War films take timely look at patriotism
Thank You for Your Service, and Last Flag Flying depict the war at home
With 17 blockbuster movies and counting since 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has created a cosmos of big stars. So where does Thor: Ragnarok (now showing) fit into this superhero saga? Here’s the definitive ranking of all the Marvel movies so far:
17. Iron Man 2 2010
Let’s accentuate the positive: The sequel gave us Scarlett Johansson’s sleek secret agent Black Widow and put Don Cheadle in the War Machine armor. Everything else was a scattershot mess with Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) taking on the wholly underwhelming villain Whiplash (Mickey Rourke).
16. The Incredible Hulk 2008
Before ultimately being replaced in other movies by Mark Ruffalo, Edward Norton starred as scientist Bruce Banner in this odd duck from the nascent MCU. This mostly forgettable affair exists to serve as a reminder that we still deserve a good solo Hulk film one day.
15. Iron Man 3 2013
The results are only so-so as Stark tussles with PTSD, criminally underused antagonist Mandarin (Ben Kingsley) and yawn-worthy villain Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce). The threequel also proved that, yes, too many armored suits are a bad thing — heck, even Gwyneth Paltrow gets one.
14. Thor: The Dark World 2013
Chris Hemsworth’s thunder god has a sequel that’s a blender of familiar fantasy tropes as Thor and love interest Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) have to deal with a dark elf with an Infinity Stone. Tom Hiddleston’s iconic trickster Loki is in fine form and the film’s highlight in every way.
13. Thor 2011
Not Marvel’s greatest solo movie, but certainly one that takes some admirable swings. A quasi-family drama that boots Thor from the realm of Asgard to Earth in fish-out-of-water fashion so he can be worthy of his mystical hammer Mjolnir.
12. Avengers: Age of Ultron 2015
Bursting with a packed ensemble, it’s lacking the superteam mojo of the first
Avengers. Only when we see Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and his secret home life do we get that great Joss Whedon touch. Also: Bless James Spader’s heart for being the world’s snarkiest killer robot.
11. Thor: Ragnarok 2017
Thor and Hulk make a dynamic duo in the best Thor solo film (and funniest Marvel project), and anything with the two of them is magic. It’s just too bad the larger narrative featuring a hostile takeover by goddess of death Hela (Cate Blanchett) takes a backseat to the various shenanigans.
10. Doctor Strange 2016
Benedict Cumberbatch gets a fantastically weird and trippy introduction to the MCU as a sorcerer supreme who goes from rich jerk to humbled hero. It’s a magical version of Iron Man’s origin and some gags are overly goofy, yet the filmmaking wizardry and effects are second to none.
9. Ant-Man 2015
The heist comedy with a supershrinking dude was a bigger risk than
Guardians of the Galaxy. Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas and Evangeline Lilly are great together, though, and Marvel gave us something we hadn’t seen yet: a hero who’s also an ex-con dad.
8. Iron Man 2008
The beginning, the kickoff, the OG. A crew of Avengers was probably still a pipe dream for fans and most of Hollywood when Downey first put on the Iron Man suit, but from the start, the signature swagger, attitude and swig of humility he gave Stark set the tone for everything that was to come.
7. Spider-Man: Homecoming 2017
Spider-Man, Spider-Man, does whatever a spider can — and when you’re the new version of the teen webslinger played by Tom Holland, you also deal with balancing extracurriculars, getting a date for the big homecoming dance, trying to impress Tony Stark and fighting the Vulture in an epic youngadult adventure.
6. Captain America: The First Avenger 2011
Marvel nailed the origin story of Steve Rogers (Chris Evans), the little guy whose heart was bigger than his biceps until a super-soldier serum pumped him up. It offered a great World War II aesthetic, two-fisted adventure and a moral code that created an intriguing thread for his next two movies.
5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 2017
They had us at “Kurt Russell plays a living planet.” The gravy is everything else: adorable Baby Groot dancing in the middle of a space battle, Dave Bautista’s Drax being the buff, oddball voice of reason, and Michael Rooker’s space outlaw Yondu stealing the show.
4. The Avengers 2012
Whedon’s jam-packed ensemble lived up to its giant-size expectations. While the heroes-batting-each-other trope is starting to get played out, the excitement is palpable, and fanboy hearts melt when hammers and shield fly as Iron Man, Cap and Thor meet.
3. Captain America: Civil War 2016
Personal and political stakes are at play as Cap chooses his best friend (and brainwashed assassin) over Iron Man, blowing up the Avengers dynamic. Plus, the best superhero battle of them all and memorable intros for Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman) and Spider-Man (Holland).
2. Guardians of the Galaxy 2014
Fantastic tunes, a strange cast of characters that works, and a story where you’re hooked on a bunch of feelings, from the emotions of young Peter Quill crying over his dying mother to the hilarity of grown-up Peter (Chris Pratt) explaining Footloose to new pal Gamora (Zoe Saldana). We are Groot, indeed.
1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier 2014
More political thriller than superhero blockbuster, Captain America’s second solo film — and the best Marvel jam of them all — taps into timely themes of privacy concerns, an enemy growing from within, and military might used in ethically questionable ways. Come for the timeliness, stay for Cap wrecking a bunch of guys in an elevator.