Over the past 10 years, theMarvel Cinematic Universehas become the most successful movie franchise of all time, earning over $15 billion at the global box office, which includes the revenue from the opening weekend ofAvengers: Infinity War. Not only are the MCU movies great at the box office, but they are also great with the critics. There has yet to be a feature installment to the MCU that has earned itself a “Rotten” score on critic site Rotten Tomatoes, so that is certainly a remarkable feat.
While the MCU as a whole is great, not every Marvel movie in the series is as magnificent as the last. With that in mind, here is every MCU movie throughAvengers: Infinity Warranked from worst to best.
1919.The Incredible Hulk(2008)
There’s a reason why the MCU rarely tries to connect itself back to the second installment in the franchise. While it may have been the best Hulk solo movie we have gotten since the 1980s,The Incredible Hulkreally doesn’t fair well compared to the rest of themovies in the MCU. The largest issue withThe Incredible Hulkwas its hard-to-follow narrative, which was supposedly caused completely by the movie’s star Edward Norton. Only weeks before the movie’s production began, Norton delivered a brand new script written by him that he they demanded they shoot, otherwise he would walk. Frantic to keep their star but also to keep their original story, those in charge of the project chose to shoot scenes from both scripts. Though they fixed many of the movie’s issues in post-production, this mix-and-match style really didn’t hold up the best, makingThe Incredible Hulkthe worst movie in the MCU to date.
1818.Iron Man 2(2010)
All in all, the MCU didn’t have the best start, considering that its second and third releases were two of its worst.Iron Man 2certainly did not stand well compared to the firstIron Man, which was a terrific origin story that arguably revolutionized the superhero genre.Iron Man 2had the potential to be great, adapting one of Iron Man’s best story arcs from the comics, Demon in a Bottle. However, the underdeveloped villains tried to take the spotlight of the movie, despite not having any relatability or posing much of a threat throughout the course of the film. WhileIron Man 2was certainly a fun experience that could have been a lot worse, it also could have been a lot better than it turned out to be.
1717.Thor: The Dark World(2013)
Speaking of underdeveloped villains, the secondThormovieThor: The Dark Worldis undoubtedly the pinnacle of Marvel’s villain problem. In the comics, the villain Malekith the Accursed was one of Thor’s most notable and beloved villains. Unfortunately, this did not carry out on-screen, as Malekith ended up becoming Marvel’s most underdeveloped villain to date. The only redeeming factor ofThe Dark Worldwas Loki, who had a beautiful arc throughout the movie following the death of his adoptive mother. However, Loki became notably absent during the third act of the movie, despite him being the only part ofThe Dark Worldaudiences actually cared about. By the time Thor had to face off against Malekith at the climax of the movie, we really couldn’t have cared less if Thor was successful or not, as the only part of the movie we cared for was no longer present.
1616.Ant-Man(2015)
WhileAnt-Manwasn’t necessarily bad, it wasn’t necessarily great either. The movie proved itself to be an adequate superhero movie. It was better than most other superhero movies, but it was still under the MCU’s standard. WhatAnt-Mandid great was manage to keep us entertained and emotionally connected to a superhero who can talk to ants, which no one thought was possible. However, it was still not one of the MCU’s best, leaving Marvel fans to wonder how much better the movie could have turned out had Marvel Studios not parted ways with the movie’s original director Edgar Wright.
1515.Thor(2011)
LikeAnt-Man, there wasn’t anything necessarily bad aboutThor, but it also wasn’t necessarily great. Most of the movie felt formulaic, following a basic storyline without many twists to keep us entertained. WhileThorwas undoubtedly better than its sequelThor: The Dark World, it still wasn’t the strongest movie in the MCU. It served as a proper origin for characters like Thor and Loki, but that’s all it really stood as. It was an essential movie in the MCU, but it’s not always the most rewatchable.
1414.Thor: Ragnarok(2017)
Despite having some of the best reviews of any MCU movie, the third installment of theThorfranchise still doesn’t hold up the best compared to the other movies in the franchise. The film certainly was one of the most fun movies in the MCU and kept audiences laughing, but it did so at the expense of emotion. Most of the emotional moments ofRagnarokwere cut short in exchange for humorous punchlines. The movie featured numerous death scenes that killed fan favorite characters from theThorseries, but not even these moments carried any emotional weight, as the humor of the movie was clearly a much greater priority for those in charge of this project.
1313.Avengers: Age of Ultron(2015)
Avengers: Age of Ultrondoesn’t live up to the firstAvengersmovie, but it is still great at one thing: being a fun action movie. The plot doesn’t always hold up the best, and parts of the movie were oversaturated with jokes or actions that were out of character for some of the heroes, but it was still a fun movie. Some moments certainly dragged inAge of Ultron, but moments like the Hulkbuster fight and the climactic fight sequences featuring all of the Avengers assembled together undoubtedly made up for it. WhileAge of Ultrondoesn’t hold up the best when compared to some of the stronger MCU movies, it still stands strong as a fun, action-packed, ensemble piece.
1212.Iron Man 3(2013)
The final installment of theIron Mantrilogy regularly gets a lot of hate from Marvel fans, mostly due to the shocking decision to make the fearsome Mandarin into a joke character, and instead making Aldrich Killian into the main antagonist. While many people saw this as a clever twist, many others saw it as a disgrace to the comics, where the Mandarin was one of the best villains to ever grace the page. Outside of the despised twist,Iron Man 3still holds up as a good movie. It provides a fitting conclusion to Tony Stark’s arc throughout the trilogy, in addition to shedding light on important topics like PTSD. Tony’s interactions with Harley show more of his deep character, and overallIron Man 3is a wildly important part of Tony’s journey as a character.
1111.Doctor Strange(2016)
Doctor Strangewas a visually innovative addition to the MCU, including groundbreaking effects in addition to finally showing the magic side of the franchise. It was a fun movie with some terrific performances and a third act that didn’t rely on an epic duel between the hero and the villain. WhereDoctor Strangefell flat, however, was with its storytelling ability. While the effects were undoubtedly innovative, its narrative was not, repeating the same character arc that we have already seen in movies likeIron ManandAnt-Man, but with a much less likeable hero. However, the fun parts ofDoctor Strangemade up for this, still making it a great addition to the MCU.
1010.Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2(2017)
The sequel toGuardians of the Galaxywas a huge hit, mostly due to the adorable Baby Groot and the well written build-up of the villain Ego. The character development of every member of the team is what soldVol. 2as a great movie, but it was also part of its downfall. While trying to give equal amounts of attention and development to all 8 protagonists,Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2became stretched a little too thin, making many character arcs feel forced and too on the nose. While it was certainly an emotional and fun sequel, it still doesn’t stand nearly as strong as the firstGuardians of the Galaxy.
