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The Platinum Age of Superhero Movies 2012 - 2016

'The Avengers' redefined the genre in such big way that the Platinum Age of Superheroes Movies shattered box office records.

By Patricia SarkarPublished 7 years ago 6 min read
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The Platinum Age of Superhero Movies was ushered in with Josh Whedon's Avengers Assemble in 2012, the culmination of everything set in motion since Iron Man had been released in 2008. DC and Marvel have sent their cinematic universes into the stratosphere with their superhero team ups and we can only dream of the next incredible age of the superhero movies.

Director: Joss Whedon

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans

Released: 4 May, 2012

Description:Avengers Assemble is big, but not bloated. It doesn't feel like it's two hours long, as energy levels are ramped up and remain. There's an amazing economy of dialogue and motion, with every line or gesture intended to bring us joy.

Rating: 4/5

Director: Marc webb

Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone

Released: 3 July, 2012

Description: Patriotic parades and daytime adventures are traded for back-alley brawls and gunfire. A brilliant reimagining of everybody's favorite web-slinger.

Rating: 4/5

Director: Christopher Nolan

Cast: Christian Bale, Tom Hardy

Released: 20 July, 2012

Description: It's not just the allusions to The Dark Knight Returns that give Nolan's operatic final chapter a touch of Frank Miller; it's the ugly libertarian power fantasies in which Occupy Wall Street becomes a shortcut to Stalin's Purges.

Rating: 2/5

Director: Peter Travis

Cast: Karl Urban, Lean Headey

Released: 12 September, 2012

Description: Alex Garland and Peter Travis silenced all critics with a raw and violent take on the trigger-happy 2000 AD antihero, and its less than stellar takings belie—like Blade Runner before it—cult status.

Rating: 4/5

Director: Shane Black

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Gwyneth Palthrow

Released: 3 May, 2013

Description: Behind the special effects fireworks and superb action on display, there's a real story at its heart.

Rating: 4/5

Director: Zack Snyder

Cast: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams

Released: 14 July, 2013

Description: Just as the symbol on Kal-El's chest stands for hope, Man Of Steel represents the hope for this reboot. It's a modern Superman story carving its own path free of the shackles of nostalgia.

Rating: 4/5

Director: James Mangold

Cast: Hugh Jackman, Will Yun Lee

Released: 26 July, 2013

Description: Like one of its fight scenes, The Wolverine manages the delicate balance of respect for the source, big top sensation, and an unlikely, heart-wrenching emotional punch.

Rating: 4/5

Director: Jeff Wadlow

Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz

Released: 16 August, 2013

Description:Kick-Ass 2 delivers a lot of laughs, the performances are still good, and it's ambitious, but the constant attempts to compensate for steering too far in one direction don't end well.

Rating: 3/5

Director: Alan Taylor

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston

Released: 8 November, 2013

Description: It might be hurried and it might occasionally be a bit silly, but The Dark World has a real emotional core to it, and an ever-strengthening identity and mythology of its own.

Rating: 3/5

Director: Anthony & Joe Russo

Cast: Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson

Released: 4 April, 2014

Description: By keeping Cap and his journey the focal point, The Winter Soldier remains a gripping, exciting and surprisingly tough film that uses current concerns to remind us of the character's strengths.

Rating: 4/5

Director: Marc Webb

Cast: Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone

Released: 2 May, 2014

Description: From the slow-mo showdowns in Times Square to the script that's loaded with Stan Lee-style zingers, it's as if someone's switched on the light after summers of "dark and gritty" superhero flicks.

Rating: 4/5

Director: Bryan Singer

Cast: Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy

Released: 22 May, 2014

Description: Reconciling the Last Stand casts is part of what makes Days Of Future Past one of the most ambitious superhero films to date.

Rating: 4/5

Director: James Gunn

Cast: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldano

Released: 1 August, 2014

Description: How could a relatively unknown bunch of misfits work in a film series as successful as the MCU? As it turned out, it was a blinder. Who knew the friendship between a raccoon and a walking tree would make us weep.

Rating: 5/5

Director: Jonathan Liebesman

Cast: Megan Fox, Will Arnett

Released: 17 October, 2014

Description: The first trailer promised a potentially disastrous mix of slapstick and grittiness. It didn't fare well.

Rating: 2/5

Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu

Cast: Michael Keaton, Emma Stone

Released: 1 January, 2015

Description: Oscar winning and rightfully so. Birdman is a film with heart that brings a new meaning to the term "superhero."

Rating: 5/5

Director: Joss Whedon

Cast: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans

Released: 24 April, 2015

Description: The Avengers reassembled to take on a new enemy. Avengers Assemble may have built them up, but Whedon tore them down again in style.

Rating: 4/5

Director: Josh Trank

Cast: Kate Mara, Miles Teller, Jamie bell

Released: 6 August, 2015

Description:Chronicle director Josh Trank misjudged Marvel's first family, taking them into space but not delivering on his promises.

Rating: 3/5

Director: Edgar Wright

Cast: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas

Released: 17 July, 2015

Description: After Edgar Wright left the project, concerns reared their hands, but to no avail as Ant-Man delivered so spectacularly we don't know what on Earth we were worried about in the first place!

Rating: 5/5

Director: Tim Miller

Cast: Ryan Reynolds

Released: 12 February, 2016

Description: When the test footage got leaked, the world went mad, and the powers that be listened. They really listened. Because the trailer was absolute

Rating: 5/5

Director: Zack Snyder

Cast: Henry Cavill, Ben Affleck

Released: 25 March, 2016

Description: Well, it wasn't brilliant. Bat-fleck was well judged, but the film was a bit of a shambles with enjoyable moments. And Diana Prince. What a wonder.

Rating: 3/5

Director: Joe Russo, Anthony Russo

Cast: Chris Evans, Robert Downey Jr, Sebastian Stan, Anthony Mackie

Released: 29 April, 2016

Description: What was essentially Avengers 3, Civil War pitches Captain America against Iron Man in a better face-off than BVS. But it wasn't quite the success of Cap's last outing, but was better than Ultron!

Rating: 4/5

Director: Bryan Singer

Cast: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Oscar Isaac, Sophie Turner

Released: 19 May, 2016

Description: Taking the First Class timeline forward to the 80s, X-Men: Apocalypse dealt (badly) with the origin of Apocalypse but better with the classic movie team of Cyclops, Storm, and Jean Grey.

Rating: 3/5

Director: Dave Green

Cast: Megan Fox, Stephen Amell

Released: 3 June, 2016

Description: The follow-up was somehow better than the original. Bebop and Rocksteady were fun, and Stephen Amell Canadian-ed all over the place as Casey Jones.

Rating: 3/5

Director: David Ayer

Cast: Margot Robbie, Jai Courtney, Jared Leto, Will Smith, Cara Delevingne, Joel Kinnaman

Released: 5 August, 2016

Description: With a main cast such as this, what can possibly go wrong? Most things, as it turns out. It missed a lot of the cues it could have easily hit, and was just terrible. Please, no more Jared Leto!

Rating: 2/5

Director: Scott Derrickson

Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams, Tilda Swinton

Released: 4 November, 2016

Description: While it is your typical origin story, and there is very little to rave about when it comes to the story, the astral plane is something on itself. It truly is visually stunning. Even if Cumberbatch's American accent is a little bit ropey.

Rating: 4/5

moviesuperheroespop culture
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About the Creator

Patricia Sarkar

Raised on a steady diet of makeup and games. Eager to share my experiences with the world and make a difference, article by article! :)

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