Since the release of Guardians of the Galaxy a month ago,
comic book fans and then some have been waiting in anticipation for the
culmination of Marvel’s Phase Two movie line-up, Avengers: Age of Ultron, which
will be the sequel to the box office smash hit of 2012. Before Age of Ultron
hits theaters in May, I have taken the liberty of ranking all of Marvel’s
movies released thus far. Unfortunately for some fans, the Spider-Man and X-Men
movies will not be ranked in this list simply because the rights to those films
are owned by different studios. This list will expand to as far as 2008, when
Marvel Studios released its first film as an independent company. Let the games
begin…
10.) Iron Man 2
Iron Man 2 is still a good movie. It’s just that the other
movies happen to be better. Iron Man 2 does contain some memorable action
packed moments, my favorite being the incident on the race track where Robert
Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark is attacked by Mickey Rourke’s villainous and vengeful
Whiplash. But the thing about Iron Man 2 is that it doesn’t have enough action and the subplot of Stark dying as a result of his Arc Reactor felt forced and
unnecessary. Not to mention the only time Whiplash proves to be a dangerous
adversary is on the race track. Other than that, he is useless and is basically
forgotten about until the third act. And even in the final fight, he is
completely underwhelming for he is destroyed within basically a minute. Boo! Sam
Rockwell is convincingly entertaining in his portrayal of Justin Hammer and Don
Cheadle proves to be better than Terrence Howard in the role of James Rhodes
but other than that, Iron Man 2 is somewhat forgettable.
9.) Thor
Thor was one of those movies that made me feel indifferent.
It gave us the first screening of a hero with God like powers and the way
director Kenneth Branagh introduces him to us is by stripping away his powers
and making him mortal. What?! Why would I want to see an overpowered superhero
not be a superhero for almost two hours long? It’s like watching a Superman
movie about Clark Kent only doing Clark Kent things. It gives you a “Meh”
feeling. But the film focuses more on character development rather than action
packed entertainment. The chemistry between Thor and Natalie Portman’s Jane
Foster feels genuine but rushed. Also, the best scene of the movie finally
comes when Thor regains his powers and finally clashes with his brother, Loki,
on the rainbow bridge. Luckily, the sequel makes up for all of the issues of
Thor.
8) The Incredible Hulk
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Although the Hulk is indeed my favorite superhero, all
personal feelings aside, I had to rate his reboot at number eight. Now don’t
get me wrong, I enjoyed the film. It had hard hitting action sequences, great
special effects, an exceptional villain, and a compelling story of cat and
mouse. But my problem is that in an effort to correct the wrongs committed by
Ang Lee’s 2003 Hulk movie, the movie ended up taking no risks. Where the 2003
Hulk movie lasted too long, this version happened to be too short. I even felt
like the final battle between the Hulk and the Abomination, although
spectacular, could have gotten on a little while longer. Surprisingly, Edward
Norton found a way to portray Bruce Banner in a way where I felt sympathy for
our hero, but thanks to “behind the scenes” conflicts, we will never see Norton
in that role again. In the long run, I believe it was for the better. #Ruffalo
for the Win
7) Thor: The Dark
World
The much better sequel to Kenneth Branagh, Alan Taylor
finally showcases the full power of Thor. Much more adventurous than the first
movie, Thor reunites with his lover, Jane, on Earth and discovers that she has
been possessed with the evil force of the Aether, also known as an Infinity
Stone in movie form. Even more interesting is that not only does it take place
after the events of The Avengers, it places the “ever loving” Loki in the role
of Anti-Hero instead of villain. As a result, he steals the show. In the role
of villain however, Christopher Eccleston plays Malekith, a dark elf that wants
to destroy the universe “just because…” It’s safe to say he is the worst
villain ever produced in a Marvel movie. He rarely speaks and when he does, you
are forced to read subtitles. He has no charisma, but the final fight between
him and Thor is unique and entertaining enough to place this movie at number
seven.
6.) Iron Man 3
Iron Man 3 was marketed throughout media as a darker story
that would give us a villain that truly would challenge the might of Tony
Stark. Once the movie was released in theaters, we ended up with an action
packed comedy that delivered one of the best plot twist in recent memory and a
more than exciting final fight that debuted an army of Iron Man suits. Safe to
say, Iron Man 3 was a big step up from Iron Man 2.
5.) Captain America:
The First Avenger
This was another one of those big risk movies Marvel made
because it was a period piece that took place in the 40s with World War II as its
background. The unusual setting for a superhero film proved to interest viewers
and proved to be a pretty good film. Chris Evans is a convincingly loveable
character as Steve Rogers a.k.a Captain America. The supporting cast is
interesting as they are funny and Hugo Weaving’s Red Skull is respectable as a
villain for Captain America but rarely showcases the true potential of his
power. And by the way, I still don’t think he’s dead!
4) Iron Man
The movie that started it all. The excitement. The adventure.
And the universe that slowly grew in front of our eyes. Truly a compelling tale
of how genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist Tony Stark transformed into
the heroic Iron Man. Feeling responsible for many of deaths as a result of the
weapons he built from Stark Industries and seeing how must damage they did up
close and personal, Stark shutdowns the weapons department of his company and
starts a journey of redemption by building an ironically weaponized suit to
fight crime in. It’s pretty cool to see how for half the movie he builds the suit
and tests it out before taking it into the warzone and the scene where Stark
encounters the jets while flying back home was fun to watch. Robert Downey Jr.
proves to be perfect for the part of Tony Stark and proves that it’s not
possible for anyone else to play the role as good as him.
3) Guardians of the
Galaxy
Quite frankly the funniest movie Marvel has ever produced, “Guardians”
proved to be worth the risk. Especially since nobody knew who the Guardians of
the Galaxy were before they had a movie. StarLord, Gamora, Drax, Rocket and
Groot are all great and loveable characters and prove to be quite the
formidable team. The soundtrack is excellent and memorable. Add in James Gunn’s
direction and you have the perfect tribute to 80’s space adventures while
proving to be one of the best on their own behalf. The special effects and action sequences are “out
of this world” and I am willing to admit my favorite scene of all was the
Prison Break.
2) Captain America:
The Winter Soldier
Captain America: The Winter Soldier became far more than just
a better sequel to “the First Avenger.” With the help of directors, Joe and
Anthony Russo, this Captain America movie went from being a superhero flick to
a political spy thriller. As a result, it became pretty much Marvel’s best solo
movie. And the fact that it delivers the most brutal and realistic action
sequences in recent memory, makes this one of my favorite movies of all time.
This movie came close to being my number one, but I think we all know who came
out on top of the list...
1) The Avengers
Just an all-out dream come true. A movie that features practically
all of my favorite superheroes and puts them in a war against an alien
invasion. Truly, a Joss Whedon masterpiece. Considering that all the character
development occurred in the movies prior, we are greeted with no stop action
and awesome moments from the Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Hawkeye,
Black Widow, Nick Fury and Loki. When
there is no action, there is comedy, where none of the characters have any
problem insulting and making fun of each other. It is an all- around good time
that is enjoyable every minute. Basically, The Avengers is not only my favorite
Marvel movie but my FAVORITE SUPERHERO MOVIE OF ALL TIME!!!!!
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