Last month, Warner Bros. the coronavirus delayed ‘Wonder Woman 1984’, a sequel to the 2017 hit ‘Wonder Woman’. The action-adventure film has done relatively well at the box office (in places where theaters are open), even though it is also temporarily available on the streaming service HBO Max. But compared to the enthusiastic response to the first “Wonder Woman” movie, the sequel has received a mixed reaction, with some critics and comic book fans complaining about the film’s unlikely plot and long running time.
So for those who felt let down by “Wonder Woman 1984,” here are six other superhero options to stream – from the much loved and hit movies to movies that never got the general audience they deserved.
‘The Rocketeer’
Stream it further Disney +; rent or buy it Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.
Cinema-going audiences still developed a penchant for superheroes in 1991, when Walt Disney’s Buena Vista Pictures failed to draw crowds for this charmingly old-fashioned pulping exercise. Based on a little-known comic by illustrator Dave Stevens, ‘The Rocketeer’ is a fast-paced pot boiler set in a 1930s Hollywood full of glamorous waves and optimistic go-getters – including bombshell actress Jenny (Jennifer Connelly) and her stunt pilot friend (Billy Campbell). Director Joe Johnston brings light and spice to the movie’s Nazi fighting plot – something he would do again twenty years later with the mighty “Captain America: The First Avenger.”
‘Dark man’
Rent or buy it Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.
Just over a decade before director Sam Raimi was entrusted with the 2002 blockbuster ‘Spider-Man’, he made his own twisted, R-rated version of a Marvel Comics movie, about a mad scientist driven by tragedy to to become a vigilante, disguised in artificial skin that dissolves in sunlight. Anchored by a feisty performance by Liam Neeson (an early start to the ‘capable hero, out for blood’ screen character he mastered over the years), ‘Darkman’ blends elements of old Universal monster movies, gritty 70s superhero comics and slapstick comedy. While the movie has an R and isn’t suitable for younger viewers, the movie is a truly original.
[Read The New York Times review.]
‘Fast color’
Stream it further Amazon Prime or Hulu; rent or buy it Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.
In some of the most terrifying superhero stories, the powerful among us reside in the ordinary world, devoid of costumes or code names. One of the best known of these is M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Unbreakable’. Film buffs who love that film should definitely catch up with writer-director Julia Hart’s equally low-boiling ‘Fast Color’, about a family of women who hide their extraordinary capacities from a government agency that wants to exploit them. Hart and her co-writer / producer Jordan Horowitz put their own spin on this classic premise by focusing on human relationships and little wonder moments.
[Read The New York Times review.]
‘X-Men: First Class’
Stream it further HBO Max; rent or buy it Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.
The X-Men movie franchise and the Deadpool and Wolverine offshoots are hugely popular but inconsistent. “X-Men: First Class” is the best of the bunch because it doesn’t get stuck in complicated mythologies. Instead, the story begins at the beginning, in 1962, when two young mutated buddies with different ideologies team up to recruit more of their own kind. Director Matthew Vaughn gives the picture the brilliance of a James Bond film, while James McAvoy (as Professor Charles Xavier) and Michael Fassbender (as Erik “Magneto” Lehnsherr) lead a top cast in an adventure full of international intrigue.
[Read The New York Times review.]
‘Big Hero 6’
Stream it further Disney +; rent or buy it Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.
Considering that the superhero genre became a phenomenon thanks to the ink-stained medium of comic books, it’s a shame there haven’t been more big-budget animated superhero movies. The Oscar-winning “Big Hero 6” is a fine example of how the exaggerated, cartoon-like illustrations that accompany animation lend themselves well to kinetic, fantastic action. The film is also kid-friendly and tells the story of a moody teenage genius who assembles a group of tech-savvy nerds to help him, along with his adorable squishy super robot Baymax, unravel a conspiracy. Cute and visually dazzling at the same time, “Big Hero 6” is an old-fashioned superhero tale steeped in positivity.
[Read The New York Times review.]
Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn)
Stream it further HBO Max; rent or buy it Amazon Prime, Apple TV, Google Play, Vudu or YouTube.
Comic book connoisseurs who were disappointed with “Wonder Woman 1984” had a great alternative to their DC Comics superhero fix last year. In the “Suicide Squad” spin-off “Birds of Prey”, Margot Robbie plays the delightfully daffy Gotham City villain Harley Quinn, who joins forces with a few more virtuous ladies in an explosive showdown with a local mob boss. Director Cathy Yan and screenwriter Christina Hodson load their film with foul language, gory violence and self-referential humor, claiming that while sstrong female heroes are great, strong female antiheroes might be more fun.
[Read The New York Times review.]