1. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
My favorite superhero movie of 2022 is a bittersweet film experience. The film opens with the sad passing of/homage to Black Panther/Chadwick Boseman and ends with Queen Shuri watching the sunrise while reminiscing about her brother’s life.
In between these two powerful scenes, is a vintage MCU movie filled with great action sequences, especially underwater, and measured humor—mainly by the scene-stealing Mbaku. And, oh yeah, Namor kicks ass!
2. The Batman
Until Wakanda Forever dropped, this was my favorite comic book movie of the year. The star-studded cast, led by Robert Pattinson, Jeffrey Wright, Zoe Kravitz and Paul Dano, is something to behold.
And Matt Reeves’s deft direction of this modern film noir classic is impressive. It plays more like a detective, crime story rather than standard superhero fare.
3. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
This film is slightly disappointing to me. Coming off of Disney+’s excellent WandaVision and What If streaming shows, the table was set and crazy Easter eggs were dropped leading up to the film.
And although the visuals are magnificent and it is cool seeing the Illuminati cameo, the film glass flat for me. I do love the horror movie homages though—see Carrie, and watch Wanda chasing Dr. Strange and company, and you’ll know what I mean.
4. Thor: Love and Thunder
The good:
- Christian Bale, as Gorr the God Butcher, is excellent (albeit underutilized). More on that below.
- Natalie Portman is fantastic as Lady Thor. She is tough, yet vulnerable, badass yet funny. She’s the soul of the film.
- Korg, who I call the Rock Guy, is his usually hysterical self. Voiced by director Taika Waititi, he has carried the zany tone in the last two Thor films.
The bad:
- Not enough Gorr. In a film filled with comedy, it would have been nicer to have a darker tone. There were stakes though I guess (Gorr sacrificing himself and Lady Thor perishing).
- The Guardians of the Galaxy are a shameless, forced fan service on the film’s first act. It was kind of funny but totally unnecessary.
Those are my top four superhero movies of 2022. Looking forward to a 2023 of fantastic fantasy films.
