20) Thor: The Dark
World
If ever the MCU (Marvel Cinematic
Universe, for the uninitiated) veered dangerously close to the abysmal lows
reached by Joel Schumacher’s Batman &
Robin, it was with the Thor: The Daft
World. With Game of Thrones regular
Alan Taylor in the director’s chair, we were expecting grittier battles, a
family web of intrigue and maybe, just maybe, Loki delivering an evil monologue
during a sexposition scene. What we got instead was not enough Loki, very dodgy
physics, a main villain void of motivation or personality and an embarrassing overreliance
on comedy that you suspect is there to distract from the myriad of plot holes. To
paraphrase Avengers director Joss
Whedon (who also had to be parachuted in at the last minute to tidy up the
screenplay): if you’ve got a good script, you won’t need jokes. If you don’t,
not even all the jokes in the world will save you.
19) Thor: Ragnarok
Actually, scratch that – the time
the MCU actually DID come close to the abysmal lows reached by Batman & Robin was with the God of
Thunder’s third outing. No doubt still feeling the brunt of The Dark World’s lacklustre reception,
Marvel Studios looked to the beloved Guardians
of the Galaxy franchise and made the strategic decision to inject Ragnarok with a massive dose of wacky
humour, brighten up the colour palette and throw in some space guns for good
measure. The end result? An action comedy ripe with slapstick gags and college
humour that proved immensely popular with undemanding mainstream audiences, but
that thematically bears no resemblance to Thor
or TDW. Some will argue that director
Taika Waititi re-energised a character that was increasingly being overshadowed
by his fellow Avengers, but the truth is Waititi seems to have no interest or
patience to understand the source material and give it the treatment it
deserves. After all, why dignify a Norse God when you can repeatedly zap him
for a laugh?
18) The Incredible Hulk
Some could argue that Louis
Leterrier’s take on Marvel’s resident angry man was harmed by its release date,
which was just over a month after Iron
Man’s debut and therefore was always going to suffer by comparison. But
even taken on its own merits, there’s a lot wrong with The Incredible Hulk: the quality of the CGI is inconsistent, Edward
Norton is oddly unmemorable as Bruce Banner (as are the rest of the supporting
cast), while the plot and pace feel a little too calculated and risk-assessed,
which no doubt has something to do with Ang Lee’s Hulk, an art house superhero flick that alienated mainstream
audiences in 2003. It’s basically a serviceable blockbuster that plays it a
little too safe. Had a director with a stronger creative vision been hired and
Ed Norton reined in (whose frequent meddling with the script cost him the gig
in The Avengers), Marvel would’ve
probably had a Hulk Smash on its hands.
17) Dr Strange
With a premise that touches upon mystical
dimensions and astral planes, Dr Strange
represented a bold step in a new direction for Marvel Studios. From a visual
standpoint it is the MCU’s most ambitious movie – the mind-bending sequence in
which the staunchly agnostic Stephen Strange experiences multiple realities all
at once is just as psychedelic an experience for the viewer. Yet there is so
much about Dr Strange that reeks of
missed opportunity. Director Scott Derrickson’s could have taken the film in a
much darker direction, considering his pedigree in supernatural horror flicks,
while Mads Mikkelsen, a character actor that excels at playing villains, is
criminally underused as the movie’s big bad. But what’s most jarring is that the
plot feels like a carbon copy of Iron Man’s
origin story: wealthy, arrogant, impeccably bearded genius learns the error of
his ways by becoming a superhero – just substitute ‘technology’ with ‘magic’.
And while Benedict Cumberbatch does a decent job as the titular doctor (but the
less said about that accent, the better), Stephen Strange is no Tony Stark.
16) Iron Man 2
IM2 was the first time Marvel Studios succumbed to its own
hype. Still fresh off the success of Jon Favreau’s first instalment and Nick
Fury’s foreshadowing mention of “The Avenger Initiative”, the newly invigorated
film studio decided to cram in as many Easter Eggs for its upcoming films
(Black Widow? Check. Captain America’s shield? You betcha. Thor’s Hammer? Hell
Yeah!), but in the process forgot to invest time in a half decent script,
choosing instead to rely a little too heavily on Robert Downey Jr’s improv
skills and his shorthand with Favreau. Still, there are a few standout scenes
worth mentioning, such as Iron Man’s ridiculously cool entrance at a packed
expo hall to the sound of AC/DC, a nail-biting confrontation on the Monte Carlo
racetrack and a mouth-watering teaser that remains Marvel’s best end credits
scene to this day. Perhaps the best way to sum up IM2 is that it’s a bit like sex and pizza: even when it’s bad, it’s
still pretty good.
15) Avengers: Age of Ultron
The second time Marvel succumbed
to its own hype, AOU is a serious misstep in what had been a fairly smooth run
of hits in Phase 2. While the first Avengers film felt like a triumphant culmination
of four franchises coming together both narratively and figuratively, this time
round Earth’s Mightiest Heroes appear to team up due to contractual obligation.
Joss Whedon does his best to juggle the lumpy script and ever-expanding cast, but
most of the time feels like he is ticking boxes off a never-ending list of
set-ups, sequel-baits and luscious Easter Eggs. It’s not all bad news, though.
The action set-pieces are reliably earth-shattering (literally), Machiavellian
cyborg Ultron is ironically one of Marvel’s meatier villains to date and Paul
Bettany unexpectedly steals the show with his majestic turn as The Vision. And
of course, there’s still plenty of fun to be had watching Cap, Iron Man &
Co. together on-screen – even if it’s at house party, rather than the battlefield.
14) Ant-Man & The Wasp
There are two words looming over
Peyton Reed’s serviceable if not outstanding sequel to his diminutive heist
movie: Infinity War. Released just a
few months apart, there was no way Ant-Man
& the Wasp was ever going to live up to the Russo Bros’ almighty
crossover event and as a result, like The
Incredible Hulk with Iron Man
before it, the film was always destined to suffer in comparison. But taken on
its own merits, there is plenty of fun to be had watching Ant-Man & the Wasp. Paul Rudd refines his shtick as relatable
loser Scott Lang, while Evangeline Lilly is the perfect foil to her goofy
counterpart as the sassy Hope Van Dyne. Also, following a string of MCU entries
that were trying a little too hard to be funny, the comedy in AM&TW feels more welcome and
befitting of the film’s tone. And finally, special mention should also go to
the heart-warming relationship between Scott and Cassie Lang – in a cinematic
universe where a super-powered smackdown is never far away, it is nice to see
some screen time dedicated to a father and daughter playing treasure hunt in
the attic.
13) Spiderman: Homecoming
Let’s be clear, there is a lot
that Homecoming gets right: it wisely
relocates Spider-Man back to high school; even more wisely, it casts an actual
teenager, the immensely likeable Tom Holland, in the titular role; the overfamiliar
Uncle Ben subplot is mercifully scrapped; and, in Michael Keaton’s Vulture, it gives
us a blue collar bad guy that feels sympathetic and surprisingly more menacing
when he is out of the mechanical wings – the scene in which he confronts Peter
Parker in a car feels less like a confrontation between hero and villain and
more like a sadistic adult bullying an intimated teenager. So why doesn’t the
film rank higher on the list? For starters, while there isn’t the same
overreliance on comedy present in Ragnarok,
there is enough of it to drag in a couple of scenes. Due to the Queens setting,
there is also a woeful lack of web-swinging from skyscrapers (say what you want
about Amazing Spider-Man 2, but that
film knew how to spend its special effects budget). But what’s most ill-judged
is the creative decision to give Spidey a high-tech suit that has more in
common with Iron Man than it does with the superhero’s classic DIY roots. The
end result is a film that simply feels like a preferable alternative to Sony’s
Amazing Spider-Man franchise, when it
should’ve actually been aiming for the towering heights reached by Sam Raimi
with Spider-Man 2.
12) Captain America: The First Avenger
CA:TFA (need to keep the word count down) is a film of two halves.
The first is a brilliant WWII origin story that portrays Steve Rogers’ journey
from scrawny underdog to legendary war hero. People talk about Thor and Guardians of the Galaxy as being Marvel’ riskiest projects, but
getting worldwide audiences to root for a dude dressed in the American flag is
no easy feat either. Luckily, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely’s script
and Chris Evans’ well-judged performance manage to infuse Rogers with the
requisite humanity to make him an affable character, so that viewers can look
past the red, white and blue and see the good man behind the patriotic façade.
It’s the second half that’s a problem: post-super soldier conversion, the film
is content with sticking our hero in a series of uninspiring action montages
and key plot points like Bucky’s death feel rushed and lack the requisite
emotional punch. And as for the ill-advised cyberpunk vibe, would it have been
so bad for Cap to battle some actual Nazis? If Indiana Jones could get away
with it, why can’t a Marvel character?
11) Thor
Iron Man aside,
Thor is
the best of Marvel’s phase 1 movies. For starters, it defies the conventions of
most first instalments in superhero franchises by not being an origins story –
when we meet Thor, he’s fully formed, no explanation necessary for how he got
his mystical hammer. Secondly, the script makes the bold move of relegating him
to Earth in a powerless state for the majority of the film’s running time. As
unlikely as it seems, it’s a plot device that works. With his space viking
wardrobe and a propensity to speak in Olde English, Thor could’ve looked and
sounded really silly, but by going down the fish-out-of-water route, the Norse
God instantly becomes a more amusing proposition. It also helps that he’s
played by Chris Hemsworth, whose handsome features and deep voice not only make
him a dead ringer for the God of Thunder, it also means that
Thor is the one Marvel film your
girlfriend might just watch with you. And while the film is admittedly lacking
in the action set-pieces department, it did introduce us to Tom Hiddlestone’s
Loki, easily the most charismatic and emotionally complex villain in the whole
MCU.
10) Ant-Man
There’s an argument to be made that
Marvel Studios’ biggest accomplishment in Phase 2 has been pulling off
brilliant adaptations of its more obscure characters. So after Falcon becoming
Avengers-material in
Winter Solider
and the
Guardians of the Galaxy sealed
their reputation as the coolest team on the space block, along comes Ant-Man,
easily the hero with the most laughable superpower out there. But you know
what? Turns out shrinking is cool, especially in a heist film that’s part
Ocean’s Eleven, part
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids (there’s also a
scene that goes a bit
Interstellar,
but let’s not talk about that). Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang may not be the new Tony
Stark, but the actor’s brand of humour fits in perfectly with the subject
matter, while Michael Douglas brings some much needed gravitas to a role that
sees him chatting to a bunch of ants. Most refreshingly, this is the film that
finally ended Marvel’s tiring habit for staging apocalyptic sky-battles in
their final acts, instead opting for something different, trippy and laugh-out
loud funny. Four words: Thomas the Tank Engine.
9) Iron Man 3
The shame about IM3 is that so many fanboys will never forgive Shane Black for that Mandarin twist, when it’s actually Marvel’s most introspective movie to date. Yes, it’s action-packed and Robert Downey Jr’s witty improvisation is still bang on the money, but strip away the fancy armour and you’ll find a lot of intriguing psychological questions are being raised. Does Tony Stark’s obsession with building new suits mean he’s actually trying to build better versions of himself? And if a man needs to rely on his technology to save the world, is he still a hero when you take it away from him? The fact that a summer blockbuster finds the time to focus on these points in between explosions is quite laudable. Also, many forget that post-Avengers, there was an underlying fear that audiences would no longer have the patience to sit through a handful of solo films. IM3 proved that, as long as you have a good script and a confident director like the man behind Lethal Weapon and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, that would never be the case. And as for that Mandarin twist, it may defy decades of comic book mythology, but it works and hilariously so. In fact, if you want to decry something, it should be the treatment of War Machine/Iron Patriot. He’s useless.
8) Avengers: Infinity War
It shouldn’t have worked. With a character
roster that includes 22 pre-established superheroes, multiple settings across
the universe and a running of time of ‘just’ 150 minutes, many could’ve been
forgiven for believing that Infinity War
was destined to crumble under the weight of its own ambition. They need not
have worried, for the Russo Bros. manage to pull off an epic crossover that
remains character-driven (for the most part) while also featuring the scale and
set-pieces that wouldn’t be out of place in a fantasy epic directed by Peter
Jackson. Yet while hardcore fans will no doubt lap up the pathos on display, Infinity War can admittedly feel like a
spectacular yet vacuous experience to casual viewers. While The Avengers felt more contained and
worked as a standalone movie, Infinity War
relies a little too heavily on what came before and not everyone will have
fully invested themselves in the MCU’s previous 18 (!!) films. It’s a good job
then that there’s a compelling villain holding all the various strands
together. In Thanos, IW has a central
character that has both the intelligence and screen presence to make a truly
unforgettable antagonist, brought to magnificent life by convincing CGI and a
magnetic performance by Josh Brolin. And then there’s that ending, not so much a cliffhanger, more like a promise from
Kevin Feige that the Infinity Gauntlet is off and that the MCU won’t be resting
on its laurels any time soon. Bring on Avengers
4.
7) Black Panther
The best films in the MCU are the
ones that have a strong sense of their own identity and don’t feel the need to
emulate other entries. So while Thor:
Ragnarok is the perfect example of a director not getting the source
material and trying to make up for it with an overdose of the cartoonish
slapstick seen in Guardians of the Galaxy, Black Panther is the polar opposite.
From the film’s opening minutes, it is clear that Ryan Coogler is a director
that understands and honours the source material – a superhero who also happens
to be the monarch of a hidden African nation – before going on to deliver a
standout adaptation of one of the most beloved characters in Marvel comics. Yes,
the plot at times does feel like The Lion
King with humans, but Coogler’s script finds the time to embellish a
familiar story by including references to real world events (a Boko Haram
kidnapping, the birthplace of the real Black Panther movement), as well as
injecting cerebral themes, such as the choice between isolationism and
interventionism or, more intriguingly, the burden of balancing the duties of a
sovereign with that of a superhero. What you are left with is the wokest
blockbuster to have graced our screens in recent years, one that feels somewhat
current with what’s going on in the world right now, while also featuring a man
in a cat suit take down a rhino. Wakanda forever, indeed.
6) Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2
You could argue that what makes
the Guardians’ follow-up a standout blockbuster is the perfect marriage of
witty humour, even bigger alien smackdowns and yet another catchy soundtrack
(Fleetwood Mack’s ‘The Chain’ is put to exceptional use), but what really
surprises is how emotional Vol. 2 is.
‘Family’ is the core theme that permeates throughout this giddily enjoyable
action romp, sometimes catching the viewer by complete surprise: it’s the key
driver in Peter Quill’s relationship with his two fathers, Ego and Yondu; it’s
just about palpable in the exchanges between Drax and daughter-figure Mantis;
you feel it in the bitter sibling rivalry between Gamora and a vengeful Nebula,
who only seem able to express their feelings by trading blows; and it’s a
frequent source of amusement in recurring gags involving the irresistibly
adorable Baby Groot. All of which points to a film that feels less like a
sequel and more like a companion piece that sits on the same level as its
exceptional predecessor. There is only one thing that slightly brings down the
overall picture – the MCU’s fixation with comedy in 2017 can be traced back to
here, as Drax the Destroyer gets downgraded from the deadpan but solemn warrior
he was in Vol.1 to an all-round
goofball boasting about the size of his turds.
5) Guardians of the Galaxy
If we’re strictly talking plot
structure, Guardians is a bit of a
mess. It’s a big colourful jigsaw of a movie made up of Macguffins, frequent planet-hopping
and too many characters with unclear motives (Ronan the Accuser’s reasons for
waging war on Xandar can be roughly summed up as “because evil”). But where GOTG lacks in narrative, it more than
makes up for with quirky characterisation. Any superhero roster that includes a
talking raccoon and a walking tree is bound to look utterly stupid on-screen,
but director James Gunn makes it work thanks to a talented cast who nail the comedic
timing impeccably. And yet, amid all the wise-cracking and buddy banter, there
are also some truly moving moments in GOTG,
such as Groot’s noble sacrifice or the moment we finally find out why Chris
Pratt’s snarky Peter Quill insists on the “Star Lord” moniker. And also, in a
cinematic universe where every film contractually needs to be interconnected,
Gunn’s space-romp feels wonderfully standalone, for a change. It may not be the
best of Marvel’s catalogue like some would have you believe, but Guardians is certainly the funniest and
funkiest of the bunch. Now, all together: OOGA CHAKA, OOGA CHAKA…
4) Iron Man
Where it all began. It may be difficult to believe today but Iron Man was not the safest bet for Marvel Studios back in 2008. Not only by this point was ol’ shell-head still a B-list character in the comics, his movie was coming out the same year as The Dark Knight, a much higher profile superhero flick also starring a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist that fought crime with the aid of snazzy technology. But while DC’s poster boy has always worked better in the shadows, Jon Favreau took Iron Man in the opposite direction and made a blockbuster that was fun, sleek and endlessly quotable, despite also being rooted to some extent in real world issues, including corporate politics and the USA’s role in arming Middle Eastern terrorists with WMDs. Then again, it can be argued that IM wouldn’t have worked without the involvement of a certain Robert Downey Jr. Tony Stark has always been a bit of a stiff on paper, but RDJ managed to turn him into a triumphant blend of impulsive heroism and cocky bravado – in a time when Batman and Spiderman were spending most of their films moping about the pressures of being a superhero, here was a character who actually enjoyed it and couldn’t wait to tell the world that he was Iron Man. Other high points include the relationship between Tony and Gwyneth Paltrow’s Pepper Potts, who flirt, bicker and bounce off each other like real life couples do; his Iron Monger counterpart may be underwhelming, but Jeff Bridges’ Obadiah Stane is a deliciously Machiavellian creation that is often criminally overlooked in the villains’ pantheon; and finally, reviewed nine MCU entries later, it’s nice to enjoy Iron Man as an entertaining standalone film that doesn’t feel the need to constantly drop in references to the larger Marvel universe, SHIELD excepted. The rest, as they say, is history.
3) Captain America: The Winter Soldier
As opposed to Thor, who enjoyed a
decent first instalment only to be followed by the risible Dark World, Cap got a much better deal with The Winter Soldier, a film that improves on The First Avenger in almost every department. Here is a blockbuster
that is smarter and far more confident than its predecessor, which includes the
odd moment of humour but without overly relying on it. In fact, with a plot
centred on cyberterrorism, covert ops and sleeper agents, it often feels less
like a superhero flick and more a modern espionage thriller that echoes real
life current events (the ominous SHIELD helicarriers are effectively three
ginormous drones). Some cynics would’ve argued that Steve Rogers was the most
boring Avenger, but directorial duo the Russo Bros. figured a way to make the
Captain cool by turning him into a jacked-up, shield-wielding Jason Bourne. As
a result, the action sequences revolve around practical stunts and fight
choreography (a claustrophobic bust-up in an elevator being the stand-out),
which make for a nice alternative from the inevitable third act CGI
extravaganza. Screenwriters Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely should also
be given credit for allowing time to breathe life into the supporting
characters too – Natasha Romanoff becomes increasingly complex, Nick Fury
finally feels like a fleshed out individual and Sam Wilson a.k.a The Falcon,
admittedly something of a boring sidekick in the comics, is given a swaggering make-over
for the big screen. All in all, a great sequel and one of the best movies in
the Marvel canon.
2) Captain America: Civil War
What makes Civil War stand out is that it feels like a bonus Avengers movie while also functioning as
a satisfying follow-up to The Winter
Soldier. On the one hand you have multiple heroes going toe to toe with
each other in an airport battle scene that could’ve easily been lifted from the
comics. On the other, you have a compelling conclusion to Captain America’s
journey, starting as a national treasure in The
First Avenger and somehow ending up as enemy of the state in the third
chapter of what is the most compelling character arc of the MCU. Like The Winter Solider before it, Civil War appears to be more interested
in tackling big questions about accountability and has the Avengers divided
over a registration act that demands super-powered individuals sign up as
government officials. The film’s most compelling scene is not really the airport
brawl, but the moment in which Tony Stark and Steve Rogers have a heated debate
in a small room over their responsibilities as heroes. And that’s the secret to
Civil War’s appeal: it’s a difference
of opinion, not the end of the world, that drives the drama. Of course, there
are other elements that add to the mix as well, such as a successful introduction
of one superhero, an even more successful re-introduction of another, a
towering, show-stealing cameo by the MCU’s tiniest vigilante and did we already
mention that airport tussle?
1) The Avengers
Given how often the title pops up
in the previous entries on this list, it’s hardly a surprise that Marvel
Studios’ blockbuster juggernaut ranks as the best of their films to date. Sure,
bringing together four profitable franchises was always going to rake in the
dosh at the box office, but would it be any good? Fans and film critics around
the world breathed a sigh of relief the moment Joss Whedon was announced as
director/screenwriter, a man who knows how to handle ensembles and that had
geek cred thanks to his cult TV series Firefly,
Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, not to mention a successful run on The Astonishing X-Men comics. A lesser
director could’ve easily succumbed to A-list pressure and turned The Avengers into Iron Man & his Super Chums, but with Whedon at the helm, there
are no divas hogging the limelight and everyone gets to hold the screen at
least once. More importantly, there’s a sense that Whedon truly gets these
characters and nails their beats right from the word go: Natasha Romanoff,
whose presence was barely noticed in IM2,
is given a jab of iconic feminism and instantly turns into the MCU’s Buffy;
Thor’s resolve to stop Loki (who threatens to steal the movie with every
venomous monologue) is balanced out by a noble desire to save his brother’s soul;
Bruce Banner is cleverly played by Mark Ruffalo as a man who’s both terrified
and secretly thrilled by his ability to turn into an “enormous green rage
monster” (who then snatches the movie out of Loki’s hands); Steve Rogers earns
his stripes (and stars) by overcoming his initial sense of displacement and
stepping up to lead his volatile teammates when the time comes to defend NYC
from an alien invasion; and Tony Stark proves that he’s more than just a dick
in a suit with a selfless act of heroism towards the end of the movie. Sure,
Clint Barton feels a little redundant in the grand scheme of things, but gives
a great demonstration of how archery can be super power even common mortals can
master. The end result is a brilliant comic book movie that feels driven by
character rather than spectacle, and that ticks all the boxes for Marvel fans
and is accessible to the general public.
