Top 10 List (All-Time Faves): 6. The Fanboy Films - LOTR, SW and MCU

6. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980), Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2002) and Avengers (2012)

Okay, so this one really isn't fair at all... But, what the hell, top 10's are tough so I'm just going to go ahead and cram a whole load into this one. To the fanboy in me all three of these franchises have been infinitely important and influential. I was a huge fan of LOTR and all things Marvel prior to the movies coming out and, as most will attest, it is incredible how well they have both translated on-screen. While Star Wars originated in film, it has since evolved into every other available medium, similar to the other two, and clearly become its own mammoth nerdustry.

I am going to keep these blurbs briefer today as multiple films fall under the blanket of each of these titles as well the impacts for myself of each franchise, or the films within, could take up more time from your day than I deserve to steal away from you. However, I have chosen one title from each that, with some difficulty, I would say is my favourite.

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) | Star Wars (1977 - ongoing)

The impact that Star Wars has had on film, popular culture, and, arguably the world, cannot be understated. It has gone on to inspire multiple generations of storytellers, on top of containing some very fine films in their own right within its filmography. Sure, there have been some hiccups along the way, but c'est la vie. I choose Empire Strikes Back as my favourite of the bunch. One can quite easily take for granted how much came from and was packed into this installment. Hoth, Dagobah (Yoda's first appearance!), and Cloud City (Lando's first appearance) are each phenomenally developed segments, all of which leads up to what is commonly seen as the greatest twist in cinematic history... spoiler alert...

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2002) | LOTR (2002-2004)

So, this one, in fact, is a little easier as it is only three films (yes, I am not going to include the very underwhelming Hobbit trilogy). I will attest that Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the most successful film adaptations of all time. Period. Yes, as the nerds will tell you, there still was quite a lot cut out of from the novels, however, when adapting a book to film, cuts are simply unavoidable. The fact that three (albeit long) films can so adeptly contain the scale and heart of the trilogy is admirable to say the least. Everything about the films is admirable though. The production itself of shooting all three films at the same time across the stunning landscape of New Zealand is commendable enough. On top of that is the stellar cast (including breakout roles for Elijah Wood and Viggo Mortenson) as well as the incredible makeup and visual effects. All three films were nominated for Best Picture (along with plentiful other noms) and although it was the final one, Return of the King, that ultimately won the coveted Best Picture, I do see it as being awarded more to the entire trilogy than simply the final installment. Fellowship is my favourite because it actually has the titular fellowship intact for the film, unlike the sequels. It also has the best pacing in my opinion, along with the great Mines of Moria sequence and the great final battle in the forest. The only thing Fellowship lacks is Gollum, clearly a standout in the series, although his VFX has unfortunately already aged quite a bit upon re-watching it today.

The Avengers (2012) | Marvel Cinematic Universe (2008 - ongoing)

Adapting to screen a story that has unfolded over half a century through thousands of issues and hundreds of writers and artists, each with their own style and stories, is not an easy task. The fact that we have received such a cohesive, well-planned out and exceptional set of movies from Marvel is (no, I'm not going to say it...) incredible. It is all the more wonderful for those Marvel readers that waited for so long for such an event to happen. It is for this reason why Avengers (2012) is the standout for me, simply for finally seeing the Avengers, erm, finally assemble on-screen. The scene where Iron Man, Captain America and Thor meet and fight in the forest will remain as one of my favourite superhero moments of all time. On top of that, Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), Captain America: Civil War (2016), Doctor Strange (2016), Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Black Panther (2018) and Avengers: Infinity War (2018) are each exceptional films in their own right. And this is not to mention that there is no end in sight for the MCU. Who knows what future installments may be added to this list (who isn't excited for the X-Men and Fantastic Four to join in the fun?). At this point, there are a few weaker films in the filmography, but even those ones are not really 'bad' movies. The bar is simply set so high for Marvel now that we expect only the best from their films. And the fact that that is usually what we receive is frankly... marvelous (I couldn't help myself, sorry, mom).