Ranked MCU Films

With the release of Captain Marvel, now seemed like a good time to post my personal lineup of all 21 films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I have rewatched all of these films within the last year, and have based the rankings off of my immediate impression and notes upon the reviewing. And of course, all of these rankings are based upon personal impressions, and are not meant to take away from your opinions should you disagree. Without further ado...

*****The first films discussed are certainly not terrible, but they're still mediocre, verging on bad. Thankfully, very few films fall into this section*****

#21

IRON MAN 2

Released as just the third ever film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man 2 marks a thankfully early nadir for the franchise. It is not a complete failure, though, as the first half hour of the film is actually fairly solid. Robert Downey Jr. is having as much fun in the role of Tony Stark as ever, and the action set-piece at the Monaco raceway track is pretty exciting. Unfortunately, after that surprisingly brutal sequence the script falls apart in a hurry. There is not much momentum going forward, and the film's refusal to fully commit to it's "demon in a bottle" storyline saps any impact it may have had. This film also marks the first attempts to establish a greater Marvel mythology and set up future pictures, but they are hilarious in how sloppy and disjointed they are. Though Iron Man 2 would rank right in the middle of the DCEU, for marvel it represents a distant last place, and the only of the 21 films that is hard to defend. 

#20

THE INCREDIBLE HULK

The Incredible Hulk stands apart in the MCU as the one film they are seemingly trying to ignore. Only one actor from the film, William Hurt, has reprised his role, and the events have only been briefly alluded to. While those aren't good signs, the film does have some merit to it. Edward Norton brings a solid level of intensity to Bruce Banner, anchoring the film well, albeit it is hard to see him working with the rest of the avengers. Though the final action scene is a muddy mess of subpar CGI, the films first few fights are pretty clever and exciting. That said, the film suffers from one of the weakest romances in the MCU. Though its refreshing to see the characters truly love being around each other, the actors don't have much chemistry, and Liv Tyler struggles to bring any depth to the character. The villains are likewise bland, with Tim Roth chewing his surface-level scenery, while William Hurt actually does a fairly decent job playing his role straight. It's hard to justify it as a must see, especially given its tenuous-at-best connections with the rest of the films, but it is very far from a total failure.

*****As a sign of the insane level of consistency Marvel has shown in its filmmaking, this is where I start to consider the films to be generally decent.*****

#19

THOR: THE DARK WORLD

Thor: the Dark World is, ultimately, a pretty fun "leave your brain at the door" kind of blockbuster. That said, it still has a myriad of issues holding it back. The film's cinematography and art design are overly grey and lacking wonder. It's villain is a complete bore. And, probably the most damning issue of all, it contains some of the worst attempts at humor in the entire franchise. What saves the film are the performances of Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston. Though he is still on the stoic side, Hemsworth's presence and charm are on full display here. Hiddleston, though, gives his best performance as Loki in this film. The film crackles to life any time he is on screen, and sorely misses his presence when he is off. In the end, that is enough for me to consider the film to be more good than bad, albeit just barely.

#18

ANT MAN

Coming hot off the heels of Avengers: Age of Ultron, it was a wise choice to keep Ant Man smaller in scale, avoiding having to live up to that mammoth of a film. Even so, it's hard not to feel a touch underwhelmed by the final product. The film famously started development with Edgar Wright at the helm, who left due to a lack of creative control. Unfortunately, his absence is felt, due to the cookie cutter nature of much of this film. Though presented as being more of a heist film than a superhero story, Ant Man unfortunately never really commits to that bit, and by the end is just a smaller version of what Marvel had done before. Still, Paul Rudd is a strong lead, and Michael Douglas makes for an entertaining mentor. The shrinking effects are rather clever as well, brought to life by strong effects and cinematography. The film's greatest weakness, though, is nearly its greatest strength. Evangeline Lilly gives her character of Hope Van Dyne an energy and strength that would be right at home in any Marvel hero. Unfortunately, the film sidelines her as a love interest without ever giving a justified reason why. It's hard not to feel as though sexism was in play in that decision, and though the cast try their best, its a question that nags throughout the runtime. 

#17

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

Captain America: The First Avenger is the first of a few MCU films that seem to be two different movies slapped together. The first half of The First Avenger is an origin story all on its own. Giving a weak but endearing protagonist the strength to be the hero he wants to be, and ending in a fun action set-piece that completes his arc. Unfortunately, the story is told by this point, and the second half of the film resorts to montaging its way through WWII and forcing unnecessary romantic obstacles to keep its love story from culminating until the end. Chris Evans is really what saves the film from falling apart at this point. He manages to find a charm and charisma that keeps Captain America interesting, despite being an old school goody two shoes. Hayley Atwell also infuses Peggy Carter with a fun power and energy, while Hugo Weaving chews the green screen scenery with reckless abandon. It's fun, and truly the only early MCU film with a sense of individual style, but the degree to which it loses steam is frustrating, as it was only a script draft or two away from being truly great.

#16

THOR

As the introduction to the cosmic side of the MCU, the first Thor film was actually a pretty solid experiment. The sequences set on the otherworldly Asgard are an absolute blast, filled with visual sumptuousness. The storylines here have a Shakespearian feel to them, right at home for director Kenneth Branagh, which helps it to feel like something more fulfilling than a standard superhero film. As well, Tom Hiddleston's Loki marked the first truly great villain for the franchise, and he would remain the franchise's best adversary for a full seven years. What holds the film back is the roughly 50% of the runtime spent in a podunk New Mexico town. After an opening fully embracing the mythology of its source material, a small scale fish out of water story can't help but feel incredibly disappointing, and has a tone of Marvel hedging their bets on such an "out there" story. It is to the film's credit, though, that it seems semi aware of this and smartly sets the film's climax in Asgard, allowing it to end on a strong beat. It also served as an important lesson to Marvel, who more fully embraced weirdness in their films to come.

#15

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

Avengers: Age of Ultron is the most "mixed bag" of a movie Marvel has yet made. Though it contains some of the coolest scenes and most interesting themes yet in the franchise, it also suffers from a lack of cohesive vision and an overindulgence in quippy comebacks. The storyline, about a rogue AI created by Tony Stark, intelligently keeps the focus on questioning the Avengers very role as self-appointed protectors. The debates around this topic are intriguing and almost single-handedly set up phase 3 of the Marvel Universe. However, the setting up for the future often distracts from the film at the present, and lends it a feeling of chaos and dissatisfaction. Add onto it action sequences that are simultaneously too long and not very memorable, and you have a film that's absolutely vital to the Marvel mythology, but falls a long way from the greatness it felt so close to attaining.

*****A very large jump in quality occurs here. All of the films from this point out are very good, and all definitely worth watching.*****

#14

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

After the first Thor teased the cosmic side of the universe, Guardians of the Galaxy was the first film to dive headfirst into weirdness. Hell, the two best characters in the film are a raccoon and a tree. While Guardians of the Galaxy seemed like a train wreck waiting to happen, Marvel wisely hired B-movie filmmaker James Gunn to bring them to life. Gunn not only fully embraced the irreverent humor and out there visuals of the films space opera setting, but he also gave the film a beating heart, framing the film as the creation of a family. Though the film set a strong benchmark for visuals, music and humor in the MCU, it unfortunately did not do the same for storytelling. The plot is standard macguffin adventure, with a bland villain who is a waste of a talented actor. It's also annoying that the sole female member of the Guardians is the most underdeveloped, especially since she's the only one with a personal connection to the villain. That said, it still paved the way for Marvel to begin giving their directors more creative control, and led to a controversial sequel that, in this writer's opinion, was even better. 

#13

Spider-Man: Homecoming

It's honestly pretty funny that Spider-Man used to be the most popular superhero in the world by far, yet due to his late inclusion in the MCU he now feels like something of an underdog. Spider-Man: Homecoming embraces this underdog status, focusing less on saving the world and more on balancing crime fighting with high school. As a story of Peter Parker yearning for responsibility and adulthood, the film is poignant and very, very funny. The film's Spider-Man scenes, on the other hand, feel a touch underwhelming for such a popular hero. Admittedly it doesn't help that Sam Raimi's original Spider-Man films (the first two, at least) set an impossibly high bar for the character to hit, absolutely nailing the look and feel of being Spider-Man right out of the gate. Homecoming wisely sticks closer to the ground, avoiding comparisons, but as such fails to feel very substantial. Thankfully, Tom Holland and Michael Keaton absolutely save the film. Keaton's villain is understandable and relatable without losing any of his menace for it. Holland is a true revelation in the role. While he had some practice with a small role in Captain America: Civil War, he shines here, delivering both a Peter Parker and a Spider-Man that are leagues above any others who have attempted the role. Though the story does leave something to be desired, Holland's performance alone make this a must see for any spidey fan.

#12
THOR: RAGNAROK

After the much derided Thor: the Dark World, Marvel decided to completely change up the character. As a result of that decision, Thor: Ragnarok became an all-out improv comedy with barely any earthbound screen time. Taika Waititi's flair for comedic timing and visual humor have allowed this film to stand apart among the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the most directorially unique entry yet. Unfortunately, the film's attempts at action and drama don't fare quite as well as its comedy. Though Thor's journey through the gladiatorial world of Sakaar are full of wit and inventiveness, the film often halts when checking up on villain Hela's conquest of Asgard. As well, the film does attempt to through some somber moments in here and there, but the ones that aren't immediately undercut by a joke just seem to sit there, failing to leave a true impression. Still, the film's breaks from comedy are never long enough to cause boredom, and it remains a consistently entertaining, if a bit slight, reinvention of the franchise's most problematic hero.

#11

DOCTOR STRANGE

It's fitting that Doctor Strange winds up smack dab in the middle of the MCU, as it's quality is essentially split right down the middle. The first half of the film is, honestly, a bit of a slog. It is reminiscent of some of Marvel's earliest and least inspired origin stories. This section feels like Iron Man lite, and fills itself to the brim with long winded exposition, broken up by only a few cool visual sequences. Thankfully, right at the halfway point the film throws its villain and hero together and kicks into high gear. From that point on, Doctor Strange becomes one of the strongest straightforward action films to carry the Marvel label. This section of the film shows the strongest effects of the entire MCU, and fully embraces it's magical source to deliver insanely memorable images and chases. The wrapup is also very clever, avoiding the standard Marvel destruction-fest in favor of something a little more cerebral. The second half of the film would easily make it into the top three entries of the MCU, it's just a shame that it has such a rough time getting there. 

#10

IRON MAN 3

Though Marvel has long suffered from a lack of compelling villains, Iron Man 3 is probably the film most hampered by it. The main problem is that the movie sets up an interesting foe early on, then proceeds to undercut that adversary without a suitable backup in place. It's a shame because the rest of the film is really very good. Shane Black's dark and blunt humor is very welcome with Tony Stark, and it's clear that the director and star have a very good working relationship. In fact, this film is probably Downey Jr.'s strongest hour as the character, as he achieves a very good balance of drama and comedy that allows him to stretch out his chops a bit more. Gwyneth Paltrow is also given more to do than usual, although the film's mishandling of Rebecca Hall's character is quite annoying. This film also contains some of the stronger action scenes in the MCU, blending violence and humor together in a unique way. It falls short of the original, but it is still a worthwhile entry, and the first MCU sequel to really "get it right."

#9

CAPTAIN MARVEL

Due to the debate surrounding this film, I'm going to say this right away: Captain Marvel is an absolutely satisfying and well crafted entry into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Interestingly, this film's structure is a touch more reminiscent of Phase 1's origin stories than the more experimental phase 3. That is not a real knock, as the film changes up just enough to feel fresh. Brie Larson makes for a powerful lead role, absolutely nailing the film's dramatic and action packed scenes. Samuel L. Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn steal just about every scene they're in, both of them having an absolute blast with their roles. The Skrulls are fun villains, and their shapeshifting allows the action to take on a bit more of a cat and mouse feel than the usual "punch away at everything" motif. The storyline is a bit formulaic, but spices things up with just enough twists to keep from getting boring. Overall, this is a very entertaining film that, while perhaps not really reaching for the stars, sticks to what it knows and does it well.

#8

ANT MAN AND THE WASP

Remember what I said earlier about the first Ant Man not really embracing its heist movie formula? Well, its sequel is a bit more what I was hoping for. Though others have added twists to their formula in the past, Ant Man and the Wasp is the first Marvel film to not be primarily about defeating a villain. As such, the film feels more like an on-the-run sci fi comedy than a superhero film. While the first film's editing was on the weaker side, this film uses it as its greatest strength. The pacing is absolutely perfect, moving just fast enough to keep the interest high despite the film's lower stakes. This is simply a funny and consistently entertaining film that is not trying to be anything more than that.

*****This is the final group. From here on out, these films are the cream of the crop, and any of them could easily have the case made for them being the best in the MCU.*****

#7

IRON MAN

The one that started it all. The original Iron Man created the semi-comedic tone that most of the rest of the MCU would follow right up to today. Because of how copied it has been, it's easy to overlook the fact that, at the time this film was released, this was somewhat unique. That said, this is still on the more serious side of the MCU, and doesn't really shy away from darkness and violence. Of course, the real draw of this film is Robert Downey Jr.'s performance as Iron Man. Though he hadn't been relevant in some time, Downey's ability to mix emotional honesty with sarcastic humor led to him instantly becoming a megastar. Looking back, the storyline is a touch basic, and the film lacks something of a directorial vision. Even so, this is the film that the MCU owes its success to, and the fact that, 11 years later, it is still one of the best in the franchise speaks volumes about its accomplishments.

#6

CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR

By phase 3 Marvel had totally and completely nailed the shared universe concept. So much so that this film functions as an Avengers film, while simultaneously feeling right at home as part of the Captain America trilogy. The idea of pitting the two biggest heroes of the Marvel Universe against each other could have gone badly very easily, but it's a credit to the screenplay that it works excellently. The conflict in no way feels forced, but comes across as a natural evolution of the character's different viewpoints. Though the quips get a bit much during the second act, the film rightly scales things down for the final action sequence, and allows it to play out in a fully dramatic sequence. Add in great intros for Spider Man and Black Panther, and you've got an exce#4

llent start to an excellent Phase 3.

#5

BLACK PANTHER

Two thirds of the way through Black Panther, it looked like a threat for the #1 spot here. Easily the most mature Marvel film, Black Panther eschewed a traditional good vs. evil narrative and instead focused its run time on differing viewpoints of how to address foreign policy issues. While that sounds very out of place for a superhero film, Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole's script anchors it with a powerful villain expertly played by Michael B. Jordan. His Killmonger is understandable and emotional, yet still evil, and finally took the crown of Best MCU villain away from Tom Hiddleston. It also took advantage of its setting to create the living and breathing world of Wakanda, combining aspects of many African cultures and topping it with a heavy load of Afro-Futurism. Unfortunately, the film concludes all of its character arcs by the end of the second act, leaving the third act to be little more than an empty action sequence. It also suffers from its supporting cast being far more interesting than its lead. Still, its strengths are so strong that these are not failures so much as blemishes on an otherwise great product.

#4

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER

Captain America: The Winter Soldier marked a turning point for the MCU. While all the films up to this point did little to change up their superhero formula, and it came directly on the heels of two sequels viewed as disappointments, Winter Soldier took on a slightly different tone. Though it still was a superhero film, The Winter Soldier took a lot of influence from 70s action thrillers. The result is a film that has an intriguing central mystery with one of the most important twists in the entire franchise. Yet, the film still keeps a strong focus on the personal views of Steve Rogers, giving him a far more personal adversary than was the standard at this time. While all that raises Winter Soldier to the upper ranks of the MCU, what keeps it so near the top is the action. The Winter Soldier was the first Marvel film to give its fights a real sense of "oomph." Most of the hits have a real impact, bringing the audience into the fights with the characters. In truth, this film still holds the high water mark for action in the franchise, reason enough for it to be so near the top.

#3

THE AVENGERS

The Avengers is probably the single most impactful film on the industry in the past decade. The Avengers is so accepted as a success that it is hard to remember a time when it was considered a big risk. Coming into it though, the idea of merging four franchises together carried the not insignificant possibility of Marvel biting off more than they could chew. In addition, though no films had been failures, only the Iron Man films were true, unmitigated successes. Still Marvel made a smart choice in hiring Joss Whedon to write and direct the film. Whedon's specialty, handling ensemble casts and witty banter, proved a perfect fit for this experiment. Whedon's script balanced all the Avengers mostly properly (Thor and Hawkeye did suffer from lack of focus) and his witty, quippy dialogue kept the film from getting too dour, and set the tone for the dialogue in the rest of the franchise. The characters were kept consistent and played off each other well, and the whole thing builds up to what was at the time one of the largest action sequences ever put to film. All in all, this film is just a ton of fun, beginning to end, and is only aided by its ambition.

#2

GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2

I suspect this will be the most controversial placement on this list. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is largely considered to be inferior to the original. That said, there's something about this film that just works for me. I do have a few caveats, though. Neither Drax nor Gamora have anything significant to do, albeit that was true of Gamora in the first film as well. The main plot is also a bit of a slowburn, mostly suggesting conflict without any becoming apparent until the slightly-too-long third act. That said, the film makes up for this latter point with its action packed B-plot. The film also provides a large degree of emotional heft, as Quill, Rocket, Yondu and Nebula are given strong and satisfying arcs that all coalesce into emotionally satisfying payoffs. Kurt Russell is also perfectly cast as Peter Quill's father, menacing without losing the subtlety required for the plot to work as designed. Overall, this film feels like the most personal film in the MCU, and it is its focus on character and emotion that put it right up near the top for me. The creative visuals and action sequences are just a cherry on the top.

#1

AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR

What else could get the top spot. Avengers: Infinity War is, at this point, the climax of the entire MCU franchise, bringing all of the characters and arcs together into a plot that threatens the existence of the entire universe. While it would have been easy for this film to feel overstuffed, the excellent screenplay by Captain America vets Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely trusts its audiences to have seen the other films in the series. This means that they do not bother with refreshing information the audience should already know, and instead are able to just get on with the plot. What this film is packed to the brims with are all of the things Marvel fans have come to expect and love: funny quips, clever action sequences and gorgeous visual effects. What anchors the film, though, is Thanos. There is little to be said about this film's villain that hasn't already been said, but Josh Brolin's performance as the mad titan is shockingly human, and manages to make a giant purple psychopath, not exactly sympathetic, but understandable. By this point in the MCU, everyone involved had learned all the proper lessons in order to make their biggest film their best. Hopefully, Endgame will only continue on this upward streak.

***And now, just for fun, we'll compare the three phases thus far by their average placement on the list. From best to worst, the Marvel phases are:

Phase 3 Average Placement: 7 & 4/9

Phase 2 Average Placement: 13 & 1/3

Phase 1 Average Placement: 14