It is a hell of a time to be a Marvel fan. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been dominating the box-office with many being critical darlings and financial successes. Marvel Studios has been able to release 23 films over the course of 11 years; so averaging two films a year. Because Marvel has been able to produce so many films in a short space of time the quality varies from average films to some of the best the superhero genre has to offer.
23. Thor: The Dark World
Thor: The Dark World is often considered one of the worst films in MCU and it is an opinion I agree with. It is the most generic offering in the big franchise and everything negative that could be said about the MCU applies to this film. It is a film with a uninspired storyline where the heroes have to get the Macguffin before the villain and have an unmemorable villain who wants to destroy everything. It kept the grating Darcy and she was even given her own comic relief side stick. The film just served an excuse to introduce one of the Infinity Stones.
Thor: The Dark World was a troubled production. Patty Jenkins was originally set to direct but left because of creative differences with Marvel. Marvel obviously missed out because Jenkins went on to direct Wonder Woman. Natalie Portman only did the film because she was under contract and Christopher Eccleston was critical Thor: The Dark World – stating he only did it for the money.
The film is not without some charms – it looked great and Chris Evans’ cameo was hilarious. For me personally, there was a locality bias for me because of the scene at Stonehenge.
22. Iron Man 2
Iron Man 2 was only the third film made for the MCU and the first to be made after the success of Iron Man. Marvel fast-tracked the film and it showed because Iron Man 2 tried to do too much in one film. The film had the job of setting up The Avengers so had introduced Black Widow, Howard Stark, and Captain America’s shield. Coulson who was meant to be babysitting Tony Stark left in the middle film of so he could set up the first Thor film.
It was a film that did not know what to focus on because there were so many plotlines going on. The main storyline was meant to be about Ivan Vanko/Whiplash (Mickey Rourke) wanting revenge against the Starks but it was drowned by subplots. There were plotlines where Tony was dying of palladium poisoning leading to becoming reckless, a rift develops between Tony and James Rhodes, the US Senate was investigating Tony and his Iron Man technology, and Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) wanted to get one over his business rival. Because of this Iron Man 2 ended up wasting the ‘Demon in a Bottle’ storyline and a fantastic actor as Hammer.
Like Thor: The Dark World Iron Man 2 was a troubled production. Terrance Howard left the project over rumours of a pay dispute. Marvel attempted to low ball Mickey Rourke who had just won an Oscar for The Wrestler, and due to the experience, Jon Favreau left the franchise as a director.
Iron Man 2 is redeemed by having excellent special effects and some fun action sequences like the fight at the Grand Prix and final battle between Iron Man and War Machine against Whiplash’s drones.
21. Black Panther
Black Panther was the first superhero film to get an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture and made over $1 billion at the box office. It is also one of the most overrated films in the genre and there is no way it deserves a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score. It’s a lower-tier Marvel film.
Upon its release Black Panther was praised for its diversity, performances, and art direction, but this is a mask for its failings. For a big superhero film, it was an action-lite film – the middle sagged heavily and the CGI work was some of the worst the MCU has to offer. It’s a real shame because Ryan Coogler is a talented director, he was able to breathe life into the Rocky franchise.
The best feature of Black Panther was the cast and characters. Black Panther had some talented actors working on the film like Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Letitia Wright, and Andy Serkis. Best of all was Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger, the villain of the piece who was cunning, strong, and had a complex world view. Wright was a scene-stealer as Shuri who had some of the funniest moments in the film. Serkis clearly having a blast as a South African weapons dealer and he was properly relieved he didn’t need to wear a motion-capture suit.
20. The Incredible Hulk
The Incredible Hulk was the second MCU film, released the same year as the first Iron Man film. This film saw Edward Norton play the raging green monster who’s hiding in South America and trying to find a cure for his disease. He is drawn back to America but has to face the American military led by the oppressive General Ross and worst of all a Russian-born British soldier becoming the Abomination.
The Incredible Hulk was made to be the antipathies to 2003’s Hulk. The Ang Lee film was criticised for being a slow burn of a film that lacked action. The Incredible Hulk hired an action director Louis Leterrier and he certainly delivered on military encounters and big monsters battles. It serves as popcorn entertainment but it was made when the MCU was finding its feet and it been forgotten in the mass of films.
The Incredible Hulk also had production problems because Norton rewrote the script. The actor and director clashed with the producers which led to Marvel recasting The Hulk for The Avengers.
19. Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2
2017 saw Marvel release three films. The first was Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 and it was sadly the weakest of these entries. Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 saw the return of everyone’s favourite space rogues and this adventure saw Peter Quill meet his alien father who turned out to be a megalomaniac. When compared to other entries in the MCU Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 was more like a two-parter for a sci-fi TV show than a film. Nor was it a particularly unfocused film because it had subplots that were in the film to set future films like The Sovereign wanting revenge against the Guardians, and allowing Nebula to become an antihero.
There were obviously good moments in the sequel. The opening with the Guardians battling a monster with “Mr. Blue Sky” in playing background. So was the scene when Yondo showed off his powers with “Fox on a Run” as the backing music. The emotional heart of the film was Quill’s relationships with his fathers and the death of Yondo was the Marvel version of Spock’s death and funeral.
18. Captain Marvel
Despite having numerous female heroes like Black Widow, Wanda Maximoff, and The Wasp it took Marvel 11 years to make a female-led film in the form of Captain Marvel. The film acted as an introduction to the character – mainly so audiences would know who she was for Endgame.
Captain Marvel followed the Marvel origins formula where an arrogant character needs to gain some humility. Captain Marvel was particularly reminiscence of Thor where an outer space being crash lands on Earth and there were elements of Captain America: The Winter Soldier where there was a giant conspiracy.
Captain Marvel was a solid if unremarkable film in the franchise. If you want an example of a formulaic Marvel film then this is it. Brie Larson was having fun as the main character, there were some cool action sequences, the best being in the first half of the film – and you can’t go wrong with a ’90s soundtrack. The true star was Goose the Cat.
17. Iron Man 3
Iron Man 3 was the most divisive film made by Marvel Studios. It saw Shane Black write and direct the film after Jon Favreau left the series. Black put his own stamp on the Marvel Cinematic Universe – his trademark wit was present in the dialogue, and he had the usual set of tropes like setting the film at Christmas and a young, smart kid.
However, Black is known for being a subversive writer. This is was where the controversy arose because Black turned the Mandarin into a joke. It rivalled Superman breaking Zod’s neck as the most controversial moment in a superhero film released in 2013. Marvel ended up making a short, Hail to the King which hints that real Mandarin did exist. The ending was also controversial because Tony Stark destroyed his Iron Man suits and had his arc reactor removed.
Beyond the Mandarin reveal Iron Man 3 was an engaging superhero film. It was a character-driven film because of Tony Stark’s PTSD and being forced to operate without his suits. It was a stripped-down take on the character. The Extremis soldiers made for a unique threat because Stark was facing an enemy with a different set of powers.
For better and for worst Iron Man 3 was Black’s film.
16. Avengers: Age of Ultron
If you need one word to describe Avengers: Age of Ultron it would be overstuffed. This was due to conflicting visions between Joss Whedon and Marvel Studios. Marvel wanting to use this film as an opportunity to set-up future instalments. Age of Ultron ended up having to set-up the Infinity Saga – sow the seeds of conflict between Captain America and Iron Man, and even makes the first reference to Wakanda. The film introduced a number of new characters like Scarlett Witch, Quicksilver, and Vision. Age of Ultron was so bloated that it was the Marvel equivalent to a Michael Bay Transformers films.
The cast was still game for the film and it featured loads of cracking action. There was the opening raid on the HYDRA hideout, the first use of the Hulk Buster armour, and of course, the big final battle with Ultron’s robots.
Age of Ultron controversially made Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff into a couple and audiences were upset Black Widow called herself a monster for being made infertile.
Age of Ultron should have worked as a solo story because Tony Stark basically creates the Terminator and The Avengers have to stop it. But it weighted down the franchise requirements. Honest Trailer joked that the film broke Joss Whedon and there is some truth to that statement.
15. Ant-Man and the Wasp
The Ant-Man films tend to smaller (no pun intended) adventures. When heroes like Iron Man and Captain America, are out saving the world from robots or aliens Ant-Man and his pals’ missions were more personal. And this was the cast with Ant-Man’s second outing as he works with Hank Pym and Hope van Dyne to find a way to bring back the original Wasp from the Quantum Realm.
Ant-Man and the Wasp has been lumped in the forgettable or divertive camp of Marvel and this had been an unfair assessment. Ant-Man and the Wasp was a throwaway adventure, but it made for a fun time and offered up some light relief after Avengers: Infinity War’s ending. The Ant-Man movies are some of funniest films the MCU has to offer – how can someone not enjoy a giant ant playing the drums. Ant-man’s powers lean themselves to visual comedy and creative uses in battle like using cars to increase and decrease in size during a chase.
Ant-Man and the Wasp also featured the most underrated villain in the MCU, Ghost. She was a character who people could easily sympathise with because her powers were a curse, she was in constant pain and the main reason she was trying to stop the heroes was simple, she wanted to live.
14. Spider-man: Homecoming
Spider-man: Homecoming was in a similar position to the Ant-Man films and the MCU Netflix shows – offering up a small slice of the big Marvel world. Spider-man: Homecoming was the first solo film in the MCU after Marvel and Sony struck a deal to share the character.
Marvel decided to focus the character on his High School days and their version was the youngest cinematic iteration. The studio was influenced by the films of John Hughes and focused on Peter Parker’s relationships with his friends and potential girlfriend Liz. Like other Spider-man films there was a look at Peter’s personal conflict of being Spider-man and having a regular life.
With Spider-man now being in the MCU, there was the added dynamic that Peter wanting to prove himself to Tony Stark and wanting to become an Avenger.
The most interesting part of the film was its villain, The Vulture. He was the best villain since Loki and he had some of the most understandable reasoning because Tony Stark and the US government screwed him over. This version of The Vulture was basically a blue-collar version of Iron Man, converting alien technology into weaponry and selling it on the black market. It showed how events on the MCU affected people on the ground.
13. Ant-Man
As already stated the Ant-Man films were smaller-scale adventures and this was the case for his first film. Following the big Avengers mission in Age of Ultron, Ant-Man scales things back to be a superhero heist film.
Ant-Man was an origins story and followed the basic template used in Iron Man. The film was most similar to Marvel’s first film during the training montage when Scott Lang was hurting himself when training. Even though Scott had a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering he was properly one of the more relatable, everyman characters in the MCU.
Ant-Man was a joke-filled entry in the MCU – it was able to turn its blatant product placement into a hilarious joke. It was a film that had a mix of solid comedic performers and experienced actors.
Ant-Man was famously being developed by Edgar Wright for years but creative differences forced the English filmmaker to leave the project. But his presence was still felt because the film used his screenplay and some moments like the fight on the toy set probably his idea.
12. Thor
2011 was the year when the MCU moved into full gear. Two films were released to introduce new heroes and tie themselves to the events in The Avengers. Thor was the first film of this double whammy.
Marvel showed ambition when they made Thor. They hired Kenneth Branagh, a man known for mostly making Shakespearean adaptations, to direct, cast well-respected actors like Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, and Stellan Skarsgård, and cast two rising stars as Thor and Loki. And what was delivered was a solid introduction to the character and the world of Asgard.
Like Iron Man, Thor had an arrogant man (or in Thor’s case, a god) who were humbled in some way. Thor was told using the ‘Hero with A Thousand Faces’ template and used an Arthurian style story. One of my favourite emotional moments in the MCU was when Thor prepared to sacrifice himself to protect civilians in a small town. It was a moment when Thor proved himself a hero and worthy of Mjolnir.
Thor’s biggest weakness was its lacklustre action sequences. It was clear that Branagh didn’t have much experience directing action sequences. The best action sequence was when a powerless Thor broke into a SHIELD compound.
The less we can say about Kat Dennings as Darcy the better.
11. Spider-man: Far From Home
The most recent film in the MCU at the time of writing is Spider-man: Far From Home. The second Spider-man entry was the first film to be released after Endgame and the final film of Phase Three.
Spider-man: Far From Home was a bigger film for Peter Parker/Spider-man, seeing the character travel to Europe and being integrated into the wider superhero community by Nick Fury. Whilst the battles were better Spider-man: Far From Home was a personal story for Peter because he doubts if he is worthy to take up Iron Man’s place in The Avengers. And being a teenager, Peter tries to woo a girl. All these issues are used against him in a terrific sequence where Spider-man is trapped in a hologram.
Spider-man: Far From Home had stronger action sequences and this version of the character actually had to use his brain to be the villain, not just his muscles. The film had one of the most surprising mid-credit sequences in the MCU. The only real drawback to Spider-man: Far From Home was the villain wasn’t as interesting as The Vulture.
10. Captain America: The First Avenger
Out of all the series within the MCU Captain America has been the strongest. For Captain America: The First Avenger to be considered the weakest in the trilogy is proof of this because this film is a damn entertaining superhero flick.
Captain America: The First Avenger was Captain America’s origins story, showing how a weedy kid from Brooklyn became the hero for his nation during the Second World War. The strength of the film was it was a deliberately old-fashioned with its looks and approach. The art direction, from the scientific facilities, to the costumes, was retro. One of the most unique sequences was the ‘Star-Spangled Man’ song where Captain America had to tour his nation to sell war bonds. It was a 1940s serial style which isn’t surprising because director Joe Johnston worked as an art director on the Indiana Jones films.
The film has some great supporting characters like Peggy Carter and General Chester Phillips where Tommy Lee Jones does his usual gruff performance. Hugo Weaving’s version of the Red Skull was one of the best villains in the MCU and it is a shame that he didn’t appreciate the role. It was also a shame that Captain America only had one film set during the War.
9. Doctor Strange
Doctor Strange was the second film to be released in 2016 and was Marvel’s most surreal offerings. Doctor Strange is a film that adheres the most to the Marvel Origin Story formula started by Iron Man. Doctor Strange focuses on a brilliant but arrogant man with a goatee who gets humbled after an injury, so have to learn to use new powers and have a new role as a hero.
Doctor Strange was directed by Scott Derrickson, a filmmaker from a horror background and co-writen by former film critic C. Robert Cargill, so it gives me hope that I can make a blockbuster. What they brought to audiences was a visually dazzling film where their imagines were allowed to run wild. One of the highlights of the film was when Strange and Kaecilius battling in Mirror World and the building contort in weird and wonderful ways. It was Inception on steroids.
The ending subverts the typical final battle in superheroes films, especially Marvel ones. Doctor Strange was able to trap the evil Dormammu into a time loop to save the Earth. It was a scene that showed Doctor Strange outsmarting the villain and truly becoming a hero because of his willingness to sacrifice himself for eternity.
Doctor Strange is not without its problems. Mads Mikkelson and Rachel McAdams were wasted in their roles as the villain and love interest. It was a film that was met with controversy because Tilda Swinton was cast as The Ancient One, a character that’s traditionally Tibetan – but this was a case of politics because referring to Tibet would have affected the Chinese release.
Doctor Strange is the most underrated film in the MCU.
8. Guardians of the Galaxy
Out of all the MCU films Guardians of the Galaxy seemed to be the riskiest. It was based on an obscure series that even many comic book fans were unaware of and Marvel had elevated it to blockbuster status. And Marvel’s gamble paid off.
Guardians of the Galaxy was written and directed by James Gunn and he gave us a fun space adventure that sees a group of misfits becoming unlikely heroes. It was a love letter to the 1980s due to its soundtrack and pop culture references. The heart of the film was the characters who had to grow into roles as heroes. The casting was spot on and the special effects were fantastic. Groot quickly became a fan favourite and the film ensured Dave Batista had a movie career.
As well as being a standalone story Guardians of the Galaxy did a lot of setting up for the future Infinity War storyline. The biggest being Nebula’s hatred for her father and explaining what the Infinity Stones were.
The only real issue was Guardians of the Galaxy was the lacklustre villain that plagues many of Marvel’s films. But it was more forgivable for Guardians of the Galaxy had to introduce five new heroes and setting up their dynamic.
7. Avengers: Infinity War
Out of all the Marvel Cinematic Universe Avengers: Infinity War is easily the biggest. It was the film that the events in the MCU had been leading up to – the film when Thanos finally makes his move and gets all the Infinity Stone. Because of this Avengers: Infinity War brought in nearly major hero in the MCU and had them in three major groups. Captain America leads the Earth-based team and battled Thanos’ forces in Wakanda; Iron Man, Doctor Strange, and Spider-man went out into space and set out to face Thanos; and Thor and the Guardians of the Galaxy meet up with Thor and seek to make a weapon that could defeat Thanos.
Infinity War was wall-to-wall action – it started with The Hulk getting his ass handed to him by Thanos and three major character fight some of Thanos’ lieutenants in New York City and the film ends with a big battle between two sci-fi armies. The Russo Brothers did a great job at balancing out the three storylines and ensure a lot of the characters had a chance to shine. But the film was really an extended action scene – great for popcorn entertainment and fan-pleasing moments with little downtime. Yet the Russos were still able to have some character moments amidst the CGI chaos.
6.Thor: Ragnarok
After the fairly serious tone of the first Thor films, Marvel performed a soft reboot for the third film. Marvel hired indie filmmaker Taika Waititi to direct and he basically launched an Oceanian takeover of the Thor series. He moved filming to Australia and hired a number of Australian and New Zealander actors to join the cast.
Thor: Ragnarok turned away from fantasy and made the Thor series more like Guardians of the Galaxy. Waititi brought in neon colours, a techno soundtrack and basically turned the series into Flash Gordon. Thor was really out of his comfort zone in this film.
Waititi was able to put his stamp on the MCU. “Ragnarok” is one of the darkest storylines in the Thor comics and Waititi turned it into a light action-comedy. Ragnarok was a film that had the heroes hijack a spaceship used for orgies that shoot fireworks. Ragnarok is the closest film we are going to get a “Planet Hulk” movie since the Thor film used elements from that storyline.
Ragnarok added Tessa Thompson as the hard-living, hard-drinking Valkyrie and she was both a hilarious and badass presence in the film. It also turned Loki into an anti-hero and the film was able to show the evolving relationship between Thor and Loki – mainly that Thor knows not to trust his brother.
5. Avengers: Endgame
After 21 films over the course of 11 years the events of the first three phases culminated with Avengers: Endgame. This film picks up five years after the events of Infinity War and sees the Avengers travel back in time to try and reverse The Snap, even if the odds were against them.
Endgame was a much more sombre offering to the previous film which was so bombastic. This was needed because half the universe in an instant and it was refreshing to see the MCU go in a darker direction – even if it was only a brief moment. Endgame made a change from other two-part films (e.g. Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows and Hunger Games: Mockingjay) where the second was just an extended battle. Endgame was as Ant-Man described it, a time heist.
There was still plenty of action in the film and the final battle offered up loads of fangasm moments. Some were utterly jaw-dropping and could please everyone’s inner 10-year-old. Endgame was a perfect closer for this chapter in the MCU.
4. Captain America: Civil War
Captain America: Civil War was basically Avengers 2.5, a big crossover event of a film. Civil War was loosely based on the Mark Millar crossover from the mid-noughties. As the title suggests Civil War centres around a rift between Earth’s heroes with them falling into two camps. Iron Man leads a team who support the idea of governmental oversight over superhero activity, whilst Captain America and his followers believe they need to be free from interference to operate properly. Both sides made valid arguments, showing it was not a cut and dry issue.
Ideological reasons were not the only motivator, personal relationships and celebrated statuses also played a part in why characters joined the different factions. It made for a more nuanced film than the other superhero punch up of 2016, Batman vs. Superman.
Civil War does deliver on the big action sequences. The highlight was the big airport brawl where some of Earth’s mightiest heroes beat the living hell out of each other – it was a sequence that saw the first outing of Marvel Studios’ version of Spider-man and had Ant-Man turn into a giant. Whilst this sequence provides the spectacle, the final fight between Captain America, Bucky, and Iron Man had a more personal edge, making it even more instance and the breakdown in their friendship greater.
3. Iron Man
Iron Man was the film that started the MCU and it was a hell of a start. When it was first made it seemed like a big risk because the character wasn’t as well-known as other Marvel properties (i.e. Spider-man and the X-Men), it was directed by Jon Favreau who was at time best known for making a family Christmas film, and had a cast list that read like it should have been an indie film, not a superhero blockbuster. What Marvel was provided was a great origins story and one of their finest films.
Iron Man updated the origins story which saw Tony Stark captured and injured when touring around Afghanistan. He uses his engineering and scientific knowledge to create an armoured suit to escape. After seeing that his weapons have ended up in the wrong hands the billionaire decides to redeem himself and become a superhero.
Iron Man was the final act of Robert Downey Jr.’s career rehabilitation. He rebuild his career starring in indie films like Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, and Iron Man turned him into an A-Lister. Downey perfectly played the arrogant industrialist who learns the error of his ways and discovers his conscience. And Downey keeps Stark’s sharp wit even when he joins the side of good.
Iron Man was also an impressive looking film with effects that still hold up. The escape from the Afghan cave was a clucking brawl that showcases practical effects whilst the battle against the terrorists had a good mix of practical effects and CGI.
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Captain America: The Winter Soldier was the first MCU film to be directed by the Russo Brothers and arguably their best. It was a risk for Marvel because the Russos were known for their work on TV and the decision had a huge payoff.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier was basically a spy thriller like the Bond and Bourne franchises. Spectre even had a lot of plot similarities to The Winter Soldier although the Marvel entry was a much better film. It was a more mature take on the MCU, seeing Steve Rogers work as an agent for S.H.I.E.L.D. and has to go on the run when he’s falsely accused. It had one of the best twists in the MCU when it’s revealed that Hydra had taken over S.H.I.E.L.D. Plus Steve had a more personal mission to save his brainwashed friend who became an assassin for Hydra.
The film had an intelligent, twisty story and had a healthy amount of action to boot. Some of the hand-to-hand fight scenes were too reliant on quick cuts and shaky cam for my liking but it didn’t stop my enjoyment of the film.
1. The Avengers
Topping this list is the first Avengers film. The Avengers (or Avengers: Assembled in some territories) was an ambitious project because it united so many characters into one film. Whilst in hindsight it seemed like a sure-fire hit, The Avengers was actually considered a big risk by the entertainment press before its release. Because of its critical and financial success, other studios have tried to make their own cinematic universes – many of them failed.
The Avengers was a loose retelling of the first comic book story featuring the characters. The film saw Loki come down to Earth with plans to take over the planet and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes have to unite to stop him. It’s a basic alien invasion story but it was a simple story told really well. And this was a part of its charm. It’s a standalone story of good vs. evil.
The Avengers saw Joss Whedon being brought in to write and direct and the success of The Avengers propelled him as King of the Nerds, even if it only for a brief period. He brings his signature style of humour and dialogue to the MCU and made The Avengers a bright superhero that was filled with action. The battles for the Helicarrier and New York are some of the best action sequences in the MCU.
Even though the MCU and Whedon have reputations for making light-hearted fare The Avengers still managed to have some darker moments like the death of Coulson and Bruce Banner relieving his suicide attempt.
