Tuesday, October 18, 2016

The Marvel Cinematic Universe





With Marvel's newest film ‘Dr. Strange’ coming to theaters soon it seems like a good point to look at the Marvel Cinematic Universe up to this point.


I’ve ranked the films worst-to-first based on a variety of factors; story, villain, initial viewing and rewatchability etc. But most importantly, the list is simply about how much I enjoyed one film over another.




#13 The Incredible Hulk (2008)


This one, for me, is the most forgettable of the MCU films. Edward Norton is solid but the CGI doesn’t hold up and the movie just isn't much fun.




#12 Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)


Just because it’s #12 doesn’t make it a bad movie, it just doesn’t stack up well against some of the others on the list. The characters are fine, and the story was alright but had some pacing issues. I guess overall, it just didn’t ‘Wow’ me.




#11 Iron Man 3 (2013)



This one is a bit of a mixed-bag. Initially I didn’t care for it, probably because I had such high expectations going in, but over time and a few repeat viewings I’ve found a good number of things I really like in the movie.




#10 Thor: The Dark World (2013)


This sequel to 2011’s ‘Thor’ is a solid movie that just suffers from a forgettable villain. We get to see more of Asgard in this one which is a plus.




#9 Iron Man 2 (2010)




This movie isn't bad, but at times it feels like more of a setup for future MCU films than an Iron Man one. On the plus side, War Machine and Black Widow are fun additions.


#8 Ant-Man


I was kind of surprised by how much I enjoyed this one when I first saw it. It’s a really fun movie. There is the one big MCU tie-in when Ant-Man comes across Falcon, but like ‘Iron Man’ the movie is able to stand on its own without relying too heavily on the rest of the MCU.



#7 Thor (2011)

The film doesn't have the most compelling Marvel hero and it isn't the most action-packed of the bunch, but it's a solid entry and Chris Hemsworth is another example of great casting by the folks at Marvel.




#6 Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)




I probably like this one more than most people. I think it's a really fun and well done movie, especially since origin stories so often end up being boring.


#5 Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)




While it is a really fun action packed movie, it didn't quite live up to my expectations.  I liked the larger roster of Avengers, but I didn't find Ultron all that menicing.


#4 Captain America: Civil War (2016)

 This was one of the hardest to rank, and over time I may even move it a slot higher or lower after a few more viewings. There are a lot things I loved about it and a few things I didn't, but overall it's really entertaining.




#3 The Avengers (2012)

There was nothing quite like seeing Captain America, Hulk, Iron Man, Black Widow, and Hawkeye all fighting alongside one another for the first time on the big screen. It’s still one of the coolest MCU moments.



#2 Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)


This almost made the #1 spot. It’s an action packed thriller, and one of the all-time best comic book movies.  great addition to the MCU.




#1 Iron Man (2008)


The film that started it all still holds up as my favorite. The plot isn't overly complicated, and Robert Downey Jr. is excellent as Tony Stark.

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*Update* 'Doctor Strange' has been released and you can check out my review for that movie here:

1 comment:

  1. I can't agree on all the rankings but I always love to hear where all of them fall in people's opinions. There's so many of them that I think we would be hard pressed to find someone who ranks them the same.
    I will wait for you to make sense of all the X-men movies and rank them.

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