After rewatching the entire Infinity Saga for a third time- I finally feel solid in my opinions about all of these films and where they stand amongst each other.
I am truly grateful that I grew up with the Infinity Saga because they made superheroes and comic books cool again- and the sheer cultural spectacle of Endgame is something that will never be replicated. Watching that film, and getting to see my youth reach its apex with a dozen friends in a theater is something I will always cherish.
Comedian Kumail Nanjiani compared Marvel films to classic Hollywood movies like Casablanca during the Eternals Panel at Comic Con in 2019. Maybe thats going a bit too far, but I agree in that the best Marvel movies have everything you could ask for in a film. Comedy, action, romance, drama: its all there.
I’m not going to say these movies are perfect, because they aren’t. A lot of them collapse narratively in the third act, some of the early ones are quite boring because they had yet to master the formula, and a lot of them lack compelling villains. Ultimately at worst, these movies are a great time and rake in billions of dollars, but when they are good, they can overwhelm you with unbridled joy. Let’s take a look.
23. The Incredible Hulk
Ironically, The Edward Norton Hulk is probably the best solo Hulk movie ever made, but that’s not exactly a high bar. This was the only MCU film made by Universal and it shows because tonally, it is completely different than every other film.
All The Incredible Hulk does is make me wish an actual Hulk movie was made with Mark Ruffalo. I get the sense now he is a bit tired of playing the character, as for almost a decade he’s been required to wear uncomfortable spandex on a daily basis. I fear that by the time the studios have an interest in doing it, he will probably have already retired the character.
The movie that we got instead falls victim to the mid-2000’s Michael Bay Transformers style action look- full of grimy saturation. Everything is either tinged yellow or tinged gray- its not pleasing to look at and as a result, feels dated. The CGI does not stand the test of time either. When the monsters fight each other it’s passable, but when Hulk interacts with humans it’s rather alarming in ways that no other Marvel films really struggle with. At times the graphics look like a really cool PS2 game.
Other than that, the plot and the cast are forgettable and there weren’t any standout moments. Edward Norton was a flat Bruce Banner. His dry style of line delivery works really well in certain stylized movies like Grand Budapest Hotel, but I did not buy him as anything more than a one dimensional Hulk- he seemingly had a lot of creative differences with the studio, writing team, and director so perhaps he would’ve done something different if he had more control over the character.
The Hulk was done way more justice in a far smaller role in The Avengers, and I almost wish this was just how the character were introduced. Mark Ruffalo does a great job of making Banner really vulnerable, and in just a few lines he teaches you more about the character than the entire Incredible Hulk movie does. In The Avengers, there’s subtle things Ruffalo does (like walking through crowds very awkwardly as if he’s carrying a bomb that he’s constantly in fear of going off) that really endear you to the character.
There were small points I enjoyed-like Banner’s first transformation into the Hulk and the soundtrack (like most Marvel films) was pretty solid, but overall the series could’ve survived without this movie, and thats why it deserves the last position.
22. Captain Marvel
I really wanted to like this movie.
There were good elements to it, although most were a result of the proven Marvel formula. The visuals were really cool (especially when Carol goes binary), there were several funny moments, and a great 90’s based soundtrack. I especially liked the subversion of expectations with the Skrulls- and I think the refugee b-story with Talos and his family was the strongest part of the film. Where Captain Marvel comes up short, and at the crux of its low ranking, is its handling of the main character.
Every good character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe or otherwise has something that defines them, but Carol Danvers has no defining traits. Brie Larson was given nothing to work with in this film. Carol is dry, sarcastic, and absurdly powerful, but thats about it. Characters without flaws are boring. Iron man has anxiety, Captain America is stubborn, and Thor struggles coping with loss. In Captain Marvel, the humanity in the lead hero is missing.
Partly responsible for this perceived absence is the fact that the film is structured in a way that leaves the audience in the dark. How are we supposed to learn about a character who literally knows nothing about themselves? The movie would have benefitted from being in chronological order because then, we could learn who Carol is and then root for her to escape the brainwashing and find herself again, but ultimately, that’s not how they chose to execute the story. Instead they went the route of having the audience share Carol’s amnesia, which does not work well for an origin story.
If that doesn’t make any sense, or if you just love hyper-analyzing these films like me, theres actually a great video from the Screen Crush Youtube channel that goes in depth as to why the flashback structure dooms Captain Marvel that is worth checking out.
There was so much potential for this story and for this cast-it’s all there. I think Brie Larson is an excellent actress- she’s great in Room and overwhelmingly likable in her brief cameos as Rachel on Community. In Captain Marvel, they try to present us the typical lead character that ‘never stays down’, but its impossible to see her as a lovable underdog because they refuse to give her any emotional or physical vulnerability.
This could have been a meaningful allegory for escaping an abusive relationship and reclaiming identity, but it gets lost in the convoluted narrative structure and the clear agenda to keep Carol from showing any semblance of weakness. Easily the biggest missed opportunity in the MCU.
21. Thor
From this point on, I mostly enjoy all of the remaining films.
Directer Keith Branagh had a really challenging task with Thor. Not only did he have to craft a somewhat tired Shakespearean story of a hero ‘coming of age’ that felt fresh, but he had two virtually unknown actors playing the titular characters, studio pressure to fit in certain plot elements, and the unenviable task of creating a ‘rainbow bridge’ between the Earth Bound MCU, and the Cosmic MCU. Overall, considering the difficulty of such a project, I think Thor was a relative success.
So why is it so far down the list you ask? The major failure of this film-and of the Thor series in its entirety- is the inorganic and forced romance between Thor and Jane Foster. The end of their relationship is never even shown on screen. It just gets glossed over in an admittedly hysterical drunken meltdown by Big Lebowski Thor in Endgame.
There were also some creative decisions I could nitpick. For instance, the Dutch angles (which admittedly did not bother me on first viewing) wear out their welcome. The bleach blonde eyebrows on Thor are distracting at times because the character looks so different than we’re used to. But again, those are subjective problems.
With that being stated, I really liked a lot of the scenes on Earth. Thor trying to adjust to human life after being cast down from Asgard made for great fish out of water comedy and it made sense for an origin story because it gave Thor a clear path for character growth. It also accomplished what it set out to do in creating a link between the realms of the MCU. Little moments like Thor putting his hammer on the coat rack or Thor smashing the mug of coffee in the diner are when this film is at its best. It also does a commendable job of explaining how mythical gods could exist in a universe that was otherwise grounded.
In the end, this was far from the worst movie in the series, but aside from a handful of nice moments, it struggled to create a complete, and engaging narrative.
20. Thor The Dark World
I struggled trying to remember what happened in this movie. I mainly remember Loki tossing a ball around in a prison cell, and Erik Selvig running naked around Stone Henge.
That being said, Thor the Dark World edges above its predecessor for several reasons. It does away some of the stylistic choices that did not work in the first, (sorry dutch angle enthusiasts) and it improves on several of the characters that were flat in the first installment.
The Loki semi-redemption arc in this film was its biggest triumph- especially in the second act. Loki overshadows every character in this film despite being the b-storyline. His interactions with Frigga in Asgard and especially his reaction to her death gives an emotional dimension to his character not yet explored. Prior to Thor 2 we had only seen Loki in the context of his father. In all honesty, Frigga has a couple of great moments in the series and her humility, and her relationship with Loki and Thor, her sons, gives both of those god characters a connection to their audience. What’s more relatable than a son being protective of their mother?
They actually planned on killing off Loki, and actually did the early cuts of the film that they showed test audiences, but Loki was so beloved they were forced to keep him around. “It almost comes as no surprise that when audiences were shown the initial cut of Thor: The Dark World they were unwilling to accept that Loki (Tom Hiddleston) who had become a fan favorite during his time in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was going to die. They rewrote the ending and allowed Loki to continue on, taking the place of Odin (Anthony Hopkins) in Asgard and setting up several moments to come in both Thor: Ragnarok and Avengers: Infinity War.”
https://ploominator19.wordpress.com/2020/05/11/1851/
I also love Selvig’s dissent into chaos in this film as well. It was a great way of refreshing his character. Darcy also had more to do in this movie and I’m glad they did because she felt like kind of a pointless character in the first.
Thor The Dark World still retains some of the problems from the first film. Namely, the lackluster romance, and the dull final villain. The romance was so lackluster that there was a stand-in for Jane in the end credit kiss scene and nobody noticed or cared.
I think the core issue with the romance as a whole is that it never felt earned on either side. I know that Patty Jenkins who was initially asked to direct the picture wanted to tell a story akin to Romeo and Juliet where Thor would pine after Jane and Odin would refuse to let them be together.
https://www.popmatters.com/thor-the-dark-world-2631675988.html
The studio did not like that she wanted to focus on the romance and urged her to take a different direction, and she consequently lost interest in the film. She went on to direct Wonder Woman which ended up being very successful. Natalie Portman campaigned for her to get the job, and once Jenkins left, she too lost interest in the film. All of this shows.
I’m curious to know if Jenkins could have saved the romance in the Thor series. Regardless, Taika Waititi is gonna take a stab at it in Thor Love and Thunder which is set to release in the coming years.
19. Ant-Man and the Wasp
Ant-Man and the Wasp was fun. It strictly followed the Marvel formula and the formula established in the first Ant-man film. Paul Rudd was great as always and similar to the first the level of creativity regarding the use of Scott’s powers made for an entertaining watch.
The scene with Scott stuck midway through transformation was fun, and the final chase in San Francisco was also rather exciting.
However I felt like this movie overall was rather forgettable in the grander scheme of the MCU.
Firstly it came out at a time where everyone was anticipating Avengers Endgame, and this movie existed entirely on its own which is not a problem with the film necessarily but it’s lack of interconnectedness with the greater story bumps it down the list.
The main thing I remember from this movie was the after credit scene where we see Hank Hope and Janet all get blipped leaving Scott trapped in the quantum realm.
I truly can’t complain about too much in this film aside from the fact that Scott Lang felt like a bit of an afterthought. That being said, the story was less about him and more about Hope’s relationship with Scott and with her parents.
One of the great writing decisions I liked in the film was Scott’s relationship with his ex-wife, and her boyfriend. This movie easily could have played into the trope of real father and step father fighting for the love and attention of the daughter, but instead they did the opposite. It seems that the broken home they have is not a bad one, and that was refreshing.
I also hope that they pursue Ghost further as an anti-villain, perhaps making a return on the future Thunderbolts roster because it felt like her story was unfinished,. As a general over arching statement for the Ant-Man franchise, Michael Pena, TI, and David Dastmalchian are great sidekicks.
18. Iron Man 2
The villains are definitely the most polarizing part of Iron Man 2. Some fans even cringe at Whiplash and Justin Hammer. I however, love these villains more than most but I recognize I’m in the minority there. There are some really great moments between the two that I find entertaining.
Mickey Rourke as Whiplash left a little bit to be desired. I thought the character was a bit one-dimensional, but better than a lot of other Marvel villains.Rourke actually felt the same way stating, “I explained to Justin Theroux, to the writer, and to [Jon] Favreau that I wanted to bring some other layers and colours, not just make this Russian a complete murderous revenging bad guy. And they allowed me to do that. Unfortunately, the [people] at Marvel just wanted a one-dimensional bad guy, so most of the performance ended up the floor.”
They definitly could’ve done more with Vanko. This is the problem with a lot of the Marvel movies. They rarely spend times peeling back the layers on the villains. They’ll cast amazing actors and then limit them. It happened with Hugo Weaving in Captain America, Jeff Daniels in Iron Man, Mads Mikkleson in Doctor Strange, and it happens in Iron Man 2 with Rourke as well.
All that said, I commend Iron Man 2 for what it was trying to accomplish. It was the first film tasked with tying in characters and plot threads from other movies.
In Iron Man 2 Tony faces immense mental and physical pain. The main arc is that the palladium core that powered the arc reactor in his chest was slowly poisoning him, and he believed he did not have long to live. For most of Iron Man 2 Tony is pathetic. He’s drunk, irresponsible, abrasive, and unreliable.
That’s probably my favorite part about the Iron Man series, and Iron Man as a character. Despite Tony being rich, brilliant, and a true hero, they explore his demons as well. His struggle with mental health is something they do not shy away from. He is an alcoholic, depressed, reclusive, anxious, and has the curse of knowledge. Through his support groups, tough love, and a reconnection with his holographic father, Tony reclaims his value and fights against his mental health issues. The real villain Tony fights in Iron Man 2 is not a tatted Mickey Rourke, or a goofy Sam Rockwell, it’s depression. This wasn’t something I understood when I first watched it as a fourth grader, but I do now.
Aside from the underlying meaning of the film, it does enough throughout in terms of comedy and action to keep you engaged the entire movie- it’s not a slog to get through by any means, and this is why it ranks ahead of some other Marvel projects on the list.
17. Black Panther
Wait, wait, wait- before you get angry, hear me out.
I like Black Panther. I understand its cultural significance, and the level of thought and detail that went into every aspect of this film from pillar to post. Black Panther is the first blockbuster superhero movie to tackle what it means to be black in America. I respect this a lot, and it rightfully influences my score. The cast is full of some of the best black actors of the generation, and Black Panther is an exceptional entry into the MCU. Its bigger than just another origin story. The actors, writers, directors, designers, truly cherished that. “To have the opportunity to pull from real ideas, real places and real African concepts, and put it inside of this idea of Wakanda—that’s a great opportunity to develop a sense of what that identity is, especially when you’re disconnected from it.”
As Jamil Smith puts it in his Time Article titled, “The Revolutionary Power Of Black Panther,”
“What seems like just another entry in an endless parade of superhero movies is actually something much bigger. It hasn’t even hit theaters yet and its cultural footprint is already enormous. It’s a movie about what it means to be black in both America and Africa—and, more broadly, in the world. Rather than dodge complicated themes about race and identity, the film grapples head-on with the issues affecting modern-day black life.”
Theres a lot to like about the film both within it and considering its greater context, but there were two major things that I didn’t like that keep it from being in the top ten where most publications lists have it ranked.
The first major trouble the film runs into is that the ending fight scene between Killmonger and T’challa is really poor for Marvels standard- the only CGI worse than that in the series was in The Incredible Hulk, which was responsible for two full renders of fully CG monsters. Black Panther had full motion capture and over a decades worth of tools at their disposal that the Incredible Hulk didn’t have.
The Corridor Crew does a great breakdown of the graphics in that scene, and go in depth about the technical errors in a way I am not equipped to explain. Their analysis starts at 2:45.
It was clearly a difficult job that the animators were not given enough time to finish. It’s such a shame that this was at the apex of the movie as well.
My second big complaint is that while I love Killmonger, and think he’s the best villain in a non-team up movie- I think it’s at the expense of T’challa’s character. It felt like The Black Panther lost his edge in the film. What I enjoyed about T’challa in Civil War was that he was decicive, and dangerous. His concept of justice changes throughout Civil War, as he goes from a ruthless vengence-seeker to a poised and self reliant decision-maker- a man who would make a good king. I don’t know if he really got the chance to do anything of note in this film. He rectifies the mistakes of his fathers past, yes, but he’s given no personality. T’Challa is kind of boring next to his supporting cast. There’s a great failure in that aspect of the film.
Aside from that, Black Panther is for the most part visually stimulating. I think Wakanda is the most interesting location in the MCU lineup and cannot wait for its return. The waterfall fights are enjoyable. The costume designers did an amazing job creating the wardrobe for this film as well- the patterns, the colors, the piercings the accessories, truly transported you to Wakanda.
I also listened to the Kendrick Lamar album that was associated with Black Panther on repeat for about a month straight when it was released. The score by Ludwig Goransson is excellent as well. When you hear those djembes, and the regal horns it instantly transports you to Wakanda. The score is instantly recognizable. The story of Goransson’s creation of the score is fascinating as well.
The Dolly Zoom 