The Marvel Cinematic Universe - Ranked (10-6)
We're back everybody! After battling through some of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's worst films, we have arrived at the top 10 movies! Sure I know it wasn't all that long of a road because there are only 17 MCU films, but I like to think it took awhile ok! So far I don't think there is a ton of surprises from my list, but with 10-6 I think I'm going to do a bit of earth-shattering and make more people mad at me than anyone who read my Star Wars list. Without further adieu, let's dive right in with #10!
10. Ant-Man
That's right! Ant-Man is in my top 10 MCU films! Just accept the reality that I'm going to through a lot of curveballs at you from here to the end. Near the end of Phase 2 of the Cinematic Universe, Marvel was at a point where they had run its core cast of characters through enough films to enjoy a lifetime. This means they had to finally take some risks and jump into some properties that were even more unknown than before. Ant-Man was the first Marvel film to take on other real genres and use Paul Rudd, who was mostly known for his place in comedies. This is also one of their first stories not using the first iteration of a character, with Scott Lang being the Ant-Man of the MCU, not Hank Pym. Simply put: Paul Rudd was an absolute stud in this movie. Sure the story of this movie wasn't that creative or original, but everything else about the film was just excellent.
What comes to mind when I think about this film is that it's essentially a heist film with superheroes! Ant-Man is all about stealing the tech that Yellowjacket has taken control of with the help of Lang's heist crew and the Ant-Man suit. Hank Pym is the genius behind the suit, and with the help of his daughter Hope, they have to get Lang into fighting shape and make him somewhat capable of the shrinking. Truth be told there's just a lot of fun to be had with Ant-Man and the comedy is some of the best the MCU had to offer up until this point. Paul Rudd was a catch for the universe and I really can't think of any other character playing Ant-Man now, another success by Marvel Studios.
9. Iron Man
The original! What started it all! Iron Man. Before the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a crazy worldwide phenomenon, it was just an idea in the minds of some people at Marvel. When it was first announced, no casual superhero fan had any idea who Iron Man was, and in a year where it had to face The Dark Knight, fears abounded that this would be a fail for the studio. Along with this, it had the baggage of taking an actor in Robert Downey Jr who had been chastised around Hollywood for the drug problems he had undertaken. Needless to say, Iron Man had a lot of things against it, but oh did it prevail.
Robert Downey Jr. was the pure embodiment of Tony Stark, being one of the very first actors to ever merge a character and a person. Downey Jr and Stark were almost unintelligible from one another and watching him portray this billionaire was absolutely brilliant. Every performance Downey has done as Stark has been stellar but I place this one in high regard simply because of what he did for the character. Turning a character nobody knew into a household name was no easy task and he was one of the major reasons as to why that happened.
Origin stories are sometimes difficult to handle with care and make unique from others, but something that this film does is manage to make Stark's origins so easy to sympathize, especially with a character who is rather rude. You root for him from the very beginning, and you see how everything he had has fallen by the wayside and handed to another man from his past. The villain of the film in Iron Monger was a great reflection of what Tony could have been and helps to show that how even a man who could have easily given into tendencies of power manages to beat the odds and be something that people can look up to. Also, I mean who can forget that last scene, with Stark doing something entirely unique and revealing his identity to the world. Simply a great movie.
8. Doctor Strange
I imagine for many this is where people really start to question my sanity as a film critic. Marvel took a major risk with Doctor Strange, opening up the MCU to an entirely new area in magic and cosmic realms. Being the first true magic user, Strange had to establish a character who would be a major tentpole in the future of this vast franchise, and introduce audiences to a whole new section of reality. For me, it hit on nearly everything it aimed to do. The way magic is shown in this film is stellar and while at times it seems like it takes the easy way out (specifically the end of the film) it does some great things.
Visually Doctor Strange is outstanding. The magic looks just mesmerizing and just ups the game overall of the Marvel Universe's visual department. Cumberbatch also puts out a fantastic performance as the good Doctor Strange, bringing out a cockiness that only the likes of Tony Stark would understand. Along with Cumberbatch though, some of the best parts of this movie come from the supporting characters. Chiwetel Ejiofor as Karl Mordo is great, as he is a man who sticks by the rules of the order he was trained by and doesn't like to see them broken. Along with him, there is Tilda Swinton as the Ancient One. There was a large amount of backlash to her casting, but Swinton seems made to play this character. Her and Cumberbatch's chemistry is great and it hurts knowing we won't see more of them in the future.
The story of Doctor Strange is actually great as well, focusing on learning the arts of magic and helping Strange evolve from his darker past. Forced to do things differently (ala Batman Begins) he starts to adapt and become someone different. Sure the villain is a bit terrible, but the story manages to avoid making him look that bad and focuses the majority of the film of Strange's relationship with the Mystic Arts and those who use it. In my opinion, this was great for the film as we were allowed to spend time with plenty of characters who will surely return in the future and built up the story rather than focusing on an arms race between Kaecilius and Strange. The development we see from Strange is the best part of the film as a whole.
7. Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2
Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 2 had a bad reputation by many people, for a variety of reasons. I'm not going to spend time focusing on what's bad about Volume 2, instead, I want to look at everything good that happened in this movie. Firstly I just want to talk about James Gunn's absolute command over these films and how he manages to make these characters so lovable. He chooses to make a majority of the movie having the core cast of characters separated out. This was a choice many people criticized, but for me, I felt like this made the movie that much better. It allowed us to get a deeper understanding of those characters who didn't necessarily get time in the spotlight in the original movie. Seeing Rocket spend time with Yondu allowed us to really get a sense of who they are outside of Peter Quill, and made Yondu one of the best characters we had in this universe.
Outside the other pieces of the story, this really is a character piece for Peter Quill as a person and understanding who he is and where he comes from. Kurt Russell's Ego is one of my favorite MCU villains to date because he is a truly loving father, but ends up doing things for the wrong reasons. Peter and he had a genuine relationship that made me tear up in theaters and smile all at the same time. Seeing their downward spiral and the revelation that Ego had killed Peter's mother was heartwrenching and made him that much viler. I have to attribute at least a good portion of why Ego is so good to Russell himself for being able to twist what could have been a generic villain into someone with depth and pain, but still understands and believes in his purpose. Pratt continues to stand out as Peter Quill, which at this point really shouldn't be a surprise for fans of the MCU as it seems like they can't miss on casting their heroes.
6. Guardians of the Galaxy
For many, Guardians of the Galaxy is the best film in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it most certainly has a good reason for being there. If you couldn't tell by now, I have a real love for all of these films. Guardians of the Galaxy was still to this date, the biggest risk Marvel Studios has ever taken. A talking Raccoon and a sentient tree?! Come on there's no way that could work on a wide-scale. With the genius mind of James Gunn at the helm, Marvel proved it was up to the task. Guardians of the Galaxy has so many different things going for it. The story was stellar, the characters had variety and were all great in their own right, and it opened up the world of the MCU to the cosmos.
Chris Pratt is another example of Marvel nailing its main character, creating a household name out of Peter Quill/Star-Lord. Right from the films beginning we are sympathetic with Peter as we watch his life gets turned upside down by the loss of his mother. Pratt is a lovable actor and gives Quill that same lovable quality. He's a goofy/cocky young man who doesn't know what his larger purpose is in the universe. Enter the rest of the Guardians in Dave Bautista's Drax, Zoe Saldana's Gamora, Bradley Cooper's Rocket Raccoon, and Vin Diesel's Groot. All of these characters have their own charm or power to them. Gunn manages a cast of characters nearly the size of the original Avengers and does wonders.
Comedy is essential to Guardians, and what ends up making it such a great movie overall. The mixture of dramatic tone and comedic elements really just makes this movie so much better. Whether it be the dry humor that Drax brings with taking everything literally or his attempts to make real jokes, or Rocket's complete and utter rudeness, there's just so much comedy that its almost bursting at the seams. In many other movies this could have been a bad thing, but with Guardians they manage to balance it well with a healthy helping of heart. Their story is powerful, emotional, and one of the best the MCU has ever put to screen.
To Be Continued! Again!
Well, we've reached the end of Part 2 of The Marvel Cinematic Universe - Ranked! Like I said in the original piece, this is a longer article than what I'm used to so it feels so much better to spread it out into parts. This way I don't ruin your lives and make an article that's almost long enough to just be painful to read. The MCU has been one of my favorite parts of my film life since it began back in 2008 and I cannot wait to get down to my favorites of that universe. Check back next week for the finale, just in time for Black Panther!
