The Greatest Movies of All Time – Superhero Films
Movie lists from Paul Preston, Steven Lewis, Adam Witt & Matt Welton
Compiled by Paul Preston
We’re Movie Guys. We love to talk about movies.
So one day I thought a good topic of conversation would be to tell fellow Movie Guy Steven Lewis that not only had I come up with a favorite movie of all time, but a favorite movie of each year, for every year I’ve been alive. This is what I thought would be a good thing to do with my time.
Not to be outdone, Steve countered with his top ten favorite films of all time, alphabetically. Steve thought this the best way to be productive with his day.
As one thing that leads to another often does, now myself, Steve, Matt Welton & fellow Movie Guy Adam Witt have compiled lists for best of all time, and best superhero, comedy & horror films of all time. They’re here for your perusal. Why? Look, you don’t want to go to Movie Jail, never having seen that fantastic movie that is an absolute classic, do you? And you DO want to be that guy who has the great idea for Movie Night at Dave’s house that half the room hasn’t seen, and aren’t you the shit for bringing that movie to the party, right? So next time you need to rent, buy or illegally download a new film, hit our lists until you’ve seen everything on them.
I think you’ll find great variety in our tastes, which are all over the place. And this is HARD to do, as referenced by the NUMEROUS “special mention”s. The greatest movies of all time are always changing, but this is how we feel right now:
PAUL PRESTON
TOP SUPERHERO FILMS, BY YEAR, SINCE 1970
1970-Patton, maybe?
1971-The French Connection
1972-The Poseidon Adventure (Preacher!)
1973-Live and Let Die / Walking Tall / Enter the Dragon / Jesus Christ Superstar
1974-Death Wish
1975-Rollerball
1976-The Enforcer
1977-Star Wars
1978-Superman
1979-Rocky II
1980-Superman II
1981-Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982-Tron
1983-Return of the Jedi
1984-Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom / The Karate Kid
1985-Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins?
1986-Aliens
1987-Robocop
1988-Die Hard
1989-Batman
1990-Darkman
1991-Terminator 2: Judgment Day
1992-Batman Returns
1993-Tombstone (haven’t seen “Mask of the Phantasm”)
1994-True Lies
1995-Braveheart
1996-Star Trek: First Contact
1997-Men in Black
1998-The Mask of Zorro
1999-The Matrix
2000-X-Men
2001-UGH, this year again? Lord of the Rings? Harry Potter 2? Memento?
2002-Spider-Man
2003-X2: X-Men United
2004-Spider-Man 2 / The Incredibles
2005-Batman Begins
2006-Casino Royale
2007-The Bourne Ultimatum
2008-The Dark Knight / Iron Man
2009-Watchmen
2010-Iron Man 2
2011-X-Men: First Class
2012-The Avengers
2013-Iron Man 3
STEVEN LEWIS
TOP SUPERHERO FILMS, BY YEAR, SINCE 1976
(Author’s Note: Here’s my offering for a “Hero” Movies List. No attempt to limit to just the “super” variety; I basically asked myself, for each movie year, “What movie portrayed the most ‘heroic’ character(s) to me (with whatever that word suggests)?” – SL)
1976-Marathon Man
1977-Star Wars
1978-Superman
1979-Norma Rae (hey, union organizing is heroic stuff!)
1980-The Empire Strikes Back
1981-Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982-Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
1983-The Star Chamber (special kudos to The Right Stuff as well, for being a film-length meditation on the entire *notion* of heroism)
1984-Ghostbusters / Beverly Hills Cop
1985-Witness
1986-Manhunter
1987-The Untouchables
1988-Midnight Run / Mississippi Burning
1989-Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade / Glory
1990-Darkman
1991-The Silence of the Lambs
1992-Supercop
1993-The Fugitive / Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
1994-Speed
1995-The Quick and the Dead
1996-Mission: Impossible
1997-Air Force One
1998-Saving Private Ryan
1999-Sleepy Hollow
2000-Titan A.E.
2001-Iron Monkey
2002-Minority Report
2003-Daredevil
2004-Spider-Man 2 / Collateral (with a shout out to Troy for, again,
being a movie ABOUT heroism)
2005-Batman Begins
2006-United 93
2007-The Bourne Ultimatum
2008-Iron Man / Quantum of Solace
2009-Avatar (with Watchmen, of course, being the best film ABOUT heroes)
2010-Iron Man 2
2011-Drive
2012-The Avengers
2013-Captain Phillips
ADAM WITT
TOP SUPERHERO FILMS, BY YEAR, SINCE 1972
1972-disqualified: anti-heroes only
1973-Serpico?
1974-The Towering Inferno
1975-Jaws
1976-All The President’s Men
1977-Star Wars
1978-Superman
1979-Moonraker
1980-The Empire Strikes Back
1981-Raiders of The Lost Ark
1982-Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
1983-Return of the Jedi
1984-Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom
1985-Rambo: First Blood Part II
1986-Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
1987-(tie) Robocop / Princess Bride / Lethal Weapon
1988-Die Hard
1989-Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade
1990-Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
1991-Terminator 2: Judgment Day
1992-The Bodyguard (Batman Returns)
1993-Batman: Mask of the Phantasm
1994-True Lies
1995-Batman Forever
1996-The Phantom
1997-Men In Black (Batman & Robin)
1998-The Mask of Zorro
1999-The Matrix (Mystery Men)
2000-X-Men
2001-Iron Monkey
2002-Spider-Man
2003-X2: X-Men United
2004-Spider-Man 2
2005-Batman Begins
2006-Casino Royale (Superman Returns)
2007-The Bourne Ultimatum (Spider-Man 3)
2008-The Dark Knight / Iron Man
2009-Watchmen
2010-Kick-Ass
2011-X-Men: First Class
2012-Marvel’s The Avengers
2013-The Wolverine
MATT WELTON
TOP SUPERHERO FILMS, BY YEAR, SINCE 1974
1974-The Man With The Golden Gun
1975-The Rocky Horror Picture Show (he makes a superman type…)
1976-Rocky
1977-Star Wars
1978-Superman
1979-Star Trek: The Motion Picture
1980-Superman 2
1981-Raiders of the Lost Ark
1982-Tron
1983-Return of the Jedi
1984-Ghostbusters
1985-Rocky 4
1986-Big Trouble in Little China
1987-Predator
1988-Die Hard
1989-Batman
1990-Back to the Future Part III
1991-Terminator 2: Judgment Day
1992-Buffy The Vampire Slayer
1993-The Fugitive or Schindler’s List
1994-Interview with a Vampire
1995-Braveheart
1996-The Rock? Or From Dusk Till Dawn?
1997-Men In Black
1998-Blade
1999-The Matrix
2000-X-Men
2001-Harry Potter
2002-Spider-Man
2003-Hulk (whatever… it’s artsy)
2004-Troy (this gets hard after 2004, they really don’t make Superhero movies anymore… but I’ll give it a shot…)
2005-Batman Begins
2006-Casino Royale
2007-Beowulf
2008-Iron Man
2009-X-Men: Origins – Wolverine
2010-Iron Man 2
2011-Thor
2012-The Avengers
2013-Iron Man 3 (I’ve yet to see The Wolverine… from what I hear it may be that one)
2014-Please don’t make me go see super hero movies this year.
