NotLuke wrote:Here's a group of movies if'n you'd like to rank 'em.
The Avengers
Captain America: Civil War
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Iron Man
Thor: Ragnarok
Spider-Man: Homecoming
Iron Man 3
Black Panther
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Guardians of the Galaxy
Thor
Doctor Strange
Ant-Man
Iron Man 2
Captain America: The First Avenger
The Incredible Hulk
Thor: The Dark World
Let's see how Samson's takes line up with mine. I haven't seen Ragnarok, Black Panther, Spider-Man, or Hulk, so we'll leave those off for now. I'll cover them in the order I enjoyed them.
Guardians of the Galaxy - OK, so Ronan the Accuser kind of sucks as a villain, but everything else in this movie rocks. The characters are all interesting, the soundtrack is great, and the pacing of scenes and character moments is fantastic. This is what happens when you stop trying to make superheroes serious and start trying to make them fun again. Oddly enough, this is some of the most interesting space opera since Star Wars.
Captain America: Civil War - I loved how slick this film was. The chase scene early in the film was gorgeous and fantastic. Yeah, the villain is kind of a putz and the plot doesn't actually make the greatest sense, but the character moments and action scenes were the real scene-stealers, here. I also rather like the down note with the characters not really seeing resolution. They were all emotionally manipulated and they know it, and they almost destroyed each other over it. And they have to find a way to come to terms with it. Very important film for what it does for the franchise.
Captain America: Winter Soldier - I'm not sure how much I buy Bucky as a brainwashed supervillain, but the movie still moves at a decent clip. It really did feel like Marvel's James Bond, only with more protagonists. Typical good character dialogue. I won't remember a lot of the details super well, but I do remember that I thought pretty highly of the film.
Guardians of the Galaxy 2 - I enjoyed this film a lot. It was a fun ride with a great soundtrack and the same sense of style as the first, but I had a lot more complaints about it that I did the first film. On the one hand, I love the Sovereigns. On the other hand, and I can't believe I'm saying this, I thought Kurt Russell's acting was kinda off-kilter and a bit meh. In fact, the whole setup with Ego was weird. And Karen Gillan's Andromeda also feels a little too shrill this time around. The emotional moments aren't as satisfying this trip and they feel more swingy and less well telegraphed. Except for Drax and Mantis. Love those two. So despite the fact that the villain should be much better and gets much more screen time, the end result is that I didn't feel like the resolution of the central plot was at all as satisfying as the first film. I know that's a lot of complaining, but I did still love the film. But it did feel a little long in the theater and there were too many moments that pulled me out of my suspension of disbelief. I think it was trying too hard to do too many things. And yet, it's still 4th on my list, so there is that. Also...
Avengers - So, let me lead by saying there's a lot about this movie I don't like. Loki is used poorly in many ways, the "death" of a "major" character felt clichéd, and some of the filming was just dumb. Really? Head on view of characters on floating scooter platforms, looking over their shoulders at a green screen backdrop? *facepalm* And yet, the flow of the movie is good, there are some good character moments, and the dialogue is just so snappy. It's hard not to like the film despite the many and varied flaws. Turns out Avengers is a VERY gestalt film.
Iron Man 2 - A lot of folks don't think very highly of this film, but I think it's an important hallmark in the MCU. For one, it really ups the ante on dialogue. The first Iron Man had good dialogue, but this film is so much snappier in that regard. I understand Whedon touched up the screenplay a little, which would explain a lot of that. Whedon's actually not that great with plotting but character dialogue is something he excels at. I love the actor playing Justin Hammer, there are some really cool special effects, and Robert Downey Jr. really seems to truly come into the character in this film, so even if the general plot is a dud, the film remains something of an important milestone to the MCU.
Ant-Man - I enjoyed the film, but it's hard to evaluate and rank. In a lot of ways it feels like a retread of Iron Man, but Paul Rudd's Scott Lang is such a different character that in some ways it does feel quite fresh. Some of the CG is a bit weak in places, which is too bad, and the villain is just another corporate baddie, just like Obadiah Stain in Iron Man. Ho hum. But Rudd and Douglas do well together on-screen and that really makes the film worthwhile.
Doctor Strange - A perfectly competent film with some interesting side characters. Beneficent Cucumberbottoms is a great Stephen Strange, but the villains are, again, a recurring weakness of the MCU. A little too much Inception in the special effects. FX would have been pretty original if they weren't so much a knock off of something so recent. Not a particularly gestalt film. It very much the sum of its parts, which ultimately isn't a bad thing, really.
Iron Man - I think this was a solid film that did a good job introducing Tony Stark and the modern MCU. Pretty good CG for the time. Not as overused as in more recent MCU titles. Weak villain played by an actor gnawing on the scenery with overwrought gusto set the standard (sadly) for future villains.
Avengers: Age of Ultron - Less than the sum of the parts. Too many characters with not enough screen time to really focus on them all. Ultron should have been a fantastic villain, but instead was simply present. At least he wasn't a mess like so many of the other MCU villains. Action sequences did not feel particularly strong. CG was over-used. Too many new characters introduced. Coming after the original Avengers and the strong wave of character films in between, this movie was just weak-sauce.
Thor: The Dark World - An action movie that didn't suck. Meh. At least Loki was super-interesting in it. The villain was not. Most of the action wasn't either, though they did slip some humorous bits into the action, thankfully. Otherwise the film would have been a bit of a drag.
Captain America: The First Avenger - There are some good moments in this film, but I just didn't find it compelling at all. The weird placement of Chris Evans's head on a scrawny body was uncanny valley creepy, half the actors felt like the were acting in a different movie, Cap was personality-free, the villain... do I need to address the villain? I'm a broken record at this point. It's weird, because I love the Peggy Carter character, and her TV stuff later was fun and interesting, but this movie totally fell flat for me. I just didn't get into it at all.
Thor - Ugh. This movie pisses me off. Branagh is a good director (normally)! Loki is a great villain with loads of personality! So why does this movie feel like a waste of time (except for the scene where Thor gets run over... again)? Helmsworth has no personality as Thor in this film. In fact, none of the characters except Loki have any personality in this film. The plot is pointless, character development happens at the whim of the screenwriter and doesn't feel natural at all, dialogue is weak, special effects are weak...
Iron Man 3 - This film has some really good dialogue. In some scenes. It's not consistent, really. That's pretty much the only good thing I have to say about Iron Man 3.
For me there's this invisible line between Iron Man and Age of Ultron where MCU films transition in quality from being enjoyable and worth seeing to being a chore and not worth the time spent with your butt in a seat. Fortunately, despite the recurring and constant issues producing villains worth their weight in peanuts, the MCU has generally improved over time, with films like Dr. Strange and Ant-man at least being entertaining filler to hold the gaps until the next massive hit swings through. Here's hoping that pace continues, though in truth, I would like to see them back off on the CG a little. Getting a little tired of these rubbery superhero models bouncing around with a drunk camera flying all over the place.
