Rated Greg’s Top 5 Super Hero Portrayals*
- Hugh Jackman as Wolverine
- Michael Keaton as Batman
- Robert Downey Jr. as Ironman
- Chloe Grace Moretz as Hit-Girl
- Christian Bale as Batman
*Minimum two appearances
I don’t think I’m going out on a limb saying Hugh Jackman as Wolverine is the best super hero portrayal of all time. He has the quantity (the lead in seven films plus cameos in two others over a span of 17 years). And he has the quality (villains tend to be much more interesting than the “good guys,” but Wolverine was always the best part of the X-Men franchise). Jackman has maintained that he’s hanging up the claws after Logan, and upon seeing it opening night it’s safe to say he saved the best for last, like John Elway or George Costanza.
This movie is sooooo good! Might as well keep the hyperboles rolling. Logan is the most violent super hero movie of all time (it’s R Rated and a very hard R at that). Logan is also the most heartfelt super hero movie of all time, incorporating real, actual feelings about mortality and companionship. I still have Christopher Nolan’s first two Batmans as the best overall super hero movies of all time, but Logan is only the slightest level below those. And to be honest, this isn’t even a full on super hero film. It’s technically a western that includes some uncanny elements.
From a critical standpoint, 20th Century Fox is really onto something in creating smaller scale, more auteur-friendly super hero movies outside of the confines of a PG-13 rating (they released the raunchy Deadpool last year). The genre had become so stale and cookie cutter the past couple years but these have been a breath of fresh air. Disney will never follow suit given The Avengers and Star Wars basically print money the way they are (why fix what’s not broken?), but I have a feeling Warner Bros. is going to react to the market accordingly with their properties. Batman v Superman cost $250 million dollars to make and was an outright disaster (pay no attention to those who try to spin it otherwise) whereas Logan will eventually earn back it’s $97 million dollar budget five times over. Grade: A-
Rated Greg 