My Rankings for the MCU (First Three Phases)

I'll explain the rankings below. I won't go into much detail beyond ranks S & A.

S Tier: 

1) Captain America: The Winter Soldier

I feel like this is the most distinct film in the entire MCU. It plays out more like an action thriller espionage film than a comic book film. It has incredible pacing, some of the best fight choreography in the entire MCU (that scene where Steve and the WS duke it out on the freeway is bliss; it was also done entirely by the cast if I'm not mistaken), and there's few holes in the plot. Batroc the leaper was kinda thrown in and Johannsen's very noticeable tan in the film is kind of off-putting, but those are minor flaws in an otherwise paramount film.

2) Iron Man

It started the whole thing. It was done really well. Only one problem: the anachronism regarding the casting of James "Rhodey" Rhodes. Both guys sold it but the unfortunate events that resulted in the change of actors can't be ignored. And in 'Endgame' we get a really weird meta joke from Tony himself where he calls Thor "Big Lebowski", and considering who plays the name-dropped character, and considering who played the villain in the very first MCU film, it's just messed up. Enjoyable film to watch no matter how much time has passed.

3) Guardians of the Galaxy

It shouldn't have been as good as it was, but it ended up knocking my expectations to the ground and pounded them into dust. The soundtrack was killer, the pacing worked really well, there were a lot of funny lines, characters (for the most part at least) were likeable, it gave us a strong outlook into the MCU beyond Earth, and few other movies in the MCU incentivized me to watch it more than once in the theatre like this one did. Considering the price we have to pay in Canada for each movie, that's a big feat. Honestly, the fact that the whole film was akin to a space opera, a la Star Wars, makes the film that much better.

A Tier:

1) Thor: Ragnarok

I was about to give up on the Thor franchise within the MCU. I had little hope after watching the dumpster fire that was The Dark World. I figured that Chris Hemsworth would find no more reason to ever want to return to the role in potential sequels. But then this film happened. It was a blast to watch. Seeing my boy, the Hulk, make a solid return to the big screen was a bonus. I didn't care too much for the plotline on 'Sakaar' and was hoping the film would be a closer adaptation to the "Planet Hulk" storyline than the acid-fueled dross that was cooked up for the film, but it was a fun watch nonetheless. This gave Thor some actual character, finally.

2) Spiderman: Homecoming

Likely my favorite live-action movie with our beloved web-head. It's the most down-to-earth take on our hero yet. And it didn't waste our time with the origin story because that would have made it the third fucking time within a 13-year timespan where we had to watch his beloved Uncle Ben get shot and killed to spur him on the path to true heroics. Michael Keaton as the Vulture made this otherwise (kinda) lame character better; the chemistry between characters was organic and believable; Marisa Tomei, always sexy, was likeable as Aunt May; the father-figure/mentor relationship between Tony Stark and Peter Parker/Spiderman was effective. It was kind of a fresh take on an already-established and incredibly popular character to begin with, and it all worked really well.

3) The Avengers

I had low expectations going into this one. I didn't think I'd like it. But then I saw it and I had a good time. It's hard to like it as much the more the MCU grows, but because this film established that the MCU was very much a bonafide, all-encompassing franchise with a rich menagerie of characters and story possibilities, it was a valuable film in the MCU to come.

4) The Avengers: Infinity War & Endgame

The culmination of everything that came before it. The conflict we were all waiting for. The arrival of the biggest of the MCU's big bad characters, Thanos. The opening of Infinity War firmly establishes that the characters are in for a tough battle with aforementioned villain. While I didn't like the treatment that my boy, the Hulk, received in this film and the next, both of these jaunts in the cinemas worked pretty damn well. It didn't live up to my expectations, given that it wasted a lot of opportunities for character interaction (one of the richest aspects of the MCU overall) and I wasn't all that pleased with how they rewrote Thanos, chiefly in how they reduced his abilities to "super strength and super toughness" (I was really looking forward to seeing some of his powers make their live-action debut here and I got none of it). The "children of Thanos" were kind of disappointing, too. Lots of characters got sidelined (Hulk really comes to mind), too. The whole idea behind the Soul Stone, while unique among the stones for its vaguely mystical nature, was ripe for plot discrepancies. I could go on and on.

5) Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2

Still funny. Still has a solid soundtrack. Colourful and full of action. But it's hampered by some parts the drag on a little too long, and Star-Lord suddenly having superpowers and then losing them almost as suddenly (he has them for like five to ten minutes?) comes off as contrived, if however cool it is to watch (if he had these powers in Infinity War & Endgame I think he'd likely have done a lot of damage to Thanos and his forces). Mantis was kind of irritating. I fucking loved the sequence with Yondu slaughtering all of the mutinous ravagers like it was child's play. 

6) Captain America: Civil War

Team Cap. Even more nonsensical than the comic-based storyline it's adapted from, but somehow more poignant in a few places anyway. Did a better job overall in handling the character of Black Panther than his own film, but I won't pretend his film didn't handle the character properly, either. Has some good fight choreography just like the previous movie, but it gets a bit crowded and not in the best of ways. Still enjoyable overall. Spiderman's introduction also nails it. Wish someone would have called General Ross out as the asshole who caused some of the shit that he's so righteous about. I mean, he practically made the Hulk, and the Abomination too, as if he didn't learn a damn thing the first time.

B Rank:

Doctor Strange was alright; Benedict Cumberbatch is good as Doctor Strange, but the film is just serviceable at best. Ant-Man was funny and is one of the more unique films in the MCU so far (for being more of a caper movie than a straight action movie), but it had more potential which sadly was not explored enough. Age of Ultron was overstuffed and a bit too frenetic for its own good and I honestly felt it should have been divided into two movies to better utilize the (somewhat wasted) title character, but it was still really fun to watch and the introduction sequence still gets me every time. Black Panther was overrated but still has one of the strongest messages in the entire MCU, although I won't go into further detail here. The original Thor is another serviceable film, not really all that special and is kind of anachronistic the more the MCU grows (what's with those extra-bushy eyebrows?). 

C Rank:

Eh, Captain America: The First Avenger was not my cup of tea, really. Iron Man 3 is a love-it/hate-it film for me; on one hand it has some solid action sequences, but on the other it squanders what could have been a significantly better plotline (the Mandarin, anyone) to give us the action it ended up with. Incredible Hulk had some obviously fun times in it, like any sequence with the Hulk (my boy) doing what he's best at, but it gets a bit dragged down by the melodrama and isn't much of an improvement over the flaws of the previous film, Hulk, at all.

Shoot Paul, He's a Mime:

Iron Man 2 wasted so much time and also wasted what could have been a monumentally better character, played by Sam fucking Rockwell no less! What a fiasco that turned out to be. Thor: The Dark World was a snooze fest with a one-dimensional villain, and the film is just shy of being redeemed by the plotline where Thor seeks to avenge his mother, who fell while battling against the the bad guy. Loki dies but doesn't because he's Loki, but he's dead in Infinity War I think?

The Avengers: Age of Ultron Point-By-Point Review (2015, Action/Adventure/Fantasy/Science Fiction, Disney/Marvel Studios)

 

 

What Rocked:

• Feels bigger; the scale is bigger, more locales are explored, a lot more heroes are involved (and in retrospect when Infinity Wars I & II come out, this will have nothing on the two-part third act), and the stakes are bigger. Loki wanted to rule the world like he always has, whilst Ultron wants to kill everybody and replace everyone with cybernetic beings.

• No slow start. The very opening of the film sees the Avengers beating the ever-loving shit out of HYDRA goons. And the whole scene is awesome.

• Contains a clever jab at Disney, in the form of a joke (that kind of runs its course a bit too much), that pokes fun at how they're still sensitive over coarse language cropping up in major film properties. If only you guys could witness how foul-mouthed much of your target audience actually is, Disney!

• The pacing of the film seems better at times than in the first film, but at other times (yeah, no specific examples needed, just watch the film)...

• Ultron is arguably more menacing as a villain than Loki, but he's a lot more one-dimensional. Loki has a huge inferiority complex and he's not irredeemably evil, plus he's leashed by Thanos. Ultron suddenly wants to pull a Skynet almost right out of the gate. And he hates Tony Stark. Still, I had the feeling that Ultron would have done far more damage than Loki had he been allowed to. And you know what? He did.

• Quicksilver & Scarlett Witch. I liked them both. The former for his cocky wit and the latter for the sheer possibilities her abilities may bestow upon the franchise (much of what she is capable of in the comics is left intact in this film).

• Hulk is one of the better developed characters in the film. In one scene in particular, the Hulk himself sees the destruction he (and Stark, don't forget him) caused and the fear he has struck in the hearts of bystanders. This causes him to feel remorse, and it is on full display. Then he goes through the same offhanded treatment he gave to Thor in the previous movie. Guess what that is. 

• Avoids being a "destruction and special effects at the expense of bystanders' livelihoods" fiasco as seen in the lackluster Man of Steel.

• The Hulkbuster vs. Hulk fight, while feeling a bit cut short in the end, was satisfying.

• Hawkeye is no longer borderline useless. He actually does some damage this time around.

• Captain America, thanks in part to the quite exceptional "Winter Soldier" film last year, shines brighter than he did in the first outing.

• Johannson is as hot as ever as Black Widow. And she was pregnant through most of the filming!

What Didn't Rock:

• The editing was clearly done in haste and to placate the fierce demand for a (condensed) theatrical release, some scenes were altered drastically or removed entirely.

• Thor, aside from a few tricks pulled off with Mjolnir as per usual, does damn near nothing of note.

• The action appeared too blurry, seemed far too closely shot at times (the first battle with Ultron comes to mind), and there are so many jump cuts I felt like I was watching a god damn Michael Bay film.

• We see Black Widow trying to seduce Bruce Banner, hinting at a ship between the two, but we just don't feel it. Not to mention that considering what happened in the first movie (hint: Banner loses control of his Hulking out and almost does her in), it doesn't make fucking sense.

• Ultron made a few too many jokes to be believable as a cold, determined, calculating AI. I know Joss wanted us to feel some human traits in him but they pushed that angle a little too far. It was hard to take him seriously at times. The "we all create the things we dread" scene, anyone?

• Stark's role in, inadvertently I must add, making all the film's shit occur (though Banner's reluctant supporting efforts in letting the shit hit the fan could be considered for him a pass) barely gets mentioned nor taken to task. Sure, Thor hoists him up in the air in anger for his ambitions regarding The Vision, in light of what they produced previously in the film, but that's about all that happens.

• Nick Fury shows up all of a sudden. The tens of millions they spent on shoehorning Samuel L. Jackson into the sequel, in spite of SHIELD having been dismantled previously (and if you're on top of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D spinoff, whatever remains of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the shadows is led by Coulson), could have been spent on improving the film in other aspects. So yeah, we didn't get an AoS crossover.

• *MAJOR SPOILER -- YOU'VE BEEN WARNED* Quicksilver gets killed so unceremoniously and suddenly that it's a complete mystery as to why Disney & Marvel went to such great lengths to secure the film rights to use this character. And as it turns out, screwing the nail in the coffin further, is that this character isn't set to re-appear in the MCU for "quite some time." What the fuckery ensues.

• Hulk is played more seriously this time around, and his character suffers for it. Although he does show some humanity at the climaxes of his rampages, the film portrays him in a darker way that kind of at times kills the excitement that he generated previously in the first film. At least he still smashes.

• Twenty minutes or so is spent at the Hawkeye family farm out in the middle of nowhere. Although it's a breather episode in an otherwise frantically-paced film, it serves as a big tease that amounts to exactly the opposite of what it was teasing at (considering Joss Whedon's methodology in foreshadowing the deaths of his characters). And that's also when Nick Fury just suddenly shows up. The entire duration spent at Clint's getaway house served to divide the fanbase, big time.

• The scene wherein Ultron comes to life for the first time, in particular when he's in the form of a holographic programming display (oh Hollywood, AI programming has come a long way from that. You silly Willies), is narmy as all hell.

• Ultron's development is rushed.

• Ultron is vulnerable to being pigeonholed by shutting off the internet. I'm not kidding. And that's just what happens, so of course he's not going to be as menacing as he is in the comics wherein he's pretty much invincible.

• PLOT HOLE: As Ultron is trying to extract Vibranium from Ulysses Klaue (that's his name here), he gets interrupted by a swift appearance of the Avengers. They end up destroying the Ultron chassis present at the scene and though the Avengers are briefly side-tracked during this conflict, one can assume that they wrapped up loose ends here while Iron Man has to round up a rampaging Hulk. The hole here is this: how the fuck does Ultron manage to get the Vibranium he needed to assemble his doomsday device? Said doomsday device consisted of a huge (think long) column of vibranium holding up an entire city way up in the air. That's a lot of vibranium that he, based on what we see in the movie, never attains.

• Based on word of god, we're not getting an extended cut that would, you know, work to correct at least some of the slights seen in the final product.

• Did you know that Joss Whedon considers this to be a good product? That it's exactly what he wanted it to be? Yeah, don't let the door hit your ass on the way out, Whedon. You're clearly too creatively fatigued for the MCU at this point and I welcome the Russo brothers for any future instalment with which they're involved.

• Should have been split into two parts: part one would have been to set up the events to transpire and be rectified in the second part (as well as establishing character developments and properly introducing and developing new characters), while the second part would see the important action and the inevitable climax to the storyline. Everything would have been developed better than what was seen in the final product.

• A Carol Danvers (a.k.a, Ms. Marvel) and a Spider-Man appearance were cut. The latter is understandable though, given that the landmark deal between Sony & Disney didn't come to fruition until just shy of the release of the movie. But Ms. Marve/Captain Marvel was part of the early drafts of the film.

• We're not going to find out who that mystery woman briefly glimpsed in one of the trailers is. Sorry guys. At least not in this messy film.

• I still enjoyed the film.