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Comic Book Movies in 2016: How Good Were They?

2016 saw comic book movies rule the box office, social media and they were the topics of discussion in many group chats. Hollywood treated us to a lot of great things, a lot of new things and things we had never seen before. 2016 was definitely the year of the strange! Credit must be given to Marvel Studios, Warner Brothers and Fox for taking the leap. Without risk, there will be no creativity.

But how good were they? We saw the introduction of many heroes, antiheroes and some bad ass characters. Amazing fight scenes, jaw dropping moments and some moments were throwing your pop corn at the screen would have been the best response, then shouting “THIS IS RUBBISH!”.

On a whole, 2016 being strange allowed for us to expect a whole new world in terms of comic book movies. The year started with conventional movies and as the year went on, things took a twisted turn. Logic, muscle and science were not the overlaying theme – the mystic world has become the new theme. The rush to magic is on!

There were six comic book movies this year, and this is how I found them.. in order:

6. X-Men Apocalypse

“.. the third movie is always the worst” – Jean Grey

Need I say more? The concept of introducing Apocalypse was extremely attractive. Considering the introduction of the sentinels in X-Men: Days of the Future Past, I had thought things were getting more risky. High risk, high reward! Having seen Jennifer Lawrence, once again, be J-Law as opposed to Mystique, I knew I was in trouble. And I was not wrong! Jennifer Lawrence was the marketing tool for the non-fanatics, Apocalypse was the marketing tool for the fanatics, and Marvel was the marketing tool for the rest of the world.

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This movie had no direction and the coherence of the story felt like watching Jennifer Lawrence in an X-Men movie – greatly confused. Fox has proven it is a studio that cannot support its cash cow comic book movie. With another X-Men scheduled to be produced, will we see J-Law or Mystique?

Word of advice to Fox: J-Law is not working. Please introduce/cast Mystique.

Read Now: X-Men Apocalypse Spoiler-FREE Review.

5. Suicide Squad

My pick for movie of the year! Yes, I will admit, I went all in on this one and it was bleh. The psychedelic feel with the occasional LSD experience (not that I have tried any) was an amazing touch that the world had never seen.

I was not in it for The Joker, I was in it because this project had never been done before. Considering what Marvel did with The Avengers, I had high hopes for Suicide Squad.

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I guess 2016 has been full of surprises (politics aside)! The twist in the story worked well for me but as the movie rolled on and the flaws compounded upon each other with each scene, I started to realise that this is disappointing.

And to cap off the mediocrity of the film, the Deadshot slo-mo shot to end the potential apocalypse of the world, was just sickening. It was sickening because I knew Snyder was involved (Superman kisses Lois Lane before taking down Doomsday.. I did not know it was 2001) and I was not surprised to see his name pop up in the credits.

Word of advice to Warner Brothers: Snyder is killing DC Comics. Please get rid of him.

Read now: Our Skwad Reviews Suicide Squad.

4. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

More like “Ben Affleck proves the world wrong” and the rest. I liked Lex Luthor and his plan! It was actually genius to think that Lex brought Batman and Superman together, and not for a good cause. But to fight to the death! That was the plan which went horribly wrong when I saw Gotham was a stone throw away from Metropolis.

It would have been better if it was like The Wire and Batman (Marlo) was stepping on Superman’s (Avon) corners, and Lex (Omar) was “upsetting the established order”. That would have made a much better movie than what Snyder did. Look at that? Snyder is involved again!

The story was amazing but poorly executed. Batman was surprisingly good except for the random dreams. Superman was borderline Brandon Routh’s Superman in Superman Returns – soft. And Diana.. Wow! The second best entrance of 2016 (Negan in The Walking Dead holds the number 1 spot).

Word of advice to Warner Brothers: Snyder is killing DC Comics. Please get rid of him.

Read Now: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Review

3. Dr Strange

More like Sherlock Holmes drops science and believes in magic! The lifting of the collar when he had the Coat of Levitation on, the arrogance, the ability to solve the case from a phrase – “beyond time”, the inability to form a relationship with a woman, the sulking, and the icing on the cake, he outsmarted the bad guy.

The world’s first ever consulting detective.. Sorry, I mean Marvel’s first ever sorcerer! The story was different making it an amazing origin story. The action scenes were remarkable and they were well thought out. They brought an unknown world to us, the viewers, considering we were used to aliens and hand to hand combat.

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Dr Strange is a rich man’s Thor! The cast were outstanding in their roles and they played them so well. I was opened up to a world that is exciting, as the end credits scene depicted. The world we know is just a fraction of what’s out there and I am excited to see what’s next.

Word of advice to Marvel: Sherlock is one of the best shows in TV history. There is no need to make a movie from it. The episodes are already 90 minutes long.

2. Deadpool

Absolutely necessary! A breath of fresh air! The best decision Marvel had made in over 3 years. Considering how “soft” the Marvel Cinematic Universe is, Deadpool was the anti-hero Marvel needed. Amazingly enough, Fox were able to get it right. Considered to be the most realistic comic book movie of the year, it was everything one could ask for from a movie.

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Arguably Ryan Reynold’s best roles since Van Wilder, this movie far exceeded expectations. Staying true to the nature of Deadpool, this mercenary was brought to life at the right time and it was an immediate success. It was not a superhero movie at all, it was actually a rom com but not the kind you expect tears at the end of it, more like high-5s and a great topic of discussion amongst couples.

Word of advice to Fox (More like a question): How do you lose the director? You know what? I’m done with Fox!

Read Now: [Throwback] 4 Reasons we NEED a Deadpool Movie

1. Captain America: Civil War

Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow! The best Marvel movie of all time (yes, I said it). A complete story with coherence, Nolan type of twists in the story and RDJ actually showed more than one emotion in a Marvel movie. Based on one of the most iconic Marvel events in the comics, the movie took a different approach (which I initially questioned) that the Russo brothers made work.

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The story continued from the end of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Ant-Man, Iron Man 3, and so forth. All stories converged onto this movie and it flowed.

This movie is what Joss Whedon owed us but never gave us. The fight scenes were amazing, fast and jaw dropping. The introduction of the new characters and the new worlds the MCU wants to explore, were eloquently depicted. Civil War was a new year’s eve party that everyone was invited to!

Word of advice to Marvel: somebody has to die. Quicksilver’s death made no dent in the MCU. So when Thanos arrives, some characters have to go. I think George RR should write the next two movies.

Read Now: Captain America: Civil War Spoiler-FREE Review

What did you think of our list? What was your best and worst Comic Book Movies of 2016? Let us know.

f you enjoyed this piece, please head over to Tendai’s personal blog where he chronicles his journeys and daily life.

Follow Tendai on Twitter @TendaiSibindi

More posts on BTG Lifestyle by Tendai:

Comic Book Movie Overload

Classic Movies – a Dying Breed?

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) Review

Spinning out of Control

What are we watching?

Hit me baby one more time

Captain America vs Batman

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Tendai

I’m a massive fan of movies, and occasionally I write about the movies I have watched and about the industry. Hopefully I provide insight and shed light into Hollywood. I am happy to have discussions about movies as they are extremely important to our society. 2hrs of our lives cannot be wasted by really poor movies.

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