*Updated 5.17.2016
Adding Civil War to this at a slight edge over Winter Soldier.
Thor (2011) returns to second place to edge The Avengers. I quote this movie in character more than any other Marvel movie, period. Because I've watched it over thirty-eight times.
*Edited 7.19.2015*
My overall ratings are here:
(Ranking is out of total score of 10, and graded from A to F)
Phase 1:
1. Thor** 9.5
2. The Avengers* 9.2
3. Iron Man 8.8
4: Captain America: The First Avenger 7.8
5: Iron Man 2 7.0
6: The Incredible Hulk 6.0
Phase 2:
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier 9.9
2. Ant-Man 9.0 @@
2. Guardians of the Galaxy*** 8.9
4. Avengers: Age of Ultron 8.0
5. Thor: The Dark World 7.0 @
^ (NR) Iron Man 3 3.5
Phase III:
1. Captain America: Civil War 9.92^^
^^The Russo Brothers juggle multiple storylines and characters well so it seems balanced, taking their time with a story that develops with nothing trimmed out.
Despite the fact that I'm a fan of the comics storyline, i was pleased with this film. It is jam-packed with many plusses, including the Black Panther character and his maturation, which are handled very well by Marvel, the Russos, and Boseman. Looking forward to his solo film, which will likely transcend an origin story (something Civil War already gave us, thankfully) may feature a Captain America cameo near the end of it.
Going back to Captain America, I'm pleased that Marvel has taken a vanilla and out of time character from the comics to evolve him into one with a very interesting character arc.
Bring on Doctor Strange!
*For me, The Avengers gets an A. Iron Man, an B++/A-. Captain America: The Winter Soldier earned an A+, hands down.
**I'm quite fond of Branagh's Thor. That said, I feel that, had Branaugh (not Kenneth but the producer) kept the 22 minutes of deleted scenes in the film and (this is minor) Thor spent a bit more time being tested, his maturation would have sold me more convincingly. These would have made it an A+. But it still earns a solid A with me.
*** Guardians of the Galaxy earns a B+/A-. The Ronan performance, while I enjoy Pace's forays as an actor, didn't sell me well. I chalk that up to the writing. There were plotholes in the middle third of the film that left me in the dark. Otherwise the movie pleased my inner geek. On the other hand, Captain America: The Winter Soldier has a very tight story with very little (if any) fat in it. However, I feel they should have filmed the Captain America-Hawkeye confrontation that they storyboarded once Rogers "goes rogue".
@ Thor: The Dark World engaged me because of the sibling chemistry of Hemsworth and Hiddleston that they sell well. The movie bombed with the poorly written character of Eccleston's Malekith. All well-written villains have valid reasons for their actions and have an interesting-to-compelling backstory; the writing for the villains in this films feels too rushed and makes them out to have the character depth of cardboard cut-outs. The scenery is great and the action too, but many of us are smart moviegoers who happen to be or-at-least-have-been comic book readers.
@@ Ant-Man possesses a comedic timing and element on post with Guardians, which serves it well. The writers did a great job of showing us the backstory development of the major characters. We're treated to a movie with an emphasis on broken relationships and parental issues-
I.Lang and daughter Cassie
ii. Pym and daughter Hope
iii. quasi-father type Pym to protege Cross
IV. Lang and Pym to a minor extent
V.Lang and the cop stepfather to Cassie
As a good friend said, the underlying theme driving this film is cooperation/ teamwork and regulating degrees of loyalty, which works for me on many levels. What works for the Marvel movies is r the presentation of a new concept in each. This one focused on the subatomic and microcosmic aspect of our reality. It delivered!
I'll watch this again in a little while to determine whether I really like this more than the Guardians. Thematically the two are very similar as
I. both groups need to steal something to save the day from the big bads
Ii. They must work together to do it
Iii. They all meet while pursuing their own ends.
Iv. The main villain has daddy issues (frustrated desires to win the approval of his superior.
V. The villain who was once neutral spirals into madness.
Aside from Lang's killjoy during Pym and Hope's reconciliation moment and Lang's firing (a bit too long) I thoroughly enjoyed this film. The main characters and most of the supporting characters emotionally connected.
^ Iron Man 3. I became thoroughly disgusted with Iron Man 3 after hearing of the twist- and on reading the synopsis, so I forwent watching it. 4/2/15: I watched it on Blu-Ray.
My Phase 3 Predictions:
(I'll state why in time as the story writers and the director heavily influence my opinion)
2. Captain Marvel I read about her in my other uncle's comic book collection at about the time I read Dazzler. I was drawn to her after reading her fight between herself as Ms. Marvel and Rogue. Then I grew fond of her as Binary.
1. Doctor Strange I credit my uncle for getting me into comic books. I was already into drawing them as a tyke, but he stirred the interest further. I was a huge fan of this character. In his room my uncle had a rotating comic book rack filled with offerings of heroes such as Rom, Scarlet Witch, Iron Fist, X-Men, Nick Fury, Luke Cage, Iron Man, Thor, and Doctor Strange. I became hooked on this character and, after reading his stories, pretended to cast spells too!
3. Thor: Ragnarok I'm rather fond of the chemistry between the two actors, and wonder how closely the writers will respect the original material, while weaving an emotionally gripping arc between the two brothers.
4. Avengers: Infinity War Part II
5.Black Panther Not many people know this, but in the early 1980s CBS ran a promo spot of the Wakandan superhero around the same time that the live action AquaMan show did. I was in nursery school when it aired, and I was hoping they would show it. With this entry, Marvel has reawakened my interest in the superhero.
6. Avengers: Infinity War Part I
7. Guardians of the Galaxy 2
8. Inhumans I learned about them only later.
9. Spider-Man: As this is the 2nd re-boot... it bothers me as I warmed up to Garfield. The 2nd (2014) wasn't as good as the first and I chalk that up to the convoluted plot and too many characters.
It is not the speed with which something is learned,but that it is learned it at all that counts.DM
reply
share