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The Marvel Cinematic Universe is now a household name in the entertainment industry. With quite a few movies under its belt and even more to come, time to look back on the last 10 years and determine the champions!
22. Iron Man 2
Look, we know that isn’t a bad movie. Hell, in a different world it would honestly be a pretty solid movie. The downside is just how disjointed the movie feels, unable to pick a tone.
Either it’s a psychologically evaluation movie of Tony feeling himself wither away from his own creations’ side effects. Or, it’s a funny Marvel movie with some cool CGI and minimal MCU progression.
Ultimately this movie just feels off. There’s no easy way to really describe it, it feels like it does not belong in the MCU.
21. Black Panther
Hahaaaa…. Oh I shot myself in the foot with this article. Look, Chadwick Boseman is awesome, Michael B Jordan is a badass and I love director Ryan Coogler. HOWEVER, Black Panther is insanely mediocre.
The CGI is laughably bad in parts, like Star Wars Remastered bad, the action is simplistic, the story goes nowhere etc. Oh the music was great, I forgot about that, badass soundtrack.
I will defend this opinion to my deathbed. If it was not for the two leads, no one would like this movie. Stop pretending like it was a masterpiece.
20. Thor 2: The Dark World
I don’t even know if it was called Thor 2. That’s how little I care to remember about this movie.
Look, when your movie is literally reliant on just setting up a plot device for 8 years later, there’s a problem. No one is memorable in this movie. Hemsworth and Hiddleston phone it in, Portman and Dennings are just there. Even Skarsgaard feels bored in this movie.
On top of those issues is a completely forgettable villain, meh storytelling, but it almost saves it with a great final scene. Not enough to save the movie, but enough to warrant a YouTube search.
19. Thor
Better known as Dutch Angles: The Movie. Seriously, whoever shot this film needs to learn that it is okay to use a tripod normally.
Outside of causing neck muscle contractions, Thor is just an okay movie overall. The acting was pretty good, the action is rock solid and it featured some great musical scores.
While it does suffer from occasional melodrama, we still enjoy this movie!
18. Captain Marvel
I was probably the worst person to write this article because I didn’t like this movie either.
Outside of the soundtrack, visuals and Jude Law, I did not enjoy this movie. Nothing against Larson, Jackson or the supporting cast, I just found the film lacking.
The story is nonessential, it retcons established MCU lore and feels really slow. I get what the point of this movie was (I think) but I felt like it missed the mark.
However, because of the aforementioned highlights, this movie does beat out the previous entries.
17. Iron Man 3
What do you get when you completely change the tone of a movie trilogy but still find inventive ways to tell that story? Well, you hire Shane Black and tell him to make it so.
Which is exactly what happened to Iron Man 3. Look, I know that this movie is a sore spot for some fans, but honestly it is a well made movie.
Sharp writing, fantastic action choreography, meaningful stakes and an awesome finale.
16. Captain America: The First Avenger
Main reason that this movie gets the fifteenth spot is because of Chris Evan’s performance. Outside of Robert Downey Jr, most of the main cast of the MCU felt like a growing pain in their first movie. Evans feels right at home.
Nailing the tone of the righteous Cap, some hard hitting action and a timely tale of sacrifice and place.
Doesn’t hurt that it has a great soundtrack, stellar costume design and meaningful long term effects. However, Hugo Weaving was a mediocre villain at best.
15. The Avengers: Age of Ultron
What happens when you assemble an amazing cast, a good director but choose the wrong villain? Well you get a two hour movie with cool scenes, meaningful impact but waste the talent of James Spader.
Alright, this movie sets up so much stuff for Civil War, Infinity War and Endgame that it immediately ranks higher. Because so much of that setup actually comes into play later on.
However, Ultron is such a big villain and such a monumental character that sticking him in just this movie was dumb. I mean, really dumb.
14. Spider Man: Far From Home
When you combine the talents of Tom Holland, Jake Gylenhall and director Jon Watts, great things happen.
Despite not having much in the way of consequences, Far From Home is so chock full of confidence that it does not matter. Gyllenhaal is fantastic as the unseen mastermind villain, with enough charisma to make Dwayne Johnson jealous.
Tom Holland once again proves that he is the best Spider-Man, and the action is phenomenal!
13. Captain America: Civil War
Despite some personal feelings of enmity towards this movie, it does have some great moments. Especially in the realm of acting.
Civil War sees our characters forced onto either side of a conflict that they didn’t expect and they tear themselves apart. Finding their inevitable sides coming to blows in a spectacle of emotion and choreography.
Great soundtrack, mediocre story, great acting, great fight choreography and stellar pacing!
12. Ant Man and the Wasp
Seriously do not understand why these two movies were so underlooked. Ant Man and the Wasp is one of the best examples of clear direction and writing in the MCU.
While Edgar Wright did not get to oversee and direct the whole project, his inspiration is definitely felt. Great action is on screen when needed, some truly heartfelt moments of emotion and a great tie in to Infinity War.
11. Spider-Man: Homecoming
Featuring a standout performance by Tom Holland backed up by a great villain with Michael Keaton. Homecoming is by far one the best Spider-Man movie so far!
Holland is the quintessential Peter Parker, with all the right nerdiness and awkward dialogue he needed. Keaton is fantastic as the everyman villain just trying to find logic in a senseless world of demigods.
Plus, great soundtrack and an awesome final showdown even by MCU standards!
10. Ant Man
Man you guys hate me for putting this one so high up.
Ant Man is one of the most underappreciated movies in the MCU lineup. With terrific writing, stellar CGI, great story and awesome acting.
Paul Rudd steals the movie with his endless amounts of charisma and pitch perfect timing. Evangeline Lily and Michael Douglas are fantastic additions to the cast!
9. The Avengers
One of the biggest movie events of our time, maybe not the biggest but it set the stage. Proving that it was not only possible to tie everything together, but that it was able to be done in an entertaining way.
With great performances by the ensemble cast, terrific action choreography and wonderful direction by Joss Whedon.
The Avengers is one of cinema’s best superhero ensemble team ups to date. Well worth revisiting time and time again.
8. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
While it certainly upped the emotional ante, Guardians 2 didn’t quite reach the lofty bar set by its predecessor.
While stars Bautista, Saldana, Pratt, Russel, Diesel, Cooper etc were all hilarious, it was the emotional storytelling that surprised. As Star Lord meets his biological father and learns of his dark past, he’s confronted with a world that he didn’t know existed.
Featuring a great soundtrack, great writing, some meandering side plots but a great core story.
7. Thor Ragnarok
Look, Taika Waititi knows how to pen a good movie. Ragnarok is no exception to his filmography of proof to that statement.
With gut busting jokes, hilarious timing, perfect writing and great storytelling. Ragnarok was Thor at his best, both on Waititi’s part and Hemsworth.
Plus, doesn’t hurt that the action scenes, cinematography and score were astonishing!
6. Doctor Strange
What do you get when you treat a superhero movie like an actual story of PTSD with magic? Well, you get a fantastic movie is what you get!
With no small amount of amazing visual set pieces, terrific action and hard hitting storytelling. Doctor Strange is by far one of the MCU’s best origin stories and one of the best movies of 2016 in general.
Benedict Cumberbatch is pitch perfect, Tilda Swinton is amazing and the supporting cast are terrific.
5. Guardians of the Galaxy
Deftly balancing humor, emotion, writing, music and action is not an easy task. Yet, James Gunn does it with the confidence of an inspired auteur.
The cast is by far the highlight of this movie. Proving their abilities to be funny, heavy and talented. Standouts were definitely Bautista, Sladana and Cooper. Proving how vast their repertoire of talent extends despite their previous type castings!
Oh and the soundtrack old school cool again, no small feat!
4. Avengers: Endgame
The single biggest movie event of the last 10 years, if not of all time. Not only is it the highest grossing movie of all time, but one of the greatest superhero movies ever.
Let us get one thing out of the way, this is not a perfect movie. It is full of plot holes, inconsistencies, bad writing, forced inclusivity, mediocre action design etc.
Nonetheless, this movie is so confident, so heartfelt, so strongly directed and acted that it eschews those issues. Bring tissues, bring enthusiasm and enjoy this movie.
3. Iron Man
The one that started it all still stands as one of the best movie that the MCU will ever make.
Feeling equal parts grounded, SciFi and fantasy. Iron Man succeeds due to Downey’s remarkable commitment, Favreau’s tight direction and amazing pacing.
The fact that it stands in the rare category of movies that work as superhero flicks and great film making is wonderful!
2. Captain America: Winter Soldier
By far the best example of pacing in the MCU and the second best example of storytelling.
Winter Soldier sees Captain America beset on all sides by adversaries from the past and present. As he struggles to come to terms with the changing world, he finds himself unable to adjust.
It is a brilliant piece of storytelling, tight pacing, phenomenal writing and incredible action. And also one of Evans’ best roles to date!
1. Avengers Infinity War
There can be only one. And what a one it is.
Perfect acting? You got it. Sympathetic and imposing villain? Check. Amazing story telling? Yup! Incredible action set pieces? Oh, plenty of that.
Seriously, Infinity War proved that the MCU was more than just CGI monsters and gods. It was capable of incredibly storytelling on par with Hollywood’s best. It proved that superheroes can be a catalyst for hard hitting emotions and that Batman didn’t have a monopoly on that.
Maybe if you nitpick there are issues present, however, Infinity War is the closest the MCU is to a perfect movie.
So there it is. Congratulations you made it to the end of the list! What do you make of these selections? Hate them? Love them? Be sure to leave us a comment and let us know what you think!
What are your favorite MCU movies? ANd be on the lookout for our choices for the best DCEU movies!
