Last week, I started up a two-part editorial piece wherein I'd rank the 16 movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe from worst to best. With the the first part, covering eight films in this franchise, out of the way, now it's time for the second half wherein I'll look at the eight best movies in the MCU. Without further ado, let's go forth into this voyage...
Doctor Strange feels derivative of it's MCU brethren is some key ways, namely in that its plot of a cocky rich guy getting into a physically-debilitating accident that leads him down the path of being a superhero is highly similar to Iron Man. But it manages to create its own identity primarily by fully embracing its own visual aesthetic heavy on bright colors, psychedelic imagery and a unique approach to depicting on-screen wizardry that makes the various visual facets of the project, from the fight scenes to the costumes, look both gorgeous and like nothing else in the cinematic universe. An all-star cast, including Benedict Cumberbatch as the titular hero that results in Cumberbatch bringing new layers to the flawed genius archetype he's played so many times before, does a fine job with ensuring that there are plenty of dramatically engaging storylines occuring amidst all the visual pizzazz and a clever climax caps off Doctor Strange on a high note, making this one of the strongest character introduction movies in the entire MCU.
Ah, Avengers: Age of Ultron, the divisive Marvel Cinematic Universe movie. This Joss Whedon motion picture swings for the fences at every opportunity and doesn't hit a home run each time for sure. The Hulk/Black Widow has some cute moments for sure, but Black Widow needed more to do in the plotline proper and that Thor subplot really is a truncated mess. But I gotta say, I thoroughly enjoy this one, likely more than most and find it to succeed far more often than it strikes out. This is especially true in regards to its emphasis on breaking down its individual characters and examining what makes them tick in sequences like that extended stay at Clint Barton's farmhouse.
A heavy dose of audacity is most certainly on display in the action scenes which, aside from some clunky bits of fight choreography like Thor's overly stiff movements in an opening invasion on a HYDRA base, show Joss Whedon basically leaving it all on the field for this Marvel adventure. A climax involving a James Spader robot turning a city into a meteor he can use to wipe out the human race is especially gleefully bombastic and a similar level of entertainment permeates any scene involving that robotic baddie Ultron. Sure, he's different from his comics incarnation but I loved the immature God that Whedon's script crafted for his version of Ultron and it's a character that James Spader is thoroughly incredible playing. Also working well in Whedon's writing here is he keeps his ability to write real iconic showstopper moments from the first movie without it feeling like repetitive. Vision handing Thor his hammer or Scarlet Witch emerging from a building to take on Ultron's minions are gloriously crafted on a visual level and truly pay off as character moments. Oh, and that final Vision/Ultron conversation about the simultaneous futility and beauty of humanity may be one of the best moments in the entire MCU. In short, Avengers: Age of Ultron has generated its fair share of divisiveness, and for good reason (especially in regards to Whedon's troublesome recurring tropes in terms of writing women), but overall, I found this one to be an admirably gutsy winner.
From the directors of You, Me And Dupree comes this Captain America sequel that took the Star Spangled Man with a plan and took him into the modern era with thoroughly engaging success. The modern day setting wasn't the only way this feature departed from the first Captain America film as an early fight scene aboard a boat demonstrates the movie's style of down-n'-dirty hand-to-hand combat that proves to be immensely entertaining. It isn't just in the punching that this one excels though, as new characters played by Anthony Mackie and Robert Redford very much leave their own individual marks while pairing up Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow with Captain America turns out to be a great move for both superheroes. You get all of that plus the hallmark of any solo Captain America movie of a big emotional gut punch in the third act, with The Winter Soldier's moment of Cap telling The Winter Soldier that he'll be with him "...until the end of the line" being particularly potent.
The Mandarin in this movie rules. For nearly half a decade now, a barrage of fanboy whining over this new take on the character that took the racially insensitive caricature from the comics into wry social commentary. That's a brilliant move that I wish got more recognition for its cleverness and thankfully, it's not the only aspect of Iron Man 3 that shows real ingenuity. From the way the story deftly handles Tony's PTSD-symptoms in a way that actually feels like it's handling weighty real-world subject matter with actual deft to the fun interactions between Tony and a kid in Kentucky to the constantly rapid-fire smart dialogue that provides plenty of memorable lines to speak of. And like I said, Ben Kingsley as The Mandarin is so much fun, I'd love for him to pop back up in one of these movies again someday.
This was the biggest risk the Marvel Cinematic Universe had ever taken and maybe ever will take again, an attempt to thrust a bunch of super obscure characters into a massively budgeted space opera from a director whose only two credits as a filmmaker up to that point had been two hard-R-rated cult classics. Considering everyone and their grandmother now knows who Groot is, well, it looks like Guardians of the Galaxy ended up working out alright and it's not hard to see why, the movie is just a fun as all-out adventure that fully embraces the possibilities opened up by its cosmic setting. In a stark contrast to the bleaker blockbusters that had been popularized in the wake of The Dark Knight, Guardians of The Galaxy takes place on an assortment of brightly colored planets populated by an assortment of aliens and spaceships adorned in even more colorful hues.
In the middle of this adventure is a star-making turn from the ceaselessly charming Chris Pratt, Dave Bautista cementing himself on the map as a talented actor as Drax, the instantly loveable Groot and Bradley Cooper immediately erasing any concerns he was around simply for stunt celebrity voice casting with his unrecognizable and amazing work as Rocket (Zoe Saldana gets some fun moments as Gamora, though the character really wouldn't quite pop until the sequel, here she too often gets stuck in the mom/love interest role most women are stuck in in these movies). Cooper's sublime voicework gets to be the centerpiece of my favorite scene of the movie, Rocket's bar breakdown that shows just how much pathos could be wrung out of seemingly silly creatures. A movie heavily featuring a talking raccoon fighting aliens with a tree may have sounded like nonsense as late as five years ago but today, its a key component of Guardians of The Galaxy, one of the best blockbusters of the decade.
I'm still shocked this one worked as a movie, and really worked like gangbusters at that, given that its massive cast and large amount of subplots would seem to be setting it up to be Iron Man 2 redux at best or a reoccurrence of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but thankfully, Captain America: Civil War is able to neatly compact its myriad of characters into a compact narrative penned by Christopher Marcus & Stephen Mcfreely that very much brings the solo Captian America movies trilogy to a satisfying close. Like The Winter Soldier, the plot of Civil War has Steve Rogers being challenged by morally shady circumstances in the modern-day world that allow for both Chris Evans to once again prove why he works so well in the role and for plenty of memorable action and character beats to transpire.
In addition to Cap's own journey here, Spider-Man and especially Black Panther get introduced into the MCU with thrilling success and supporting characters like Scarlet Witch and The Vision get surprisingly resonant character arcs to grapple with. The top-notch fight choreography that The Russo Brothers brought to their last Captian America movie remains intact here and they show real command as filmmakers in incorporating more heightened elements like web-swinging and Ant-Man size changes into their action work. Most impressive of all may be Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark, here giving his best performance ever in the series in a more damaged take on the character that's especially potent in a climactic duel that may be the most engrossing MCU final battle ever despite centering on just three dudes punching each other in a bunker. Going small-scale doesn't mean sacrificing absorbing entertainment of course and Captain America: Civil War and its keen eye for both grand spectacle and intimate character moments are very much on full display here.
The vast majority of blockbuster sequels want to be like The Empire Strikes Back, maybe the gold standard for blockbuster follow-ups, but Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 may be one of the few blockbuster sequels to understand the finer points of why Empire worked so well. It wasn't just a darker tone or splitting up the main characters that made the movie great, rather, it was the ability to dive deeper into its leads and take them into unexpected places as well as just executing all-around great filmmaking and writing. The newest Guardians of the Galaxy adventure keeps that in mind as it follows Peter Quill discovering his long-lost dad, Ego (played wonderfully by Kurt Russell) while the other Guardians grapple with their own set of personal familial hang-ups.
This new entry in the series isn't really all that darker from its predecessor but it does examine characters like Star-Lord, Gamora and especially supporting players like Nebula and Yondu in more insightful ways that allow both individuals to come into their own as fully-formed characters. It isn't just in the writing that this feature succeeds so highly though as the cinematography is also top-of-the-line while the action scenes have an enjoyable variety to them (we get a big monster battle in the background of the opening credits while later action scenes include a space chase scene and a battle amidst God-like beings) while also being visually cohesive in their presentation. Best of all though are the big emotional moments that are absolutely outstanding, especially a funeral climax that plays a Cat Stevens song over various small character pay-offs. That heavy emphasis on characterization is why Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 not only becomes the rare sequel to actually understand what makes great sequels like The Empire Strikes Back work but also makes James Gunn's newest Marvel film the sort of feature future sequels will aspire to match in quality.
Despite being my personal favorite MCU movie of all-time, The Avengers has more overt flaws to it than other high-ranking MCU movies I just talked about. The cinematography and directing are more amateurish and show Joss Whedon's lack of familiarity with big-budget filmmaking while there are some awkward plot details (like the Chitauri all falling down and dying at the end or Thor's brief break from the other Avengers after getting tossed out of the Hellicarrier), but oh good Lord, the positives of this movie far outweigh the negatives for me, no question. The Avengers was like Jurassic Park or Star Wars was for past generations, a theatrical blockbuster experience that blew out your eyeballs and senses and redefined what was possible on the big screen.
Director Joss Whedon uses his ability to craft great group dynamics, both in writing and in terms of directing actors, in a phenomenal way here that allows the individual Avengers to have vibrant entertaining personalities while coalescing as a thoroughly entertaining group while Whedon's sharp writing ensures that there's nary a scene in the film that doesn't have an individual line of dialogue that's already become famous. I could just watch these various superheroes and government agents bounce off one another for hours, but there isn't just chatting going on in this movie, there's also a third act that goes all out in showing its various superheroes fighting bad guys with a ceaseless barrage of glorious spectacle. Is it any wonder that, even separating my own personal experiences with it, that The Avengers is my all-time favorite MCU movie?
Alright folks, thanks for reading this two-part essay looking at the various films of Marvel Cinematic Universe, it was a lot of fun to put together! Excelsior, true believers!
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