All Current Marvel Cinematic Universe Films Ranked From Worst To Best (Including ANT-MAN AND THE WASP) | Breaking Geek
Welcome to Breaking Geek, column that just won’t go away, where uber-geek Nick Doll offers commentary and reactions to the most interesting news of the week (or whatever he feels like), using his expansive knowledge of all things geek!
NO ANT-MAN AND THE WASP SPOILERS HERE, friend. Even fewer details than you can get from a review or trailer!
Okay, I F–ked up back in July. I ran out of time and didn’t finish my new ranking for all current Marvel Cinematic Universe films the week Ant-Man and the Wasp was released in theaters. So, to make up for it, I waited months for the physical home video release so I can finally share my most recently updated ranking of all 20(!) MCU films thus far. Only two away from the end of “Book One” of the MCU, Captain Marvel and Avengers 4!
I’m not just adding films to this list each release, my rankings and explanations for such rankings are always adjusting slightly, with the latest film literally influencing how I rank the rest, due to shedding more light/giving more context to certain films. My tastes also change a bit; sometimes I’m in a happy Spider-Man: Homecoming mood and sometimes I’m ready to get real with Captain America: The Winter Soldier.
This is my personal ranking of MCU films, though please discuss it with me in the comments section at the very end! (Though, obviously, I am correct…)
I do explain my reasoning. Because I’m not crazy, there is a reason for everything and all the movies are in their proper place. So, if you are just glancing at the order and disagreeing, maybe give it a read.
Warning, there are possible SPOILERS ahead for any film EXCEPT Ant-Man and the Wasp! It’s fine to Spoil Infinity War now. You’ve had your chance!
20. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
The second film released in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is by far the worst. In 2008, the same year Marvel Studios proved themselves as understanding the future of the superhero genre with Iron Man, they also took a giant leap back with The Incredible Hulk. Back before Marvel knew how to handle the Hulk, we got a depressing film, lacking Marvel’s trademark amount of humor and levity, about a Bruce Banner (Edward Norton) who cared more about himself than any sort of heroics, too similar to Ang Lee’s 2003 Hulk.
Sure, the film has its moments, like Banner warning, “You won’t like me when I’m hungry” in Portuguese, but overall, this film is a dud with poor writing, a terrible villain, and a pathetic finale with two CGI monsters simply bashing each other. It doesn’t help that the recasting of Banner going forward makes this film feel like it’s not even apart of MCU continuity, more so than any other recasting Marvel Studios has had to undertake. The main positive: William Hurt is expertly cast as General ‘Thurderbolt’ Ross and is utilized later in the MCU narrative in an important role in both Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War.
19. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) was funny in his first outing because he was a fish out of water, with all the hilarious misunderstandings one would expect from the would-be king of Asgard trapped on Earth. Then, he was absolutely hilarious in his third film, Thor: Ragnarok. Thor: The Dark World is the real black sheep of the franchise — a real Temple of Doom situation — losing much of the humor from the first, making Thor and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) more boring and flat than before. Jane as a fish out of water in Asgard is not really that interesting. In fact, I’d say Foster is one of the most annoying characters in the MCU… right behind Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings).
This is the darkest Marvel film of all, and that’s not a good thing, as similar to The Incredible Hulk, Thor: The Dark World takes itself way too seriously. Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) is simply the worst villain the MCU has ever featured, and the MCU is known for underwhelming villains. Were it not for an appearance from the MCU’s most charismatic character, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), including a brilliant cameo featuring him turning into Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), this film would be a bigger dud than The Incredible Hulk.
It just feels, that even by the second Thor film, Marvel has no idea how to handle the character. Which does change later, thankfully.
18. Thor (2011)
Apparently, I’m just not that big a fan of Thor, unless he is interacting with other Avengers or being goofy, which is when his “fish out of water” comedy chops truly shine. As previously mentioned, this type of humor carries the film, which, like Iron Man 2, one could accuse of setting up S.H.I.E.L.D. and The Avengers more than being a satisfying standalone film. Most of the casting is great with side characters that continue to impress including Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Jamie Alexander as Sif, and Stellen Skarsgard as Erik Selvig.
And then there is Loki, Thor’s greatest strength and original savior of the MCU villains. But again, Darcy is simply the most annoying character in the entire MCU. So, while Thor does some great world building with the introduction of Asgard and further exploration of S.H.I.E.L.D., this is still Marvel Studios in their early phases, trying to figure out the right tone and flow of what their superhero films will eventually become. They just aren’t there yet.
17. Iron Man 2 (2010)
Iron Man 2 is not as bad as you remember. Yes, the plot is a bigger mess than Thor (but not Thor: The Dark World or The Incredible Hulk), and it too feels like a commercial for S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as a venue to set up Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), more than a completely standalone flick. This seems to be a common thread that Marvel Studios couldn’t seem to balance in their early days, Iron Man 2 being only their third film. Mickey Rourke is terrible as Ivan Vanko/Whiplash, right down to his damn bird. But there is some great stuff in here.
Though her character is as flat as they come, Black Widow’s first appearance still set a new standard for action scenes choreographed for women; an action style that has been repeated again and again in films like Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation and Atomic Blonde. Sam Rockwell is brilliant as Justin Hammer, perhaps the most underused character in the MCU. The comedy he brings to the film cannot be understated, with his desire to be as cool as rival Tony Stark, but with none of the charm or charisma. Nothing beats watching Hammer crack jokes and dance at the Stark Expo in the finale, a bit of showmanship that earns him nothing but crickets. Everything that worked in Iron Man continues to work here, and the recasting of James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes (this time played by Don Cheadle) is actually an improvement and isn’t as distracting as the recasting of Banner in The Incredible Hulk.
16. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
This one keeps moving down the list every time I rank the MCU.
Oh, how a messy third act can detract from an otherwise well-made and especially emotional film. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is very ambitious with no fear of getting too weird. The film has a lot going for it for the first two acts; beloved characters with complicated relationships, Marvel’s brightest and most eye-popping visuals to date, an upped quotient of the awesomely bizarre, and the strong theme of family. There’s the family drama of Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Nebula (Karren Gillan), the daddy issues Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) experiences linked to both Ego (Kurt Russell) and Yondu (Michael Rooker), and the idea of the Guardians of the Galaxy themselves being a family unit, complete with a young child in the form of Baby Groot (Vin Diesel). Though Kurt Russell as Ego is a great addition to the MCU, as is Stallone as Stakar, this is really Rocket (Bradley Cooper) and Yondu’s (Michael Rooker) movie.
Taking a very Empire Strikes Back approach to his sequel, writer/director James Gunn not only used the father reveal as a plot point, but splits the Guardians into two groups, just as Luke Skywalker went his separate way from Han Solo and Leia in Empire. The result is a decent A-story following Quill and co, with a far more interesting and emotional journey taken by Rocket, Baby Groot, and Yondu. Vol. 2 also contains one of the MCU’s most depressing, yet beautiful scenes, when Yondu is introduced, buttoning up his pants as his robot hooker shuts down and he stares out the window at the cold, white snow with loneliness written all over his face. It’s a shame the finale of the film is a little nonsensical with ridiculous situations arising and several plot holes concerning what Ego is and isn’t capable of. I mean, why are there pillars erupting from the core to give Gamora and Nebula a ride to the surface? I’m sure Gunn could explain it, but sure feels a little too convenient to me.
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15. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Okay, so I love the humor in Thor: Ragnarok. It’s a great film! But… it does seem to move down this list every time I update it as the wacky warm glow slowly fades.
In 2017, six years after his first appearance on the big screen, Marvel Studios finally figured out what to do with Thor. Ragnarok is hilarious in an entirely different way than Guardians, with a more blunt, understated, dry style of comedy that mostly doesn’t go for Guardians‘ brand of turd and chafed nipple jokes.
Hemsworth is finally allowed to fully use his comedic chops, earning him the title of funniest Avenger. Hulk (Mark Ruffalo) too is more fully realized than even in the Avengers films, and side characters like Grandmaster (Jeff Goldblum) are just utterly bizarre; again, a unique brand of weird unlike Guardians of the Galaxy.
Sometimes the action can be a bit of CGI overload with one person dispatching dozens and dozens of enemies like they are nothing. There are quite a few missed opportunities narrative wise as well, and though the humor is welcome, it often spoils the drama and tension by popping up at inopportune times. Not only that, but the opening of Infinity War is an opening of Alien 3 sort of disservice to fans, even though it is teased in the mid-credit sequence of this film. Watch all these character survive only to kill half of them? Not cool, Thanos! Not cool!
14. Iron Man (2008)
Why is Iron Man on the lower end of my list? Not even making the Top 10?! Well, when it was released in 2008, Iron Man did set the new standard for the superhero genre, establishing the tone of the entire MCU with the perfect balance of humor and serious situations. It owes a lot to 2002’s Spider-Man in terms of structure and telling an origin story, but it felt fresh enough with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), a superhero unlike any we had seen before, both in his personality and decisions he makes. I mean, who would have guessed the movie would end with Stark giving up his secret identity? Who does that?
Iron Man might even be one of Marvel Studios’ cleanest films with very little feeling extraneous and very few scenes or plot points that detract from this well put together little package. I have to knock Iron Man down the list though, because in 2018, when Marvel Studios has finally been getting “weird with it” for a few years, it does feel very traditional; a straight-up superhero film that takes almost no risks with the genre. Unlike future, more creative MCU films that tend to combine genres, this is simply a superhero film, something to build on, but not all that creative in retrospect. As good as Iron Man is, I want to honor the Marvel movies that truly break new ground.
13. Ant-Man (2015)
If Iron Man owes a great deal to the first Spider-Man film, then both Ant-Man and Doctor Strange owe their origin movie structure to Iron Man. While Thor and Captain America: The First Avenger were less traditional genre stories bucking secret identities and not following the classic structure of an origin film, Ant-Man has the classic structure of man gets powers (or a suit), man learns to use his powers in a series of montages, and then man applies powers to take on a supervillain with a similar power-set to himself.
Yet, Ant-Man still takes larger risks than Iron Man, pushing the superhero genre farther by pairing it with a heist film, complete with that genre’s structure and main-stays. Even more importantly, Ant-Man is damn fun, with Paul Rudd crushing it as Scott Lang, perhaps the most experienced comedic lead in the MCU. Director Peyton Reed has so much fun with the idea of shrinking and changing perspectives, throwing Ant-Man and the frustratingly similar villain, Darren Cross/Yellow Jacket (Corey Stoll), into hilarious settings like a model of a building, a briefcase, and a child’s play area complete with a carpet that acts as a sort of cornfield and Thomas the Tank Engine serving as a battle ground as if it were a real train. Best of all though, is Michael Peña as Luis, who really should run down “Previously on Marvel” at the beginning of every film, with his unique form of storytelling.
12. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Okay, I’ve only seen Ant-Man and the Wasp once, and though I remember enough about it to rank it, I both don’t want to spoil anything and I feel my review from July can say more about how I feel about the film than I can now.
RELATED: Ant-Man And The Wasp Review: Now, Onto The Lighter Side Of The MCU…(NON-SPOILERS)
I will say, I will be buying it tomorrow on Blu-ray because I need to remedy the situation of only having seen it once, immediately.
11. Iron Man 3 (2013)
Yes, I put Iron Man 3 above the original Iron Man. Again, though Iron Man did establish the MCU and is a great film, it also didn’t push many boundaries. After the disappointing Iron Man 2, writer/director Shane Black throws a few of the franchise’s rules out of the window. It’s far more fascinating watching Tony Stark struggle to survive against powerful foes without his wonderful suits during the second act than letting him have all his toys, especially after two movies of him solving all his problems with said toys.
Shane Black is an absolute superb writer and director, and his finger prints are all over this film just as James Gunn’s style is evident in both Guardians of the Galaxy films. Obviously, this film has a few gaps in logic regarding Extremis, though Extremis does allow for more interesting villains that just other people wearing arc reactors and metal suits. Guy Pearce as Aldrich Killian is a stroke of genius, another scientist who has modeled himself after Stark, like Hammer, only to greater effect, following a powerful scene where he contemplates suicide on New Year’s Eve from the roof of the building Stark promised he would meet him. Stark’s demons coming back to haunt him, indeed.
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10. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
I knocked this film up from the final 5 to top 10 after Infinity War. Yes, this is still Marvel Studios in the early days, still trying to figure things out. But the Cap character is so strong from frame one of Chris Evans to his, “Oh, God” line that ends Infinity War. Evans as Rogers is the MCU MVP if you ask me!
This movie’s biggest weakness is trying to cram all of Steve Rogers’ escapades across WWII into the second half of a film. Heck, it feels like we see several years go by in a simple montage of Cap’s Howling Commandos attacking Hydra units and strongholds. The first half of the film is brilliant, with an uncredited but very noticeable rewrite by Joss Whedon, making the dialogue crisp, fun, authentic, and emotionally charged as Steve Rogers goes from 90-pound scrawny wimp into real life-sized Chris Evans.
The effects used to create scrawny Rogers are phenomenal, the first time Marvel Studios attempted such techniques, as is much of the casting including Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, Dominic Cooper as young Howard Stark, Tommy Lee Jones as Colonel Chester Philips, Stanley Tucci as Dr. Erskine, Sebastian Stan as Bucky, and Toby Jones as Dr. Armin Zola. Though not all of these characters return, those that do are established well enough in this first film to really pay off in spades in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. Red Skull (Hugo Weaving) is better than your average MCU villain, and we FINALLY saw him return in Infinity War – I said since the day I saw this film that he wasn’t killed by the Tesseract, but rather transported halfway across the galaxy, as the visual effect used is remarkably similar to that of transporting via Bifrost in Thor. Again, we have a film that feels like a set-up for The Avengers, not helped by the poor decision to open the film in the present as S.H.I.E.L.D. locates Steve Rogers, but it doesn’t suffer from this imbalance as much as Iron Man 2 or Thor.
9. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
I like the funny Marvel Cinematic Universe films, I really do. But in the case of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Thor: Ragnarok, and this film, the comedy does undercut the drama and emotional pull.
Truly the most original entry in the MCU at the time and having shaped the types of MCU films we see now, Guardians of the Galaxy was a huge risk, that paid off better than anyone could have possibly imagined. Though all the MCU films are fairly funny (except for The Incredible Hulk and Thor: The Dark World), Guardians was a full-on comedy, utilizing the comedic chops of a newly fit Chris Pratt. New characters included a talking raccoon and tree, something that one thought could only work in the pages of a comic book, but this sort of weirdness became the film’s greatest strength.
Guardians of the Galaxy is the gold standard for an ensemble superhero team that doesn’t benefit from origin films about each major player preceding it. X-Men and Suicide Squad wish they could be this effective. And if Doctor Strange has the most unique villain showdown, Guardians certainly takes the title for second most original, with the hilarious and memorable dance-off. Guardians also became the first MCU film were music was just as much a character as our team of five heroes, something done even more effectively in the sequel.
8. Doctor Strange (2016)
This film gets a big bump past Ant-Man and Guardians of the Galaxy as Doctor Strange is definitely a highlight of Avengers: Infinity War, making his origin all the more interesting and important.
Doctor Strange could be accused of being an Iron Man clone. Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) is more similar to Stark than any other character when we meet him; rich, arrogant, and uncaring about anyone but himself. But, like with Guardians of the Galaxy, director Scott Derrickson isn’t afraid to make things weird and trippy, and Doctor Strange really benefits from this, making it one of the most unique entries in the MCU, comparisons to Iron Man aside.
The visuals are unlike anything from any superhero movie, and the film may just sport the MCU’s best cast — aside from Black Panther — including Cumberbatch, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Rachel McAdams, Benedict Wong, Mads Mikkelsen, and Tilda Swinton. The addition of actual magic (not whatever they were talking about in Thor) is just as much a game changer for the MCU as Guardians of the Galaxy’s introduction of a much bigger world than just Asgard and Earth. And the extremely clever finale bucks classic hero v villain showdown clichés, allowing for loads of destruction while avoiding the ramifications by undoing it all, in an age when we were finally tiring of the whole “city gets destroyed in the climax” battles seen in movies like The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Man of Steel, and X-Men: Apocalypse, among many others.
7. Black Panther (2018)
If the Avengers films weren’t so impressive in scope, and Spider-Man and Captain America weren’t my two favorite Marvel characters, Black Panther could have cracked my Top 5, easy. But it just misses out, though being number seven on a list of twenty films is quite the feat!
The cast is absolutely spectacular, but I will not list them all here as I will surely forget one of the film’s countless standout performances. Director Ryan Coogler may be the best Marvel director behind the Russo Bros, as this film definitely has the strongest performances across the board from every character, from the most minor to T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) himself.
I could sing praise about Black Panther for an entire article, but I’m not here to review it fully, so let’s focus on Michael B. Jordan as Erik Killmonger. He is, without a doubt, the best and most effective villain in the entire MCU (sorry, Loki). His origin is heartbreaking, and his skills and “evil” plan make him the scariest MCU villain to date. I cry way more at the movies than any man should, but Killmonger is only the fourth villain I can think of that made me tear up (yes, Thanos is in that club). His plight is somewhat justified. And his anger definitely is.
6. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Last time, Spider-Man: Homecoming moved up the list to #2, but this time it takes a beating getting eclipsed by all the Russo Brothers and other Avengers films.
Spider-Man: Homecoming is truly unique on this list as it is a smaller scale film with much lower stakes than nearly any other film in the MCU, yet it is still a powerful film. Michael Keaton absolutely steals the show as Adrian Toomes/Vulture. Though he is a very different type of villain than Loki, I would say has stolen the crown of greatest villain in the MCU… only to have it stolen again by Killmonger. That car ride to Homecoming is a killer scene, as is the movie’s biggest reveal and the conversation between Peter Parker (Tom Holland) and Toomes that follows.
And Spider-Man has never been better! While Sam Raimi’s films, the first two of which are still excellent, took a darker approach with a moodier Spider-Man, Homecoming is nothing but fun; a superhero film crossed with a John Hughes movie. It’s not the best MCU movie, but it is the most fun! Marvel literally can save any franchise!
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5. The Avengers (2012)
What? I’m putting The Avengers below Avengers: Age of Ultron? How dare I!
The Avengers doesn’t sit as high on my list as many would put if for similar reasons to why I let the original Iron Man slip down the ranks. At the time, it was a revelation, and I can still remember my unbridled excitement and joy when Steve Rogers and a newly cast Bruce Banner (Ruffalo replacing Norton) met for the first time on what turned out to be a helicarrier! Seeing the Avengers together, after leading their own origin solo films, was a geek dream come true and an actual game changer in Hollywood. I may never get the same feeling again as watching that panning shot of all the Avengers fighting together across New York, and it is this film, not Thor, that cements Loki as one of the most interesting characters in the MCU.
But, like Iron Man, looking back at it six years later, The Avengers is a very basic team-up movie with very little plot and even fewer locations. When you think about it, The Avengers really only hits three locations, Germany, the helicarier, and New York, with almost the entire second act spent on the helicarrier. Not exactly the most epic narrative for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. And, let’s be real, Hawkeye got screwed in this one, still not taken as seriously as the other Avengers four years later in Captain America: Civil War.
On the complete opposite side of the spectrum, Black Widow is fleshed out wonderfully after her stoic appearance in Iron Man 2, becoming on of the most interesting and badass Avengers thanks to director Josh Whedon’s love and experience with strong female heroes. The Hulk is finally used correctly, no longer a sick man seeking a cure, but a hero who wants to help others, and by the end of the film owns his infliction rather than run from it. The Avengers a nice, clean, well written, directed, and acted film, but the Avengers aren’t pushed quite as hard as they are in Age of Ultron.
4. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Speak of the devil. Age of Ultron may not be as neat a package as The Avengers, it certainly has its flaws and extraneous scenes and story-lines. But, it also features a more ambitious plot that gives Earth’s Mightiest Heroes a lot more to do, and adds a great deal of depth to even the characters we’ve seen in multiple solo films before this outing. Hawkeye is given too much of a backstory as a response to Whedon screwing him in the last film, and Thor’s entire story-line is a bit of a wash.
But, my favorite Avenger, Captain America, has the most screentime by a large margin, and he really shines, even when he is fighting Ultron Prime and being told by his teammates he doesn’t stand a chance. James Spader is very underrated as Ultron, who is not as great a villain as Loki, Vulture, Killmonger, or Thanos, but is delicious nonetheless. The finale does fall into the overdoing the destruction trap, even by super hero team-up movie standards, but this was apparently part of the plan, setting up Captain America: Civil War in Phase 3. One of the film’s most powerful and redeeming scenes are the visions shown to Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, and Black Widow by Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), calling to mind their biggest fears and sense of loss in a very classy and dreamy way that only Whedon could pull off.
3. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Civil War earns its place above the first two Avengers films for having the single most powerful moment in the entire MCU, the revelation in the finale when Tony Stark learns The Winter Soldier aka Bucky (Sebastian Stan) killed his parents. This leads to the most personal and heart-wrenching fight scene in the MCU, pitting Captain America and his friend Iron Man against each other in an actual fight to (nearly) the death. Who can argue with that amazing slow motion shot of Iron Man blasting Cap’s shield and it reflecting off, an image straight from the Civil War comic?
Civil War may not be as refined as Captain America: The Winter Soldier, but the directing Russo brothers earn their spot on Avengers: Infinity War by balancing a lot of characters and setting up the large clash between Avengers at the airport, the scene in the MCU most like a glorious splash page from a comic. Spider-Man is rehabilitated in his quick appearance, an impressive achievement indeed. Zemo (Daniel Brühl) is yet another underrated villain, another of the top five in the MCU. And can we please get a buddy picture featuring the pairing of Bucky and Falcon (Anthony Mackie)? Those two are just too great together!
2. Avengers: Infinity War
The Russo Bros., along with writers Christopher McFeely and Stephen Markus are the most talented people working in superhero films today, not just including the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I would go as far as to say they rival or even eclipse Christopher Nolan.
Infinity War definitely gave me the same chills I got when I first saw Bruce Banner and Steve Rogers meet on a helicarrier in 2012 and when Iron Man flew into save Cap as he fought Loki in The Avengers. It is that, taken to the next level, in a way Age of Ultron failed to deliver the same sense of wonderment.
Honestly, the entire film feels like the third act of a movie earned over 19 individual films. Phase 1 was Act 1 of the MCU. Phase 2 through Black Panther was Act II (the longest act in a film narrative), and Avengers: Infinity War, Captain Marvel, and Avengers 4 is the final, Act III.
RELATED: Does Avengers: Infinity War Hold Up After Home Video Release? | A Breaking Geek Discussion
All the character intros and world-building, and even character relationships are established. It’s free to have complete fun from second 1 without nearly any exposition. That is why it is brilliant.
And the film is the ultimate perfect mix of comedy and drama; even better than Iron Man and The Avengers. It’s the film with the highest stakes, yet it is also the funniest film aside from the Guardians films and Ragnarok. It’s a dryer humor, that I very much enjoy; the best jokes aren’t the laugh out loud funny ones by the goofy Guardians.
Emotionally, the film destroyed me in a way only Winter Soldier and Civil War have previously. The Russos are too good at this!
And I think it may be Alan Silvestri’s best score. And he did Back to the Future!
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Look at that, my top 3 is all Russo Bros. films. Like I said, they know their shit!
Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a nearly flawless film, and not simply the best film in the MCU, but also perhaps the best superhero film of all time in a top five club with The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Spider-Man 2, and Logan. The Russo brothers’ first action film and second film overall, they and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely perfectly marriage the superhero genre and all the elements of a ‘70s conspiracy thriller; the most seamless and effective blending of genres in the MCU.
The fighting is real and visceral with minimal CGI (there is still plenty… this is a superhero movie) and maximum stunt work, one of the reasons I prefer Captain America to any other Avenger. The plot is amazing, full of twists, turns, and major reveals you don’t see coming. The finale is powerful, with Captain America delivering a rousing speech while Hydra boards their helicarriers meant to wipe out all enemies according to Zola’s algorithm. Watching Rogers find out Bucky is the Winter Soldier is heartbreaking, but not as heartbreaking as letting himself be beaten by Bucky at the end of the film because he is unwilling to fight his best friend and doesn’t believe Bucky is completely lost. And can we talk about Robert Redford, another underrated MCU villain? The Winter Soldier is the complete package and a movie I would recommend to anyone, even someone who doesn’t like superhero films.
That’s all, folks! What are your thoughts? How would you rank the MCU, or if that is too daunting a task, what does your Top 5 look like? The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a source of extreme joy for many of us, and analyzing it can be half the fun! So, let us know your thoughts in the comment section below! And check back in March 2018 to find out where Captain Marvel lands on my list!
Ant-Man and the Wasp is out October 16, 2018 on home video.
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