The descriptions will be brief, but the
possibility exists there may be spoilers ahead.
I will start at the bottom, and build to #1.
I
hope you enjoy, and load the comments section up!!!
I
WOULD LIKE A REFUND
9. Iron Man 3 (2013)
This
movie disappointed me on so many levels. The handling of REDACTED merely
scratches the surface. Everything in IM3
felt off. Pepper Potts, Rhodey, and
especially Tony all seemed inconsistent with prior movies. At least Happy Hogan
felt right, for what that’s worth. The
post credits scene was entertaining, though, with a fun cameo. I was really bummed walking out of the
theater on this one. I had high expectations,
which is why this is at the bottom.
8. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
I
am going to admit this is the only one on the list I didn’t see in the theater. I feel vindicated in making that choice. Unlike Iron Man 3, I had low expectations for
this movie, mainly because it just seemed bland in the previews, and it was
even more so when I watched the whole movie.
What strikes me most, as well as in the original “Thor”, is that Natalie
Portman is wasted. I feel the women in
the Marvel movies are, for the most part, poorly realized characters, and when
an actress of Ms. Portman’s talents decides to perform in your film, you should
give her a quality role. Of course, no
less than George Lucas failed her, so I shouldn’t expect much from these
folks. At least Darren Aronofsky did
right by her in Black Swan.
ADEQUATE
7. Iron Man 2 (2010)
This
should work. Same team behind the first
one. RDJ is still excellent as Tony Stark, the casting of Sam Rockwell is great
as Justin Hammer, and Don Cheadle is an upgrade over Terrence Howard as James
Rhoads. Still, if I had to really boil it down, I think IM2 suffers from
bloating. Too many moving parts, without a strong focus in any one area, brings
it down for me. I find that the loud
noises and special effects overshadow in a lot of places, where there could
have been more character moments. The
ending has always left me flat as well.
To go out on a positive, the movie does introduce us to the Marvel
movie-verse’s best female character, Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow, so
there’s that.
6. Thor (2011)
When
I first saw “Thor” in the theater, my initial reaction was enjoyment. That feeling has been tempered somewhat in
additional viewings. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the movie, but there’s
a disconnect, in my opinion, to the rest of the Marvel universe in the “Thor”
films. This one takes place more on
Earth than the sequel, but even with the introduction of Hawkeye (briefly), it
just seems to exist in its own universe. The movie itself is well cast and acted, and
Kenneth Branagh brings his Shakespearean sensibilities to the table in an
effective way. Chris Hemsworth is a
perfect Thor, Tom Hiddleston is Loki to a T, and Sir Anthony Hopkins seems to
be enjoying himself as Odin. The supporting
players are all fine, with Lady Sif rising to a solid level for a Marvel movie
female. Overall, “Thor” really just serves as an introduction to Thor and Loki,
so fans are comfortable with them when they see them in Avengers. I guess there’s
nothing wrong with that.
PRETTY
DARN GOOD
5. Captain America: The First Avenger
(2011)
Now
we get to have some fun! Captain America is probably my favorite Marvel
superhero, mostly because he reminds me of the DC heroes I grew up with. His sense of good rises above anything in his
world, and his willingness to sacrifice for his country is something we all can
admire. The movie that introduces Cap to
the theatergoers can be a little slow at times, but in a way it works for the
World War II setting, as movies in that era were a little slower. The tale is pretty straightforward, and Chris
Evans shines as both “weak” Steve Rogers and “Super Soldier” Captain
America. The casting is top-notch, with
Hayley Atwell (a solid female character, Peggy Carter) and Tommy Lee Jones
holding it down for the good guys, Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes, who is lost
to Cap “forever”, and Hugo Weaving, chewing scenery as the Red Skull. For my money, however, the best performance
is the always delightful Stanley Tucci as Dr. Erskine, but I am totally biased
when it comes to Tucci.
Putting
it all together is the fantastic directing of Joe Johnston. You may remember that Johnston directed 1991’s
“The Rocketeer”, which also took place in a similar time period. His obvious love for the era really shows
through every scene of this film.
Overall, “Captain America” did a great job of establishing the
character, but also gave us a pretty good movie that stands on its own quite
well.
4. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
I’m
sure this will be the choice that is disagreed with the most here. I have a soft spot for this movie. Honestly,
I like the Ang Lee “Hulk” even more, but that isn’t a Marvel Studio film, so it
won’t be listed here. Edward Norton as Bruce Banner is a great choice here, and
Liv Tyler as Betty Ross plays her part perfectly. Even though this technically was the first “official”
Hulk movie in the universe we are dealing with, the movie didn’t spend much
time on the origin story, moving quickly to “5 Years Later” and our “hero”
living down in Brazil, searching for the cure to his condition. I think it was a smart move to get to the
story they wanted to tell.
While
“The Incredible Hulk” was probably the most serious of the Marvel films, I
really had a lot of fun with this movie.
I loved Tim Roth as Emil Blonsky, who becomes the Abomination, and
William Hurt is pitch perfect as Betty’s father Gen. “Thunderbolt” Ross, who is
Banner/Hulk’s true nemesis, primarily due to the love for his daughter. The biggest improvement in this movie from
the Ang Lee film was the Hulk itself.
While that movie’s Hulk looked facially like Eric Bana , who portrayed
Banner, this Hulk blended on-screen much better than that one, and was voiced
by Lou Ferrigno, well known from King of Queens (jk). Also, kudos to Robert Downey, Jr.’s cameo in
the credits, which goes a long way in establishing that a team is being put
together. I think we all know who that
team is…
CREAM
OF THE CROP
3. Marvel’s The Avengers (2012)
Here’s
the tricky part. I believe all three of
the remaining films could be on top, but a tie really wouldn’t be right now
would it? “The Avengers” is a fun film
in every way, driven by both its clever dialogue and well filmed action sequences. Even though it is a team-up movie, it
sometimes feels a little like “Iron Man 2.5”, but it doesn’t take too much away
from the team. The characterizations are
phenomenal, with the Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner standing out to me. I loved Edward Norton as Banner in “The Incredible
Hulk”, but Ruffalo seemed to fit more in the group setting. The rest of the team was great as well, with
the possible exception of Hawkeye being wasted with mind-control early on. Clark Gregg’s Agent Coulson, however, was the
MVP of the movie. He was the heart and
soul of S.H.I.E.L.D., and his “interaction” with Loki drove the story home and
gave Samuel L. Jackson’s Director Fury the impetus to unite the team toward
their goal of defeating Loki.
Joss
Whedon was the creative force behind the film, and it showed, especially
through the aforementioned dialogue. The movie’s ending was everything you could
ask for in a summer blockbuster, and the post-credit sequences were fantastic,
showing us that Loki was not acting alone, and introducing us to something none
of will forget...shawarma. All in all, “Marvel’s
The Avengers” was what is was supposed to be.
It was the culmination of the “Phase One” movies, and a heck of a lot of
fun to watch!
2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
(2014)
Possible
because I just saw it, but for my money this is the only sequel worth a damn from
the studio. “The Winter Soldier” works because they didn’t get any
characterization wrong, and the adaptation of Ed Brubaker’s creation of the
title villain was almost perfect.
Because we are so close to release, I will not delve into any details of
the story, but I will say I bought into all the twists and turns put in front
of me, even when I knew they were faking us out. That, to me, is the mark of a great film.
The
casting, once again, is fantastic. Chris
Evans, Scarlett Johansson and Samuel L. Jackson all reprise their roles from
previous Marvel films, and the newcomers are great, too. Anthony Mackie brings Sam Wilson, a/k/a the
Falcon, to the screen in a fantastic way, and Robert Redford lends a legitimacy
to his role as Alexander Pierce, which needed the validation to avoid being too
cliché. Other returnees will remain nameless in case you aren’t familiar with
the source material. I wish I could
discuss things more to justify my selection of the film as #2, but I feel good
about placing it here.
1. Iron Man (2008)
The
“Gold Standard” of Marvel’s “comic book” movies. (I will always say that I prefer Christopher
Nolan’s Batman movies to anything here, but to me those are films that happen
to be based in a comic book setting, rather than “comic book” movies. Feel free
to disagree.) “Iron Man” does everything
well. Normally, I have a tough time being patient for origin stories, but the
tale of Iron Man’s genesis is so necessary to Tony Stark’s growth as a human
being that I lapped it up here. The pacing
throughout the movie was always solid, and Robert Downey Jr. just owned us as
Tony/IM. The supporting cast was solid
here, even Gwyneth Paltrow, who is usually unbearable in my view. Terrence Howard was fine as James “Rhodey”
Rhodes, even though Don Cheadle was better in the sequels (the only thing
better in those movies). Jeff Bridges was excellent in the role of Obidiah
Stane, Tony’s right hand man that goes terribly wrong.
That
is the only un-comic-y part of this movie-the lack of a big villain. Stane is fine as the eventual main bad-guy,
but the main focus of this film is Tony Stark.
Director Jon Favreau (great in acting as Happy Hogan) and Downey are
great in evolving Stark from the egomaniacal billionaire without a care for his
fellow man, to the egomaniacal billionaire that understands the need to be so
much more. He, however, never loses that
which makes him the most entertaining hero in any comic book movieverse-his
sarcastic sense of humor. Tony Stark may become the hero “Iron Man”, but he
stays the lovable rogue that makes this movie much more than the sum of its
parts. Take a bow Mr. Downey!
So
that’s my ranking of the Marvel Studios movies.
I’d love to hear from you.