Given all of the health-related issues that have racked the world the past two years, 2021 has been a breath of fresh air—providing us with a half dozen superhero movie treats to get a much-needed mental breather.
Below, I rank my top five comic book movies of the year, in reverse order.
5. The Eternals is a daring movie. It introduces totally new characters into the MCU and deals with weighty themes. I generally enjoy the movie but it’s a little too long and slow to my liking.
4. The Suicide Squad is a very enjoyable movie, carried by Idris Elba and his crew of zany antiheroes. And it’s way better than the previous movie of the same name.
3. Shang-Chi is a very solid stand-alone superhero movie. It is funny, fantastical (includes magical beasts), and is very well-paced. And the appearance by Wong, of Doctor Strange fame, is scene-stealing.
2. Zack Snyder’s Justice League is an ambitious, sprawling and highly-engaging superhero movie epic. I really like it. And similar to the 2021 Suicide Squad, it too, obliterates its previous iteration.
1. Spider-Man: No Way Home is not only great fan service, it is a great comic book movie. It’s arguably the best Spider-Man movie ever, has shattered COVID theatrical release numbers, and has generated buzz on the level of the (first) Avengers, Infinity War and Endgame.
