For eight years now, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been alive. Now in its third phase and with a couple of movies released per year, most of the releases have been well received, but there are some favorites. Here are my top 13 Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.
1. "Captain America: Civil War"
Needless to say, this dark masterpiece deserves the top spot. In the midst of the clash between the two disagreeing sides of Avengers, the film becomes an emotional ride when tragic truths are discovered about some of the characters we have known for all these years.
2. "The Avengers"
The long awaited motion picture adaptation of the comic book team finally arrived four years ago and it did not disappoint. After every Avenger was introduced in their own movies in the years before "The Avengers", the chemistry they have finally comes to life and it leads to nothing but pure excitement.
3. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier"
In the second installment of the "Captain America" trilogy, there is a massive amount of corruption and ties to history that really leave the audience in their seats. Steve Rogers, the man behind the shield, is continuing his attempt to adjust to modern day life after he was frozen in ice for 70 years. When a sketchy member of the S.H.I.E.L.D.'s chief offices plans to destroy the world, Rogers must team up with Black Widow to stop him while he discovers the truth about his best friend, Bucky Barnes.
4. "Avengers: Age of Ultron"
The second "Avengers" movie may not have done as well as its predecessor, but it still told a good story. When Tony Stark mistakenly creates a robot that misunderstands how to build world peace, he must own up to his mistake with the Avengers and save the world once again. As a result, tension builds within the team and controversy begins to rise as they prove themselves to be responsible for collateral damage. This film could be seen as the real build up for the next events to come in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
5. "Iron Man"
The film that started it all. Tony Stark may have become the Iron Man and changed his life - but little did he know that he also wasn't the only superhero in the world and the world was to change as well.
6. "Captain America: The First Avenger"
Now, here is the real first superhero. This film is right in the middle because it was in a very different time period and it was what started a new era. It follows Steve Rogers in the years of World War II who is chosen for a Super Soldier procedure and eventually proves himself as a true soldier when he puts an end to the Red Skull of Hydra.
7. "The Incredible Hulk"
In "The Incredible Hulk," scientist Bruce Banner seeks to put an end to the demon inside of him that was caused by a failed experiment that was meant to recreate the Super Soldier program. He eventually finds that he must risk his life and put his powers to use when a loaned soldier is exposed to super soldier serum and loses his sanity. While the film was better than the iffy "Hulk" of 2003, it was not really explained very thoroughly. For example, in the beginning, the actual failed experiment was shown as a past event instead of a current one.
8. "Ant-Man"
The motion picture of adaptation of Ant-Man was actually surprisingly well done. In an action packed film with a small amount of humor, the former Ant-Man known as Hank Pym passes the role on to criminal Scott Lang in an attempt to steal the Yellowjacket suit from Darren Cross. Ant-Man becomes another later addition to the ever growing team of Avengers, and his next story could be detrimental to his criminal record.
9. "Guardians of the Galaxy"
Let's go into outer space for this installment! After stealing a mysterious orb, Peter
Quill is being hunted by Ronan the Accuser. To defeat Ronan, Quill creates the "Guardians of the Galaxy" to save the world. It's a film that is not all that much tied in with the Avengers, but it'll be really exciting to see how this team will unite with them for "Avengers: Infinity War".
10. "Iron Man 3"
"Iron Man 3" dives into this question: does the suit make the man, or does the man make the suit?
As Tony Starks deals with PTSD as a result of the events of "The Avengers," he also encounters the reemergence of the Ten Rings led by a mysterious villain known as the Mandarin. While the final installment of the "Iron Man" trilogy ended with a bang, it seemed like there was too little Iron Man and so much Tony Stark; perhaps the suits were too advanced in this film, because in much of it, Tony could control the suits without even being in them, and so the chaos did not feel as epic as it had in previous Marvel movies.
11. "Iron Man 2"
"Iron Man 2" may not have been as well received as "Iron Man" was, but it tells another conflicting story of Tony Stark, the man in the suit. Following his public announcement as Iron Man, Stark continues to refuse to hand over his technology to the US government while he is slowly dying from the arc reactor implanted in his chest.
The problem with this installment is the villains. Neither Ivan Vanko nor Justin Hammer had a lot of time of their own to put an end to Iron Man. Vanko built technology similar to Stark's to get his revenge on the Stark family, and is forced to expand his work to Justin Hammer, who also wants suits as he is Stark's business rival. This film also seemed to be more about drones without bodies inside of them - Vanko had maybe three minutes of fighting, while Hammer's plan failed and got him arrested.
12. "Thor"
We move on to Asgard to catch the story of the god of thunder, Thor. Thor's arrogance in handling a conflict with the Frost Giants gets him exiled to Earth, where he meets scientist Jane Foster. When his adoptive brother, Loki, discovers the truth about his youth, he plots to end Thor and prove himself worthy as king of Asgard. While "Thor" is a dazzling entertainment, it lacks thrill as it switches back and forth between Asgard and Earth.
13. "Thor: The Dark World"
"Thor: The Dark World" proves that Thor is the only Avenger who has yet to have his own great movie. Thor's second movie also lacks thrill and has a rather boring plot when it comes to having to team up with Loki to find Malekith, the ruler of the Dark Elves, who plots to end all of life (like a lot of supervillains).
How would you rank the movies of the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Your thoughts are welcome in the comments!