ITB with AB #17: Top 10 Best Non MCU Marvel Movies

What's In The Box:

Hey All! This week inside the box is kind of like the last two weeks because that's how long it took to watch all of the movies involved in this category. This week I'm sharing my Top 10 Non Cinematic Marvel Movies. Heck I'll even throw in a couple to avoid because there are quite a few. So open up the book and look inside.

Movie Box:

For this top 10 I'm focusing on the Marvel character films that don't connect to the current cinematic universe. So no Iron Man, Norton/Ruffalo Hulk, Cap, Thor and the rest of the Avengers gang. I'm also only focusing on the movies that came out from 1998 to present date. There are a few films that came out before that point but they definitely aren't on this list and the rush of comic book films with Marvel characters didn't start tell the late 90's to early 2000's. With that being said let's jump right in:

10. Spider-Man (2002): Directed by Sam Raimi and staring Tobey Maguire. Although the movie has some problems (Green Goblin's costume, Kristen Dunst as Mary Jane) for the most it's a very enjoyable. I felt Maguire's performance as Peter Parker was good, but he lacked the humor that the character normally has and he really pushed the boundary of being too whiny. This was a problem of his the entire trilogy.

9. The Punisher (2004): So around 4 weeks ago I said that the villain from this movie Howard Saint (John Travolta) wasn't intimidating. That doesn't mean I don't like this movie. Unlike a lot of the other Marvel movies during this time period The Punisher went darker. Yet how you make a movie called The Punisher and not have it be 'R' is beyond me. This would be fixed four years later with the remake. The movie's biggest issue is that most of the cast doesn't do anything to stand out. Other than Tomas Jane in the lead role no one seemed to care or the character wasn't given anything to make them leap off the screen. Kevin Nash as The Russian saves the movie at one of it's weakest points when he comes in and has a really intense brawl with Punisher. Also fun fact Nash totally gets stabbed by Tom Jane and he just kept going!

8. Spider-Man 2 (2004): Alright let me get this out of the way now, I hate Kristen Dunst in these movies! Okay I feel better now. Alfred Molina shines as Doctor Octopus which easily goes down as the best villain performance in the Raimi Spider-Man Trilogy. The train fight between Doc Ock and Spidey is one of the best in the non mcu films.

7. Punisher: War Zone (2008): The Punisher returned to the screen 4 years later and with no connection to the previous film. Ray Stevenson takes over the role in a 'R' rated take on the character. Thank You! Frank Castle in this film has been doing the job a lot longer and has perfected many different ways to punish mobsters and other lowlifes. While the last film failed to give us any other character that the viewers could engage with this film gave us Jigsaw! Jigsaw is a mobster who gets deformed after a run in with Castle. He survives and plots an absolutely ridiculous plan for revenge but it works.

6. X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014): The most recent installment in the X-Men franchise combined most of the original cast with the new cast from First Class. I really enjoyed the concept for this movie but it did bother me that Wolverine was once again the main focus. He was given his own films for that reason. Michael Fassbender once again stole the show with his portrayal of Magneto.

5. Blade 2 (2002): This is the movie that help Guillermo del Toro get to do Hellboy. Blade 2 picks up around 2 years after the events of the first Blade. When a new type of vampire threatens to infect the entire population of vampires, Blade is forced to team up with The Bloodpack, a group of vampires assembled to hunt and kill Blade. Both Wesley Snipes and Ron Perlman both put forth good performances.

4. X-Men (2000): I'm sure a lot of you at this point are like me and can't imagine anyone else other than Hugh Jackman as Wolverine. The fascinating fact is that Hugh Jackman wasn't cast as Wolverine until 3 weeks into shooting do to Dougray Scott dropping out of the film. This film brought a lot of characters to life and that is what makes this movie extremely enjoyable. Some performances were better than others but no one was awful.

3. Blade (1998): When I started watching the movies for this blog I was surprised to see that Blade was the first one on the list. I thought it was X-men but Blade came out two years earlier. The movie for the most part still looks really good and it is extremely enjoyable. Wesley Snipes plays Blade, a half vampire, half human that hunts and kills vampires. As we are told Blade has all of their strengths and non of their weaknesses, except for the thirst which he takes a special serum to suppress his urge. Stephen Dorff plays main villain Deacon Frost, a vampire trying to unlock an ancient prophecy.

2. X2: X-Men United (2003): This movie still features the coolest opening of any superhero film. I don't wont to spoil it but the gif below shows a short glimpse of the opening sequence. In this film a mysterious figure from Wolverine's past returns and to beat him the X-Men are forced to team up with Magneto to stop him after him kidnaps Professor X.

1. X-Men: First Class (2011): Michael Fassbender is this movie! He absolutely rocks it as Magneto. This film shows us that evil mutants where behind the Cuban Missile crisis as well as the rise and fall of Magneto and Xavier's friendship. Also staring James McAvoy, Kevin Bacon, Jennifer Lawrence, and Rose Byrne this is a must see X-Men film.

Now for a few to avoid:

1. Elektra (2005): A spin-off of Daredevil (2003) this film just completely misses the mark. It's slow paced, boring, and makes no sense.

2. Hulk (2003): Speaking of not making sense this movie gets the award. This film just looks awful and that's the scenes that you can actually see. Some parts of this movie are so dark you can't even tell what the heck is going on. It also does an awful job following the source material.

3. Any prequel or sequel after Spider-Man 2 that isn't on my above list: All of these are really bad but the sad thing is that most of them are still better than Hulk and Elektra.

Final Thoughts:


I hope everyone enjoys the blog because I had to watch some bad and boring movies for it haha. Like always if anyone has ideas for topics to cover on the blog let me know. You can reach out to me via the usual formats:

email: acbach27@gmail.com
Twitter: @acbach27
Facebook: www.facebook.com/insidetheboxwithadambach


Have A Great Week!!