Old thread was archived due to the year+ without any MCU content, so here's a new one. With WandaVision wrapped up, this is now just a ranking of all the primary MCU projects in general. Plus my list changed drastically as I've re-watched certain movies over the past year and wanted to update it.
37. The Incredible Hulk (Phase I) - My Rating: 6.5/10
36. Iron Man 3 (Phase II) - My Rating: 7/10
35. Thor: The Dark World (Phase II) - My Rating: 7/10
34. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (Phase V) - My Rating: 7/10
33. Hawkeye (Phase IV) - My Rating: 7/10
32. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (Phase IV) - My Rating: 7/10
31. Black Widow (Phase IV) - My Rating: 7/10
30. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (Phase IV) - 7.5/10
29. Moon Knight (Phase IV) - My Rating: 7.5/10
28. Ant-Man and The Wasp (Phase III) - My Rating: 7.5/10
27. Doctor Strange (Phase III) - My Rating: 7.5/10
26. Captain Marvel (Phase III) - My Rating: 7.5/10
25. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (Phase IV) - My Rating: 7.5/10
24. The Avengers: Age of Ultron (Phase II) - My Rating: 7.5/10
23. Thor: Love and Thunder (Phase IV) - My Rating: 7.5/10
22. Captain America: Civil War (Phase III) - My Rating: 8/10
21. Black Panther (Phase III) - My Rating: 8/10
20. Captain America: The First Avenger (Phase I) - My Rating: 8/10
19. Loki (Phase IV) - My Rating: 8/10
18. Thor (Phase I) - My Rating: 8/10
17. Ms. Marvel (Phase IV) - My Rating: 8/10
16. Ant-Man (Phase II) - My Rating: 8/10
15. The Avengers (Phase I) - My Rating: 8/10
14. Guardians of the Galaxy (Phase II) - My Rating: 8.5/10
13. Spider-man: No Way Home (Phase IV) - My Rating: 8.5/10
12. Spider-man: Homecoming (Phase III) - My Rating: 8.5/10
11. Spider-man: Far From Home (Phase III) - My Rating: 8.5/10
10. Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (Phase IV) - My Rating: 8.5/10
9. Avengers: Endgame (Phase III) - My Rating: 8.5/10
8. WandaVision (Phase IV) - My Rating: 8.5/10
7. Avengers: Infinity War (Phase III) - My Rating: 9/10
6. Iron Man (Phase I) - My Rating: 9/10
5. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Phase IV) - 9/10
4. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Phase V) - My Rating: 9.5/10
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Phase II) - My Rating: 9.5/10
2. Thor: Ragnarok (Phase III) - My Rating: 9.5/10
1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (Phase III) - My Rating: 9.5/10
Original Rankings Post with Short Reviews:
35. The Eternals (Phase IV) - My Rating: 5/10 Review: Mega disjointed story, fudging TERRIBLE CG, and a final act that reminds me of the worst Fox X-Men movies. There were some awesome concepts here, some pretty cool characters, and great actors.... but I can't even find the right words to really break this one down. It was just bad.
34. Iron Man 2 (Phase I) - My Rating: 5.5/10 Review: No longer "easily" the weakest movie of the MCU, but certainly one that I don't really like enough to ever feel like re-watching. Mickey Rourke's villain was waaay under-developed and, whie I love the actor, Sam Rockwell's villain was the poor man's Obidiah Stane. Also, I love Don Cheadle as War Machine, but you can't help but kind of feel like Terrence Howard would have played the role more naturally in this one. Black Widow was wasted here too, came off as a real flat "henchman" type character. The only real redeeming qualities were Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man once again. I did enjoy how they touched on Stark's alcoholic past from the comics in an updated way. That brief moment at the end where Iron Man and War Machine team up against the robots was neat too, even while still being the least memorable "showdown" of the entire MCU.
33. The Incredible Hulk (Phase I) - My Rating: 7/10 Review: I seem to enjoy this one a lot more than the casual viewers but I can totally get where people are coming from. Edward Norton just didn't fit as Bruce Banner for me too much, definitely not the way Mark Ruffalo does now. He did well with the part, but it really just seemed like Edward Norton playing Edward Norton. Liv Tyler is a little "meh" in just about everything, too. The villains made this movie for me though, with Tim Roth's super-soldier-turned-Abomination standing out big time, along with General Ross for most of the movie. I loved that chase scene in Brazil, as well as the big showdown between the Hulk and the soldiers in the field. However, the CGI for both the Hulk and the Abomination teetered on the not-impressive side in my opinion, and it really showed during the climactic end battle. I thought it was kind of cool, but the movie had potential to have more than just a "loud, bang up" fight ending that was more-or-less just a rehash of Iron Man's climax. I did like that "Hulk smash" part though.
32. Iron Man 3 (Phase II) - My Rating: 7/10 Review: This was originally a 6/10 and the second-to-last movie on my list. When I initially ranked it, I had only seen it once in the theaters. The "Trevor Slattery" twist left an awful taste in my mouth and that hampered my initial opinion. Watching it for the second time definitely softened my opinion. That "fake Mandarin" twist is still fudging awful, as is the "Batman Forever Jim Carrey/Riddler" arc of the primary villain (which was also revisited with Electro in Amazing Spider-man 2), but otherwise there is a good movie surrounding those. A much more mature tone with MANY jokes that aren't suitable for kids, lots of language that doesn't exist in the MCU other than this movie (calls a kid a pussy for crying out loud), and a real "James Bond" plot that sees Tony need to become the MCU equivalent to a 007 during a stretch where he doesn't have an Iron Man suit. The ending was also badass, with the multi-suit extravaganza - even if Age of Ultron nullified that bit entirely. Not as bad as I originally pegged it but still lower-tier for sure.
31. Thor: The Dark World (Phase II) - My Rating: 7/10 Review: I love Thor, the character, and have since I was a young kid getting the "Journey Into Mystery" Marvel Masterworks hardcover from my dad. It may be that bias that causes me to enjoy the Thor movies over some more popular MCU movies, but oh well. I dug this one, with my only real complaint mirroring that of many - that the villain Maliketh, much like the Red Skull, seemed to be evil just for the sake of being evil. There was some backstory about how Odin wronged the Dark Elves, but it's really just skimmed over and no reasons are really given. Otherwise, I thought the cast did a fine job. People like to bicker about "too much Natalie Portman" in these movies, or too much time spent on Earth in general, but they seem to forget that both these aspects were huge to the early (most memorable) Thor comic books. Thor's essence was more-or-less trapped in a human doctor named Don, who had to tap his walking stick to turn into Thor, and he clamored over Jane Foster in just about every issue. So seeing Thor interact with Jane and her friends is fine in my opinion, it's something that the character has been doing since his creation. I loved the ending too, the glimpses into all the other realms was great and the final showdown was awesome. But when it comes to stark colored lulls in some of these superhero movies, unfortunately my man Thor falls real guilty at times here. Some scenes are actually kind of boring. And that faux-hand chopping scene seemed extremely rushed, as if they forgot to cram a bunch of character moments between Thor and Loki into the movie and had to do it all in one go. Still have a soft spot for this one, though - all the otherworldly tech and vehicles rule.
30. Hawkeye (Phase IV) - My Rating: 7/10 Review: This was good and, considering I find Hawkeye to be super uninteresting, probably better than I expected. I dug Kate Bishop, I dug Hawkeye way more than I ever have, I dug the pizza dog. Yelena was cool as always, even if some of the comedy schtick got a bit tired. Echo was just badass enough to make me interested in her Disney+ show. I love this show for bringing Kingpin into the MCU, and then I hate it for sort of cartooning him up too hard. He was great in Daredevil, and the performance is still there, but his immunity to pain was such a strange touch. He was always strong and could take a beating, but he wasn't inhuman the way he was presented here. Assuming they didn't kill him off when they insinuated it, but if they did that'll be even worse. That out of the way, I also wasn't huge into the LARPing folks and thought it was a little silly that they played any role at the end. Otherwise, Jack was cool (even when he was teased as a villain), and Vera Farmiga ruled as always (even if her reveal was very predictable). And I don't know if this helps this show's argument, but major bonus points for leaning into the holiday season, will always dig that.
29. Black Widow (Phase IV) - My Rating: 8/10 Review: This movie ruled and if it really was ScarJo's last outing as Black Widow, it MORE than lived up to that character. That whole last half hour was incredible. It was a more "grounded" story relative to the recent Avengers movies but it was the perfect cool down after Endgame and had far more spectacle than I'd expect out of a spy movie. I thought all the performances knocked it out of the park, especially the 4 leads. I really enjoyed the Taskmaster/Dreykov villain combo, even if the motivation was a little to "Bond" for its own good. Still, it made sense to the way the Red Room and the Black Widows had been built up in the MCU previously, this movie just took it a step farther as was the natural progression. My main complaint is that Black Widow survives a few too many life-ending occurrences without any issue. She survives falling several stories, bashing herself off various things on the way down, and still manages to land on her feet. That's a little silly, but far from the silliest thing we've seen out of the MCU so I didn't rub up against it too hard. All in all, a really great movie that just barely stays out of the top tier.
28. The Falcon and The Winter Soldier (Phase IV) - 7.5/10 Review: This was solid and well-acted across the board with some truly memorable characters and moments. I really appreciated the social commentary being made with the show, and the elements they borrowed from the source material really fit with the themes and tone. However, it doesn't rank higher because it focuses on an A-plot that is stretched too long and too thin in the Flag Smashers, and develops an extremely riveting B-plot centered around John Walker that has a bitter-sweet payoff that ultimately disappointed me. While I enjoyed the acting, some of the characters sort of took a backseat to others - namely Bucky, who could have had a bit more to do here. Returns like Zemo and Sharon Carter were welcome, and while both characters left an impression I can't help but feel they were slightly under-utilized in the big picture. Zemo's mask definitely was, at least. But I really dug Sam becoming Cap, John Walker pre-finale, and anything involving Isaiah Bradley, so there was definitely enough good to outshine the bad.
27. Moon Knight (Phase IV) - My Rating: 7.5/10 Review: Oscar Isaac puts on a masterclass in acting in each episode of this show, especially episode 5. It can't be overstated how great he did with the material, or the technical wonders the MCU had to have implemented to make his performance(s) come off so flawless. May Calamawy is also great as Layla, especially in the finale. Ethan Hawke was serviceable but the character itself was sort of one note and boring, I honestly enjoyed the trippy "psychologist vision" version of him more. The story was pretty straight forward action/adventure romp for the first 3 episodes, and then the last 3 added a much needed layer to the overall psychological side of it. I dug that it was self-contained with no larger connections to the MCU, and the post credits scene was pretty great. I loved the emphasis on mental health and the idea of learning to cope and work with the way one's brain works. All that said, for only being 6 episodes, the grand majority of the story just didn't click for me. If it weren't for Isaac's performance, it would have been a lot duller. The CGI was fudging awful in spots, but ended up getting better. The designs for the gods varied in quality, but they were still decently fun. For as "fresh" a take on a Marvel property as this was, the last episode is the epitome of the "big CG superhero third act" that the MCU gets valid criticism for often. Not only that, but that finale episode really felt disjointed and weirdly edited, with plot conveniences left and right. Overall, it was good enough and I am still looking forward to seeing where the character goes next (again, thanks to the post credits scene), but I'd be lying if I said it didn't leave a bit to be desired.
26. Ant-Man and The Wasp (Phase III) - My Rating: 7.5/10 Review: This was a fun follow up to the first movie but I honestly thought it paled in comparison. Some of the humor came off a lot more forced this time around, and none of the shrinking sequences were as fun as the first movie, save for maybe the car chase bit. I thought the villain was badass though - far more interesting than Yellow Jacket, and the connection between Hank and Goliath was a nice little comic nod that goes along way in the plot. And that post-credits scene was real memorable. Overall though it just kinda came off as the "obligatory sequel" where everything just tried to be bigger (literally in some aspects) but ended up coming off more-or-less the same.
25. The Avengers: Age of Ultron (Phase II) - My Rating: 7.5/10 Review: Honestly felt a little bored the first time I watched this, but after a re-watch I realized I enjoyed it more than I thought. For a while, this would have been even lower on my list. I just feel like it was a little too long, a little too bland-looking (color pallet-wise) and a little too confusing. A lot of things had to be left to figure out or speculate on when that shouldn't have happened. I didn't like Kick Ass guy's take on Quicksilver, though Scarlett Witch ruled. I'd rather Ultron's look be closer to comics-Ultron, as opposed to just his little robot minions - but James Spader killed it in the voice acting department. I thought the ending was a little too close to The Avengers climax (big action set piece throughout a crowded city), and if it weren't for the floating city aspect it would have played exactly the same too. The Vision is one of my all-time favorites, so it was cool to see him show up, even if his debut scene was definitely a little lacking. They could have explained Thor's Jacuzzi scene a lot more, too. I also felt like Ultron's demise came on WAY too easily and quick, and some of the little comedy parts (little-Ultrons being scared of Hulk, for example) were rough. Overall though, this is a fun enough movie if a little disappointing.
24. Doctor Strange (Phase III) - My Rating: 7.5/10 Review: This was a great movie really heightened by the main character and Cumberbatch. Guy nailed his stuff and brought a real weight to a the character who, while just as snarky, is a little more dark than Tony Stark. This movie as a whole was a little darker than the more colorful movies in the MCU while still achieving the colorful atmosphere that you'd expect when it comes to a Doctor Strange story. At the same time, the comedic front put up by Strange was a highlight of the film, his character seemed very real. There were a few iffy moments but for the most part this was wall-to-wall action - which was by far the most interesting part of the film. The trippy action sequences were a treat - including the climactic meeting with the evil force Dormammu. This film also featured a real, multi-layered primary villain whose motivation held water. No character in this movie was free of faults which leaves plenty of room for great character development. While I still prefer some earlier MCU entries, this movie stood out as a memorable adventure on its own merit.
23. Captain Marvel (Phase III) - My Rating: 7.5/10 Review: Pretty damn good. After a choppy first act it really picked up and I enjoyed it a lot. Normal try-hard Marvel humor at points but I appreciated that the origin bits were handled in an interesting, surprisingly artistic way instead of just a by-the-numbers origin story. It had actual character depth, weighty moments and all the action you’d expect. About as good as you can hope for when it comes to a superhero movie that leans more “sci-fi” than usual. I dig the world it set up and am looking forward to the inevitable sequel.
22. Captain America: Civil War (Phase III) - My Rating: 8/10 Review: This movie was arguably saved by the second act and the emergence of the promising Spider-man character. Everything surrounding it felt a little rushed and, honestly, forgettable. A main string-pulling villain whose motivation and plan were really kind of weak and in turn made our two main Avengers, Iron Man and Captain America, look pretty stupid to get duped so hard. His initial issue with the heroes wasn't paid off well and couldn't deliver after the "main event" of the movie that featured the debut of Ant-Man's "Giant-Man" alter-ego fighting against Spider-man in the middle of a huge airport. This movie was the exact opposite of how I felt toward Age of Ultron - I thought I liked this movie more than I did until I re-watched it with my father a few weeks later and realized that I was actually kind of bored waiting for the Team Cap vs. Team Iron Man showdown. Once it came and went I almost didn't care enough to watch more but the finale fist fight is worth waiting for. I was definitely still more entertained by this than those ranked lower, obviously, and I really enjoyed the chemistry between RDJ and Chris Evans when they're playing off each other in more antagonistic roles. Their work really elevated this movie past the previous films on this list as they brought a real emotion to both their characters that added new layers even after years of playing them despite the wonky reasoning behind their conflict. And like I alluded to earlier, that climactic Winter Soldier/Captain America vs. Iron Man fist fight was both incredibly emotional and well-pulled off in terms of low-key action sequences. #TeamCap
21. Black Panther (Phase III) - My Rating: 8/10 Review: Great movie, all around. The casting was perfect for each role, the effects were as good as you'd expect, and the plot was fantastic. It was a little too long and there were some questionable elements (armored rhinos were the worst) but for the most part it was an extremely fun adventure romp. While I'm not black, I can appreciate this movie on a different level for the cultural significance at has apparently held among the black community, so that alone gives it a boost. While Black Panther is a great character on his own, it's really the villains Killmonger and Klaue that standout in this movie for me. While the ending was beautiful, I do wish it panned out a little differently to leave a Killmonger return open - but the way he ended made perfect sense for the character, and it was an awesome send-off after the movie built him up as not only a threat, but an extremely sympathetic threat. Good stuff for sure.
20. Captain America: The First Avenger (Phase I) - My Rating: 8/10 Review: This movie has grown on me big time, I used to think it came off way too much like an Avengers prequel - a film just to shoehorn Captain America into the fold before the movie everyone actually wanted to see. Which was sort of the case, but I shouldn't have let that sully my movie-going experience. When I learned to look at this one as a more adventure movie in the lieu of Indiana Jones as opposed to a superhero film, I began appreciating it a lot more. It's a straight forward story and it sets up a lot of the best parts of the current MCU. Though he gets some slack, I very much enjoyed the Red Skull in this one - even though he just seems to be evil for evil's sake. Regardless, I enjoy the subtle approach at Captain America's origin to the point that they even kept his costume extremely basic, saving the more popular looking outfit for The Avengers. This is a really fun movie.
19. Loki (Phase IV) - 8/10 Review: To be honest I didn't love the start of this series. It took until the 3rd-4th episode, when things started getting really wild, to hook me. I feel the earlier episodes were packed with way too much exposition solely to pad the run time whereas were Loki to be a film, it would have taken 20 minutes to cover the same information. But the series definitely picked up with the inclusion of Richard E Grant and the opportunity to explore more Loki variants, and the finale was a masterclass in not just storytelling but also in transitioning an entire decade-old franchise into forward motion. At the time of this writing I haven’t seen Kang in the MCU yet, but Jonathan Majors rules and his portrayal of He Who Remains was fantastic.
18. Thor (Phase I) - My Rating: 8/10 Review: Pretty much everything positive I had to say about The Dark World applies here x10, except with this one the villain was outstanding and easily the most memorable of the whole MCU. Seeing the almost-Shakespearean rivalry between Thor & Loki play out within not only a family conflict, but a war between Asgard & the Frost Giants was definitely something to behold. I liked the Earth scenes more in this one than in the Dark World, too, and the showdown with the Destroyer was so badass (even if not entirely true to the comic book character its based off of). The battle on the rainbow bridge at the end was really fun stuff. But what really stood out to me as making this movie was the setting. It looked great - a perfect mixture of fantasy and science fiction (which Asgard was supposed to be, essentially). This was kind of lost in The Dark World, where the new director took Asgard's look in a more typical fantasy style (that is, until those Dark Elf tie-fighters showed up). Couple the setting with Loki and a great hero/villain rivalry, and this is a classic in my opinion. That's not a sentiment many agree with, but I thought Thor was just great.
17. Ms. Marvel (Phase IV) - My Rating: 8/10 Review: This was a nice, grounded superhero origin with a direction style that seemed so fresh for the MCU. There were a few dud beats but overall I really dug the show and loved where it ended up. Iman Vellani is RDJ/Iron Man-level casting and she personifies Kamala Khan so perfectly. The insight to the Muslim culture was appreciated to, as it wasn't heavy-handed or a normal negative stereotype. Overall I appreciated the show for being a breezy watch each week. Something I could throw on and feel comforted by, knowing I'd be getting a Marvel story without huge stakes. It was real fun while it lasted, and I'm just hoping Kamala Khan can eventually return to this street-level vigilante role after what is sure to be a cosmic adventure in The Marvels.
16. Ant-Man (Phase II) - My Rating: 8/10 Review: If there's one thing I disliked here, it was how un-Paul Rudd Paul Rudd seemed. He was still funny, and in scenes seemed to come off the way we'd expect, but I was hoping for a much more comedic character. Regardless, the dude played one hell of a quasi-serious hero role. The supporting cast was awesome too, Evangeline Lily killed it as Hope - can't wait to see her as The Wasp. You could tell Corey Stoll was having a great time playing Yellow Jacket, and Michael Douglas actually seemed like he was having a good time too. And the physics-defying end battle was one of the best from the MCU, making such small set pieces seem so grand. This is what a superhero movie is all about, even if I feel this type of origin story was done a bit better in Iron Man.
15. The Avengers (Phase I) - My Rating: 8/10 Review: I've seen this one so many times that it's actually started to wear a bit thin on me. For a long time Avengers would have been my number one, but with each re-watch, the plot holes stick out a bit more and the clumsy dialogue shines through big time. Other than that though, this is a near-perfect team up movie and the best product of a shared universe that the cinematic world has ever seen. You need to appreciate this movie just for what it is, a culmination of years of planning to bring these classic characters together in one movie. Bringing back Loki in his classic Avengers-villain role was a nice touch, and the Thanos hinting got any comic fan giddy when they first saw it. That shot of them all assembled in New York is a classic Hollywood moment now.
14. Guardians of the Galaxy (Phase II) - My Rating: 8.5/10 Review: I really, really liked this movie. Taking the MCU on a sci-fi path was not what I saw coming until this was announced, but after seeing it, I was glad it happened. Some of it is a little clumsy and doesn't quite fit, but for the most part, it does. It's super entertaining action and characters with some of the coolest locations the MCU has given us. Knowhere in a giant Celestial's severed head is such a cool visual. The prison scene, the final battle, the dance-off... so many memorable things in this one. This is also the best ensemble cast the MCU has had yet, with the Guardians having even more on-screen chemistry than the Avengers in my opinion. Chris Pratt beefed up big time for the role and it worked out well, he did great in it. Some of the jokes were a little corny, but overall Star Lord is a top hero now thanks to this movie. All the subtle hints at his parentage left plenty of place for speculation, and one sign of a good movie is when it leaves you wanting more. GotG definitely did that.
13. Spider-man: No Way Home (Phase IV) - My Rating: 8.5/10 Review: I'll admit this movie was a bit disjointed. There were a lot of storytelling shortcuts and "shrug off" moments (Ned's magic, Strange's attitude), but the pure nostalgic magic that the second half of this movie presents is enough to look past that stuff. Other than Tom Holland, who was legitimately great in this movie, Andrew Garfield stole the show. As someone not huge into the Amazing Spider-man movies, this really made me miss Garfield's take on it. Tobey Maguire was great too, and came off a lot more "real" than the original trilogy (which I obviously love). Willem Dafoe was another absolute highlight, that dude is horrifying. Jamie Foxx was as Jamie Foxx as ever, and while I dug this version of Electro, I don't really see much connective tissue to the character he's supposed to be reprising from ASM2. Sandman and Lizard were both pretty secondary, and neither had incredible CGI which made them a little less interested them. By the end battle, this is easily my favorite MCU Spider-man movie even though I know that's totally because it brought back the nostalgia within a story that's a little uneven.
12. Spider-man: Homecoming (Phase III) - My Rating: 8.5/10 Review: Tom Holland was the best Peter Parker hands down, and really made me realize how old Tobey Maguire seems playing a graduating high school student in Spider-man 1. This dude had the quips and the confidence down and oozed the comic book character. It's wild for me to think we had the stuttering Andrew Garfeild approach just a few years ago, and already Holland shows up and just exudes this different, refreshing air for Peter Parker. Less angsty, more embracing of his heroic fate - just like the best incarnations of the character from the comics. The suit and all the various powers, adapted from numerous eras of the comic, were badass. I really enjoyed seeing Happy Hogan return, and the way they integrated the different aspects of past MCU movies was at its peak here. The characters were memorable. Ned was the fun relief sidekick. Flash Thompson was a whole new take on the character and I dug it. Incorporating both versions of Shocker from various Spider-man stories was neat, let alone having the Shocker at all. Michael Keaton stole the show with his memorable and unpredictable villain. This was a solid Spider-man movie that ranks there with the best of the genre. Deserving of the praise and the Spider-man legacy.
11. Spider-man: Far From Home (Phase III) - My Rating: 8.5/10 Review: Homecoming was always just about on par with Spider-man 2 but this one stole the show. Save for Thor: Ragnarok, this is a comedic peak for the MCU too and, while it definitely had some staples of MCU storytelling, the cast and location really did well with presenting it differently. I was wondering how a Spider-man movie that takes place outside of NYC would play for me, personally, but it ended up being an extremely welcomed breath of fresh air. Holland continues to be the best theatrical Peter Parker. Mysterio did suffer from the same pitfalls as a lot of MCU villains - under-developed due to only appearing in one movie, with his entire true backstory coming during one real info-dumpy speech over the course of only one scene. But Gyllenhaal put in a great performance as the character. He made you believe that Mysterio could be an alright guy despite us all obviously knowing otherwise, and he really ramped up his intensity during the climax. His line "FIRE ALL THE DRONES" was about as loud and intense as I can remember Gyllenhaal. I dug the others in the cast too, all the characters given screen time did well. The MCU callbacks to movies like Iron Man and Captain Marvel were great, and the fudging cameo in the post-credits scene RULED. I audibly popped a "aw yes!" when it happened - and then the bombshell that was dropped on Spider-man himself was a great way to leave us on a cliffhanger while the MCU takes a few months off from releasing movies. Really fun stuff.
10. Thor: Love and Thunder (Phase IV) - My Rating: 8.5/10 Review: I really loved this one. When I learned to accept that this movie was a tried-and-true romcom wrapped up in a big, swashbuckling marvel adventure, the vision of the film REALLY became clear. When I realized they were telling a romance story, I was able to accept the somewhat giddy comedy of big lunk Thor as it was juxtaposed with the very grounded drama of a dying Jane Foster, who was trying to hide her ailment behind a big lunk Thor personality of her own. The Thor/Jane stuff was the true emotional core that, weirdly, I don't hear anybody talk about when this movie comes up. Anyone claiming this was nothing but comedy had to have missed the entire third act, which was mostly very depressing. Even if it was, at times, hopefully depressing. I don't know if that makes sense. I just feel like some folks were expecting Ragnarok 2 - another HEAVY METAL fantasy viking slaughter fest but ended up getting a much more heartfelt story than they were hoping for. That's perfectly valid, but it was just great for what we got. Gorr was awesome, Valkyrie rules, Korg added a lot. Loved the goats. Some of the "dad Thor" stuff at the end, specifically the final battle where an army of children help him out, was a bit heavy-handed, but I can shrug that off due to it tying into the theme of true love left unrealized, considering he could now never have a child with his true love. Plus I enjoy the "Love and Thunder" twist at the end and now desperately want to see a "Lone Wolf and Cub" style Thor story sometime in the future.
9. Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness (Phase IV) - My Rating: 8.5/10 Review: I can only see this movie moving up my list upon re-watches. I had an immensely fun time watching this, with several "fist-pumping in theater" moments. If it weren't for the extended time with the movies higher on this list, I imagine this one would be pretty top-tier. Sam Raimi is turned up to 11 with his direction and, as a Raimi fan, I loved to see it. All performances were top notch but Elizabeth Olsen puts in a heroic performance as the Scarlet Witch (which is ironic considering she's full-blown villain here). I can understand the few polarizing opinions on her being the main baddie, but even though WandaVision ended on a generally positive note, everything we learn in that series sets up this role for Wanda to a tee. When she's stalking the heroes toward the end of the film, it's truly a thing of nightmares and I loved it. Doctor Strange was handled well here too, much better than in No Way Home, and seeing the different variants was awesome. "Defender" Strange as an undead proxy for MCU Strange was so badass, especially with that cloak of demons he used to get to Wundagore. America Chavez was really well utilized and it was nice seeing some LGBTQ+ representation in the MCU without it being a pandering element. And before this gets too long, I loved seeing the Illuminati. Krasinski as Mr. Fantastic was great and here's hoping he's back in a full fledged Fantastic Four movie eventually. Captain Carter ruled (and is a fudgein babe ps). It was nice to see Xavier back with the classic Animated Series hover chair (and music), and having an alternate Captain Marvel was great. By far my favorite of the Illuminati, though, was Black Bolt. I'm a huge fan of the Inhumans comics and was happy for the actor from that awful TV show get a comic-accurate whack at him on the big screen. All their deaths were grizzly as hell and absolutely not what one has come to expect from the MCU, with, again, Black Bolt's standing out most brutal to me. All in all, a great movie that's designed for repeat viewings. I loved it.
8. Avengers: Endgame (Phase III) - My Rating: 8.5/10 Review: A very satisfying cap-off to the first 10/11 years of the MCU. All the throwbacks were great fun to see, and the return of the beloved "dusted" was fun. Even though this one is 5 on my list, there's a strong argument for the Cap/hammer moment being my absolute favorite moment of any MCU film. Tony's death was perfectly done - a callback to the end of Iron Man, but then the tragedy of him not uttering a single word during his final moments. Cap's story played out how I expected it more-or-less, and I thought it was a great send-off for him. It makes sense that he'd get the final scene when you think about how the Russo brothers had written all the Captain America movies since The First Avenger - this was them putting a definitive finale on the character (even if he does somehow show up again). Thanos was still a great threat, and I loved how they played around with different versions of him. I'd really need to write a novel to sum up my complete thoughts about this movie, so I'll just leave it at that. It was a great time to spend in a theater.
7. WandaVision (Phase IV) - My Rating: 8.5/10 Review: I love Wanda and Vision is one of my favorite characters from the comics, so it was great to get to see these characters get some extended time to shine after being somewhat side-lined in the main movies. Seeing White Vision was honestly something I never expected, and I thought the philosophical conversation that ended his "arc" in this series was done perfectly. I also loved Agatha and she's easily one of the stronger MCU villains. Wiccan and Speed were a cool addition, even if things didn't pan out too well for them - though I do imagine these versions will appear later on down the line. Jimmy Woo, Darcy, and to a lesser extent, Hayward were welcome additions to the show. I loved the theorizing that was made possible by the week-to-week structure, even if just about every single one was debunked in service of a much more straight-forward story (which is fine by me for the most part). I loved how it wrapped up, with Wanda realizing her true abilities and finally becoming the triumphant Scarlet Witch. This could have been a 9.5 for me if it weren't for the Quicksilver/Pietro/Fietro/Ralph story. While Evan Peters' surprise appearance was one of the highlights of the show, and while it was neat to see him in the classic Halloween costume, how they handled his explanation for being there was lackluster. Theories/multiverse aside, he only had 2 scenes in the finale and they weren't very impactful by any means. If pulled off better, I could forgive them a bit easier for blatantly using fan expectations for "water cooler talk" only to completely side step it, but the reveal that he was Ralph was disappointing and dinged the score a bit. Still a great series with a great story that I could see moving up this ranking list as time goes (it's #6 at the time of this writing).
6. Avengers: Infinity War (Phase III) - My Rating: 9/10 Review: The best Avengers movie for sure. It's a little too long (but I stress it didn't feel it), the tone shifts a bit (but it was pulled off nearly flawlessly), and it at one point it was jarring going from space-to-Earth (ONE time). Otherwise, this movie was nearly perfect. I enjoy Rangarok and Winter Soldier a bit more after only one viewing, because those movies fit incredible storytelling and fun stories into the average run time of these sorts of movies, but this movie was near perfect for what it was. The most impressive cast maybe ever, balanced as perfectly as you could imagine. The weight of the ending was lost for anyone who knows of future Marvel plans, but it was still extremely ballsy to end the big 10th year blow-off film on such a down-note. Perhaps my favorite post-credits scene since Iron Man or the first Avengers too. All around great outing from Marvel.
5. Iron Man (Phase I) - My Rating: 9/10 Review: This is the best superhero origin story put to film yet, in my opinion. Just about as perfect a comic book origin adaptation as you can get. Robert Downey, Jr. killed it as Tony Stark, obviously, and has yet to kill it the same way so far. The action was great, the characters were great, the villain was great. The third act kinda fell flat during the final battle but picked right back up for the ending. The "I am Iron Man" deal was so, so good. And the post-credits scene that hinted at what was to come is legendary now. Sam Jackson showing up as Nick Fury was a stroke of genius.
4. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (Phase IV) - 9/10 Review: A better origin story than Iron Man... there, I said it. Never ever expected that, but I definitely think Shang-Chi takes the cake. It didn't waste time having us watch the true-and-tried trajectory of an origin movie by making us sit through a "fish out of water" story with a learning montage, instead it integrated flashbacks perfectly to accent what was happening in the current-day story perfectly. In fed us information as we needed it when the main plot required that we learn it. Simu Liu was great as Shang-Chi and I can't wait to see more of him in the MCU. Awkwafina was fudging great as Katy and I'm SO happy that this movie kept that relationship platonic and not romantic. Big step for the MCU. Everyone in the cast was great. Bringing Ben Kngsley back as Trevor Slattery was a stroke of genius and almost single-handedly redeemed his plot point in Iron Man 3, though Wenwu's explanation for how a splinter of the Ten Rings created a "boogie man" called the Mandarin to attack the US did a lot of good in that department too. A movie that redeemed Iron Man 3 was not something I was expecting. The whole third act, while definitely stepping into what would usually be the "common big CGI smash up" finale that most MCU movies get, this movie did so in a way that was so fresh and interesting and fun. Movie went from street level to "flying dragons around and battling them" level. Just an incredibly fun experience. Great stuff.
3. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (Phase III) - My Rating: 9/10 Review: I love this movie. For a while, this one was just below the first but after a rewatch months later, I find myself relating to this one a whole lot more. I think the Starlord/Ego dynamic plays into that too. Not that my father and I are on bad terms, we're a little more distant than the childhood version of myself would have expected, so it hits strings there. It was both funnier and more emotional for me than the first. Pretty much the whole third act really moved me, I'm a sucker for father/son issues in films. That includes the best part of this film: Michael Rooker's Yondu. He played a much more complex role than the original lead on. Drax was on, Baby Groot was awesome, Star Lord was once again a great lead, the Gamora/Nebula arc was fantastically paid off here, and Rocket was once again the backbone of the movie. There were a few jokes that didn't hit, but most of them did for sure. Kurt Russel killed it as Ego and I loved his story. Great stuff.
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (Phase II) - My Rating: 9.5/10 Review: Where the first Cap movie was a straight adventure, this was a straight action movie and didn't apologize for it once. The action in the MCU has never looked better and the character development was great here. At least for Cap, I could have done without the whole "Nick Fury lives" thing that the MCU is so fond of doing. But other than that, this movie delivered on all fronts. The follow up to Bucky Barnes' storyline was great too - The Winter Soldier is arguably the most badass villain any MCU movie has seen so far. It's almost a shame that he'll be put in the hero role sooner than later apparently, because the mechanic between he and Steve Rogers was the most interesting part of this film. The ending where we see that Bucky saved Cap at the last second was such a feel-good moment for us comic fans, though. And Robert Redford being in a superhero movie and actually looking like he gives a crap was just about one of the most off-putting but coolest things ever.
1. Thor: Ragnarok (Phase III) - My Rating: 9.5/10 Review: I felt sort of guilty moving Spider-man down from 2 so quickly after it took that spot - but after finally geting around to Ragnarok, this is certainly one of the absolute best superhero movies I've ever seen. As a lifelong fan of Thor in particular, this was the movie I always knew he was capable of having. It actually surpassed my childhood imagination, as Thor was hardly the comedic vessel back then as he is nowadays. This movie ties up so many threads perfectly. Odin's whereabouts were handled beautifully. The Thor/Loki dynamic was explored far better here than any film before it, and it was used perfectly as the third cap to the Thor trilogy. Hulk being far more realized than ever before was cool, standing upright with his shoulders back. The Thor/Banner stuff was the comedic core. And this was definitely comedic - but it was equally as epic and heartfelt. This movie, upon a few more rewatches, could easily top my list. It really depends on whether I'm in a "political action drama" mood or a "fantasy sci fi" mood, but Winter Soldier definitely has some serious competition for me now. Also: CATE BLANCHETT'S HELA OMIGOD
For me, the movie is so silly that it works lol. There are serious and sad parts to justify the plot, but in the end is just Thor trying to navigate through life and changes. A lot of tragedy in his life tbh.
My only complaint would be Zeus, but even that satire of a character fits into all the silliness.
After re-watching all 3 Iron Man movies again, I'm updating the order I had them ranked. Also adding I Am Groot!
37. I Am Groot! 36. The Incredible Hulk 35. Iron Man 3 34. Iron Man 2 33. Iron Man 32. Thor ----------------------------------------------------------------- 31. Ms. Marvel 30. Doctor Strange 29. Eternals 28. Thor: The Dark World 27. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier 26. What If...? 25. Guardians of the Galaxy 24. Ant-Man 23. Captain America: The First Avenger 22. Black Widow 21. Hawkeye 20. Spider-Man: Homecoming 19. Black Panther ----------------------------------------------------------------- 18. Captain Marvel 17. Moon Knight 16. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings 15. Loki 14. Spider-Man: Far From Home 13. Ant-Man and the Wasp 12. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 11. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness ----------------------------------------------------------------- 10. The Avengers 9. Avengers: Age of Ultron 8. Captain America: Civil War 7. WandaVision 6. Thor: Love and Thunder 5. Spider-Man: No Way Home 4. Avengers: Endgame 3. Avengers: Infinity War 2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier 1. Thor: Ragnarok
3 is definitely my least favorite. That movie is such a mess, I don't know how I ever had it ranked above the other two. I'm not sure why 2 gets such a bad rap, I think it's fine. 1 and 2 are actually really close for me, but I have to put 1 just slightly ahead.
I Am Groot was fine for cute/funny shorts, but it's hard to rank it above anything else here since nothing significant happens.
I'm strongly considering dropping Ms Marvel below all 3 Iron Man movies. Pretty sure I enjoyed them all more than that show. I'm still thinking about it though.
More to come, as me and the family continue our re-watch. Thor: The Dark World is up next.
Iron Man 3? Yeah. Overall I hated it. Even the armor design was bad. I'm not that big of a Shane Black fan, and Iron Man displayed all the reasons why, especially the kid co-partner.
Mind you, Predator (first one) and Lethal Weapon (first one) are the exceptions, but all his recent stuff has been pretty bad.
I actually liked the kid in IM3 a lot. They easily could have overused him, but I felt like he was in the film just the right amount. My kids really loved all of the scenes with him and Iron Man together. They laughed a lot at Iron Man being so hard on him.
In my opinion, Shang-Chi redeemed Trevor Slattery (the Mandarin actor) while also providing a much more interesting version of Mandarin that we were all waiting for. Just one of the many things that movie did right. Not that Slattery was different in Shang-Chi, but it's all about presentation and he wasn't presented as something to swerve the audience in Shang-Chi, so it ultimately worked a lot better. But I agree, the Mandarin twist in Iron Man 3 is what soured me entirely on that movie the first time I saw it. Just felt like a waste of an iconic villain on top of Ben Kingsley's acting chops. After re-watching it a time or two since its theater release, it's grown on me a tiny bit but still in my lower tier for sure. I enjoy it more as a Bond-style MCU movie than a full fledged Iron Man superhero movie (considering he spends most of the movie out of the suit).
Would still watch Iron Man 3 than Iron Man 2 any day of the week though. That movie is trash on so many levels, and also a waste of some pretty good actors playing some pretty good characters.
As far as I Am Groot! goes, I'm not going to count that in my rankings. They were cute little shorts but without much substance and I feel like that'd be the equivalent of counting every MCU One Shot that used to appear on the DVD releases. I feel the same way about What If? to an extent, and doubt I'll put that show on my list either.
> Some of the shows are going to start to have multiple seasons. I'm trying to decide
> if I'll rank each season separately, or all together.
That's a tough one. The argument can be made that additional seasons are just "sequels" to the first season, so it could be looked at as being like ranking each film sequel (which we obv do separate from each other). But at the same time, a TV show's purpose is usually to tell one long, coherent story.
I guess in terms of TV, most folks' opinions seem to sour or sweeten on the OVERALL show depending on how the seasons progress. Look at a show like GOT... even some long-time fans dislike the entire thing now solely due to the later seasons. They tend not to give the great earlier seasons the same allowance they once had, so I think I'm probably leaning toward judging the shows and their seasons as just one entity. Just gonna have to adjust their placement a bunch.
32. What If...? 31. I Am Groot! 30. Black Panther 29. Iron Man 2 28. Black Widow 27. The Incredible Hulk 26. Iron Man 3
----------- No Real Order Here -------------
25. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier 24. Avengers: Age of Ultron 23. Captain America: The First Avenger 22. Thor: The Dark World 21. Iron Man 20. Captain America: Civil War 19. Thor 18. Guardians of the Galaxy 17. Captain America: The Winter Soldier 16. Spider-Man: Far From Home 15. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 14. Captain Marvel 13. Avengers: Endgame 12. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 11. Avengers: Infinity War
----------- The Good Stuff! -------------
10. WandaVision 9. Spider-Man: No Way Home 8. Loki 7. The Avengers 6. Ant-Man 5. Spider-Man: Homecoming 4. Doctor Strange
----------- The Best Stuff -------------
3. Thor: Ragnorok 2. Ant-Man and the Wasp 1. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
----------- On My List to Finish/Start -------------
Thor: Love and Thunder Ms. Marvel Eternals Moon Knight Hawkeye
Wow, that's the highest I've ever seen Ant-Man and the Wasp ranked. I mean, I really like the movie, much more than most it seems. But #2 is really high!
Reopened this for those who have seen GOTG3. Think the last time I updated my list was for Love and Thunder, so I’ve got quite a bit to add eventually. The lady and I are watching from Love and Thunder-on cause that’s where she left off (other than the GOTG Christmas Special). I’ll update my list once we watch Quantumania and then again whenever we see GOTG3.
So far, I’m still really enjoying Love and Thunder, but it’ll honestly probably move down my rankings when I edit my list. I may have been a tad over-defensive of it when it released due to the overwhelming negativity surrounding it, though I do still feel a lot of the criticism is unwarranted.
EDIT: Nevermind, still loved it. It'll definitely move down a bit, but I really enjoy the movie except for the Zeus scene. That was a little much, but whatev, not too bad.
I know it’s usually a free for all in this thread, spoiler-wise, but if yall could use tags for GOTG3 for your ol’ pal Jaw, I’d appreciate it. If not, I’ll just avoid the GOTG discussion, no biggy.
The bigger this list gets, the harder it's getting to rank new stuff. I loved GotG V3 and was already thinking of it as "one of the best"...but once I looked at my list and actually tried to fit it in somewhere, it's so hard to put it above so many movies that I've loved for so long and have stood the test of time. I definitely think it deserves to be in my top tier, but I'm not 100% set on where I placed it. That could definitely change with a re-watch (or three).
43. I Am Groot! 42. The Incredible Hulk 41. Ms. Marvel 40. Eternals 39. Iron Man 3 38. Iron Man 2 37. Iron Man 36. Thor ----------------------------------------------------------------- 35. Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special 34. Thor: The Dark World 33. The Falcon and the Winter Soldier 32. What If…? 31. Werewolf by Night 30. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law 29. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 28. Doctor Strange 27. Guardians of the Galaxy 26. Captain America: The First Avenger 25. Black Widow 24. Hawkeye 23. Black Panther ----------------------------------------------------------------- 22. Ant-Man 21. Spider-Man: Homecoming 20. Captain Marvel 19. Moon Knight 18. Loki 17. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness 16. Spider-Man: Far From Home 15. Ant-Man and the Wasp 14. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania 13. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings 12. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 ----------------------------------------------------------------- 11. The Avengers 10. Avengers: Age of Ultron 9. Thor: Love and Thunder 8. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 7. Captain America: Civil War 6. WandaVision 5. Spider-Man: No Way Home 4. Avengers: Endgame 3. Avengers: Infinity War 2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier 1. Thor: Ragnarok
> So far, I’m still really enjoying Love and Thunder, but it’ll honestly probably
> move down my rankings when I edit my list. I may have been a tad over-defensive of
> it when it released due to the overwhelming negativity surrounding it, though I do
> still feel a lot of the criticism is unwarranted.
>
> EDIT: Nevermind, still loved it. It'll definitely move down a bit, but I really enjoy
> the movie except for the Zeus scene. That was a little much, but whatev, not too
> bad.
I'm still baffled by the hate this movie continues to get. I understand some of the criticisms (even if I don't agree with most of them), but even if people are right about all of those criticisms, it still isn't as bad as they make it out to be. There's still plenty of good there to enjoy.
It's standing out to me more than ever after seeing GotG V3 (no spoilers for this first point). One of the main criticisms of L&T is too much humor, especially when it undercuts serious moments. GotG V3 does this just as much!
Also, one of the biggest criticisms of Quantumania (GotG V3 spoiler incoming)
is that nobody died so there were no stakes. Well nobody died in GotG V3 either, and I've yet to see a single complaint about that!
It just goes to show that if an MCU movie is good enough as a whole, people will overlook anything. But as soon as one of these movies isn't one of the best ever, they'll come up with every criticism possible for it, exaggerate them to no end, and convince themselves (and many others) that it was the worst movie ever.
>> So far, I’m still really enjoying Love and Thunder, but it’ll honestly probably
>> move down my rankings when I edit my list. I may have been a tad over-defensive
> of
>> it when it released due to the overwhelming negativity surrounding it, though
> I do
>> still feel a lot of the criticism is unwarranted.
>>
>> EDIT: Nevermind, still loved it. It'll definitely move down a bit, but I really
> enjoy
>> the movie except for the Zeus scene. That was a little much, but whatev, not too
>> bad.
>
> I'm still baffled by the hate this movie continues to get. I understand some of the
> criticisms (even if I don't agree with most of them), but even if people are right
> about all of those criticisms, it still isn't as bad as they make it out to be. There's
> still plenty of good there to enjoy.
>
> It's standing out to me more than ever after seeing GotG V3 (no spoilers for this
> first point). One of the main criticisms of L&T is too much humor, especially when
> it undercuts serious moments. GotG V3 does this just as much!
>
> Also, one of the biggest criticisms of Quantumania
> ...
>
> It just goes to show that if an MCU movie is good enough as a whole, people will
> overlook anything. But as soon as one of these movies isn't one of the best ever,
> they'll come up with every criticism possible for it, exaggerate them to no end,
> and convince themselves (and many others) that it was the worst movie ever.
IF you watch Thor: L&T again, watch it as if Korg is telling the story to a bunch of kids (like in the beginning) the movie makes more sense humor wise.. Since Korg wasn't there for some parts, he made up those parts of the story, thus adding more humor to it..
> Also, one of the biggest criticisms of Quantumania (GotG V3 spoiler incoming)
>
They almost got me there at the end, ngl.
About the L&T comparison, I see what you mean. But I think the humor in GotG was a lot better than in Thor. Maybe because the cast has always been silly and it just fits better. I don't hate L&T, but it really is a trip of over-the-topness, lol. I agree though, some people just complain for the sake of it.
I thought the humor was great in both GotG3 and L&T.
People love Ragnarok's humor but then hate Love & Thunder's. Personally, I think the humor is pretty similar in the two movies, both in quantity and type.
(Sorry for the essay, I sometimes embararss myself with these type ups lol) My second time through for Love and Thunder did help me realize where the disconnect for some people came from. I still really enjoy the movie and I personally didn't mind the humor (some of it was too much, like the axe/hammer love triangle and those fudging goats), but overall I was fine with it.
That said, while I agree with @Scott that there was just as much of the same type of comedy as Ragnarok, the subject matter between both movies is vastly different and that definitely creates a tonal unbalance. Ragnarok was ALL sci-fi/fantasy madness, so having that humor there accentuated that. It was about an evil witch sister trying to reclaim her homeland at its core - it was a story that humor wouldn't necessarily detract from given its gigantic fantasy themes. However, the core theme of Love and Thunder was "dealing with grief and loss", as shown through the Gorr and Jane characters. Gorr lost his child and went mad because of it, Jane was trying to run away from her ultimate fate via her new Thor persona, and eventually Thor had to deal with the loss of Jane. Eventually, the theme of "rebirth" becomes evident, with Thor taking on a new fatherly role with Gorr's daughter.
So the actual thematic tissue of Love and Thunder is FAR heavier than that of Ragnarok, which admittedly made the humor feel really out of place at times. Some emotional beats were undercut by a joke, whereas there were really no "heavy" beats in Ragnarok that a joke didn't just elevate. The death of Odin and appearance of Hela were given time to breathe to feel truly dramatic before another humorous part was presented, and there were less lulls like that in Love and Thunder until the ending sequence in front of Eternity.
And then there are just the sort of baffling story decisions - like how Valkyrie knew of Eternity but never mentioned it during Endgame, when a magic wish could have solved that entire movie's main issue. Or Gorr being yet another underdeveloped MCU villain despite Bale's great performance when there was so much dramatic material they could have worked with. Or how Thor could suddenly grant his powers to other people when that has never been established before (and also would have come in handy in other situations).
The issues that people had are definitely there, but folks then felt the need to take it further and create issues in their own head to justify HATING it when the movie just didn't deserve that. Folks claiming Thor was too goofy disregarded the reasons for him acting that way, despite Korg explaining it right at the beginning (his loss lead him to become slightly detached), and also disregarded the fact that he eventually realized he should snap out of it. By the end of the movie, Thor was back to being THOR, a bit whimsical but also emotionally layered the way he was previously. To be honest, it reminds me of how some folks react to Luke in The Last Jedi. They only remember curmudgeon hermit Luke because they were upset he wasn't just stoic ROTJ Luke, and disregard the fact that, by the end of that movie, he has returned to the hero's journey - emotionally-layered and pulling off the most heroic crap we've ever seen a character in the franchise do.
So anyway yah, TL;DR - while I still REALLY enjoyed Love and Thunder (and the lady did too), I can definitely understand folks' displeasure with the movie MUCH clearer after a re-watch while still acknowledging some very unwarranted criticisms.
Finally saw Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, loved it and it really felt like the official start of the Kang saga (even though we have seen him in previous shows/movies).
Rereading some discourse above about Iron Man 3 I have to disagree with alot of the takes. Iron Man 3 really does a great job of establishing the affect of war on Tony Stark. This directly leads to the character development and influences his decisions in subsequent MCU movies, namely Captain America Civil War. I didn't appreciate 3 until I went back and was watching all the movies over again.
Overall the only movie I didn't enjoy much at all is Ms Marvel and that is because the character is too Supermanish for me. Way too powerful in a cast of characters that are powerful but have their flaws. I don't particularly find Brie Larson to be a great actress either so that doesn't help.
One thing I like in all the movies and shows after the blip is what is happening in the background of all these stories. Civil discourse caused by the disappearance and then reappearance of folks. I remember seeing it introduced in Falcon and Winter soldier and it continues in Quantumania where they discuss all the homeless because people had taken over the homes of those that disappeared. It really makes you feel like you are in a fully fleshed out world. I think alot of the Kang saga is going to take place on places other than Earth so it will be interesting to see how this affects the background story.
My buddy watched Quantumania for the first time last night and he feels it's "almost unwatchable". Ant Man and The Wasp is one of his favorite MCU movies (somehow) and he loves the first Ant Man, but he feels Quantumania is probably his least favorite MCU movie at this point. One of his main issues was how Hank Pym, a guy who had been studying the quantum realm for his entire life, finally got there and barely cared - opting to get drunk immediately instead of bask in this discovery. I can see that criticism honestly.
I need to rewatch Quantumania because I admittedly watched it under some... sea-faring circumstances... so I've yet to see it in full HD as intended. Even so, I definitely got a whiff of the Star Wars prequels as far as the use of CG goes. Even in lesser quality, it looked like just about everything was shot on green screen and could have easily just been an animated movie by the point they reached. I didn't HATE the movie when I watched it, but I was also very underwhelmed, so I'm interested to see how I feel when the lady and I get around to watching it for real.
Many of the CGI heavy movies look much worse at home. Admittedly, they don't look great on the big screen either, but they look much more cartoonish on most big screen TVs.
You were correct, so I just updated it. I'm retiring the short reviews that I'd usually post because I had a bunch to catch up on. So now it's just a list like everyone else haha
Moved GOTG Vol 2 to my #1 spot, meaning Ragnarok moved to #2 and Winter Soldier to #3. GOTG Vol 3 lands at #4 for now, but I could see that one climbing up when I re-watch it. It's my lady's #1 easy though.
I shuffled a couple movies in the middle that I've re-watched, or watched reactions for that made me reassess my opinion.
Love & Thunder WAS at #10 after my first watch, but it took a steep drop after my second watch and landed at #23. I still really like it but the flaws were a bit more obvious upon a re-watch.
As for other new entries that I hadn't ranked yet: She-Hulk lands at #31, Wakanda Forever lands at #24, & Quantumania at #34.
I just want to reiterate that I still at the very least LIKE most, if not all, of these movies. So something like Wakanda Forever sitting at #24, or even Quantumania landing in the "bottom" tier, doesn't necessarily mean I disliked the movie in any major way. It just means that I dig the movies I ranked higher a bit better, obviously haha. There's just so much MCU at this point, the higher the numbers on the ranking list get, the worse it makes the movie seem at first glance but that's totally not my intention.
Updated my list. Finished Secret Invasion, it lands at #29 with a 7.5/10.
I liked it enough, glad to see Fury get the main role and explore his personal life a little more. I think the concepts introduced are really cool and open the doors for some larger events within the MCU. I also really enjoyed the performances, both from the actors but also from the action coordinators... the violence in this show, while some may find gratuitous at times, was a breath of fresh air for me.
That said, I do feel like there may have been a lack of "butter" to the "toast" so to speak, in that it all just seemed very dry and missing the big set pieces that come to be expected from the MCU. Under different circumstances, I think that could be cool, but I wasn't entirely into the way it was executed in this show. It also felt like a decent majority of the show was retreading information that we already had, and for a 6 episodes series, that sort of thing can be a big problem. I thought the finale, like many MCU TV finales, seemed a bit rushed and unsatisfying. I could have used a bit more of that type of "super" action spread throughout the show if they were going to end partially on that note. And the way the main story was wrapped up so easily within one half hour was a little lame, but I'm glad that the over-arching issue of the skrulls is still firmly in play if the MCU wants to explore it further.
And not to beat a dead horse, but going back to what I mentioned in the trailers thread, Secret Invasion definitely suffered from some of that over-the-top internet backlash that the MCU is receiving right now. While it was a little dry, it still kept me engaged enough and it was absolutely still a "good" show. I mean it was a drama starring Samuel L Jackson, Don Cheadle and Olivia Colman, there's no real way to get a "bad" result from that imo. Was it GREAT? Not at all. But was it truly "bad"? Absolutely not. There's still an inherent quality to the MCU, even in its lower-ranked offerings, that some folks just can't seem to acknowledge anymore these days.
We finished re-watching Moon Knight last night. We didn't show the kids originally, but decided they were old enough this time. They really enjoyed it, and it held up great for me, even on a re-watch.
I read a theory that stated that since Rhodey was freed wearing a hospital gown, and needed assistance walking, that he was abducted while he was hospitalized and partially paralyzed after the events of Captain America Civil War. This means he missed the events of the Thanos battles and has no idea his best friend is dead.
@back4more That would be really lame considering...
...Rhodey was right there with Pepper & Peter Parker when Tony died in Endgame. So we'd have to believe that a skrull was SO into being a spy that he'd have what was a very real emotional reaction to seeing Tony die in front of him. That'd not only be silly on the surface level, but also be really stupid to remove any element of emotion from Endgame. Hopefully it's explained that he was just at the hospital post-Endgame to get a check up on his legs or something when he was kidnapped. If they were going to reveal a hero had been a skrull pre-Endgame, they'd have needed to pull a character who didn't have a deep-seeded emotional moment like that and have it make sense.
I actually reassessed my opinion of Secret Invasion and have come to the realization that I really didn't dig it as much as I initially thought. It moved way way down from #29 to #38 and I adjusted its 7.5/10 to a 6/10... meaning only Iron Man 2 and The Eternals rank lower than it for me. I still don't think it's NEARLY as bad as the entire internet is making it out to be, and I reiterate that I generally LIKE all these movies/shows, but I do think I was a little quick to try to counter the hyperbolic negative reactions at first as opposed to just give my genuine assessment.
And it's weird, because I really DID enjoy it for the most part. I thought episodes 1-5 were pretty interesting but the finale nosedives my opinion on it. It just wasn't very good. The plot was tied up way too quickly in one half hour. It ended up making the rest of the season feel like just a solid first act for a larger story that it never intended to deliver. And while the "act III CGI superhero battle" should be expected these days, the one in Secret Invasion felt particularly shoehorned in considering that sort of thing really wasn't the point or vibe of the show.
What it ultimately boils down to is that I enjoy the actual INFORMATION we got in episodes 1-5 regarding Fury's backstory and the skrulls... but it definitely needed to be explored more and expanded upon. It would have been a lot better to SEE what's discussed in those episodes as opposed to just hear about them in conversation, and I feel a longer show or a series of movies would have allowed them to delve into that stuff and really fill it out. As it stands, it felt like they were setting us up to show us more, but ultimately never did.
I found this yubetube video that goes in to detail on this going back to Civil War, and then there was even a comment pinned that states the Secret Invasion series director, Ali Selim, confirmed that the abduction was back around Civil War.....
Watching folks react to WandaVision on YouTube. Man, I miss that series and just the feeling I got watching it. The mystery, the reveals, the character exploration, the emotion, and of course the sitcom throwbacks. I think it’s still probably the most truly original thing the MCU has put out. A part of me does wish that more of the MCU TV output was somehow in a similar vein but I know that would have just diminished the effects of WandaVision to some extent.
Starting this comic tonight. Have been wanting to give it a go since WandaVision was announced.
Finished GotG3 and Secret Invasion. Absolutely loved GotG 3, liked Secret Invasion. GotG 3 might be a top 5 MCU for me. I was never big on the franchise but still enjoyed it. 3 def left me wanting more from each of the characters, especially Bautista who has done incredibly well leaning into that role. If we never get another movie with the original core characters though at least they got a great sendoff. Although what was up with that post credit scene
Although The Flash is a DC character, something about him to me says Marvel. I'm not sure what though. I was watching scenes from the TV show yesterday, and started thinking about this.
I'm trying to think if there's something in common between Marvel characters and The Flash.
My top three are Avengers: Infinity War, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and Thor: Ragnarok.
My bottom three are Ant Man & The Wasp: Quantumania, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, and The Eternals.
My "I know they're seriously flawed but I still can't help but love them" three are Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: No Way Home, and Avengers: Endgame.
I couldn't possibly rate them all sequentially. It'd make my head explode.
Looking over my ranking list, I actually think I prefer The Marvels to a lot of the lower tiered movies. For as messy as that movie is (especially that first act), it's still more entertaining than a lot of the other stuff. Tough to rank.
Haven't watched it yet, but does it move along the mulitverse at all? I feel like one of the problems with this saga is the pacing seems really slow and they haven introduced so many new characters.
Loki was fantastic and I felt had a satisfying ending. I assume that will be the last of that show which is a bummer because the chemistry between Owen Wilson and Tom Hiddleston is fantastic.
@beavis there is some multiverse stuff (mainly toward the end) but don't go into it expecting any huge revelations regarding the multiverse or anything like that. It's very much not a multiverse centric story.
Agreed about Loki. It was great and I need more Loki/Mobius. I have to imagine there will be more of that at SOME point, if not via more of the show.
