The D-tier is arguably the hardest section of the whole tier list because separating movies that are irrefutable junk from movies that are very close to that is tougher than it seems. It’s hard for me to recommend these movies to anyone but they aren’t complete dumpster fires like the last section. These movies are a slight cut above the worst of the worst. While they are duds, what separates these movies from their F-tier brothers and sisters is arguable. I would certainly entertain the thought of any of these movies being interchanged with movies on the previous list, but I hold ground that I’m mostly correct here. The fact of the matter is that while these movies are duds, they aren’t completely avoidable and hold a merit or two that’s worth at very least an acknowledgment. I don’t view these movies as re-watchable, though some of them I have seen multiple times. At one point they may have ranked higher but judged against todays standards, these movies don’t hold much value. With that said, every film in the D-tier begins to show a smidge of more promise, better legacy, or might have some elements that are done well. Hell, at least a couple of them I would call important even. Let’s just jump in since there isn’t a whole lot more that can be said of something that has effectively earned a D grade. Keep in mind, that the order isn’t an exact science but I do try and order them in a ranking system of worst to best. The first ones are borderline F and the latters are borderline C’s. As always, proceed with caution because spoilers are incoming and plentiful.
82) Spider-man (1977), Spider-man Strikes Back (1978) and Spider-man The Dragon’s Challenge (1981) Staring Nicholas Hammond
Boy, is this one a hard one to place. As our first Spider-man entry, I do have a lot to say about the character, but Im going to refrain until we get to the better entries. Viewers of a certain age will likely disagree with this placement due to their nostalgia clouding their judgement, which is fair, but this is more along the lines of the rest of the old school entries than the progressive ones we will see later in the list. One thing is for sure though: Nicholas Hammond is a great Peter Parker that remained faithful to the bronze/silver age Spider-man of the books. His take on the character is arguably the best of the old school Marvel titles with the exception of Lou Ferigno’s Hulk (there were no movies Lou did as the Jade Giant to my knowledge so he will sadly be absent from this list in particular). By the time this movie was released, Spider-man was certainly a popular super-hero. He was one of two top selling books of the 70s (the other being X-men) so there was a demand to see him in live action. Enter Nicholas Hammond’s CBS tv show. The show was more aimed at a younger audience than its sister show (The Incredible Hulk reportedly had a much older viewer demographic for reasons I won’t cover here). The show eventually got the movie treatment with two sequels to follow (those sequels were technically condensed episodes of the show, so I included all three in one post for that reason). Hammonds Spider-man embodied the character in a classical sense. There are a limited amount of supervillains in the movies, but some of the Peter supporting cast do show up. The costume is surprisingly good. The wall crawling is and webbing is frequently creative. The dialogue is dated but not in an overly silly or campy way. All in all, they’re quite average and you can do better, but since they’re so old at this point, I can’t recommend a watch unless you’re particularly interested then you will find some things to enjoy here.
81) Daredevil (2003) Directed by Mark Steven Johnson, Staring Ben Affleck
If you would have asked me to do a ranking of Marvel movies even just seven or eight years ago, I would have probably ranked this higher, believe it or not. It’s not THAT bad when viewed through the lens of its time, and it clearly has a legacy that followed it. Ben Affleck’s career either got a whole lot better or worse after this, depending on who you ask (we will explore that very topic in detail later on with my DC movie tier list), and it certainly won’t be the last time the actor portrays a brooding cowled up superhero. At the time, it was received mixed but there wasn’t a whole lot to compare it to. The movie does have some elements to it that worked but like I said, age hasn’t done this movie any service. Just about every thing about this film is a product of its time right down to its star studded cast. Ben Affleck, Jennifer Gardner and Collin Farrell are great on paper but the movie is not well constructed enough to let them shine. The result was a performance from Affleck that is still to this day shunned, with awkward dialogue that doesn’t quite fit the tone of the movie (or for what a Daredevil movie tone should be for that matter). It’s easy to see that the creators at least looked at some comics though, with some broody rainy scenes, but just about everyone here is dull at best. Everyone doesn’t quite bring their A game to the acting department except for the Kingpin, which is a rare bright spot in an otherwise horrendous film. Immature fights, mischaracterized characters, corny dialogue, an aged and atrocious soundtrack result in a movie that doesn’t do the best in the box office either (though it apparently did good enough that we got the somehow worse Elektra film). Worth a watch for a laugh and for the Kingpin being actually watchable when he’s on screen. Which is impressive when the other three leads are usually so charismatic. Further proof that this dud deserves a spot in the D-tier (over the F-tier) is the fact that this movie did have quite a legacy (an elektra sequel, two Ghost Rider movies, and a constant reminder of what NOT to do when making a superhero movie).
80) Secret Invasion (2023) Disney plus, Staring Samuel L Jackson
Where do I start with this doozy of a production. Honestly…I don’t even know. This had so much potential to be amazing. The concept of Secret Invasion could have literally rocked the entire MCU if they had big enough balls to do big things with it. There have been rumors of Marvel wanting to adapt the mega popular comic book crossover event onto the big screen for some time now. Let me tell you, the wait wasn’t worth it. The only thing preventing this from being trash tier is that Samuel L Jackson is always watchable, even if he isn’t quite as exciting as Nick Fury as he used to be. For a character as important as Nick Fury is, it blows my mind how little care went into this project. Literally nothing happens until the final episode and even then it’s a bit cringy. Sure, the super skull teases were nice but it still didn’t end up being the Super Skull I know and love. Honestly I’m not sure what Marvel was thinking with this one. It’s a shame that they wasted Secret Invasion on this pile of turd that will likely have very little impact on the MCU (Nick Fury ends up right back where he started at the end?). It was almost as if the show was written using A.I. or something (oh wait, it apparently was). Why, Marvel, why? Nick and Sam deserve so much more!
79) Blade Trinity (2004) Directed by David Goyer, Staring Wesley Snipes
Im 100% sure Im going to get some flack for this being so low, but let’s face the facts: its the worst of the Blade trilogy and its by a mile. After the first two Blade films being honestly revolutionary for the genre (the true start of the Marvel craze begins with Blade and not with Tobey McGuire Spider-man, after all), this movie was truly a colossal disappointment. Blade 1 +2 did a lot to help bring in adults to the comic book realm in a way that won’t be seen again until the Dark Knight hits theaters a few years later. With that said, Blade Trinity completely back-steps those strides and falls victim to a plethora of issues. The most notable change from the first two is the inclusion of Ryan Reynolds. Say what you want about the man, I personally love most of the things he does, but I get it if you find him unbearable at times. He’s like that friend who you can only take in small doses at a time. His performance here doesn’t add anything to the R rated vampire film. He shouldn’t even be anywhere near this film to begin with. The movie degrades itself into stereotypical early 2000s era movies with a terrible dated soundtrack, rushed choreography, bad writing and directing, and nothing special from any of the cast. Dracula was certainly underwhelming and that’s a Marvel character that should NEVER be underwhelming. Much has been said about the behind the scenes turmoil this film faced from all angles so I won’t elaborate here about that. If you’re interested in how troubled this film was from day 1 you can certainly easily find information about it all over the internet. At the end of the day, Blade: Trinity is a D-tier at best letdown that was so bad it ended up with Wesley Snipes literally in jail.Watching it knowing the history behind the scenes you can’t help but realize how rushed everything was. Compared to the first two, Trinity felt like a generic TV movie regression. Great. This earns D-tier simply because its predecessors are so good that you have to rewatch the finale. Next!
78) Hulk (2003) Directed by Ang Lee, Starring Eric Bana
Viewers of the younger demographic may not be aware that this movie exists. Looking back at the 2000s era, it’s actually quite impressive how much of the Marvel universe was actually accounted for on screen. We had a mediocre unconnected Marvel Universe right under our noses. For those who are unaware, Eric Bana marks the 2nd major actor to reprise the Hulk before the two you’re likely familiar with. This movie is an interesting one in the sense that it does try to do some different and unique things we haven’t seen before. The problem is that the movie isn’t amazing. The movie predates almost every successful marvel superhero movie so to its credit, it tried without much to go on. The problem here is that the movie tries to take a character so over the top and bombastic as the Hulk and turn it into a character study. For a certain audience member, that’s great. But this is the freakin Hulk for crying out loud so give me what any Hulk fan wants (Hulk smashing). If were going to do a slightly more mature and self serious Hulk movie than at least get his character right. Never watching this film do I feel like I’m watching Bruce Banner instead of Eric Bana. I like the comic book style cutaways and frames but on repeat viewing they become obvious and distracting. Ultimately there isn’t much on offer here that’s implemented better elsewhere from the acting and characterization, but the tone, soundtrack and overall sci-fi/horror feel is noteworthy and worth a check for die-hard Hulk fans only.
77) The Punisher (2004) Directed by Jonathan Hensleigh, Staring Thomas Jane
I really really really want to like this movie more than I do. I also remember it being better than it is. The movie is arguably among the best of this era of Marvel movies, which is unfortunately not a very high bar to achieve. As a comic book fan, this movie is notable because the famous Garth Ennis comics run was used as an inspiration for the script and feel. The Ennis run was still fresh so using such a modern run as the template at the time was honestly pretty sweet. The movie went on to gross enough money but wasn’t well received critically. The problem here was that they didn’t quite take enough from the run it was inspired by, making some odd changes (such as making Frank an FBI agent). For my money, Jane is the best Frank Castle to date until Jon Bernthal made his debut. Thomas Jane found himself well casted but acting in a movie that didn’t quite live up to what he could have potentially offered as the Punisher. The movie featured John Travolta as an original villain, further distancing itself from the source material the creators were still too afraid to fully commit to. The titular character does bear the skull at least, and he looks like the punisher, so there’s that at least. This movie would be F-tier if it wasn’t for Thomas Jane’s decent acting as the Punisher himself. Worth a watch simply for his presence, but don’t say I didn’t warn you on the mediocre story with forgettable otherwise characters. The studio almost greenly a sequel and it did spawn some fans, so much so, that there is an amazing fan movie staring Jane himself that is much higher up the list. That movie, is by account, the best live action punisher content available today so this movie can stay in D-tier I guess.
76) WhatIf…? Episodes 1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9 (2021) Disney plus animated TV show, Voiced by almost everyone
Ah. Our first true MCU entry. Or is it? Before you read any further please note that there is an episode missing from the count. What if…? was a massive and colossal disappointment with arguably the biggest and best potential of any project in the entire MCU. After all, this was animated, so there should be NOTHING off limits for the story. Taking a page out of the famous comic series of the same name, the series would explore some variant universes where things happened differently than on screen. Not only that, but the Watcher was narrating it just as he does in the comics. Here is the thing though. The show completely misses the point of the original What If…? stories that Marvel printed for so long. The comics were designed to tell tales that changed a certain element or story beat with a drastic alteration in the consequence. Almost every single What If…? story traditionally ended with doom and gloom, metaphorically reinforcing that the way these stories were originally written in main continuity is the least destructive way the events could possibly turn out. For instance, in the famous “What If Spider-man Joined the Fantastic Four”, we see an alternate take on Spider-man’s first appearance. In his first appearance, Spider-man asks to join the FF but is rejected. In the What If issue, he is allowed on the team. The result is Sue defecting to Namor and Spider-man regretting his decision. In essence, the What If issues would almost always end in tragedy, regret, or destruction in some way that made the original story look like it was meant to be. Here in MCU What if…?, the ONLY story to implement this tactic was episode 4, which I do hold in high regards higher up the list, an episode that we could make a solid argument for being top 5 MCU content. The remainder of the episodes pull from various realities and end in positive or hopeful scenarios. I get why, it’s Disney after all, but doing so completely negates the reason why we should care in the first place. Most of the episodes are boring, doesn’t change enough, or are uninspired. The premier episode is the only episode that has any kind of future outside of the first season itself, and unfortunately that episode is also dull. The animation isn’t quite up to par, the voices are hit or miss (scheduling must have been difficult with the sheer amount of star power involved) and didn’t even include Robert Downey Jr or Chris Evans. It was weird hearing some characters with their right voices and some with the wrong voices. Ultimately, this venture into the MCU is lacking and offers little reason to revisit it. Even as a die hard fan, I struggled getting through the series. Only worth watching if you’re a die hard. One thing worth noting: This is effectively Chadwick Boseman’s final performance. If that has value to you, then I can see why this could potentially rank higher on your personal lists. Next!
75) Defenders (2017) Staring Charlie Cox, etc.
After a wildly successful (both critically and generally) first season of Daredevil on Netflix, the streaming service quickly ordered more. The idea was to replicate the success of their big screen big brothers (The Avengers) and assemble a new team of heroes for audiences to root for. Other studios were trying to riff on the shared universe concept with varied results. So far, no one could do what Marvel did. Netflix began their own experiment with the intentions of crossing over with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even including references here or there sprinkled in their early projects. Due to the ongoing legal battle Marvel Studios is finally breaking free from as of late, the Netflix cast and crew ultimately had to sever its ties with the MCU. Despite this predicament, Netflix marched along anyway. Fast forward to 2017 and Netflix’s Avengers style experiment was finally hitting the small screen. After years of teasing and building up to our four Netflix heroes crossing paths and teaming up, it finally happened. Was the wait worth it? Honestly, in retrospect, not so much. In another universe, the Netflix crew continued on and learned from their mistakes for Defenders 2 and/or 3 etc. but that’s not the world we live in. Shortly after the first Defenders season hit, the Marvel Netflix universe was completely scrapped due to Marvel scooping back up their properties. The Netflix branding of Marvel was simultaneously awesome and terrible all at once so I do believe that ultimately Marvel owning their toys again is a good thing, but that comes at a cost of what Netflix could offer that Disney can’t (curse words, blood, gritty mature themes to name a few). That trade off is the topic of another day because we’re here to talk about 2017’s Defenders. The show’s hype didn’t quite match the end result: boring and slow moving, uneven pacing due to the shifting of perspective, and a frankly too simple and predictable plot that pales in comparison to the many of the other Netflix seasons. When the Defenders finally do get together it is fist pumping exitement at its best, but that’s where the show peaks. It takes them too long to get together. They don’t act like the team they deserve to be until too late in the show. Kristen Ritter’ Jessica Jones continues to be the unsung stand out of this universe and is offered too little screen time. Cox is acting differently than usual (not as depressed as he should be, maybe?), Mike Colter continues his monotone Luke Cage, and Finn Jones continues to not be watchable. If you were blessed enough to watch everything including the Iron Fist show, some things do get a pay off from there, but the problem here is that it is all far too convoluted to hit the way it should. The biggest critique of the Netflix shows were that they were too long and overstuffed and dragged on, which despite this shows shorter episode length, continues the trend. Daredevil’s plot points continue here from season 2, making it required viewing for season 3. Ultimately, this is Netflix Daredevil’s fatal flaw, but we will talk about that one later. This letdown of an event lands it firmly in the D-tier, making virtually all of the Netflix shows other than Iron Fist being better and more watchable.
74) Punisher: War Zone (2008) Directed by Lexi Alexander, Staring Ray Stevenson
Despite Thomas Jane being the best in the role, Ray Stevenson stared in the best movie. War Zone was originally intended to be a sequel staring Thomas but the project eventually was scrapped and turned into a soft reboot. War Zone succeeds where others hadn’t in the tone and feel of what the Punisher should be in a theatrical setting (finally Frank is a marine!). We get plenty of over-the-top violence and a very underrated villain in fairly comic-accurate Jigsaw. Despite these positives, the film overall is better than all that came before but doesn’t quite elevate it out of D-tier. The plot is mediocre at best, the direction is nothing special or unique. Despite the Punisher doing what he does best throughout the film the action is just a smidge over-the-top and dated, preventing it from being timeless. The creators still clearly don’t have confidence to put out an accurate Punisher (evidence in the white skull being faded). But we’re getting closer. Punisher: War Zone’s lead sure tears shit up but doesn’t feel like Frank Castle like Thomas did. Punisher fans tend to be one or the other on which movie is better (2004 vs 2008) but honestly, the differences are minimal when it comes to the meat. Punisher still deserves better. Hopefully one day, despite the controversy around the character periodically, gets the justice he deserves with a creative team that is confident and doesn’t distance itself from the things that make the Punisher such a captivating and timeless character.
73) The Incredible Hulk (2008) Directed by Louis Letterier, Staring Edward Norton
There seems to be a lot of confusion on the timeline of this movie. A lot of people seem to think this movie is the first MCU movie, but it’s not. The Incredible Hulk is canonically the second MCU movie in release order. Iron man came out May 2008 while The Incredible Hulk came out exactly one month later. At the time, the movie was perfectly fine and arguably the best Hulk content the world had seen. Smartly, the film decided to fast track the origin during its opening minutes to avoid retreading ground that’s frankly been covered before enough times that the general public is at least vaguely familiar with Bruce Banner’s origins. The problem is that by glossing over his origin were left with a hollow shell of a character. What makes Bruce angry? Why is he angry? The film doesn’t really show him pissed off enough in my opinion. We never really learn that Bruce needs to be angry to turn, and instead implies that his transformation is heart rate based. I get the concept, our heart rates raise when we’re angry for obvious reasons, but the movie doesn’t ever really ground the Hulk in what makes his powers work in the first place. Norton delivers a fine performance but nothing outside of generic hero territory (a far cry from the incredibly charismatic and immediately iconic performance Downey Jr. gave in his freshman offering). Rumors circulated for years that Norton unfairly wanted more money and a bigger leading role in the universe than what was planned (Universal still owned the Hulk rights technically, so that threw a wrench in a lot of things), so he ended up being fired and recast for the better with an actor (Mark Ruffalo) who gave the character some distinctive personality Hulk fans crave. The movie starts strong, but meanders for its second act, but picks up steam again in a climax that is honestly pretty engrossing. William Hurt as the antagonist General Thunderbolt Ross is the clear stand-out and Marvel clearly knows it because he was the first character revisited in future projects. I mean, it’s William Hurt, so obviously he’s a proven actor. Tim Roth also appears as Emil Blonsky AKA the Abomination (later to be seen again in She-Hulk). Once he shows up toward the end the movie does significantly improve, unfortunately there’s not much screen time left when he does. Liv Tyler is utterly replaceable as Betty Ross, the film has many generic tropes of the genre and decade, nothing special with the score. The CGI is a far cry of what will come in a few years with The Avengers. When bruce transforms into the Hulk we never really see it. The hulk is very stiff and doesn’t exude monster energy except on a couple quick occasions. He kinda just walks around and scowls. I get it, the studio was in its infancy so money was low and therefor CGI was minimal. But you can’t do the Hulk without proper CGI budget in place. The result is a film where Bruce doesn’t feel like Bruce, and the Hulk doesn’t really feel like the Hulk. The only thing that prevents this from being F-tier is the end credits scene, which continued the fresh trend of teasing projects and connecting the universe. Seeing Robert Downey Jr. show up and tease the Avengers was quite exciting and on rewatch continues to be the most exciting part of this dud. Re-watchable from this standpoint alone and only when doing your yearly MCU marathon.
72) X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019) Directed by Simon Kinberg, Starring the usual gang
I remember when this was announced I was simultaneously hyped and scared. Hyped because Fox was attempting to re-do the Phoenix storyline but scared because, well, they were attempting to re-do the Phoenix storyline. The last time they tried to adapt the legendary comic book the results were obviously less than desirable (just scroll up a bit if you skimmed this to find out just how bad it was). But I was willing to give them the benefit of the doubt, especially because the prequel era X-men movies so far have been actually pretty good. Coming in as a sequel to Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse was going to be no easy feat; DOFP was and is among the best of the best in Fox’s catalogue. X-men comic readers are usually more than well acquainted with both Days of Future Past and the Dark Phoenix Saga, both of which continue to this day to be some of the greatest stories told about the Merry Mutuants. The thing is though, part of the reason why they were so good originally was because writer Chris Claremont planted the seeds for these monumental stories FOR YEARS. Claremont was writing the book (and would continue to write the book) for a very long time. He wrote the book much like a soap opera with the slow development of relationships, tension, drama, and minor plot points that would be later expanded on in meaningful ways. Claremont was a master of the medium at plotting and propelled the mutants into Marvels top selling title for over 30 years (long after he left the title). To be blunt everything you know and love about the X-men, be it from the movies or otherwise, can all be traced back to Chris Claremont’s run. The Dark Phoenix Saga, and the preceding sagas such as The Proteus saga and The Phoenix saga were already exceptional but when the Dark Phoenix saga hit the stands, the world realized that Claremont had been crafting an epic beyond imagination right under their noses. Claremont wrote Jean as an integral and central role on the X-team so with her transition from leading poster girl to the devastating force of nature threatening the world, the stakes could never be higher. Spoiler alert: Claremont made sure Jean didn’t survive in the end (a decision that was actually quite ballsy at the time). Little did he know that her death (and sacrifice) would have a lasting impact on the genre and culture that would forever change the course of how comics are and were written. Jean’s death didn’t last long though. By the mid 80s, she gets resurrected in an engrossing enough way that many writers over the decades continue to this day to recreate Jeans death and resurrection for various other characters to the point that its now a commonly (over)used trope. What does all this have to do with Fox’s 2019 Dark Phoenix adaptation? Well, it should have a lot to do with it, but the final product unfortunately doesn’t. The final prequel era X-men underdeliver on the premise of the Dark Phoenix, barely giving us an evil Jean at all (she was merely manipulated by Vuk, the alien tracking the Phoenix Force). The film does not give any explanation for how or what or why the Phoenix Force is. The compelling part of the comics was that she was practically chosen by the Phoenix. This made for some compelling fiction because we would frequently get into discussions regarding destiny and purpose and fate among plenty of other things on the pages. But here, Jean is almost accidentally the host, a convenient body for the Force to possess. Besides, Jean was never a central figure in the prequel era, so any dramatic significance that surrounding her with the Phoenix maguffin could have offered just didn’t hit as hard as it could have. The decision to focus the prequels around Xavier, Magneto and Mystique makes the decision to end it all with the Phoenix even more baffling. Why were we sidelining the best parts of these previous movies? I have been saying for a while now that it would have been more effective to revolve the finale around Mystique one last time to come full circle with X-Men: First Class (Get Mystique would have been a fun adaptation if you ask me). In this universe, whether you like it or not, that trio is our core. A conflict surrounding them would have been the most impactful as a finale. A forgettable villain, uninspired and frankly cheesy fighting, stiff dialogue, standard acting, and generic cinematography doesn’t help anything either. Jean does get one scene to go ape shit at the end as the phoenix, but she really only just…kills a few guys? She is supposed to be a cosmic force of destruction. Then the movie kinda just ends? Also, if this is the last one, I have more continuity questions than ever before..eh, whatever. Too late to care, the mutants are back home anyway. So much missed opportunity.
71) X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) Directed by Gavin Hood, Staring Hugh Jackman
Iv told you before that I’m proudly an X fan in the comics. So when X-Men decided to go the spin-off route and center it all on Wolverine, I was intrigued. And honestly, I was quite hopeful, because Jackman’s Wolverine is obviously one of the highlights of the original trilogy. As a young viewer, I did like it. But even at that time I was versed enough to recognize some of the MAJOR flaws this movie ended up having. This movie was meant to reinvigorate the franchise-if it succeeded then I’m sure we would have had a MUCH different X-men movie catalogue than the one we eventually got (it probably would have had a lot more Jackson at the center of it). The movie script is certainly lacking. I want my Wolverine to be interesting; here he is board line depressing. I get what they were going for, but it just wasn’t effective. The best parts of the movie revolve around the Weapon Plus program, with plenty of homage to the famous Barry Windsor Smith run that originally revealed it all on the pages. The rest is a giant pile of turd. A miscast Remi Lebough (Gambit), who shouldn’t even be in this in the first place, feels shoe horned in simply because he’s a fan favorite. And even worse, they casted Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson-only to cover his mouth when he turned into whatever the hell it was he was meant to be at the end. I don’t even want to start on that rant, so I will refrain. All in all, Wolverine’s first solo outing ended up a slog of a disaster plagued by mediocrity that’s only worth rewatching for the actual Wolverine origin parts. Jackman drags this out of the F tier but unfortunately Ryan Reynolds once again ultimately keeps it from shining brighter than this spot.
70) Spider-man 3 (2007) Directed by Sam Raimi, Starring Tobey McGuire
This movie marks the part of the list where things actually do start to become re-watchable in some capacity. While still firmly a D-tier Marvel flick, the film does do SOME things right. It does tidy up McGuire’s much loved take on Spidey and everyone here does technically give great performances. The reputation this movie has received has been speculated on immensely over the years, but no one said it better than the director Sam Raimi, himself:
“It’s a movie that just didn’t work very well. I tried to make it work, but I didn’t really believe in all the characters, so that couldn’t be hidden from people who loved Spider-Man. If the director doesn’t love something, it’s wrong of them to make it when so many other people love it. I think [raising the stakes after Spider-Man 2] was the thinking going into it, and I think that’s what doomed us. I should’ve just stuck with the characters and the relationships and progressed them to the next step and not tried to top the bar.”
Even the director himself knows it’s bad. I’m sure there are plenty of you that love this film, I know a few personally, so I’m sure you will take offense to it being placed so low. It doesn’t matter how much you love this film or are nostalgic for it. You’re allowed to love trash, it’s a free country. Let’s be real here though, if you love this film, its because you’re viewing it through rose colored glasses as a result of your fondness for Tobey McGuire’s Peter Parker. Im not here to discuss that, he’s proven in the role. But as a lover of all things Spider-man, this is far from the genius of its predecessor and as a movie, this is almost rock bottom. If I have to spell it out for you, then you need to rewatch and brush up on both your Spider-man lore, movie history, and what makes a good film a good film. That said, its certainly worth watching only if you want to end your Tobey McGuire marathon properly, and you will be entertained as everyone was at the time, but be warned that not everything is as rosy as you remember.
69) Ant-man and the Wasp (2018) Directed by Peyton Reed, Staring Paul Rudd
Let’s get on the same page here. My critique of this film is in no way shape or form a knock on Paul Rudd. I love the guy as much as everyone else does. This film is absolutely the bottom of the barely in the MCU (the Incredible Hulk not-with-standing). It’s possible I’m judging it harshly, as I’m sure the lesser of the intellectuals and Paul Rudd fans out there will fight me on it for higher placement, but the facts are the facts. This movie just sucks. This was one of two movies to debut in-between Infinity War and Endgame, a time period that will likely always be remembered fondly because the literal whole world was anxiously waiting for the conclusion of the saga. Ant-Man and the Wasp is unfortunately the lesser of the two interlude films (the other being Captain Marvel). With low stakes, no reference to the Infinity War util the end-credits, and a rehashing of jokes from the far superior Ant-man debut film. The film doesn’t really actually have a villain, as pretty much midway through Ghost makes a turn (she was never truly depicted as evil). Hank Pam continues to shine, Evangeline Lily gets a little more screen time with some generically forgettable action sequences, and Ant-man doesn’t really get a chance to show off some superheroing. When binge watching the Infinity Saga, you could actually completely skip this whole movie EXCEPT for the end credits scene and it would have zero impact on your understanding of both Ant-man and the larger universe (it should be the other way around, if anything). Ant-man and the Wasp is dreadfully dull to get through after just one viewing, the jokes grow stale quickly. Once that happens, the movie doesn’t really have much to offer. This earns D-tier because on first viewing its borderline watchable, but that’s where it ends. I fail to see where else this movie can earn any praise. Skip, unless you’re a die hard MCU completionist, but even then, no one will blame you if you don’t want to waste your time.
68) Fantastic Four (2005) Directed by Tim Story
It’s honestly a toss up for which of the remaining two Fantastic Four films are better but I ultimately give the slight edge to Rise of the Silver Surfer due to it being a bit more engrossing. Iv already spoken about the importance of the Fantastic Four to the history of superheroes in general, so I won’t reiterate. This movie ultimately falls into D-tier despite some actual promising aspects. I think this movie is very often maligned and trashed earning it a reputation that I don’t think it deserves. No, these movies aren’t quite re-watchable, which we will get into, but they aren’t F-tier, that’s for sure. The first film did a great job of establishing the first family and their dynamics and didn’t muck up any characterizations. Reed looks like Reed, acts like he should (too smart for his own good). Sue is badass like she should be. Chris Evans makes his first turn at a superhero here and its arguably successful. He does a fine job playing the jock/cocky Johnny Storm and his special effects are convincing. But what about Marvel’s (we discussed this already, keep up) most important character, Benjamin Grimm AKA The Thing? Ben is probably the best part of the movie. He wears a prosthetic suit and is NOT CGI, and is every bit convincing for it. He retains his trademark personality to boot. I actually feel like I’m seeing The Thing the way he is meant to be. The problem is, the movie is ultimately just pretty generic and forgettable despite its honestly spot on casting. There is almost no action until late in the film, the stakes are low because Dr. Doom just simply wants Reed dead (why? I don’t know honestly. I guess he hates him because college?). The special effects are decent but not amazing. Iv previously said how equally important it is to nail Doom, and here he still isn’t anywhere near the menace or complexity I’m used to on the pages. The movie is far too simple for its own good thus ultimately earning it a spot in the upper D-tier.
67) Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) Directed by Tim Story, Everyone returning
Rise of the Silver Surfer is for sure a marginal improvement over its predecessor mostly because the origin is out of the way so we can focus more on adventure and action. Other than that, the cast remains strong in their depictions and act accordingly. I liked the concept of teaming up with Doom temporarily (that is oh-so, classic Marvel good shit right there). The movie takes inspiration from two very important comics from the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby era of comics: Fantastic Four Annual #3 (AKA the wedding of Reed and Sue) and Fantastic Four #48-50 (AKA the Galactus Saga). The annual is notable in that at the time, it was the largest company wide crossover to date featuring record breaking amounts of characters. Everyone who was anyone in the Marvel Universe showed up to their wedding in what is now considered an essential issue of the run. The Galactus saga, on the other hand, is highly revered as the high point in the Stan and Jack era; it goes without saying that these three comics are among the worlds most influential comics of all time. So if a movie is going to adapt four comics of legendary status such as those, then it better get it right. It’s not so much that there are problems here, but more lack of strengths. The movie is plagued by averageness-average fighting, no real stakes. The Silver Surfer is Stan’s personal favorite creation and one of the only ones that we can truly give him sole credit for. It warms my heart to know that his cameo in this film is the only one where he (humorously, of course) plays himself. The biggest thing I can say negatively about the film is the atrocious decision to change Marvel’s (literal) biggest bad Galactus into a giant space cloud. The film remains D-tier because the plot itself isn’t memorable. Despite some questionable mysoginistic dialogue here or there, the film IS re-watchable under SOME conditions: 1) you are interested in the fantastic four, then you will get a good if not basic and accurate representation of the characters. All four of the leads continue to on a basical level embody the characters enough and are enjoyable on screen 2) want to watch Chris Evans play a marvel character before Captain America (he is actually a really good actor if you ask me and is debatably the bright spot of the film.) 3) you like the Silver Surfer, its your only current opportunity to see him in live action and he is actually decent here on a superficial level. My vote is that this movie will eventually grow higher on the list once the MCU multiverse saga pans out, its almost guaranteed that this isn’t the last we will see of some or all of this cast. I can see this aging better eventually, as there isn’t really anything offensive per-se in it (mysognistic comments aside) except for being as generic as its predecessor was. It’s worth noting it’s the only FF movie in existence that is NOT an origin. I do think that of all the non-X-men/Spider-man legacy Marvel movies, this is the one that FEELS the most like an MCU entry, so that’s why it’s ranked near the top of said group of films.
66) Captain Marvel (2019) Directed by Anna Bodden and Ryan Fleck, Starring Samual L Jackson and Brie Larson
To say the hyper for this movie was off the charts is understatement. It broke box office records, if that says anything about the hype, more-so than its almost universally panned quality. This was big time for Marvel in that it was the first female led superhero blockbuster. There was frankly a lot riding on it, but after the success of Black Panther, the studio was more confident than ever to rake in the dough on a non-white male lead. Not only that, but this advertised as a pre-Iron Man 90s MCU movie, making it chronologically #2 on the timeline. This exited me for a couple reasons. One, we had the chance to add some important lore and context in the MCU by setting things in the past. Two, there was ample opportunity to set up Carol Danvers as a formidable strength that would be key to defeating Thanos. Thanos had his McGuffin. The problem was that Carol essentially was turned into the antithesis to the gauntlet, essentially the good-guy McGuffin. The parts of the movie circling a de-aged Nick Fury and sidekick Phil Coulson are the best parts of the movie, as those two actors are ALWAYS charismatic. Talos and the Skrulls aren’t exactly accurate to the comics but not in a way that’s worth complaining about. I can dig the changes, effectively aligning some of them “good” and some of them “bad”. The seeds with Monica Rambeu are also effective and exciting for a certain age of Marvel fans, as Monica is their Captain Marvel. Those parts of the film remain an important seed that will eventually get some pay off down the road and make this film re-watchable (How can you not rewatch anything with Sam Jackson in it?) Unfortunately the problems outweigh the good. But then again, the good can be boiled down to a bunch of seeds that are planted for future movies, which is a critique in its own right. Our lead, Brie Larson, who seemed fitting on paper, delivers a flat, emotionless, uninspired superhero that’s about on par with the leads of the early 2000s movies. She offers generic acting, which is surprising coming from an Oscar winner. Now, let’s talk about the uncomfortable elephant in the room, feminism. Im not here to argue for or against it. I frankly don’t care either way what your views are and I’m not going to insert mine. Now, I have known that since day one Disney has had an agenda. I get it. But it wasn’t until this film that I was bashed over the head with it. I watch these movies to escape reality, so when the politics of the time become so apparent that it’s obvious, I can’t help but cringe. The film was more concerned with Carol going through a feminist journey discovering her woman power than an actual personal conflict. Major missed opportunity to propel the genre forward but instead their efforts backfire and give us something that ironically holds her back from achieving the heights of her male counterparts. For a character as important to the Avengers as Captain Marvel is, this is “no bueno”. The film also decides to do some unnecessary gender swapping of the legendary war hero Mar-vell, who is central to the titular characters mythos, simply to satisfy a feminist message. The original character’s death was one of the all-time great comic book deaths (his death was actually the subject of Marvel’s very first graphic novel ever) written by an all-time great writer. Mar-vell died of cancer, something that was and is still extremely rare for heroes to endure. His death was so emotional and inspirational, Marvel has declared his resurrection (among a very small select few characters) off-limits. To this day, the character remains dead as an honor to those who battled and ultimately have died of cancer. The movie’s biggest mistake is that it doesn’t even remotely honor this legacy, and favors feminism, the movement of the hour. This fact alone will prevent the movie from being timeless when viewed in say, twenty years from now. Marvel missed a HUGE opportunity by blowing off Mar-vell’s death; if Marvel had just a bit more balls then we could have had something that examined the nature of what makes a true hero a hero by acknowledging his cancer. The movie ended up not really contributing to the overarching saga and can arguably be safely ignored on repeat binging of the infinity saga. This is slightly more essential than Ant-man and the Wasp and a slightly higher quality movie, but not by much. Unfortunately Brie’s two dimensional performance left much to be desired, so her inclusion in the Endgame conclusion didn’t hit as hard as it should have if this movie was better. I believe that if this movie arrived sooner and not as an Infinity War/Endgame interlude, then it would have possibly been better received (but it may not have grossed as much, so who knows).
65) Thor (2011) Directed by Kenneth Branagh Starring Chris Hemsworth
Ah, the Thor franchise. Never have I loved an actor and his character so much, but disliked his movies. To be fair, we’re not firmly in upper D-tier range, so these movies are borderline C’s. As you will soon find out, being a C-tier marvel movie is nothing to scoff at and offer plenty to love. They’re completely re-watchable. Unfortunately, Thor’s first outing does not quite hit that mark. The first Thor film offers the most barebones Thor experience you could ask for. You can literally see Hemsworth’s charisma hiding, just waiting, to be unleashed, throughout the film (“I need a horse!”) and it’s that charisma that future directors expertly notice and hone in on eventually. For my money, he MIGHT be the MCU’s most charismatic actor second to Robert Downey Jr. The proof is in how three of his four movies are not good movies, but they just can’t simply let the character go. Why? Because Hemsworth is just so damn good as Thor. He may not be perfectly comic accurate, but ironically it’s here in 2011 Thor where he is the most. Every outing hereafter he slowly loses his comic accuracy in favor of Hemsworth’s leading man worthy personality. It’s no secret that Chris Hemsworth is a massive fan of his character and wants nothing but the best for him. Normally, I would say nay to the lack of accuracy, but Hemsworth brings a uniqueness to his portrayal that actually does the impossible: it elevates the source. Herein lies the problem of Thor movies; do we honor his comic book norse inspired bombastic legacy or do we let Chris Hemsworth be himself? Unfortunately for Thor purists, the latter is the safer and better option. Things the movie gets right: 1) Odin 2) the movie introduces Marvel lore that would remain maintstay lore in the overarching MCU 3) Hemsworth embodies the character and most importantly, arguably more important than Thor himself, it 4) introduces Tom Hiddleston’s iconic Loki. So much praise for a D tier, so what’s wrong? Well, it hasn’t aged well. Hemsworth isn’t in full Hemsworth mode yet, the movie is frankly boring, and the action is dated. It feels the most like an early 2000s Marvel movie out of all of phase one, and not in a good way. Generic fighting, generic score, generic visuals and generic scripting override the excellent cast cementing this in the D-tier. Filled with cameos and easter eggs, which was fun at the time, is now obvious that they spent a little too much time focusing on things that they really shouldn’t have. It was cool seeing Hawkeye cameo, but now that we have numerous movies and TV shows with the guy, we don’t really need this detour. Thor’s character arc of being worthy is interesting on the surface, and it must be done to understand a basic Thor knowledge, but let’s face it. It’s not the most interesting plot. Luckily, the movie did well enough carried by its awesome and soon to be iconic cast, cementing it as an essential movie to watch leading up to the Avengers, but as a Thor movie, you can’t do worse unfortunately.
64) Thor: The Dark World (2013) Directed by Alan Taylor, Starring Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston
The Dark World is a movie that is almost universally panned. There are certainly those who think it’s Marvel’s worst movie, but I’m here to show you why that isn’t true. Sure, it’s among the worst. But no it’s definitely not THE worst, it does have some redeeming qualities to it. I believe that this movie is hated and misunderstood, but that doesn’t necessarily make it good. I think most people are picking up on the fact that it isn’t good, but let’s refocus and figure out why that is. I believe this is the best of the D-tier and is borderline C (quite possibly could be C). If you asked me 5 years ago, I would have ranked this even higher, but after so many good movies Marvel continue to roll out, it’s getting pushed down by default. Most of the critique around this film come from the villain: Christopher Eccleston’s Malekith the Dark Elf. I will agree, that his portrayal of the villain is two dimensional, forgettable, with weak at best motives and a generic costume with a generic army and powers. This weighs the film down intensely, so much so that Malekith may in fact be the worst villain in the whole MCU. Unfortunately, as Stan Lee himself used to say, a hero is only as good as his villains are (he’s not referencing morality, to be clear). He is definitely right though. No matter how good Chris Hemsworth is, he just can’t do much if the villain sucks. Malekith is a top three classic Thor villain, so doing him dirty didn’t earn any favors from the geek community. So, I understand why the film is maligned. A weak villain with an uninspired hero at the center. Let’s dig a little bit deeper though, and examine what makes this film worth a look. In reality this isn’t actually a Thor film; it’s a Loki movie. If you view it as such, you will have a MUCH better time enjoying it. I would actually argue that its here that Hiddleston cemented himself as an icon. Coming off of The Avengers, this was the first time a post Avenger movie felt like we were progressing the story. Loki was imprisoned on Asgard after he tried to take over Earth and that’s where we pick up with him (how cool was it that it actually felt like his fate mattered to the story!). Is he good? Is he bad? The movie refreshingly makes us almost root for him, literally after we just watched him try and take over the planet Earth. He even helps Thor out, like a brother should! And it all ends on what I still think its ALMOST the best cliffhanger in a marvel movie to date (despite Infinity War’s ending we all knew the heroes would be back; it doesn’t change the fact that it’s one of the best cliffhangers of all time). Some would rightfully argue that cliffhangers aren’t the best way to end a movie, and ya, I do agree, but come on, this is one of the most fun ending out there. Loki wins. He was manipulating everyone all along. Brownie points earned, Marvel. With that said, the movie just can’t outstep the shadow cast by its weak villain. Unfortunately, it held Hemsworth back also, which is unfortunate because we all know now what he’s capable of. But alas, bad fights, weird pacing and generic cinematography galore cement this in the D-tier after all. I do hope we get some more classic sword-and-sorcerery type fantasy done right with Hemsworth before he departs for good, so I’m crossing my fingers that a future director could right this wrong, because if anything, the aforementioned Loki arc is worth saving.
Well that does it for the D-tier. Let me know your thoughts in the comments, but please keep in mind that this is the correct order. Sorry, but it just is what it is. Next time we will go over the C-tier (just another name for average). This marks a big turning point on this list, where the movies begin to have enough redeeming qualities about them to be re-watchable by most standards. Does that make them good? Not necessarily. But they’re certainly not bad either. See you next time,
to be continued…