So ‘Ant-man officially brings phase 2 of the Marvel
Cinematic Universe to an end, and just before we start to speculate and get
excited for phase 3 (because obviously no one’s been doing that since Kevin Feige’s
announcement), let’s take a moment to look at what was good and what was not
quite as good about Phase 2. This Phase brought the MCU the title of highest
grossing film franchise of all time (taking over from the Harry Potter
Franchise) and it’s where they achieved a full and global recognition, they’re
not just separated Avengers now, they’re heroes in their own right. So let’s
rank them in order of worst to best.
6: The Dark World
To be fair to Marvel, when your worst film of the past 5 has
been ‘Thor: The Dark World’ then you’re setting fairly high standards. The film
sets good standards of action and further expands the Asgardian mythos to
please both fans and audiences hoping for a sequel that expands the environment
and characters. Hiddleston and Hemsworth are both on top form as well. Where ‘The
Dark World’ fails is that it just doesn’t change the game enough, there are
developments, but only concerning minor characters that are ultimately unlikely
to have an impact on the MCU as a whole, hopefully Ragnorok will solve this
though.
5: Iron Man 3
Another thing that works in Marvel’s credit is that they
seem to learn from their mistakes, ‘Iron Man 2’ taught them that they have to
make the film work on its own as well as hinting at the rest of the universe. ‘Iron
Man 3’ taught them that they shouldn’t try too hard to appeal to mainstream
audiences. It may have paid off in box office numbers, but fans reacted quite
harshly to alterations that were clearly added to widen the films appeal to
casual moviegoers such as the Extremis story changes and the Mandarin revelation.
However it’s undoubtedly strong in terms of action, it actually has one of
Marvel’s best music scores in my opinion, Robert Downey Jr is as witty as ever,
and it still makes you go ‘I really want one of those suits’.
4: Ant-Man
As I’ve said multiple times, amid all of their high scale
sequels and crossovers Marvel made a smart move by putting ‘Ant-Man’ at the end
of this phase as it shows that they are still competent with origin stories
(which bodes well for upcoming movies like ‘Doctor Strange’ and ‘Black Panther’)
as well as demonstrating an impressive amount of humour, action and drama. Paul
Rudd and Micahel Douglas increase the acting pedigree of Marvel and Scott Lang
and Hank Pym act as great new character additions.
3: Age of Ultron
The best Marvel movie of 2015 ultimately comes down to
personal preference. For all its faults I think it is simply criminal not to
admire the scale and ability to balance so many sub-plots and set up so many
future movies while concluding four films worth of additional material here, as
well as making your own interesting story that has a distinct beginning middle
and end AND throwing in some humour at the same time. In short, Joss Whedon is probably
still asleep after that ordeal.
2: The Winter Soldier
In a similar vein to 2015, the best Marvel movie of 2014
also comes down to personal preference. You either prefer the high octane,
gritty action of ‘The Winter Soldier’ with its gritty and realistic action
sequences that are executed perfectly under the Russo Brother’s direction,
urban level fighting and excellent characterisations and relationships from Cap
and Falcon’s friendship formed on shard experiences to his and Nat’s playful
flirtation or the menacing presence of its titular villain, that all ultimately
harkens back to the political thrillers of the 1970s. Or you prefer…
1: Guardians of the Galaxy
If any film proves that Marvel is an genuinely amazing
storyteller, it’s this film based on a comic book no one read, with the writer
of the ‘Dawn of the Dead’ remake as director, the fat guy from ‘Parks and
Recreation’ as its lead and cast its biggest stars of Bradley Cooper and Vin
Diesel as a racoon and a talking tree that only says three words. But it was
amazing, the script was fantastic, the style was electrifying and the
imagination and innovation was unparalleled. It boasted a whole host of quirky
and memorable characters. Chris Pratt’s role as Star Lord has rocketed him into
stardom, it’s made Blue Swede popular again and could be the most spectacular
space opera since ‘A New Hope’. Only one being can sum up just why this film is
so great, and I’m quoting directly here. ‘I am Groot’.
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