There are 30 movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in all and they've all brought in millions at the box office. But a handful are more than just hits -- they're jaw-droppingly good and infinitely rewatchable. Here are the seven best of what the MCU has to offer so far:
9. Ant-Man
Like Blade, Ant-Man was one of those comics that was pretty good for lining the cat's sh#tbox. His solo comic, anyway. Thanks to Quicksilver and, especially, Hawkeye, he was never in danger of being the worst Avenger. His strength was always in his contribution to the team. So, when he was completely left out of the team's first nine movies (that's not even counting those out-of-place Hulk joints) it seemed like it was a wrap for his chances at getting onscreen. Hey, he created Ultron and he wasn't even mentioned in that movie. But, maybe the shot-callers at Marvel Studios and Disney are hip-hop wannabees who took a page from true deejays (the ones who scratch vinyl, not the laptop kind) and decided to focus on maximizing hidden potential instead of only reusing the people's favorites. Or maybe they just figured that nobody would care if they made changes to the wack stuff. Who the hell knows?
Anyway, Ant-Man bears the distinction of being the only superhero movie that belongs to the "heist film" genre (I'm not sure "time heists" count). Our hero pulls off four -- count 'em, four -- such heists before the credits roll. If you really are counting, there's: the VistaCorp burglary that lands him in state prison; the theft of his future super suit; the infiltration of Avengers HQ; and the attempted swiping of the Yellow Jacket suit. Happy now? Both Ethan Hunt and Danny Ocean might have trouble keeping up with this guy. And how great was it to see the Falcon in action again? After being criminally under-used in The Age of Ultron, Wilson is a sight for sore eyes. Although, the more colorful suit is a step in the lame direction.
Ant-Man represents the very rare occasion in which a heavy emphasis on comedy in a superhero movie was a good idea. As much as people criticize comic book movies for taking themselves too seriously, Green Lantern, Superman III, Superman IV, The Green Hornet, Batman Forever, Batman & Robin, The Fantastic Four, Rise of the Silver Surfer, Steel, and The Phantom serve as reminders of the dangers of not doing so.
8. Wakanda Forever
Director Ryan Coogler has added to his flawless resume by creating this contemplative follow-up to his cinematic masterpiece. Following the death of King T'Challa, his subjects must come to terms with his absence while grappling with the discovery that there's isn't the only secretive, yet powerful kingdom wary of attempts at colonialism. The film also doubles as a stealthy, feature-length meditation on grief, specifically, in the wake of the passing of its planned star: Chadwick Boseman.
7. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
The former Sorcerer Supreme devotes himself to protecting teenage orphan America Chavez from an embittered mass-murder Wanda Maximoff, who intends to steal her ability to travel between universes. Strange must confront his own character flaws or neither he nor his rescuee will survive.
Forced to battle demons, monsters, secret societies and a fallen witch, Dr. Stephen Strange's second solo mission is exponentially better than his first. Doc Strange is undoubtedly the most-improved MCU hero and sub-franchise -- hands down. The movie's only flaw lies in the inclusion of cheesy ass Illuminati members: Black Bolt, Reed Richards and Professor X (and his goofy yellow hoverchair).
6. The Avengers
While the Dark Knight trilogy made comic books realistic, The Avengers is the best example of comics brought to life.
Was Scarlett Johannson's asinine curly wig necessary? I watched some of Lost In Translation again the other night, and was reminded that ScarJo is reasonably photogenic (not to mention authentic-looking) with long, straight, home-grown hair.
Black Widow, Hawkeye, Loki, Colonel Fury, Thor and Captain America all don absolutely ridiculous costumes, but Iron Man and the Hulk steal the show and make up for all of the campy idiocy. When those two let loose in New York City, it's hard to believe your eyes. This is sheer cinematic spectacle at its best.
5. Age of Ultron
The Age of Ultron is only a disappointing follow-up to The Avengers because The Avengers set the bar ridiculously high. But it's an improvement in the following ways: Nick Fury's thankfully diminished role, Captain America's much-improved uniform, and especially - the villain.
Though his origin was unnecessarily altered, Ultron made for an interesting adversary and owing to James Spader's extremely charismatic characterization, should enter the pantheon of cinematic automatons. As villainous as he is, Ultron is more or less the physical manifestion of Tony Stark's megalomaniacal ego. And he accurately (unfortunately) calls out the Avengers for the killers that they are.
Although, I gotta say, I'm not sure his evil plan to drive mankind to extinction made much sense. If Ultron had succeeded in killing off billions of people by dropping the Sokovian capital city of Novi Grad from the upper atmosphere, wouldn't it have been much more difficult for him to function in the long term? Despite his best intentions though, Ultron did not tally up the highest body count. That honor belongs to the Hulk, who went on a rampage in an African city before ultimately being subdued by Iron Man and Veronica -- which is a name that's, thankfully, a hundred times more mature than "Hulkbuster armor". This isn't one of those movies in which the African-American dude is the first casualty, but having an Avenger kill off countless Africans, civilians included, and later saving the lives of an entire population of a European city sort of misses the point.
And why, why -- Why go back to the stupid-ass blue lasers from Captain America: The First Avenger? And right off the bat, at that? C'mon, man.
But hey, at least Cap had some great lines. Some of the best actually - even better than Iron Man's. They include:
"I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science invented was me."
"You get hurt, hurt 'em back. You get killed - walk it off."
"What kinda monster would let a German scientist experiment on him to help his country." (Sarcastically referring to himself and the Maximoffs)
The depictions of the Scarlet Witch, and especially, Quicksilver, were much better than expected. Although, the idea that their superpowers were derived from "experiments" using Loki's stupid wizard staff is a reminder of how far these movies haven't progressed. I suppose Marvel felt compelled to maintain a certain consistency in regards to idiocy -- it lines up nicely with the first movie's illustration of the magic stick's ability to grant it's wielder mind-control powers. I realize that 20th Century Fox still owned the exclusive rights to mutant powers when Ultron was written, but couldn't the filmmakers have just left the origin of the twins' powers unsaid (We all know they're Magneto's kids)? Mystery is far superior to lameness. And, if one of them had to die, why couldn't Wanda have been the one left in the dirt? I personally prefer physical superpowers to magic. For one thing, they're easier to quantify. And the last thing this franchise needs is more ludicrousness. Seriously, Maria Hill and Robin Hood survive and we lose the best version of Quicksilver, ever? South Korean geneticist Dr. Helen Cho takes a shot from Ultron at close range and she survives too? Come the fuck on.
The Age of Ultron isn't necessarily profound but AI researchers would do well to view it as the latest in a long line of cautionary tales.
Though his origin was unnecessarily altered, Ultron made for an interesting adversary and owing to James Spader's extremely charismatic characterization, should enter the pantheon of cinematic automatons. As villainous as he is, Ultron is more or less the physical manifestion of Tony Stark's megalomaniacal ego. And he accurately (unfortunately) calls out the Avengers for the killers that they are.
Although, I gotta say, I'm not sure his evil plan to drive mankind to extinction made much sense. If Ultron had succeeded in killing off billions of people by dropping the Sokovian capital city of Novi Grad from the upper atmosphere, wouldn't it have been much more difficult for him to function in the long term? Despite his best intentions though, Ultron did not tally up the highest body count. That honor belongs to the Hulk, who went on a rampage in an African city before ultimately being subdued by Iron Man and Veronica -- which is a name that's, thankfully, a hundred times more mature than "Hulkbuster armor". This isn't one of those movies in which the African-American dude is the first casualty, but having an Avenger kill off countless Africans, civilians included, and later saving the lives of an entire population of a European city sort of misses the point.
And why, why -- Why go back to the stupid-ass blue lasers from Captain America: The First Avenger? And right off the bat, at that? C'mon, man.
But hey, at least Cap had some great lines. Some of the best actually - even better than Iron Man's. They include:
"I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science invented was me."
"You get hurt, hurt 'em back. You get killed - walk it off."
"What kinda monster would let a German scientist experiment on him to help his country." (Sarcastically referring to himself and the Maximoffs)
The depictions of the Scarlet Witch, and especially, Quicksilver, were much better than expected. Although, the idea that their superpowers were derived from "experiments" using Loki's stupid wizard staff is a reminder of how far these movies haven't progressed. I suppose Marvel felt compelled to maintain a certain consistency in regards to idiocy -- it lines up nicely with the first movie's illustration of the magic stick's ability to grant it's wielder mind-control powers. I realize that 20th Century Fox still owned the exclusive rights to mutant powers when Ultron was written, but couldn't the filmmakers have just left the origin of the twins' powers unsaid (We all know they're Magneto's kids)? Mystery is far superior to lameness. And, if one of them had to die, why couldn't Wanda have been the one left in the dirt? I personally prefer physical superpowers to magic. For one thing, they're easier to quantify. And the last thing this franchise needs is more ludicrousness. Seriously, Maria Hill and Robin Hood survive and we lose the best version of Quicksilver, ever? South Korean geneticist Dr. Helen Cho takes a shot from Ultron at close range and she survives too? Come the fuck on.
The Age of Ultron isn't necessarily profound but AI researchers would do well to view it as the latest in a long line of cautionary tales.
4. The Winter Soldier
When I saw the Superbowl ad for this movie I had zero interest in seeing it...ever. Not even on blu-ray or Netflix. It came across as completely corny in that commercial. The release of Iron Man 3 followed by Thor: The Dark World the year before seemed to signal a downward spiral for the quality of Marvel movies and the sight of Scarlett Johannson's bright, Kool-Aid red wig and Samuel Jackson's Matrix-wannabe leather trench coat just seemed like more of the same. By the way, none of the posters were any better. The revelation that the Falcon was in the film wasn't welcome news either. Sidekicks and characters with wings are usually massive red flags letting you know you're about to see something that sucks donkey nuts. I wondered if history was repeating itself like when 1989's Batman eventually devolved into Batman and Robin...or when Superman descended into Superman IV...The Empire Strikes Back begat Attack of the Clones...and on and on and on. As entertaining as The Avengers is, the truth is Captain America hadn't added much to the thrills. In fact, his goofy costume with the red pirate boots was one of the liabilities. Whose decision was it to put him back in the outfit that he himself (and everyone else) ridiculed in his first solo movie? I get it. It's his signature costume from the comic book, but Captain America: The First Avenger's director, Joe Johnston, wisely realized that it was impossible for that suit to be taken seriously in a live-action, real world setting.
Eventually, two things convinced me to give it a shot. First, I saw a trailer with an uncharacteristically somber tone that contained a single shot of Cap standing over about a dozen bodies. Second, the word-of-mouth was not just overwhelming, it was thoroughly positive. Everyone that I talked to gave it an enthusiastic recommendation. A female friend told me she'd gone to see it three times already and didn't mind seeing it again. At this point I still wasn't convinced. Hell, some people just like action, no matter how terrible the movie is. But I was curious.
From the very beginning it's evident that Winter Soldier is an entirely different movie than Marvel's previous offerings. The most striking disparity is between this film and the first Cap adventure. The sequel isn't merely a departure. It belongs to another genre altogether. The First Avenger was a light-hearted, good vs. evil, period war movie about a superhero. Winter Soldier is a mostly sober conspiracy thriller loaded with paranoia, suspense, timely concern about government overreach, global surveillance, spies, assassins and shades of grey. According to the filmmakers, there was also a reassuring reliance on practical stunts and special effects and less dependence on CGI whenever possible. Luckily, somebody wised up and replaced the stupid blue lasers with bullets. There are no traces of mystical energy sources and no Nazis. Unlike in The Avengers, there are also no aliens, no Iron Man, no Thor, no Hulk, no Loki and best of all, no Hawkeye. Jackson's Nick Fury and Johannson's Black Widow do make appearances, however. This is the most grounded and mature Marvel movie so far but those two don't let you forget that this is based on a comic book when they're onscreen because neither one looks like they belong in the real world. Luckily, it's only the look that's distracting. They fit right in otherwise. But so far, neither of them is worthy of a solo movie. It seems like somebody overlooked some of the details somehow. Like, why the hell is BW's hair the same color as Ronald McDonald's? And why doesn't she at the very least put it in a ponytail when she goes on special ops missions? And as for Colonel Fury...why is he in all black leather when everyone around him is either in a uniform or a suit? Even in the office!?
Despite my reaction to the trailer, the Falcon's inclusion was a great decision. He's no more a sidekick than Black Widow is and his wings are way, waay more realistic than Jackson's wardrobe. Incidentally, he is Captain America in the comics, as he's currently traded in the wings and taken over the costume, shield and duties from Steve Rogers.
Aside from the costume, Chris Evans' Steve Rogers hasn't changed drastically. His hallmark sincerity and stoicism's still there but he's a little more suspicious of people's motives now and there's the suggestion that he's disenchanted with his role as a soldier in today's world. This only serves to broaden and deepen the character and Evans portrays the new depth perfectly.
There are a ton of superhero movies out there and lots more are on the way. Honestly, most of them are a big waste of time and money. Only a handful of them are actually good. As of 2015, there's the Dark Knight trilogy, The Avengers, this movie, and then there's everything else. In that order.
Winter Soldier is the 4th highest-grossing film in the U.S. for 2014 and 7th highest-grossing film of the year, worldwide. It might have been #1 if it'd had a better trailer director.
3. Infinity War
"They" say that the book is always better than the movie. Well, I read the comic book series that inspired Infinity War years ago and I'm telling you straight -- that theory doesn't apply here. I more or less knew what would happen beforehand and my eyes were still glued to the screen. I say more or less because some story changes were made between comic and movie. Doctor Strange is much, much better in the comics but this is Thanos' story and his screen incarnation is miles above the version in the source material. He's more than anybody could ever reasonably hope for. It's fitting that Thanos killed Loki with his bare hands in the beginning of the movie and hopefully it symbolizes the new era of MCU villains obliterating the old. Seeing the Mad Titan enforce his will on the universe made me wonder why we had to put up with Thor's lame brother for four whole movies when villains like this (and Killmonger) were possible.
I've seen Infinity War three times already and I like it even more than I did the first time I watched it. There was some question as to whether a live-action Thanos would or even could do the original comics version justice. And the fact is that the iteration of the character that we see in Infinity surpasses all the ones that came before. But there are standouts on the other side of the war as well.
The pressure was on for the MCU's 18th feature to deliver on 10 years worth of build-up. And Infinity War certainly met the challenge. The Guardians of the Galaxy have never been better -- not even in their own movies. Quill and Rocket outshone the vast majority of the other characters onscreen. The two of them really did have the best lines. Infinity also provides the greatest showcase for Thor. It's a huge step up from the Thor trilogy, in particular. He really does emerge as the hero, albeit an unsuccessful one.
2. Civil War
For the second year in a row, two big movie franchises released films that told almost the same story. In 2015, Mission: Impossible's Rogue Nation and the unwatchable James Bond flick, Spectre, were both about the revelation that underground international intelligence organizations existed and were out to wreak havoc on the world. Each movie also featured British superspy/assassin and a villain behind a wall made of bullet-proof glass.
In 2016, two blockbusters told the story of superheroes involved in mass destruction and accidentally causing mass civilian casualties during their struggles against super-powered enemies, and the subsequent attempts at government oversight of said heroes. One of those films is Batman v. Superman and the other is this movie.
Civil War is a very loose adaptation of the 2006 comic book storyline of the same name. In the movie version, the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.N. step in after the last straw in Avengers-related mayhem -- the Scarlet Witch's accidental killing of a bunch of bystanders during a mission to catch The Winter Soldier's Brock Rumlow. During a meeting between the team and the U.S. Secretary of Defense, some of the previous missions that ended in collateral damage come up, including: the NYC invasion; the heli-carrier crashes in D.C.; Iron Man's fight with the Hulk in Johannesburg; and the Sokovia battle. But aside from a grieving mom slapping the shit outta Tony Starks for accidentally killing her son, and Helmut Zemo's revenge mission, there's no real focus on the actual victims. Speaking of victims, it seems to me that the Scarlet Witch should've had a much harder time getting over her brother's death in The Age of Ultron -- her twin brother and only family, at that. But, what do I know?
And, hey, Ant-Man's finally a part of the team. But if he was gonna be included, why change the Ultron story so that Starks and Bruce Banner are his creators instead of Henry Pym? It's a fairly fundamental change, too. I gotta say, that puts a whole lotta dirt on Starks' resume. He was an international arms dealer and he devised a killer robot that nearly succeeded in destroying the planet? This guy's beginning to look like a threat to humanity. It's a lot.
In some respects, Civil War represents a setback for Captain America's story. The Falcon has lost some of his sincerity and gained some cheesiness, like the less realistic costume. And the stupid drone (Red Wing) is one of those things you leave in the comic book. Actually, it's too dumb for comics, too. Black Widow is still running around on combat missions having not bothered to tie her hair back, and this time around, despite the fact that she's superpower-free, she's not bothering to bring firearms along. Wtf? It's stuff like this that makes it a good idea for neither of them to have their own movie. And they were both so great in The Winter Soldier. As they say: "One step forward and two steps back." As popular as it is, Civil War definitely registered a few spikes on the ridiculosity meter.
The best things about Civil War are: Captain Rogers' finally-resumed hunt for the Winter Soldier; the Black Panther's and Zemo's respective quests for vengeance; and the brawl involving Iron Man, the Captain and Bucky. By the way, props to the Russo brothers for not putting Zemo in costume. It was also nice to see Rogers finally get some action -- even if it was only a kiss.
1. Black Panther
Infinity War was the biggest money-maker of 2018. But unlike Infinity War, Black Panther wasn't just a movie -- it was an event. And a cultural touchstone. And a watershed moment for big-budget filmmaking. It's no fluke that it's the only comic book film to nab a Best Picture nomination (And it actually went home with three statuettes!).
Black Panther, even more than The Dark Knight, elevates the comic book movie to a genre that's capable of actually saying something. The film's complex social commentary far exceeds any other installment in the wildly successful MCU while still managing to become the third highest-grossing movie of all time in North America (fourth ever since Endgame strong-armed the movie business in 2019) and rack up $1.34 billion at the global box office.
T'Challa, who protects his people under the guise of the legendary Black Panther, finally returns home to the seemingly third-world African nation Wakanda as the heir apparent following the death of his father, King T'Chaka, in Civil War.
Meanwhile, T'Challa's American-born cousin, Erik Stevens, is on a collision course with the new monarch, steadily inching his way to his ancestral home with single-minded determination. After becoming a Navy SEAL and graduating from MIT, Stevens honed his skills as a warrior in Afghanistan and other hot spots around the globe, picking up the nickname "Killmonger" (a reference to his considerable body count) along the way. His military career also includes black-ops missions in which he helped to destabilize governments.
With assistance from black market arms dealer Ulysses Klaue (first seen in The Age of Ultron) and Tilda Johnson, Stevens uses his skills to liberate two Wakanda artifacts from a London museum. One of the items, a weapon, is revealed to be made of vibranium - the same Wakandan material that comprises Black Panther's suit and Captain America's shield.
After murdering both of his accomplices, Stevens makes his way to Wakanda, where he reveals his native name (N'Jadaka) and the fact that he's of royal blood (as the son of King T'Chaka's brother) and thereby eligible to challenge T'Challa's claim to the throne. Following his defeat of T'Challa in ritual combat, N'Jadaka does indeed assume the Wakandan throne and announces his intention to distribute the country's advanced technology and weaponry (based mainly on vibranium) to the African diaspora across the globe so that the world's Black population can rise up against white regimes. T'Challa, beaten to within an inch of his life and presumed dead, and his loyal supporters initiate a Wakandan civil war in order to stop the new king from inciting an international race war.
The central conflict in Black Panther stems from the ideological differences between T'Challa and Stevens. The former is a staunch isolationist who continues Wakanda's previous rulers' policy of disguising the advanced nation as a third-world country, in part so as not to share their priceless reserves of vibranium that not only powers Wakandan technology but also bestows enhanced abilities upon the Black Panther. Stevens, on the other hand, not only wants to reveal Wakanda's true nature, his lifelong dream has been to expand the kingdom into an empire that dominates the rest of the world as insurance against the subjugation of Black people. T'Challa also acts as a stand-in for Black Africans while Stevens represents African-Americans, whom he views as being abandoned, historically, by the former.
Fittingly for a story about Native Africans, the cast is almost entirely comprised of Black actors.
Black Panther marks the third collaboration (all critical and commercial smashes) between writer/director Ryan Coogler and co-star Michael B. Jordan, placing them among the ranks of legendary cinematic teams such as Martin Scorcese/Robert DeNiro, Spike Lee/Denzel Washington and Tim Burton/Johnny Depp. And with his scene-stealing turn in BP, Jordan proves that he's just as adept at portraying villains as he is heroes.
Originally posted 5/13/19
Updated 11/15/22
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