WARNING – THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS SPOILERS.
HERE WE GOOO! The time has come to rank my top three Marvel movies. If you have read the previous parts, you could probably guess what three I’ll be talking about today. Out of all of the four posts that I have written, this one was probably the easiest for two reasons. Firstly, I knew what films I’d place first and second before I started the rankings. Secondly, there is so much to write about.
If you have missed part three of my rankings, then I’ll leave a link below for you to have a read:
https://thebrosleyblog.com/marvel-movies-ranked-part-3-7-4/
Without any further delay, let’s talk about my three favourite films in the MCU.
3. Black Panther
The cultural impact Black Panther has had on society is far greater than that of any MCU film. It is a pure celebration of African culture.
Black Panther received tremendous praise, both from the public and critics. BP received seven Oscar nominations in Original Score, Costume Design, Production Design, Original Song, Best Picture, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing – it won the first three. This the first time a superhero film got a nomination for best picture. Black Panther also took $1.3 billion in the process. The reason for me bringing up these stats is because they are fully deserved. I wish Black Panther was the first superhero film to win the Best Picture Oscar.
Although Wakanda is a fictional African country, the Marvel team did an astounding job in making it feel real. The architecture of the buildings, the landscape, technology, markets and the clothing of the Wakandans all seemed believable and authentic.
Erik Killmonger (played by Michael B. Jordan) is comfortably one of the best antagonists in the MCU. His level of motivation is on a par with Thanos and Zemo. It’s personal for him. It’s not simply a case of wanting power. He wants what he believes to be justice for his ancestors and other African people going through adversity without the tool or weapons to retaliate and fight back against their oppressors. He’s a great character that, to be honest, I wish would come back into the MCU. I would like to have seen Killmonger come back as an ally to T’Challa.
I think the special effects in the third act of the film could have been better. This can be seen in the fight between T’Challa and Killmonger. Also in the battle between the Dora Milaje (all female army that protects the throne and Wakanda), Shuri, Nakia and the Jabari against the border tribe and Killmonger’s supporters. I also thought that Ulysses Klaus would have a larger role and could have a larger role in the MCU going forward. He is someone who could be a real problem for Black Panther and could be used to tell really interesting stories.
2. Avengers: Infinity War
Infinity War is the beginning of the end for the Infinity Saga. IW doesn’t focus as much on the Avengers but rather on the mad titan, Thanos. There hasn’t been a Marvel film that centres around the villain as much as this film. This immediately makes IW distinctly different from anything that has come before it.
Thanos without question is, in my view, the best villain in the MCU and is up there with other iconic bad guys in other franchises as well. He’s strategic, powerful and ruthless. All of these are perfectly showed in the first few scenes of the film. Thanos kills Heimdall and Loki, makes Thor seem small and weak and beats up Hulk so much that he doesn’t want to show himself again in the entire film. Where Zemo beat the Avengers by making them fight each other in Civil War, Thanos, almost singlehandedly beat them by fighting them himself.
The action sequences in the movie are on a scale not seen in any MCU up to the point IW was released. From the beginning until the end there seemed to be constant action. Not only action, but some of the best action we have seen in the franchise. Thanos fighting Iron Man, Doctor Strange, Spider-Man and most of the Guardians is just incredible. We all see character use their abilities like we haven’t seen before. We see Iron Man’s nano suit, transform and fire various weapons out of nowhere. Doctor Strange had moments in the film that’s the best we have seen from him so far. The spells Strange uses to fight Thanos and Ebony Maw visually look great and makes me very excited for Doctor Strange: The Multiverse of Madness (such a great title). Another great, great scene is when Thor enters Wakanda with Stormbreaker in hand accompanied by Rocket and Groot.
The score from Alan Silvestri is always good, however he stepped it up a notch here. There are so many scenes in the film that are optimised by the music that goes along with it. Thor entering Wakanda, Cap showing up at the train station and the final scene in the movie with Thanos resting after the snap are all examples of this.
I wish we had seen more of the Black Order (Thanos’ generals). They are clearly very skilled characters and could pose a great threat to the Avengers. However we didn’t really see this in IW. The more memorable character of the four was probably Ebony Maw. Even for the few moments we saw him, he really posed as a nuisance to the Avengers, in particular Doctor Strange.
1. Avengers: Endgame
For me, Endgame is the most complete superhero film ever made. A big statement, I know. This three hour, titan of a film, has three distinct sections to it. It starts off with the Avengers trying to find and kill Thanos, take the Infinity Stones and reverse the snap. The second part is the ‘time heist’. Planning and executing how to go back in time, retrieve the Infinity Stones, come back to the present and then reverse the snap. Finally the battle that commences once the Avengers travel back to the present.
The third and final part of this film is just so continuously, incredibly epic that it’s hard to keep track of all that happens in it. This is fine for me as it gives me an excuse to re-watch it again and again. The portal scene accompanied by the Alan Silvestri score (which I’ll come to in a bit) is so, so cool and it’s my favourite scene in the entire franchise to date.
I know this is a younger version of Thanos compared to the one we see in IW, however he seems very different to me. He is a lot more ruthless, evil and angry. I’m not saying he was a happy chap in IW however, he is much more serious and stern, there’s no prisoners and he seems to take resistance personally. Whereas in IW, he seemed to understand the resistance the Avengers gave in IW, as if he expected it. Not in Endgame. Compared to IW he doesn’t have as much of a role in Endgame, this is very much an Avenger centric movie. With that being said, when Thanos is shown, he has big, impactful moments. This is seen particularly in the third act of the film with Thanos and his army battling the Avengers.
Endgame has so many iconic and ‘nerd out’ moments. For example Cap lifting Mjolnir, Caps’ ‘whatever it takes’ motivational speech, Tony’s “I…am…Iron Man” and Thor getting his armour, just before he, Cap and Tony fight Thanos in the third act. The detail, ‘set ups’ and ‘pay offs’ that Marvel put into each of their films is beyond anything I have seen and unlike any other franchise. There are further examples in Endgame as well. In Age of Ultron, we see Cap moving Mjolnir slightly. This poses a question: could Steve always lift the hammer, or is there another reason why he can now? Marvel added the “I am Iron Man” quote back in after Tony originally said it in the first MCU movies, Iron Man. Cap going back in time to spend his life with Peggy is the perfect ‘pay off’ for Steve.
Marvel were also able to have high profile actors return to reprise their roles from previous films and TV shows. Examples here are: John Slattery (Howard Stark), Tilda Swinton (The Ancient One), Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), James D’Arcy (Jarvis), Robert Redford (Alexander Pierce) and Rene Russo (Frigga). The reason I find this a poignant point is that this is a massive film and means a lot to so many people. By having high calibre actors come back, with relatively small roles compared with what they would be used to, means they get it. They understand the importance of the movie and how their roles are important to the story. Credit to them for recognising it.
As I mention in my section on Infinity War’s score, Endgame’s score emphasises the emotion of the film and takes it to another level. More so in this film than IW, in my opinion. An example of these are: Steve seeing Peggy through the glass wall on the army base, the portals scene, Natasha’s sacrifice, Steve’s ‘whatever it takes’ speech, Cap lifting Mjolnir and Tony’s funeral. The scenes create an emotion that is elevated because of the incredible music we hear.
Endgame delivers major consequences for the characters in the MCU and the world they now live in. We don’t know, as of yet what the impact of the events in IW and Endgame will have on the wider MCU going forward. Could the energy created by the snaps cause a mutation in the human genes around the world, eventually turning them into mutants? We will have to see, that’s just me speculating. However, what we do know is, two of the main Avengers made the ultimate sacrifice. Natasha and Tony gave their lives in the process of stopping Thanos from destroying the universe. I’m very much looking forward to seeing Black Widow and having some sort of send off for Natasha, as it wasn’t really given here.
Avengers: Endgame is one colossal momentous pay off. It culminates a story that spreads across 22 movies and across the galaxy. As well as all of the touching and epic moments, Marvel are still able to balance the film with nuggets of humour scattered across the three hour movie. One final point regarding Endgame, if you look closely there are iconic and memorable scenes from previous movies either shown, or alluded to. Thereby, paying tribute to these films and making the Endgame even more special.
At this point in time, there simply isn’t another franchise like the MCU.
The Final Rankings
- Avengers: Endgame
- Avengers: Infinity War
- Black Panther
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Spider-Man: Far From Home
- Captain America: Civil War
- Thor: Ragnarok
- Ant-Man and the Wasp
- Ant-Man
- Spider-Man: Homecoming
- Captain America: The First Avenger
- Doctor Strange
- Guardians of the Galaxy 2
- Captain Marvel
- Avengers: Age of Ultron
- Avengers
- Iron Man
- Iron Man 3
- Thor
- Iron Man 2
- Thor: The Dark World
- Incredible Hulk
What do you think of my rankings of the MCU movies? What would you change? Let me know below.