Ranking: The Marvel Films

Am I the only one who really wants to see a Nick Fury movie?

In anticipation of Captain America: Civil War coming out tomorrow, my ranking of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films thus far.

P.S. I'm not including them because they were produced by other studios, but in terms of Marvel films not produced by Marvel Studios, I'd rank them:


20. The Amazing Spider-Man 2
19. Fantastic Four (2015)
18. X-Men Origins: Wolverine
17. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
16. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
15. Ghost Rider

14. Hulk
13. Daredevil
12. X-Men: The Last Stand
11. The Amazing Spider-Man
10. Fantastic Four (2005)
(HUGE GAP)
9. Blade
8. X-Men
7. X-Men: First Class
6. Blade II
5. Spider-Man
4. X-Men: Days of Future Past
3. X2
2. Deadpool
1. Spider-Man 2

12. The Incredible Hulk

Not an awful film, I mean compared to something like The Amazing Spider-Man 2 it's an absolute masterpiece, but I can't say it's all that much more of an improvement over the Ang Lee effort. The Hulk himself looks much better through the CGI used but the setpieces are overall uninspired, as is the direction and Edward Norton's performance, and they waste a perfectly decent Tim Roth villainous performance by turning him into an abomination of an Abomination in the third act.

11. Thor: The Dark World

Again, not a bad film at all, just a bit on the bland side. Those goblin looking villains were easily some of the forgettable ones in recent memory, there's WAY too many comic relief characters, I've never really liked the nead to have Natalie Portman's bland Jane as a love interest when you have a much more interesting character in the form of Lady Sif to play that role, and I'm not the biggest Thor fan frankly. There's some good Loki stuff though as always, and it's competently made.

10. Iron Man 2

Now this is a film with some SERIOUS flaws. Even for a Marvel Universe film there's WAY too much setting up for future installments here, as well as the problem of having too many villains, to many different plot threads, too many things going on, also like its predecessor it has the problem of not having a particularly engaging third act or villain to make for a satisfying climax. The comic bits are all well done though thanks especially to Sam Rockwell's turn as Justin Hammer, and at least War Machine gets something to do here.

9. Thor

Firstly, I always find it odd that Kenneth Branagh of all people directed this, you really can't tell at all from just watching the film. Anyway, this is a fun enough film with Hemsworth making for a charismatic enough hero. The film reaches greatness in several very specific moments involving, you guessed it, Loki, but otherwise it's fairly bog standard, although not in a bad way, and is certainly watchable if unremarkable.

8. Avengers: Age of Ultron

A film with some really good moments and some really poor ones, as well as some...unfortunate circumstances surrounding it. X-Men: Days of Future Past being released before it meant that several elements that might've seemed quite cool and original just felt a bit tired and uninspired. It has several BIG tonal errors, like making Ultron almost too wacky a villain at certain points, and having a needlessly inserted romance between Black Widow and the Hulk. Nevertheless there's still a lot to admire about it from the upgrading of Hawkeye from resident bore to everyman badass, the excellent conception of Vision as a character, and the as expected, well-done action sequences.

7. Ant-Man

I probably like this film a lot more than I should. It's a big 'What If' thinking about how this film would've turned out had Edgar Wright had full control of the film from start to finish, but I digress. It's fun enough for what it is, and I like it a great deal for its positive elements: Paul Rudd and Michael Douglas making for a particularly delightful pair of Ant-Men, some incredibly inspired setpieces like that toy trainset fight scene, and the overall breezy tone I really liked, which all made for an enjoyable experience, although the villain in this instance is particularly bland.

6. Iron Man 3

Lame third act villain aside (Guy Pearce please do more stuff like Animal Kingdom and The Rover, please) and maybe some quibbles with the whole idea of remote control Iron Man suits, and also the shortchanging of War Machine as a character, I liked Iron Man 3 quite a bit. This Shane Black-Robert Downey Jr. collaboration doesn't nearly reach the heights of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang but it's got a fairly snappy script, some interesting deconstructive and rather daring elements, and though many have complained we spend too much time with Tony Stark out of his suit I don't half mind that because it involves more Downey Jr. fun, which is always a good thing. Also Ben Kingsley, though I won't go into too much for people who still haven't seen it, gives a (rarity for his recent work) genuinely inspired turn as the Mandarin which goes places you might not expect, but which I thoroughly enjoyed watching myself.

5. Captain America: The First Avenger

Cheesy, old-fashioned superhero thrills, to be sure, but I thoroughly liked it for what it was. I actually love anything in the film involving Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and the Howling Commandos as I feel a whole film could be made about them combining as a team fighting Nazis, and could've used a lot more of them working together. The central romance between Rogers and Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) is also really lovely without being too cloying, and of course Chris Evans begins his journey as the Cap, bringing the perfect amount of boyish enthusiasm and defiant conviction to the role that makes you want to root for him so strongly. Again, the villains are lacking, but I don't mind so much as the film isn't about them, it's about the First Avenger and his journey to realizing the hero contained within the heroic spirit he always had in him, and I like it just for that.

4. The Avengers

A really fun ensemble experience overall that manages to not only juggle seven heroes together but makes each and every one of them (well, except Hawkeye) stand out particularly well in the action scenes. It's just an excellently directed venture from Joss Whedon and also very snappily written for the comic scenes, with the banter between Iron Man and Loki, Iron Man and Captain America resonating particularly well. The dramatic elements are a bit more of a mixed bag, but lifting that side of proceedings up as always is Tom Hiddleston doing his Loki schtick. Please give this man some good Hollywood roles, please.

3. Iron Man

The only real qualm I have with this film is that it really doesn't have a good enough villain to build up to its final act. Jeff Bridges is fine but Obadiah Stane's just not that interesting a character, but in all fairness the film more than makes up for a lacking villain by just being all-round fun to watch otherwise. Downey Jr. plays the role he was born to play to (as expected) perfection in his scenes of charisma, snark and genius in building up the persona of both Tony Stark and the Iron Man, but I think people often neglect the even more impressive side of his performance besides all the Gwenyth Paltrow bantering, his dramatic scenes of imprisonment by the terrorist group Ten Rings. Besides Downey Jr. the film also has a lot else going for it from the cool gadgets and gimmickry involved with the Iron Man suit and some pretty interesting delving into anti-war themes.

2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

I quite love this installment in the Captain America series and it's one of the big reasons I'm so excited for Civil War. The Russo brothers take elements of 70's Cold War thrillers like The Three Days of Concord (oh hello there Robert Redford), and merges it with superhero tropes we've grown accustomed to, to make for a surprisingly fresh entry into the Marvel universe. Firstly, Chris Evans simply has grown into the role of Cap perfectly; he's just such an engaging lead to watch. He has some fantastic chemistry with both Scarlett Johnasson's Black Widow and Anthony Mackie's Falcoln, the conspiracy thriller plot they follow is consistently engaging, and in terms of action scenes it really hits the heights with that highway fight scene in particular a standout. It's a film I really can't state anything I dislike about it, despite being well aware it's not at all perfect.

1. Guardians of the Galaxy

Fantastic film that's unlike any other Marvel film, and that might be one of the reasons I took to it as much as I did. It did not feel formulaic or a Marvel universe 'set-up' film in the slightest, due to it being set in an entirely different dimension. Well this new world built up by James Gunn and Kevin Feige is bonkers fun. There's just so much detail found in every frame and make every re-watch even more interesting. Our titular heroes are fun to watch because they're charming without being cloying, fun but properly badass in the right moments, and some pretty daring casting that pays off perfectly, with David Bautista's Groot and Michael Rooker's Yondu being particular standouts, the voice work of Bradley Cooper and Vin Diesel being absolute perfection, and Chris Pratt making for one fine likable lead. The villains are okay, but to be frank I never once minded that they were nothing beyond being fairly menacing. Because the film as a whole is just one great, fun thrill ride that earns every laugh, every moving moment, and every rousing scene even if there are a few plot holes and overly swift character development moments here and there.