With the release of Doctor Strange as Marvel Studios' fourteenth film I felt it might be fun to go back and revisit my ranking of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Note: This list changes constantly but this is my current stance on ranking the MCU.
14. The Incredible Hulk- The Incredible Hulk is pretty bland. Nothing really is particularly noteworthy or memorable and even Marvel Studios tries to bury in under their expanding catalogue.
13. Thor- Thor, as I said in my review, is really
cliché. The fact Thor is stopped of his powers for most of the running time makes it a slog to sit through. Loki really overshadows Thor, a constant struggle for the franchise, and the only redeeming factors about it are some of the technical elements and the spot on casting.
12. Thor: The Dark World- Thor: The Dark World is a generic Marvel movie for about the first half ,but there's a flurry of great sequences followed by a generic third act finale. It has some really funny moments and really only ranks above it's predecessor because it didn't take away Thor's powers and gives Loki more to do.
11. Iron Man 2- Iron Man 2 is a mess, but admittedly an entertaining mess. There's a little too much going on as Marvel sought to set up
The Avengers but Robert Downey Jr. remains a delight as Tony Stark and the action sequences are pretty cool.
10. Iron Man- Iron Man kicked it all off and really this is where on my list that the films listed jump from "watchable" to "great" and everything from this point
higher is a film that I really adore. Ranking this list was only a matter of deciding which one I liked more and why. Really my only issues with Iron Man is that it doesn't hold up quite as well as some of the other films I have ranked higher.
9. Captain America: The First Avenger- Captain America: The First Avenger is a delightful period piece and war film. I love how it explores the character of Steve Rogers, his origin story, and features one of the MCU's few actually great romances as well.
8. Iron Man 3- Iron Man 3 is an underrated movie. People weren't expecting Shane Black to bring his distinct directorial style into the MCU and as a result I think people were caught unawares by his creative decisions. I really like how
Iron Man 3 explores the character of Tony Stark and think people whine a little too much about the Mandarin twist and the fact he's not in the armor for most of the runtime.
7. Guardians of the Galaxy- Guardians of the Galaxy is out of this world fun, but I think it has some flaws that many people choose to overlook in favor of relishing the moment. It's not so much that I think
Guardians is a bad film that it's in the middle of this list, but rather that I've enjoyed a lot of the succeeding MCU entries a little more.
6. Ant-Man- Ant-Man is one of Marvel's more underrated films. The scale, stakes, and scope are all appropriately small and it's one of Marvel's funniest films to date.
5. Avengers: Age Of Ultron- Avengers: Age of Ultron really wowed me with my first viewing but over time has began to crack so that I see some of it's faults. It's still an entertaining film with some great action and memorable moments, but they lose some of their luster and awe after successive viewings.
4. Doctor Strange- Doctor Strange is what I'd consider Marvel's most daring experiment yet. The psychedelic visuals are a wonder to behold, it effectively brings real magic into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and every department brings their all.
3. The Avengers- The Avengers is always an entertaining spectacle. Upon rewatching the film I've decided that the first act is a little slow to assemble the Avengers but that's just the nature of film, things take time and the buildup won't be nearly as interesting once you've seen it before. However, The third act is always exceptional to watch and I can't help but smile at the shot pictured above followed by sequences of the Avengers fighting off an army of Chitauri.
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier- Captain America: The Winter Soldier is thrilling from beginning to end. The action sequences are spectacular and every moment has me on the edge of my seat, regardless of if I'm watching from home.
1. Captain America: Civil War- Captain America: Civil War is my personal favorite MCU entry for a multitude of reasons. One, it has the most emotionally-charged third act finale of any superhero film to date that effectively subverted expectations and built upon the events that had occurred in almost all of Marvel's twelve previous films that led to this conflict. Two, it has some of the best action sequences I've ever seen in almost any film to date. Three, it managed to bring in two new characters and balance the dauntingly large ensemble cast to where every character had their moment to shine but never stood on the toes of Tony Stark or Steve Rogers. Everyone in each department brings their A-game and it all amounts to one of Marvel's best films to date that holds up upon revisits.
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