Marvel Cinematic Universe Quality Spectrum

As of July 2019, the Marvel Cinematic Universe that began in 2008 has put out twenty-three movies, all taking place within the same timeline and created universe (there are also television shows that go along with them, but honestly the Netflix shows are so dark you could almost argue they are an entirely different New York). When you’ve put out twenty-three different movies, there are bound to be some hits and some misses, and the MCU is no exception to the rule. So which ones were hits and which ones were misses? My list has been updated to include Spider-Man: Far From Home, and will continue to be updated as it goes, though there is not another officially announced movie for at least a year.

We will start at the top (aka the best Marvel movie) and work our way down. Where would you rank these movies in relation to each other?

Thor Ragna-rocks (My Belief in Marvel)

Superhero movies have gotten pretty dark in recent years (not as dark as their Netflix counterparts, of course, it’s hard to believe those are even in the same universe with how often they kill people), so it was almost strange to hear that the newest addition to the Thor saga was going to be primarily a comedy. Granted, those familiar with director Taika Waititi knew that comedy was his forte, and everyone not so secretly believed that maybe a bit of comedy was just what Thor needed. His films, while not outright terrible, have always been at the lower end of the Marvel Cinematic Universe Quality Spectrum. One big reason is because Thor, the main character, is constantly being upstaged in his own movies (by Loki, who we forgive because he’s awesome, and by Jane, who we don’t forgive because being played by Natalie Portman is not quite enough to make a character likable), but another reason is that he is played off as a serious warrior, and he’s an alien from a magical planet with a magical hammer. He SHOULD be a little ridiculous, his entire universe is a little bit (okay, very) ridiculous, and his films have never even once tried to capitalize on that. Now, under Waititi’s amused gaze, Thor is fun again, and what could be wrong with that? Well, sadly, becoming a fun movie has not only amused us, but it’s shown us just how tired this MCU is making us, so we are both laughing and crying and wondering how much longer we can take this. I have new respect for Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans.

Mystical in Marvel: The Lord of the Rings Crossover

As the Marvel Cinematic Universe (and its spin-off television shows) grows, the number of actors being cast also increases exponentially. Not only do we start to see more cross-over between actors who’ve worked together before (Chris Evans and Scarlett Johansson, for example, have worked together almost a dozen times now), we’re starting to see a great deal of influence from other large bodies of work. Heading in Marvel Phase 4, we’re noticing a recurring trend – there are quite a few cast members from Peter Jackson’s imaginings of Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies making an appearance in this world of superheroes! Some are fairly obvious, but digging through the two extended universes, it’s actually pretty interesting just how much crossover there is.