(Almost) Every Marvel Movie, Ranked Pt. 1
Turns out that a global pandemic gives you just enough free time to binge the entire Marvel movie franchise.
I didn’t expect to ever watch a Marvel movie, let alone the entire franchise.
There were better films to be watching. Films that are better written. Films with more thought-provoking themes. Films that don’t rely so heavily on borderline offensive stereotypes. Films that are more worthy to be watched.
After watching almost all of the Marvel movies during 2020 quarantine… Well, my opinion mostly remains the same.
Still, there are a bunch of films within the franchise that scream “QUALITY.” Marvel, as a studio, produces extreme “hit-or-misses.”
For that reason, I hadn’t bothered watching The Incredible Hulk or Captain Marvel, two of the lowest scoring Marvel films on Rotten Tomatoes. And after watching Ant-Man, I was too jaded to watch its sequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp. And I haven’t been able to get my hands on Spiderman: No Way Home nor Eternals.
Now, with further ado, the bottom-half of the ranking…
“Oof” — I Never Want To Watch or Think About These Again
22. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
I’ll be honest: I don’t really like Captain America. I’m not as invested in his story in comparison to other heroes like Thor, Doctor Strange, and Spiderman.
And another honest truth: I don’t really remember it all that much.
The film acts like a glue between Captain America: The First Avenger and Captain America: Civil War. It doesn’t feel compelling enough in its own right to be anything more than forgettable. Its strangely serious tone often comes across as dull.
There is a bad guy. The heroes beat the bad guy.
Easy-peasy? Wrong.
The “bad guy” in this case is Bucky Barnes, Captain America’s long-lost friend who was brainwashed into being the “bad guy.” Still, the audience doesn’t get into the nitty-gritty of their relationship until Captain America: Civil War. I’d rather skip this entire film and get right along to the next one, knowing that their relationship won’t be resolved until later on.
This movie also establishes everything that the audience knows about Black Widow. Over-sexualized and largely overshadowed by the male lead, Black Widow isn’t nearly as active as she should have been. I can’t blame one movie in the franchise for the Black Widow’s terrible writing. But it sure should take much of the responsibility for it.
21. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Highly disappointing, especially for all its hype.
The movie serves to reintroduce Bucky Barnes into the MCU. To be fair, I’m glad that the MCU brought back a character from Captain America: The First Avenger. I would be more disappointed if there were no callbacks or references to the film at all, knowing that Captain America has been transported to the future.
But the execution is an entirely different story.
Captain America and Iron Man have a fight. The Avengers choose sides. Then, they fight. And fight. And fight.
And to add insult to injury, it was all just one big misunderstanding. If all of the Avengers would have sat down and talked things out, this entire movie would not have happened. Besides, Team Cap never faces the repercussions of becoming fugitives of the law. (After all, when Thanos threatens to wipe the face of the Earth, there are more important things to worry about.)
TLDR: The plot drags on unnecessarily to act as a cushion for Avengers: Infinity War. But with a little more effort, it could have been much more memorable.
20. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
I admit it: Creating a film that is hyper-focused on one protagonist is difficult. The best part of Marvel is watching our favorite heroes interact with each other, knowing the circumstances that brought them there in the first place.
But no one said that you have to hyper-focus on one protagonist.
Iron Man solves this problem by bringing up Pepper Potts, at least once in a while. It grounds the audience, assuring them that the last movie did not happen in a vacuum.
Captain America is much different. His story is unimportant, for the most part. All of the main characters of this movie (with exception to Bucky Barnes) never show up again, most tragically Peggy Carter, a bright and promising character who was cast aside to serve as Captain America’s motivation. (Her incredible spin-off show, Agent Carter, only made this fact more tragic.)
In the grand scope of the MCU, I guess it makes sense. Captain America reawakes in the 21st century during the ending sequence, invalidating the relevance of a significant chunk of the movie. Still, it doesn’t sit right with me that I spent much of a movie learning about characters that will be mentioned again.
19. Ant-Man (2015)
I really hate the fact that I hate this movie. Especially because everyone else likes it so much.
Its painstakingly average. It pales in comparison to nearly every other movie in the franchise because it doesn’t take any risks.
Ant-Man is your average, formulaic heist movie. Scott Lang, with his unlikeable and largely forgettable crew of felons, breaks into a top-secret technology lab to acquire a dangerous technology. His internal (non-superhero related) conflict is barely developed.
Unlike the Captain America movies, Ant-Man tries so hard to be funny. Its jokes, however, lands straight on its face. The timing of each one can only be described as “impetuous” and “crude.”
Watching Ant-Man is like a chore: You need to spend your precious time and money for a dull experience in order to enjoy future Marvel films.
18. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Up to this point, I’ve been talking a lot about how many of these movies were created because they “needed to be created.” After all, there needed to be some kind of soft “cushioning” between core plot points in the overarching narrative.
Make no mistake: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is not like that at all. There was no reason to make this movie, other than selling the last bits of merchandise from its predecessor.
In the first movie, a highly dysfunctional crew comes together and learns how to work together. Within mere minutes of the sequel, the crew becomes dysfunctional again. And once again, the crew must learn how to work together. With or without its existence, the overarching narrative of the heroes’ individual stories (and by extension, the MCU itself) is not affected in the slightest.
This movies tries even harder than Ant-Man to give its audience a good laugh. There are a couple redeeming gems in here, but overall, nothing that can compare to the original.
Also, bonus points for featuring Baby Groot.
Cool (But Don’t Make Me Watch It Again)
17. Iron Man (2008)
Iron Man, the first movie that Marvel has ever produced, isn’t a bad movie. Its Marvel’s first real approach to the “Marvel formula.” Granted, it’s still rough. The villain is bland and forgettable. The movie is flat and lacks a lasting impression on its audience.
Robert Downey Jr. does an incredible job as Iron Man, right from the get-go. The entire film rides on charisma itself.
And it only gets better from here.
16. Avengers (2012)
I have a bit of a disadvantage here. Knowing that the Avengers would band together isn’t as big of a shock to me as it would be for a 2012 Marvel fan.
Loki is an awesome villain. Hiddleston makes the character come to life with his overexaggerated pomposity.
The jokes and gags are solid, although somewhat forgettable.
I suppose the biggest reason that I don’t love the film is because the Avengers spend most of it fighting. Fighting with each other. Fighting monsters. Fighting Loki. It gets boring after a while, especially if you know that the Avengers had to make up at the end. Again, for a 2012 Marvel fan, seeing your favorite characters interact on the silver screen on the first time would have been incredible. For me, not so much.
15. Avengers: Age of Ultron(2015)
Slightly better than its predecessor, but still predictably boring. Although I must admit, Ultron was a great villain.
Watching it with a hyped fanbase might have changed my opinions on it. But alas.
On the plus side, Scarlet Witch and Vision are great additions to the main cast.
Pretty Likable
14. Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings (2021)
I can already hear the controversy.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is okay, at best. Honestly, its eerily reminiscent to Ant-Man’s failures as a film: Overly-formulaic and composed of mostly filler to introduce an important character.
Although it would have been preferred to have an Asian hero whose virtues did not just rely on his “Asian-ess,” Marvel also forgets to add its signature flair to the typical “Asian-man-becomes-master-of-the-martial-arts” trope. Held back by mediocre writing, superficial tropes, and fight scenes, I felt as though it lacked originality and thoughtfulness.
The jokes rarely landed and often felt forced into the conversation. The filmmakers were obviously handed the Marvel formula™ and check-listed all the attributes of a “good hero.” Shang-Chi and his sidekick/lover travel to a variety of colorful locations just for the sake of boasting Marvel’s mega-budget. In this case, the destination is more important than the journey.
13. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
It doesn’t deserve as much hate as it gets.
All of the main Avengers cast is from Earth. Thor allows the filmmakers to exercise more creativity.
And oh boy, do they run with it.
With its solid humor, imaginative scenery, and high-stakes action, Thor: The Dark World is a fun film to watch with friends over a lazy Friday night.
12. Iron Man 2 (2010)
Iron Man 2 definitely takes notes from its predecessor. Its by no means perfect, but there is an improvement in almost every aspect of the film.
The conflict is pressing. It can’t be fixed with a single snap of a finger (pun intended). The audience is invested in Stark’s internal struggle. Compared to many of Marvel’s other movies, this one is surprisingly well-written. The writers knew what they were doing with Stark and execute it perfectly.
Out of all of the movies that feature Iron Man, this is the one that really fleshes him out as a character.
11. Iron Man 3 (2013)
The repercussions of Stark’s immaturity and rock star attitude finally hit too close to home. (Literally!) Although this movie isn’t a vital plot point in the MCU’s overarching narrative, it is brilliantly executed and sells Stark’s net character development in a climactic ending to the trilogy. There are bigger and better movies out there, sure. But if I could choose one movie that exemplifies Marvel’s aptitude for drama and special effects, it would be a surefire tie between Iron Man 2 and Iron Man 3.
10. Avengers: Endgame
Avengers: Endgame was good. But it could have been great.
Almost everyone in the main Avengers cast is neatly tucked away with a “happily ever after.” It seems too perfect to be true. I’d prefer if the “happy endings” came more organically, instead of an explicit ending of an era.
Aside from Tony Stark, who’s death was properly memorialized over the course of three seperate movies, the other characters weren’t so lucky.
Captain America returns to his lover, thus erasing the event of Agent Carter. Peggy Carter is nothing more than a motivation. Nothing more than a desirable object.
Black Widow was unceremoniously killed, causing the rest of the Avengers to be “slightly bummed out” before fighting again. Worse, the first movie that focused on Black Widow and her motivations is the same movie that she dies in.
Judging on quality alone, Avengers: Endgame was more like an avalanche of references to prior movies in the franchise than creating a new story. Much of the movie is composed of filler to prove that the main cast of characters had developed overtime. The real film starts about thirty minutes before it ends, when every character that had been erased by Thanos returns for the triumphal finale.
The film wasn’t bad, but it could have been better.
And that ends the bottom half of the list!
Want to keep reading? Keep your eyes peeled for the continuation of the ranking chart.
