Official MCU film ranking thread--AND THE WINNER IS...

[The Letter M]

And then stacking that on top of the Vondu declaration of being his daddy brought all the emotions to a great climactic moment.

Yup...I totally cried. Mission accomplished.

Agreed, Yondu's sacrifice was probably the best part of the film for me as well. A real shame that even the good father figures in the MCU have to die.

-Marc.

[bosk1]

#17:  Iron Man 3
Highest ranking:  #2!  (DarkChestofWonders [she REALLY likes Iron Man])
Lowest ranking:  #21 (Adami, Joe, jammindude)
Stats of note:  Aside from that outlier of a high ranking, there were a decent number of votes in the #11-#13 range, and then quite a few in the bottom 4.

Even for those who may not have liked this movie much, it was some REALLY good character development for Tony that gave some insight into a lot of things that happen right up to his death in Endgame.  Some good Rhoadie, Happy, and Pepper moments as well.  And we got to see some cool variations of the IM armor.

For me, we have now crossed over from "these are decent MCU movies but have some things that bug me and drag them down" to "I really like this movie!" territory.  I really like Iron Man 3.  I had it at #12.  Yeah, there are a couple of plot beats that are maybe a little clunky, but I thought it was well done overall.  I LOVED the darkness around Trevor's Mandarin, the darkness of Tony's PTSD and psychological struggles, and the twist of Trevor being a fake.  LOVED all of that.  Overall, thought it was a great story, even if it isn't one I revisit all that often.

[The Letter M]

#17:  Iron Man 3
Highest ranking:  #2!  (DarkChestofWonders [she REALLY likes Iron Man])
Lowest ranking:  #21 (Adami, Joe, jammindude)
Stats of note:  Aside from that outlier of a high ranking, there were a decent number of votes in the #11-#13 range, and then quite a few in the bottom 4.

23. Thor: The Dark World
22. The Incredible Hulk
21. ?
20. Iron Man 3
19. Ant-Man And The Wasp
18. Captain Marvel
17. Iron Man 2
16. ?
15. ?
14. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
13. ?
12. ?
11. ?
10. ?
09. ?
08. ?
07. ?
06. ?
05. ?
04. ?
03. ?
02. ?
01. ?

At 20th place, this definitely sits in my bottom quarter of Infinity Saga films. It's not completely awful, and even has some redeeming qualities, but I think the unusual twist did taint my feelings on the film at the time. I also wish there were more buddy-cop moments between Tony and Rhodey. I think in future rewatches, I may appreciate this one more, but as it stands, 20th place is as high as it gets for me.

-Marc.

[soupytwist]

11 For Me.

A lot of heart in this one, with Tony back to being likeable (after IM2) - doesn't break the top ten due to a somewhat formulaic finale.

[axeman90210]

I had this at #20, which in retrospect feels a little bit low. Solid movie, better sequel than IM2.

[jingle.boy]

18th for me.  For all the good points (mentioned already), there were too many that just bugged the crap out of me.  Like, the individual pieces of armour can fly from Tennessee to Miami and Tony can predict within seconds of when it's all going to arrive?  Tony sans-armour gets all brave and super-heroey?  And don't get me started with the barrel-full-of-monkeys scheme that saves the AF1 crew.  I liked the twist with Trevor, but Killian as a villain was just bleh.  Right down there at the bottom of the pile of MCU antagonists.  And lastly... he might as well have saved Pepper with the snap of his fingers.  I didn't like how they just wrapped that up by just wrapping it up.

So yeah... bottom 1/3rd for sure.

[Lonk]

#15 for me, not much to say than what has been said already. Some fun moments, other questionable ones, but overall a good movie and good follow up to the fight in NY.

[Adami]

Had Guardians 2 at 15.

Not a bad movie, but one that just didn't leave me with much. It was fun but felt a bit misguided. I actually DID enjoy the Nebula/Gamora storyline, but the idea that Ego gave Pete's mom cancer just felt super out of left field for me. The rest has already been stated. Some amazing moments, and overall an enjoyable movie.

Had Iron Man 3 at 21.

Again, not a BAD movie. Still largely enjoy it, but they just went way too far too often. Didn't mind The Mandarin twist, and thought the origins of AIM were good, but then when they turned him into a dragon person and the ending was empty drones vs dragon fire people, I just didn't care at all. First 2/3 are good, and the last act just drags is way down. And as Chad pointed out, too many moments of implausibility. Even for an MCU movie.

[The Realm]

I had Iron Man 3 as number 16. As others have said, this movie has some good moments but overall it didn't reach any real amazing high points like many of the movies still to come.

[ZirconBlue]

I liked the twist with Trevor, but Killian as a villain was just bleh.  Right down there at the bottom of the pile of MCU antagonists.

For those who may not be aware, Killian was not originally supposed to be the (main) villain.  Maya Hansen was.  What we ended up getting was due to executive meddling by Marvel executives like Ike Perlmutter. 

[bosk1]

#16:  Thor
Highest rank:  #7  (faizoff)
Lowest:  #22 (Vmadera00)
Stats:  Nothing really to note.  This one was all over the place.

This was the point where phase 1 was starting to feel like something big.  We now had all the Avengers in place except Captain America, and we knew he was coming.  In and of itself, the movie wasn't great.  But it was good, and the characters were likeable, and it was truly starting to feel like we were building toward something big.  And Thor had a personality that was different from other heroes.

I had this one at #18.  Not one I revisit often, and the cosmic stuff was kinda just there.  But the earth-based story was really good.

[The Realm]

I had Thor at 12, I think this is my biggest outlier to the consensus so far. I really like this movie. It is pretty simple and doesn't go overboard but was a really good introduction for Thor into the MCU.

[The Letter M]

#16:  Thor
Highest rank:  #7  (faizoff)
Lowest:  #22 (Vmadera00)
Stats:  Nothing really to note.  This one was all over the place.

23. Thor: The Dark World
22. The Incredible Hulk
21. Thor
20. Iron Man 3
19. Ant-Man And The Wasp
18. Captain Marvel
17. Iron Man 2
16. ?
15. ?
14. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
13. ?
12. ?
11. ?
10. ?
09. ?
08. ?
07. ?
06. ?
05. ?
04. ?
03. ?
02. ?
01. ?

Looks like my bottom 7 have been 7 of the bottom 8 over-all, which seems comforting to me.

As far as Thor, it's not bad. I just remember all the Dutch angles. There's just so many of them! Surprised to see even at 21st, I wasn't the one who ranked it lowest. On average, I wonder if Thor's trilogy ranked lower than Iron Man, especially since both IM2 and IM3 have ranked lower than Thor.

Also, is it possible to get the revealed list in the OP? I was trying to see the list so far but couldn't find it anywhere. Here it is if anyone needs it:

23. Thor: The Dark World
22. Ant-Man And The Wasp
21. The Incredible Hulk
20. Captain Marvel
19. Iron Man 2
18. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
17. Iron Man 3
16. Thor

-Marc.

[axeman90210]

I had this at #15. We're firmly in the territory now of movies that I think are overall well done and don't have any major nitpicks with, the remaining movies were just better.

[Adami]

23. Captain Marvel
22. Thor: The Dark World
21. Iron Man 3
20. Iron Man 2
19. ??
18. Ant Man and The Wasp
17. The Incredible Hulk
16. Thor
15. Guardians of the Galaxy 2
14. ??
13. ??
12. ??
11. ??
10. ??
9. ??
8. ??
7. ??
6. ??
5. ??
4. ??
3. ??
2. ??
1. ??


Yea. Had this at 16. Not a bad movie at all, just not 100% sure what it wants to be. Chris Hemsworth did a great job as Thor, Stellan was great, Natalie was fine, and Kat had her two major assets. The introduction of Hawkeye was well done, and it was a good time when Coulson was all over the place. I miss that dude.

The stakes were low and I am fine with that. The universe being in jeopardy is just rarely compelling. The world building was interesting, and the tone was pretty consistent.

Sadly the most recent Thor movie kind of undoes everything Thor learned in this movie, but such is life.

[WilliamMunny]

Didn't submit a list, but Thor is a top-10 MCU film for me (and only slightly behind Ragnarok).

I love, love, love the 'stranger in a strange land' premise, and the movie has a ton of re-watch value for me, mostly because of the brilliant casting and the very palpable chemistry.

Obviously, Thor goes on a long and winding journey from here, but I'll echo Bosk and say that this represented the point in the time where the MCU had earned my attention going forward.

[bosk1]

I love, love, love the 'stranger in a strange land' premise, and the movie has a ton of re-watch value for me, mostly because of the brilliant casting and the very palpable chemistry.

Yeah, I agree with those sentiments.  I almost feel like I should have ranked it higher.  But it's not that it was bad--it's just that the films I ranked ahead of it were just better (or, more accurately, I liked them more).

After we get through ranking the phase 1-3 films, we can also discuss in this thread where we put the phase 4 films in the overall rankings.  I did an actual ranking on my own, and I won't prematurely post about that.  But I will say that the phase 4 films overall did not fare well against their Infinity Saga counterparts.  Of 30 films total, none of phase 4 cracked the top half.  But we'll get to that...

[jingle.boy]

#13 for me.  Thor has always been on of my (if not the) favorite Marvel heroes, back from my teenage years in actually collecting comics.  Very good way to tell the origin story not just of Thor, but of Asgard in general.  A lot of setup was done with this movie, and for a Phase 1 film, it delivered perfectly what it needed to deliver.  I think they fast-tracked the regaining of his worthiness simply by sacrificing himself to the Destroyer, but that's only a minor beef.

[bosk1]

Very good way to tell the origin story not just of Thor, but of Asgard in general. 

Yeah, and I should clarify that when I was referring to "the cosmic stuff" above, that was about the frost giants, and not Asgard.  The Asgard stuff actually was cool.  What frustrated me, which wasn't this film's fault, was when we got to Ragnarok, and it was like "OK, based on what we've seen in all 3 films, Asgard is pretty cool, but...where's the rest of it?"

[Dream Team]

Well I'm probably the only one that had Thor 2 above Thor. Not that I think Thor is TERRIBLE by any means BUT . . . I have a couple of big problems with this movie. Thor is 1500 years old and learns humility and falls in love in 3 days. Nope not buying it, never will. Very poorly written. Another thing . . . apparently Frost Giants have the same near-immortality that Asgardians do because Thor and Loki are the same age?!?!? WTH. So Loki kept this deception and jealousy and subterfuge under check for hundreds or years . . . ok. Anyway, enough of that stuff. I'm with Bosk on where the hell is the rest of Asgard and its inhabitants?? This is even more of a major problem in Ragnarok for me anyway. There's a couple hundred people on the lifeboat.

Now the earth stuff . . . a lot of it was pretty hokey and goofy. Thor slamming that glass on the floor. They're portraying Thor like he's 14 not 1500. And then when Sif and the Warriors 3 get there it looks like bad Cosplay in a cardboard town, it visually just didn't convince me. Thor overpowers a few guards just using brute force and Coulson is like "where did you learn your skills?"  .

Anyway I'll stop complaining, there were a lot of things to like. The leads were good but Hemsworth wasn't 100% sure how to portray the character yet. Got a lot better. Of the Phase 1 films this is the one I definitely liked the least. I had it in the 15-19 range if I remember right.

[jingle.boy]

Well I'm probably the only one that had Thor 2 above Thor. Not that I think Thor is TERRIBLE by any means BUT . . . I have a couple of big problems with this movie. Thor is 1500 years old and learns humility and falls in love in 3 days. Nope not buying it, never will. Very poorly written. Another thing . . . apparently Frost Giants have the same near-immortality that Asgardians do because Thor and Loki are the same age?!?!? WTH. So Loki kept this deception and jealousy and subterfuge under check for hundreds or years . . . ok. Anyway, enough of that stuff. I'm with Bosk on where the hell is the rest of Asgard and its inhabitants?? This is even more of a major problem in Ragnarok for me anyway. There's a couple hundred people on the lifeboat.

Now the earth stuff . . . a lot of it was pretty hokey and goofy. Thor slamming that glass on the floor. They're portraying Thor like he's 14 not 1500. And then when Sif and the Warriors 3 get there it looks like bad Cosplay in a cardboard town, it visually just didn't convince me. Thor overpowers a few guards just using brute force and Coulson is like "where did you learn your skills?"  .

Anyway I'll stop complaining, there were a lot of things to like. The leads were good but Hemsworth wasn't 100% sure how to portray the character yet. Got a lot better. Of the Phase 1 films this is the one I definitely liked the least. I had it in the 15-19 range if I remember right.

Man .... now you make me wish I rated it lower!   

[bosk1]

#15:  Ant Man
Highest ranking:  #5 (MetalJunkie)
Lowest ranking:  #22 (DreamTeam; DarkChestofWonders)
Stats:  Most votes were in the #9-13 range, but it got a few bottom 5 votes that pulled it down a bit. 

I remember that all the old school Marvel fans were really excited about the prospect of an Ant Man movie, and then when it came out, nobody was sure what to make of it, since the comedy was ramped WAY up and the tone was very different from other MCU films.  Ultimately, I think that worked well for this film and its direct sequel.  Ant Man, the movie, was lighthearted and didn't take itself seriously.  And yet, it still managed to fit nicely in the MCU.  And its lower stakes were a nice "reset" when it began to feel like things were just building and building in a way that some felt wasn't sustainable.  This film was a nice, refreshing change of pace.

I ranked it at #16, so I was close to the general consensus.  Cross/Yellowjacket felt a bit generic and "phase 1 villain-ish," but that was fine.  It's a movie I thoroughly enjoy, even if it isn't a movie I love. 

[jingle.boy]

^ Pretty much describes my thoughts on the movie.  Nothing terribly wrong with it, but nothing terribly impressive about it either.

My rankings so far.

23. Ant Man and the Wasp
22. Thor: The Dark World
21. Captain Marvel
20. Iron Man 2
19. Ant Man
18. Iron Man 3
17. 
16. Guardians of the Galaxy 2
15.
14.
13. Thor
12.
11.
10. The Incredible Hulk
9.
8.
7.
6.
5.
4.
3.
2.
1.

[The Letter M]

#15:  Ant Man
Highest ranking:  #5 (MetalJunkie)
Lowest ranking:  #22 (DreamTeam; DarkChestofWonders)
Stats:  Most votes were in the #9-13 range, but it got a few bottom 5 votes that pulled it down a bit. 

23. Thor: The Dark World
22. The Incredible Hulk
21. Thor
20. Iron Man 3
19. Ant-Man And The Wasp
18. Captain Marvel
17. Iron Man 2
16. Ant-Man
15. ?
14. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2
13. ?
12. ?
11. ?
10. ?
09. ?
08. ?
07. ?
06. ?
05. ?
04. ?
03. ?
02. ?
01. ?

Looks like my bottom 10 are slowly filling in with Ant-Man at 16th for me. This is a pretty good origin story and first movie for what might one of the better trilogies in the MCU (assuming Quantumania does well). Paul Rudd makes this film, but the rest of the cast is pretty spot on. Very enjoyable, but in terms of villain and plot, still middle-of-the-road MCU (which isn't a bad thing).

-Marc.

[Lonk]

Well I'm probably the only one that had Thor 2 above Thor.

Well, I had this Thor 1 at #22 when Thor 2 at #16 

Seriously, this movie had good premise, and some really fun moments. Overall, just missed on a few points.

Ant Man I had at #11. Fun movie, great characters, and good introduction to Scott. My only issue with this movie is the generic villain.

23: The Incredible Hulk
22: Thor
21:
20: Captain Marvel
19: Iron Man 2
18: Ant Man and the Wasp
17:
16: Thor: The Dark World
15: Iron Man 3
14:
13:
12: Guardians of the Galaxy 2
11: Ant Man
10:
9:
8:
7:
6:
5:
4:
3:
2:
1:

[Adami]

23. Captain Marvel
22. Thor: The Dark World
21. Iron Man 3
20. Iron Man 2
19. ??
18. Ant Man and The Wasp
17. The Incredible Hulk
16. Thor
15. Guardians of the Galaxy 2
14. ??
13. Ant Man
12. ??
11. ??
10. ??
9. ??
8. ??
7. ??
6. ??
5. ??
4. ??
3. ??
2. ??
1. ??

Had this at 13.

I really like this movie. I am biased, however, as I am a huge Paul Rudd fan and it's hard for me not to like something he's in. But I thought the characters (minus the Villain) were charming and well done. I thought the action was inventive and new for the MCU and I really liked the humor of it all. Of course the story of a man trying to win back his daughter is great.

Cross.....yea. They got a good actor and even thought of a good motivation but just kind of left it barely developed. The idea of Cross both wanting SO hard to make Hank into an approving father figure and also having his mind screwed with by the experiments themselves would've sold. But they just kind of mentioned it a little and didn't explore it to any meaningful degree, leaving him as a pretty generic bad guy.

I also remember reading about this movie as it developed. If I'm not mistaken, they announced the possibility of Paul Rudd and Rashida Jones as the leads but didn't specify who they'd be playing. It was odd since Hank and Janet were founding Avengers in the comics, so much so that Janet gave them the name, but they were not to be seen in Phase 1 at all. Then of course you had Ultron, who was made by Hank, but who was now made by Tony. So the idea of Paul playing Hank just seemed off. Then they announced he was Scott and it made a bit more sense but I was confused why they'd skip all the way to the second Ant Man and ignore the first. So casting Douglas as Hank and making him basically a retired government hero was clever, but I feel like a good Hank story would've been cool. Ah well. Glad they didn't go with Rashida Jones in the end. I like her a lot too but she's done too much with Paul Rudd and I didn't want this to feel like something we've seen in other comedies a bunch.

[soupytwist]

Thor at 18.

Such an great start, once it gets to earth it slows down - which is fine, but the end battle is weak, almost like they ran out of funds!

Ant-Man at 10.

Just pure fun, love Rudd in this role - the finale battle is actually super inventive and at times laugh out loud (Thomas the Tank).

[jingle.boy]

Glad they didn't go with Rashida Jones in the end. I like her a lot too but she's done too much with Paul Rudd and I didn't want this to feel like something we've seen in other comedies a bunch.

So, Leslie Mann would've been a no-go for you as well? 

[Adami]

Glad they didn't go with Rashida Jones in the end. I like her a lot too but she's done too much with Paul Rudd and I didn't want this to feel like something we've seen in other comedies a bunch.

So, Leslie Mann would've been a no-go for you as well? 

In the movie? Correct. For other purposes? Hmmmm.


But they could've just made it a Judd Apatow movie. Paul as Scott, Leslie Mann as whomever his ex wife is, Maude and Iris as their kids, Seth Rogen as Luis, Robert Smigel as Hank, Adam Sandler as who cares, etc etc.

[The Letter M]

Glad they didn't go with Rashida Jones in the end. I like her a lot too but she's done too much with Paul Rudd and I didn't want this to feel like something we've seen in other comedies a bunch.

So, Leslie Mann would've been a no-go for you as well? 

In the movie? Correct. For other purposes? Hmmmm.


But they could've just made it a Judd Apatow movie. Paul as Scott, Leslie Mann as whomever his ex wife is, Maude and Iris as their kids, Seth Rogen as Luis, Robert Smigel as Hank, Adam Sandler as who cares, etc etc.

Part of me wishes I could visit the alternate universe where Judd Apatow directed Marvel Studios' Ant-Man instead of Edgar Wright or Peyton Reed. It definitely would have stood out amongst the rest of the MCU, but I feel like it would've been TOO comedic for the sake of comedy. I'd still watch it though.

-Marc.

[The Realm]

Ant Man - my number 14. I enjoyed this movie, it is fairly simple and straightforward but very watchable.

[axeman90210]

Ant Man was 16th on my list. Good intro to the title character, and a fun changeup from some of the larger scale movies that had come before it. Paul Rudd was, as always, a delight.

[bosk1]

I'm going to be out for the next few days, so...Merry Christmas!  Here's a bundle of 3 to tide us over.  You can read them all at once, or go one a day for the next three days.  Up to you.

#14:  Spider Man:  Far From Home
Highest rank:  #10 (Vmadera00, MetalJunkie, Adami)
Lowest rank:  #19 (ZirconBlue)
Stats:  LOTS of votes in the 14-16 range, so 14 is probably about right.

The third movie appearance of Tom Holland's Spider Man.  I remember fans being SO excited when he made his debut in Civil War, and most seemed to instantly fall in love with this version of the character.  This installment not only did the character justice, but also served as the "gentle exhale" after the Infinity Saga.  It felt like a fitting epilogue and peek into what was coming.  Some may not have liked how Mysterio was handled, but I think they really tied him in well with what was already going on in the MCU.  I had this at #14.



#13:  Doctor Strange
Highest rank:   #6 (MetalJunkie, Joe)
Lowest rank:  #23 (DreamTeam)
Stats:  Other than that #23 finish and a pair of #19s, most of the votes were clustered around 14-16 and 6-10.

This was really our first introduction to interdimensional magic in the MCU, and that was bound to be divisive.  Many loved it.  Many couldn't connect.  But most agreed that the character arc and the visuals were really great.  The biggest problems with these types of characters and their powers is that they can be as powerful as you want them to be, given the scenario, and that can vary widely and feel inconsistent.  Still, great film overall.  I had it at #15.



#12:  Captain America: The First Avenger
Highest ranking:  #7 (MetalJunkie)
Lowest ranking:  #21 (DarkChestofWonders)
Stats:  Other than the 21st place, the lowest were three votes at #17.

People were pretty hyped for Cap after getting prior hints dropped.  But given that he came out of WWII, how was this going to work?  They actually pulled it off really well, IMO.  And by giving us such rich characters in Bucky, Peggy, and Howard, we ere really building a solid, character-driven backstory for our modern MCU.  To me, this and Iron Man were real highlights of Phase 1 prior to the big team up, and these solo films were already head-and-shoulders above any superhero films that had come before.  This is why the MCU was so special (and shows why they have fallen so far in sliding back to "typical mediocre action blockbuster" in phase 4).  I had this at #11.

[Lonk]

23: The Incredible Hulk
22: Thor
21:
20: Captain Marvel
19: Iron Man 2
18: Ant Man and the Wasp
17: Captain America - First Avenger
16: Thor: The Dark World
15: Iron Man 3
14:
13:
12: Guardians of the Galaxy 2
11: Ant Man
10: Spider Man: Far from Home
9: Doctor Strange
8:
7:
6:
5:
4:
3:
2:
1:

Spider Man: FFH - #10 - Fun movie. Not much to say, but its just a fun movie. Mysterio was a great villain (IMO). While his motivations felt recycled from other MCU films (IM3, Ant-Man), it was done in a more delicate and clever way.

Doctor Strange #9 - Great movie. Some questionable choices when it comes to the plot, but easy to get pass them.

Captain America #17 - Not a bad movie at all. It was a great introduction to Captain America, and good jump to Avengers. Only reason why I rate it low is because when this movie came out, Captain America was by far my least favorite Avenger, so there is some Bias (Even though the next two Captain America Movies were Much Much better).

[Adami]

23. Captain Marvel
22. Thor: The Dark World
21. Iron Man 3
20. Iron Man 2
19. Doctor Strange
18. Ant Man and The Wasp
17. The Incredible Hulk
16. Thor
15. Guardians of the Galaxy 2
14. Captain America: The First Avenger
13. Ant Man
12. ??
11. ??
10. Spider Man: Far From Home
9. ??
8. ??
7. ??
6. ??
5. ??
4. ??
3. ??
2. ??
1. ??

So I had Doc Strange at 19. Pretty low. So low, in fact, that Bosk messaged me concerned since I hadn't spoken ill of the movie. And he's right. I'm not sure 19 is high enough, but that's where it ended up. I do think Mads as a villain was very wasted and the idea of, again, of evil for power, or whatever is just not convincing or anything enough for me. And his minions were meaningless. I liked the rest of the movie well enough, I guess it just didn't connect with me on an emotional level.

Cap at 14. Loved this movie. It has one major issue though. It's basically a book end. It is the beginning of a great movie and the end of a great movie, and then just turn the middle into a quick montage. I would have liked Cap to get the Iron Man treatment and have 2 movies before Avengers. I wanted to really get into his WWII time and have that be the whole movie, and then second movie can be about whatever causes him to lose Bucky and eventually get frozen. Basically it just felt like two movies cut into one and missing a lot of good meat. But I love Cap, and I really dug the changes made to Bucky and such.

Far From Home at 10. Another great movie. Mysterio worked for me and was played well. I just liked 9 other movies more. Not much else I can say that hasn't been said.