I've heard others make a Top 5 list of their favorite MCU movies, and that made me consider what mine was. Ultimately, I've decided to go big and just flat out rank every movie in the MCU, all 18 currently released films, in order from least good to greatest. While one or two might be bad or mediocre, I largely believe that almost all of them are good films so I don't feel justified making it worst to best or something like that. Also, since quality is subjective to some extent my criteria for judging these films is a mixture of how well made and impactful a movie is and also how much I personally enjoyed watching it and my likelihood of re-watching it over others. Since it is Feb. 27, 2018 and I have seen every movie, including Black Panther, up to this point, I cannot rank Infinity War or any other movie released after this date. I may come back to the list or publish an updated list with future films but it's more likely I won't, so that is why such and such movie isn't on here if you're reading in 2020 or some other point after this.
The MCU From Least Good to Greatest
18- Thor the Dark World
A more professional person than myself would have probably, if not gone back and watched every single one of these movies before writing, at least re-watch the ones they hadn't seen in a while. I saw Thor the Dark World once, when it was out in theaters and I have not seen it since. When I claimed that almost none of the MCU films were bad, this was the film I was not sure whether or not to classify as such. On the one hand, I don't like it, I have no desire to watch it again and it is the least of the franchise. On the other hand, I've seen a lot of other movies in general that I would consider worse than this and it ultimately is a harmless film with some good moments involving Loki.
This movie has multiple failures but it's biggest is making Thor a boring and bland character. Thor has succeeded in showcasing charisma in his other films and the Avengers but here I can't recall a single thing he does or line he says beside one from the trailer. In a movie bearing his name, he leaves no impression on me whatsoever, and that is what condemns this movie to the bottom of the list. I also have to note that the human characters are not good in this movie, with Dr. Selvig's insanity played for cheap laughs in a super uncomfortable way, Darcie being even less tolerable than the first movie and Jane having all agency stripped from her character and being a receptacle for an infinity stone. No wonder Natalie Portman decided to walk from the series. Loki is the film's saving grace though, it's almost his movie since he is the one who changes and develops from events, not Thor. Also, I didn't even mention the villain here because I can't remember any part of his performance. I know his goal and motivation and name, but I can't remember anything about what he says or does. Worst of the MCU villains, and that actually is saying something.
17- Iron Man 2
This is the kind of movie you get when you make a surprisingly good movie about a hero no one's heard about and are banking on to start a franchise that will span decades and many, many films, and you get greedy. Instead of one movie per each Avenger before the team up to introduce each one, Iron Man 2 got made and put out one movie after it's first one because audiences fell in love with Tony Stark. The result is a hot mess of a movie that only actually works on any level because of Robert Downy Jr. For better or worse, this man has defined Iron Man and all subsequent adaptations of him, regardless of medium, will be judged against him. In summary, Iron Man is the best part of Iron Man 2 and just about the only part that particularly works on any level.
That is unfair to the other actors, particularly to Don Cheadle who had to take on the role of Rhodey after another person had already tried and worked well enough that he's still in the franchise, and also Gwenyth Paltrow who is always great as Pepper Potts. The biggest problem of Iron Man 2 though is that it's a story trying to juggle too many plates at once. The multiple plot points in the movie are: the government wants Tony's designs and plans for their own use and Tony doesn't want them to have them; Tony's arc reactor is slowly killing him with some kind of radiation poisoning or something like that and he might die soon; SHIELD is hanging around trying to assess whether or not Iron Man/Tony with be a good fit for the Avengers; Mickey Rourke is a Russian scientist with a vendetta against the Stark family and intends to destroy the Stark legacy; Rhodey gets fed up with Tony's attitude and steals a suit of armor from him; Justin Hammer is a rival inventor who gets his hands on both Rhodey's suit and recruits Mickey Rourke to create more; and on and on and on. There's so much going on that it's trying to be a stand alone Iron Man film whilst also setting up the Avengers and it does both poorly. RDJ's charisma is about the only thing that holds the film together and makes it watchable, the majority of the film is just a mess.
Also for the record I have no insider knowledge on how Paramount were approaching this at the time, they may have planned for Iron Man 2 to come out when it did, it just seems too messy for that to be the case, and also I don't see how it's necessary to get to the Avengers since it lifts right out.
16- The Incredible Hulk
I think the thing that damns this movie the most is that Mark Ruffalo has made Banner and the Hulk so interesting with his performance that I can't really take to this movie anymore. Edward Norton is a fine actor but I have no interest in revisiting this interpretation of the characters because, honestly, it's kind of boring. I remember thinking back in 2008 that it was fine and it was certainly better than the previous Hulk movie, but now we've gotten better and this movie is just mediocre. It's still a solid film but I just don't have much to say on it aside from that. Hulk appears a grand total of 3 times for maybe 5 minutes, probably should have used him a little more in retrospect. It's too bad we probably won't get another Hulk movies at this point, with how the MCU's shaped up they could have done something great and brought justice to the character.
15- Iron Man 3
As I tried to make clear earlier, I really like Iron Man as a character. He was and may still be my favorite Avenger, but except for his first movie his standalone films have not been the best. Again, I credit a lot of their success to RDJ, but I digress. Iron Man 3 just seems to lift out of the MCU, since nothing that happens here seems to have impacted anything in the future. Tony's PTSD doesn't come back or even matter much in this film after the half-way point, the arc reactor's removal doesn't seem to have any importance later on, hell Pepper's ordeal doesn't ever come back or get referenced and you'd think being super strong and on fire for a period might change a person in some way. Plus the villain fake out, while pretty great as something to catch you off guard the first time, means that instead of a charismatic and menacing villain we're stuck with Friendzoned McWhiteassnow as the villain and he's so much less interesting. "Man, Tony Stark was a dick to me once so now I'm evil!" Tony has been a dick to everyone he's ever met and most of them moved on from it, not a good motivation. I do like the kid though, thought Tony bonding with a younger person brought out a new side to him that I wish Spider-Man Homecoming had done more.
14- Thor
We've gotten to the point where the list gets really difficult to organize, and while this actually makes me sad to put it so low, Thor probably belongs here. My problem with Thor is that it is half an amazing movie that really draws me in with fantastic visuals and drama and then half is set in New Mexico with a bunch of boring humans. Thor's journey to find humility, while a necessary step in his character, is not helped by the humans not being particularly interesting to watch. Thankfully in this movie, he has charisma and a personality so it's not completely bad when he's around them like in DW, but it's still one of the least interesting parts of the films. I absolutely love everything in Asgard and places that aren't Earth, and of course this was the movie where Loki first got to shine, but there's enough to drag it down in comparison with the rest of the MCU that it lands here for me. Sorry Thor.
13- Ant-Man
I do need to preface this by saying I really do like Ant-Man and Paul Rudd as Scott Lang. It's just, not every film can be the greatest and the premise of Ant-Man just doesn't click with me the same way something like Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Black Panther, Guardians of the Galaxy or many other superhero concepts do. I just feel like it works better in a team setting, Ant-Man on his own isn't bad but it feels limited. Plus, the film is a comedy first and foremost, and it actively takes away from the drama and emotional touchstone at some points as a result (though there are films before and after that don't manage to let the comedy come at the expense of drama). I really do think that's why I walked away from Ant-Man feeling that I liked it, but I didn't love it. Of course, the villain doesn't help. It's one of these films from the MCU where the antagonist is a dark reflection of the hero with a similar suit and powers. The films that do this are: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Captain America: First Avenger, Ant-Man, Doctor Strange and Black Panther. That's not to say that they can't work anymore if done well, but the trend is noticeable and Ant-Man does not do it well, particularly because Yellow Jacket is not Scott's adversary, he's Hank Pym's. The two have no connection to each other on a personal level, so it's just two guys with similar powers fight. Although something that will always amuse me is fight scenes that either take place around huge children's toys and nick-knacks or those objects being grown to a huge size. Kudos for that train fight.
12- Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange is an asshole throughout most of the film. This wouldn't be such a thing if he wasn't an Iron Man styled asshole. They just approach things the same way, I'm not sure how they'll even work together (though we'll find out come May). As for the movie, it's fantastic visuals with a story that's essentially the first Iron Man again. Both this movie and Ant-Man have the problem of being too similar in plot structure to the first Iron Man, in somewhat different way. Does this sound familiar? A brilliant but full of himself man suffers an accident of his own making that sends him on a journey of self-discovery that has him put his talents to use in new ways to help people, only to be confronted by an antagonist using powers the hero has for their own gain? Yeah there are some differences but Doctor Strange is very similar to Iron Man. I also just don't find the good Doctor to be as charismatic as Iron Man, but his appearance in Thor: Ragnarok is different enough that maybe he'll grow on me in the future. I also love the ending, how he solves the problem of Dormammu is so much more creative the the MCU generally gets with their bad guys.
11- Iron Man
Iron Man is a solid movie that probably would have gone down as one of the best Superhero movies alongside Spider-Man 2, Superman, and the Dark Knight if it hadn't spawned the MCU and several movies that outclass it now. The story of a man who recognizes the harm he has done to the world and sets out to redeem himself is never going to get old for me. As a species, we need this kind of story, we need to know that it's never too late to recognize things we've done have been harmful to others and that we can be better. RDJ knocks it out of the park as Tony Stark and will continue to do so for the next decade. The thing that really drags it down in comparison with the other MCU films that are ranked above it is the villain. Stane is just an uninteresting antagonist, who goes from a businessman to an attempted murderer way too quickly and doesn't have much charisma to speak of. If I were ranking MCU villains, he'd be among Malekith, Kaecilius and Killian as the least interesting bad guys. At least some of them had a visual design that sets them apart. But not to end on a negative note, this is a solid movie, and the start of something amazing.
10- Spider-Man: Homecoming
I regard this actually as the best Spider-Man film ever made. The original trilogy, or at least the first two, are great superhero movies but have become dated and Tobey Maguire just doesn't feel authentic as Spider-Man anymore. Tom Holland, on the other hand, plays both Peter Parker and Spider-Man pitch perfectly. I originally came out of the film feeling lukewarm to it because I had been expecting something really bombastic and amazing, but the film is small-scale concerned not with the fate of a city or the potential deaths of people but with simply a choice to do the right thing at the expense of something that matters to him. It's an everyday sort of courage and heroism that never gets recognized, but is so important. We may never get the chance to stare a genocidal maniac in the eyes and fight him to protect the world, but we may get the chance to confront some small wrong and be asked to sacrifice something to fight it, whether it be safety, time or currency. This is what Spider-Man is about, at least to me it is. The Vulture is also a great antagonist in the MCU, a weapons dealer who only went into that business because Tony Stark and the government put him out of a job. He's sympathetic, but in the wrong which makes him much more interesting that most other villains in the MCU up to this point. It's a testament to the rest of the MCU that this movie falls this low on the list.
9- Captain America: The First Avenger
"I don't want to kill anybody. I don't like bullies. I don't care where they're from."- Steve Rogers.
While I love Iron Man as a character for all his one liners and quips and the redemption arc he constantly strives for, Captain America is the heart of the MCU. Steve Rogers is a man who looks for what the right thing is and will never give up on his way to making that happen. If I had to pick a movie that best represented the heart of the MCU, it would be this one. A resolve to do the best one can to make the world a better place. Whether you're a tiny kid from Brooklyn given the chance to join the war against the Nazi's, a former weapon maker trying to find redemption by protecting people instead of arming them, a complicated man trying to save the life of a child the only way you know how, or the king of a nation unsure of how to interact with the rest of world while protecting his people, this movie just exemplifies what everyone should strive for. I love it, this movie sold me on Steve Rogers immediately and I can't really think of any faults.
8- Avengers: Age of Ultron
Well, speaking of faults... This movie has a lot of problems, the biggest one probably being an out of nowhere relationship forming but I don't care much about them because I think the movie works well. The first Avengers was about a disparate group having to unify to protect people and stop an invasion. The second Avengers is about a group having to unify despite the threat coming from within, and the difficulty that brings. Tony and Steve don't like each other in the first movie, but they get over it to help save people, but in this movie they argue because of the different philosophies they have and the actions one has taken. It takes what made the first great and builds on it, which makes it more interesting despite maybe not being executed as well. Also there were probably too many characters in this one to really do justice to them all. Thor kind of lifts up out of the movie and his vision quest kind of goes nowhere outside of this film. Quicksilver doesn't get to make as much of an impression as his sister and unless future movies find a way to bring him back he's never going to get another chance. Vision and Wanda are solid newcomers though and Civil War only made them more interesting though I'll probably get to the later. Ultron really is the star of the show though. It's almost like he stole the charisma from previous villains so that even when his plan boils down to something really simple, he never loses any of his charm or threat. Overall the film is flawed, but despite that does a lot well and I love it.
7- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
A film that starts to challenge Steve's worldview, a them that will continue with every appearance of Captain America, with what the right thing to do actually is. I don't even know what to say about this film, it feels like anything wouldn't do it justice. I suppose instead of listing its virtues, I'll instead approach it from the angle of why it's only seventh on the list. That speaks to the quality of the films higher than it, but I prefer watching all of them more. Winter Soldier is a damn good movie, but it doesn't have the sense of levity that many of the other films have that make watching it a lighter experience. This one gets intense, and I find I'm less often in the mood to watch this amazing movie than some of the others. I feel awful about this post, I went on about TDW but when quality like this comes up I'm left without much to say on it.
6- Guardians of the Galaxy
I am Groot. A film that balances comedy and drama superbly. It's amazing you can start off so heartbrakingly and then mere minutes after be laughing and having a great time, only to swing back and forth as the characters experience emotional ups and downs. I think the best thing about this movie is getting to see a family come together, people who had nothing find meaning and purpose in each other. The weakest part is the antagonist, though at least unlike others on the list he's not a dark reflection of the antagonist and I can actually remember things he says, if nothing else. That this movie is not top 5 on this list, once again, speaks to the quality of the rest of the films. Plus, the soundtrack is really wonderful and memorable, and unique among other MCU films.
5- Thor: Ragnarok
What a turnaround for this franchise! I mean, Thor hadn't really developed or been that good since the Avengers movie, with his last two appearances being first bland and then irrelevant to the plot respectively. Then this movie comes around, and I was blown away by how amazing it is. It's funny, first and foremost, the beginning sets the tone and tells you this isn't going to be like the other Thor movies. Everyone is on point in this movie, newcomers Valkyrie and Hela are fantastic, Mark Ruffalo brings a humanity to the Hulk we've never gotten to see before and Loki shines but not at the expense of anyone else. The real surprise though is that Thor himself actually gets to carry the movie. He has an actual character arc this time, and gets to be funny and shows a lot of personality that the last few movies just didn't for whatever reason. He and Loki together finally feels like they are brothers and have a lot of history, they aren't exactly fighting anymore but the way the film handles their relationship is one of the best parts of the film for me.
The comedy is great, it's a lighthearted film for the most part despite the gravity of the situation (i.e. Thor's sister appearing after Odin's death and taking over Asgard so she can conquer probably every world in existence and will slaughter anyone who gets in her way, as well as being stranded on a distant planet without Mjolnir or any allies who are immediately willing to help him). I have problem with this though, in that like Ant-Man, the comedy sometimes comes at the expense of drama. The first time I saw it, I came out thinking that Thor didn't seem to be taking anything seriously despite the rather dire situation and that caused a kind of dissonance for me. Toward the end of the movie, in particular, the character Korg (played by director Taika Waititi) is responsible for such a moment of comedy crossed with a really melancholy scene. It just doesn't work as well as in, say, Guardians of the Galaxy. Still, it's a great film that works far more often than it doesn't and it's a shame it's taken this long to make Thor an exciting and interesting franchise.
4- Black Panther
Currently still in theaters, Black Panther rode in on a wave of hype for being probably the first big budget Hollywood superhero movie starring a black person. While I don't think it's as good as the hype indicated, it's strong enough to take a place in my top 5 alongside the absolute best that Marvel has done. The strength of this movie is in the world it has created. Wakanda feels alive, like Middle Earth, Hogwarts, and the Four Nations of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and that's chiefly down to the people that inhabit this place. All the name characters are memorable and fleshed out, they feel like real people with conflicting philosophies and thoughts on what should be done and how to accomplish their goals. Some are traditional and others are progressive, some favor isolationism and others imperialism while someone else wants to aid other nations without violence. Some hold strong to what their duty is while others find their duty is more flexible. Trying to describe this without spoiling a really new movie is hard.
If there is a weak spot, and there is, the Black Panther himself is the new Thor. T'Challa comes off as very stoic and unsure of himself which doesn't help him shine when literally every other character he interacts with has a stronger reaction and personality to what happens. He helps them to shine, but he somewhat suffers for this. It is a shame, because his debut in Civil War was strong and I was really excited to see more of him as a character. That said, though it is a similar thing to TDW, the people surrounding the Black Panther absolutely make up for this deficiency. I have to specially mention Micheal B. Jordan as the antagonist Killmonger who brings a nuance and depth to an antagonist that hasn't been seen before, not even in the good ones like Zemo and Ego. You actually find yourself admitting that, despite his goals and actions throughout the movie, Killmonger has a valid point to make and that point shouldn't be disregarded because he took things in the wrong direction.
I have a feeling that Black Panther is going to mean a lot to so many people, in ways that because of my background and experiences won't register with me in the same way, and I really envy people who get to have a special connection with this movie I will never know, but I'm happy for them all the same. There is plenty of room for more movies not just about the Black Panther, but about the people of Wakanda and I hope they make more. Every single one of them could headline their own film.
3- Marvel's The Avengers
For four years this movie not only sat at the top of this particular list for me, it was one of my top 5 favorite movies of all time, up with Jurassic Park which I'm pretty sure I've talked about before. It's odd to say how much it meant to me to see these heroes unite for the first time, particularly since I had no connection to them before the MCU. It's not like I was a lifelong comic fan and seeing them on film for the first time was like making my childhood wish come true, but that's what it felt like to me. This film made me feel like I was a kid seeing my heroes come to life after waiting so long for it to happen. Before this movie, heroes never crossed each other in movies. Batman and Superman weren't together before (and I wish they still weren't), Spider-Man didn't meet the X-men, but after this movie, anything was possible. Not only did these heroes meet, they bounced off each other in engaging ways. People we came to love in their own adventures came together and conflicted and had to learn to work with each other, so that while we wanted to see the conflict, we also really wanted them to get their heads together and form the team we so desperately wanted them to become.
More than any other movie before it, this was an event. James Cameron had two event movies, they earned all the money at the box office too, but this was something different. It wasn't just one movie, it was the culmination of five movies beforehand and a promise of a new world of movies to come. Avengers might not be the most emotionally complex, deep or thoughtful of the MCU, but it did what no other film had before and delivered one of the most satisfying movie experiences of my life and I absolutely love it for that.
2- Captain America: Civil War
This would probably have to be the pinnacle of Captain America movies, in my humble opinion. That theme of trying to do right is severely tested in this movie when it is less of a just find the right path and stick with it no matter how difficult it is, and more I'm not even sure what the right thing is and I just want to protect people thing. This isn't just a bad guy doing bad things movie, it's a philosophical debate on the nature of people with power and whether or not they should be accountable to something or someone. There is no clear cut answer, even though the film does sort of somewhat side with the man it's named after, and that ambiguity makes it hard to watch as these two sides become less and less able to talk these things over and begin to conflict physically, because it's none of their faults and all have valid reasons for choosing their side.
Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr. completely own this movie as the leaders of either side, selling us on the conflict of two people who respect each other but disagree on a fundamental level about what should be happening and how that drives them apart. The final fight is especially brutal because you understand both sides motivations and to some degree sympathize with each. Steve is trying to save his friend who was brainwashed into doing terrible things, it wasn't really his fault and he doesn't deserve to die for things he was forced to do. On the flipside, Tony finds out his parents were murdered by this man that's standing in front of him and since he has especially potent family issues this pushes him past the point of being reasonable and he needs to try to kill the man who took his parents from him. It's a heartbreaking fight between two people we've come to love and we wish the fighting would stop, something that's hard to do in superhero movies.
"Sorry Tony. You know I wouldn't do this if I had any other choice, but he's my friend." "So was I."
1- Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
This movie is outstanding. It blends humor and drama together in a way that I don't think I've ever seen before. Unlike some of the others where one comes at the expense of the other, it's perfectly balanced in this film so that I can be laughing one minute and moved to tears in another. Every character is on point, maybe the weakest being Drax who becomes a bit more obnoxious than his last appearance. I love the paths every character takes though, even Drax who sort of adopts newcomer Mantis as a daughter figure and teaching her how to feel as her emotional development has been stunted. Gamora has to come to terms with her feelings for Peter that she keeps fighting because of her intense issues with connecting to other people thanks to being tortured into a weapon by Thanos, and realizes this by reconciling with her sister Nebula who had it even worse than she did. The hug the two sisters share at the end if heartwarming and heartbreaking because of everything they've gone through and what they're still going to have to face.
Rocket has a busy time in this movie as well. While all the Guardians have become caretakers of baby Groot this time around, it's a bit of a role reversal for Rocket since he's used to, essentially, being the younger brother. He's got to be the older brother now and watch out for Groot. He also bonds with Yondu who surprisingly came out as possibly my favorite character in this franchise, as the two realize looking at each other what they've done with their lives and how they've driven or are in the process of driving away everyone they ever cared about. It culminates in the end where Rocket realizes that even how much of a jerk he is, he won't drive those closest to him away forever.
The meat of the story is on Star Lord however, as he is found by his father Ego, the living planet. Peter starts off mistrustful but eventually bonds with his dad over catch, his own nature as a Celestial and music his mom shared with both of them. Peter almost goes along with Ego's plans to consume the universe but a horrifying reveal gives him every motivation to oppose his father, a heartbreaking scene not because of what happens then, but what we've already seen in the first movie and how that is changed. Of course, the thing that stays with me now and possibly my favorite scene of any movie is Yondu saving Peter.
"He may have been your father, boy, but he ain't your daddy. I'm sorry I didn't do none of it right. I'm damn lucky you my boy!"
The theme of the movie that blood doesn't make a family, it's the people you've surrounded yourself with and who mean something to you. Whether it's Gamora and Nebula, sisters driven to conflict over and over by their "adopted" father until finally being able to reconcile once out of his influence, Rocket fearing he'll lose everyone because of his behavior stemming from abandonment issues in the first place, or Peter finding that his ideal father figure had been in front of him all along, these characters make a family in each other and their moment together inside Ego where the camera pans around them is more meaningful to me than even the moment from Avengers. This is one of my favorite films of all time and I can only hope that Vol. 3 as well as the rest of the MCU lives up to this standard.
-Subtle
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