It’s been ten years since Marvel embarked on its journey to take over the cinematic world. Ten years since Tony Stark dawned the Iron Man suit, for the first time, and flew around the planet. At that time, Avengers: Infinity War was an idea that the top brass at Marvel knew about and fans dreamt of. Now, with a little over three months til liftoff, Infinity War is on deck. There have been 18 movies leading up to this point and I felt like ranking my top ten. Here goes…
1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
What??? A sequel? They’re never as good as the original…eh, wrong. At least in this case. Guardians 2 took up where the first left off and then threw things into hyper drive. Growing up, Spider-Man was my favorite hero…but that’s because I had never heard of Peter Quill aka Star-Lord. Chris Pratt easily became one of my favorite actors through these movies and I cannot wait until I see what the Guardians do in Infinity War. Also, and this isn’t a factor of deciding a movie’s ranking, but this movie had the best poster.
2. Deadpool
Yeah baby! Disney bought 21st Century Fox and Bob Iger made no bones about the fact that the X-Men and Deadpool will now be integrated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This movie, in particular, was amazing. It had all the drama and intrigue we’ve come to expect from a superhero movie, while turning the humor up to 11. There has never been, nor may there ever be, such a perfectly casted character as Ryan Reynolds playing Deadpool. Really looking forward to seeing him get thrown in with Iron Man, Spider-Man, and all the classic Marvel heroes he chummed around with in the comic books.
3. Guardians of the Galaxy
Yup, two of my top three are the Guardians. Seriously, I had never heard of these guys before this movie. When I left the theatre, I knew they were my favorite part of the MCU. They just happened to make a sequel that I enjoyed even more.
4. Thor: Ragnarok
Chris Hemsworth and crew stepped it up in the third Thor movie. The first two were only sort of decent, but this one smashed it out of the park. It can kind of double as the good Hulk movie…because the other ones that exist suck…because both Thor and Hulk had an awesome team-up. Some thought this movie too light-hearted and funny, but I thought it was just the right amount and seriously entertaining.
5. Spider-Man: Homecoming
Yeah, I am a sucker for Phase Three Marvel, but I am also a huge homer for the Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. Tom Holland played an awesome young Peter Parker, really nailing the awkward dichotomy of being a superhero and a high school student all at once. I honestly think he is the best of the three guys to play Spider-Man. Tobey Maguire was too old and Andrew Garfield was too cool. Also loved Michael Keaton as Vulture. Disney made an interesting decision with his character background, giving the audience a murky view as to why he was a villain. Sure, he was opposing Spider-Man, but it was also the niche he found to take care of his family. And Michael Keaton is one of the best actors there is, so that doesn’t hurt.
6. The Avengers
Now, depending where you are from (and given that 99.9% people who read my blog are from America, this isn’t a thing) this movie is also called Avengers Assemble which I think helps clear up any confusion as to which Avengers movie someone is referring to. That being said, Loki was great in this movie. Marvel showed the world that a good team-up superhero movie could be done. Remember what everyone was worried about back then? “Will it be too busy?” “Will it be too confusing?” “This many characters in one movie, how will anyone get enough screen time?” Marvel answered those questions then, and has been answering them ever since.
7. Doctor Strange
Also known as “Marvel can get any actor it wants” as the superhero giant nabs Benedict Cumberbatch to play the brash genius, Dr. Stephen Strange. Think of what a perfect mix of Inception and a superhero movie looks like, and you got this movie. Chiwetel Ejiofor was awesome as Mordo and I look forward to seeing where Marvel takes his character. Also thought they did another phenomenal job of presenting a character I, previously, knew nothing about, and making me like him. Looks like he is going to be big in Infinity War and I cannot wait to see him in it.
8. Captain America: Civil War
At this point in Marvel’s pursuit of cinematic dominance they have well-proven that they are capable of delivering a coherent team-up movie. This one they even take it a step further and pit two teams of good guys against each other. The result was a tense feud that finds you on the edge of your seat by the end of it. To be fair, all three Captain America films are phenomenal, but this one was just the icing on the cake. Plus the nice twist at the end with Hydra….oh…well…in case you haven’t seen it, I will leave it at that. Just know that Captain America cannot escape Hydra constantly harassing his life. This movie also had very satisfying, introductory cameos of Spider-Man and Black Panther.
9. Captain America: Winter Soldier
This one and number ten are pretty much a tie, in my mind, it just depends on what kind of mood I’m in. Today I’m feeling the Stars and Stripes. Plus, Steve Rogers kind of goes through a Mission: Impossible-like scenario. The return of Bucky with a metal arm hits all the points of intrigue that my child-like brain can handle, and his battle with Cap was pretty awesome. Plus, I mean, Hydra. I won’t say it…because I will type it…Hail Hydra.
10. Iron Man
By far, the best of the Tony Stark trilogy, I love the very first entry into the MCU. I enjoy seeing the beginning of the eccentric Stark and seeing all of his crazy technology at his house. Jarvis is also awesome, and Obadiah Stain is an easy-to-hate bad guy played by The Dude. Add in AC/DC and you got a solid movie.
Really the rest of the MCU can fall into line in no particular order from 11-18. Except for maybe Iron Man 2. That one will always be the bottom.
Bring on Thanos!
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