PROLOGUE... For those of you who don't know what the Marvel Cinematic Universe is, let me explain. The Marvel/Disney movies all share the same universe...hence the name. The shared universe, much like the original Marvel Universe in the comic books, was established by crossing over common plot elements, settings, cast, and characters. Each Marvel film within the Marvel Cinematic Universe interlink together to create a larger plot that spans across all the movies. In other words, each movie is a piece of a larger puzzle.
For the remainder of this blog, I will refer to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as MCU.
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In preparation of Avengers II: Age of Ultron (coming out this weekend), and Ant Man (coming out in July) I have decided to watch all the MCU movies in chronological order and rank them from my least favorite to my favorite. My rankings are based on two qualifications. The first is: How did I enjoy the movie? The second is: How did the movie add to the MCU?
10. The Incredible Hulk
This movie was a huge improvement over the 2003 "Hulk" film. However, I did not like Edward Norton as Bruce Banner, and this feels like the least Marvel-y of all the movies. I don't know of any Hulk movies in the works, and I don’t think the Hulk movies have a good enough track record to warrant another one.
9. Iron Man 3
This movie earns the most disappointing award. It felt gratuitous and oddly disconnected from the other Iron Man films. There were several plot holes both in the movie, and within the Iron Man franchise. The other two Iron Man movies excelled in expanding the MCU, but this one did nothing to add to the expanding Universe.
8. Thor
The first time I saw this I wasn't too impressed. the second time I saw it I really enjoyed it. It's a good popcorn flick and a good introduction to Thor and Loki. We also learn more about SHIELD and how much they have a role in the MCU. I thought the plot was a little weak and I wasn't crazy about Natalie Portman's character, but she does have a more substantial role in the sequel.
7. Iron Man 2
This was a nice sequel to an impressive origin story. This movie capitalized on the strengths of the first while adding key pieces to the expanding MCU with SHIELD and the introduction of Black Widow; without those two things, this movie wouldn't have been as good (case in point Iron Man 3). I also thought Don Cheadle was a much better Rhodey.
6. Captain America
This movie worked well on two levels: It was a good period piece, and it was a great Marvel movie. In my opinion, The Captain America movies (more so than the other Marvel movies) feel less like individual movies and more like a piece of the bigger MCU. The action in this movie is great, the humor, although subtle, is great, and the characters are strong.
In this movie the Tesseract was introduced. The Tesseract is a powerful energy source used as a weapon in Captain America and the Avengers. The Tesseract is an Infinity Stone. There are six Infinity Stones, together the stones make the possessor extremely powerful and dangerous. It is believed that the MCU is going to have some sort of Infinity Stones storyline involving the villain Thanos. I'm don’t know the details or when it will happen, although it could be the plot for the Infinity Wars movies. The Tesseract is the first Infinity Stone found. One down, five to go.
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| Tesseract: Captain America, Avengers Aether: Thor The Dark World Orb: Guardians of the Galaxy Loki's Scepter: Avengers |
5. Thor: The Dark World
I loved this movie. I thought this movie was much better than the first. The action was bigger, the characters were stronger, and the humor was funnier. This movie has an important piece of the large MCU storyline. In this movie the Aether was discovered.
The Aether the second Infinity Stone found. Two down, four to go.
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| Post credit scene in Thor: The Dark World. Lady Sif and Volstagg giving The Collector the Aether |
4. Iron Man
Who doesn't love the first Iron Man movie? This was the first Marvel movie in the MCU to come out in theaters. Robert Downey Jr. does a great job playing the lovable arrogant, playboy that is Tony Stark. This was so much more than just a comic book movie. Marvel broke the mold and created a new kind of superhero movie. All aspects of this movie made it a classic; quick dialogue, humor, action, great special effects, and a good soundtrack.
3. The Avengers
A big budget film, an all-star cast, and huge hype... seems to be a recipe for disaster in Hollywood. Not with the Avengers. This movie delivered big time; thanks in part to Joss Wheden. I believe the reason this movie did well is because Joss Whedon knows how to make a movie. He took the success of the previous Marvel movies and he built on it. Another thing that I appreciate about Joss Wheden movies is he always has strong female characters. I liked how he used Black Widow in this movie and I really liked Agent Hill (Cobie Smulders).
In Avengers, Loki has a staff that he uses to control people. It is believed by some that his staff has an Infinity Stone. Three down, three to go.
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
This movie was a blast! I went into this movie with low expectations, I thought it was going to be too strange. While it is strange, Marvel embraced it's strange and colorful nature and produced a great movie.
An important facet of this movie is the explanation of the Infinity Stones. "The Collector" explains the origins of the Infinity Stones and how they existed and were created. The movie centers around an orb that has destructive power; I'll give you a hint, it's an Infinity Stone, which means, four down, two to go.
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| The Collector |
1. Captain America: Winter Soldier
Choosing my number one Marvel movie was difficult, because they are all so good, however, Winter Soldier is the best. Not only was it a great movie, I think it is the most important Marvel movie yet. Like the first Captain America, this move felt less like an individual movie and more like a piece of the bigger MCU storyline. This movie was edgier than the other Marvel movies, with the best action scenes of any of them.
I hope this weekend I have a new number one, and I hope that we discover another another Infinity Stone.
Choosing my number one Marvel movie was difficult, because they are all so good, however, Winter Soldier is the best. Not only was it a great movie, I think it is the most important Marvel movie yet. Like the first Captain America, this move felt less like an individual movie and more like a piece of the bigger MCU storyline. This movie was edgier than the other Marvel movies, with the best action scenes of any of them.
I hope this weekend I have a new number one, and I hope that we discover another another Infinity Stone.
