Photo: Columbia Pictures
It is getting hard to remember a time before Disney oversaw all things Marvel. In 2008, what would eventually be known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe was born with Jon Favreau’s Iron Man and Louis Leterrier’s The Incredible Hulk. Only the most prescient could have predicted those two movies would give way to a bloated film franchise 21 movies high with no signs of giving up its hegemonic position in the popular culture.
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But the comic book franchise has had its fingerprints in film for decades, beginning with a Captain America serial in 1944. Some are good and some are bad, but some just have to be seen to be believed. Here are the seven most worthwhile films from the pre-Disney era of Marvel films.
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Pre Disney Marvel
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'Blade II'
Blade II, the sequel to the Wesley Snipes vehicle, is best known for being the first pop cinema project of Guillermo del Toro. It is disorienting and stylish. Like Blade as well as The Matrix before it, everything that is good about Blade II can be defined as goofy but cool. Del Toro successfully ups the ante of the first film and brings in Ron Perlman and Donnie Yen as welcome additions to the cast.
Photo: Marvel Enterprises
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'Blade'
Blade was risky for its time. An R-rated comic book movie is still a rarity even today. It is nearly unheard of beyond a small handful. But Blade turned out to be a risk worth taking. Wesley Snipes is undeniably fun as the titular character, a fearless half-vampire vampire killer who takes immense pleasure in his line of work. It’s a lot of vapid excitement with an endless stream of unabashedly 1990s set pieces.
Photo: Amen Ra Films
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'Howard the Duck'
For what it’s worth, the filmmakers behind Howard the Duck envisioned the now-notorious film as an animated feature. Universal Pictures refused, and the live-action Howard the Duck film was born. It’s a bizarre, campy—even embarrassing—relic of the analog era of film.
Photo: Lucasfilm Ltd.
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'Hulk'
Ang Lee’s Hulk is volatile and misunderstood, not unlike its titular character. It’s earnest and introspective, but what really sets it apart is the way the film is cut together. Lee’s frequent collaborator, editor Tim Squyres, acknowledges with every cut the comic book legacy of the character. It is easily the most idiosyncratic and interesting superhero movies put to film.
Photo: Marvel Enterprises
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'Spider-Man 3'
Hatred—or at the very least, distaste—for Spider-Man 3 is easy to find. With Batman Begins and Superman Returns hitting the screen, the idea that superhero movies should be serious was beginning to take hold in audiences. Serious has never been director Sam Raimi’s bag. Instead of posing questions like, “What if superheroes were real?” he posed questions like, “What if Spider-Man was emo?” The final act of Tobey Maguire’s run as the superhero is corny, silly entertainment and a timeless message: it’s cool to have friends.
Photo: Sony Entertainment
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'Spider Man'
Spider-Man can be credited more than any other film for bringing Marvel movies to the center of mass-market film. It made $800 million at the box office, compared to X-Men’s $300 million before it and Daredevil’s $180 million after it. Tobey Maguire is pitch-perfect as the sensitive and pedantic geek who is forced into the role of a fledgling hero and Raimi’s expressive and explosive style fits perfectly in the Marvel world. Everything comes together to produce something both exciting and engaging.
Photo: Sony Entertainment
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'Spider-Man 2'
Sam Raimi makes his follow-up as personal as these things can be. Instead of moving forward, Maguire’s Peter regresses. As in real life, growth is not linear but a roller coaster of ups and downs. He struggles with his personal life as well as with his powers. With an equally compelling villain in Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus, Raimi solidifies his position as one of the best to ever helm a comic book movie.
Photo: Sony Entertainment
