Last month, Warner Bros. released “Wonder Woman 1984”, with coronavirus delay, a sequel to the 2017 hit “Wonder Woman”. The action-adventure film performed relatively well at the box office (in places where cinemas are open), although it is also available for a limited time on the streaming service HBO Max. But compared to the enthusiastic response to the first “ Wonder Woman ”, the sequence generated a mixed reaction, with some critics and comic fans complaining about the improbable plot of the film and the long running time.
So, for those who were disappointed with “Wonder Woman 1984”, here are six other superhero options to broadcast – from the widely loved and popular to films that never got the big audience they deserved.
‘The Rocketeer’
Broadcast on Disney +; rent or buy at Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Voodoo or Youtube.
Movie audiences were still developing a taste for superheroes in 1991, when Walt Disney’s Buena Vista Pictures failed to draw crowds for this charming, old-fashioned exercise. Based on a little-known comic book by illustrator Dave Stevens, “The Rocketeer” is a fast-paced potboiler set in 1930s Hollywood full of glamorous waves and upbeat entrepreneurs – including bombshell Jenny (Jennifer Connelly) and her acrobatics – boyfriend pilot (Billy Campbell). Director Joe Johnston brings light and energy to the plot of the film against the Nazis – something he would do again 20 years later with the powerful “Captain America: The First Avenger”.
‘Darkman’
Rent or buy on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Voodoo or Youtube.
Just over a decade before director Sam Raimi took charge of the 2002 blockbuster “Spider-Man”, he made his own twisted and censored version of a Marvel Comics film about a mad scientist driven by tragedy to become a vigilant, disguised in artificial skin that dissolves in the sun. Anchored by a spicy performance by Liam Neeson (starting early on the screen of the “capable, blood-hungry hero” persona he has mastered in recent years), “Darkman” combines elements from old Universal monster movies, brave superhero comics 1970s and slapstick comedy. Although it is rated R and is not suitable for younger viewers, the film is a true original.
[Read The New York Times review.]
‘Fast Color’
Broadcast on Amazon Prime or Hulu; rent or buy at Apple TV, Google Play, Voodoo or Youtube.
In some of the scariest superhero stories, the powerful live among us in the ordinary world, devoid of fantasies or codenames. One of the best known of them is M. Night Shyamalan’s “Unbreakable”. Movie buffs who love this film should definitely follow the similarly low “Fast Color” by writer and director Julia Hart, about a family of women who hide their extraordinary abilities from a government agency that wants to exploit them. Hart and co-writer / producer Jordan Horowitz add their own touch to this classic genre premise, focusing on human relationships and small moments of admiration.
[Read The New York Times review.]
‘X-Men: First Class’
Broadcast on HBO Max; rent or buy at Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Voodoo or Youtube.
The X-Men film franchise and its developments in Deadpool and Wolverine were extremely popular, but inconsistent. “X-Men: First Class” is the best of the group because it is not bogged down by complicated mythology. Instead, the story begins at the beginning, in 1962, when two young mutant friends with different ideologies work together to recruit more of their own kind. Director Matthew Vaughn polishes a James Bond film, while James McAvoy (as Professor Charles Xavier) and Michael Fassbender (as Erik “Magneto” Lehnsherr) lead a squad of stars in an adventure full of international intrigue.
[Read The New York Times review.]
‘Big Hero 6’
Broadcast on Disney +; rent or buy at Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Voodoo or Youtube.
Given that the superhero genre has become a phenomenon thanks to the ink-stained media of comics, it’s a shame that there have been no more big-budget animated superhero films. The Oscar winner “Big Hero 6” is a good example of how exaggerated cartoon illustrations common to animation lend themselves well to fantastic, kinetic action. The film is also child-friendly, telling the story of a temperamental teenage genius who brings together a group of tech-savvy nerds to help him, along with his adorable super-robot Baymax, unravel a conspiracy. At the same time cute and visually stunning, “Big Hero 6” is an old-fashioned superhero tale full of positivity.
[Read The New York Times review.]
‘Birds of prey (and the fantastic emancipation of a Harley Quinn)’
Broadcast on HBO Max; rent or buy at Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Voodoo or Youtube.
Comic connoisseurs disappointed with “Wonder Woman 1984” had an excellent alternative last year to their dose of DC Comics superheroine. In the “Suicide Squad” spinoff, “Birds of Prey”, Margot Robbie repeats her role as the deliciously crazy Harley Quinn from Gotham City, who joins forces with some slightly more virtuous ladies in an explosive showdown with a local mafia boss. Director Cathy Yan and screenwriter Christina Hodson load their film with foul language, bloody violence and self-referential humor, stating that, for now sStrong female heroes are great, strong female antiheroes can be more fun.
[Read The New York Times review.]