For much of the 2010s, I had never thought about the “Marvel Cinematic Universe.” Certainly, I was aware of the many superhero films of Marvel Studios and have many fond memories of them in and of themselves. My high school band director would play 2012’s The Avengers on rainy days. I went to the theaters with two of my cousins to go see Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I was studying abroad at Oxford in 2015 when I took a night off from writing a research paper to see Ant-Man. I saw Spider-Man: Homecoming on opening night while on vacation in Austin, Texas. But it was not until January of 2018 that I decided to embark on my first of many “movie odysseys” by watching every film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in release order at that point. In many ways, it was this experience that inspired me to watch many other franchises (Mission: Impossible, X-Men, and Fast & Furious, among others) and the works of famous directors (Quentin Tarantino and Christopher Nolan, to name a couple) that I had never seen before. To that extent, the Marvel Cinematic Universe indirectly inspired me to start this blog and share my love of movies with you all. So, what better way to pay homage to my “cinema odyssey” three years in the making by returning to where it all began? In line with the release of the first MCU film of Phase Four, Black Widow, I have decided to spend the past several weeks watching all twenty-three films that make up Marvel Studios’ first epic cinematic storytelling event: the “Infinity Saga.” Before I begin discussing each of the films, I have listed below my ranking of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, from Iron Man (2008) to Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019):
Will my opinions on some of these films change? You’ll have to read to find out. So, without further ado…LET’S GET STARTED! Image by press 👍 and ⭐ from Pixabay Phase One (2008-2012) While I did not see Iron Man when it premiered in theaters in May of 2008, I have learned how people reacted in the cultural moment to Marvel Studios making their solo debut with a Tony Stark movie. Generally speaking, people were asking: “Who is Iron Man?” A reasonable question, as (to my understanding) fans of comic books and superhero movies knew little of the character let alone regular people (like me at the time). Simply put, Iron Man is a movie that I don’t remember my first viewing experience but it doesn’t matter because every viewing of this movie feels like the first time. And that has to do with the fact that, for at least the first hour, the movie is just pure magic. Director Jon Favreau and star Robert Downey, Jr. offer up a masterful collaborative effort of a character study that not only introduces the important character traits of Tony Stark but also humanizes him to the point of making a cocky, sarcastic asshole both likeable and charming. And easily the best moment of the movie (in my humble opinion) is when Tony Stark introduces Iron Man to the world by saving some civilians, blowing up a tank, and fleeing two U.S. Air Force jets while on the phone with best friend James Rhodes (For the history behind the making of Iron Man and some more of my thoughts on it, click here). Looking back on it, Iron Man seems like a genius move to kick off the Marvel Cinematic Universe with. But clearly it was not viewed that way by virtually any Hollywood studios at the time. However, Kevin Feige and the team at Marvel stuck to their guns and used Iron Man as the creative foundation for the rest of Phase One. While these other origin stories do not live up to the original, this overall model of introducing the four main Avengers in their own films in preparation for the team-up movie was clearly the right move. Speaking of the other Avengers, let’s talk about the unquestionable “black sheep” of the MCU: The Incredible Hulk, which came out one month after Iron Man and has only tangential connections to that film. Not only is Edward Norton replaced by Mark Ruffalo in every other iteration of Bruce Banner/Hulk, but the tone of this movie feels completely disparate and detached from Iron Man as well as every other MCU film that comes after it. That being said, there is still a good deal to enjoy about The Incredible Hulk. Notably, I find Norton’s performance as a paranoid, guilt-ridden Banner to be pretty compelling. In that respect, the film works for me precisely because it is not a pure origin movie but rather a look at how a Hulk on the run from the military, primarily “Thunderbolt Ross” (William Hurt), not only survives but tries to find a cure for his “affliction.” Understandably, some of the action and special effects do not hold up when compared to more recent versions of Hulk in films like The Avengers and Thor: Ragnarok. But, I think this movie does a serviceable job at bringing Hulk into the world of the MCU without making it all about the MCU. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Iron Man 2. I know that many people really like this movie (somehow more than Iron Man 3, but I’ll get to that later). I simply cannot agree because the movie is so preoccupied with building the future of the MCU that it largely forgets to offer a compelling follow-up to the character work that Favreau did in Iron Man. While all of the charm of Tony Stark from the first film is here and the action looks good, even these strengths have their drawbacks. Whereas Tony was a likeable asshole in the first movie, in Iron Man 2 he is a significantly-less-likeable asshole whose reasons for being secretive are inexplicable and uninteresting. Furthermore, while the action in the movie is good there is simply not enough of it to justify the rest of the story’s existence. I don’t mean to completely shit on the movie, because there are some dope moments. I personally enjoy Tony suiting up at Monaco as a great introduction to alternative versions of the Iron Man armor, and the Iron Man-War Machine team-up against the Hammer drones and Whiplash in the third act remains some of the best seconds of team-up action in the MCU. Unfortunately, these awesome beats do not a good movie and Iron Man 2 to this day remains one of my least favorite films to rewatch. Now comes to our next origin movie of Phase One, and while many people shit on the first two Thor movies, I surprisingly enjoyed 2011’s Thor on a rewatch. Despite the fact that some of the action doesn’t hold up and how most of the characters are uninteresting, the emotional core of the film being Thor (Chris Hemsworth) learning humility and selflessness is a solid enough approach to an origin story as to be “not that bad.” I particularly enjoy Hemsworth’s chemistry with Natalie Portman in a number of scenes that show his becoming open to being more human and less douchebag. All in all, Thor is not a great film but it’s not a terrible one, either. Similarly, Captain America: The First Avenger was a film that I was dreading to go back to and it ultimately surprised me how much I enjoyed going back to it. Again, the action set pieces are not as exciting as those in either of the first two Iron Man films. That being said, Steve Rogers’s origin story of becoming Captain America (in my humble opinion) easily benefits the most from what comes after. Without The Winter Soldier and Civil War, this movie is an endearing yet flailing attempt at acknowledging the inherently cheesy nature of Captain America without supplanting it with a compelling enough story. However, by emphasizing the importance of Steve Rogers’s heroic personality long before he gets muscles and dons the Vibranium shield the movie earns its place among the Phase One origin films. Furthermore, it serves as a solid foundation for Captain America’s character arc going forward and makes all of the impending references, callbacks, and building blocks to his story all the better for it. So what do you get after creating four decent to great origin films and a not-so-great, world-building sequel? You get 2012’s The Avengers, a prime example of what the MCU could be back then and a great precursor to what it would become a mere seven years later. There is so much about this movie that still works and holds up, from the ways in which writer-director Joss Whedon re-introduces us to our main heroes (notably Black Widow finding Bruce Banner and Iron Man crashing Captain America’s fight with Loki in Germany) to the various fight scenes throughout the film. While the story of Stark, Banner, Rogers, Thor, Romanoff, Barton, and Fury arguing about the philosophy behind S.H.I.E.L.D. developing extra-terrestrial weapons can seem a bit forced at times, what it ultimately leads to with the team being torn down before building itself back up again makes for such great storytelling. The payoff of this bickering is one of the best third acts in modern cinematic history, all centered around the Avengers teaming up to fend off a Chitauri invasion of New York in an effort to apprehend Loki’s scheme. There are SO MANY hype moments of The Avengers that I could spend another page-and-a-half talking about all of them. But, I want to point out THE moment of the film that still gives me chills whenever I watch it: the famous “Avengers circle” moment. Maybe this is an exaggeration, but I truly believe that this shot will go down in history as one of the best moments of 21st-century cinema. Enough said. All in all, the films of Phase One of the MCU may not completely succeed on every level on their own. But, when put together as a six-film team-up event, it works so well on its own as well as sets up some even better superhero action to come. Image by Mami Miyashima from Pixabay Phase Two (2013-2015) In some respects, Phase Two is more disjointed and less fulfilling than Phase One. Whereas the latter built up a six-person team-up with four origin films, the former attempts to further character arcs of our main Avengers while introducing some new ones whose relevance to the overall storytelling of the broader cinematic universe is not yet apparent. That being said, I think there is a lot to like about Phase Two, starting with its first entry. I truly do not understand why so many people despise Iron Man 3, specifically fans of the character. There is so much to like about the journey that Tony Stark goes on in the film that not only acknowledges the gravity of the situation he put himself in during the climax of The Avengers, but also evolves his outlook on himself as a superhero that remains relevant for (most) future appearances of the character. Simply put, writer-director Shane Black and Downey, Jr. put Stark through the wringer in Iron Man 3. First off, they examine how he has developed posttraumatic stress after The Avengers that manifests in the form of panic attacks that increase in frequency throughout the film. By struggling to truly confront what he went through with Cap, Thor and the other Avengers in the Battle of New York, Stark must face facts about the toll that being Iron Man has taken on him since the first film. Which gets to my other favorite aspect of Iron Man 3: Tony’s identity crisis. More so than him facing death by blood poisoning in Iron Man 2, Stark deals with how much he depends on the suit (and the superhero identity that comes with it) as opposed to the other way around. Thus, much of the thematic core of the film is about Stark overcoming his ego as Iron Man in order to accept that he is not the center of the universe anymore, and also that he cannot be anywhere and everywhere all the time saving everyone. On top of these important elements of Tony’s character arc in the movie, Iron Man 3 has some solidly hype moments including his first time suiting up with the Mark 42, a prehensile suit that builds itself in pieces. And the onset of the “House Party” initiative in the third act, while certainly cheesy, is a really fun way to highlight how Tony has spent his time spare time since The Avengers on the verge of insanity and sleep depravity. In a way, there’s a metaphor wrapped up in it all: by having his suits fight for him Tony is releasing himself from the Iron Man identity, and then allows himself to destroy them as a sign of acceptance that he and the armor are not one and the same. There’s more I could say about the enjoyable particularities of the film (i.e. Tony’s dynamic with Harley or the effectively subversive Mandarin twist), but I think I’ll leave it there. All in all, Iron Man 3 is a pretty damn good introduction to Phase Two of the MCU. If only it stayed that good with the second film… I have much less to say about Thor: The Dark World. While I admire the valiant efforts of Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Rene Russo, Anthony Hopkins, and Tom Hiddleston, they failed to make this movie “worthy” (Get it? 😊) of being in the same cinematic universe as the likes of many that came before and after it. Simply put, their charisma fails to prevent The Dark World from committing arguably the greatest sin that any movie can commit, and that is being flat-out boring. Virtually nothing that happens in the movie is worth paying attention to, and thus utterly fails to justify its existence as anything but an uninspired attempt to make people still care about Thor as the center of his own story. To end on a more positive note, I genuinely enjoyed Loki’s presence in The Dark World. Not only does Hiddleston have some solid back-and-forth with Hemsworth’s Thor that is built upon later in Thor: Ragnarok, but his discovery by Thor in the prison cell after their mother Frigga (Rene Russo) has died is both heartbreaking and so well presented and acted by Hiddleston. (Side note: The fact that the MCU show Loki has made the titular character’s relationship with Frigga even more impactful is just a sign of how truly special the MCU remains). But otherwise, Thor: The Dark World is a sad excuse for an MCU film that remains at the bottom of my personal ranking of these movies (no surprise there 😊). Now onto another great highlight of both Phase Two and the MCU overall: Captain America: The Winter Soldier, released in 2014 and the first film directed by the amazing Russo Brothers. I remember really liking this movie when first seeing it in theaters seven years ago, and then I forgot how much I loved it when I rewatched it three years ago in the lead-up to Avengers: Infinity War. And, to be clear, I still really like the movie but I now believe that it’s one of the MCU films that I can’t rewatch every couple of years so as to avoid it losing much of its magic. In an effort to be succinct, I want to focus on my favorite strengths of The Winter Soldier. First, the action sequences are a big step up from virtually all of the other films in the MCU that preceded it. Sure, Iron Man effectively established the cartoonish superhero action that would be taken up a notch in The Avengers. But this movie grounds it in a way that is both believable for Cap’s character and still really fun to watch. Of course, I can’t talk about the action set pieces in The Winter Soldier without mentioning the now-famous elevator fight wherein Cap struggles in successfully fending off an ambush by Brock Rumlow (Frank Grillo) and many H.Y.D.R.A. goons in a dangerously claustrophobic environment. Aside from the action, The Winter Soldier (in my humble opinion) also does such a good job addressing how Cap struggles to adapt to the 21st century. While there is some solid lightheartedness in the film between him and new best friend Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie) around this fact, the film’s thematic exploration of government control and pre-emption clashing with Cap’s World War II-era-sensibilities around liberty and freedom makes for some really good character-building for this film as well as establishing his arc for later films (notably Captain America: Civil War). In many ways, this story is best encapsulated by Cap learning of the fate of his old best friend James “Bucky” Barnes (Sebastian Stan), a.k.a. the Winter Soldier. Not only is that reveal a great twist (arguably better than the S.H.I.E.L.D.-is-H.Y.D.R.A. twist earlier in the film), but it also serves as the emotional core of the climax when Steve Rogers, in an effort to make peace with his old friend, drops the Captain America shield from high above Washington, D.C. and affirms his love for Bucky: “I’m with you ‘til the end of the line.” While I did not enjoy The Winter Soldier as much on a second rewatch, it still holds up as both a fantastic sequel to The First Avenger and a great set-up for Cap’s character arc going forward. Thus, it remains a top-tier MCU film for me. Now for what remains one of my favorite comic book movies of all time (let alone one of my favorite MCU movies): James Gunn’s very own Guardians of the Galaxy. To begin with the first several minutes that remain for me some of the best in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. Gunn opens the movie by delivering a powerfully emotional window into the tragedy of a young man facing his mother’s death before being taken away from Earth. And from there, we are transported decades into the future with a fully-grown yet still childish Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) on an alien planet in outer space. The aesthetic and dramatic score works together to convince us that the film is about to be a serious sci-fi drama. And then Quill removes his helmet, puts on his headphones, and clicks play on Redbone’s “Come and Get Your Love.” He starts grooving, and then full-out dancing, just as the title card fills up the gray-and-black planetary set with bright color. Immediately, Gunn flips the whole movie on its head and, from this point on, a new take on the modern comic book movie comes to life. We follow Quill, the bumbling yet clever Indiana Jones-type adventurer, as he finds a new family in the badass assassin Gamora (Zoe Saldaña), the brutish warrior Drax (Dave Bautista), the hyper-intelligent, genetically-engineered rodent Rocket Raccoon (Bradley Cooper), and the dumb-as-a-tree protector Groot (Vin Diesel). And this is the crux of why I love Guardians of the Galaxy and why it remains so high up in my personal MCU ranking. For as much as I love The Avengers, I never feel by the end of that movie that Iron Man, Cap, Thor, Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye are truly a family but instead a tight group of ass-kicking friends with a lot of love-hate tension between them. This film, on the other hand, works organically as both the beginning of a superhero team with a unique identity and a charming family of misfits that you know will be there for each other no matter what (as we saw in Avengers: Infinity War, that family dynamic is not as strong with the core Avengers team just yet). This transformation of Quill, Gamora, and the others into a die-hard family unit only becomes clear in the climax on Xandar when Quill, after distracting Ronan (Lee Pace) with a dance-off, takes the Power Stone from him and nearly dies holding it. But then Gamora reaches out her hand for him to take despite knowing that she may very well die doing so. We watch from Quill’s point of view as when he looks over to Gamora, he sees his mother and therefore sees Gamora as family. Then, Drax and Rocket add their hands and―with the power of love―harness the Stone’s power and defeat Ronan in the process. I don’t care how cheesy or obvious this climax is; it remains one of my favorite moments in the entire franchise. I need not say any more about Guardians of the Galaxy; just watch it, even if you’re not a fan of the other MCU films. Trust me, you won’t regret it. The penultimate film of Phase Two, Avengers: Age of Ultron, might hold up better if The Avengers had not come before it and both Infinity War and Endgame did not come after it. Perhaps the best way to describe this film is as the awkward middle child of the four-film Avengers franchise that lacks the cinematic magic of its predecessor and the masterful storytelling of its successors. Ultimately, I want to try and give it some deference as a movie that was never truly set up to succeed on the level of those other team-up films. So instead, I want to focus more so on the positives. First, I appreciate how Tony’s arc builds off of his paranoia exemplified in Iron Man 3 by driving him to make the wrong decision of building Ultron (James Spader) but for the right reasons. Rather than trying to be Earth’s protector by himself, he decides to enlist Bruce Banner’s help in building a “suit of armor around the world” in the form of an all-powerful A.I. that will keep aliens from invading the planet in the future. Short-sighted and arrogant? Yes. Well-intentioned? Also, yes. Tony easily gets some of the best treatment out of all the other Avengers in Age of Ultron that pays off even more in future installments. Unquestionably, however, it is Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) that serves as this film’s emotional core. Not only does he provide insight into what “normal” life for an Avenger can be, but using him as the moral center and motivator for the team was a brilliant move by writer-director Joss Whedon. It is the heart of Barton doing his best to keep the Avengers together in spite of rising tensions over Ultron’s creation that makes Age of Ultron a pretty okay film in the MCU. I also think this movie has a number of genuinely compelling scenes, such as Ultron’s “birth” involving the seeming disabling of J.A.R.V.I.S. and the shambling robot of Tony Stark’s Iron Legion shuffling out to greet the Avengers. For much of the film, James Spader kills it as the psychopathic yet emotional automaton (maybe one of the most underrated villains of the MCU?). Furthermore, Iron Man donning the “Hulkbuster” armor to subdue a brainwashed, rampaging Hulk in Johannesburg, South Africa is one of the best action scenes of the entire franchise. Period. While Age of Ultron is not a great film in light of what came before and after, it is a decent reintroduction of the Avengers that does better at setting up future films (from Civil War to Black Panther) than some other hodge-podge messes in the franchise (lookin’ at you, Iron Man 2!). The final Phase Two film, 2015’s Ant-Man, is such a delight. Honestly, in a similar vein to Iron Man or Guardians of the Galaxy, I truly believe that this film can be viewed and enjoyed by casual moviegoers and non-fanatics of the MCU. I just enjoy so much of it, from the everyman personality of protagonist Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) and his tough-love relationship with Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) to the creatively-choreographed action sequences. The way that Ant-Man incorporates changing size, scale and scope throughout the runtime never gets old for me. While Pym’s shrinking technology is further developed and made more central to the franchise’s overall narrative in the sequel, I enjoy the relative humility of Ant-Man as a superhero in his first outing. Not only is Rudd so fun to watch both before and after he becomes Ant-Man, but how he comes into his own as a superhero culminating in his fight with Darren Cross/Yellowjacket (Corey Stoll) is a more-than-serviceable origin story. All in all, the films of Phase Two may lack the cohesion of those in Phase One. But I stand by the fact that the good outweighs the bad, and the fact that the characters and narrative elements introduced in films like Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant-Man pay off so well in later films makes Phase Two better than most people (in my humble opinion) give it credit. Image by Iván Jesus Rojas from Pixabay fPhase Three (2016-2019)
Referring back to my initial ranking at the start of this blog, you may notice that Captain America: Civil War is decidedly low on the list (below the likes of Ant-Man, Doctor Strange, and Captain Marvel). A lot of this had to do with the fact that when I rewatched Civil War three years ago leading up to Infinity War, I found it overstretched, tedious, and not as satisfying as my initial viewing in theaters. Furthermore, my second viewing came off the back of Winter Soldier which I was so impressed by that Civil War kind of paled in comparison. On this third viewing most recently, I did my best to go in with an open mind in an effort to not allow myself to be wholly anticipating everything from the airport battle onwards without appreciating what comes before it. And I am happy to say that I did appreciate Civil War more this around…but it still isn’t perfect. Simply put, I feel that the movie gets better as it goes along which is more ideal than the opposite being the case. For its first hour, Civil War is blatantly trying to outdo Winter Soldier in terms of its action choreography and Age of Ultron with its use of the cast of “New Avengers” under the tutelage of Cap and Black Widow but (somewhat) lacks a solid grasp on who these characters have been in prior films. To this day, I find Tony Stark’s reasons for supporting the Sokovia Accords to be rather convoluted and (in my humble opinion) this choice is some of the worst character work by the Russo Brothers in any of their MCU films. Furthermore, many of Tony’s scenes with Cap in the first and (part of the) second acts come off as pretty contrived as a result. What keeps me engaged during the first act of Civil War, without question, is Zemo’s (Daniel Brühl) role in the overall plot. What is he doing? Why is he doing it? And how will this play into the break-up story for the Avengers? It was clear from Winter Soldier that the Russo Brothers were making spy movies with Captain America at the forefront, and they continue that approach here which really pays off in the third act. But like I said, the film gets better by the minute. The second act has some great action set pieces from Cap and Bucky escaping Bucky’s apartment building to Black Panther chasing Bucky. And it all culminates in what remains one of my absolute favorite scenes in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe: the airport battle. Leading up to this, we have the team-building for Cap’s and Tony’s sides by bringing Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man into the fold. I stand by that without those two characters involved the airport battle would lack so much of the lighthearted, fun-loving nature that makes it such a joy to watch (Side note: Tony’s first scene with Peter Parker talking about why he’s Spider-Man is an absolutely fantastic introduction of the character into the MCU). But the emotional core of Civil War that makes it (by a hair) my favorite Captain America film is the third-act payoff where Zemo reveals the true nature of Tony’s parents’ deaths. The way in which the film turns so quickly from a big-budget, blockbuster spectacle flick to a personal drama between Tony, Cap, and Bucky is such a great way for the Russo Brothers to subvert formula and expectations. What this three-way fight and its aftermath does for both Tony and Cap’s characters going forward is not only essential to the overall franchise but compelling arcs for both of them. Tony’s flip from making peace with Cap to fighting him in an effort to avenge his parents by killing Bucky leaves him in such a broken place mentally and emotionally. Steve, on the other hand, choose his best friend over his life’s work at the end. By dropping the shield and going into hiding, he is not only rejecting his identity as Captain America but is also moving on from how his journey started as “the first Avenger” to the team’s leader in later films. This leaves him in such a compelling place for the next two team-up films. All in all, Civil War ended up being better than I thought it would be and I appreciate it for how well it kicks off Phase Three and propels the story for the future. It’s still not perfect, but it’s pretty damn good. I have less to say about the next Phase Three film, Doctor Strange, not because I don’t enjoy it but because it remains in this weird middling place of being better than most of Phase One but not as good as (most) of the other MCU movies. As an origin story, I think it does a far better job at introducing magic into the franchise as both a power set and a world of its own than it does making us care about Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) as a character in his own right. That being said, it still has some pretty good elements to it. Notably, the aesthetic of the magic is pretty cool to watch (even knowing it gets much better in Avengers: Infinity War) and the third-act twist of Strange using his mind to outwit and overcome Dormammu’s siege on Earth rather than his muscles to battle him outdoes many other third acts in the franchise. Overall, however, Doctor Strange lacks the compelling humor that now defines the MCU but does not have a distinctive enough identity to justify that kind of writing. 2017 is arguably the best year for MCU releases. To begin, we’ve got Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 which lives up to its predecessor without being qualitatively equal to it (with the exception of the soundtrack, which undeniably supersedes that of the first film). For a sophomore outing of the Guardians and James Gunn in the MCU, Vol. 2 achieves what films like Iron Man 2 and Avengers: Age of Ultron could not: it expands the world of the characters while focusing the crux of the story on the emotional journeys of the characters themselves. The standout for me in Vol. 2 is Yondu (Michael Rooker), who not only becomes likeable but is central to Peter Quill’s epiphany in the third act about what true family is. And while his sacrifice is heartwarming, it was his funeral attended by the Ravagers (including Sylvester Stallone 😊) that made me surprisingly emotional. All the humor of the first film is here as well, especially Gunn’s usage of Baby Groot in just the right ways (I f***ing lost it when Baby Groot brought all manner of oddities to Rocket and Yondu in jail, especially the severed human toe). And Dave Bautista really steps up his game as Drax in this sequel, providing some of the most consistent laughs in any MCU film. So, while Vol. 2 is not as good as its predecessor, it still remains a thoroughly enjoyable ride worth revisiting every now and again. Now it’s time for one of the absolute best films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that is none other than Spider-Man: Homecoming. Honestly, I don’t know how anyone can watch this film and not enjoy it. Tom Holland’s charm bursts at the seams in virtually every scene he’s in, not to mention the great interplay he has with so many of the other characters from his best friend Ned (Jacob Batalon) to Aunt May (Marisa Tomei). Regarding the villain, Michael Keaton’s portrayal of Adrian Toomes/Vulture as a down-to-earth, relatable everyman who’s just trying to do right by his family is so damn good. He may not be the most entertaining villain, but he is easily one of the best in the franchise (and the reveal about Vulture is undoubtedly the best twist of any MCU film). Regarding the overall story direction, Jon Watts tailors Peter Parker’s journey around accepting the mantle of being a “friendly neighborhood Spider-Man” in a world filled with the Avengers. And it culminates in the moment of the movie that gives me chills every time I see it: Peter, stuck under the rubble from Vulture’s attack, telling himself, “C’mon, Spider-Man!” to overcome all odds and free himself. Overall, Homecoming effectively blends genres so well as to make it a fabulous cross between a superhero story and a coming-of-age tale which never gets old whenever I revisit it. What more could I ask for? Perhaps my most unpopular opinion up next: I do not love Thor: Ragnarok. Don’t get me wrong; I thoroughly enjoy it every time I watch it. And I really like director Taika Waititi’s unique approach to telling a Thor-centric story in comparison to the previous two attempts. Specifically, I appreciate the supporting cast, from Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson) as a badass warrior of Asgard to Hulk as a powerful man-child who develops his friendship with Thor. I also love Thor’s arc in this film as an example of “demythologizing” the hero starting with the destruction of his hammer, Mjolnir, at the hands of older sister/outcast Hela (Cate Blanchett) to his rebirth as a true “God of Thunder” set to the chill-inducing Led Zeppelin track, “Immigrant Song.” All that being said, however, I think that Ragnarok is slightly overindulgent with regards to humor without justifying such a move from scene to scene. By the end, the ratio of jokes landing pales in comparison to the likes of the two Guardians films (or even Ant-Man, for that matter) which undermines much of what for other people seems to make this film one of the best of the MCU. Still, there’s a lot to like about Ragnarok. I particularly enjoy Thor fighting Hulk gladiator-style on Sakaar (let alone virtually every scene with Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster) and Thor embracing his power to kick off a truly badass fight montage of all of the “Revengers” (😊) against Hela’s army. It is a thoroughly enjoyable action flick, if not a true masterpiece. In an effort to keep this blog as concise and digestible as possible, I will defer you now to click here for my in-depth opinions about Black Panther. Despite rewatching the film for a second time recently, my opinions about the performances, world-building, and story have really not changed. Finally, we are at the beginning of the end―Avengers: Infinity War. In essence, the culmination of not only the characters and events of the eighteen films that preceded, but a celebration of what Marvel Studios created in a shared cinematic universe filled with an expansive cast of diverse, colorful characters. It could have been amazing if it was just that; but this movie is much more than a mere celebration of what came before. It is a masterful example of epic storytelling in the modern era of comic book blockbusters. Much of what holds up about this movie in terms of the emotional and thematic core is the journey of its antagonist―the “mad Titan” Thanos (Josh Brolin). He begins the movie with one of the best opening scenes of the entire franchise (and arguably in modern cinematic history) by defeating Hulk in single combat just to show off and brutally murdering Heimdall and Loki in front of a battered and weakened Thor. While Thanos had relatively brief, insignificant appearance in the first two Avengers movies and Guardians of the Galaxy, the directing Russo Brothers knew that this was the first time that we would come to really know Thanos as a character. And they f***ing nailed it! 😊 Thanos’ journey from genocidal soldier to misguided prophet to the manifestation of death by the end is so powerful because of what it says about the film’s central theme: sacrifice. His entire motivation to collect the six Infinity stones is hindered at so many points (notably the various fights he gets in with an assortment of Avengers and Guardians of Earth and Titan), but every time he does what is necessary to accomplish his mission that he wholeheartedly believes in. Arguably the emotional peak of his journey in Infinity War is when he sacrifices Gamora (Zoe Saldaña) on Vormir. His evident heartbreak over killing who he loves most (despite Gamora’s belief otherwise) to gain the Soul Stone is the heart of the primary tragedy of the movie: Thanos, who feels burdened with what he believes is the key to saving the universe for all time, must take the life of his greatest love to do so. Simply put, Thanos’ arc is so powerful that it alone would make Infinity War the best of all the MCU films thus far. But there is a secondary tragedy: the Avengers fail because they are unable to come together and be a team. For a number of reasons (whether it be the physical distance between them or the ideological fallout from Civil War), the main Avengers lack the cohesion to take on the overwhelming force that is Thanos, his four loyal children, and his seemingly endless alien armies. This, of course, is in spite of them receiving some help whether it be Spider-Man, Doctor Strange and the Guardians assisting Tony on his journey, Captain America receiving the aid of Black Panther and the warriors of Wakanda to protect the Vision, or Thor working with the Guardians to build Stormbreaker on his (ultimately failed) hero’s journey to avenge Loki and Heimdall by killing Thanos. And yet, all of their efforts were for naught. Notably, the efforts of the only two heroes―Star-Lord and Scarlet Witch―willing to sacrifice their loved ones―Gamora and the Vision, respectively―are in vein. Furthermore, all of the direct attempts on Thanos’s life (specifically Tony going solo on Titan and Thor thrusting Stormbreaker into Thanos’ chest) did not stop the “mad Titan” from snapping his fingers and killing half of all life in the universe. Perhaps this tragedy is best encapsulated in watching our beloved heroes across the cosmos watching their best friends and loved ones fading into dust (that scene between Tony and Spidey on Titan gets me every time). I could spend probably a dozen more paragraphs dissecting Infinity War in all of its greatness. But, I shall leave it at this. This movie has absolutely no right to be as awesome as it is, and yet it fulfills on what it promises to do for the MCU at large―and more. For that, it earns the top spot (for now). Before Marvel Studios gave us the conclusion to the second-act tee-up that was Infinity War, they gave us two more movies to establish where characters (both new and veteran) not in Infinity War were at in their lives. The first one was Ant-Man and the Wasp, released approximately two months later. As a comedic film that highlights the best of Ant-Man and the wacky cast of characters in his world, I love it. But as a sequel to Ant-Man that delivers on the set up of rescuing Janet van Dyne (Michelle Pfeiffer) from the “Quantum Realm”? Well…it’s alright. To be frank, Ant-Man and the Wasp is a funnier movie than its predecessor but not a better one. Whereas the origin story in Ant-Man was more than serviceable in establishing Scott Lang’s character and his dynamics with mentor Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas) and his daughter Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly), the sequel seems to forgo crafting an adequate plot in favor of laugh-out-loud character moments and creative action sequences. And I get why some people would prefer that to what the first Scott Lang-centric film offers. For me, I just need a little more from my MCU movies. In an effort to not undersell Ant-Man and the Wasp, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it again. I particularly appreciated Evangeline Lilly’s introduction as the Wasp fighting against the goons of arms dealer Sonny Burch (Walton Goggins). And the secondary-character standouts were Scott’s best friend Luis (Michael Peña), particularly during his scene with Goggins while under the influence of “truth serum,” and Scott’s pep talk from his spirited yet sweet daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson) ―who might very well be the best child actor in the MCU. Period. Ultimately, though, the emotional center of the film―Hank and Hope’s quest to recover Janet from the “Quantum Realm” ―just lacked the cathartic payoff of other family-driven stories of Phase Three (lookin’ at you, Vol. 2!). It’s still a super fun movie, but not really a great one. The second film released between Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame was Captain Marvel, the first (solo) female-led movie of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Having seen this movie three times now, it gets a little worse for me with every viewing. And while a variety of elements contribute to this film’s lackluster result, I think a lot of it comes down to my disinterest in its protagonist. To be clear, I LOVED Brie Larson’s performances in other movies (notably Short Term 12 and Room). And, honestly, she plays the character of Carol Danvers as a person without an identity of her own pretty well. It has more to do with the character’s origin story as having to figure out who she really is in the midst of this intergalactic war just doesn’t have the same punch as other origin movies for me (lookin’ at you, Iron Man and Ant-Man!). She still has some pretty great moments in the movie (her screaming in the face of a Skrull in the first act is an understated aspect of Larson’s potential for comedic timing), but she lacks the distinctive personality of other Marvel heroes that I was looking for in the first solo female-led MCU movie. The standout supporting performances in Captain Marvel are Samuel L. Jackson as a de-aged, and less experienced, Nick Fury, who brings out Larson’s charisma in scenes with her, and Ben Mendelsohn as the likeable Skrull Talos whose true gravitas as a charming, sympathetic alien comes out more in the third act. Also, I have to shower praise on young Monica Rambeau (Akira Akbar) who deserved far more screen time than what she got. All in all, however, Captain Marvel is an ultimately underwhelming origin movie for Danvers as one of the most powerful heroes in the MCU. That being said, I am way more excited for its sequel as a team-up of Danvers, an adult Rambeau (as introduced in the series WandaVision), and the yet-to-be-introduced Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani), in the film The Marvels. I think having some other female heroes to play off of will make me like Danvers’s character more (at least I hope so). There is so much that I could say about Avengers: Endgame, but I want to focus on its core strength: the finality to the character arcs of the six original Avengers who first teamed up in 2012’s The Avengers. In my humble opinion, each of them has a satisfying (if not equitably emotional) journey in this film that makes me appreciate the cinematic odyssey that is the Marvel Cinematic Universe that much more. To begin with the hero who kicked off this entire franchise: Iron Man. On this most recent rewatch, I found Tony’s arc in Endgame to be the most powerful of the original six Avengers because, at the heart of it, he forgoes his ego to submit to his heroic side one last time and pays the ultimate price for doing so. Of course, the film foreshadows Tony’s demise from the get-go with his message to Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) aboard the Guardians’ ship “Milano” in which he reluctantly accepts his fate (even though it is delayed five years thanks to Captain Marvel rescuing him). And once he does return to Earth, all of his frustration and ego comes out in his emotional breakdown in front of Steve Rogers and the other surviving heroes by exclaiming that his faith in the Avengers is completely depleted. After the time jump, however, Tony has moved on from (almost) all of their failures. He and Pepper have moved to a quiet life on the lakeside with their young daughter Morgan (Lexi Rabe) and Tony has fully donned the mantle of father while also largely setting aside his mechanical alter ego. But when Cap, Natasha, and Scott Lang show up at his doorstep asking for his help in bringing those snapped by Thanos back, it is quickly revealed that he has actually been stewing on the possibility of time travel for awhile now. Once he figures it out later that night, he blatantly seeks out guidance from Pepper because he knows what’s right but he somewhat prefers to do what is easy. Her caution to Tony when he suggests ignoring the whole thing? “But would you be able to rest?” Thus, Tony rejoins the Avengers on the condition that he keeps the family he has now. During the “Time Heist,” he shares a lovely moment with his younger father Howard Stark (John Slattery) who serves as a great foil for where Tony started as a selfish, cocky playboy and how much he has grown to be a father who truly fits the definition of a superhero. All of his efforts over the course of the franchise lead up to his defining moment in the battle against past Thanos and his armies: he takes the six Infinity Stones from Thanos, puts them on himself, reminds everyone that “I am Iron Man,” and sacrifices himself to defeat Thanos once and for all. In his dying moments, Pepper assures him that he can rest now. This end to a character is not only the best sendoff to any MCU hero thus far, but is easily one of the best conclusions to a character in any superhero movie of this century. Not only because of his personal evolution, but of how the franchise as a whole pays its respects to what Robert Downey, Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man started back in 2008 during his funeral scene. This scene is both a reminder of where the MCU began and a celebration of what came after. How much more poetic and beautiful can you get? If Tony’s arc is my favorite of Endgame, then how the journey of Steve Rogers ends is a close second. While I have not always been the biggest fan of Captain America as a character, I deeply appreciate how the Russo Brothers handled the conclusion to his story in this film. In many ways, Steve’s arc serves as a foil to Tony’s. From the get-go, Tony gives up on trying to redeem himself whereas Steve wants nothing more than to right the wrongs of the Avengers’ loss. And after the time jump, he does what he can to help others move on like he claims he did (both after waking up in the 21st century and after Thanos’s snap in Wakanda), but it’s clear after his conversation with Natasha that he cannot―and will not―move on. So, he brings the Avengers together (with a few new notable additions) and organizes the “Time Heist” to bring back those lost after Thanos’s snap. But what about after? It is only while with Tony in 1970 when he sees young Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell) that he decides that this will be his last fight as Captain America. After a grueling fight with past Thanos on Earth (involving losing half his shield in the process), he refuses to stay down. Facing down all of Thanos’s armies, he stands up, tightens his shield, and begins walking towards them to keep up the fight. But once the fight is over, Steve knows he has earned “some of that life that Tony talked about” and thus remains in the past after returning Mjolnir and the six Infinity Stones to have a life with Peggy. And once he’s decided his life is over, he returns to that moment and commits one final act as Captain America: he passes the mantle to one of his best friends and the man that he believes deserves it most, Sam Wilson/Falcon (Anthony Mackie). Perhaps not as emotional of an arc as Tony’s, but still a fulfilling and excellent one. The arcs of the other four original Avengers may seem small in comparison to Tony and Steve, but I think they are all fitting for their characters. Perhaps the swiftest one is that of Bruce Banner, who did the most with the post-snap world and decided to try and redeem his own failures in Infinity War by spending eighteen months working to conjoin his own brains with the brawns of Hulk. By doing so, Banner not only reconciles with the side of himself he hated the most but also was able to have his heroic moment in Endgame by donning the burden of snapping to bring back those who Thanos killed five years before. Of the original six Avengers, Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) was the only one other than Tony to pay the ultimate price in the fight to undo their failures in Infinity War. She has needed a family in the form of the Avengers since the original film in 2012, and the time jump in Endgame shows that she has become the sole leader of the team because it is the only thing that has kept her going. But once they have an opportunity to right their wrongs, Natasha will stop at nothing―including giving her own life―to pull it off. Clint Barton, on the other hand, loses his family at the start of Endgame which is the catalyst for his downward spiral as a senseless murderer culminating in his self-destructive transformation as “Ronin.” Natasha and Clint’s stories parallel each other, and result in both of them trying to sacrifice themselves for each other on Vormir, with Natasha decidedly pulling it off, which shows that some of the best stories in the MCU can be characters who have no real superpowers to speak of. With two dead and three retired from superhero work (more or less), Thor remains the only one of the six original Avengers to have a concrete path after Endgame. And while the Russo Brothers easily could have killed him off in the movie’s third act, I really enjoy how they instead cemented his tragic arc that kicked off in Ragnarok and developed in Infinity War by making his failure to kill Thanos in the latter film the final straw for him. Over the course of the five-year time jump in Endgame, Thor becomes an overweight and drunken mess who wallows in his sorrow and thus reflecting a severe loss of willpower that has defined his character for so long. Compared to Tony’s initial hesitation and Ronin’s hopeless reluctance, Thor outright denies any desire to right his wrongs and remains reluctant throughout much of the planning of the “Time Heist.” It is only when he reunites with his mother in the past that he accepts the possibility of a new path for himself. Still a hero, but maybe no longer a king. Thus, when the fight against Thanos is all over, he gives up his throne to Valkyrie and chooses a new future himself by joining the Guardians of the Galaxy. Where will that take him? We’ll have to wait and see in Thor: Love and Thunder. All in all, there is so much that makes Avengers: Endgame a special movie (both within the MCU and the comic book genre at large). There are many more elements about it that I hope to reflect on in another blog in the very near future, but the movie’s thematic core (and thus its legacy) will be its ability to conclude the story of the original six Avengers with reverence while also paving the way for so many more stories of heroes currently in the franchise as well as many more to come. I don’t think I have to justify why this film remains my favorite of the MCU thus far. And the “Infinity Saga” should have ended there. But, for some reason, the final movie in this cinematic odyssey is Spider-Man: Far From Home. While I appreciate the need to give fans of the MCU a follow-up to Avengers: Endgame, I think that this movie could have waited another year or so. But, setting that aside, let’s dissect what I enjoy and what I don’t enjoy about Far From Home. One of the primary strengths of its predecessor, Homecoming, was its ability to be a great coming-of-age story intertwined with a great superhero movie. And Far From Home continues this trend by centering the emotional center of the film on the burgeoning romance between Peter and Michelle Jones/“MJ” (Zendaya). The awkward but lovable moments between them throughout the movie make for a thoroughly enjoyable relationship in the MCU (even though it’s not the strongest romantic bond of the entire franchise). Also, Peter’s chemistry with best friend Ned is just as good while his relationship with Happy Hogan (Jon Favreau) is even stronger than in Homecoming due to their shared grief over the death of Tony Stark. That being said, however, virtually every other element of Far From Home is lackluster when compared to Homecoming (let alone Avengers: Endgame). First off, the villain that was Michael Keaton’s Vulture was such a compelling antagonist for both Spider-Man and Peter Parker that I was worried it could not be topped. And my suspicions were confirmed; despite Jake Gyllenhaal giving it his all and capturing this version of Quentin Beck sufficiently, Mysterio is just not on par with Vulture nor with some of the other great solo-movie villains of the MCU. On that note, the script feels comparatively uninspired. From the obvious villain-turn of Mysterio to Nick Fury and Maria Hill being Skrulls in disguise, Far From Home comes off in many ways as simply trying to emulate the best of Homecoming without putting the work in in terms of its narrative structure and payoff. However, I do really appreciate its homage to Spider-Man 2 with Peter’s temperamental “Peter tingle” without making it the focal point of his arc in the film. I am also VERY excited for how the threequel, Spider-Man: No Way Home, pays off the mid-credits scene when Peter’s identity as Spider-Man is revealed to the world. Unfortunately, these elements do not make up for the other less-than-great story aspects of this movie. At the end of the day, how will I remember the “Infinity Saga”? It’s hard to sum up my thoughts on a 23-movie-journey into a few sentences. Certainly, the quality of these films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe ranges from unremarkable and boring to formulaic entertainment to groundbreaking cinematic awesomeness. But as a package deal, the “Infinity Saga” stands as the prime example of what a film studio can do with iconic characters in order to build long-term trust with their audience. Suffice to say, I have been pretty impressed with what Phase Four has given us thus far and am very excited for where the MCU goes afterwards. With all that said, here is my (updated) official ranking of the Marvel Studios’ “Infinity Saga”:
What are some of your favorite films from the MCU? What films of Phase Four and beyond are you most excited for? What opinions of mine do you find absolutely ridiculous? Let me know in the comments below. Until next time, this has been… Yours Truly, Amateur Analyst
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Austin McManusI have no academic or professional background in film production or criticism; I simply love watching and talking about movies. Archives
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