In their daily life, most superheroes face many dangers. They take on enemies who are often stronger than they are and have to figure out how to defeat them. While the superheroes usually prevail, it’s not without difficulties.
The viewers who want to see the brutality and violence in close detail, as well as enjoy some adult humor and intimate scenes, have a lot of mainstream superhero movies to choose from. The best R-rated superhero movies have everything their more accessible counterparts possess, but they also offer an extra portion of darkness and realism to the audience.
13 Blade: Trinity (2004): 25 %
The final movie from the Blade trilogy is also the worst one, at least according to the Rotten Tomatoes score. This time, Blade has to team up with rogue vampires (including Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel) in order to save the world.
The movie follows the same basic recipe as its predecessors when Blade takes on many enemies and kills them. Some critics believed that the movie was too long and had little else to offer besides violence.
12 The Punisher (2004): 29 %
Before the MCU came along, the mid-2000s saw the premiere of multiple superhero movies that got very bad ratings. The Punisher is one of them. In the movie, Thomas Jane transforms into Punisher after his wife and children are killed, and decides to avenge their death by killing the man responsible. While the movie provides a lot of action scenes, it lacks something that would separate it from the rest, making it memorable.
It seemed that this movie followed the so-called Punisher curse since another R-rated The Punisher from 1990 with Dolph Lundgren in the leading part only got a score of 28 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. And the 2008 movie Punisher: War Zone with Ray Stevenson didn’t do any better and got a score of 29 percent.
11 Blade II (2002): 57 %
In the sequel to the 1998 movie, Blade once again does what he can do best - that is killing monsters. The only problem is that in order to do that, Blade has to team up with vampires which is something he hates.
Guillermo del Toro included impressive fight and killing scenes in the movie, and Blade has his hands full as he takes on multiple enemies. The movie isn’t for the faint of heart for the sheer amount of violence it works with.
10 Blade (1998): 57 %
The first movie introduces Blade to the world as a half-vampire who hates vampires and is hellbent on killing them. That leads to a lot of fights and violent scenes filled with blood.
Even though Blade is due to appear in the MCU in a new version, the original one will always be worth watching for those who enjoy R-rated superhero movies.
9 Watchmen (2009): 65 %
While superheroes are somewhat common in the world of The Watchmen, they don’t have an easy life since somebody starts killing them.
The movie doesn’t shy away from violence and the viewers don’t know who will survive and who’ll die, so the deaths of their favorites have a strong emotional impact on them. Those who want to see more of the Watchmen can also check out the 2019 series.
8 Joker (2019): 68 %
It’s difficult to call Joker a mainstream movie, considering it’s more of a psychological thriller than an actual superhero movie. Nevertheless, it digs deep into the mind of one of the most iconic DC villains of all time.
Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck is unforgettable in his path to complete anarchy and the ability to break all rules. The movie doesn’t offer as many violent and bloody scenes as other R-rated pieces, but every time it does, it leaves an impression.
7 Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021): 71 %
Zack Snyder’s cut is much darker, hopeless, and deeper. While it saves its main heroes, it doesn’t always spare the supporting characters, and every punch comes across as real and painful.
After all, the newly-formed Justice League has a lot on their plates as they face an enemy the likes of which they’ve never seen before. The movie not only offered some impressive action scenes but also was able to dig deeper into the minds of the characters.
6 Kick-Ass (2010): 76 %
The first Kick-Ass shows what happens when somebody with no powers decides to join the superhero business. It’s true that Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Dave has good intentions, but he often does more harm than good.
Kick-Ass is a fun movie full of action and great characters, but it doesn’t spare its heroes, so they get hurt, bleed, and sometimes die. It earned a 2013 sequel, but the second movie only got a rating of 32 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
5 Birds Of Prey (2020): 79 %
After her break-up with the Joker, Harley Quinn goes on to stop some bad people, most notably Ewan McGregor’s Black Mask, and also forms a new superhero team. That’s not a bad score considering that Harley used to be the Joker’s sidekick.
The movie is very adult in the way it treats violence and humor, but at the same time, it’s colorful and enjoyable. Just like Harley and the way she sees the world around her, it’s different from most other superhero movies.
4 Deadpool 2 (2018): 84 %
Deadpool 2 managed to once again confirm that the rude and violence-prone antihero is here to stay. Deadpool is not only trying to find a way how to get back to Vanessa but is also building his own team, which doesn’t go as planned.
The movie once again combines humor, action, and gives the actors even more opportunities to shine since it works with a larger number of characters than the first Deadpool.
3 Deadpool (2016): 85 %
Ryan Reynolds scored as the Merc with a mouth who has no problem with killing enemies but in the end, just wants to be a good boyfriend to his girlfriend Vanessa.
The first Deadpool seemed to have it all - from violent scenes to a lot of (adult) humor, a fast-paced story, and, of course, excellent acting performances from the lead as well as supporting actors.
2 The Suicide Squad (2021): 90 %
Unlike its predecessor, The Suicide Squad establishes the heroes fast and kick-starts the adventurous story in which the heroes not only kill their enemies but sometimes also members of the same team.
That’s what happens when somebody puts a group of villains together and has them save the world. Luckily, they manage to survive (most of them, anyway), but the movie is still full of violence and blood.
1 Logan (2017): 94 %
Logan says goodbye to Hugh Jackman’s role of Wolverine. It does so in a dark future where most mutants are dead, and the rest are hunted. Almost no superhero movie has the courage to kill its main characters for good, but Logan does it. The fans loved the movie as it was the type of final story that Jackman’s Wolverine deserved.
