Marvel Movie Summary 2016-2017
I've seen all seven Marvel films that have come out since my May 2016 summary. This in of itself is a little surprising. There are very few franchises where I've made it a point to see everything in the theater, and none with as many movies as Marvel has generated. I'm always convinced that one day some movie will implode and take down the whole thing... but so far, that's only happened to DC Comics, and that only weekly.
In any event, with Black Panther imminent and five more Marvel films slated for a 2018 release (3 in the MCU), I figured I'd go through the last seven, and try to rank them by my own personal system. Here we go:
1. Captain America: Civil War (MCU) - The most impressive accomplishment of this movie was taking a huge pile of heroes, including some new who were new to the MCU, and giving them all enough screen time so that none seemed like an afterthought. With that said, the action occasionally got a bit tiresome (although Cap and Iron Man dueling at the end was top notch), and it definitely was a bit of a step down from the Avengers films, and a big step down from Winter Soldier.
2. X-Men: Apocalypse. The third movie in the original X-Men series was the worst one, but the third movie in the second X-Men series same to close. Tagged on mutants who serve no particular purpose, a boring villain, mostly boring action sequences - yeah, this one doesn't have it. Magneto's introduction in eastern Europe, the Wolverine cameo and Quicksilver's heroic action sequence keep this from being an utter disaster, but it's not good.
3. Doctor Strange (MCU) - On the whole, I enjoyed this. Benedict Cumberbatch is well cast as the titular doctor, and the script gives him a good sense of ironic humor. This mostly up for the plot being rather uninteresting, and the long list of "but why couldn't he have done X?" questions that magic poorly handled always seems to raise.
4. Logan - Logan is the best movie on the X-Men side of the house. It's moving, features excellent acting from Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman, and has more of an emotional resonance than most comic book movies. It was a bit more intense than I think I'd want to casually watch, but that's the worst thing I can say about it, unless I wanted to be some sort of continuity snob (I don't) or complain about their reckless disregard for North Dakota geography (I do).
5. Guardians of the Galaxy, v.2 (MCU) - The Guardians are at their best when they having a family squabble with lots of clever cutting dialog flying back and forth. Or lack of dialog, for Groot. This made the decision to connect every villain as a family member to a hero a good one. However, the big set action pieces mostly don't leave room for the family interplay and quickly got dull. I think I would have had slightly more fun at a movie with them fighting over Thanksgiving or something. Great post-credit scene though.
6. Spider-Man: Homecoming (MCU) - Michael Keaton was the Vulture was worth the price of admission. I didn't exactly dislike the rest of the movie, but I am definitely growing weary of high school angst, even when it is well done. A nice does of Tony Stark and a fun cast of high schoolers ("Can I be the guy in the chair?") and teachers ("I think he's a war criminal now or something.") pulls this up a bit. Also, this has possibly my favorite post-credit scene in Marvel movies.
7. Thor: Ragnarok (MC) - The third Thor movie is the best of the trio. Jeff Goldbum knocks it out of the park as the Gamemaster. Hulk is great, and Mark Ruffalo as Banner is even better. Thor has become more human as the movies have gone on, and it's really made him more interesting. Loki and Valykrie are both loads of fun, and the action sequences were more interesting than most of these that I've seen lately.
Would Be Excited to Pay To See Again In The Theater
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (MCU)
Would Watch Again Without Hesitation
Thor: Ragnarok (MC)
The Avengers (MCU)
X-Men & X2: X-Men United (listed together because I consider them to be inseparable)
Logan
Blade
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Iron Man (MCU)
Ant-Man (MCU)
Guardians of the Galaxy (MCU)
Would Watch Again
Captain America: Civil War (MCU)
X-Men: Days of Future Past
X-Men: First Class
Spider-Man 2
Doctor Strange (MCU)
Iron Man 3 (MCU)
The Amazing Spider-Man
Spider-Man
I Probably Would Watch It at the Gym
Guardians of the Galaxy, v.2 (MCU)
Spider-Man: Homecoming (MCU)
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Deadpool
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Thor: The Dark World (MCU)
Captain America: The First Avenger (MCU)
Iron Man 2 (MCU)
X-Men 3: The Last Stand
Thor (MCU)
Would Watch Again if I Was Drinking And the TV Was On
Spider-Man 3
The Punisher (saw on video)
DareDevil
Blade II
Fantastic Four
Would Not Watch Again Even If I Was Working Out Drunk
The Wolverine
Blade: Trinity
X-Men: Apocalypse
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Hulk
Let's Pretend I Never Saw It
Elektra (saw on video)
Have Not Seen And Want To
The Incredible Hulk (MCU)
Punisher: War Zone
Have Not Seen And That's Fine With Me
Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
Fantastic Four
I still have not see any of the multitude of Marvel themed television shows, some of which I'm told tie in minor ways to the films. For that matter, I've only seen the vast majority of these films once during their theatrical release. I suspect that if I rewatched these, I might substantially re-rank these. Of course, quite a few of these I have zero desire to rewatch. It's quite remarkable that there hasn't been a terrible MCU film yet, and most of the least interesting ones to me were early in the days of the series.
In any event, with Black Panther imminent and five more Marvel films slated for a 2018 release (3 in the MCU), I figured I'd go through the last seven, and try to rank them by my own personal system. Here we go:
1. Captain America: Civil War (MCU) - The most impressive accomplishment of this movie was taking a huge pile of heroes, including some new who were new to the MCU, and giving them all enough screen time so that none seemed like an afterthought. With that said, the action occasionally got a bit tiresome (although Cap and Iron Man dueling at the end was top notch), and it definitely was a bit of a step down from the Avengers films, and a big step down from Winter Soldier.
2. X-Men: Apocalypse. The third movie in the original X-Men series was the worst one, but the third movie in the second X-Men series same to close. Tagged on mutants who serve no particular purpose, a boring villain, mostly boring action sequences - yeah, this one doesn't have it. Magneto's introduction in eastern Europe, the Wolverine cameo and Quicksilver's heroic action sequence keep this from being an utter disaster, but it's not good.
3. Doctor Strange (MCU) - On the whole, I enjoyed this. Benedict Cumberbatch is well cast as the titular doctor, and the script gives him a good sense of ironic humor. This mostly up for the plot being rather uninteresting, and the long list of "but why couldn't he have done X?" questions that magic poorly handled always seems to raise.
4. Logan - Logan is the best movie on the X-Men side of the house. It's moving, features excellent acting from Patrick Stewart and Hugh Jackman, and has more of an emotional resonance than most comic book movies. It was a bit more intense than I think I'd want to casually watch, but that's the worst thing I can say about it, unless I wanted to be some sort of continuity snob (I don't) or complain about their reckless disregard for North Dakota geography (I do).
5. Guardians of the Galaxy, v.2 (MCU) - The Guardians are at their best when they having a family squabble with lots of clever cutting dialog flying back and forth. Or lack of dialog, for Groot. This made the decision to connect every villain as a family member to a hero a good one. However, the big set action pieces mostly don't leave room for the family interplay and quickly got dull. I think I would have had slightly more fun at a movie with them fighting over Thanksgiving or something. Great post-credit scene though.
6. Spider-Man: Homecoming (MCU) - Michael Keaton was the Vulture was worth the price of admission. I didn't exactly dislike the rest of the movie, but I am definitely growing weary of high school angst, even when it is well done. A nice does of Tony Stark and a fun cast of high schoolers ("Can I be the guy in the chair?") and teachers ("I think he's a war criminal now or something.") pulls this up a bit. Also, this has possibly my favorite post-credit scene in Marvel movies.
7. Thor: Ragnarok (MC) - The third Thor movie is the best of the trio. Jeff Goldbum knocks it out of the park as the Gamemaster. Hulk is great, and Mark Ruffalo as Banner is even better. Thor has become more human as the movies have gone on, and it's really made him more interesting. Loki and Valykrie are both loads of fun, and the action sequences were more interesting than most of these that I've seen lately.
Would Be Excited to Pay To See Again In The Theater
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (MCU)
Would Watch Again Without Hesitation
Thor: Ragnarok (MC)
The Avengers (MCU)
X-Men & X2: X-Men United (listed together because I consider them to be inseparable)
Logan
Blade
Avengers: Age of Ultron
Iron Man (MCU)
Ant-Man (MCU)
Guardians of the Galaxy (MCU)
Would Watch Again
Captain America: Civil War (MCU)
X-Men: Days of Future Past
X-Men: First Class
Spider-Man 2
Doctor Strange (MCU)
Iron Man 3 (MCU)
The Amazing Spider-Man
Spider-Man
I Probably Would Watch It at the Gym
Guardians of the Galaxy, v.2 (MCU)
Spider-Man: Homecoming (MCU)
The Amazing Spider-Man 2
Deadpool
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Thor: The Dark World (MCU)
Captain America: The First Avenger (MCU)
Iron Man 2 (MCU)
X-Men 3: The Last Stand
Thor (MCU)
Would Watch Again if I Was Drinking And the TV Was On
Spider-Man 3
The Punisher (saw on video)
DareDevil
Blade II
Fantastic Four
Would Not Watch Again Even If I Was Working Out Drunk
The Wolverine
Blade: Trinity
X-Men: Apocalypse
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Hulk
Let's Pretend I Never Saw It
Elektra (saw on video)
Have Not Seen And Want To
The Incredible Hulk (MCU)
Punisher: War Zone
Have Not Seen And That's Fine With Me
Ghost Rider
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance
Fantastic Four
I still have not see any of the multitude of Marvel themed television shows, some of which I'm told tie in minor ways to the films. For that matter, I've only seen the vast majority of these films once during their theatrical release. I suspect that if I rewatched these, I might substantially re-rank these. Of course, quite a few of these I have zero desire to rewatch. It's quite remarkable that there hasn't been a terrible MCU film yet, and most of the least interesting ones to me were early in the days of the series.