100 Favorite Movies: 4

This film awakened me to how amazing the superhero genre could be. (And it really helped launch the Age of Ultron hype train.) The Avengers is, for the time being, the greatest superhero movie ever made, the quintessential one at that, and the bar for all crossover movies, as well. After The Avengers premiered, all doubt was completely assuaged that Marvel could set up a multi-platform, unprecedented cinematic universe successfully. A lot of the praise that is given to these movies comes from my experience upon viewing them. I saw this one at midnight on my birthday next to two people I did not expect to be seated. It's so amazing. The action begins right at the beginning and then we are transported through the team-up, a battle between Thor and Iron Man, a trip on the Helicarrier, and then the famed Battle of New York. That solo moving track shot will forever be iconic. The Avengers is truly a massively astonishing achievement of epic proportions.

Superhero action directed by Joss Whedon and written by Joss Whedon in 2012.

Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Jeremy Renner, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Cobie Smulders, Stellan Skarsgard, Samuel L. Jackson, and Stan Lee.

Tune in tomorrow for number three!