Wednesday, November 8, 2017

RANKING THE MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE PART 2

Alright, you decided to see more? Well let's go even further, Numbers 8-1.

8)SPIDER-MAN:HOMECOMING 

I know a lot of people have already declared this to be the best movie about the web-slinging hero, but I just don't agree, it's good, but not that great. I stand by my original thoughts on this, it's the best one since the second film, back in '04, but it's weaker than the first two films, sorry. I'll admit, this one has a lot going for it, with Keaton being one of the best MCU villains, Ned is one of the funnier supporting characters, and yeah Tom Holland is amazing in the film as Peter and Spider-Man. My problem with it though, is that the film lacks a lot of emotional weight that we expect from the character, the Homecoming title, while a cute nod to the franchise returning to Marvel, isn't much of a plot point, in fact, outside a few early mentions the dance wasn't even built up as this big thing, when it feels like it should've been. Still, it's a solid entry and Iron Man is included quite nicely into the film without feeling forced, which is the kind of thing I want to see more of in the future.

7)DOCTOR STRANGE

I am honestly surprised this is as high as it is. Look, way back when this was announced I fully expected this to be the one I wouldn't like, after all, I've never liked the character before, why would I start here? Well as it turns out, this turned out to be a real gem. While I thought the first act could've been shortened, I mean realistically the origin feels a bit too standard, once the film gets going it's an absolute joy. The visuals are incredible, we've got an awesome score in a Marvel movie which isn't too common and Cumberbatch is great in the title role. By the way, yes, the Ancient One being whitewashed isn't cool, but that's a whole complicated scenario, so I'm not even gonna attempt to discuss it here, to put it short, yes it's wrong, but I'd be lying if I told you that Tilda Swinton isn't one of the coolest characters in the MCU to date, seriously she kicks ass here. One more reason why this gets high up there, Doctor Strange's cape is the MCU version of Aladdin's carpet, that's awesome and makes me love this version of Doctor Strange even more.

6)ANT-MAN

I am not joking, not even a little bit, I know a lot of you don't like this one so much, but screw you, Ant-Man is fantastic. While it's widely known that the film had problems during production, I am honestly happy to say that the film still feels like the vision of one director, Peyton Reed, maybe the Edgar Wright version would be better, but I'm honestly not gonna imagine the "better" version when the one we got is still great. Paul Rudd is a great choice for such an odd hero, Michael Peña as Luis is easily the funniest sidekick in the whole franchise, while the rest of the cast is fun to watch, yes, even the villain, please Marvel, stop killing your villains, you'd have less of a "villain problem" if more of your villains would come back. Back to Ant-Man, one of it's major charming aspects is the lack of a major fight in the first hour of the film. I'm a big fan of action, sure, but I can appreciate a superhero film deciding to dial it back every now and then, more character moments can be a major plus, especially when your hero's power is having the strength of a human in ant size.

5)IRON MAN 3

Once again, yes, I am not joking, this is easily one of the best Marvel films, for real. Kingsley is great in the film, while the actual villain isn't as menacing he is still pretty good. No seriously, get over the awesome twist, honestly the worst thing about this movie, is that apparently Rebecca Hall had a bigger part (likely the original villain) but sexism resulted in her role being diminished... Did I mention that this is one of the best Marvel films. Come at me.

4)CAPTAIN AMERICA:THE WINTER SOLDIER

So, I expect these last few to be pretty easy to figure out, anyway, I know a lot of the more "serious" fans like to put this one at the top, but I just can't. Don't get me wrong, this is one fantastic film, with great villains, I mean Robert Redford is great here and he doesn't even fight Captain America at all, plus the stuff with Bucky is among the most emotional to date for the MCU. If I really had to complain here, it's with Sharon Carter, she just feels like a tacked on character, added just so we can start that story up. Still, the story is great, the action is great, the Russo brothers have become a great asset for Marvel, seriously the way they balance so many characters is impressive. I guess if this film has one more strength to it, is that apparently this film made Agents of SHIELD better, which I guess is a good thing for fans of the tv stuff. Yay.

3)CAPTAIN AMERICA:CIVIL WAR

Oh wow, Sharon Carter is much better here, making her appearance in the last film forgivable... seriously though, that's how I felt after watching this one. As for the film itself, it is filled with emotion, seriously, seeing the team being torn apart here and fighting is cool, yes, but it's sad, that final fight between Tony and Steve is just one long burn, obviously it's amazing to watch, but it also is hard to sit through without feeling even a little bit of pain. Also great, the villain, I know a lot of people overlook Zemo, but I think it's great to see a Marvel villain that has a master plan that isn't about fighting, or destroying things, he is manipulating the heroes to fall apart, that's villainous enough; one more thing on him, the final confrontation between Black Panther and Zemo is mature and one of the best scenes in the franchise. Honestly, this movie just does so much right, that even the leaps in logic are forgivable, it's all in service to the emotional core of the story, while the addition of newcomers like Black Panther and Spider-Man just feel so natural that it's hard to really be bothered by much in this film, it's fantastic.

2)GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

I love the Guardians, the second they announced this was going to be a movie I was rooting for it to succeed, despite knowing so little and I'm glad it did pay off. The soundtrack is great, the cast is great, and the visuals are so out there, it honestly feels like the point where Marvel decided to go all in on making these movies feel bigger than reality. I mean, I know this shouldn't count given that it's not the actual movie, but the incredible trailer they released for this practically defined how most modern action trailers are cut, that's impressive. At the end of the day though, what makes this one so great is that it feels like the perfect version of what it wants to be, that's not an easy feat, it's a fun, weird, sc-fi adventure that hardens back to classics like Flash Gordon, Star Wars, and plenty more, it's all so great that there was only one way to top it.

1)GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL.2

Yup the sequel. Some of you may think this one is here because it's recent, but you're wrong, incredibly wrong, see Guardians 2, much like the original, feels like the perfect version of what it wants to be, but it has major improvements. The movie is hilarious, much like the first one, but it strikes a much more emotional tone than it's predecessor. The family theme is there again, but it leads to some darker places that can relate to many on multiple levels. it's joyful, but it knows how to be somber, leading to the most emotional third act in any Marvel movie, MCU or otherwise. The villains here, are massive improvements over the first movie, and I'm one of the few people who actually thought Ronan was pretty cool. Most of all though, it expands on the weirdness to present ideas that are far more out there, crazy in the way sci-fi can be, yet still relatable and human, sure it's a movie about space people fighting evil, but that evil is layered, representative of the toxic nature in men, which is not something you often see. If there is one thing that I preferred in the original, it's the soundtrack and even then, this movie has the more memorable (and emotional at that) moments that implement the songs. If Guardians 1 was perfection, this goes above and beyond that.

That's the list, do you agree? Disagree? Well comment below and let me know.

P.S. Yes I saw Thor Ragnarok, it's great, I can't exactly pin down where it's at right now for me, but I am feeling like it's probably gonna rank higher than Winter Soldier, again maybe. See ya next time.

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Written By Octaviano Macias

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