This is something I have wanted to do for so long and now that Endgame has come and gone i thought this was the appropriate time to rank all of the MCU. I understand that a lot of you might be angry at this list, but we all have opinions, it’s just mine is superior to yours. Again if you have not seen Endgame at this point I am ashamed of you, but spoilers are ahead and you should avoid reading this until you see it. Let’s get started!
#22 Thor: The Dark World
It is not a bad movie by any means, but when talking about Marvel movies especially ones in the MCU this one is by far the worst of the bunch. To me the major part that makes this movie the worst is its identity. It literally has no idea what it wants to be. You go from almost a space romantic comedy to a melodrama to a tragedy, etc. It is just so much and it almost feels forced in its own way. Plus, does anyone even remember Malka in this movie? Didn’t think so. He is by far the worst villain in the entire MCU.
#21 Iron Man 2
I understand what they were trying to do with this movie, but I’m sorry Marvel that ain’t it. To me this felt like a lot what they tried to do with Spiderman 3. There is just plot line after plot line after plot line and so on and so forth. It’s too much for a movie that really doesn’t do anything for me. I really though they were also going to expand upon the origin of Tony Stark’s alcoholism and they made him just get over it. As petty as that is I really wanted to see that. Plus, I thought the double villain performances of Whiplash and Justin Hammer were uneventful.
#20 The Incredible Hulk
We now go to the only Hulk film involved with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This movie isn’t the greatest although the Hulk scenes are pretty good. This kind of gives me a black sheep vibe when it comes to the MCU as Edward Norton’s portrayal of the big angry green guy is the only one he does for this movie. The Hulk character has trouble winning a lot of fans over, but Ruffalo has done a decent job since Norton moved on. I will say the Abomination vs Hulk fight was really good and so were all the military interactions. When comparing it to the MCU though, it doesn’t stand with the rest.
#19 Thor
The original Thor had potential to be really good, but in my opinion it was very flat compared to the other films on this list. I can appreciate the director trying to find a good origin story and tell it properly, but it was kind of boring if I may be honest. You can tell that the chemistry was kind of “eh” in this one with Chris Hemsworth trying to find the right balance in playing the Thor character. Not bad just not that great.
#18 Iron Man 3
I will give Iron Man 3 this. It was a lot better than Iron Man 2. Was it still good though? It was alright let me put it that way. The plot was still kind of confusing and scattered, but it was still better than the second one. I was however very disappointed in the villain aspect of this film. The Mandarin was depicted as a threat to Iron Man and what we got was a cheap ploy at marvel poking fun at one of the best villains of all time. The best thing about this film of course was the constant changing of the Iron Man suits at the end of the film. Good points, but it wasn’t the greatest.
#17 Guardians of the Galaxy Volume #2
Slow your roll here you are probably saying. Here is what I am saying; This movie was not as good as the original and in fact it was very funny, but not very good. Here is why; The villain in this film is a very garbage ideal of one. Star Lord was trying to find out his daddy problems and low and behold he finds his dad in a celestial being in Ego. There was just no build up to this confrontation in this movie. The theme for me also doesn’t sit well with me and overall this movie just made me feel very sour with a little bit of humor thrown in.
#16 Captain Marvel
Some people might think this is too high however, some think it might be too low. Depending on what you think, I believe this film is right where it needs to be. This movie has been criticized with having a secret political agenda and while I don’t really agree with that it certainly didn’t wow me over as a Marvel fan personally. This was weird to me because this movie like Black Panther broke records on its showings. It was just weird to me that’s all and I might get hate for that, but whatever my ranking not yours.
#15 Captain America: The First Avenger
The Captain America origin story comes in at the #15 spot and some of you are like dude… Why is this pick so low? How could you disrespect the first ever avenger like this? Look don’t get all your panties in a bunch here I like this movie, but it just didn’t give me that wow factor like others have done in the past. The Red Skull was kind of just there as a discovery factor for the tesseract and how Captain America ended up in the present time frame. Other than that it wasn’t the greatest thing in the world.
#14 Antman
One of the newer Avengers to make his name comes in the form of Paul Rudd’s interpretation of the pint sized hero known as Antman. This movie was a different take on the superhero movie as this was about essentially a thief. We hadn’t seen a common criminal come into the realm of superheroes and it was interesting to see Michael Douglas and Paul Rudd’s chemistry together. The comedy aspect of this movie was good and the Thomas the Tank Engine fight was funny and surprisingly good to watch. B+ film in my opinion.
#13 Avengers: Age of Ultron
The second bringing together of the Avengers team gets a spot at #13. This was a very good movie, but I just felt like the plot lines were a bit scattered and other than Ultron there really wasn’t that much character development from the last Avengers film. The Quicksilver costume really bothered me as I felt like it was just really lazy and misused. Ultra steals the show here for me being such an interesting villain and the emergence of Vision with the mind stone brings in a new stone to add to the eventual saga of the infinity stones.
#12 Antman and the Wasp
If I could describe this movie it would be if you took the original Antman and turned up the comedy levels and enjoyment by a 100. Overall, while it might not have been the blockbuster that other Marvel movies were before it, it was certainly one of the most fun movie theater experiences that summer. The thing that drags it down was the almost lack of villain in this film. The character technically needs to be a villain to steal something so she can survive. It was a weird take that I thought just didn’t fit with the film. Other than that very enjoyable movie.
#11 Doctor Strange
The first Marvel film to branch into the magical art, Doctor Strange delivered with a huge smashing hit. Cumberbatch absolutely kills the role of Strange and his mannerisms. The film again kind of has trouble defining the villain role as it can be taken as sort of a revenge take from the villain’s perspective. Also, Dormammu made a nice cameo appearance, but I wish his role would have expanded just a tiny bit. The scenes and visuals were absolutely breath taking for this film and it made my mouth just drop from time to time when I saw it in theaters.
#10 Spiderman: Homecoming
The newest of the Spiderman films takes on a younger new look with actor Tom Holland taking the web slinger by storm. We knew this kid was going to be special when he made his first appearance in the final fight in Civil War. Overall, Holland’s awkwardness and humor bring such a relief to fans everywhere who were dealing with terrible Spiderman movies. Who else cried when he died in Infinity War? That’s right I was inters and I am not ashamed to admit that. In this film, we got Peter at his best with a young state of mind and interesting villain ahead of him in the form of Vulture played by Michael Keaton. He was just trying to keep himself alive on the job market and it just so happened that crime was the only way to do it. Plus we get a nice and heartwarming and sometimes maturing of the relationship between Stark and Peter as Tony tries to be this fatherly figure toward Parker. Very good film and worth being in the top ten.
#9 Thor: Ragnarok
We now come to probably the funniest film in the entire MCU franchise. Thor: Ragnarok was a huge ride that I enjoyed very very much. Hemsworth finally lands the perfect balance of Thor’s humor and violent aggression. The images of this one just seem very retro to me and the comedy balance between Thor, Loki and The Hulk match absolutely perfectly together. The imaginative characters are brought to life and Jeff Goldblum’s character is a dark sarcastic sense of humor and the image of the hammer being destroyed by Thor’s sister Hela was a sight to see. The future of Asgard was in ruins, but the feeling that your family and friends are your home brings an amazing family value to this film as well.
#8 Guardians of the Galaxy
This film was a bit shaky for me at first because no one really knew what to expect. James Gunn blew everybody’s mind however as this movie was such an amazing spectacle to see from all angles. The imagery, fight scenes, character buildings, and overall feeling of this movie give a very happy and fun loving vibe to it. The music is actually probably one of the best parts about this movie. Music plays a big part in this film as Star Lord uses it to describe himself, his team and many of his habits. The power stone is huge for this movie and basically kicks off the infinity stones hunt and Thanos.
#7 Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Coming in at number seven we have Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I know a lot of you are probably upset that this isn’t higher on the list, but I think it is in the right place out of all 22 films. It has a huge story arc with Steven and Bucky and probably some of the best fighting choreography in the entire franchise. Overall, if some of the films didn’t happen this one would easily be considered as number one for myself and many others.
#6 Black Panther
Now I know that a lot of people are gonna get real upset at the fact that this isn’t higher, but while I’ll agree it was one of the best films for the MCU to bring to life it does have a political and racial message behind which sometimes I feel doesn’t need to be included in movies of this stance. I mean I understand why, but I feel like they could have done without it in this case. Again no hate just my own opinion. The introduction of Killmonger is probably one of the best villain introductions as he is probably one of the only villains we felt sorry for or cheered for in the theaters when watching this. One of the best movies to be brought to us by the MCU, but it just couldn’t crack the top five.
#5 Captain America: Civil War
This movie was huge for me as I was such a huge fan of the Civil War comic series from Marvel. Overall, my expectations were met head on and they did nothing, but impress me with everything Marvel did. The timing of this was the thing put into question, but I understand why they put this movie before others. In order for the feeling of fighting Thanos to be amazing they needed to be through a huge challenge before that. So they internally fought themselves and it was such a bittersweet feeling watching all of the heroes you grew up fighting each other for different reasons. Excellent film to watch and one of my favorite arcs ever written and made into gold on the screen.
#4 The Avengers
Coming in at number four is the movie that took superhero teams to a whole other level. The first meeting of this team sees various powers and egos come together for the greater good of mankind. I am a huge fan of crossovers and team ups so this was the right movie for me. The action was superb, the humor was good and Loki was seen as a legitimate threat for the first time in a long time. Very good film as it led us to newer chapters of hardship between friends and teammates. One of the best original crossover films I’ve seen in a long long time. Plus the forest fight was such a tease for what would come later down the road in Civil War.
#3 Iron Man
The one that started it all comes to us at number three. Iron Man looking back at it was one of the best Marvel films ever made even with MCU included. The sense of power and energy that Robert Downey Jr. brings as he completely kills the Tony Stark/Iron Man role with complete confidence. The villain length might not be totally there as the Iron Monger probably wasn’t the best one to start off with. However, when it comes to nostalgia and ability this movie holds up even eleven years later and that is saying something.
#2 Avengers: Endgame
The most recent addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe comes in second place with Avengers Endgame. The over three hour long film was probably one of the greatest theater experiences I’ll ever have a shot at in my lifetime. The fans were into it and I am pretty sure not one person went to the bathroom in that three hour long span. Absolutely incredible experience. All the plot points hit home for me as we saw probably one of the greatest battles in Marvel history. We saw our beloved Iron Man save the world, but perish in the process, Captain America finally get the girl and some of the biggest questions were answered and some were however left unanswered. Overall, Avengers Endgame filled me with a sense of accomplishment as one of the biggest events in Marvel history was finally over.
#1 Avengers: Infinity War
Where as the last Avengers Film I wrote about filled me with accomplishment, this was probably one of the most real experiences I have ever had. At the end of Infinity War, I saw some of the best characters I have seen growing up throughout the years disappear and turn to the dust. My heart sank and like others in the theaters I broke into tears. Me; a grown man crying over comic book characters. That is what effect the film had over me. An unstoppable force battling a group trying to save the human race. This was one of the hardest films to watch emotionally and it tugs at your heart strings, but also delivers just the right amount of humor to go along with it. That is why infinity War is the best MCU film of all time.
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