Superheroes: fictional characters doing impossible things in implausible costumes. Why is society so fascinated by them, though?
Well, for one, they inspire us, reassure us, and certainly entertain us. They also provide a platform for storytelling that’s epic in scale – often allowing for sweeping sci-fi or historical drama, alongside intimate tales of relationships and familial bonds. As such, it’s hardly surprising that the world of film adopts – and occasionally spawns – so many of these characters as its own.
The potential for these crusaders to draw in audiences has been explored and expanded further than anyone could have imagined back when Superman And The Mole-Men became the first superhero movie to hit cinemas in 1951. Since then, filmmakers have continually mined the realms of comic books, graphic novels, animation, TV, and even conceived their own original creations, all in search of that most elusive of achievements: A good superhero flick.
So, what’s the secret ingredient? What separates a Green Lantern from a Dark Knight? Most would argue that it all comes down to the script – simultaneously embracing the full potential of the superhero story-scape, while adding something new and fresh. The truly great superhero films – those that naturally rise to the top – aren’t just entertaining and inspirational, however. They use the genre to draw us in, and reflect both us and the times we live in. We recognize aspects of ourselves in the hero, the villain, the bystanders or the struggle itself, and that’s why we love them.
This is a debate that has echoed through the ages, and shall continue forever more. In the meantime, though, Rotten Tomatoes has compiled their very own list of the genre’s brightest and best efforts. Putting together 50 films, the review aggregate site has given each one “an adjusted score to the Tomato Meter’s normal percentage, using Bayesian inference to determine the movie’s score based on the amount of reviews it has received.”
So, without further ado, here’s that list. We’ve only included the top 25, though. For the full thing, be sure head on over to RT via the link below.
Surprised? We certainly are. Though Wonder Woman is an excellent movie, to see it beat out both Logan and The Dark Knight, two films widely considered to represent the very best of the genre, is not something we expected. The rest of the list is sure to turn a couple of heads, too. After all, we don’t imagine many people would place The LEGO Batman Movie or The Incredibles above Guardians of the Galaxy and Spider-Man 2.
Regardless, this is what Rotten Tomatoes has come up with and if nothing else, it simply proves that the superhero genre is one of the strongest around, with tons of quality releases hitting theaters each and every year. That doesn’t look to change anytime soon, either, as 2018 has a lot to look forward to.
Between Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Aquaman, Deadpool 2, etc., it could very well shape up to be the biggest year yet for our beloved heroes and simply tells us that there’s no better time to be a fan than right now.
