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

[jingle.boy]

Cap lifting Mjolnir got the biggest roar in the theatre I was in. Followed closely by "Avengers .... Assemble". The silence in that pause by Cap was immense, as everything had been a crescendo leading to it ... right from the bottom depths of despair that it was going to be a whole army vs Cap alone, then "on your left", the (re) appearances, the look on Thanos' face, and the score.  Then the pause between those two magical words. Fuck yea!

[bosk1]

Cap lifting Mjolnir got the biggest roar in the theatre I was in.

It was done SO well too.  The way it was shot, you weren't really sure what you were about to see until you actually SAW him holding the hammer.  And the look on his face, Thor's reaction, the score--EVERYTHING about it was so well done.  And in retrospect, that moment in Age of Ultron was suddenly paying off all the speculation hugely after such a long time. 

[bosk1]

Really sorry if my delay has killed the discussion, but I hope others chime in to discuss the #1, and other related discussion.

[The Realm]

Avengers Endgame - my number 2. Infinity War was a clear number 1 for me, as it is overall a more consistent movie and I love the arc of Thanos in that movie. Endgame does have higher high points and some brilliant fan service but it just isn't as consistently good. Also I may be in the minority but I really don't like Fat Thor and actually hated this aspect of the movie on my first viewing.

[jammindude]

Here's my final ranking:

23. Thor: Ragnarok
22. Ant Man and the Wasp
21. Iron Man 3
20. Iron Man 2
19. Guardians of the Galaxy 2
18. Thor: The Dark World
17. Captain Marvel
16. Avengers: Age of Ultron
15. The Incredible Hulk
14. Spider Man: Far From Home
13. Thor
12. Ant Man
11. Captain America: The First Avenger
10. Black Panther
9. Spider Man: Homecoming
8. Doctor Strange
7. Iron Man
6. Captain America: Civil War
5. Avengers: Endgame
4. Guardians of the Galaxy
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
2. The Avengers
1. Avengers: Infinity War

I've been posting some thoughts on the fly in different threads, but they are usually things that don't require a lot of thought. I've just been going through some personal tragedies and haven't had the emotional component to put anything behind a deeper discussion of art whether it be music or film.

Some brief thoughts.

Infinity War is perfect and I'm surprised someone put it at 12.  Honestly, I find it difficult to find any fault with any movie at all in my top 10. So the entire top 10 is just a matter of personal preference.  My issues with the rest are relatively minor.

My ranking of the Thor movies is out of line with the aggregate by a long shot. For me, I loved the humor in Ragnarok at first, but the humor did not age well on repeated viewing. And the attempt to recreate that "hokey humor" formula in L&T made that just as bad or worse.

Some of the other movies just seem to get better and better on repeat viewings. TIH, and the IM sequels in particular.  CA1 as well.

[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: Volume 2
14. Captain America: The First Avenger
13. Ant Man
12. Guardians of the Galaxy
11. Avengers: Age of Ultron
10. Spider Man: Far from Home
9. Thor: Ragnarok
8. Spider man: Homecoming
7. Black Panther
6. Iron Man
5. The Avengers
4. Captain America: Civil War
3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
2. Avengers: Infinity War
1. Avengers: Endgame

I'd agree with the lot of you that said 1 and 2 are more like 1a and 1b. I can't specify exactly why I chose Endgame over Infinity War but the distance between them is hard to measure.

The movies just were able to cap off a 3 phase arc in a way that I had not even thought possible. Everyone here has already hit most of the points I'd make. There was nothing like seeing some of those moments in a crowded theater. I'll never forget it. What made these movies work, however, was not the scale. It wasn't 50 Avengers fighting 70 monsters or 800 Avengers and friends fighting 1000 Thanos posse folk. It was the emotional arcs of these characters and our attachment to them. Cap picking up the hammer MEANT something because of everything leading up to it. Him finally saying the word Assemble meant something because of everything leading up to it. Thor had an amazing emotional arc that utilized one of their worst movies in a breathtaking way. Everything that happened weighed more because of everything that came before it and how it was written.

As much as we praise the Russo brothers, we should also equally praise Markus and McFeely. It's no coincidence the four of them are responsible for all of my top 4.

I've seen a lot of people freaking out (in a good way) about Secret Wars (not necessarily here) that are so excited about seeing 7000000 characters at once. And it's things like that make me glad Marvel didn't just give fans what we wanted, they gave us something better. People want to see their favorite toys playing with each other. And it'll be fun eye candy for a few hours and then it leaves you. What makes these two movies elevate, again, is the emotional connection to what's happening. I have faith Marvel will at least aim for something similar. Hoping the writers are up for it.


Thanks Bosk for doing this. A ton of fun and it gave me an excuse to talk a lot about Marvel and the MCU.

[The Realm]

Yes thanks Bosk for doing this countdown.

Adami - some really great points on the payoffs of those key moments and the character arcs that led to them. That really is what makes the difference and makes the one two punch of Infinity War and Endgame so special.

[Adami]

Yes thanks Bosk for doing this countdown.

Adami - some really great points on the payoffs of those key moments and the character arcs that led to them. That really is what makes the difference and makes the one two punch of Infinity War and Endgame so special.

It's also why the Illuminati scene (well one of the reasons) didn't work. It was just a bunch of toys on screen doing stuff. Did we have any investment in Reed at this point? Or Maria? Or Black Bolt? Or even Mordo? Not really. Just cool things to see and forget about. We had some investment in Charles, and considerably less in Peggy, but even that wasn't done well enough to make us care.

[bosk1]

Yes thanks Bosk for doing this countdown.

Adami - some really great points on the payoffs of those key moments and the character arcs that led to them. That really is what makes the difference and makes the one two punch of Infinity War and Endgame so special.

It's also why the Illuminati scene (well one of the reasons) didn't work. It was just a bunch of toys on screen doing stuff. Did we have any investment in Reed at this point? Or Maria? Or Black Bolt? Or even Mordo? Not really. Just cool things to see and forget about. We had some investment in Charles, and considerably less in Peggy, but even that wasn't done well enough to make us care.

Yup.  EXCELLENT points all around. 

[axeman90210]

Endgame was my #1, without a doubt. There are other MCU movies that may have had tighter plotting or better acting or whatever, but seeing everything that a decade and 20+ movies had been building up to culminate in this three hour extravaganza was a singular experience. Particularly, as others have mentioned, the communal aspect of seeing this in a theater opening weekend. After the murder of Thanos right off the bat it started with the audible gasp as the words "years later" followed "five" on the screen. Everyone settled in and enjoyed the middle section, who doesn't love a good time heist. Then we got to the final hour. Oh my goodness. From relief that Banner's snap worked into the anxiety of the first shot from Thanos's ship and all that would follow. Thor/Cap/Tony vs Thanos was worth the price of admission. The absolute roar of the crowd when Cap caught Mjolnir was epic, and the feeling I had from that through "On your left", "Assemble" and so many cool pieces of the final battle is something I've never felt before in a theater and suspect I never again will. Then, the iconic "and I.... am Iron Man". At my first screening that opening Thursday night you could feel the entire room on the verge of tears and then one person let out a sob that you could tell they were trying to keep quiet but it just slipped out. That broke the tension in the room. As soon as I got home I bought tickets for a second show that opening weekend because I needed to see it again with that kind of crowd.

[Dream Team]

I could type for a long time about Endgame, my favorite movie of all time. What they did with all these character arcs, giving them so much attention and weight, was just stunning. They even gave Nebula a fantastic arc.Too many omg moments to count. Tony's emotional confrontation with Cap. The quick dispatching of Thanos. Tony looking at that framed photo of him and Peter and you're thinking "is that the catalyst to get him to join in?" The Battle of New York from different perspectives, it was incredible how they pulled that off.

Then when Thanos discovered the plan, you're like "oh man that's gonna eff things up, bad". Nat's sacrifice killed me. The obvious amazing showdown between the Big 3 and Thanos. And then . . . Wanda dropping out of the sky . . . CHILLS. The way she delivered those lines so menacingly . . . EPIC. And then "on your left" and everything leading to Strange holding up that index finger; we were all on the edge of our seats as we waited for Tony to finish that sentence "And I . . . " Crying. Family crying beside me, after only recently getting over crying about Nat.

Finally won of the most beautiful moments in cinematic history, the camera slowly panning in on Steve and Peggy finally getting their dance  . When Kevin Smith reviewed this movie he was a blubbering mess when he got to this scene. Yeah, there was a lot of fan service, but I would argue a conclusion of this magnitude MANDATES fan service. We deserve it.

ENDGAME for the win. THANK YOU Kevin Feige and Downey, Evans, Hemsworth, Scarjo, Ruffalo, Renner, Gillan, Holland, Lizzie etc etc.

In honor of this epic movie I present for those who haven't seen it an epic dance-off between Lizzie and Chris Evans. Would have made a cute real-life couple:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZuVQuKuuDE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UilPtz3o1YM Seriously, those two together . . .

Thanks Bosk for this thread.

[Lonk]

23: The Incredible Hulk
22: Thor
21: Black Panther
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: Spiderman - Homecoming
13: Iron Man
12: Guardians of the Galaxy 2
11: Ant Man
10: Spider Man: Far from Home
9: Doctor Strange
8: Guardians of the Galaxy
7: Avengers
6: Avengers: Age of Ultron
5:Captain America - Winter Soldier
4: Thor: Ragnarok
3: Avengers: Endgame
2: Captain America - Civil War
1: Avengers: Infinity War

#3 for me. I agree with most of what people are saying. This really was an amazing movie, it just had a few more flaws than Infinity War.

I know there was some controversy with their treatment of Thor in this movie, and from the beginning I've been one to say that I loved it, and thought it was perfect for the character. Tony's story was great, and this movie showed just how far his character had come since IM1. Cap was just Cap, nothing much to say about him. I like the treatment for the time travel stuff, but that obviously opens up so many questions.

I have to say that while cool at the moment, and I get why they did it, I do not care much for Cap lifting Mojnir. And I still roll my eyes at the women power scene. Just felt very forced and unnatural.

Thanks again Bosk for running this. Was fun seeing my rankings against everyone else's. Just for fun, this is what my list would (probably) look like, if phase 4 was included.


30: The Incredible Hulk
29: Thor
28: Black Panther
27: Captain Marvel
26: Iron Man 2
25: Thor - Love and Thunder
24: Ant Man and the Wasp
23: Captain America - First Avenger
22: Thor: The Dark World
21: Black Widow
20: Iron Man 3
19: Doctor Stranger - In the Multiverse of Madness
18: Spiderman - Homecoming
17: Iron Man
16: Guardians of the Galaxy 2
15: Eternals
14: Ant Man
13: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
12: Spider Man: Far from Home
11: Doctor Strange
10: Black Panther - Wakanda Forever
9: Guardians of the Galaxy
8: Avengers
7: Avengers: Age of Ultron
6:Captain America - Winter Soldier
5: Thor: Ragnarok
4: Spiderman - No Way Home
3:Avengers: Endgame
2: Captain America - Civil War
1: Avengers: Infinity War

[jingle.boy]

Agreed on the girl-power scene.  Cool, but forced.  There were a handful of other minor nits that could be called out, but they were minor (like, where did Valkyrie get the flying Pegasus?  Was it just parked in the garage for the last 5 years?).  It was things like that that put this at 1B for me.

[bosk1]

Yeah, there was a lot of fan service, but I would argue a conclusion of this magnitude MANDATES fan service. We deserve it.

I agree wholeheartedly.  And I think it's a mistake to equate "fan service" and "bad."  (not saying you did that, but that is often the default reaction)  Fan service is only a bad thing when it is trying to make an unearned moment earned, all by itself.  The "fan service" in Endgame, and the moments it was supporting, were completely earned and then some.

I know there was some controversy with their treatment of Thor in this movie, and from the beginning I've been one to say that I loved it, and thought it was perfect for the character.

Agreed.  It was emotionally impactful and served a purpose.  I wouldn't change a thing about that.

And I still roll my eyes at the women power scene. Just felt very forced and unnatural.

I wouldn't say "forced and unnatural," but I get where you are coming from.  It was VERY on the nose and takes most people out of the moment of the film, myself included.  And it also feels done before precisely because it WAS done before in Infinity War with Okoye and Nat coming to Wanda's rescue on the battle field, and it seems like they realized after the fact that they had an opportunity to do the same thing, but bigger.  But you know, despite all of that, I not only don't mind that scene, but actually like it.  I know exactly what they are doing, and it still makes me smile.

[The Letter M]

The winner and #1 MCU phase 1-3 film is:  Avengers:  Endgame
Highest ranking:  #1 (TheLetterM, DreamTeam, axeman90210, Adami)
Lowest ranking:  #5:  (DarkChestofWonders, jammindude)
Stats of note:  As mentioned, this finished in the top 5 on every single list.  There were 4 first place finishes, 9 second place finishes, 1 third place, 1 fourth place, and 2 fifth place.  This was clearly a favorite.  But that said, it would have finished second to Infinity War if not for the #12 vote it got. 

I've not had a lot of time to really sit down and type out my thoughts on this one yet, but I'll briefly go over my feelings on this one, It definitely has been a flip-flop coin-toss between IW and Endgame for me, but I think the latter has eventually settled into being just slightly better, and as others have said, it's more of a 1a & 1b situation. Both Infinity War and Endgame are really a 5.5 hour epic that feels inseparable, and for me, it's hard to watch one without the other. Considering they feature the same directors and writers, were filmed back-to-back, and are so much more related to each other than any other two films in the entire MCU franchise, it's really hard to view them as separate entities, but Endgame really wrapped everything up that had been building up for 11 years over 21 previous movies.

The opening act was a bone-chilling re-introduction to the characters and their predicaments post-IW. How did they handle losing half of the universe? Who was left? What happened to Tony and Nebula stuck on Titan? Everything felt answered so quickly and easily that when the FIVE YEARS LATER title card came up, it was such a shock. I still recall the audible gasps in my theater, and it was pretty quiet for awhile until Ant-Man showed back up. Then it was a race towards Act 2 - the Time Heist - every MCU diehard's wet dream, full of Easter Eggs, references, callbacks, and so much more, including even MORE unique and fun character interactions, like Scott and Tony, Rhodes and Nebula, Bruce and the Ancient One, Thor and Rocket and seeing Frigga again! Every part of the second act was just a gold mine for fans who had been around since the beginning and experiencing these moments from previous years and films but in different aspects. Of course, the shock of losing Nat will never wear off, and I'm glad that hasn't been forgotten (Black Widow post-credits scene and Hawkeye series). Of course, Hulk's snap was another big moment too, and everyone in my theater was in awe, but then when Thanos arrived, and all hell broke loose, I was on the edge of my seat from there on out.

That third act... hoo boy, I could write for DAYS about it, but I'll keep it short since a lot of others here have already praised it where praise is deserved. This was a final battle I had not seen since the likes of LOTR: The Return Of The King's climax, but with characters I've grown to love for over a decade. And all of the little moments between characters in there are so charming, like T'Challa calling out Clint's name, or seeing Giant-Man just lay into a Chitauri Leviathan. I could watch that last act over and over and still be entertained. Of course, when Tony snapped, everyone in my theater was in tears or sniffling. Definitely one of the most emotional moments in MCU history, and it'd be hard for them to top something like that. They'd have to actually kill of Peter Parker or Thor or Hawkeye to MAYBE get a similar reaction, but it won't be as big I'm sure. Or they could just kill off Tony again! Hurray for variants!

Lastly, I'll see that as optimistic as I am about The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars, I feel like Endgame may still top both of those, but I could be wrong. The emotional investment and build-up between IW/Endgame was unprecedented, and it'll take a lot for me to feel like that again. I guess we will have to wait and see if the next 3-4 years of films can do it!

-Marc.

[Lonk]

Something I wondered about Endgame, and maybe this is something I missed, when Rhodes and Nebula are about to get back to their timeline from getting the power stone, Nebula gets stuck because of the whole memory connected thing.

Why didn't she just go back right after when she gained consciousness? Is not like her device was damaged, so why did she go back to the ship to alert Hawkeye and Natasha (Who she should've known were out of reach)?

[bosk1]

Because we needed act three to happen.

[jingle.boy]

Because we needed act three to happen.

Obvious answer is obvious.

But as a plot explanation, my guess is that she figured she needed to warn them, because if Thanos figured it out and stopped Clint/Nat, she knows that 5 stones returning to 2023 doesn't do them any good.

[Lonk]

Because we needed act three to happen.

Obvious answer is obvious.

But as a plot explanation, my guess is that she figured she needed to warn them, because if Thanos figured it out and stopped Clint/Nat, she knows that 5 stones returning to 2023 doesn't do them any good.

That was my thought as well, but it just seems like she had other options, but it is things like this that puts the movie behind Infinity War.

[jingle.boy]

Because we needed act three to happen.

Obvious answer is obvious.

But as a plot explanation, my guess is that she figured she needed to warn them, because if Thanos figured it out and stopped Clint/Nat, she knows that 5 stones returning to 2023 doesn't do them any good.

That was my thought as well, but it just seems like she had other options, but it is things like this that puts the movie behind Infinity War.

Agreed.  This plot point was another 'minor nit' for me.

[Volante99]

1. Avengers: Infinity War
2. Guardians of the Galaxy
3. Iron Man
4. Doctor Strange
5. Avengers: End Game

...
The rest

After Endgame I can't really be bothered with the MCU- everything seems redundant now, and out of the 20+ movies I've seen, the above few are the only movies I have any desire to *maybe* watch again...someday.