With the second phase of Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films complete and Captain America: Civil War on the way next summer, here’s a look back on how the past 12 films by Marvel Studios stack up, according to me, against one another.
12. "The Incredible Hulk"
I’ll be honest. I only watched this movie once, and that was more than enough for me. Although the Hulk is one of the most iconic of the Marvel superheroes, the character has never seemed to find success with its own stand-alone film. Edward Norton did deliver a nice performance, but that was not enough to save this film from the bottom of the barrel, as the overall movie and a poor villain, The Abomination (really?), provided Marvel Studios with its only hiccup of its 12 films.
11. "Thor"
The debut of the God of Thunder in the MCU was overall a decent film, and presented fans with one of the greatest villains in recent cinematic history in Tom Hiddleston’s Loki. Aside from that, however, with strange camera angles throughout, too much green screen work to handle, and an OK story line, this film still remains one of my least favorites, despite great work from Hiddleston, Chris Hemsworth as Thor, and Natalie Portman as Jane Foster.
10. "Iron Man 2"
Let’s get something straight. This is in no way Robert Downey Jr.’s fault, as he is always spectacular in the role he was born to play as Iron Man. Moving on from that, however, this film’s biggest issue for me was the villain, Ivan Vanko, played by Mickey Rourke, who had a strong start but finished with a terrible ending in a depressing final battle with the genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist. Despite that flaw, however, I enjoyed the AC/DC tunes throughout, which I now associate with Iron Man anytime I hear them, and, of course, all the exciting easter eggs spread throughout about the future arrival of Earth’s mightiest heroes.
9. "Thor: The Dark World"
An improvement from its predecessor, I really enjoyed this film due to the chemistry between Hemsworth and Hiddleston on screen, as both had shown growth in their investment into the characters and the relationship between the two. The downside to this film was the villain, Malekith the Accursed and his Dark Elves, who really had added no significance to the MCU besides bringing the revelation of another infinity stone to light. Speaking of infinity stones, how about that incredible end-credit scene when The Collector confirms what everyone was expecting by saying, “One down. Five to go.” Goosebumps, people.
8. "Iron Man 3"
This film would have been much higher on the list if The Mandarin was what we thought he was. Yeah, I give Marvel Studios props for catching everyone off guard. That was a pretty well-kept secret. Unfortunately, however, that ruined what would have been an incredible film to me. Aside from the villain, however, this film had a fun story to follow along with and gave an interesting twist to Tony Stark’s journey in the world, as he suffered throughout the film with post-traumatic stress disorder following the events that took place in The Avengers.
7. "Ant-Man"
This film was truly the biggest surprise to me of all the films. Going into the theater to see the latest of the Marvel Studio’s franchise, I had many doubts of whether I could take Paul Rudd seriously and how a film about a man who shrinks and rides ants would turn out on screen. After I finished the film, however, all the doubts I had were forever silenced, and I was in love with what I had just watched. Made in the form of a heist film, Ant-Man delivered something new and fresh to the MCU, and provided a storyline along with fun characters that made the viewing experience such an incredible blast. I look forward to seeing this character join all the other MCU heroes next summer, in Captain America: Civil War.
6. "Captain America: The First Avenger"
Being an avid fan of war movies, Chris Evans and the ever-iconic character of Captain America, this film was a no-brainer to place towards the top of my list. The storyline was an amazing ride, the actors and actresses all did wonderful work, and the Red Skull, played by Hugo Weaving, was the only other villain I thoroughly enjoyed in the MCU, aside from Loki. The film did a great job of twisting the past with the present, and providing indications of what the future would bring. This film secured the belief that Chris Evans, much like Downey Jr., was born to play his character, as no one else could possibly do it the same.
5. "The Avengers: Age of Ultron"
Some may say that this film is placed too high on the list, but I actually enjoyed this film, primarily because I loved what Director Joss Whedon was able to do in his second time helming this amazing cast ensemble. In the film, we see The Avengers learn how to work with one another as a team, despite experiencing being torn apart for the very first time. We see more exploration into the characters, and a stronger chemistry amongst the cast, which takes their performances to new heights for the movie. The disappointment, surprisingly, was the villain, Ultron, who Whedon said he had put so much investment into. Although it was a fun back-and-forth battle to watch between him and Earth’s mightiest heroes, I did not connect with this character as well as what I had anticipated I would have.
4. "Iron Man"
The film that started it all. The first time that Downey Jr. donned the Iron Man suit. The end-credit scene that had Nick Fury, played by Samuel L. Jackson, say to Tony Stark, “I’m here to talk to you about the Avenger Initiative.” Without this film, who knows whether this list would even be this long? This film provides an amazing storyline and set the tone for what Marvel Studios was building. Despite another lackluster villain, this is by far the greatest standalone film in the MCU.
3. "Guardians of the Galaxy"
One of the greatest film soundtracks of all time, inspiring characters led by Peter Quill, played by Chris Pratt, and of course a beautiful directing and writing job by James Gunn. Much like Ant-Man, I had many doubts heading into this film. When I heard that there was going to be a talking raccoon and tree as two of the four main characters, I will admit I had concerns. Yet, surprisingly, this ended up being one incredible film that truly tested the waters of being one of my favorite experiences ever watching any movie. It also served as a unique and original space odyssey-themed film, which also successfully introduced fans to the cosmic side of the MCU for the first time.
2. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"
A political thriller that kept me on the edge of my seat to the very end, this film exceeded far and beyond the extremely-high expectations I already had for it prior to seeing it. The action was the best I had seen in a film for such a long time, the Winter Soldier was an incredible villain for Captain America, and the storyline never provided a dull moment throughout the entire film. Fans also were able to grow closer with Black Widow, played by Scarlett Johansson, and dive deeper into Cap’s story, along with his struggle of finding a place in the new world. This film finished just centimeters away from being my No. 1 film that Marvel Studios has ever made, and it was so good, that now Directors Anthony and Joe Russo were provided the directing gigs for Captain America: Civil War and The Avengers: Infinity War Part I and II.
1. "The Avengers"
The greatest superhero movie of all-time and my absolute favorite movie of all-time. The Avengers successfully proved that such an impressive and large cast ensemble could be assembled to work well together, and as a result, delivered an instant classic that will be adored by most movie enthusiast for several years to come. The pieces of the story and its characters were perfectly placed together by Whedon, and Hiddleston’s performance as Loki arguably outshined all the rest in the film. The Avengers elevated the superhero genre to a level in the film industry that it had never seen before, currently ranked fourth in the highest worldwide grossing films of all-time, and it will continue to serve as the blueprint, as Marvel Studios continues to build off what the film accomplished three years ago.So how does this list add up to how you would have ranked these films? If you feel differently, leave a comment below to share your list! If you agree with mine, share it!
