167043331
With “Guardians of the Galaxy” blowing up at the box office, here are five more hot Marvel movies to remember.
X2: X-Men United (2003)
After (somewhat clunkily) laying the groundwork with his first “X-Men” installment, director Bryan Singer was free to explore the diverse universe of everyone’s favorite mutant posse, folding in everything from “coming-out” stories to a blue-skinned friend (Nightcrawler) that matches an indigo foe (Mystique). This stunner is the “Empire Strikes Back” of Marvel flicks.
Hulk (2003)
Everyone loves to knock Ang Lee’s “Hulk,” for reasons this reviewer still can’t understand. Did the naysayers not see the brilliant ways in which Lee used comic cells as a means of scene transition? Did they not appreciate his explicit, evocative use of primary colors? Were they put off by the abundance of … green? The mind boggles. “Hulk” is an unsung gem, folks.
Spider-Man (2002)
People love to sing the praises of Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man 2,” which is indeed a triumph of genre action, but let’s not forget the quaint, yet riveting, charm of the director’s original, which casts the perfectly picked Tobey Maguire as a hero thrillingly finding his wings (… err, webs). Ripe for adolescence metaphors, this origin story lets you feel the thrill of discovery and the whoosh of swinging from building to building.
Blade (1998)
From the opening moment in which an underground dance club turns into a literal blood bath, with plasma spraying from the sprinklers to the tune of a now-classic techno jam, you know “Blade” is giving you something badass and bound to last. In the role he was born to play, Wesley Snipes embodies the rare black superhero as if he himself were a vamp.
The Wolverine (2013)
While seeing the “X-Men United” can be a thrill, it can also be a case of too many mutants in the kitchen (see: “X-Men: The Last Stand”). The triumph of last year’s “The Wolverine” is that it not only explores the Japan-based mythology of the title character (Hugh Jackman), but it isolates him and actually delves into his inner core, in a way the odious “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” utterly failed to accomplish. It also helps that the ageless Jackman is still fighting fit as this feral, self-healing icon.
Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.
167043331
167043191
