MCU movie ranking, analysis, discussion and more!

That is an accurate assessment. The Infinity War and Endgame are designed to end the saga of the first 3 phases of the MCU (with the latest Spider-man occurring afterwards, even though it is still considered to be phase 3). The movie doesn't "waste" time going over things that occurred previously simply because it would be bogged down by it. There are too many characters and events from the previous MCU films to summarize without sacrificing the pacing of Infinity War / Endgame. They are the payoff for closely following 10 years of cinema. The more of the previous films you have seen, the more you get out of Infinity War / Endgame. You're correct that they don't function very well as stand alone movies.

 

Disclaimer: All opinions expressed in this post are solely those of Just A Skink and do not reflect the opinions of Lustria Online, their respective parent companies or affiliates.

I'm a long time fan of comic books and superheroes. The MCU has generally done a great job with their ambitious approach to multi-movie stories (much like the comics). I started typing a LONG post where I talked about each movie, but that just felt gratuitous. I'm happy to expand on individual movies if anyone is interested. Here are my "ranks".

Favorites (I can sit down and watch this just about any time)
Iron Man
Captain America: Winter Soldier
Captain America: Civil War
Avengers

Like (I'll probably watch this all the way through, given time and not much else to do)
Thor
Captain America
Guardians of the Galaxy
Ant-Man
Spider-man: Homecoming
Spider-man: Far From Home
Black Panther
Avengers: Infinity War
Avengers: End Game (if not for it being the finale, it's close to the "Neutral" category)

Neutral (I might watch parts of this, but I probably won't stick around for the whole thing)
Iron Man 2
Iron Man 3 (mostly because I like watching RDJ play this character. Otherwise in the "Meh" category.
Thor: Ragnarok
The Incredible Hulk (Edward Norton)
Guardians of the Galaxy 2
Doctor Strange

Meh (Nothing to see here. Move along.)
Thor: Dark World
Ant-Man and the Wasp
Captain Marvel

 

I never thought about it like this, but that makes a lot of sense. The big finale doesn't stand very well on its own, even as individual movies one doesn't work great without the other though Infinity War its great to see the heroes fight and fail, very @Scalenex Cup worthy almost as this thing doesn't happen much in main stream fiction. Maybe Marvel got a dose of game of thrones and wanted to experiment with killing off characters? Even if you can bring them all back...

I like your disclaimer. Would make a great signature block.

 

Its funny to see just how much variability exists between our relative rankings. Favourites and least favourites vary wildly. The only one consistent rating seems to be the positive rating for Iron Man 1.

 

I did as well! It was by no means the best Marvel film, but it was a thoroughly enjoyable film nonetheless - I would probably put it in the upper middle portion of the hierarchy. I would probably agree with @LizardWizard though when it comes to power level - in terms of the film itself taken on its own and what came before it, I thought it worked perfectly fine (in fact I found it quite refreshing to have that whole “you are not got enough for your powers yet, you must ‘earn’ them thing turned on its head), but when it comes to making sequels and teaming her up with people, they have definitely written themselves into a corner with her being a bit too powerful now to continue

 

I agree. But, obviously, it's as different as people. I was probably a little too harsh on some of my picks. Plus, my friends joke that I'm notoriously hard on movies these days (like I know what's best). Overall I enjoy most of the MCU and I'd still watch at least some of any of the movies when they're on. Heck, I've even watched parts of Justice League more than once... so clearly my judgement is questionable.

Some of the love for Iron Man could come from it just being the first in the new line of MCU movies. But, it has a lot going for it; a solid script, very good principle actors, great effects, and the fact that not a lot of people know the origins for Iron Man (compared to Superman, Batman or even Spider-man).

 

Update: just saw Spiderman FAR FROM HOME. I really enjoyed it, I place it firmly in my "Liked" category.

Spoiler: SPOILER

I especially loved the scene when it is fully revealed that Mysterio is a bad guy. I knew it was coming (he was a longtime Spiderman enemy who was really good at illusions) but I really enjoyed the way they did it in the movie.

 

You mean Spider Man: Far From Home?

 

Yup. Fixed

 

After all this discussion, I've been re-watching some classic MCU flicks!