18.Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015): Special shoutout to the only movie that's ever lulled me to sleep in a movie theater. The second installment of Marvel's team-up extravaganza was every bit of the dull, overstuffed and soulless clusterfuck that the original wasn't. I'd happily rewatch any of the Fantastic Four films or the emo Spider-Man sections of Spider-Man 3 over this meandering pile of shit any day of the week.
Grade: D+
17.Captain America: The First Avenger (2011): I'm not going to pretend like Captain America: The First Avenger is this completely unwatchable poopfest. It's never boring, reasonably well-acted and the ending is actually kind of heartbreaking. However, there was a lot of shit about Steve Rodgers' first big-screen adventure since 1990 that really bothered me. Red Skull is the CEO of Disposable Jabroni Villain Inc., the saccharine tone results in some seriously cringeworthy moments and even though it was important to the story, skinny, CGI Chris Evans was nightmare-inducing.
Grade: C+
16.Iron Man 2 (2010): Robert Downey Jr.'s effortless charisma and a relatively strong, action-packed final act keeps things from completely failing apart, but a pair of shitty, overacted villains (Mickey Rourke, Sam Rockwell) and oddly high volume of corny moments (fuckin drunk Iron Man...) made this a major downgrade from the original.
Grade: C+
15.Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 (2017): This ended up being one of the more gut-wrenching letdowns in recent memory. Everything is great when the titular heroes are doing their "bust balls and ungracefully stop space crime" routine out of the gate, but when the film inorganically turns into a sappy family melodrama around the halfway mark, much of the goofy charm of these characters -as well as the overall entertainment value- get sucked into a wormhole.
Grade: B-
14.Captain America: The Winter Solider (2014): The Winter Solider gave the Captain America series a much-needed facelift after The First Avenger. The more serious tone allowed Chris Evans to add more depth to the character and new directors Anthony and Joe Russo, who have since taken over The Avengers franchise following the departure of Joss Whedon, to stage some pretty tense fight scenes. Real shame about that comically convoluted political/spy thriller plot that eats up most of the film's 150-minute runtime though.
Grade: B-
13.Thor: The Dark World (2013): This is a wildly popular pick for the worst entry in the MCU so far and I completely understand why. Natalie Portman looks like she's ashamed to be involved with the production, some of the jokes are really awful (Stellan Skarsgard screaming wild scientific theories sans pants is eerily similar to a scene from Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen with John Turturro) and leaving Loki on the sidelines while some lame-ass elves try to destroy Asgard was a pretty major miscalculation. That being said, I thought there was enough quality action scenes, charismatic performances and clever gags scattered throughout the film to make its flaws somewhat forgivable.
Grade: B
12.Ant-Man (2015): Considering all of the behind-the-scenes drama (director change shortly before the start of principal photography, numerous rewrites, etc.) that plagued its production, it's pretty remarkable that Ant-Man ended up being a modest success. With its heist-driven story full of colorful characters and amusing one-liners, Ant-Man was a nice deviation from the MCU's grand-scale norm.
Grade: B
11.The Incredible Hulk (2008): Just about all traces of The Incredible Hulk have been removed from the MCU since Edward Norton declined to reprise the role in future films, which is kind of a shame because it's actually a pretty solid flick. Portraying Bruce Banner as a broken, distant man that's desperately trying to find a cure for his affliction made the character a lot more interesting and Louis Leterrier delivered the healthy amount of satisfying Hulk destruction that Ang Lee's mutant poodle-filled disaster sorely lacked.
Grade: B
10.Captain America: Civil War (2016): Civil War's highlights are in the upper echelon of MCU moments and creative decisions. The two biggest action scenes (the opening fight in Lagos, the airport scene) are staggering, the introductions to Black Panther and Tom Holland's Spider-Man are perfect, and its self-contained narrative was a refreshing reprieve from the relentless worldbuilding they had been relying on in the films leading up to it. Unfortunately, these brilliant elements are undercut by erratic pacing and a frustrating refusal to remain committed to the darkness that the story teases throughout. While the sheer amount of untapped potential that's on display here will always bother me, Civil War's admirable strengths and the role it played in ultimately changing this mega-franchise for the better was enough to bump it up a few spots on this list.
Grade: B
9.Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017): Sony should write a passionate thank you note to Marvel Studios for successfully restoring the Spider-Man brand after nearly a decade of soiling the friendly neighborhood webslinger's good name. A great sense of humor paired with its effective portrayal of Peter Parker as a bumbling teenager who hasn't quite figured out the whole superhero thing yet made Homecoming the first consistently enjoyable Spider-Man film since the OG Spider-Man 2.
Grade: B+
8.Thor (2011): As far as superhero origin stories go, Thor is definitely amongst the best. Chris Hemsworth's immense likability, jokes that land at a pretty high clip and the presence of a memorable, well-developed villain in Loki made this a particularly successful "fish out of water" tale.
Grade: B+
7.Doctor Strange (2016): With its dazzling psychedelic imagery, mystical action sequences and an imperfect hero played by the always great Benedict Cumberbatch, Doctor Strange officially ushered in Marvel's semi-experimental "phase three" era that erased the "been there, done that" feeling that plagued most of the post-Avengers films. Hopefully the rumored sequel goes into production before too long because I would love to spend more time in this wild world of space-and-time manipulating magic.
Grade: B+
6.The Avengers (2012): While it losses a little bit of its initial "wow" factor upon repeat viewings, I still really admire what Joss Whedon was able to pull off here. The creator of cult television phenomenon's Buffy, The Vampire Slayer and Firefly was able to give fans the breezy, epic team-up movie they'd been clamoring for without being overwhelmed by the intimidating volume of characters or interconnecting storylines that he had to work with.
Grade: A-
5.Iron Man 3 (2013): Most MCU fans have a film that they feel is underrated in the unforgiving court of public opinion. Shane Black's largely polarizing Iron Man 3 holds that distinction for me. I found a lot of the plot threads that bugged people (the twist with The Mandarin, the scenes in Tennessee, Tony Stark's PTSD brought on by the events of The Avengers) to be brilliant, richly-rewarding risks that helped set this film apart from its predecessors without taking away from its established strengths (Downey Jr., exciting action scenes, great one-liners).
Grade: A
4.Guardians of the Galaxy (2014): Guardians of the Galaxy provides the glorious answer to the burning question of what would happen if you decided to take The Avengers to space and got them hopped up on DMT. This beautiful introduction to the most lovable antiheroes the bowels of space have to offer is a colorful, twisted blast that has plenty of laughs and a strong rewatchability factor.
Grade: A
3.Iron Man (2008): You could make a strong argument that the MCU wouldn't have turned into the worldwide phenomenon its become without Iron Man. Jon Faverau got this interconnected series of films off to a roaring start by crafting a highly entertaining origin story that's driven by strong character development, cool action scenes and a magnetic performance from a perfectly-cast Robert Downey Jr in the leading role.
Grade: A
2.Black Panther (2018): 2018's biggest cultural phenomenon thus far is a masterclass in genre filmmaking. Making a film that simultaneously works as a complex, emotionally-charged political saga that comments on real world issues and a vivid superhero spectacle that's driven by immensely likable characters and terrific action sequences is a staggering accomplishment that only a virtuoso director like Ryan Coogler could pull off.
Grade: A
1.Thor: Ragnarok (2017): Handing the reigns of the Thor franchise over to Taika Waititi (What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople) was the greatest decision Kevin Feige has made during his time overseeing this connected universe. Waititi's energetic directorial style paired with an amazing ensemble cast that fully embraced his oddball sense of humor paved the way for the funniest, strangest and most deliriously entertaining superhero movie I've ever had the pleasure of watching.
Grade: A
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