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The Marvel Cinematic Universe has dominated the contemporary blockbuster ecosystem so thoroughly and for so long now, to the point where it’s getting ridiculous, that it may sometimes be easy to forget that there’s a whole section of the Hollywood Venn diagram that excludes it while still including Marvel. Although there have been a whopping 34 MCU films (so far), there have also been 39 non-MCU films throughout history based on Marvel Comics publications — and that’s not even counting the ones adapted from comics published by Marvel offshoots, such as “Kick-Ass” and the “Kingsman” and “Men in Black” franchises.
Not for nothing, a lot of those non-MCU films have been pretty darn amazing. There’s an argument to be made that, between the “X-Men” and “Spider-Man” series in the 2000s, Marvel movies were shaping and defining superhero cinema as we know it long before the MCU. Even the most critically renowned Marvel movie ever is not, in fact, an MCU film. Here, we’ve compiled a ranking of the 12 most acclaimed non-MCU Marvel flicks, according to Rotten Tomatoes critics’ scores, with ties broken by calculation of decimal places in the percentages.
12. X-Men – 82%
20th Century Fox
Widely touted as the film that inaugurated the superhero movie era of the 21st century, the first “X-Men” was released in 2000 and became a smash hit, reaching 9th place in that year’s worldwide box office ranking at a time when comic book flicks were still largely a novelty. In addition to the financial success resounding enough to spark a whole franchise, the movie was also a hit with critics. Today, it sits at 82% on Rotten Tomatoes with 144 positive reviews out of 176; among top critics, its score is a slightly lower but still respectable 66%.
Critics were impressed by the film’s decision to focus on sturdy, meat-and-potatoes entertainment carried by thoughtful storytelling and deliberate pacing, as opposed to the schlocky action bonanzas of most blockbusters. Salon’s Andrew O’Hehir noted that “Ultimately the movie offers plenty of action scenes, but it works at least as much through tension and anxiety,” and that “It’s high time somebody in Hollywood figured out that less is often more.” Houston Chronicle’s Bruce Westbrook, meanwhile, called the movie “a fully realized translation of comics’ adolescent power fantasies to adult-level, big-screen entertainment,” observing that “It’s a film X-Men fans can embrace and action fans in general can appreciate. It has emotion and a solid story to go with its mayhem, and the comics’ central themes aren’t betrayed.”
11. Deadpool 2 – 84%
20th Century Fox
“Deadpool & Wolverine” is not just breaking but outright shattering box office records left and right, but it still can’t hold a candle to its two predecessors when it comes to critical reception. In fact, “Deadpool 2” was a rare instance of a sequel to a well-received film that managed to be just as well-received. In addition to grossing over $780 million worldwide, the David Leitch-directed second installment nabbed an 84% score on Rotten Tomatoes, counting 350 fresh reviews out of 419. Among top critics, it also scored high: 68%.
As for the content of the reviews themselves, “Deadpool 2” could be said to have inspired an arguably even greater degree of passion than its predecessor; the critics who loved it really loved it. In an ecstatic four-star review, the Washington Post’s Michael O’Sullivan wrote, “At the same time that ‘Deadpool 2’ mocks everything from superhero action to audition montages, it inoculates itself against any criticism that might come its way. That’s ‘Deadpool 2’s’ real — and real subversive — superpower: the ability to laugh, unsparingly, at itself.” The Toronto Star’s Bruce DeMara, who also gave it four stars, was similarly enthusiastic, calling it “a rare action film in that you can watch again and relish all the jokes (and in-jokes) you might have missed the first time or just marvel again (yes, pun intended) at just how well constructed and enjoyable it is.”
10. X2: X-Men United – 85%
20th Century Fox
After “X-Men” got the ball rolling on contemporary big-budget superhero cinema, its 2003 sequel, “X2: X-Men United,” cinched the “X-Men” franchise as a new cinematic force to be reckoned with. Grossing over $400 million worldwide, it equaled its predecessor’s #9 ranking at its year’s box office and set an early high watermark for superhero cinema in general. The critics who had been wowed by the first movie’s competence were even more wowed by the trilogy’s middle chapter; the current Tomatometer for “X2” puts it at an 85% with 212 fresh reviews out of 250, and the score among top critics is a very impressive 74%.
Critical praise was focused on the film’s ability to offer blockbuster spectacle without skimping on the substance — including a rare comic book villain that was just human. The Advocate’s Alonso Duralde wrote, “What you can have with ‘X2’ is pretty much all that you’d ever want out of a comic book movie — it’s smart, it’s breathlessly paced, the characters have at least 2 1/2 dimensions, and the action sequences are jaw-droppers.” Time Out’s Jessica Winter noted that the film stood out from most blockbuster sequels, writing, “Like most sequels, this follow-up adheres to the principle of bigger, longer, faster, more; unlike most, however, it has momentum to burn and ideas to spare,” and adding that, compared to 2000’s “X-Men,” “The emotional spectrum has widened, too, encompassing buoyant mirth and heroic tragedy.”
9. Deadpool – 85%
20th Century Fox
Back when it originally came out in 2016, “Deadpool” ripped through the comic book movie landscape like a hurricane. Not only did it break numerous box office glass ceilings for R-rated cinema, but it introduced a character and a way of writing and making blockbusters that fundamentally changed the game. It wouldn’t be out of line to say there had never been another action movie quite like it at that budget level. The film’s momentousness was not lost on critics, who rewarded it with enough positive notices to make up a score of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes — with 298 good reviews out of 351. Even among top critics, the film was acclaimed enough to get a 71%.
The film’s irreverence and commitment to comedy as a guiding ethos made waves among reviewers at the time. The Verge’s Tasha Robinson observed that, although the film is more self-effacing compared to other Marvel movies, it and other smaller-scale efforts “feel more personal, both for the characters and for the directors, who get to experiment with anomalous, oddball choices;” in “Deadpool'”s case, Robinson found that “[the] relentless pace is refreshing, and so is the sense that viewers will be able to keep up.” The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw, for his part, observed that “Deadpool is neurotic and needy — and very entertaining. An innocent pleasure.”
8. X-Men: First Class – 86%
20th Century Fox
If the original “X-Men” trilogy was a pretty novel enterprise for its time, proving decisively that the once-thought-niche world of Marvel comics could make for box office gold, the “X-Men” prequel series that followed it was arguably even more of a gambit. At least for the first few installments, the gambit paid off handsomely. The Matthew Vaughn-directed kickoff to the “new era” of “X-Men” movies, 2011’s “X-Men: First Class,” managed to both make bank and galvanize critics, nabbing 257 fresh reviews out of 299 for a Tomatometer of 86%. Among top critics, it also enjoyed a lot of prestige, scoring 75%.
The film’s commitment to its own heightened dramatic stakes went over well with critics, who largely found “First Class” to inhabit its 1960s setting with aplomb and intelligence. HollywoodChicago.com’s Brian Tallerico called it the best Marvel film since “Spider-Man 2,” and described it as “a film that proves that big blockbuster summer entertainment can be both commercially crowd-pleasing and intellectually complex at the same time,” boasting “a spectacular mix of well-choreographed action, revisionist history, themes of tolerance, and great performances” that made it “one of the best movies of [that] season.” The Times UK’s Kate Muir, meanwhile, wrote that “In some glorious zone between ‘Mad Men’ and ‘Thunderbirds’ comes this ‘X-Men’ prequel, as kinetic as it is character-driven, and full of ridiculous retro pleasures.”
7. Spider-Man – 90%
Sony Pictures
Sam Raimi’s “Spider-Man” trilogy is still the benchmark for a lot of film buffs in discussions about the best superhero movies of all time, and it started with 2002’s “Spider-Man” — the first theatrical live-action film ever to star Marvel’s most iconic superhero. Raimi’s first “Spider-Man” was nothing short of a box office phenomenon, raking in over $820 million and saving superhero movies from being just a fad. Just as notably, it was among the first superhero movies ever to truly score big with critics. Its 90% score on Rotten Tomatoes, with 224 positive reviews out of 249, still impresses to this day — all the more so when you consider that even the stingier top critics give it an 85%.
Critics had plenty to say about how well-constructed and satisfying the film was as a piece of blockbuster entertainment, as well as how genuinely affecting the dynamic between Tobey Maguire’s Peter Parker and Kirsten Dunst’s Mary Jane Watson proved. BBC.com’s Neil Smith heaped praise on Maguire and Dunst, calling the film “a stylish, exciting, and ingenious thrill-ride” as well as “a summer blockbuster that, just for once, lives up to the spin.” Sight & Sound’s Kim Newman was similarly complimentary, writing, “The best elements of Raimi’s film restate [Spider-Man’s] story with both charm and cynicism: Tobey Maguire’s doofus Parker, mooning over the unattainable girl next door and bickering with his well-meaning guardians, is a winning character.”
6. Big Hero 6 – 90%
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The Marvel movie frenzy of the 2010s eventually found its way into the Disney Animation pipeline, yielding a movie that still stands among the most acclaimed Marvel flicks ever in any medium. Based on the eponymous Marvel Comics superhero team, 2014’s “Big Hero 6” managed to win over superhero fans and animation fans alike, ultimately taking home its year’s Academy Award for Best Animated Feature — over Isao Takahata’s “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya,” no less. Its Tomato-meter bears out its critical success: 90% from 230 reviews, with 203 of them being positive. Among top critics, its score is actually higher at 92%.
Critics enjoyed the film’s energetic super-team antics transposed to sprightly CGI animation, but even more importantly, they were charmed by its emotional core: the friendship between Hiro Hamada (voiced by Ryan Potter) and Baymax (voiced by Scott Adsit). The Guardian’s Mark Kermode wrote, “An origins story ripe with innocence and loss, this anime-inflected treat harks back to Disney’s big-hearted heritage even as it looks forward towards new worlds of innovation.” RogerEbert.com’s Susan Wloszczyna admitted that, although she was resistant to the idea of Disney Animation funneling its resources towards yet another Marvel film, “Big Hero 6” eventually won her over: “Much to my surprise, it didn’t take long to warm to this tale set in the gleaming near-futuristic metropolis known as San Fransokyo,” Wloszczyna wrote.
5. X-Men: Days of Future Past – 90%
20th Century Fox
The second most acclaimed installment in the entire “X-Men” franchise after “Logan,” the “First Class” sequel “X-Men: Days of Future Past” managed to amalgamate all the strengths of the original “X-Men” trilogy and of the rebooted post-“First Class” continuity into a single blast of maximalist blockbuster cinema that served as the culmination of the entire “X-Men” timeline. Its $746 million gross was also the highest in the franchise for a non-“Deadpool” film. On Rotten Tomatoes, it scored a whopping 90%, counting 303 good reviews out of 335. Perhaps even more impressively, its score among top critics was nearly to that same level at 89%.
Critics largely found the film to be intelligent, resourceful, engaging, thematically weighty, and commendably adept at doing right by a very large set of characters. Christy Lemire wrote on her own site, “Like everything that preceded it in the ‘X-Men’ series, ‘Days of Future Past’ is about the marginalized and the disenfranchised and the sense of unity that binds and strengthens them. But being an effects-laden summer blockbuster, it also has to unify the various people who like to eat popcorn in the dark. It morphs between both of these modes seamlessly.” And then there was USA Today’s Claudia Puig, who liked the film enough to call it, “The most ambitious and ingenious of the long-running series.”
4. Spider-Man 2 – 93%
Sony Pictures
What’s the greatest superhero movie of all time?”For good reason, a relatively commonplace answer to the question is 2004’s “Spider-Man 2,” the film in which Sam Raimi’s trilogy reached a new level of depth, grandeur, profundity, and visual splendor that most comic book movies still look to as a playbook. Although slightly less successful at the box office than its predecessor with $788 million grossed worldwide, it far exceeded it — and most superhero movies, really — in critical acclaim, reaching an incredible score of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes with 258 fresh reviews out of 277. Among top critics, it was a straight-up sensation, scoring 97% with just two negative reviews counted.
You can tell by the tone of the reviews that this one was truly something special. It’s vanishingly rare for action blockbusters to inspire such ecstatic, rapturous admiration as “Spider-Man 2” did. In the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert threw down the gauntlet and called it “the best superhero movie since the modern genre was launched with ‘Superman'” (via RogerEbert.com). Ebert, who disliked Raimi’s first “Spider-Man,” added that the director “this time seems to know exactly what he should do.” Many other critics expressed similar thoughts, such as BBC.com’s Stella Papamichael, who wrote, “‘Spider-Man 2’ is the finest Marvel adaptation ever committed to celluloid. That’s largely thanks to Raimi, who treads the tightrope between comedy and tragedy with spidery stealth.”
3. Logan – 93%
20th Century Fox
The character of Wolverine — a tragic figure besieged by angst, guilt, trauma, and bitterness from his very first appearances in 2000’s “X-Men” — was always begging to headline a movie that took the full, uncompromised measure of his inner turmoil. That movie finally came in 2017, when James Mangold’s “Logan” struck gold by letting Wolverine go out on his own terms. In doing so, the movie brought superhero cinema to a new level of dramatic depth, and Mangold, Scott Frank, and Michael Green even scored a trailblazing Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay for their trouble. Critics rewarded the film’s ambition handsomely, giving it 401 positive reviews out of 429 on Rotten Tomatoes for a score of 93%. Among top critics, its score was a similarly rapturous 88%.
The unusually reverent, admiring, and most of all respectful sentiment with which the film was met is demonstrated by reviews such as Peter Hartlaub’s, which says, “The film celebrates the medium by taking itself seriously, with an added hint of apology for the genre’s earlier sins. Best of all, there’s an element of risk,” Hartlaub wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle. The A.V. Club’s A.A. Dowd concurred, writing, “What’s special about ‘Logan’ is that it manages to deliver the visceral goods, all the hardcore Wolverine action its fans could desire, while still functioning as a surprisingly thoughtful, even poignant drama — a terrific movie, no ‘comic-book’ qualifier required.”
2. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse – 95%
Sony Pictures
A perfect sequel in every way, aside from fact that it left us hanging with no certainty of when it will be continued, 2023’s “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” honored the animated cinema revolution started by its predecessor, telling an even more complex story with even more visual and formal exuberance. While it didn’t manage to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature – something no non-“Toy Story” sequel has yet managed — it still reached a rarefied level of critical cachet on top of its hefty box office haul. Its general and top critic scores on Rotten Tomatoes are identical: 95% on both counts, with the general score being made up of 372 positive notices out of 390.
Once again, critics were blown away by the film’s commitment to pushing the medium of animation forward in pretty much every scene (if not every frame), not to mention the narrative intelligence and passion it boasted in tandem with that. ABC News’ Peter Travers was utterly amazed, writing, “You’ll stare in wonder at the wild visionary miracles that keep spilling out on screen with their own animation styles and color tones. You’ve never seen anything like it in your life. Really.” MovieFreak.com’s Sara Michelle Fetters compared it to “The Empire Strikes Back” as a fellow middle-installment instant classic: “It opens up a universe of unexplored possibilities, and I cannot wait to see how the filmmakers will continue to spin their webs,” she wrote.
1. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse – 97%
Sony Pictures Releasing
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that 2018’s “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” was a watershed moment in cinema — a true “Wait, movies can do that?” moment at a time when those are increasingly few and far between. With its utterly stunning reinvention of the medium of CGI animation in service of one of the most finely-wrought superhero origin stories ever, the movie left critics and audiences around the world slack-jawed, collected a richly-deserved Best Animated Feature Oscar, and sparked a film series. It also became the single highest-scoring Marvel movie ever on Rotten Tomatoes, including MCU films: With a score of 97%, counting 388 positive reviews out of 400, plus a 95% among top critics, there just wouldn’t be much room to top it.
Reading the reviews, there’s a palpable feeling of surprise at the revelation that yet another “Spider-Man” film — the seventh in 16 years at that point, following the Maguire, Garfield, and Holland live-action iterations — could somehow have turned out to be so fresh, so original, and so artistically inspired. In a five-star review, Empire’s John Nugent wrote, “This is not a cheap Saturday-morning kids’ cartoon: it’s a gorgeously realised alternative world, dripping with invention and energetic action that explodes from the screen. Frankly, it’s like nothing we’ve ever seen before.” The Boston Globe’s Ty Burr also gave it full marks, writing, “A pop-art roller coaster ride with soul, it can dazzle even a sick-of-superheroes doubter with two hours of thoroughgoing delight.”
