Since Jon Favreau’s Iron Man arrived in multiplexes in 2008, Kevin Feige has turned the Marvel Cinematic Universe into a hit factory pumping out three $1 billion-grossing blockbusters a year. The franchise’s entries are all agreeable comic book adventures with plenty of action and spectacle, but some stand head and shoulders above the others.
The worst movies in the MCU feel like they came straight from the cookie cutter, following the same well-worn formula. The best ones have an authorial stamp from their director and a couple of exciting subversions of the usual recipe while still satisfying as a large-scale actioner.
10 Best: Thor: Ragnarok (7.9)
Chris Hemsworth had become disillusioned with the role of Thor – and understandably so – after his first two solo movies were generic blockbusters and all he had to do in Avengers: Age of Ultron was have a bad dream and then take a bath.
But his interest in the character was reinvigorated by the arrival of Taika Waititi, who injected a healthy dose of dry humor and colorful Flash Gordon-inspired action into the God of Thunder’s third solo outing, Thor: Ragnarok.
9 Worst: Iron Man 2 (7.0)
After the first Iron Man movie established Tony Stark as an instant icon, teased a wider world of superheroes to come, and put Robert Downey, Jr. back on top of the world, the 2010 sequel gave too much attention to setting up the larger MCU and not enough attention to rounding out its own characters and stories.
This would later become a common symptom of early entries in cinematic universes. Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman exhibited the same problem.
8 Best: The Avengers (8.0)
After Phase One detailed the origin stories of Earth’s mightiest heroes, the true test of the MCU’s chances of success came in The Avengers, Joss Whedon’s ambitious crossover that assembled those heroes on-screen for the first time. If Whedon could make a metal-clad billionaire, a super-soldier, a green monster, and a god all work in the same movie, then Marvel had a shot.
Of course, the movie nailed it. One of the most spectacular, vibrant summer blockbusters of the decade, The Avengers turned Marvel Studios into the hit factory it is today. The Battle of New York set a high bar for the MCU’s third-act battle sequences.
7 Worst: Captain America: The First Avenger (6.9)
Joe Johnston gave Chris Evans’ quintessential take on Steve Rogers a great introduction in Captain America: The First Avenger. It’s a pulpy World War II actioner like The Dirty Dozen, but with alien tech and superpowers.
It’s arguably the weakest entry in Cap’s solo trilogy, but that’s only because its sequels The Winter Soldier and Civil War rank among the very best of the MCU.
6 Best: Guardians Of The Galaxy (8.0)
While The Avengers set the stage for Marvel Studios to dominate the moviegoing landscape, Guardians of the Galaxy was the movie that proved it could turn anything into a hit. If Marvel could make a blockbuster franchise out of a talking space tree, it could make a blockbuster franchise out of anything.
Everybody from Chris Pratt as Star-Lord to Zoe Saldana as Gamora to Vin Diesel as the aforementioned tree were perfectly cast in this movie. Director James Gunn’s personality can be seen all over it.
5 Worst: Captain Marvel (6.9)
Carol Danvers’ first solo movie was review-bombed on sites like Rotten Tomatoes by sexist trolls who couldn’t stand to see a female-led superhero movie succeed. When actual critics were able to review it, they were much more positive.
The character’s unlimited superpowers, including the ability to punch through fleets of spacecraft, mean that there isn’t much conflict in the battle sequences, because she wins effortlessly. But thanks to the ‘90s setting, nonlinear story structure, and misunderstood Skrulls, it did successfully break the MCU mold.
4 Best: Avengers: Infinity War (8.4)
While the original Avengers movie seemed like an ambitious crossover when it hit theaters in the summer of 2012, it was nothing compared to Avengers: Infinity War, which brought Doctor Strange and the Guardians of the Galaxy onto Earth’s mightiest heroes’ radar.
By focusing on Thanos, the MCU’s best villain to date by far, Infinity War managed to feel brisk and streamlined despite featuring dozens of major characters. It culminated in the best downer ending since The Empire Strikes Back.
3 Worst: Thor: The Dark World (6.9)
Patty Jenkins jumped ship from directing Thor: The Dark World when Marvel rewrote the script and she realized she couldn’t make a good movie out of it. So, she stepped down and Marvel replaced her with Alan Taylor, who, lo and behold, couldn’t make a good movie out of it.
As a prime example of the pitfalls of the MCU’s cookie-cutter formula, Thor: The Dark World is a common pick for the worst entry in the franchise. However, it’s not quite ranked at the bottom by IMDb; that honor goes to another popular choice…
2 Best: Avengers: Endgame (8.4)
While Infinity War was an all-out action extravaganza that moved at a breakneck pace, Endgame was a much slower and more cerebral movie. Opening with a five-year time jump into a world still reeling from Thanos’ devastating destruction, Endgame perfectly positions the Avengers to live up to their name.
From the time-traveling journey through the MCU’s greatest hits to the biggest battle sequence in the franchise to date (culminating in Tony Stark’s tear-jerking sacrifice), Endgame was a shoo-in for the highest grossing movie ever made.
1 Worst: The Incredible Hulk (6.7)
Marvel fans were unsure if The Incredible Hulk counted as a part of the MCU’s official canon after Edward Norton was replaced by Mark Ruffalo in the role of Bruce Banner, but the inclusion of William Hurt as Thunderbolt Ross in the later movies confirms that it is.
Just the second installment in the entire MCU, The Incredible Hulk has a darker take on Banner’s transformation into the green meanie than Ang Lee’s initial Hulk movie, but it devolves into a typical smash-‘em-up in the third act.
![\"IT電腦補習](\"http://itteacheritfreelance.hk/test/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/logo2-2.png\"){kind=logo}
www.itsec.hk
www.itsec.vip
www.itseceu.uk
Leave a Reply