Some superhero movies received poor reviews but made a killing at the box office, like David Ayer’s Suicide Squad. And while that particular film did well financially, it wasn’t particularly enjoyed by ticket buyers, either, as most of them could detect that it seemed like a compromised product. Yet there is at least one element of Suicide Squad that makes it worth watching at least once, even if it isn’t a particularly fun film. Then there’s something like Venom, which received similarly poor reviews, made a comparably impressive amount at the box office, but was, in fact, enjoyed by fans. Yet there’s really not much in Venom that makes it stand out, outside finally being a relatively comics-accurate take on the title character (at least in terms of his physical appearance). With Suicide Squad, it’s somewhat important because it further elevated Margot Robbie up the list of the most sought-after stars and introduced the dynamic between Joel Kinnaman’s Rick Flag and Cara Delevingne’s Enchantress, which has been referenced in James Gunn’s new DCU.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Then there are ones like Howard the Duck, which are so bad they’re good. But being so bad it’s good isn’t enough for inclusion here. It helps, but it’s not enough. There needs to be some other hook to truly make a “bad” superhero movie worth watching. We’ll unpack what those reasons are as we go. The entries are listed in chronological order.
1) Superman IV: The Quest for Peace
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace is an even odder duck than Howard the Duck, and that’s saying something. This is a movie that takes itself incredibly seriously in some spots and, in others, has a screaming guy who looks like he fell out of a hair metal band shooting electricity from his fingers.
It’s because of that tonal disparity that this final installment of the initial run of Superman films is worth a stream. It was one of the final nails in the coffin of The Cannon Group, which had already been losing money on movie after movie. Toss in the fact it shows off how the late Gene Hackman was incapable of phoning in a performance, and it has a shred of merit.
Stream Superman IV: The Quest for Peace on HBO Max.
2) Batman & Robin
Batman & Robin is worth a curiosity-filled screening if only to learn what exactly George Clooney has been making fun of all these years. And, truth be told, while its flaws are major, those very flaws actually make it pretty fun.
Batman & Robin is without a doubt the franchise’s “so bad it’s good” movie, but it’s also an indicator of just how much an asset Uma Thurman can be, even when the script is forcing her to deliver ridiculous lines. It’s also important given how it took a film franchise that was a genuine cultural touchstone just eight years earlier and killed it for another eight.
Stream Batman & Robin on HBO Max.
3) Hulk
Hulk stood out back in the early aughts because of how different it felt from X-Men and Spider-Man. That has only heightened over time, and that is why it is worth a curiosity watch.
It’s loaded with stylistic flourishes like freeze frames and comic book panels on the screen, all of which should appeal to those who can get on board with what director Ang Lee was trying to do. It’s not as fun or well-paced as any MCU movie featuring the character, but it’s a strangely compelling blockbuster, nonetheless.
Stream Hulk on Netflix.
4) Fantastic Four
No, not Josh Trank’s Fant4stic, which is not worth watching at all unless you’re trying to see a final product that shows its production difficulties at every turn. Perhaps there is merit to that type of viewing, but it’s still Tim Story’s Fantastic Four (2005) that is the pre-MCU one worth watching.
The reason for that is simple: Chris Evans. It’s interesting to see him in a superhero role so far removed from Captain American. It showed a different side of his immense charm. Not to mention, it’s the most macro-scale popular movie to feature the late Julian McMahon, who gives the role of Doctor Doom his all even if it is an underwritten part. And, while the film does breeze along a little too quickly for its own good, it’s nice to see a superhero movie that never takes itself remotely seriously, especially given how downbeat many of the subgenre’s entries have become as time has worn on.
Stream Fantastic Four on Disney+.
5) Punisher: War Zone
2004’s The Punisher with Thomas Jane was an admirable try, and the Dolph Lundgren version is a breezy enough watch, but Punisher: War Zone was the one that got the character right. And audiences back in 2008 could not have cared less.
Along with reviews bashing its brutality, War Zone absolutely tanked at the box office, failing to recoup even a third of its already slim $35 million budget. But it’s a fun movie, if also a dark one. Furthermore, it was one of the few films to feature the late Ray Stevenson in a lead role, and that alone is reason enough to press play.
Stream Punisher: War Zone for free with ads on The Roku Channel.
6) Thor: Love and Thunder
Thor: Love and Thunder is worth watching to see how lightning (no pun intended) usually can’t be caught in a bottle twice. Everything that worked about Thor: Ragnarok is upped to an 11 here and it makes the whole thing a goofy annoyance.
However, outside that analysis of quality decline, there’s also one other factor that makes Love and Thunder worth a single tune-in. That would be Christian Bale, who is dynamite as Gorr the God Butcher, even if he’s not given enough screentime.
Stream Thor: Love and Thunder on Disney+.
7) Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is certainly a major step down from the quality of the first two installments, but it also may very well be the most important entry of the trilogy. Specifically, because it doesn’t even feel like a part of the trilogy, much less its (seemingly) concluding chapter.
The purpose of Quantumania was to fully debut the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s intended next big bad: Kang the Conqueror. But that didn’t pan out because of Jonathan Majors’ legal troubles at the time, so it’s worth watching Quantumania to imagine where things might have gone from here.
Stream Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania on Disney+.
Most Viewed
-
Courtesy of Comedy Central -
Image courtesy of Focus Features.
