20. Thor: The Dark World
Just a weak effort across the board and not something I can think of anything more about which to say.
19. Iron Man 2
A great thirty seconds introducing Black Widow amidst a two-hour pile of something steamy.
18. Doctor Strange
Just not anything I ever got invested in, despite the intentions of a decent director and strong performer.
17. Thor
I always hated Thor as a character and this movie did nothing to alter that perception. I always loved Natalie Portman as an actress and this movie did a lot to alter than perception.
16. The Incredible Hulk
Better than expected, but also ultimately forgettable.
15. Iron Man 3
Really it made it this high by the sheer suckiness of those movies below it.
14. Ant-Man and the Wasp
Okay, just…okay.
13. Iron Man
I’m sure lower for me than most, but despite a great pairing of actor and character, it’s a lot of boring mixed with a couple moments of decent.
12. Avengers: Infinity War
Will be curious how this will fare in hindsight after the sequel is released.
11. Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2
Almost a perfect split between the good movies and the disappointing. This one firmly in the middle.
10. Captain America: The First Avenger
Much better with hindsight than how I thought the first time. Chris Evans didn’t fully become Captain America until the Avengers, but he’s always had a firm hold on Steve Rogers.
09. The Avengers: Age of Ultron
Also fares better with repeat viewings outside the weight of the expectations it was saddled with upon its release.
08. Ant-Man
A fun movie made even more so with great casting and an interesting story to tell.
07. Thor: Ragnarok
Carried higher by the strength of its humor. Chris Hemsworth finally figuring out his wheelhouse.
06. Spider-Man: Homecoming
Really wanted this to be top five, but it’s a strong runner up.
05. Guardians of the Galaxy
At any given moment, any film in the top five could duke it out for numbers through five, and this one feels lower than it should be.
04. Captain America: Civil War
This one definitely feels too low, but if it was a ranking of fight sequences, it would be number one. Still, has a rewatchability factor that is unquaintifiable (at least given my history)
03. Black Panther
Will be curious to see if there will ever be a strong challenger for its role as the greatest standalone introduction.
02. The Avengers
I could probably rank this number one for being the first MCU film to actually feel like it took every childhood wish and put it on screen.
01. Captain America: Winter Soldier
I just don’t know that everything will ever gel as much as this one for being not only a near-perfect movie in the MCU, but just a near-perfect movie full stop. While my rankings of 2 through 5 were difficult to place, there was never a doubt this would end up on top.
excellent awkward 