Over 15 years and 33 movies, the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies have redefined blockbuster cinema. But how do all the films stack up?
Here's our complete ranking of the MCU movies as Marvel's Phase 5 continues in earnest. Over the course of 33 movies, Marvel Studios has become the biggest force in Hollywood, earning $29.6 billion at the global box office in little over a decade and revolutionizing how studios approach blockbuster franchises. And while there's a litany of reasons why, one of the most fundamental is that their films are, for the most part, really good.
Release Date May 2, 2008 Director Jon Favreau Cast Robert Downey Jr., Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow, Terrence Howard, Leslie Bibb, Shaun Toub, Clark Gregg, Paul Bettany Runtime 126 minutes All of Phase 1 displays signs of a studio struggling to find its edge, but nowhere do you feel the strain of the shared universe as much as with Iron Man 2.
Its relation of the past is a particular problem. Alan Taylor took the broody, high-contrast style of Kenneth Branagh's original and replaced it with clean CGI, expanding Asgard in a superficial way that comes across as cheap Star Wars; and if that's what it was going for, the inconsistent story flow, set blocking and editing are more Attack of the Clones than The Empire Strikes Back.
There's too much reliance on CG, the scale is too large and surprisingly hollow at the same time, all sense of fun evaporating as it becomes clear that Ant-Man has once again been used as a stepping stone for when the big boys will come back to hoover up all the glory. Despite its good parts, it's destined to not be remembered.
Release Date July 6, 2018 Director Peyton Reed Cast Laurence Fishburne, Michelle Pfeiffer, Evangeline Lilly, David Dastmalchian, Judy Greer, Randall Park, Michael Douglas, Paul Rudd, Hannah John-Kamen, Michael Pena, Bobby Cannavale Runtime 118 Minutes Ant-Man and the Wasp is the Marvel movie everybody who dislikes the MCU sight-unseen thinks Marvel movies are.
It's easy to nitpick the narrative but that's only because the filmmaking is overall considerably weaker. While it's common to claim this is better directed than The Avengers, that's only on a superficial level; the original looks a little too like a TV show at points, sure, but its sequel doesn't offer much more beyond a more experienced CGI team with its considerably weaker script.
It's especially disappointing for Johannson given the film plays it as Nat's final outing; while Black Widow is the lead, her character exists in timeline-mandated stasis allowing little real development. There are few dangling threads for her remaining, but neither are new layers uncovered. Even the future prospect of the memorable supporting additions - Florence Pugh's Yelena and David Harbour's Alexei - is weakened by neither feeling as prominent as they should.
It's the inverse issue of the more comedic movies, where strong characters bolster flimsy narratives, and means that while Eternals takes many larger swings, it also has more embarrassing misses. It's a mixed bag, neither as bad or as good as some will say and represented throughout the filmmaking, from its rugged on-set locations making way for rubbery CGI, or the pervasive sequel tease of Kit Harington's Dane Whitman.
All of this comes together for a movie that lacks any sense of consequence. Nothing matters because the solution is always a plot contrivance away, and will be unspokenly altered in the next movie anyway. Doctor Strange's arc is barely worth a mention, given how little challenge, risk, or change he goes through. What a stark contrast to his original movie – and the Marvel Cinematic Universe as it once was.
With all that said, there's plenty that works. Both Thor and Hulk are well-defined enough at this point to thrive in this new environment and, while most new characters are a little exasperating , Valkyrie is a fully-rounded delight. The less-improv heavy moments bring that Kirby style to the fore without much resistance. It's just hard to not want something a little more balanced given how impactful it feigns to be. 23 Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 Close Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.
Release Date March 8, 2019 Director Ryan Fleck, Anna Boden Cast Lee Pace, Brie Larson, Rune Temte, Clark Gregg, Ben Mendelsohn, Algenis Perez Soto, Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law, Djimon Hounsou, Gemma Chan, Lashana Lynch, Mckenna Grace Runtime 124 minutes Unlike most MCU movies where there's a degree of consistency to the quality throughout, Captain Marvel is the one that varies the most.
What Ant-Man gets unavoidably right is the casting. It's a shame we never got an in-his-prime Hank Pym, but Paul Rudd as Scott Lang is an effective twist on the typical Marvel hero and Michaels Douglas and Pena add edge as aware mentor and hyperactive buddy respectively. There's also a large, affable supporting cast that take audiences through the rather standard story and making a more overtly comedic movie pop.
Thor is an overall affable movie, balancing big world building for the franchise and universe with more internal character debates. It was only by Avengers: Infinity War where Thor truly became a worthy MCU lead, but you feel that if the ideas raised by his first movie had been followed through on, he'd have reached that point a lot sooner.
18 Shang-Chi And The Legend of the Ten Rings Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is the 26th installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Simu Liu plays Shaun , a valet living and working in San Francisco, along with his friend Katy , when one day, his past comes knocking back at his door.
17 Iron Man 3 Close Iron Man 3 Iron Man 3 pits genius-billionaire-playboy-philanthropist Tony Stark against the Mandarin, an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his world destroyed by his mysterious antagonist, he embarks on a dangerous quest to find those responsible. His journey will test his character at every turn.
16 Doctor Strange Doctor Strange Enter the world of Dr. Stephen Vincent Strange , a world-famous neurosurgeon whose car accident left him unable to use his hands. As he desperately tries to find a cure to enable his hands to perform operations again, he comes across a world that leads to another dimension. After being taught about the different dimensions and learning about the constant threat that looms on Earth, he began to embrace his role as the humble protector.
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