MCU from best to worst

If the Russo brothers had not already convinced the world they knew how to cleverly subvert expectations by adding thematic depth to convoluted plots and orchestrate them masterfully to create compelling slices of cinema that surprised and entertained in equal measure, then this compounded their perfect marriage to the MCU. The masterstroke here? Making Thanos the main character, and changing his motivations to make him as close to sympathetic or understandable as you can for an intergalactic mass murderer. Both the writing, and the portrayal by Josh Brolin, were so well realised, that when you think back on it, you wonder how this film could have possibly worked any other way. Couple that with some of the best individual moments in the MCU (nearly all involving Thor as it happens; see number 2), and an ending that aficionados would have potentially predicted, but your layman member of the audience would have found utterly shocking, and what you have is an immense piece of entertainment that stands up to repeat viewings, and has moments that will get you every time. Four words, that, entrance, by, Thor! The sheer success of the elements of this movie are put into stark contrast since the release of Endgame, which admittedly had more elements to juggle in some ways, but whose flaws are highlighted by how few flaws this movie actually had in terms of its thematic legitimacy and purity of story telling. It's a tour de force of superhero movie making, with a payoff as brilliant as it is heartbreaking.

It was such a tough choice between this and the first place movie in this list, but substance and dramatic punch are probably the only reasons this drops lower. The first thing to say about T:R is this, what a turnaround! Thor, and by Thor we really mean Chris Hemsworth here, had so much promise, but barring some stand out moments in Avengers Assemble, had not come even close to fulfilling them. The tone was all wrong, the classical stylings of the character in the comic books made him almost inaccessible for the audience in the MCU, and it was obvious they just weren't sure how to portray not only the, to this point, most powerful member of The Avengers, but also what tone would most suit him. Enter a brilliant Kiwi, with a nose for comedy and a penchant for collaborative film making. He takes the core concepts, and (in an idea supposedly floated by CH himself beforehand) completely reboots the character. Bring in Mark Ruffalo and Tom Hiddlestone, add in Tessa Thomson as Vakyrie, a wonderful Kate Blanchette as Hela (I don't usually like her but she has so much fun here its hard not to get carried along), and then the piece de resistance, Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster. Have them improvise numerous scenes and take multiple takes around all the action involved. Lighten the tone but keep the epic over-arching stakes for the characters (and lets be honest, they are as big in this as they are in almost any MCU movie), and sprinkle in a little classic Zeppelin, and what you get is the most awesome reboot of a character ever devised in film! IT's just so at odds with what came before, but works so perfectly, that what we end up with is quite possibly the most rewatchable MCU movie now ever made. Its a testament to those involved how much they turned around this previously bland character to the point that Thor is now quite possibly many peoples favourite, and not only owns this movie, but then went on to own IW too in a movie with a bunch of stand outs. I may end up placing this one down in the long term, but right now, just for the sheer audacity of what they did and how well they pulled it off, it now sits on the throne just beneath one other as one of the MCU's most daring MVP's.

4 days, $1.2 billion, and 2 viewings and the question is, was this the all encompassing success it's been billed as in the moment right now. The simple answer is, no, the over arching answer, is yes. Endgame has at least 3 of the greatest moments in the MCU in it, including one that I feel may be my new favourite (and includes vindication on a prediction I made over a year ago), but at the same time, it's noticeable the films pacing is just not as tight as IW, and there are some very flawed moments amongst a whole gamut of satisfying pay off. The second viewing made me realise how almost, well, boring it was at times in the 1st and 2nd act. There are elements that just aren't as tightly set up in this movie as its predecessor, but this is a direct result of having to satisfyingly conclude so many plot threads from 22 movies. It does this, and very very well. The main issue here, especially after the 2nd viewing, lies really with one characterisation, which for me just does not work, trivialises both him and the movie to a degree, and undoes so much good work in two previous movies, and that is Thor post head chop. It's just so poorly judged, and very unsatisfying in a way that so much of the rest of the film is the complete opposite. Saying that though, certain characters get to shine here, not just the main 6, in particular Antman and to a degree Hawkeye. I will fight for the legitimacy of Black Widows big moment being better in terms of execution and backstory payoff than its doppelganger in IW, although still strangely flat, but the real genius is in the final third, here's a quick recap of epic moments that make Endgame really stand out. 'Hail Hydra', 'I was made for this.', Cap/Mjollnir, Scarlett Witch/Thanos payback, 'Avengers, assemble', and finally, the moment that holds within it the single greatest payoff in the MCU, 'I am inevitable.' 'I... am... Ironman'. Shockingly emotional, perfectly played (including the finger), and the only effective end to an 11 year arc that saw them nod to that first ever sacrifice in the MCU, the one that paved the way for Tony to prove, he was the only one with the Vision to finish it for the greater good.

I had to think long and hard about this one, but in the end, all of my original feelings about this movie won out in the end. It's probably one of, if not the best written of all the MCU movies so far, and I say this for a few reasons. The idea of taking the purest of The Avengers and placing them into what amounts to a 70's style paranoia thriller, is brilliantly conceived, creating both an idealised viewpoint for the audience to follow, and a more life like world (to a degree), in which Cap had to operate. Everything was gray, nothing was as it seems, and the film examines idealism under extreme pressure from the horrible nature of reality. Not all is good, many will have motives either selfish, or at total odds with your own, so we got to see Cap finally grow up and become less the flag waving patriot who made all us non-US types a little sick, and became a more cynical, realistic form of the ideal hero we would nearly all like to be. The roots of everything important that has happened since came from this film, and the key is the Russo mantra that action in movies has to have character led drama behind it to really work. It needs stakes, and consequences, and the more the layers are added the more poignant the action becomes. Take the freeway scene that culminates in the unveiling of the titular Winter Soldier as none other than Bucky Barnes. We all knew this, but Cap didn't, and the sheer visceral brutality of their fights leading to this moment meant a far more gut punching empathy for Cap when he realises his best friend was not only alive, but noe an arch evil doer and assassin. If for no other reason this film deserves plaudits over many others, for taking thus far the worst of the MCU heroes, and suckering us with one of the best turnarounds from original to sequel I've almost ever seen, period.

There are a few here that had no expectations on them, and there are a few that shouldn't work, and this one carried both of those unenviable labels before it was released. A movie of this magnitude, with this mix of main characters, with the budget and effects to match what was expected on screen, had never been tried before, and many believed it was nigh on impossible. Fast forward 9 years (woe), and it's now a little taken for granted with the scale of AOU, IW and soon E. Joss Whedon managed to do what many thought inconceivable and what was probably most impressive, was that he managed it without losing any of the character development throughout the film that people thought would be lost. Ignoring the slightly meh nature of the Chitauri as the main enemies at the end, the film was shot, scripted and paced like a dream, and wasn't just a success, but had some of those classic moments in that you never forget. Scenes such as 'puny god', 'I'm always angry', he's adopted' etc that just perfectly captured both the humour and pathos behind the characters. Far superior to it's sequel, and only really bettered in terms of spectacle in recent times with IW, this was about as resounding a success as anyone could have hoped for, kudos JW!

So much of this film (along with its prequel which we will go into later) has seeded what we are currently seeing in the MCU. In fact, this movie could easily be considered a 2 1/2 hour long audition tape for Avengers 3 & 4 if looked at in a certain light. The plot is convoluted (possibly too much so), and does rely heavily on ex machina developments in a plan by a (brilliantly played by Daniel Bruhl) bad guy on a revenge trip for the events of the AOU. What we ended up with was a loose interpretation of the comic book equivalent, with more superheroes in than had thus far been seen on screen. The real brilliance here though was somehow shoehorning in not one but two introductions to new (ish) MCU heroes, in Tom Hollands rebooted Spiderman, and Chadwick Boseman's Black Panther, both of whom are used brilliantly in the story whilst never over burdening an already character heavy movie. Everyone has a chance to shine at some point, and the premise behind the plot is used effectively to bring about the end of the Avengers as we know them. Peppered with some iconic scenes, it does however suffer more than some higher on this list from McGuffinitus. The camera that caught the deaths of Tony's ma and pa is quite obviously ridiculous, and Zemo could never have predicted the moves of the heroes in such detail as to be able to bring about the conclusion the way he did. For the most part we don't care, but they do distract from an otherwise masterfully crafted and paced movie by the Russo's, that otherwise did exactly what everyone hoped it would.

Truly nobody saw this one coming. An almost unknown Marvel comic property about a disparate group of unlikely (anti)heroes, consisting of a literal man mountain, a cocky human stolen as a child from his dead mother, an angry weapon obsessed raccoon, the child of Thanos, and a talking tree. A clever marketing campaign, a brilliant soundtrack and some extremely funny but empathetic writing and you get this sparkling introduction to the worlds now favourite cosmic universe savers. James Gunn deserves a lot of credit, but it's the synergy amongst the cast that really make this work, and grounding it so much in reality through those aforementioned factors was a genius idea that has led to almost any mainstream MCU fan citing at least one of these guys as their favourite Marvel hero. This also marked the moment they started to take more risks, something they have continued to do and continues to pay off for the audience time and again. The only thing that stops this movie from placing higher on the list, is the thing that all Marvel movies had suffered a little from up to this point, and that was its lackluster villain in Ronan the Accuser. Knowing he is merely a minor acolyte of the bigger bad to come, the stakes are immediately lowered, but when you have so much fun getting to this point, who really cares anyway?

The first, the biggest surprise (other than maybe Guardians), the progenitor, the star, and the unlikeliest director. Pure popcorn entertainment with a B-list Marvel hero and a star that had never fulfilled his on-screen potential, sometimes things just come together in synergy and work, and the this movie is a prime example of that. What it has set off since belies the now seemingly small scale of this first film, and an empire of mouse has become an unstoppable behemoth off the back of these surprise successes. There may be much to blame for this, but there's a good reason so much was achieved off of something so potentially throwaway. This is still the template for a hero origin movie, to the point where Marvel copied themselves 8 years later with Doctor Strange! Seminal, simplistic in retrospect, but laser focused and efficient blockbuster filmmaking, with some moments when you look back on them that are made even more poignant by the finale of phase 3 and give so much importance to a little remembered doctor in a cave, who may well be, at least for the first 3 phases of the MCU, quietly the most important character in the franchise in terms of long term impact. 14 years later and the birth of a behemoth still stands up today. Start with this and watch in order all the RDJ starring movies, and you can see, this was the arc fulfilled so effectively by A:E, and all the seeds were here.

So many people disliked this movie, mostly the comic book hardcore elite, for the liberties this film took with some of it's source material. Shane Black was an off-kilter choice by Marvel, but when thinking about it, the smartest and most acerbic of Marvel's heroes in the hands of a man known for his ability and adeptness with quirky humourous dialogue, makes a lot of sense indeed. For me, this shines throughout the movie. The tongue never moves too far out of cheek, and you get the feeling that Downey Jnr was given some serious improvisational free reign. These kind of things make Iron Man great, and the interactions between the main characters sparkle as a result. The twist half way through the movie was a comedic master stroke, and giving Stark some serious PTSD issues to deal with was a welcome injection of drama that would have serious repercussions in future MCU movies, a prescient addition that may well be quite underappreciated for the characters long term development. The action scenes in the movie were also well choreographed, often fast paced and slickly edited together. It is true that it almost isn't an Iron Man movie due to the severe lack of, well, Iron Man, but in retrospect, the choices make sense and it's Stark's life as Iron Man and the mistakes he has made past and present that inform the movie. For me, one of the most underrated MCU movies of the bunch, and a true bagful of fun.

Following up from any surprise hit like the first Guardians is always a tall order, and as is usually the case, Guardians 2 failed to live up to the original. But only just. The main issue with this sequel was that the big bad (Ego), is so much more underwhelming than he quite probably should have been. However, it's what is going on around the main plot that proves that Gunn truly knew how to deliver what people loved so much about the original, and that of course is the interaction and development between the characters throughout the movie. In particular this was the hour (well, 2) of Drax the Destroyer, and his marvellous banter he engages in with Mantis. Nearly every brilliant moment belongs to Bautista who is having so much fun, it's impossible not to be dragged along with him. Rookers Yondu also deserves a mention, although unlike some, his death felt a little flat, and the pathos was underdeveloped to fully appreciate it as a stand out moment. The film remains highly entertaining though, and showcases a director perfectly married to the material. With such a long gap between the 2 films and a mess of back and forth between Disney and director, we can only hope the setup from this movie is paid off satisfyingly for what will likely be the Guardians swansong in 2023.

Get this out of the way first, Ultron was a significant step down from the quality of its predecessor, and from what I have read, this was for very similar reasons as those that effected Iron Man 2, insofar as that Whedon began to clash in terms of vision with the studio and Feige. There were too many nods to set-up and not enough to creating an effective standalone story from what Whedon has said. That being the case though, there are some things that work oh so well in this movie. I defy anyone to deny that Spaders voice performance for Ultron was anything less than brilliant, fluctuating between flippant, and genuinely menacing at the flip of a coin. Visions introduction, whilst a touch hokey, was fantastic, as was the party scene near the beginning where Ultron first gate crashes, and the frenetic fight between Hulk-buster Tony and the big green guy. For every miss this movie makes (the plot was truly all over the place), there are plenty of little gems, Whedonisms (goofy dialogue pitched perfectly), and visual flourishes that make it still entertaining to watch. Sadly the end was too derivative, and the much expected death of Hawkeye turned out to be a blink and you'll miss it, there goes Quicksilver, which had little to no impact on the movie as a whole. It did however, set up nicely for Avengers 3... ahem, Civil War, and has become more poignant in elements thanks to the strong tie-ins to some payoffs in A:E.

Yes, this is a note for note remake of Iron Man and it would be foolish to try and convince anyone otherwise. BUT. It stands this high up the list for two main reasons. The visual realisation of the world Doctor Strange comes to embody is truly stunning at times, taking obvious nods from other movies such as Inception, but combining them very effectively to show the audience their first MCU taste of the multi-verse. The other, is a surprisingly low key ending, that demonstrates the triumph of intellect and willful determination over action chops and bombast. If you add to the mix some stellar support in the form of Tilda (one of my favourite MCU characters in any film) and Chiwetl, you can forgive the film it's more obvious inspirations and just sit back for a perfectly reasonable and entertaining introduction to the sorcerer supreme and his world.

This one seems to have split the community a touch, often for reasons I find hard to fathom. In terms of entertainment, tie-in, development and interaction, this is a fun movie with a good bad guy that doesn't insult the audience too much but maybe does it's own characters a little. Jake was great in the role of Mysterio and they found a fun way of making a hokey Spider-man villain fit the MCU. The motivations of both him and his crew were nicely revealed at the half way mark that cleverly tied in to several other movies in a relatively unexpected but welcome way. Peter's development in both his relationship to MJ and dealing with the loss of his father figure are actually quite poignant, accentuated by Tom Hollands own ability to portray heart on their sleeve emotional response. The action scenes are fun, but as is often the case in these Sony/MCU collaborations, a little throwaway and forgettable. The comedy beats are at their best when they are focusing on Peter's own goofy ineptitude, and at their worst when focusing on ridiculous relationship arcs like Ned's, which I'm sure was just thrown in here to give him more screen time. The reveal at the end is a great 'jaw drop' moment that eschews the world affecting reveals of previous movies and sticks to what is done best in these Spider-man films, personal drama that allows the audience to see the characters through their eyes. It will never be the best, but it showed more focus than it's predecessor in it's story telling and as a result, goes ever so slightly higher in the pecking order for me.

Positive critical reception and very high box office numbers aside, there's something painfully disappointing about S:NWH. Never having been the biggest fan of the Spider-man franchise, especially the early Maguire starrers, it takes a lot for me to appreciate the character beyond the very successful collaborations they have used him for in the MCU. As a whole this film suffers with the same issue that Homecoming had, which was it's substance and pacing. I'll be the first to admit I got a big kick out of the 3 Spider-men on screen, although there was a constant niggle throughout that the film makers were spending so much time referencing past IP's, including the PS game, old cartoons and TV shows, and the more recent multi-film franchises, that they actually left a great opportunity sitting in the dustbin of inspiration in the writers room. Did we need (admittedly great) returns from Doc Ock, Green Goblin (who was better in this than ever before), Electro, Sandman and The Lizard? Would this whole idea have been better served with Villains and Spider-men from realities we had never seen? There's a better movie in here, and the return of (show stealing) Andrew Garfield and Toby Maguire hid a bigger problem with the film, and that was that it was otherwise actually quite boring and meandering. Do we need a nearly 5 min scene of them finding out they didn't get into MIT? How easily was the 'crime' of Peter from S:FFH dealt with in the first 10 mins of the movie? The action in the final fight is nearly incomprehensible, and the main thing saving this whole endeavor is the sheer magnitude of the heroism Tom's Spidey shows in accepting the loss of literally everything he ever cared about at the end of the movie. Ultimately it's actually that ending that places this as high as it is, otherwise I see this movie as a huge missed opportunity. If only the film-makers had just been that much more daring with their ideas here in bringing the multi-verse truly to the MCU, I think we would have had a true A:E, A:IW beater on our hands.

I can never hate a movie that has 2 Asian superstars I love in anything they are in playing key roles in the movie. Tony Leung is a legend, and should be better known across the world for the gravitas he brings every role, and Michelle Yeoh just gets better and better the older she gets. These two add some much needed heft to a movie that might well have disappeared into the same hole as Antman as fun but forgettable. The visuals and directorial flair bring nothing new to the MCU, and there could be some argument made for pandering and not a little cultural appropriation, but it is fun and had enough moments of relief in decision making to make me forgive it the more generic aspects of the story and plot. The ending contained some serious spectacle which was nicely underpinned by some 'underdog saves the day' moments and a touching combination of family and personal catharsis which was cleverly subverted in the films final moments. Ultimately it was fluff, but it did bring an epic action scene on a bus to the MCU that I would love to see more of. Solidly middling overall but something I'd happily watch again to turn my brain off and enjoy for it's great cast.

I think there must be something about Spiderman movies that make him a difficult character to translate to the big screen effectively, and maybe some of that is down to the shoulders of those trying to convey him. This film did not have that issue, as Tom Hollande is pitch perfect as the web slinger, showing those that came before truly how it should be done. Add Michael Keaton to the mix as a very 3-dimensional Vulture, and this film felt it should have been more than it turned out to be. It may well be that coming back down to earth after some of the previous big-stakes movies left this feeling a little flat as a whole. The best move was no origin story, we'd had it twice we didn't need a third, but rather than ruminate on an established web-head and his issues, what we got was an alternative 'not' origin story about understanding the responsibility of his powers, that seemed to focus too much on those around him rather than any internal conflict he may have felt, and thus, we had an underwhelming arc to the character that left the whole movie feeling like an interim. Possibly for me, the film that suffered the most from being part of this extended universe they have built, and would have been much better standing tall alone for his MCU debut.

I wish I could agree with the masses regarding this film. The introduction of Chadwick Bosemans Black Panther (an actor I truly rate) in Civil War was note perfect, but the full length debut was not the ground breaking socially significant movie many claimed it to be. When it comes to empowerment, many movies have done more for the cause than this one. The simple fact that this made money seems to be the significant factor behind this feeling, and it distracts from the fact that there are several elements of this movie that are actually quite mediocre. The introduction of the key right hand women that motivate and guide BP are brilliant, in particular Letitia who shines so bright she deserves all the kudos she gets. The issue comes with a severely underwritten villain in Killmonger, who despite having obvious motivations, is just not fleshed out enough to genuinely appreciate as anything other than a cardboard cut out of a bad guy and a symbol of social injustice and it's consequences. To create these motivations is admirable, but unlike many I felt them to be simplistic and poorly expanded upon, and undermined issues that have been far better and more poignantly explored in other movies, and therefore bordered for me on unintentional mockery. Andy Serkis was far more effective in his shorter screen time IMHO, lack of deeper motivations aside. It is a good movie, it is entertaining, exceptionally so in places, but the finale falls surprisingly flat, and as a whole, it is not as entertaining as it could have been with some more careful writing choices.

I know this was a poor movie for many, dull, meandering and uninteresting in a way an MCU movie should never be. Despite understanding this viewpoint completely, I do not entirely agree, although I feel the entire endeavor was undermined by poor scripting with the writers unable to decide if they wanted expositing to be Thor style classical or more modern and colloquial. In the confusion between the two the movie ended up a stilted mess in terms of dialogue, which other than a few characters (Kingo, Phastos?) was like listening to a 12 year old trying to write their own historical high fantasy and not knowing how not to spoon feed their world building as they went. Overall it creates a jarring juxtaposition of poor expositing but beautiful world design and elegiac visuals. Visual choices all seem right to me in creating this alien world within our own, and I found myself pleasantly taken in by the history jumping narrative in an easy on the mind kind of way. It's clearly a failure in some ways, a poor mix of indie sensibility film making and blockbuster material that tries to walk both and ultimately fails in achieving either, but I wasn't left hating it at the end, and would be intrigued to see where the characters and world could be taken next. Ultimately it amounts to an intriguing failure for the MCU here, but I hope they don't give up on this franchise within a franchise as it holds fascinating potential for the future.

There were simple elements that raise this above its bigger and more ambitious sequel. Focusing on Scott Lang, and making Hank Pym the ostracised old hat was a clever choice. Doing this opened up the opportunities with an actor like Paul Rudd, to focus on the obvious silliness inherent in this characters power set, and also provided a simple redemption story line that nicely motivates the arc of the film and provides some minor investment in the deeply predictable outcome of the movie. Rudd and Pena shine and provide all the heart of the film. Douglas provides a bit of gravitas to guide things, and Lilly quite obviously has her eyes on the Wasp already and female empowerment in a homogeneous Marvel universe (as she should). What you get is fun, funny, entertaining, but light and forgettable. Both films suffer from being light entertainment, but this one had that little extra substance, and the better ideas to raise it above its successor.

Is this film entertaining? Yes. Is it funny? Yes. Are the action set pieces decent? Yes. So why so low? Simple really, it amps up the original in a way that seems a bit too obvious, and despite all its plus points, it's just not very substantial. These films were designed to be an antidote to the seriousness that the mainstream MCU titles had taken on, and in that sense they perform admirably, being perfect humourous antidotes to those bigger tent pole pictures. It is however, that exact mission statement that Ant-Man represents that stop them from being any higher in the estimations of those that watch them. They're almost throw-away, and as a result nowhere near as memorable as other entries in the cannon. You will have fun by the bucket load, and Paul Rudd will make sure of that, but you'll walk away already looking to the next big film in the franchise having had your Marvel fix to tide you over in the meantime.

Jon Favreaux had pulled off the impossible in this films predecessor, taking a B grade Marvel hero, casting it so perfectly you would almost mistake its lead for the actual character in real life, and providing an entertaining origin that showed a self contained journey with both emotional and comedic chops to craft a superior summer entertainment movie. However, despite his contributions to the vast empire that has since sprung from that one moment, he was hamstrung by conflicting desires in terms of his vision, and that of the studio, who were beginning to realise they had something big on their hands and wanted firm control over what that might be. What we got was a vastly inferior sequel with huge tonal inconsistencies, a lack of any real stakes, and no real journey for its protagonist. There are moments of entertainment, a lovely little message for Tony from his dad, and the first introduction of War Machine. It horribly wasted the talents of Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke, and proved that too many cooks will spoil the broth.

I wanted to like this more, and despite it's massive box office (it currently sits as Marvels 4th most lucrative movie to date, though this will change with Endgame), Captain Marvel is a movie full of flaws and poor world building that disappears from the memory so quickly after you see it due to a lack of any real standout moment. The film makers seemed to lack a sense of what the identity of this movie was, and it feels like a mistake to root so much of the proceedings on Earth considering their choice to make her origin more cosmic than originally in the comic books. It was a chance to bridge the gap to Guardians a little and fill in the universe building begun by those films, and instead we got a dreary movie that reminded me in some ways of DC's Green Lantern attempt in 2011. Despite this there's some stellar work, especially by Samuel, having a ball as a younger, less cynical and world wary Nick Fury. Brie Larsson is perfectly adequate as the titular character, but isn't given enough depth in the script, and the story around everyone else is too fluffy to care about. The running joke with the cat especially just outstays it's welcome. In the end, this will likely be seen as nothing much more than the bridge that spanned the gap from 2018 to the final realisation of Endgame.

Poor Chris. HE was born to play this role, and there really is no one you could think of who could be more perfect for it. Sadly, his first two efforts were marred by tonal issues that just could not be resolved into coherent movies. The writers obviously were far more aware of how to make Loki interesting, and like Dark World he is the shining light in this movie too, but the rest just feels quite empty and a little pointless. Ole Ken as a director had never made a movie like this before, and was obviously chosen for his connection to classical stage productions in order to give that theatrical gravitas they mistakenly felt was appropriate for the character here. A hero having to prove themselves worthy to great power is actually age old, but the major mistake here was having that final battle and realisation come against an enemy that had no real character, and set no real stakes. Elements before that had shown promise, but what you end up left with is a movie that just ends, and leaves people saying 'oh', instead of 'wow'. There was some set-up here though, more than its sequel, and that would eventually be made good on some 7 years later...

People sometimes forget about this one, coming so early in the MCU extended universe when the public was less than aware of the idea of a shared universe in film in general, and certainly were not aware of the strong connection to Iron Man (there were several easter eggs that connected the two movies, not the least of which was the now standard post credit sting). The main issue with this movie is an example of one of those rare moments where Feige and his crew made a mistake, and horribly miscast Edward Norton. They have been so good at picking actors who embody their main characters (the heroes at least), but here they made a monumental mistake, and Norton is just completely wrong as Banner/Hulk. Too much ego maybe? Either way, the film itself was a fairly bulk standard action/fantasy movie with no real surprises, that was only really saved by a fully committed Tim Roth as the slowly burgeoning Abomination. The Hulk is notoriously difficult to translate as a main character to the big screen, and there was no change in that curse here. Was there anything majorly wrong apart from the casting? No. Was there anything particularly great about the movie as a whole? No. Like Dark World, what you got was a whole bagful of bland.

It's hard to tell why this Thor sequel doesn't work, but despite the best efforts of some of it's cast (Tom Hiddleston in particular), it really does just fall very flat indeed. It's painful to describe an event movie like this as boring, but that's exactly what it is. It might be down to the personality free performance by Chris Eccleston, who is utterly forgettable as a villain, or it might be the very mixed tone set by the Game of Thrones alumni director. What is sure is that it doesn't add up to the sum of its parts. At this stage it was hard to decide what to do with the perfectly cast Chris Hemsworth, who had touched on some great moments in Avengers Assemble, but as front and centre, was still too tormented Shakespearean to really shine as his own construct. Simply though, a boring MCU movie is a cardinal crime, and thus Dark World languishes near the bottom of the list.

This movie came at least 5 years too late to be relevant, and by the time they actually greenlit it and started developing I could not see the point or the relevance of it. My only hope was that it would cleverly introduce a key theme, birthed in the past that would bring insight to a possible overarching theme to be continued into phase 4. This was the only point of this movie, so I hoped. It didn't happen. Instead we got a generic action/espionage movie with a plethora of slightly ridiculous back story for Romanov that felt unnecessary, stilted, and derivative. Black Widow's relevance in the movies has diminished gradually from her high point in Avengers Assemble, a par with Winter Soldier, and a decline ever since. This shows in this movie, where her death is given no genuine relevance beyond Endgames denouement and actually just showcases how badly Marvel/Disney didn't know what to do with her character. Where they had managed to provide a solid, and dare I say it, underrated emotional core for Hawkeye, Black Widow had just been left irrelevant, and this movie does nothing to change that. Easily one of the worst and most forgettable in the MCU, I have no wish to rewatch this one, it was a terrible bridge between old and new phases, and it depresses me that at best it is used to introduce new characters for the MCU TV arm they were about to kick start in a big way. Way to do disservice to a character that had so much potential, and was for so long, the standard bearer for women in the MCU.

Why? Why you ask? Why would you do this? The key is in the title. captain AMERICA! A bland, one dimensional hero from the comics, given flesh in the inimitable form of Chris Evans, a then slightly left field choice (his portrayal of The Human Torch anyone), giving 'Cap' an earnest drive and determination that fitted perfectly with those that knew the character, and endeared those that had no idea who this person was supposed to be. He was very ably supported by a tonally perfect Stanley Tucci as his benefactor and creator, A wonderfully curmudgeonly Tommy Lee Jones as the sceptical army colonel, and the untouchable Haley Atwell as Caps love interest and the now slightly stereotypical lady with the biggest balls around. So far so good you might say, but the most unforgivable thing about this movie, and the reason it languishes at the bottom of this list, is how successfully it squanders all the brilliantly realised first 30 minutes, and decides to take every great moment it had and turn it into a rushed 2 minute segment or a montage. Care about Bucky? Tough shit, he's dead nice and suddenly in a way that has no depth at all. Wanna see Cap learn to be the badass commander he ends up as by his next appearance? Tough, we're going to gloss over his growth as a soldier through the power of editing and 50's style propaganda music. There's a reason the brilliant Hugo Weaving swore never to come back, and the empty mess that this movie became is it. Luckily, for it's sequels, we welcome... the Russo's...