All the Marvel movies ranked!

All the Marvel Movies Ranked!

Captain America—9.5

The gold standard.  The only Marvel movie with a true character arc (well. . . maybe Iron Man 3).  Also, one of the few with an interesting antagonist.  It wasn’t easy adapting square-jawed Steve Rogers to a modern audience, but Chris Evens found exactly he right tone.  Bonus points for Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, the best love interest in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series (with due respect to Pepper Potts).

Avengers—9.2

Maybe this should win based on degree of difficulty, because only the genius of Joss Whedon could have brought together all the threads of the individual heroes together to make a coherent story with character interaction.  It also boasts the best single line of the MCU, when Hulk says to Loki, “Puny God.”

Black Panther—9

Black Panther solves the problem that nags at most of the Marvel films, coming up with an interesting antagonist who has almost a valid point of view.  It’s not surface gloss; the depth that went into constructing Wakanda shows a filmmaker who pays attention to detail (1/3 of Wakandan extras are barefoot in keeping with African culture).  Superior script, direction, and acting; it deserved its Best Picture nomination.

Guardians of the Galaxy—8.5

Easily the biggest surprise of the MCU, the Guardians were grade C heroes that found the right vessel in James Gunn to transition to the silver screen.  Thank heaven Gunn was rehired (after handling his dismissal exactly correctly) for part 3 because, unlike the other MCU components, Guardians relies on his singular vision to work.

Thor: Ragnarok—8.3

Talk about surprises!  After the so-so Thor and the dismal sequel, Ragnarok found its own vessel in Taika Waititi to find the funny in a musclebound, one-eyed Norse deity.  Hemsworth’s charm has always been the main appeal of the Thor films, and pairing him with dour Bruce Banner is pure genius.

Avengers: Infinity War—8.1

I have the nagging feeling I’ve overrated this one, but you can’t fault the spectacle of all of Marvel’s various threads coming to fruition.  This is a victory for spectacle over brains (also, this film makes ZERO sense if you haven’t seen all 20 previous films).

Iron Man 3—8

In which Tony Stark learns a valuable lesson: Iron Man without Tony Stark is an empty suit, but Tony Stark without Iron Man is still pretty awesome.  Probably Downey’s best work in the MCU, and Guy Pearce and Ben Kingsley at least try to make the villains interesting.

Iron Man—7.8

Robert Downey Jr. does a great job introducing the MCU, but Jeff Bridges is way over the top as the baddie, and the whole things runs on a little too long to stick the landing.

Ant Man and The Wasp—7.7

The first Marvel film with a female hero in the title, and also a female antagonist.  Adding the back story of Hank Pym’s wife adds some pathos to the otherwise nutty adventure, and the whole chase sequence with shrinking/enbiggening things is imaginatively done.

Guardians of the Galaxy 2—7.5

A solid entry that treads a little too closely on the heels of its predecessor, but great fun and Kurt Russel, of any age, is a hoot.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier—7.2

Frankly I found this rather dreary, but there are some nice set pieces (the elevator fight with Captain America is possibly the best fight of the MCU) and the ensemble is running on full speed.

Ant Man—7.1

Marvel’s first attempt (sort of) at a mostly comedic take on the superhero genre works, thanks to Paul Rudd’s goofy screen presence and the inestimable spunk of Evangeline Lilly (aka TV’s Lost’s Kate).  The origin story takes a while to get going, and I still don’t buy the whole “he can control ants with his mind” thing, but solid fun.

Doctor Strange—7

The film benefits greatly from the casting of Benedict Cumerbatch as the arrogant title character and some imaginatively used special effects.  It struggles to merge its mystical focus with the scientific basis of most of the other superheroes, and frankly I thought some of the special effects were way too busy.

Captain America: Civil War—6.7

It was at this point the MCU started to fold in upon itself.  A month after seeing this film I couldn’t remember the plot, just the airport scene that introduced Black Panther and the new, slightly improved Spiderman.  The plot, such as it is, is incomprehensible to anyone not immersed in the MCU.

Thor—6.5

Chris Hemsworth’s charm carries most of the baggage in the movie, indifferently directed by Oscar nominated director Kenneth Branaugh.  I never bought Natalie Portman as a legitimate love interest for a demi-god. The best thing I can say about it?  It’s better than Thor 2.

Incredible Hulk—6

Okay, I didn’t see this film, I saw the prior Ang Lee version.  But since Edward Norton was subsequently replaced by Mark Ruffalo, I have no desire to check it out for the sake of completeness.

Spiderman: Homecoming—5

The third Spiderman, Tom Holland, is better than Tobey Maguire, but I still prefer Andrew Garfield’s snark.  I like the casting of Marisa Tomei as Aunt May, as I never understood why Peter Parker’s aunt looked like his grandmother (some critic said, “Aunt May? She looks more like Miss February”).  But I found the plot mundane and Michael Keaton a surprisingly uninteresting antagonist.

Iron Man 2—4

This film had nothing to add to the Iron Man oeuvre; it was like they made it only because they could cast Oscar nominee Mickey Rourke as the villain.

Thor: The Dark World—3

The only good thing about this movie is the ad libbed moment when Thor delicately hangs his Hammer on Jane’s umbrella rack.  Bleak, confusing and ultimately uninteresting.

Avengers: Age of Ultron—2

I adore Joss Whedon.  I revere Joss Whedon.  I did the research, and this is easily the biggest piece of crap Whedon ever wrote/directed.  The villain is concocted out of thin air from Tony Stark doing something incredibly stupid (and is impossible to take seriously), yet no one really blames Stark for the fallout.  The opening party has some fun moments, but otherwise it is an interminable slog.  Dr. Horrible’s Sing a Long Blog is infinitely superior.

Captain Marvel—I haven’t seen it.  So sue me.