5 - Iron Man. The suit is by far the best part about him, for obvious reasons. It's got a heads-up display that includes an altimeter and thermometer which can be used to improve flight performance. Even the "prototype" he creates while captive in the Middle East kicks ass with its flamethrowers. The prototype is even more intimidating. And the ability to fly and hover doesn't hurt.
4 - 300. No superheroes. Just an army of 300 Spartan soldiers. The ultimate alliance of any group of people. When they work together, which is always, they make an impenetrable force. When King Leonidas fights the Uber Immortal, it's not David vs. Goliath. It's David vs. Behemoth. The Uber Immortal takes a sword through the biceps, slashes to the lower legs, and a knife to the eye. And they are all mere annoyances to him. Keep in mind that the movie never intends to be historically accurate. It is based on Frank Miller's historical fiction writing.
3 - Batman Begins. This was the best Batman movie to date. Tim Burton's original was great, but having Tim Burton portray Batman is like Stanley Kubrick directing a James Bond movie. For the first time, Batman's origins are told accurately. It wasn't the Joker who killed his parents as portrayed in Tim Burton's film. It was Joe Chill, as Christopher Nolan accurately portrays it. The score and cinematography are key essentials in making this a movie that is not great, but excellent. Michael Caine's performance as Alfred is so enlightening, he appears to be more of a friend to Bruce Wayne than a butler. I also thought it was great to have not-as-popular villains like Scarecrow and Ra's Al Ghul.
2 - Sin City. This is the most accurately made comic book/graphic novel film ever made. You are practically watching the graphic novels on screen. The dialogue is almost verbatim, and the panels from the graphic novels were used as storyboard. There are numerous times when you could freeze the scene, and find that exact image in the graphic novel. Same angle, same characters and objects in the same locations in the same physical locations they appear at. There are four stories total that are told: "The Customer is Always Right," "The Hard Goodbye," "The Big Fat Kill," and "That Yellow Bastard." They are told individually instead of being interwoven together. "The Customer is Always Right" is the most accurate story. The dialogue, including the narration, is verbatim, and the shots are identical to the panels. Director Robert Rodriguez filmed this segment in order to convince Frank Miller that he was dedicated to making it as accurate as possible. Rodriguez wanted the movie to be so accurate, he had Miller co-direct with him. The cinematography is essential to making the movie fit the mood: dark, dirty, and sinful.
1 - The Dark Knight. Like I said before, "Batman Begins" was the best Batman movie ever. Until this came out. This starts out very fast. The robbery of the bank with the intro of the Joker with the beautiful musical score by Hans Zimmer. With a handful of scenes filmed in IMAX, including the bank robbery and semi-truck chase, the picture quality is so beautiful it leaves you speechless. While filming the chase scene with the semi-truck, one of the IMAX cameras was destroyed, leaving only three IMAX camera left in the world. Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker was so extraordinary. He won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, as well as 31, count them, 31 other awards, including the Golden Globe, BAFTA, Screen Actor's Guild, and Critic's Choice posthumously. It was so extraordinary, that any scene without the Joker almost seems boring. There just isn't enough that can be said about how great Heath Ledger was as the Joker and how pivotal is was in making this movie into a mega-blockbuster. They even had Jerry Robinson, who co-created the Joker with Batman creator Bob Kane, work as a consultant of the film.
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