Marvel Cinematic Universe: Ranked

I've noticed this film's reputation has declined over the years despite initial decent reviews from critics for good reason. Nearly everything about this film just annoys me and feels haphazardly put together. There is very little plot as most of the film is nothing more than a two hour trailer for The Avengers. The comedy is obnoxious and constantly in your face. The villains are also dull and one-dimensional. The only positive things I can really say about this film is the action can be cool at times and I have to give credit to the actors for doing their best with the material. Definitely the lowest point of the MCU and it's shocking how Jon Favreau did a good job directing the first film only to make this mess.

Often considered the dark horse of the MCU, the 2008 Hulk is very divorced from the rest of the franchise for many reasons. Edward Norton as Bruce Banner instead of Mark Ruffalo for one as well this film's more sombre tone compared to the more light-hearted style of the other films. This film tries to make up for the Ang Lee film by being more action-oriented and more of a typical superhero film. However, whilst Lee's version at least tried to do something different and unique with the genre, this film just feels mundane and derivative. Some could argue that this film is worse than Iron Man 2 but this film didn't annoy me as much. Edward Norton does a decent job but is given very little to work with and the CGI doesn't hold up well. And as I said, it feels far too separated from the other films in the series. If it's ever on TV, it can be a decent watch but nothing more and it's perfectly skippable in terms of the overall canon.

This film has some of the same obnoxious humour and slapstick that Iron Man 2 suffered from but makes up for it with Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston as Thor and Loki respectively who have great chemistry together and dominate the screen whenever there's a scene with either of them. Unfortunately, the film is bogged down with too many annoying sideplots and characters particularly Kat Dennings and Malekith is one of the worst villains in the MCU, probably worse than Whiplash and Justin Hammer in Iron Man 2. A not-so-good film with moments of greatness scattered about.

The most family-friendly of the Marvel films with a very Indiana Jones and The Rocketeer (unsurprising as it was also directed by Joe Johnston) feel to it. This film benefits from Chris Evans' likeable performance as the title character and some great action scenes but the story is very seen it before and the film does lose a bit of steam around the final act. A decent but unspectacular film in the series.

We're getting to the better films on here. Kenneth Branagh brought a lot of directorial flair to this film especially in the Asgard scenes and the visuals are at times even stunning. What really makes this film enjoyable and worthwhile is Chris Hemsworth as the title character. He brings a lot of charisma and charm to the role and whilst the character is initially arrogant, he's still likeable. The only real problem is the again, generic story and the film doesn't really do anything new with it. And of course, Kat Dennings (euggh). Whilst this is not one of the best films in the MCU, it's still a worthwhile watch and a solid entry in the series.

One of the most divisive films in the MCU, Iron Man 3 saw Jon Favreau step out of the director's chair and was replaced by Shane Black, director of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and co-writer of Lethal Weapon. Black's direction feels more stylish than Favreau's with elements of 80s action films thrown in as well as a more overtly comedic style compared to other Marvel films. The action in this film really feels large scale and bombastic which compliments some of the zany aspects of the film. The actors also all do better jobs here than in Iron Man 2 due to a much sharper and cohesive script and Ben Kingsley does a great job in the film. I did dislike this film at first due to the infamous twist but as I thought more about it and rewatched the film, it actually works and makes sense in context of the story. What keeps this film from being great though are some of the superfluous side characters and villains and I also would've preferred it if the film was serious just as much as it was comedic. Overall though, it's a very good film in the series and close to being as good as the first film.

I actually didn't think much of this film when I saw it but the more I thought about it, it was actually better than I thought it was. This is one of the more overtly comedic films in the series and definitely delivers on many laughs. The casting of the film is also great; Paul Rudd is likeable as Scott Lang and Michael Douglas gives a very dignified performance as Hank Pym. I also like how the film takes a much smaller (no pun intended) approach to its narrative, focussing less on diabolical villain plots and there's enough creativity to make up for some of the more generic aspects of the film. However, I would've preferred it if Edgar Wright stayed on as director as he originally directed this film during its pre-production stages.

Now we're back to the beginning here. The first Iron Man brought a new spin to superhero films with a creative origin story, a genius script and Robert Downey Jr making a career comeback in spectacular fashion as Tony Stark. Jon Favreau's direction feels authentic and allows the film to balance out the character drama and the silliness of much of the source material which works great here. The film also feels like its own standalone film as well rather than mere setup for a future film with the exception of the sneaky post-credits scene. The film does however lose some steam during its final act and the villain's motivation is kind of cliche but other than that, this is a terrific film and a great introduction to the MCU.

A lot of people probably expected this film to be at number 1 but to be honest, I think this film is slightly overrated. Well, maybe not overrated, but I think people seem to overlook some of its flaws a lot of the time and hype this movie to death that it's become a bit obnoxious. It's pretty much the Frozen of superhero films (or Frozen is the Avengers of Disney films to be more accurate). With that said though, The Avengers is a fantastic film. Converging all these cool characters together and having them work off each other and fight alongside one another was pulled off in awesome fashion. Joss Whedon was clearly the right director for this as he is well known for his creative character interactions and relatable protagonists. I also have to give huge props to Mark Ruffalo for completely making the role of Bruce Banner/The Hulk his own and feels more suited to the material than Edward Norton was. Tom Hiddleston also steals every scene he's in as Loki and despite his cliche motivation, he's one of the best villains in the MCU amongst a lot of generic one-dimensional bad guys. My only real gripe with the film is the story as it has been done several times before but I will give it a pass as it is done spectacularly well here and originality is a hard thing to pull off in films nowadays anyway.

I'm probably going to get a lot of hate for placing this film higher than the first Avengers on here but to be honest, I thought this film was even better. Age of Ultron is very much just the same plot to the first film but again, it pulls off its cliche story terrifically and even adds new things to make it stand out more. Even some of the least interesting characters in the team get their chance to show off some good character development like Hawkeye who was very much the black sheep of the first film. James Spader was a great new villain as Ultron and his sarcastic personality was played up amazingly. His introduction was a bit rushed however. Aaron Johnson and Elizabeth Olson could've had more scenes in this as their characters were built up a lot before this film was released but even they had their moments. Paul Bettany was also great here. A lot of people are very 'meh' about this film and don't seem to have a strong opinion on either side but I thought it was an improvement on an already amazing superhero film. I predict that it's reception and reputation will improve in the future.

This was a film that I had both high expectations but also approached with some trepidation based on how silly the source material and set up was. However, I was completely won over by it. With Iron Man 3 borrowing elements of 80s actions films and Winter Soldier showing shades of political spy thrillers, this film hearkens back to the space operas of the 70s and 80s especially Star Wars. With a hugely colourful set of characters performed terrifically by a likeable cast and filled with amazing action and visuals, GotG comes close to being the best that Marvel has to offer cinematically. It's a hugely entertaining sci-fi flick and the ending really left me wanting a sequel to see where the story and characters go.

This film is a miracle. Following up on a semi-good but 'eh' film, Winter Soldier upped the ante and improved on many that film's narrative shortcomings. Chris Evans is given more moments to shine as Steve Rogers who feels more fleshed out than he was before and he's backed by a terrific supporting cast including Anthony Mackie as Falcon. The film has a very political spy thriller influenced plot as it follows a mystery surrounding the foundations of the Avengers. For once, other than Loki, we also get a compelling antagonist as well to get us involved in the conflict and the stakes are raised higher than they have before, even more than in the first Avengers. To me, this is the best film in the MCU as of now and really made up for Thor 2. Civil War has a lot to live up to for this.