I’m not some crazy Marvel fan, but I can’t possible
say I’m not attached to those movies. Recently our friend group tossed around a
standard Twitter question of ‘if you could pick to watch only ‘Avengers:
Endgame’ or the final Game of Thrones season’, I was a bit surprised how many
people so quickly went with Game of Thrones. To me it is at least an argument –
because in reality The MCU has lasted longer. The first movie came out in May,
2008. Game of Thrones wouldn’t start for three more years. Hell, we had still
three more Harry Potter movies to go. It’s amazing what Marvel has pulled off,
and I think around the time the first Avengers movie came out in 2012 I was all
in. So, like so many others have/will do, I wanted to rank my view of the 21
movies to date, before the big #22. This is more around my personal feeling on
these movies – not necessarily the way I see them as works of movie-making.
Unranked: Iron Man 3
To be honest, I re-read the plot on Wikipedia and
wasn’t entirely sure if I saw this movie. I’m sure I did. I remember seeing it
in theaters, but I couldn’t remember even one scene based on the plot notes. Since
we are so far away from this, and reading the plot notes it doesn’t seem like
this had any real connection to the rest of the MCU, I have no desire to
re-watch it and therefore, no need to rank it.
Tier 1 – The Misses
20.) Thor 2: the Dark World
I’ll be honest, quite a few at the bottom end I
haven’t seen since they were first released, so I’ve forgotten a lot of the
real details. Given that, some of these may be swayed by critical perception.
There’s a few things going against Thor 2, the largest being it did nothing to
expand either Thor’s story or the MCU as a whole other than continue Loki’s run
as a ruinous villain. The plot I remember being overly confusing without any
real explanation of who this mystical Malakeith was and what the hell was any
of it about. It is largely seen as the worst of the MCU movies, mostly because
it tried to keep things way too serious, when the MCU had already started
pivoting to a lighter mix of action, drama and comedy.
19.) The Avengers: Age of Ultron
In reality, this is definitely not the second worst
MCU movie, but it was such a colossal disappointment after how good the first
Avengers was (needless to say, that one is WAY higher up the list). We all
expected something as good as The Avengers, and instead we got a weird
psychology lesson mixed in with a tired effort. It was tired all around, be it
the action sequences, the performances, and most glaringly, the writing. I
kneel at the altar of Joss Whedon, and he deserves so much credit for the first
Avengers movie, but he seemingly put little effort into inserting his
trade-mark Whedon-ness in dialogue into this movie. I guess I should give the
movie credit for having an underrated impact on the rest of the MCU (Vision,
Wanda, the first mention of Wakanda, the most serious delve into Infinity
Stones to date, etc.), but all of that was introduced within a ridiculous plot
that I guess was meant to teach us how dangerous the Avengers can be. Problem
though? We still like the characters and there were still many movies to ocme.
18.) Iron Man 2
Again, my memory of the actual plot is hazy. The only
positive I remember was liking Mickey Rourke’s character (this came in the peak
of Rourke’s renaissance), but man was Tony an asshole by this point. Both iron
Man sequels turned Tony’s snark-ness up to 11, if not 12, and were devoid of
other MCU characters – something fine for an origins story but tough for
sequels. This movie would also introduce a classic Marvel issue which are
characters fighting villains with essentially the same powers – although this
was the worst version of that with Rourke’s Russian villain basically copying
Stark’s Iron-Man powers.
Tier II – Forgettably Good
17.) The Incredible Hulk
I guess the information is available, but I’m still a
bit unsure of why Hulk got recast from Ed Norton – even though admittedly I’ve
enjoyed Ruffalo’s performance throughout. It’s funny that this was the second
movie in the series and other than Tony’s cameo appearance at the end ‘we’re
building a team’, none of these characters ever show up again. Not only as
Norton shoved out for Ruffalo, but none of the supporting characters ever
appear in subsequent films, including the second lead in Liv Tyler’s Ross. The
movie itself was fine, with a believable origin story (much better than the
2003 Hulk film) around how Hulk contracted his condition, but what will always
hurt the movie is how damn out of place it seems. Even if the other early MCU
movies seem painstakingly simple (in a good way, mostly), this one just seems
like from another era, before Marvel had any idea how big this would all become.
I don’t think the MCU becoming a worldwide phenomenon ever felt further away
than after The Incredible Hulk.
16.) Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2
Again, call it the pains of high expectations. The
first Guardians movie was so good, so refreshingly different, that the second
was almost always doomed to disappoint. My largest issue with the movie though
was how small it seemed, with so much of it taking place in the planet of
Peter’s dad. I just never cared all too much about the father/son story since
so much of what made Starlord great was his independence that fueled him in the
first Guardians. Yes, any interaction between Drax and Mantis was stellar, but
Peter, Rocket and, of course, Groot, were all more neutered versions of
themselves from the first movie. This might be the movie where I’m farthest
away from critical opinion, but I don’t care. Expectations were super high, and
it just didn’t match it for me. The best thing about the first Guardians was
how different the tone was. This was too similar to many other MCU movies.
15.) Ant-Man and the Wasp
I don’t have any issue with me spending money to watch
this in theater. I just don’t have any need to rewatch it – something I don’t
think is true of the first Ant Man. My opinion of this movie may change based
on how Ant Man is incorporated into the larger Endgame plot (specifically
around the quantum realm) but the movie by itself was fine, but about 80% as
funny as the original, with 80% as good a plot. I also thought the extent to
which Ant Man’s powers seemed to develop between films was a little much –
adding him to the list of candidates for most powerful (or at least most
uniquely powerful) MCU hero; a list he should not be on. I liked the plot of
rescuing Michelle Pfieffer’s character, but thought all the other plots
(including the vanishing girl) to be adding on too many layers for what should
inherently be a simple story.
Tier III – Good, but not Great
14.) Captain Marvel
I think Captain Marvel’s problem was it was the 21st
movie in the series, and not the seventh. That movie would have played a lot
better back when its closest comparisons would have been other origin stories
of staple characters. It was a pure formula MCU movie. It didn’t try to change
tone like so many others did successfully. It didn’t really try anything new –
other than arguably being set in a different time than the present. Sam Jackson
was great in one of his better showcases, and the ancillary origin stuff of
Marvel itself (seeing fury type out ‘The Avengers Initiative’ on the computer
screen was pretty swell) worked, but the plot itself around Captain Marvel was
very direct, with a surprise that revealed itself way too early (that the Skrulls
are good) to be as effective as it could have been. It laid a lot of groundwork
for what is to come, and was adequate at intro’ing Captain Marvel, but it
didn’t do anything different than the old MCU classics did just as well ten
years earlier.
13.) Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange is probably the most forgettable MCU
origin movie in a sense. It’s more serious than Guardians or Ant Man or
Spiderman, but not as high stakes as the core four, or Captain Marvel
(seemingly). Even as a member of the MCU, Doctor Strange is like the platonic
ideal of an MCU superhero. The origin story took a large portion of the film
which is fine. It was nice to see some of the smaller details of Doctor
Strange’s development into a sentient being. Had it been rushed it may have
made him into something of an automaton. The movie wasn’t all that memorable,
and I probably won’t re-watch it at any point, but it introduced the character
quite well, adding a level of mysticism to the US that we haven’t seen before.
12.) Ant-Man
This might have been the opposite of Doctor Strange (I
was surprised to realize it came first). It was not serious. It was even
lighter than Guardians 1, with such little stakes, such a funny cool talent,
such a sweet story in the end of the day (Scott trying to reconnect with his
daughter). The best part of the movie was just how damn likable everyone was:
be it preternaturally awesome Paul Rudd, to Michael Pena in a hilarious role,
to Michael Douglas being more loony than he’s been in a long time. In the end,
the lack of ultimate stakes hurts its overall ranking, but for a pure popcorn,
almost throwaway MCU movie, it was perfect.
11.) Captain America, The First Avenger
Maybe it is just because I’m not as much a fan of the
Captain America character, but The First Avenger, while still quite good, never
did it for me as much as Thor or Iron Man. It surprised me when I rewatched it
just how much of it takes place in the past. The movie introduces so many
characters that would make their mark later in the series, even if it was
decades earlier – be it even the Red Skull who only reappeared in Infinity War,
Peggy Carter, Howard Stark, Bucky, and on and on. It was also the last kind of
naïve MCU movie, the last one to come out before the first Avengers movie
formalized the MCU as a truly workable shared universe that wouldn’t easily allow
for such contained solo stories for its key characters again.
Tier IV - Excellent
10.) Captain America: Civil War
While you would think (and many did think) I would
like a movie that was essentially Avengers 2.5, it to some degree annoyed me
how this was essentially an Avenger movie hiding in the Captain America world.
The Avengers vs. Avengers fight between Tony and Cap was smart as a storyline,
but it wasn’t easy to pick a side (no one seemed truly ‘bad’) which meant it
got really muddy. Plus, I wasn’t really ready to have Ant-Man and Spider-Man
(in this case, before his own movie) introduced into this world – same with
Black Panther. It is kind of crazy they intro’d characters that wouldn’t get
their own real origin stories for another year or two. Also, what was the point
of the point of the other plot around Bucky and Zemo and the rest. It was a
jumbled mash-up of two movies. The reason it isn’t lower was because they
softened Tony a bit and the duo of Iron Man vs. Cap was surprisingly effective,
even if I sided more with the Iron Man half. Plus, while the internal struggle
lowered the stakes, the action sequences of the Avengers fighting each other
were pretty well done.
9.) Thor
I’ll be honest – I think this movie gets way too bad a
rap, and I would largely put that to the second Thor being so bad. This movie
worked well as an origin story, and was really funny (shocking no one
remembered how funny Helmsworth could be until Ragnarok). The story was small
(Thor needing to gain humanity to gain the power that makes him not human), and
all the scenes of him learning how different life on Earth is are all so great
(e.g. him chugging a giant beer in one go and smashing the empty cup on the
table). This movie also came out before Loki’s thievery became annoying, and
was able to use Natalie Portman’s Jane as a great mouthpiece for the audience
seeing the story get alien (Thor being the first ‘foreign’ hero). If we remove
Thor 2, we’re actually left with Thor being one of the most consistently strong
characters movie-to-movie, and the first one did a great deal of work to set
that up.
8.) Spiderman: Homecoming
I still find it hilarious that we as a society are
going to basically write away the Andrew Garfield Spiderman because the Toby
Maguire ones in were massively viewed, and now it’s part of the MCU. Quick pour
one out for good ol’ Garfield and Emma Stone. Anyway, we’ve only seen one
movie, but this is the best iteration of Spiderman yet (‘Into the Spider-verse’
excluded). It is the best because it captures the child-like wonder in
Spiderman. It’s the first one where Peter Parker is a kid, which is great. The
movie itself was quite fun as well – if a little bit too heavy on Iron Man
(seriously, Tony is way better in small doses now). Keaton and Leo were both
great. The kids were great. I’m already pumped for the second one.
Tier V – The Classics, Pt. 1
7.) Guardians of the Galaxy
To me, there are seven classics in the MCU oeuvre,
movies that independent of their connection to this universe, are just
fantastic films. Guardians is probably the least likely, but the most
prototypical of what I’m talking about. Guardians was the first movie to
feature characters outside of the key four avengers (Iron Man, Thor, Hulk,
Cap). Not only did it feature none of these characters, it didn’t even make
passing reference. The only link to the MCU was Thanos as the big bad (and he
to this point is more a mythical presence than an actual villain). But man was
it amazing. So rewatchable, the tone is perfect from the first time Peter kicks
a creature on the deserted planet. This movie showed the MCU could go way
different – something they’ve done to increasingly great degree over the years.
My only real criticism with Guardians was the ultimate plot was a little too
heavy at the end, where the last third of the movie seems to want to be more
classic MCU than the first two-thirds (similar to my issues with Deadpool –
carry the laughs all the way through). All of the characters were so well
written and cast – showing that we don’t need any real prior knowledge of a
superhero to make that type of movie work. And while I think there was one
movie that was even more heavily comic than this one, Guardians showed that the
tone can be every bit as light as you want it to be – even if you were going to
re-introduce Infinity Stones into the mix.
6.) The Avengers: Infinity War
I’m still shocked they pulled it off that well. There
were more known characters that required some servicing and screen time than in
maybe any movie ever, and not only did they do it, they excelled and even
created some interesting groupings that played out wonderfully – such as Rocket
and Thor, or Iron Man and Doctor Strange. My limited issues comes with just
sheer numbers. It was nearly impossible for it all to work. Also, I didn’t like
them turning starlord into more of an idiot, and while I get the reason of
splitting up the battle of Wakanda, I didn’t like the cuts back and forth to
Thanos on Titan. The movie itself had the pull of something impossible, and
came about 90% of the way there, keeping a similar tone to the first Avengers
despite a far darker storyline. Infinity War was pretty perfect also just
moving so much plot without it feeling overbearing. A great lead-in to what
will be the MCU’s biggest test yet.
5.) Black Panther
Part of this ranking is the societal impact of the
movie. It has to be said that for the MCU to put out a movie showcasing
African and African American actors,
themes, etc. and do it so well was such a great sight to see. The movie’s plot
might be a bit obvious (I mean we knew T’Challa didn’t die when Killmonger
threw him off the bridge), but I appreciated their efforts to make people see
both sides of Killmonger’s view of the ills of Wakanda keeping their technology
hidden while the rest of the African people suffer. I didn’t expect such an
interesting psychological question within the movie. The action sequences were
well done – specifically everything in Korea. All the female characters were so
well written and acted, carrying an intentionally dull T’Challa. I have some
problems with Jordan’s take on Killmonger, but that couldn’t sway me away from
the most unique MCU movie so far.
4.) Iron Man
I saw this movie for the first time in my AP Chem
class – the AP exam had ended so for a week our awesome teacher just had us
watch movies that were tangentially related to science/chemistry. This was one
of them. I had no real understanding of Iron Man, or Marvel – of course, I
don’t think anyone had any clue of what a monster this would become. I may have
rewatched it once after that, but definitely did on one of my flights on
Emirates in 2018. Seen in the lens of what it launched, the original Iron Man
will always be remembered. However, even stripped away and taken in isolation –
one film released in 2008 as a surprise Summer Blockbuster – Iron Man is
fantastic. Robert Downey was great playing the fast talking Tony Stark (way
before that become a bit overplayed). The plot was strong, working well to
drive action and as an ongoing take on the war-industrial complex. The action
sequences are so well done – my favorites being just the early ones when we are
seeing the world through Iron Man’s eyes as he flies around. There is a certain
passionate childishness in this film that works as an intro to the behemoth
that the MCU would become. Sam Jackson and Jon Favreau are great; Paltrow is
really good. Downey is a genius. The first MCU movie stands out because it
worked even if the MCU amounted to nothing.
Tier VI – The Classics, Pt. 2
3.) Captain America: The Winter Soldier
So, earlier I said I wasn’t such a fan of the Captain
America character. That is still true. It’s just The Winter Soldier was
undeniable. It may have the best single contained plot of any non-origin or
non-Avengers movie. You could replace Captain America with random superhero X,
and keep the plot, and it would be great. The Winter Soldier is a spy thriller,
with an interesting take on technological advancement in warfare, posing as an
MCU classic. It has maybe the best performances for all of its actors,
especially by far the best Black Widow storyline. Mackie was great in the first
we really see of Falcon. Bucky was an interesting character from the jump. The
movie really turns great during the whole scene in the bunker and the reveal of
Zola being the supercomputer. It probably isn’t the most rewatchable MCU movie,
but it is, to me, the best movie if you strip away the MCU-of-it-all.
2.) Thor: Ragnarok
Forget the MCU, Thor Ragnarok may be one of the
funniest movies released in the last five years period. It was a pure comedy,
and was damn good. It revived a lagging character, someone who could become,
essentially, the lead of the next two Avengers movies. It gave a template to
future movies that want to take existing characters and re-jigger them. And
also gave, to me, the best duo performance of any MCU movie, with Thor and Hulk
(both underserved, in a sense, to this point in the MCU) getting to play a
great buddy comedy. The tone was just excellent from the very first scene, with
any apocalypse tension erased with laughs. The dialogue was excellent, the
performances were great (even Jeff Goldmblum was inspired). I don’t think
people talk enough about just how much of a masterpiece Thor Ragnarok was,
especially since the expectations for the first fully-Thor movie in five years
was fairly low. Even the villain (Cate Blanchett doing a great ice queen) was played more for laughs than anything else. What a brilliant turn from the dourness of Dark World, showcasing what Helmsworth, the character, and ultimately maybe the MCU itself, does best.
1.) The Avengers
I’ll admit, if you rewatch The Avengers, it doesn’t
hold up as well as would want my #1 pick to be, but to go back to that moment
in 2012 when it came out, the fact that this movie was that good is
mindblowing. We expect them to fully weave in and out of storylines across 5+
characters easily now, but until The Avengers, there were no cross-overs, no
mixing of characters. This was literally bringing four establish characters
together for the first time and seeing if it would work. And did it ever. The
dialogue is excellent, putting a comedic tone that really hasn’t left the MCU
since. The action sequences are great. The villain plot with Loki is great –
there is a purpose, there are stakes. If this movie was not this successful and
good, the MCU isn’t around today. It wrote the script on how to mix characters
in together. This was also the right time with the right amount of main
characters. Infinity War was a very good movie, but had to service so many
characters, so many locations. This was the right mix and the right time. The
deaths (even if they would be retconned) hurt. The stakes were there. We had
already grown to love these characters to some degree independently and it was
great to see them come together. The MCU is a ground-breaking moment in cinema
history in terms of building collective IP and the biggest driver of its
success is because the first Avengers movie worked so well – it showed the
plan, a Wu-Tang style world of separate, mixed and collective movies, can, and
will, work.
