terrifying intellect.

Cosplay Cred: A surprisingly rare occurrence at comic cons.

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16. Mystique (Rebecca Romijn)

(Photo by 20th Century Fox)

As both spy and confidant to Magneto (Ian McKellen), Mystique relies on her top martial arts skills and mutant ability to blend into any environment. But she is also the most visible example of Magneto’s crusade. Though she can choose to appear as anyone she wishes, Mystique’s natural blue serpentine appearance inspires fear in the world. The character was so memorable in the initial X-Men film series that the current cycle revolves around her, now played by Jennifer Lawrence.

Film Appearances: The X-Men franchise.

Tomatometer: X-Men: 81% (Certified Fresh), X2: X-Men United: 85% (Certified Fresh), X-Men: The Last Stand: 58%

Worldwide Box Office: X-Men: $296.3 million, X2: X-Men United: $407.7 million, X-Men: The Last Stand: $459.3 million

Destruction Factor: Though she has been known to blow stuff up now and again, that isn’t really her style. Instead she sows confusion and wreaks havoc by manipulating her foes.

Memorable Line: “You know, people like you are the reason I was afraid to go to school as a child.”

Powers: Shape-shifting.

Cosplay Cred: An extremely tough look to pull off at comic cons.

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15. “Bad” Superman (Christopher Reeve)

(Photo by Warner Bros.)

When Superman is overcome by the toxic effects of Gus Gorman’s (Richard Pryor) counterfeit Kryptonite, he turns into a self-centered jerk who would rather make time with a pretty lady than save a bunch of bus passengers on a disintegrating bridge. Reeve’s attempt to channel an all-id Superman does feel more “bad” than evil, but it provides a fun opportunity for Reeve to play against himself and presents the first on-screen exploration of an idea — “What if Superman were evil?” — that would become a major theme driving the narrative behind movies like Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and Suicide Squad.

Film Appearances: Superman III (1983)

Tomatometer: 26%

US Box Office: $60 million

Destruction Factor: Straightening the Leaning Tower of Pisa ruined the Italian economy.

Memorable Line: “You always wanted to fly, Kent!”

Powers: All the powers of a Superman, but he’d rather drink Johnny Walker Red.

Cosplay Cred: Not nearly as common as it should be.

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14. Joker (Jack Nicholson)

The merger of Nicholson’s persona with the Joker is one of Batman’s great strengths, but the performance is more nuanced than many gave it credit for at the time. Once he falls into the Axis Chemicals acid and adopts his clown persona, Nicholson loses some of his iconic cool to dig into the louder, broader aspects of Gotham’s #1 villain (e.g. the Smilex commercial). A consummate foe for the Batman of the late 1980s.

Film Appearances: Batman (1989)

Tomatometer: 72%

Worldwide Box Office: $411.3 million

Destruction Factor: Kills his boss, fries a business rival, and poisons Gotham City.

Memorable Line: “Ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?”

Powers: Knowledge of chemistry and a flair for the theatrical.

Cosplay Cred: A fairly rare sight as other takes on the Joker became more popular.

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13. Syndrome (Jason Lee)

(Photo by Walt Disney Studios)

The ultimate sycophant, Syndrome (née Buddy Pine) was a precursor of the sort of fan culture that eats itself for some perceived lack of purity. His jealousy of the supers leads to a lot of strife for the Parr Family and an America burnt out on superheroes. Nonetheless, his actions also lead to a possible return of heroes, despite an attempt to even the playing field.

Film Appearances: The Incredibles (2004)

Tomatometer: 97% (Certified Fresh)

Worldwide Box Office: $633 million

Destruction Factor: His robots leave a path of destruction through the metro area the Parrs call home.

Memorable Line: “And when everyone’s super, no one will be.”

Powers: Zero point energy manipulation via technology.

Cosplay Cred: Virtually nonexistent, though memorably spotted on occasion.

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12. Ultron (James Spader)

(Photo by Marvel Studios)

As the personification of Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) id, Ultron’s attempts to secure the planet make clear Tony’s greatest failing: he cannot see the human cost in any of his endeavors. Powered by the Mind Stone, Ultron makes a final, ugly calculation in regards to humanity and sets out to destroy it. Also, since he’s based on Tony’s brain patterns, he quips. A lot.

Film Appearances: Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

Tomatometer: 75% (Certified Fresh)

Worldwide Box Office: $1.41 billion

Destruction Factor: Raises – and razes – the entire nation of Sokovia; the ramifications of which are still being felt throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Memorable Line: “When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world will be metal.”

Powers: All the powers of an Iron Man, multiplied by the ability to self-replicate infinitely.

Cosplay Cred: Extremely rare, though a few Ultrons appeared at cons after the film’s release.

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11. Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer)

(Photo by Warner Bros.)

While DC Comics’ favorite cat burglar skirts the line between villain and ne’er-do-well, Catwoman’s initial involvement in a plot to disgrace Batman (Michael Keaton) earns her a spot on the list. Pfeiffer’s performance defined the character for a long time – even if she was partly inspired by the TV Catwomen of the 1960s – as she fought Batman and her own turmoil. In the end, her Catwoman chose her own way and never appeared in a film again. Not that anyone has ever been able to forget her.

Film Appearances: Batman Returns (1992)

Tomatometer: 81% (Certified Fresh)

Worldwide Box Office: $266.8 million

Destruction Factor: She blows up Schreck’s Department Store in an early show of strength.

Memorable Line: “Meow.”

Powers: Nine lives and a filing system that is unstoppable.

Cosplay Cred: Though the film is over 25 years old, this Catwoman costume is still popular.

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10. The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan)

(Photo by Zade Rosenthal/Walt Disney Studios)

Yes, yes, he isn’t a villain by choice, as he’s very much a weapon of Hydra in the film, but Bucky Barnes is very effective at playing the part. His Soviet brainwashing is so effective that, when activated, almost no emotional appeal will work on him. Well, at least until his old friend Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America (Chris Evans), finally breaks through. And, really, Bucky’s relationship with Steve is part of what makes him so compelling.

Film Appearances: Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) and Captain America: Civil War (2016), though Sebastian Stan first played Bucky Barnes in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011).

Tomatometer: Captain America: The Winter Soldier: 89% (Certified Fresh), Captain America: Civil War: 91% (Certified Fresh)

Worldwide Box Office: Captain America: The Winter Soldier: $714.3 million, Captain America: Civil War: $1.15 billion

Destruction Factor: Assists in bringing down S.H.I.E.L.D. and its helicarrier fleet.

Memorable Line: “Who the hell is Bucky?”

Powers: Heightened strength and agility, a cybernetic vibranium arm.

Cosplay Cred: A beloved fixture of con-going cosplayers.

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9. Vulture (Michael Keaton)

Despite a strong work ethic and good management skills, Adrian Toomes turned to crime when Tony Stark and government officials bulldozed over his contract to clean up Manhattan following the Battle of New York. Granted, the swiftness with which he became a black market weapons manufacturer suggests all he ever needed was a gentle shove to embrace villainy. But the opening scene of Spider-Man: Homecoming made him immediately understandable and compelling as a villain; and even sympathetic once his relationship to Spider-Man’s (Tom Holland) world is revealed.

Film Appearances: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

Tomatometer: 92% (Certified Fresh)

Worldwide Box Office: $880.1 million

Destruction Factor: Rips a ferry in half, crashes a Stark Industries jet, and blasts Logan Marshall-Green out of the MCU.

Memorable Line: “The rich, the powerful, like Stark, they don’t care about us! The world’s changed boys. Time we change too!”

Powers: A flying rig based on crashed Chitauri tech.

Cosplay Cred: Surprisingly rare costume in spite of a great adaptation of the comic book Vulture’s look.

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8. Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman)

Excusing some of the camp value to Hackman’s Luthor – particularly in the sequel – he exudes the key quality of Superman’s archfoe: egotism. Luthor, a real estate swindler in these films, only decides to fight Superman because his ego dictates it. Consequently, Superman cannot really appeal to his emotions; none are present as he plans to remake the West Coast in his image.

Film Appearances: Superman (1978), Superman II (1981)

Tomatometer: Superman: 93%, Superman II: 87%

Worldwide Box Office: Superman: $300 million, Superman II: $156.9 million

Destruction Factor: Nearly sank California into the Pacific.

Memorable Line: “There’s a strong streak of good in you, Superman. But then, nobody’s perfect… almost nobody.”

Powers: He is the greatest criminal mind of his time. He also owns a hefty Kryptonite necklace that he uses to weaken Superman.

Cosplay Cred: Between Hackman’s refusal to go bald and the appalling 1970s fashions, he is a truly rare cosplay sight.

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7. Zemo (Daniel Bruhl)

(Photo by Marvel Studios)

Currently, the Avengers’ greatest foe is not a flamboyant god or a maniacal robot, but a sad, quiet man with a detailed plan and working knowledge of governmental procedures. Zemo destabilizes the world for a very personal and, ultimately, small goal: hurt the Avengers the way they hurt him. He also succeeds, leaving Captain America a fugitive and Tony Stark so isolated that he has to pal around with a spider-themed teenager hero.

Film Appearances: Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Tomatometer: 91% (Certified Fresh)

Worldwide Box Office: $1.15 billion

Destruction Factor: With some smoke, a few explosions, and a very inconvenient truth, he brings down the Avengers. He also murders a few people along the way.

Memorable Line: “An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again, but one which crumbles from within? That’s dead… forever.”

Powers: Determination.

Cosplay Cred: Despite his comic book counterpart’s incredible fashion sense, the Marvel Cinematic Universe version inspires few to dress up.

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6. Doctor Octopus (Alfred Molina)

(Photo by Columbia Pictures courtesy Everett Collection)

One of the most sympathetic villains on the list, Molina’s Doc Ock was as much a victim of his passions as he was a willing accomplice in a plan to destroy Spider-Man. The cruelty that emerges in him came from his cybernetic implants; a crucial detail that becomes clear when he finally reasserts control and realizes he was trying to kill his friend Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire). Also, the warmth with which he welcomes Peter — a guy in desperate need of a positive male role model — makes his turn all the more tragic.

Film Appearances: Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Tomatometer: 93% (Certified Fresh)

Worldwide Box Office: $783.8 million

Destruction Factor: His lab is completely destroyed during an experiment. He also leaves his mark on New York skyscrapers and the subway lines.

Memorable Line: “I will not die a monster.”

Powers: Super-tough robotic appendages.

Cosplay Cred: Popular in the wake of the film’s release, but has since faded.

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5. General Zod (Terence Stamp)

(Photo by Warner Bros.)

Thanks to Stamp, Zod is as much a staple in Superman’s rogues gallery as Lex Luthor. Seemingly reserved, Zod can lash out without hesitation. Despite the air of refinement Stamp gives the character, he is just another petty dictator — a point underscored when he takes control of the White House (and, by implication, the world) only to suffer from conqueror’s boredom. Superman’s return late in the film comes as a relief to Zod, as debasing the son of Jor-El gives him something to do.

Film Appearances: Superman (1978), Superman II (1981)

Tomatometer: 87%

Worldwide Box Office: Superman: $300 million, Superman II: $156.9 million

Destruction Factor: He and his cohorts reshape Mount Rushmore and pummel the West Wing. They also make insurance premiums rise in Metropolis again.

Memorable Line: “Come to me, son of Jor-El! Kneel before Zod!”

Powers: All the powers of a Superman plus advanced military training.

Cosplay Cred: Zod’s look is just a little too disco for most cosplayers.

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4. Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan)

(Photo by © Marvel and © Walt Disney Pictures)

The secret shame of Wakanda, Erik “Killmonger” Stevens (Michael B. Jordan) presents a legitimate concern to King T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) and his subjects, even if his methods are woefully misguided: Should Wakanda reveal itself to the outside world and help those who live with the legacy of the African slave trade? The character’s heady subtext is backed by Jordan’s gifted abilities as a performer.

Film Appearances: Black Panther (2018)

Tomatometer: 96% (Certified Fresh)

Worldwide Box Office (To Date): $1.34 billion

Destruction Factor: Destroys all but one of the heart-shaped herbs, which is far more devastating than any property damage he caused in the film.

Memorable Line: “Nah, just bury me in the ocean with my ancestors that jumped from ships. ‘Cause they knew death was better than bondage.”

Powers: Thanks to the heart-shaped herb, all the powers of Black Panther; Navy SEAL training.

Cosplay Cred: Few could wait for a comic convention to dress in Killmonger’s now-iconic London look. Cosplayers dressed in his subsequent battle suit, which looks suspiciously like Vegeta’s from Dragonball Z, shortly after.

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3. Magneto (Ian McKellen)

(Photo by 20th Century Fox Film Corp.)

Erik Magnus Lehnsherr is one of the most compelling antagonists in comics and film for one simple reason: he’s pretty much right. His methods may be unquestionably cruel to conventional humans, but he recognizes two sapient species cannot share the planet. Violence, subjugation, and pain are inevitable. And when his point of view is given McKellen’s voice, it becomes incredibly persuasive. The more optimistic philosophy of the X-Men looks naïve and childish in comparison.

Film Appearances: The X-Men Franchise

Tomatometer: X-Men: 81% (Certified Fresh), X2: X-Men United: 85% (Certified Fresh), X-Men: The Last Stand: 58%, X-Men: Days of Future Past: 90%

Worldwide Box Office: X-Men: $296.3 million, X2: X-Men United: $407.7 million, X-Men: The Last Stand: $459.4 million, X-Men: Days of Future Past: $747.9 million

Destruction Factor: He moves the Golden Gate Bridge to Alcatraz, turns Senator Kelly (Bruce Davison) into a water creature, and renders a sick burn unto Rogue (Anna Paquin) about the white stripe in her hair.

Memorable Line: “Let’s just say God works too slowly.”

Powers: The ability to manipulate all metal.

Cosplay Cred: His initial low-key look is rarely imitated these days.

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2. Loki (Tom Hiddleston)

(Photo by Zade Rosenthal/Walt Disney Studios)

The power of persuasion is also a major weapon in the arsenal of the God of Lies. Loki is charismatic, witty, exciting, and a sharp dresser. He’s that bad boy who looks redeemable even as he opens a wormhole to let the Chitauri invade Earth. But then he has a good explanation for his bad choices: he was raised by the god who kidnapped him from his real family. And he means to do good, so shouldn’t that be enough? It’s no wonder Loki returns to the MCU time and again; his brand of villainy looks like it can be reasoned with. Even if he betrays Thor again, again, and again.

Film Appearances: Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012), Thor: The Dark World (2013), and Thor: Ragnarok (2017), though he’s less a villain than a trickster — and even a bit of a hero — in the latter two.

Tomatometer: Thor: 77%, The Avengers: 92%, Thor: The Dark World: 66%, Thor: Ragnarok: 92%

Worldwide Box Office: Thor: $449.3 million, The Avengers: 1.52 million, Thor: The Dark World: $644.6 million, Thor: Ragnarok: $853.5 million

Destruction Factor: He seizes the throne of Asgard and almost murders Thor, then later precipitates the Battle of New York, which alerts the world to the presence of superpowered beings.

Memorable Line: “You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel.”

Powers: God-level abilities and a snake-oil salesman’s tongue.

Cosplay Cred: A perennial favorite, though his formal tux from Avengers was more popular in the wake of the film’s release.

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1. Joker (Heath Ledger)

(Photo by )

In an age when origins are required, Ledger’s Joker arrived on the scene without a name, place of birth, or a particular ambition. As Alfred (Michael Caine) put it, he just wants to see the world burn, and he even tells Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart) as much late in the film. His complete lack of backstory and motivation makes him the most unpredictable, dangerous supervillain on this list, and the purity of his cruelty makes him the most fascinating.

Film Appearances: The Dark Knight (2008)

Tomatometer: 94%

Worldwide Box Office: $1 billion

Destruction Factor: Took out most of Gotham’s entrenched mafia, destroyed Harvey Dent, and made the Batman Gotham’s Number One criminal.

Memorable Line: “Why so serious?”

Powers: None

Cosplay Cred: Thanks to the alterations to the classic Joker look, Ledger’s Joker costume remains popular at cons and at Halloween.

Luc Besson’s return to the big space opera scene with Valerian and the Thousand Planets comes at a hefty price: a reported $180 million, easily making it the most expensive French production ever. And such fiscal modesty inspires this week’s gallery of the 24 most expensive movies ever made! (Budgets and box office are adjusted for inflation, with the base numbers from Box Office Mojo, natch.)

Hugh Jackman delivers his slicey swan song as Wolverine in Logan, the R-rated for-realsies conclusion to the arc of Marvel’s famous X-Man. This week’s gallery pays tribute to the Marvel movies that existed before and now compete with the Marvel Cinematic Universe — read on for the best & worst Marvel movies (outside the MCU)!

With the May 6 release of Captain America: Civil War, the third phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe officially commences. It’ll be a four-year, multi-picture deal featuring the debuts of Black Panther, Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel, The Wasp and more, culminating in the long-brewing Infinity War. As pop culture at large further commits to the superhero trend, Rotten Tomatoes offers our own ideas as to who (and what) from the Marvel comics should get a shot on the silver screen.

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Spider-Gwen

In an alternate universe, Gwen Stacy (not Peter Parker) was bitten by a radioactive spider, and gained superhuman abilities. In that same universe, Peter Parker dies (not Gwen Stacy), and now Spider-Woman fights crime in New York, even as J. Jonah Jameson calls her a menace. Spider-Gwen’s hooded costume was wildly popular, helping what could have been a minor spin-off character get her own regular title. And not only is this Gwen a superhero, she’s in a rock band with Mary Jane Watson. If the Marvel/Sony partnership is viewed as successful by both studios, maybe we’ll see Spider-Gwen get her own movie someday.

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Ms. Marvel

It’s not easy being Kamala Khan, but that’s one of the reasons she’s so relatable. A bookish, introverted comics fangirl from a strict-but-loving family, Kamala just wants to be a normal teenager — which is made all the more difficult because she also just happens to be an Inhuman with the ability to stretch and contract at will. A Ms. Marvel TV series is rumored to be on the horizon, which would be welcome news: at a time when politicians traffic in anti-Islamic rhetoric, a Muslim-American superhero from Marvel — particularly one as endearing as Kamala — could stand as a bold rejoinder.

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Cloak and Dagger

A common criticism you’ll hear from DC diehards is that their celluloid heroes are the dark and gritty alternative to Marvel’s goofy,  family-friendly pop spectacles. Well, if Marvel was looking to boost its cinematic street cred, it might look to adapt the tale of Tyrone Johnson and Tandy Bowen, a pair of teenage runaways-cum-crime-fighting vigilantes who do business as Cloak and Dagger. Operating within a grim, perpetually overcast Manhattan, Cloak (a teleporter) and Dagger (who fires electrical knives from her hands) are complex characters, and their troubled histories and interpersonal drama could be the kindling for a grown-up superhero movie. (And lo and behold, a Cloak and Dagger show has been announced!)

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Hercules

Depending on who’s writing for the character, Hercules can be slightly oafish to dangerously irresponsible. In his current title, the legendary god of strength is a little washed up and in need of redemption, and that’s the character we’d like to see hit the big screen. He’s been struggling with forces that few mortals can see, leading many to think he’s lost his mind, and there’s fodder for either broad comedy or tense thrills in that formula.

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Miles Morales

It’s been a little over five years since the introduction of Miles Morales as swingin’ Spider-Man in the Ultimate lineup, the first major shake-up in the Marvel multiverse since Captain America’s death and the Iron Man movie changed the business. A Black Hispanic teen, Morales’ tales are more urbane and tense, and he eventually finds his way to the main Marvel universe to fight alongside Peter Parker. As Marvel preps yet another Spider-Man origin movie, Morales represents to shake off the cobwebs of Spidey’s story.

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Carnage

On the other hand, what’s one more Peter Parker for the road? Spider-Man had some of the best supporting players and villains swirling in his world and the mid-90s Maximum Carnage storyline brought the oddballs out — not just Venom and Carnage (the former teaming with Parker to take down the latter), but Carrion, Demogoblin, Shriek, Doppelganger, Black Cat, Firestar, Deathlok and more. It’s a blunt and violent brawl and though the sappy conclusion would need to be reworked, it’d be a thrill to see a modern superhero movie that’s pure action with no subtext or symbolism.

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Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur

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Namor

In his 70+ years in Marvel Comics, half-Atlantean Namor has been alternately portrayed as a villian, an anti-hero, and an actual hero.  But one thing has been pretty consistent across all of those portrayals; he’s a haughty, stuck-up jerk.  The intersection of his regal, overbearing attitude, quick temper, and his fierce determination to fight for what he believes in makes for a character that could have some thrilling confrontations with the rest of the MCU.

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Spider-Woman

Having been first recruited by HYDRA, then involved with S.H.I.E.L.D., becoming an agent of S.W.O.R.D., and finally a member of the Avengers, Spider-Woman’s path could easily crossover Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers, and lead to the Skrull invasion story arc. Besides all that, Jessica Drew is one of the last few top Marvel characters not in movies or TV yet. The good news is that the recent partnership between Marvel and Sony — who might or might not own her rights in the cinematic universe — is a sign that her premiere on the big screen might be closer than ever.

It’s time for another comic book convention, and we at RT are hitting WonderCon in Los Angeles the whole weekend to take photos of the most creative and dedicated cosplayers at the convention. Scroll down for our selection.

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Let’s forget about that whole Egyptian gods thing — Gerry Butler’s got another action movie for you this week. He reprises his role as a head Secret Service agent in London Has Fallen, sequel to Olympus Has Fallen which got a 48% rating from critics back in 2013. The Fallen movies inspire this week’s 24 Frames: best and worst action sequels by Tomatometer!

75 Best Summer Blockbusters of All Time

In defense of the blockbuster, Rotten Tomatoes offers you Best Summer Movies, a countdown of the highest-rated wide releases to hit theaters during the hot season since the release of Jaws in 1975. We’re using a weighted formula that takes the Tomatometer, the number of reviews, and the year of release into account. In order to qualify, each movie needs at least 20 reviews, and to have been released wide in the months between May and August. Enough talk: grab an extra large soda and a bucket of popcorn and dive into RT’s Best Summer Movies!

Click to Page 2 to see the availability of Kick-Ass, Dredd, 300, and the Superman, early Batman and Men in Black franchises, plus more!

Superman: The Movie

88%

As Planet Krypton verges on annihilation, a lone infant escapes into space, only to land on Earth and live out his dual life as both Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) and the powerful Superman.

Available now on: Amazon

Superman II

88%

Superman saves Paris from a nuclear attack, but he simultaneously awakens a trio of powerful Kryptonian criminals in Earth’s orbit who then attempt to take over Earth.

Available now on: Amazon

Superman Returns

72%

This 2006 film picks up where Superman II left off, as Clark Kent/Superman (Brandon Routh) returns after years of absence only to find that the world is getting along fine without him… and his former enemy Lex Luthor (Kevin Spacey) is up to his old tricks.

Available now on: Amazon

Ghost World

93%

Based on the Daniel Clowes graphic novel, this coming-of-age comedy focuses on recent high school grads Enid and Rebeca (Thora Birch, Scarlett Johansson), who spend their summer navigating relationships and trying to figure out what to do with their lives.

Available now on: Amazon

Oldboy

82%

In this South Korean thriller, a man (Choi Min-sik) is kidnapped and held captive for 15 years by an anonymous party for undisclosed reasons; when he is finally set free, he begins to unravel the dark mystery behind his imprisonment.

Available now on: Amazon, Netflix

Men in Black

91%

New York cop James Edwards (Will Smith) is recruited for a top secret government agency tasked with policing earth’s resident aliens; with his partner Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones), the two help stop a “Bug” (Vincent D’Onofrio) bent on the destruction of a hidden universe.

Available now on: Amazon, Vudu

Men in Black II

38%

Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) has retired and had his memory wiped, but when a shapeshifting villain (Lara Flynn Boyle) takes control of the MIB offices, Agent J (Will Smith) must team up with him again to bring her to justice.

Available now on: Amazon, Vudu

Men in Black 3

67%

After an unexplained anomaly wipes all traces of Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) from the present, Agent J (Will Smith) travels back in time to partner up with a young K (Josh Brolin) and set things right.

Available now on: Amazon, Vudu

Kick-Ass

78%

Dave Lizewski (Aaron Johnson) wonders why there aren’t any real superheroes in the world, so he buys a goofy outfit and tries his hand at vigilante justice. When he inadvertently upsets a crime boss (Mark Strong), he teams up with a few fellow heroes to take him down.

Available now on: Amazon, Vudu

Dredd

80%

In a dystopic near future, “judges” dispense justice at their discretion. Dredd (Karl Urban) and a rookie partner (Olivia Thirlby) get their first assignment: take down a highrise populated by gangsters and ruled by a ruthless drug lord named Ma-Ma (Lena Headey).

Available now on: Amazon, Vudu

V for Vendetta

73%

This adaptation of the Alan Moore graphic novel, set in an alternate England, stars Natalie Portman as a young woman who joins with a mysterious masked man, skilled in speech and combat, who seeks to overthrow the totalitarian government.

Available now on: Amazon, Vudu

Batman: The Movie (1966)

80%

Adam West and Burt Ward star in this campy classic, which finds the Caped Crusader (West) and Robin (Ward) chasing down a gang of their most famous adversaries after they’ve dehydrated the UN.

Available now on: Amazon, Vudu

Batman (1989)

77%

Tim Burton’s take on Batman stars Michael Keaton in the title role as he attempts to thwart the Joker’s (Jack Nicholson) plan to poison consumer products used by the citizens of Gotham City.

Available now on: Amazon

Batman Returns

82%

Tim Burton follows up the 1989 hit with a much darker film, in which Batman (Michael Keaton) must deal with Catwoman (Michelle Pfeiffer) and the Penguin (Danny DeVito).

Available now on: Amazon

Batman Forever

41%

Val Kilmer takes up the cape and cowl for Joel Schumacher’s decidedly campier sequel; Robin (Chris O’Donnell) enters the picture to lend Batman a hand against the Riddler (Jim Carrey) and Two-Face (Tommy Lee Jones).

Available now on: Amazon

Batman: Mask of the Phantasm

83%

A companion to the 1990s animated series, Mask of the Phantasm pits Batman against the Phantom, who frames Batman for the murder of a crime lord and uncovers a dangerous link to someone from his past.

Available now on: Amazon, Vudu

300

61%

Zack Snyder directs a violent and stylish adaptation of Frank Miller’s fictionalized retelling of the legendary battle of Thermopylae, where, as legend has it, a small army of Spartans held off the entire Persian army.

Available now on: Amazon, Vudu

Red

72%

In this action-comedy, Bruce Willis heads up a squad of retired CIA agents who fight back then they’re targeted by their former agency for their knowledge of clandestine operations.

Available now on: Amazon, Vudu

Barbarella

65%

Jane Fonda stars as the title heroine in this sci-fi cult favorite about a government rep from Earth who searches the galaxy for a missing scientist and explores her sexuality with a number of intergalactic suitors.

Available now on: Amazon, Vudu, Netflix

Watchmen

64%

It’s the mid-1980s in an alternate universe US, where superheroes exist but are prevented from using their powers. When a new threat arises, former allies come together to ensure it fails.

Available now on: Amazon, Vudu

Blade

59%

Wesley Snipes stars as the titular vampire hunter, who sets out to stop Deacon Frost (Stephen Dorff), a vampire with ambitions of “turning” every human in the world.

Available now on: Amazon, Vudu

Blade II

57%

Guillermo del Toro helms this sequel, which finds Blade (Wesley Snipes) joining forces with his nemesis Damaskinos (Thomas Kretschmann) to fight a super-race of vampires.

Available now on: Amazon, Vudu

Heavy Metal

66%

Based on stories from the eponymous sci-fi comic magazine, Heavy Metal tells a handful of loosely connected stories through eye-popping animation.

Available now on: Amazon

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie

46%

Four turtles exposed to radiation grow up learning martial arts from a mutated rat sensei and do battle with a ruthless crime lord known as Shredder.

Available now on: Amazon, Vudu

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze

36%

The Turtles are back to take down Shredder, who has obtained some of the same radioactive ooze that transformed the Turtles and uses it to create new warriors to do his bidding.

Available now on: Amazon, Vudu

Enter Marvel Movie Madness, wherein Rotten Tomatoes watches all of the significant Marvel movies ever made. Full Marvel Movie Madness list here. Tune in! We give you our thoughts, and you give us yours.

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Part 23: Spider-Man 2 (2004, 93% @ 242reviews)

Directed by Sam Raimi, starring Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina, James Franco

Alex: Spider-Man 2 shows Sam Raimi at peak form — a mischievous filmmaker with a big budget and the studio trust to do whatever the hell he pleases with the expectation that a great huge blockbuster will come out of it. It dutifully treks the path laid out at the end of Spider-Man: Peter Parker is in the city as a struggling college student, Mary Jane is making strides in her acting career, and Harry Osborne picks up the Oscorp pieces in the wake of his father’s death. Spider-Man 2 has the same semi-serious bubblegum tone as the first, but with the distinct advantage of having a much juicier villain: Dr. Otto Octavius, whose arc from romantic scientist to Dr. Octopus to repentant villain is simple but always compelling.

Spider-Man 2 to me represents the finest example of comic book filmmaking. It’s a joyous adolescent story where kissing and declarations of love are everything, sex is fantasy, and emotions like betrayal, anger, and jealousy are presented at maximum. Raimi delights in juggling everything at once without pushing the tone of the movie too far in any direction. Parker struggling with and abandoning the Spider-Man persona gives that emo flavor the series is known for, but Raimi keeps things fun with personal flourishes, like his cameo as passerby hitting Tobey Maguire on the head with a briefcase, or a shot during the climatic fight where he just had to throw water on Kirsten Dunst wearing a skimpy shirt. And the scene where Dr. Octopus is born on the operating table — cheesy Dutch angles and hyperactive shots of Doc Ock’s arms ripping apart surgeons and nurses – is inspired lunacy.

The only shame is, again, its heavy leaning on already-dated CG work. Other than that, Spider-Man 2 equals The Dark Knight in sheer comic book film entertainment.

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Tim: Can I pick a couple nits with Spider-Man 2? Why did Harry Osborn think it was a good idea to hold a public demonstration of the fusion device without making sure it worked first? How good can Mary-Jane’s performance be — in an Oscar Wilde play, no less — when she keeps missing her lines and staring forlornly into the audience? Why on earth did Peter take off his mask when he was attempting to stop the runaway train? And why is Peter constantly falling down, getting stepped on, dropping stuff, etc.? I mean, I know he’s supposed to be an everyman, but it gets a little sadistic after a while, you know?

Whatever. This movie is pretty terrific — Spider-Man 2 gets a lot of the big things right, so it can be forgiven its small lapses. In a lot of superhero movies, there’s no real feeling for anything or anyone outside the frame, but the Spider-Man films do an excellent job of showing a New York City teeming with life — people have jobs, go to school, and seem to be living life, not just waiting to run screaming when the heroes and villains go to battle. The fight scenes are electric — you always have a good idea of where Spidey and Doc Ock are in relation to each other, and even their most gravity-defying battles maintain a certain internal physical logic. The climactic battle is suitably chill-inducing and tense, and the scene just afterward, with Spidey and Mary-Jane on the giant web, has a delicate beauty that’s comparable to the ice-skating scene in Peter Jackson’s King Kong — it could look ridiculous in lesser hands, but Raimi makes it incredibly poignant and romantic.

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Luke: I’ll be honest, I just don’t get the praise for this movie. Sure, it’s fun enough, but it’s not as narratively clean and well-paced as the first film — and it sows the seeds for the round-in-circles overstuffing of the third instalment (which I don’t think is any worse than this one). Where in the first movie the birth of Spider-Man and Green Goblin were nicely developed as parallel plotlines (nevermind the GG suit), here the story initially meanders for a large chunk through Peter’s uninteresting personal crisis and his romance with MJ, while Doc Ock feels more like the “guest villain of the week” without having a great personal connection to Spidey’s arc. I thought Peter’s decision to give up his powers seemed a bit arbitrary at the behest of the script, as if it were designed to set in motion endless corny speeches about “choosing what’s right” and “being a hero” — both from Uncle Flashback and Aunt May, who really started to annoy me in this (seriously, like how many syrupy lines about heroism is she going to dish out?) Design-wise Doc Ock is definitely a better villain, even though Alfred Molina’s about as scary as your grade school math teacher with a mild temper, and the action sequences are pretty well done — though the “weightless CGI” is still a minor issue. The movie does, as Tim says, reach a nice emotional crescendo at the end with Peter and MJ finally getting their stuff together, but to me this feels like a place marker for a better story that needs to be addressed…

Ryan: I’m somewhere in between Alex and Luke. I thought Spider-Man 2 was a fun and entertaining follow-up to the first movie, slowly expanding the Spider-Man universe while fleshing out some of its existing characters a bit more. On the other hand, unlike a lot of what I’ve read and heard, I didn’t find this to be an exceptional improvement over the previous installment; I enjoyed both films pretty equally.

I agree that Doc Ock felt like a “villain of the week,” but he was adequately worked into the ongoing story, and in the end, don’t all superhero movies suffer from this unfortunate plot device? Unless you somehow introduce all of a hero’s would-be villains in the first installment of a planned franchise (bad idea to being with), every subsequent film will feature the hero encountering a baddie with whom the audience will have little or no prior connection. The “villain of the week” phenomenon is somewhat unavoidable, I think. Oh, and I thought Alfred Molina was great in the role. In the comics, Doctor Octopus always looked a bit like Elton John in a jumpsuit, so I don’t think Molina had much to live up to in the “visual menace” department.

In any case, though I sympathize with some of Luke’s gripes, I thought the movie struck a nice balance between the big action scenes and the more dramatic elements. I’m still not sure I understand specifically why so many place this film at the top of the franchise (and for some, the entire genre), but it’s definitely a good time at the movies, both for Spider-Man fans and for those seeking great popcorn entertainment.

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More Marvel Movie Madness:

Thor

Hulk

The Incredible Hulk

Fantastic
Four (1994)

Fantastic
Four

Fantastic Four:
Rise of the Silver…

Blade

Blade II

Blade: Trinity

X-Men

X2: X-Men United

X-Men 3: The Last Stand

X-Men:First Class

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Ghost Rider

Ghost Rider: Spirit of…

The Punisher (1989)

The Punisher (2004)

Punisher:
War Zone

Man-Thing

Red Sonja

Howard the Duck

Spider-Man

Spider-Man 2

Spider-Man 3

The
Amazing Spider-Man

Kick-Ass

Men in Black

Men in
Black 2

Men in
Black 3

Daredevil

Elektra

Iron Man

Iron Man 2

Captain America (1944)

Captain America (1990)

Captain America: The First Avenger

Marvel’s The Avengers

back to the main page

The questions of who will be directing and starring in it remain unanswered, but Spider-Man 4 just got itself a screenwriter.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Columbia has hired James Vanderbilt, recently responsible for the David Fincher-directed Zodiac, to write the script for the next Spidey sequel. The Reporter says Vanderbilt was apparently chosen because he wanted to take a “character-driven approach to the story rather than a focus on special effects.” From the article:

Plot points are being closely guarded by the studio, though the intent is to scale back the story to include only two villains instead of repeating the “Spider-Man 3” model. The third installment, which grossed $336.5 million domestically this year, saw Spidey battle a busy triumvirate of evildoers in the forms of Venom, Sandman and Goblin and was widely reckoned as overly cumbersome with one too many plot lines.

Spider-Man 4 is the second Marvel-derived project Vanderbilt has taken on; he’s also working on the Gavin Hood-directed X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter

Yep, just a little more vague mumbling about what might happen on Spider-Man 4, but when Sam Raimi has something to say, it’s usually worth listening to.

According to a Comic Con report at Empire Magazine, Mr. Raimi states that while he’s not exactly sure which hat he’ll wear on the third Spidey sequel, the ball has begun rolling on the project: "I don’t know if I’ll just be a producer on it but if I can work with the writer in such a way so that directing would be right for me, I don’t know. We’ve had our first meeting on Spider-Man 4 and we’re looking for the writer."

Sounds to me like Sam’s doing the "gradual bow-out" thing where he stays on as producer but goes on to direct something fresh and non-sequel-ish. (Or maybe a certain … prequel?)

Two things are certain:

1. There will be another Spider-Man movie.

2. We’ll have plenty of time to talk about it because it won’t be happening real quickly.

Source: Empire