Here we are, at the spot where all the fun begins. At least some fun. A C grade here in my mind is essentially the same as it is in school-it’s average. Things start to develop in a little more interesting way in this category, they may even have some outstanding elements, but ultimately these films are the middling mid of Marvel. Just as a reminder, the films are organized technically from worst to best so those ranked first/at the top are boarder-line D and those last/at the bottom are borderline B. I truly believe that everything from here on out is truly re-watchable and worth your time. After all, not every film can be a masterpiece. With enough of them in a group over time SOME of them eventually become better or worse, so it’s only natural that averageness will permeate the brand (especially as better and better films get released or elements push the bar higher). Your personal enjoyment here in this tier may vary, but in my opinion that’s the beauty of being average; equal amounts of haters as there are lovers, controversy and/or polarizing elements, some good, some bad, but mostly there kinda just there. Here in this category there’s plenty more people out there who find Venom an underrated gem than say, people arguing the same for anything in the F or D’s. The the same logic applies conversely as well (I have met some who think Venom is utter bottom feeding trash). Well, shall we?
63) Ghost Rider (2007) + Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011) Starring Nicolas Cage
Good ol’ Nic’ Cage’s Ghost Rider movies were tough for me to rank properly, but I ultimately settled here at the start of C. Also, ranking them separate seemed to be more difficult than I initially thought because what can be said about one can easily be said about the other with some minor differences that ultimately don’t deter from a substantial alteration in quality. This is the absolute highest I would ever think to rank these movies, and I know that the reputation they have means that your average fan most likely would rank them toward the bottom amount those early F tiers. Im here to tell you you’re wrong. Well, not completely. These movies do suck. But they also don’t. I urge you to re-check these movies out at some if you have bad memories of them because they’re better than you remember and have aged decently better than just about every other non-mutant/spider based pre MCU movie. The first movie did decent in the box office but to be fair Nic Cage was already a household name at the time, and back then, actors had a bigger draw at the box office than they seem to have now. After the “success” of Daredevil, director Mark Steven Johnson was tapped to bring Ghost Rider to life on the big screen. The fact that Marvel was attempting to bring Johnny Cage to screen immediately gets major brownie points in 2007 because the character was among the last characters even die hard comic readers would ever think would get a live action appearance (despite there being a fan base for the character). The role was to originally go to Johnny Depp, who if you ask me, is not the right casting. Fortunately, Nicholas Cage is a known comic book reader and collector (a reported Ghost Rider fan) who got wind of the project. The rest is history. Nicolas Cage is very passionate about that side of him and his performance shows. He may not be EXACTLY Johnny Blaze from the comics but I would actually argue that Cage did in fact add to the character here by focusing his arc around the deal he makes to become Ghost Rider. Nicholas Cage is an actor that I feel a lot of people either don’t like or love, and let’s just say, if you don’t like him, then you’re wrong. The man RARELY has misses and is absolutely a magnetic personality on screen. His “wild” personality definitely added to the Johnny Blaze readers knew; that Johnny was frankly a depressing cigarette smoking alcoholic badass type character that was so popular when he was originally created. The character has never really broken out of that stereotype until other people took over the mantle. Here, Johnny Blaze doesn’t offer much depth beyond the drama behind said arc, but watching this film you just can’t help but take your eyes of Nic. That’s absolutely a testament to the actors chops and I firmly believe that if they casted someone even slightly worse of an actor then the film would be received even worse than they are. Both films have decent fight scenes with more than acceptable CGI for the time, and some of it even holds up today, especially the scenes that have just the right amount. Ghost Rider’s powers are well interpreted and executed. The dialogue and score are definitely dated, and it (and its sequel) still feels like a mid 2000s movie. The sequel doesn’t improve on much, but the action and CGI is even better. Unfortunately, the story of the sequel isn’t worth a damn, but we still have a magnetic Cage in the role. Ultimately I like to view these two films as almost a bridge between the old Marvel movies and the MCU because they did take more risks than your average MCU movie is willing to take but they also have some of that MCU formula hidden deep down. It’s almost like They’re almost like prototype MCU movie so it’s interesting to include in a marathon for that reason. I consider these movies to be borderline re-watchable and honestly pretty average in the end despite its charismatic lead, so here they reside kicking off the C team.
62) Luke Cage-Netflix, Seasons 1 and 2 (2016) Starring Mike Colter
The character of Luke Cage, like most comic characters of color, have some controversial history regarding his portrayal on the page. Despite, he has always had an audience and has endured so it was always inevitable for him to debut at some point. In my opinion, the character’s peak popularity was when he officially became an Avenger in Brian Michael Bandis’s modern Avengers run. The Hero for Hire is usually at his best when he is accompanied by his partner in crime, Iron Fist, usually playing off each other like good cop and bad cop in various scenarios. I do believe that Luke can be interesting solo and this show proves it. Marvel smartly decided to use the worlds first African American superhero as a vehicle to explore race, something that when Luke inevitably shows up in the MCU will most likely get shortchanged. Mike Colter embodies the cool calm and collected Luke better than just about anyone out there. He brought a subtle intensity inside of the calm that is perfection for Luke Cage. The character had plenty of room for developing as a complex character-herein lies our first problem, and it’s a common one shared by the other Netflix shows. The show started off great, but unfortunately, lost steam. That’s not to say it isn’t enjoyable, it’s certainly watchable, but I get it if its not your thing. It gets quite slow, with very little action for episodes long. The action scenes themselves are not anything special either, as it seemed like they just repeated Mike standing there tanking some damage like a badass before super punching his way out of every scenario. On paper it’s cool but gets quite tiresome after the 10th time you have seen it happen. Understandably, they just stopped doing action scenes all together eventually, which is probably for the best, because clearly they were uninspired in that department. The rest of the classic marvel characters, Misty Knight in particular, are standouts. This show ultimately crosses over the least with the rest of the universe making this technically the least required to watch if you want to eventually watch the Defenders. All in all, Luke Cage on Netflix was serviceable and watchable but didn’t take enough risks in a show that was already too long to begin with. Average at best.
61) Ms. Marvel-Disney Plus (2022)- Starring Iman Vanelli
Let me make something clear right now. Despite ranking both Ms Marvel and Captain Marvel (and Black Widow as you will soon see) so low is NOT in any way because I hate female leads. I really want more of them. Both of said characters are among my top 5 female characters in the pages of Marvel Comics having read a majority of both of their comic runs in publication to date. Im conflicted on this show, because I understand that it did in fact depict Pakistani culture accurately and respectfully which is awesome in its own right. Say what you want about Marvel’s phase four and it’s decreased over-all quality but this show is a solid argument in favor of that decline. The budget was apparently low and it shows especially during its CGI. This show was made during an era of Marvel movies that had some atrocious CGI due to working conditions, so it gets a pass in a certain regard. Marvel has supposedly fixed up their act but I’m patiently waiting for the proof in the pudding still. Marvel decided to change the origin of her powers, which did cause the show to receive some flack, but I get why and don’t blame them. The character was meant to be an Inhuman on the pages whereas the show revealed her to be a mutant. I think this decision will ultimately bite them in the butt because that means when the X-men eventually show up she won’t be far behind in those movies (which is frankly not accurate in the slightest). The show does drag a bit further proving that most of these Disney plus shows should have been movies. Iman’s performance is the bright spot here, with her family being well casted as well, and embarks on a simplified version of her debut comic run. I enjoyed watching her charisma and look forward to more of her. She is a self-proclaimed nerd who now famously called out Kevin Feige on some continuity errors along with the wrong naming of the main MCU “Universe” (which did get some hints of being fixed since). Ending with a cameo by Brie Larson that sets up her next movie, which happens to be where Kamala will be seen next also, seemed a little forced. Im sure it will all make sense down the line. Kamala’s arc doesn’t speak to me in particular but I wasn’t exactly the target audience clearly. I found the show enjoyable enough ultimately.
60) Venom (2018) Directed by Ruben Fleisher Starring Tom Hardy
With Ghost Rider out of the way, I firmly believe that Venom marks the start of a big quality jump from everything before it. I do think these movies are still pretty average, and there are a lot better one’s from here too, but it’s averageness certainly isn’t a bad thing. Let’s talk about the giant spider in the room first. Or should I say, lack-thereof. Venom is a character with quite the interesting comic book history. I won’t bore you with paragraphs of that history because its pretty convoluted but one thing you should absolutely know about his origin on the pages (if you are one of the few people on earth who doesn’t know at this point) is that the character’s existence is directly related to Spider-man more-so than his other rogues. The alien symbiote that would later become Venom and attach to Eddie Brock and Flash Thompson first attached itself to Spider-man before finding his true life hosts. Those years are looked back quite fondly by those who read them in the 80s; only for the character to become something of a phenomenon in the 90s earning himself his own book at one point (quite the achievement to be frank). If you were reading by then, you either loved him or hated him, because Venom in his final form was more of a product of the over-the-topness that permitted the 90’s shelves. By all accounts, he’s a character that really shouldn’t have stood the test of time and was a product of said time. But here we are in an age where plenty people’s favorite character is Venom. He’s been on t-shirts for YEARS before this movie came out (which is probably why the movie has been itching to get made to begin with). Enter Tom Hardy, our front runner for Sony’s Venom. The problem? I won’t get into this major problem here, because I would be writing for way to long but to summarize, Sony wasn’t allowed to use Tom Holland. Despite this road block they could sure set him up as a periphery Spider character. Venom’s true origin can not legally be done properly unless the MCU wanted to use the character first (spoiler alert-they did not). So the answer Sony had was to just have the symbiote attach to Eddie first and not attach to Spider-man at all. And since he never attached to Spidey…well that means he won’t have his classic logo on his chest (something the sequel didn’t do either). If you are a Spider-man fan, and can get past these frankly MAJOR flaws, you will actually find that the movie is pretty decent. Tom Hardy plays Eddie with about as much charisma as he brings to any role he does. The CGI is actually quite cool looking. I won’t never forget in the theaters hearing the booming voice of the symbiote in Eddies head for the first time over the surround sound. They honestly nail the SOUND of Venom’s voice in a way that I weirdly have always imagined him to sound. He attacks with the goo as ferociously as ever and isn’t afraid to kill (though that does become a plot point eventually). There is an average and serviceable love story at the center of it along with plenty more symbiotes for Venom to fight. The action isn’t quite edge of your seat but it is fun to watch. The movie is humorous, but nothing special or noteworthy in that department, and I’m sure your mileage will vary if you actually find the movie funny. For me, on first viewing, I certainly laughed but on repeat viewing those jokes become a little obnoxious. All in all, Venom is the best of the live action Sony-verse so far. Not a masterpiece by any means, nor does it do anything we haven’t seen before, but Eddie and Venom’s arcs are interesting enough that the film is certainly rewatchable if you liked it to begin with. The film even has its fare share of easter eggs that Marvelites like to eat up and has a post credit scene that hasn’t aged well but did get people exited for what’s to come. Ultimately, Venom is pretty average for a superhero film. It did well enough in the box office to get a sequel with a third in production as we speak.
59) Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) Directed by Andy Serkis, Starring Tom Hardy
This movie is weird because I know that with Andy Serkis (the same Andy Serkis who played Klaw in Black Panther and Golem in LOTR) behind the camera the final product is simultaneously much better than it’s predecessor but also about on the the same level of quality. If you liked Venom, you will like this most likely. IF you didn’t, this isn’t changing any minds. The direction and script is a bit better as is the action and CGI but I do wish Serkis put a little bit more uniqueness into the film than he did. Let There Be Carnage was a missed opportunity to put a little more flavor into Venom that the first one needed. This movie does brilliantly cast Woody Harrelson as the titular villain and is an excellent foil to our heroes even if none of the performances are Oscar worthy by any means. Hardy and Venom both shine about equally here, though Carnage did have some questionable scripting surrounding his dialogue here or there. All in all, everything that applies to the first still applies here. I find this just about as re-watchable as the first and is average enough to be enjoyable by plenty. I am looking forward to more Venom and crossing my fingers that he sets his sights on at least one of the three Spider-men before they retire the character. I can’t help but think about the potential of Tom Hardy’s Venom, certainly not in a bad way, but also that should tell you about where we currently are with the character.
58) Eternals (2021) Directed by Chloe Zao, Starring a bunch of people
Eternals as a movie franchise that honestly shouldn’t exist. They should be in the MCU, don’t get me wrong. I would have liked a much slower burn for their reveal, maybe possibly hinting at their existence with cameos and suggestions here or there. That’s not what we got though, instead having to settle with a full on movie. The Eternals were created by comic book legend Jack Kirby during an era that was sans Stan Lee. These characters are 100% his baby; for those interested in history, there is a lot to unpack there and is worth the research. I hope I don’t enrage comic book aficionados by saying that the Eternals has prevailed through the decades mostly because the King himself created them. If they had anyone’s name other than Jack Kirby on the covers I am sure the property would be even MORE obscure than they still are despite having an MCU movie about them. The characters never really took off; they were created after Jack returned from his Marvel hiatus creating the far superior DC property: the Fourth World (which is absolutely worth everyone’s time). He was in a weird phase of his life, where he was almost unleashed in the creative department being free of the Stan Lee chains. The result is a property that was definitely pretty to look at but almost too wild for Marvel readers. After he departed, not many creators attempted to pick up the slack since, although the incredibly famous Neil Gaiman (yes, that Neil Gaiman) does have an excellent run in one of his very few stints at Marvel. Marvel tapped academy award winning director Chloe Zao to being her A-game and turn the franchise into the next big thing for the movie outing. The problem is, they have never been the next big thing to begin with, so the project was doomed from the start. I get it though. Guardians of the Galaxy were D listers at best before they got their first movie so Marvel wanted to repeat history. That isn’t to say there is nothing at all interesting about them-they are fascinating characters in reality, they just work better on the periphery than in spotlight. As essential pieces to Marvel’s historical in universe lore, they needed to be present somehow. Zao’s idea was to make a movie that must be taken seriously to work, which in theory sounds great, but in effect, reveals the boring nature of the Eternals as a spotlight. I firmly ascertain that these characters are best when they remain mysterious and wondrous (Zao did channel this in some scenes with her cinematography style). The movie is certainly among Marvel’s best cinematography camp (no surprise with Zao being being the camera) which raises it up some ranks, but everything else knocks it down. Too long, not enough charisma from our leads, and too many teases for the future plague this film into flop oblivion. This being Marvel’s technically first flop and their first “rotten” film since Thor: The Dark World has got to sting with such an immense talent behind it. With that said, the origins of the Eternals, when rarely touched on, was fascinating as ever. The celestials on an IMAX screen are incredibly well done (finally that guardians of the galaxy easter egg has come full circle). The villain in the comics has gone on to become somewhat of a complex antihero that plagues the Marvel Universe so seeing him get reduced to whatever unwatchable thing he and his kind were in the movie was a missed opportunity if I’v ever seen one. Here’s the thing though. I do think this film is not as bad as the reception this film has received. Ikaris had a nice plot twist that most comic nerds weren’t expecting due to it being frankly not anywhere close to comic accurate, and despite how it turned out, I doubt it’s the last we have seen of him. Mikari, the speedster among them, did it right on the big screen long before the Flash did over at DC. Her action scenes were a highlight for sure. This movie is sure pretty to look at, but not fun enough to earn a higher ranking. Let’s count all the things the movie teased: Black Knight, Blade, Pip the Troll, Starfox, more Celestials, Avengers future HQ (dead celestial on earth) are the big ones off the top of my head. There is a star studded cast that even includes Angelina Jolie in a role that she plays well, but didn’t have near enough screen time or charisma to help elevate this film out of it’s destined averageness. Technically serviceable, definitely watchable and re-watchable, just don’t expect anything that is reinventing the wheel despite it desperately trying to.
57) X-men: Apocalypse (2016) Directed by Bryan Singer, Starring most of the usual gang
I in fact did find some enjoyment out of this back in 2016 when I saw it in theaters if I’m being honest. No, the passage of time hasn’t done it many favors either. A lot of people tend to hate on this movie, as they do most X-men movies, but it isn’t terrible if you have accepted a few things by now and rolled with it: 1) the movie X-men are becoming more and more of an echo of their comic book counterparts 2)the movies make Mystique far more important to the plot than she has any right to be simply because they snagged J-Law in the role at the height of her popularity, and subsequently she had some demands 3) the movie franchise timeline will never make sense. If you can get passed these three things then you may get some enjoyment out of the X-men franchise as a whole. The X-men are my all-time favorite property on the planet so if I can get there then I believe that everyone should also be able to accept these things. With those things accepted, I can take the film at face value for what it’s offering: a perfectly accessible albeit average X-men adventure starring Mystique/Xavier and friends. If I were to judge every X-men movie against their comic counterparts and inspirations then they would ALL be trash movies, so let’s take them for what they are and always have been. The X-men movies are certainly watchable and this one continues that trend. If you enjoy the first class characters then you should theoretically be continuing to enjoy them here also. The biggest hurdle this movie faced was being a follow up to the X franchises most divisive and highest quality film to date. That fact alone should have been a clue as to how this movie was going to end up. It was destined to live in the shadow of its superior elder sibling from the start. The movie focused too hard on too many characters leaving most of them flat. Despite, we do get some quality scenes particularly with Eric midway through the film. No it doesn’t evolve the character but they do service him well. Evan Peters has a great scene that doesn’t quite top his DOFP scene, but still great. Oscar Issac’s Apocalypse definitely missed the mark by a long shot and let much to be desired but I do commend the movie for being one of the few X movies to have an actual mutant as the villain instead of a human. The costume was clearly all practical which is a nice change of pace, but who in their right mind looked at that character in the comics and thought that practical was the best way to go? Good try but no dice. James McAvoy continues to carry the franchise on its shoulders here and certainly does Xavier justice as the flawed man that the comic readers know and love. The movie introduces a fair share of new mutants from Storm, Jubilee, Angel, and Psyclock to name a few. The problem with interning that many MAJOR X characters at once is that you just can’t give them all depth. Angel was reduced to a henchman (his downfall to becoming a horseman was a slow painful burn in the pages), Jubilee was a cameo, Psylock had one action scene, and Storm was actually pretty spot on and engaging despite her limiting presence. That’s one out of four you get right. With that said, the movie is entertaining and continues the story decently enough that from a movie making perspective it’s honestly not bad. It’s not good or great either, just simply average. We have some good performances from the ones we expect to have good performances(Lawrence, McAvoy, Fassbender, Holt), the cinematography remains as average as ever, costumes are a slight improvement for some, and we do get a nice homage to Wolverine’s origins that resemble the pages more than ever. Caliban makes his first appearance here also which is noteworthy because we all know where he ends up eventually. I also do think that this movie pays direct homage to certain elements from SPECIFIC comics more than any other X film; we have homages to Storm’s origin, Jim Lees Xmen run is homaged visually almost directly, the mansion blowing up, Barry Windsor Smiths extremely famous Weapon X run/costume is directly referenced during Hugh’s cameo, to name a few. All in all, with flaws in check, the film is decent enough to keep it from being complete trash-the problem is that there just isn’t enough to distinguish it as being great either.
56) The Punisher-Netlfix, Seasons 1 and 2 (2017) Starring Jon Bernthal
If you don’t include Dirty Laundry then this is the best punisher content out there. Fortunately, I do consider Dirty Laundry part of the Marvel catalogue, so you will get to read about that later on. Netflix brilliantly casted Jon Bernthal (whom I have had the great pleasure of meeting, I was pleasantly surprised to find that he was a very gracious and friendly celebrity who took time to talk with a random fan such as myself) clearly after watching his role on The Walking Dead. Bernthal certainly can play a certain type of alpha male in a way I think some other actors wish they could. I was almost nervous to talk to him in person because of the raw intensity he brings to his performances (I was soon eased to know that it is in fact all an act). That raw intensity he brings to his excellent debut on Daredevil season 2, but unfortunately, that’s not what this section is about. We’re here to talk about his Netflix series. Punisher on Netflix loses a bit of the intensity that made him such a powerhouse that could rival Charlie Cox by stretching him a bit too thin. While you could argue that all the Netflix heroes suffered the same fate with the elongated seasons, here sure doesn’t break that mold in his personal outing. I don’t think he was bad as the Punisher here, he certainly was good, but the show decided to focus on his ptsd more than anything in a slow burn character study. We didn’t really get much of the Punisher, well, Punishing. With that said, the character work that’s done is tremendous and truly elevates the character beyond what has come before on screen. As long as lots of dialogue without a whole lot of Punishing is ok with you then there is a lot to enjoy as a Punisher fan here. Season 2 does up the intensity a bit but it won’t win over anyone who dropped the first season out of boredom either. All in all, Bernthal is a great Punisher, the best we have ever had, it’s just a shame that his turn in spotlight was so dragged out and long. If you ask me, they should have made a Netflix Original Movie about him with the story they gave us. There just isn’t enough for the amount minutes we got. The result is a tv show that is ultimately about as mid as you can get. Here is thing though: that’s a huge improvement over all that has come before, so I can’t complain too much about Frank Crastle’s series. The series does have some decent writing, it’s excellently shot and directed with some perfectly relatable themes that do the character of Frank Castle justice. But if you’re looking for the Punisher, I would look to Daredevil season 2 and Dirty Laundry.
55) Ant-Man: Quantumania (2023) Directed by Peyton Reed Starring Paul Rudd and Jonathan Majors
I would like to point out before we delve into this one that the actor Jonathan Major’s personal legal troubles are in no way shape or form affecting my judgment of said film. The drama surrounding Jonathan Majors is unfortunately mainstream enough that it may cost him the role of Kang the Conquerer, which one be unfortunate, because he was the sole bright spot of this film. Marvel hyped this one up big time as the phase 5 lead film and you can tell they truly believed they had a winner on their hands. To their credit, they do in their choice of actor for Kang the Conqueror, I just wish someone at Marvel could take off their Jonathan Majors rose glasses for a minute to evaluate the rest of the mediocre movie. After Majors’s excellent portrayal of He Who Remains (AKA Kang) in Loki Disney plus, it’s safe to say most people were anxiously awaiting for his next appearance. Marvel did the genius thing by making him fight the Avenger we would least expect: Ant-man. On paper, this is a fantastic idea, so much so, that I believe it could have been better executed with some extensive edits and script re-writes. The problem in this movie isn’t in the characters so much, everyone is as magnetic as usual and obviously Majors delivers a performance worthy of the legacy that character indeed has. Rudd continues to embody his version of Scott Lang and Michael Douglas and Michelle Pfeiffer are great (although Michelle had a terrible distracting wig on-did nobody notice enough to fix it? Im sure she is more than aware). Phase four has been slowly assembling the young Avengers under everyone’s noses, in which we do get a more fully formed Cassie Lang in actress Kathryn Newton, but she doesn’t bring anything special to the table that Rudd does better so far (besides her youthful perspective). I can’t say I’m exactly exited for Stature’s future after this outing despite her being now a Marvel mainstay. The CGI suffers incredibly from the same CGI issues the rest of phase 4 is suffering from due to some valid reasons that have been allegedly addressed. I would like to give it a pass here for that reason but ultimately can’t in this case. Practically the whole film takes place in the quantum realm, so CGI was inevitable in massive amounts. Unfortunately, the lack of CGI care showed in the final project here more so than any other film in marvel’s entire catalogue. I’m usually ok with bad CGI as long the story is done well, but I can’t even say that about this middling average story. It’s not anything special but it’s not necessarily bad either. Just average. Scott doesn’t really learn anything or go through any kind of character arc here, but some of the peripheral characters do. Pfeiffer’s Janet Van Dyne makes up for this by being the films sole character with any kind of arc and thus becomes the most interesting hero present. The film ends with some head scratching power level logic that is inexcusable from Marvel at this point. This isn’t the early 2000s anymore, and you guys have a whole 30+ movie and counting mythological universe to set your stories in so a misstep such as that one is frankly bad. With that said, there is one big huge element that pulls this film out of the depths of trash and that’s non other than the excellent Jonathan Majors. He is bar none the most fascinating and engrossing aspect of the film. His performance is simply too good to be in an Ant-man film and it shows any time he is on screen. He has a presence to him that is rarely felt in Marvel movie villains. They’re usually just kind of there or area mirror in some way to our heroes. But here, Marvel is clearly in the process of developing Kang into a threat with complexity that should rival that of Loki and Thanos. Majors portrays the character of Kang the Conqueror in a way that the best of the MCU actors do, with an embodying energy that’s borderline irreplaceable. Majors was clearly born for the role. I sincerely hope the best for Majors in his personal life because if there is one thing this movie did is it made me excited to see more Kang. Scott does get one scene that I would argue is his most iconic moment since growing into Giant Man in Civil War: the probability storm. This scene perfectly showcases why Ant-man is an underrated hero worthy of his colleagues. Excellent Kang mixed with terrible everything else averages this film out a bit. And yes, that includes Modok. Im sorry but Modok was terrible. I am well aware of who and what MODOK is in the comics, and while he technically was MODOK on surface value, it still just didn’t quite hit the mark. A true MODOK does in fact of a bit of seriousness underlining the corny that this movie doesn’t quite get right. I would have also liked to see MODOK actually be a reoccurring villain in the MCU instead of a minor one-off side villain. He does have some potential with longevity that the MCU missed out on. The jury is out still for how much this film is re-watchable. I have a feeling that it will age a bit better than you would think especially if Majors continues to own the role and play the character after his legal debacle concludes. In the meantime this remains serviceable and average.
54) Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) Directed by Taika Watiti Starring Chris Hemsworth
I will forever defend Marvel phase 4. It sure does get a lot of flack. Marvel certainly changed after phase 3 and Endgame, I’m not going to deny it, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. There is a lot to love about Marvel still, and for those who are complaining a little too much, I have feeling they will win you all back over eventually (some of the corporate Disney and Marvel changes that have been happening recently are certainly huge wins). I will reserve my overall judgment for a post later on about how underrated Phase 4 is so I won’t go into a whole lot of detouring here and just judge Thor 4 pretty much for what it is as a singular entry. Taika Waititi overnight became a sensation after directing Thor: Ragnarok, the highly regarded phase 3/third Thor movie that arguably and belatedly reinvigorated the character into true longevity alongside Iron Man and Captain America. That movie is probably the definitive Hemsworth Thor appearance, so coming off of that it’s no surprise that the hype and expectations were incredibly high going into this. Marvel tapped Watiti to return to direct a follow up after that success-a no brainer for Marvel. What made Thor Rag special is arguably attributed to Taika’s one of a kind direction and personality that he imbues his films with. The problem is, Marvel clearly let him off the leash with this one (again, understandably), a plan that ultimately and ironically deterred from the film’s final product. If you look at Waititi’s pre-MCU catalogue you can see in hindsight how much of a problem that is to let Watiti go FULL on Watiti when making a Thor movie. Taika Waititi is known for parody more than anything with his previous work, and that’s not to say there is anything wrong with parody, but clearly no one stopped to think that if we let Watiti do his own thing completely then we would probably get a Thor parody as a result. Unfortunately, that’s pretty much what we got. The movie was more concerned with making fun of the hamminess that Thor as a character can provide instead of doing anything compelling (since when does Thor ride his hammer like broomstick? Ya it’s funny to see but ultimately is an embarrassment). Conversely, if you look at the film as a separate entity from the MCU, then the film is honestly quite fine. Waititi is NOT a bad director, in fact, he’s quite the talent. There isn’t anyone like him out there. If you do like his sensibilities as a director, then this movie is for you. This duality gives this film a tugging quality, that in my opinion, detracts from the film. The movie is constantly wrestling with the opposing ideas of being an MCU film proper and a Taika Waititi styled parody of an MCU movie. From an experimental standpoint, I commend Marvel for attempting something different, but the result ends up reducing Thor’s character. I still believe that that reduction isn’t back to a level he was pre-Ragnarok, but it certainly undoes the progression he made Post Ragnarok. The character’s arc in the MCU through Endgame ended up being a truly impressive one that Watiti himself contributed to. So why did he want to ruin Thor by parodying with constant lame jokes that don’t even hit? Hemsworth leans into what makes him a star more than ever here, so it’s hard to completely knock him even if its not the Thor most of us wanted. Watiti honed in on one of Thor’s most popular modern day stories by loosely adapting Jason Aaron’s Thor God of Thunder arc. I firmly believe that his mega run on Thor is one of the best modern comic runs of the last twenty years and is required reading for anyone looking to read Marvel comics in general. The run starts off by introducing Gorr the Godbutcher, who immediately becomes an all time great Marvel comics AND Thor adversary. The story was told over the span of years and years (I’m talking about in real life-the run lasted a long time) so the development of Gorr into a worthy and complex adversary is as compelling as you will ever get in a comic book. The movie expertly casts someone with a huge status (Christian Bale) to portray this legend of a comic villain. The Gorr arc is so all encompassing, that they could have EASILY made phase 4-6 to revolve around Gorr as a saga and it would have been an excellent choice. Then we could have had a much bigger build up with Jane’s cancer and passing along with her time welding Mjolnir. We should have spent multiple movies across the MCU delving into the hierarchy of the Gods, the looming threat of the God butcher, with Thor (ESPECIALLY since Tony and Steve are no longer present) at the center of the whole thing. Instead what we got was barely an echo of those stories. We got a PARODY of them. Zeus wasn’t the grandiose wonder he has always been-more of an intentional caricature of what Zeus is to the point that it’s part of the story. I get the genius in making the Gods a bit more lame than we would assume they are, but those ideas are better explored in a movie that isn’t tied to the Marvel Universe, where Gods and cosmic entities are constantly threatening the entire cosmos. Natalie Portman returns as Jane Foster in a role I’v been waiting for for a decade (Jane Thor is a personal all-time favorite of mine in the books with an incredible long form arc). Here, she does in fact suffer from cancer, but instead of focusing on that, they gave her cringeworthy dialogue that is borderline inexcusable (the “catchphrase” scenes make me want to vomit, as do any scene where Thor talks to his Hammer like he’s in a relationship with it)(you know what, I get the symbolism there with the hammer, but it doesn’t make it any better in reality). Thor: Love and Thunder, despite this HUGE central issue regarding favoring parody over substance, isn’t all bad. Hemsworth shine’s as he ever does with his undeniable leading man charisma. The action sure is pretty at times, we do get some comic accurate costumes (I personally LOVE the all gold and blue late 90’s inspired costume Thor wears for a while) in everything Thor and Jane wear. Gorr doesn’t even remotely resemble what he should look like and we don’t get much god-butchering at all, something that detracts from the villains presence. Some of the side characters like Sif and Valkerie are sidelined and there are a few dodgy CGI scenes despite some truly impressive ones. Some people hate the ending, but if you ask me, Thor imbuing the Asgaurdian kids with the power of Thor is honestly pretty freakin awesome in a “comic booky” type of way. The inclusion of Eternity (comic accurate looking as hell, too) in a glorified cameo was edge of my seat on first viewing as a longtime Marvel reader; for those of you who don’t know about Eternity, I suggest you do a wikipedia look up because he is as classic Marvel as you can get. Also, the idea of Thor becoming a parent in retrospect is a great step forward for the character, I just hope we get something more serious next time despite his newfound responsibility. All in all, this movie gets a lot of slack for being terrible, which it is as an MCU entry. Although, as a Taika Waititi movie, it’s as good as it gets for the director himself. For that reason alone, it pulls itself out of trash tiers but I can’t in good faith seem to place it any higher than average rating. It is re-watchable if you can get on board with Thor and Marvel parody or the director’s personal style. I do ultimately firmly believe that this is the spot where the movie deserves (higher than you would think, but still not great).
53) Agents of Shield – 7 Seasons (2013)+ Agent Carter -2 seasons (2015) Starring Clark Gregg and Haley Attwell
I get it if you skipped this one. But I also get it if you were part of the hype when this came out originally. I also get it if you sticked with it until the end. Look, I’m not here to convince you that you need to catch up with Shield or Agent Carter in order to fully experience the MCU. It’s far from essential. But if you are truly a lover of the MCU then it absolutely is worth a watch because it features (especially in the beginning) multiple crossovers with phase 2 of marvel while simultaneously keeping itself in its own corner. With that said, the shower never got to a point where it was impacting the movies as much as the movies impacted the show. It’s truly the only supplemental viewing that’s remotely close to required viewing in order to understand the MCU at large. The high point for most is the crossovers with the Winter Soldier, which was expertly tied in with episode cliffhangers debuting purposefully around the debut of the feature film. The show even had Nick Fury cameo among others. The show definitely introduced some villains that we will clearly never see again, but I could be wrong. It has its high and low points, but it did last 7 seasons if that tells you anything about its quality. Not bad for Marvel’s longest running live action series ever. Another series highlight is when Robbie Reyes debuted as the new Ghost Rider, something that has long been teased to return but plans keep getting cancelled for various reasons. He certainly embodies the character in an astonishing capacity. You won’t find any Oscar winning performances, excellent CGI, or important plot points to the MCU (we could debate on Agent Carter’s show for being the most influential and important to be honest) make this a show that’s ultimately average yet perfectly watchable moreso than the vast majority of the swaths of superhero TV out there.
52) The Amazing Spider-man (2012)-Directed by Marc Webb Starring Andrew Garfield
Im not going to get into who or why a particular actor is a better or more accurate Spider-man. Frankly, all three of the big ones are great, they all embody the character in mostly valid ways. That’s not what this post is about. Im here to rank films as they are. Besides, there is plenty debate (both earned and overblown) about Andrew’s performance in his two films as Peter that has been beaten to death at this point. As an overall film, though, it does the job. The problem is, that at the time, everyone compared this to the Raimi trilogy. If you do that, it sure does reveal an average film comparatively to Raimi’s freshman offering. Andrew was meant to lead a connective tissue between the fox films eventually, a prospect that eventually soured after reception was poor for his premier film. History was never meant to be QUITE yet. I am one of the people in the camp that thinks Andrew Garfield is underrated as Peter and does a fine job. I commend this film for rushing the origin since we already know it and choosing a new villain in the Lizard instead of rehashing the old films. The suit isn’t great, but it’s still good. The film has some cool swinging sequences but ultimately this film feels like it’s a bit emptier than what Raimi supplied the world with. Sony would go on to give Andrew one more chance obviously before he honestly unfairly botched it completely. The film certainly gets what it means to be spider-man at least, so there is that, but it’s not enough to make it a great film on its own. It does have some great dialogue, some excellent Spider-man moments, some inventive swinging sequences mixed with a lackluster villain and low stakes. Although Peter’s chemistry with Gwen is undeniable, and the ultimate staple of his films, the rest being middling prevent this from soaring with the rest of the Spider-man franchise.
51) X-men (2000) Directed by Bryan Singer Starring Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellin
This movie is arguably the most important movie in the history of Marvel’s movies. Debuting in the year 2000, the movie was far ahead of its time. It went on to spawn just under a dozen more X-men films and a variety of other Marvel properties on the big screen. While you could argue that Blade did it first and did some of the initial heavy lifting, it wasn’t until X1 that comic book movies would see a popularity explosion (outside of Batman or Superman). And to be honest, if it didn’t have such an huge legacy like that, I would rank it even lower. That legacy is what this film rides on in the year of 2023 for contemporary audiences. The film debuted at a time when comic accuracy was still shunned, so directed Bryan Singer opted to forgo their traditional superhero attire. This was a superhero movie that wasn’t proud of that distinction and it unfortunately solidified that tone for a majority of the franchises foreseeable future. The movie itself features some clunky dialogue and frankly quite average cinematography and direction, while the CGI and action sequences leave a whole lot to be desired even for 2000s standards. Where the movie shines is in its three excellent leads (see a pattern here?) that catapults Jackman’s career into A lister after this movie. Jackman, McKellin, and Stewart embody their characters to a level of precision that hadn’t been seen before unless your name is either Michael Keaton or Christopher Reeves. No, they’re not accurate, but they sure are the draw here and good enough as long time reader to get excited for more. Time hasn’t done this one justice, unfortunately, so most modern audiences won’t find a lot here unless you have some nostalgia. The film remains of good quality and is entertaining and watchable enough. Fortunately for all of us, the franchise would continue on to even bigger heights quite soon.
50) Ant-man (2015) Directed by Peyton Reed Starring Paul Rudd
Originally slated to kick off phase 3 of the MCU, Paul Rudd’s premier outing ended up releasing as an epilogue to phase 2 (officially it is the finale to phase 2, not Avengers: Age of Ultron like popular belief). For those who don’t know, there is quite the fascinating history surrounding this film. Originally, Marvel wanted Ant-man to be the lead of the MCU. They tapped prolific filmmaker Edgar Wright for YEARS before the first Iron Man film got made to do an Ant-Man movie. I remember as a kid when his Ant-man test footage got released onto the internet, and being beyond stoked despite not having much of a knowledge base for the character yet. The movie remained in development hell; Marvel didn’t have the status they have, and were a fledging bankrupt company. Edgar Wright reportedly clashed with Marvell on numerous occasions and for so long, that Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk ended up debuting first. Ultimately, Wright left the project completely and Marvel passed the project onto Peyton Reed. By the time Ant-man was in theaters, the Avengers had already formed sans founding members Ant-man Hank Py and the Wasp Janet Van Dyne. Reed decided to go with the second Ant-man Scott Lang as its leading man, hinting at Hank Pym’s old status as a hero in his day. The film worked as a whole and obviously lead to a trilogy and numerous other MCu appearances. The problem with the movie is that the stakes are so low, it’s hard to care. Rudd does fine as he always does, but there ended up being nothing special that elevated him beyond his contemporaries. A meandering script and standard dialogue, no iconic moments permeate the film. The film feels like it was a far cry and obvious downgrade from what we could have gotten with a filmmaker such as Edgar Wright. This is forgotten by most nowadays, but for a long time, there were swaths of fans petitioning for Wright to complete his (most likely) superior and original vision for the hero within the MCU. Not only that, but the film followed up Avengers 2, which in hindsight was a poor decision, likely leading to the less than stellar reception of the film. Ultimately, Ant-man is good enough to elevate him to niche fan favorite but certainly not the best of the MCU at this point either.
49) Black Widow (2021) Directed by Cate Shortland Starring Scarlett Johanson
Black Widow is a weird one. It marked the debut of phase 4 but was set in phase 3. Now, to be clear, this shouldn’t be a bad thing, but it is. One thing about phase 4 that I wish people kept in mind was that it arrived during the pandemic. The pandemic shifted SO many of the MCU projects. For what its worth, Flacon and the Winter Soldier on Disney plus was supposed to lead off the phase, but the pandemic caused quite a few hiccups which caused late-in-the-game shifting of plans across the board. I firmly believe that this is partly responsible for the dwindling quality that we saw in phase 4. Marvel had to march on, so they decided to launch Black Widow since it was ready to go on Disney plus with a very limited theatrical run. The movie obviously bombed but the leading belief is that it wouldn’t have if the world wasn’t in mostly lockdown. The problem with leading with this film is that it’s mostly a flashback. So it didn’t feel like phase 4 as much as an epilogue to phase 3 (an honor already filled by Spider-man: Far From Home). The film ended up actually being..decent? I mean that in a compliment kind of way. The film has very few flaws, but conversely, has very few bright spots. The biggest of such bright spots, are David Harbors’ Red Gaurdian and Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova, the latter of which is quickly becoming a bright spot in the MCU going forward. Harbor plays Red Guardian with a charisma that makes him quite engrossing to watch as Natasha’s pseudo father figure and I hope we get more of him in the future. Despite Johanson’s legendary status I never thought she really brought all that much to the role outside of her status as an actress (that’s another way of saying that she is overrated). Florence Pugh easily out charisma’s its lead actress and is by far the most interesting character in the film. Florence has popped up in the MCU since, most notably in Hawkeye Disney plus and was used extremely effectively there. Florence is a force to be reckoned with and an actress who has been one that most have kept an eye on in recent years, and for good reasons. She has played some good roles and is lauded as a fantastic actress. Say what you want about the accents, but I have found that no matter how good an actor is, it’s almost impossible to do a truly convincing accent if you don’t have one. Her accent is fine and continues to improve with all her performances since. The big question mark hanging over this movie pre-release was that if Florence can be an effective legacy character for Scarlett, and I can safely say that YES she can. I have no doubt, that she will be a far more interesting and complex character in the end than Natasha Romanov ever was. The movie had its fair share of emotional scenes and family drama to keep it entertaining adding some much needed depth to its titular character and her pseudo sister. Its a shame that the movie didn’t do Taskmaster any justice but I give them credit for trying; there is some controversy around the character that Marvel couldn’t ignore, so maybe this is the best we will ever get in terms of comic accuracy. Which is a shame because Taskmaster is truly a unique villain in the pantheon. The costumes here are truly underrated, though I do think Natasha in particular had her best and most comic accurate costume in Infinity War. It was a major missed opportunity to not actually feature Jeremy Reiner in any capacity seeing as to how important Marvel built up their past relationship. I have a feeling that once phase 5 continues some of these threads this movie will age better (I sincerely can’t wait to find out what Marvel does with the rest of the Widows), but for now, it remains inconsequential but with some standout performances that elevate this film to borderline above-average (in particular, Pugh). I do think this movie has an undeservedly bad reputation that was mostly inherited from the poor Taskmaster representation. All in all, the movie is good, if not generic for a marvel movie, despite it losing some steam by the end. Hey, at least we had some of those Dreykov teases finally answered from way back in phase 1.
48) Iron Man 2 (2010) Directed by Jon Favreau Starring Robert Downey Jr.
This is another movie that gets some negative flack, both deservedly and undeservedly. To be fair, the first Iron Man movie was such a home run that it was going to be tough to follow up on that. Not only was the first one a success on almost all fronts, it ushered in the start of one of pop cultures biggest phenomenons in cinematic history. No small feat, without a doubt. In reality, this movie isn’t considerably worse than its predecessor, technically. It retains all the fun high energy and charisma that made Iron Man 1 so great and expands on many of those concepts and characters. Iron Man 2 at one point would have ranked higher up when the MCU was still in it’s infancy and growing years but the power creep of solid Marvel films since then has created a larger and larger divide between the quality of the Iron Man trilogy as the years go on. That’s not to say this movie has aged poorly, because it hasn’t for the most part, but let’s get back to reality here-Iron Man 2 is now a 13 year old movie. Back when the picture originally came out, Marvel was flying by the seat of their pants trying their best to orchestrate a shared universe without as much planning as some of you realize. There is a big misunderstanding when it comes to the MCU and how much planning originally went into these films, and it’s an understandable one considering how intricately planned it all seems. That’s not to say there was NO planning, there certainly was. Now a days, the planning is so apparent it’s almost a detriment to the final products. Back in the good ol’ days of phase 1 of the MCU, when the possibilities were endless and the average fan couldn’t fathom where this would all eventually lead, Iron Man was our flagship character. He was our central line through the story of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that success heavily falls onto the shoulders of Robert Downey Jr. I will get into this idea further down the list when I get to the first film in his trilogy, but for now, lets just say that his charisma is hands down the best and most fun part of this film. Robert Downey Jr. IS IRONMAN (as we all know by now) and he always has been. Here he continues his influentially perfect line delivery and quips that would go on to be an integral staple to almost ALL MCU characters to this day. Downey Jr continues to embody Tony in a way only he can. We get a (for the better) recasting of Rodey from Terrance Howard to Don Cheadle; the film explores that bromance probably the best in this movie than anywhere else in the whole MCU. Some impressive character work for Tony Stark, in particular, along with some more expansion of the MCU lore solidified this as an essential pit stop for the MCU. So why so low on the list? If you do a bit of research, you will find out that Marvel Studios back in the 2000s, were still quite the amateur studio. It took years and years to develop the first Iron Man movie, for historical reasons I won’t get into right now. Everyone knew they had a gem on their hands, but they didn’t quite anticipate the level of success it would have. That success lead to a fast tracking of a sequel that was put together in less than two years. If you take this into account, then sure, it’s quite the impressive feat that the quality was as high as it is. But here in 2023, that rushed production is more evident than ever. The script isn’t as tight as its predecessor, not quite as funny and the villain is a mixed bag overall. There are reports that the script was so rushed and incomplete while shooting that Robert Downey Jr. had to do a considerable amount of improvisation to keep it afloat; something that will lead further credence to him being an integral part of the success of the MCU to begin with. Scenes bounce back and forth, we don’t linger anywhere, and while there is some great characterizing for Tony in this movie, ultimately, the first one remained slightly better in that department also. Shoe horning in Scarlet Johansen in her iconic role is a mixed bag that deters from Tony in the spotlight, but I ultimately think it helps solidify Shield as the universe’s early connective tissue. The film doesn’t have quite the legacy as its predecessor even if its an important one for continuing Tony’s overall character arc, the film just doesn’t reach the highs that you would expect out of Iron Man. Sam Rockwell is a treat as the main villain Justin Hammer (rumors are starting to circulate that he will return in some capacity which I am excited about) delivering a quippy performance that rivals that of Downey Jr. himself. Mickey Rourke as Whiplash, on the other hand, is at the other end of the spectrum (quite generic and forgettable). Director Jon Favreau does his best to direct this film into better waters from that said rushed script. Costumes, choreography/CGI, fight scenes, are all a step up from the first one, but the weight of that rushed script keeps it all from being tied together tightly. All in all, the film has some rather excellent ingredients that warrant your full attention on MCU binges, but the flaws keep those ingredients from mixing into something amazing. On paper, the movie sounds great, but in practice, it comes off as borderline average to above-average, earning it a spot near the top of our C tier.
47) The Wolverine (2013) Directed by James Mangold, Starring Hugh Jackman
Even before Fox’s The Wolverine hit theaters, there was no question about it: Hugh Jackman IS wolverine. Despite the dumpster fire that was X-men Origins: Wolverine, Fox knew that the character was destined for more at the box office, so they hired James Mangold to come in and directed the next Wolverine stand alone project. Mangold is unique in the sense that both of his films in the duology are loosely based on famous Wolverine comics. Here, he hones in on the legendary 80’s Wolverine miniseries by comics legend Frank Miller (whose work would go on to inspire plenty more comic based movies from both DC and Marvel). Said miniseries is unique in that it was the character’s first ever solo book series ever published. Part of the success around Wolverine as a character in the pages was in part due to the immediate success of said mini series. Check it out for yourself and you will see what I mean, it was immediately character defining and remains an essential and integral part of Wolverine lore to this very day. It’s here we learn of Wolverine’s history as a samurai for the first time, which explains a lot about why he is the way he is as a person. He falls in love, gets married, and is quite dramatic with excellent action and story beats. Mangold saw the opportunity to bring something fresh to superhero cinema by setting The Wolverine in Japan and taking inspiration from said comic. Now, as an adaptation, it’s fair to say the movie is just loosely inspired by the comic. None of the famous story beats are represented; but that’s ok. The movie stands just fine on its own as its own thing. The movie is overall bland and lifeless, with a script that’s average at best (I just rewatched this the other day in fact, and I still can’t really tell you what the movie was actually about). Bland fight scenes populate the movie with two notable exceptions: 1) the train scene has somewhat gone down in history nowadays as an iconic Wolverine moment and 2) the scene where it takes a whole bunch of arrows shot in the back to take him down, is about as iconic as you get for the character. Hugh does a fine job reprising his role but we don’t necessarily get anything new or inventive out his portrayal or character arc that isn’t explored other places. A lot of this film is a rehashing of old character arcs with a long stretch in the middle of boring dialogue. It does pick up steam at the end with the introduction of Silver Samurai, an essential Wolverine arch enemy, but unfortunately the character was reduced to essentially a robot for reasons I just really can’t explain. All in all, this is a generic Wolverine adventure that doesn’t hurt the property like Origins did, so at least that. If you’re looking for an average Wolverine adventure then look no further, here it is, but be warned you won’t walk away from this with a newfound appreciation for the character. The movie did do good enough in the box office to warrant a return for director James Mangold which we will discuss much later on (spoiler alert, but that movie is way better than this one).
46) Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) Directed by Joss Whedon Starring the Avengers
Here we are: the final C tier film. This being the best of the C team means that you could honestly make a great argument for it being better than average. I ultimately decided its best spot is here in the C tier, almost as an example to show how even the most average Marvel movies are still great in their own right. After the overwhelming success of the first Avengers movie/experiment, Marvel went full throttle on making history twice. The legacy of a film that was so universally beloved wasn’t going to be easy, but famed nerd director Joss Whedon followed up with a sequel that ended up being not quite as good as the first but still incredibly entertaining as event cinema. Im not going to get into character specifics, because at this point in the MCU all of our staples are mostly well formed and well acted no matter where they appear (there is a reason, after all, these films are still being made today, and that’s in part due to the cast largely embodying their fictional counterparts). With that said, we do get two new Avenger mainstays in the Scarlet Witch and the Vision (Ultron and Quicksilver are here also, but they didn’t end up mainstays). James Spader is frankly perfect casting as Ultron, delivering some of the best villain one-liners in the whole MCU. The character had a bit of spooky reveal, which I did thoroughly enjoy, but I still can’t get over the robot’s final generic design. He ended up just kinda looking like a regular robot? There is frankly a whole to talk about with this film and I don’t want to get into all of it, but over-all, the film ended up being a downgrade from its predecessor for a few reasons: 1) more characters meant less quality time with the originals 2) rushed and thin plotting that was essentially as simple as “bad guy wants to take over the world so heroes stop him” 3) too much foreshadowing the future and not enough developing the current threat. As for point #2, you could argue the same about the first Avengers movie, but it’s forgiven because the whole point of the film was the assemble to begin with (and it was done effectively at that). Its honestly point #3 that weighs the film down the most as a singular standalone movie; I would have preferred to skip all the teases and hints and just add some scenes that help make Ultron more developed as a villain. The result was a villain who is ultimately forgettable. On the other hand, we do get some more quality action (Hawkeye’s “pep talk” is arguably the most iconic moment the character has ever had) and acting, and the directing is what you would expect out of Whedon, so there is plenty to love. Hulkbuster, Vision, and Wanda are the biggest contributions this movie would make to the MCU. As a chapter in the overarching MCU plot, it’s undeniably important, but as a single film it ultimately falls short of being great on its own. Your enjoyment of Age of Ultron will boil down to how much you can tolerate the film being essentially a giant trailer for movies that are to come instead of its own thing. Unfortunately, Age of Ultron is the worst of the so-far 4-film Avenger franchise, but it’s still absolutely integral and watchable.
Hopefully by now you have come to realize that I enjoy each and every one of the Marvel films. At this point there are so many that some of the once great Marvel movies have been knocked down some notches. You will start to see that in effect especially next time when we get to the B tier Marvel movies, though there starts to be a few toward the top of this list with that reputation. Thanks for reading, and like always this is going
to be continued…