MCU Movie Ranking (Phase 3, Part 2)

MCU (Phase 3, Part 2) Movie Ranking

Hello, and welcome to part 2 of the phase 3 MCU ranking, the final part of the whole MCU ranking. Apologies for taking a bit longer than the previous posts. This ranking was more difficult than the others to write down (Plus, it was difficult for me to focus on writing).

Like with all previous marvel rankings, I'll be judging them based on the characters, action, and story, with visuals, setting, and music being secondary, and I'm gonna be as objective as possible. And again, spoiler warning. This will contain spoilers, so click out if you somehow haven't watch any of these movies. If you did, or don't care, then enjoy.

6. Captain Marvel

Out of the six movies, and even the whole MCU, Captain Marvel is the most mediocre film to come out of the series (Worse than mediocre when you put logic in it). The hero, the villains, the support cast, the action, the music, all of it ranged from decent to painfully bland.

The story felt hollow and lazy. We have Carol Danver's missing memories, as well as the search for the lightspeed engine being conducted by the Skrulls and Kree; both of those weren't explored nearly enough, with the film just moving from one plot point to the next. Plus, much of what happens in the story felt contrived, and not at all natural, such as how Carol got her powers.

The hero, Captain Marvel, is just a bland character. We don't really see any proper development, no personality other than being cocky and snarky, nothing that makes her likable, and no emotional arc. The only thing about her is her standing up to those who oppress her and just getting stronger out of nowhere, with the former being barely explored.

The villain, meanwhile, is her mentor Yon-Rogg. At first, we saw him as her firm yet caring mentor, but then it's revealed that he and the Kree are actually the villains rather than the Skrulls. However, while the twist itself is fine, the villain felt as flat as Kaecillius or Malekith. We don't really see much of the character, and don't see any motivations to his actions. Once revealed, he's just a generic villain, same with the Intelligence and the Kree soldiers.

The support cast ranged from flat to decent. Nick Fury and Talos were probably the best characters out of the film, but even they are just decent characters. None of them were fully explored or well-rounded, with a few feeling unnecessary in some parts of the film.

The action is just average, maybe a bit below that. None of the choreography is any good, and the CGI fights just felt hollow when considering the story. The music and visuals were also just as average. And the most memorable scene is a cat scratching Fury's eyes (That alone makes me want to disregard the film as canon, I'll easily admit).

There's a lot I can say about this film, and not for the best of reasons. The characters are either bland or just okay, the story is poorly written, the action scenes fell flat, and there's little to no memorable moments. There was potential for the film to be good, as shown in the first ten minutes, but any chance of a good story was thrown away right after. So unfortunately, it has to get last place on this list.

5. Ant-Man & the Wasp

While not as good as the prequel, Ant-Man and the Wasp is a decent movie for what it is. It has a good pair of heroes, a decent story and villain, and a fun support cast.

The heroes, the Ant-Man and the Wasp, are a solid pair. Where Scott is the lighthearted ant, Hope is the serious wasp, and both worked well together, as well as separately. They have great chemistry with one another, especially as their relationship mended through the film, though Scott was more developed in the film and had more focus.

The story itself is around average. Having it be about Hope and Hank trying to find and save their mother/wife is a heartwarming one, and does continue the theme of family in the Ant-Man series. However, not much is done with that story, with either humor or the villains taking up space.

Speaking of which, the villains, meanwhile, range to about decent. Sonny Burch and his criminal group isn't all that memorable, though they helped bring out some comedy. Ghost, meanwhile, is somewhat better, but brought down by the fact that she isn't really a direct villain to the heroes. While her backstory and goal are compelling for a villain, it's not something that really adds to the overall story of the film.

The support cast, Hank, Cassie, Luis and his crew, etc, are fairly solid. Their roles didn't really change much from the previous films, but they were fun to watch. There were also plenty of hilarious moments, some fun and creative action scenes, and a few heartwarming moments here and there.

So overall, while this isn't the best that the MCU has to offer, it's a entertaining watch that people can enjoy. For that, it gets 5th place.

4. Spider-Man: Far From Home

Far From Home is a solid MCU and Spider-Man film, being just as good as Homecoming. The hero got some nice development, the villain is solid, the support cast ranged from decent to solid, and the story itself was great.

Where Peter wanted to get into the big leagues in Homecoming, he wants to get away from those responsibilities in Far From Home. Throughout the movie, he struggle with balancing his responsibilities as a hero and his normal life as a high-schooler, resulting in major mistakes being made once again. The continuation of his development as Spider-Man was as good as Homecoming,

The villain, Mysterio, is just as good. While he doesn't have the moral complexity of Vulcan, there's still several layers to his personality. He's charismatic, intelligent, and manipulative, yet unhinged and merciless. He wants to be noticed by the world, gain recognition that he thinks he deserved, and is willing to do whatever it takes to do so.

The action is exciting to watch. From the creative fights with Spider-Man, to Mysterio and his illusions, each action piece kept your attention to the end. The amazing visuals help add to those scenes, especially at the moment where Mysterio went all out with his illusion tech.

The only downside to the movie was the support cast. While none of them were bad, most just range at decent, including Nick Fury (Or Talos, as we find out in the epilogue). The only solid ones were MJ and Happy, both of which had great chemistry with Peter.

So, while the support cast wasn't the greatest, the story, hero, villain, and action makes up for it plenty. For that, it gets 4th place.

3. Black Panther

Some say that's this is one of the MCU's best movies; others say that it's overrated Me? I say that it was over-hyped, but ranges around a high tier B to a low tier A. Not one of the MCU's top tier movies, but pretty good.

One of the best things about Black Panther is the setting. From the buildings, to the clothes, to the forest surrounding it, you really get the sense that the characters are in a hidden, African sci-fi city, one that is thriving. Like Dr. Strange and its visuals, the setting for Black Panther is something that should be mentioned.

The hero, T'Challa, has a very good story about deciding what kind of king he wants to become. As learns about what his father did in order to keep the country's secrets safe, he began to see that they cannot continue keeping themselves hidden from the world. That Wakanda can't keep turning their back on the world.

The villain, Killmonger, is probably one of the best the MCU has, on par with the likes of Baron Zemo and Loki. He's a physical threat to T'Challa, with a moral complexity and charisma to boot. He's someone that is abandon by the world around him, who lost everything to that same world. And because of that, he wants to destroy that very world, including Wakanda itself.

The support was solid as well, most of them having excellent chemistry with T'Challa. Shuri especially had a great brother-sister dynamic with the new king, as well as being a fun character in her own right. A few of them also had smalls arcs of their own, such as Okeye and her struggle with where her loyalty lies.

The action was fun to watch as well, with the car chase and T'Challa vs Killmonger (The first fight), being highlights. And the music fits very well with both the setting and the movie itself. So for all this, it gets 3rd place on this list.

2. Avengers: Endgame

Endgame is definitely one of the top tier movies out of all the MCU movies, thanks to its character developments, epic moments, and satisfying conclusions.

The fourth Avengers movie put its focus on the main six Avengers, in order to give a proper end to their stories. Each one, from Black Widow to Iron Man, manage to gain a great conclusion to their stories (And in some cases, room to continue). Even Professor Hulk and fat Thor, while gaining mixed perceptions, had great moments and/or arcs in the movie.

The support cast was good as well, from Nebula to Ant-Man to Tony's daughter, Morgan. Several of them had great moments, with a few getting a bit of development of their own. Even the heroes revived from the snap had moments of their own during the third act's massive battle.

Speaking of which, the action scenes was epic. Most of it was during the third act of the film, but the buildup to the final battle made it worth it. Several heroes had their time to shine, there was several iconic scenes created during the third act, and the whole battle just flowed really well (Well, except for one scene. While it didn't ruin the whole experience, it did pull me out of the movie for a moment).

The villain was Thanos from 2014. While there was different from his 2018 counterpart, it doesn't detract from the character. While he still held the same values as his future counterpart, he's more vicious and battle-ready. He still gave this imposing presence, especially with his sword and armor, and really shows why he's dubbed "The Mad Titan".

And the story itself was excellent, thanks to all these factors. From the first act somber tone, to the time travel heist in the second act, to the massive, epic, final battle; the entire movie was excellent from beginning to end.

So, the final film of the Infinity Arc has a great set of characters, a jaw-dropping final battle, iconic moments all around, and a satisfying conclusion to all three phases . So for all that, it gets 2nd place.

1. Avengers: Infinity War

So it's no surprise that Infinity and Endgame are number one and number two. I had a difficult time deciding whether Infinity or Endgame deserved the number one, to the point where I was considering putting the two movies together in the ranking.

In the end, I decided not to. Cause while Endgame held the satisfying conclusion, Infinity War was the more ambitious of the two. It juggle several different characters, from several different movies, yet still made it feel like a cohesive film. While Thor, Iron Man, and Thanos were the main focus, characters like Gamora, Scarlet Witch, Spider-Man, and more got some time of their own.

And speaking of Thanos, lets talk more about him. He's known as one of the best, if not the best, villain of the entire MCU. And honestly, he deserves that praise. He's a well-crafted antagonist, being both an imposing and sympathetic threat. His goal is too wipe out half of all life, yet he believes that his cause is righteous, and is willing to sacrifice everything he holds dear to complete his quest. Doing that, and not making him a bloodthirsty psycho, did much to make his reveal worth it.

There were a lot of great and iconic moments in the film, from Thor's appearance in Wakanda, to Thanos throwing a moon at the heroes. The story itself was also excellent, with Thanos essentially being one of the protagonists to keep the film connected. And there a lot of emotional moments, some of which would make you cry (If you're the emotional type).

Finally, there was a lot of action. Plenty of it. Beginning to end, there are several different battles, every single one of them ranging from solid to outstanding. The third act is especially noteworthy, having both the battle on Wakanda and the battle on Titan. You see various characters fighting, with different abilities being used, and none of it felt too jarring to watch.

There's a lot I could say about Infinity War (The same with Endgame). It managed to juggle dozens of heroes, created an iconic villain, get filled with several action-packed scenes, made more than a few iconic moments, and some heavy, emotional moments. They did all that, and at the same time, made the movie very well-connected. For that, I feel like it earned the number one spot on the list.

Conclusion

So, that's the final part of the MCU ranking. Phew. That was difficult. I tried to go in as much detail as I possibly could, without making these posts too long; but for some of these films (And these characters), I feel that much more can be said about them. Especially Infinity War and Endgame. I hope all of you are satisfied with the rankings and explanations given.

Now that that's over, I'll need to decide what other post I want to do. Maybe I'll tackle the Star War series, or possibly rank the MCU heroes/villains. I might rank all 23 marvel movies together (With shorter explanations of course). Until then, I'll see you all later.