Sunday Lists: Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies, Ranked

With the sheer amount of MCU movies we get every year, they are now in so many different phases, it seems to be the right time to start ranking these films.

Compared with other superheroes, MCU is more or less complete in my viewing with only a few slots as this post goes up now but it will be updated with the remaining films in between that I have to catch up with. You will see the unseen movies at the bottom.

Let’s take it away!

1. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) Review

2. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) Review

3. Captain America: Civil War (2016) Review

4. Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Review

5. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017) Review

6. Iron Man (2008)

7. The Avengers (2012) Review

8. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) Review

9. Thor (2011)

10. Ant-Man (2015) Review

11. The Incredible Hulk (2008) Review

12. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) Review

13. Thor: The Dark World (2013) Review

14. Doctor Strange (2016) Review

15. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) Review

16. Iron Man 3 (2013) Review

17. Iron Man 2 (2010)

Not seen yet:

Black Panther (2018)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Captain Marvel (2019)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

That’s my list..to be updated as I catch up gradually!
What is your favorite MCU films? How would your ranking be different from mine?

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Aren’t we feeling like the youngsters? Haha! It seems Jigsaw was given up and Les Affames was also given up for this month’s movie at the theatres and I ended up heading out to see Thor: Ragnarok with my friend. I’ve mostly been on track with the MCU films with a few exceptions like Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Let’s check it out!

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Director: Taika Waititi

Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Tessa Thompson, Karl Urban, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Hopkins

Imprisoned, the mighty Thor finds himself in a lethal gladiatorial contest against the Hulk, his former ally. Thor must fight for survival and race against time to prevent the all-powerful Hela from destroying his home and the Asgardian civilization. – IMDB

The MCU timeline has only gone through 2 years since the last we’ve seen Thor however, the previous movie, Thor: The Dark World has been four years. It is perhaps one of the first Marvel movies that I’ve gone in very blind. While Thor movies aren’t exactly very strong to the Marvel films, its always a fun time and its a very important factor of why I feel Marvel has been successful. Finding humor and blending it with a right amount of action helps form these characters and in Thor: Ragnarok, it is no different. The humor is fantastic especially with a lot of familiar faces and a few new ones. These blockbuster superhero movies have grown to be a norm to have incredibly long run times and it still is one of the criticisms I tend to have because it drags on in some parts however, Thor is also full of laugh out loud moments that it never falls flat for too long before it gets you immersed or simply having fun again.

One of the best things about Marvel is that it knows that the fun in the movie, particularly in a blockbuster superhero film is simplicity. Sure, it takes a few turns here and there but everything works when its straightforward. There’s an issue then a dilemma then the superhero hits a snag that he or she needs to come back from and figure out a saving the planet or world or city solution. Nothing wrong with a little formula when you can get the tone right and the characters to be charming and engaging to watch. Thor: Ragnarok does all of that right and part it goes to having those engaging characters. Thor is always a joy to watch and with Loki being there as well, its always a fun time to watch their brotherly bickering even as they mock each other on their predictable characters. Being self aware is so important sometimes and that is the charm of it all.

With that said, aside from Thor and Loki that Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston are so fantastic as, the other characters all have their parts. Familiar faces go to Anthony Hopkins as Odin and Idris Elba as Heimdall. Making an appearance here and some very odd funny moments is The Hulk and of course, his human counterpart, Mark Ruffalo. All delivering on their roles very well. However, its great to see some other faces here as we learn a little more about Thor and Asgard’s history and of course the little sidetrack they make into The Grandmaster’s wastelands. The Grandmaster is played by Jeff Goldblum. Its been so long since I’ve seen Goldblum in anything but he takes on The Grandmaster with so much character in the most eccentric way. The awkward moments were the centre of a lot of the comedy here. A little younger in the cast was Tessa Thompson joining into the cast as Valkyrie who was a very different type of role than what she’s done in the past and I mean it in the best way. She’s a bad-ass lady and can definitely carry her own.

Its impossible to get through superhero movies without a mention of the villain. Except, Marvel movies have the fault of making incompetent villains who lack depth. Point exactly is that I can’t remember for the life of me what the name of the villain in The Dark World is. I think it starts with a “M” but all I remember was that he wasn’t really key to anything. Thor: Ragnarok is a little better mostly because Hella is the sister of Thor. She’s the secret of Asgard when Odin was much more ruthless. Nothing like sibling rivalry to get things heated up. Hella is played by Cate Blanchett and while a lot of her scenes were truly just amplifying how incredibly powerful she is, leaving it a little empty, its still Cate Blanchett and she is a fantastic actress that adds a little something to the role. Now, I’d be lying if her get-up didn’t remind me a little of Maleficent however, Hella is a dangerous villain all on her own, especially with a right hand man played by Karl Urban who never quite gets the depth in his character.

Overall, I have my criticisms about this movie but they feel a little like I’m nitpicking because Thor: Ragnarok is downright fun and packed with some cool action and awkward humor. Its villain is more competent and its humor is spot on and the characters are versatile and awesome. Thor: Ragnarok has its little issues and a lengthy runtime but it is my favorite Thor movie so far.

Have you seen Thor: Ragnarok?
Talking about lists, I’m definitely thinking of putting together a list of best to worst for the Marvel movies. Good idea?

Tug of War: Marvel or DC?

I’ve been pretty busy this week so I haven’t dropped by to The Matticus Kingdom to check out your answers but I just did a quick skim and there’s been a lot of comments which is fantastic.  If you haven’t read THIS post, asking you join into The Offical  Matticus Kingdom Tug of War, well, you probably should head over HERE to check it out instead! This should spark a pretty interesting tug of war 🙂 If you are into the DC universe, well, go ahead and tug hard and well, if you want Marvel to win, pull back with all your might.

The question we are tugging for in this war is: Which universe of superheroes (and villains) is superior: Marvel or DC?

Now, the big question here is which side did I pick? I could’ve just answered in the comments but you know, I like to talk and ramble 😉 I’ll try to keep it short, ok?

Just in case you are unfamiliar, because I’m a mega beginner.  I only know about either of them because of movies.  Here’s a poster for each of them.

So, which side am I going to pull with all my force, right?

Its really funny actually.  For all of today before I sat down to write this and search up those images, I was thinking I’d back DC comics because hey, there’s Batman, Catwoman, The Joker and some pretty impressive heros and villains.  I haven’t experienced the apparent awesomeness (from what I’e heard) of Arrow yet so it wouldn’t be fair to include that.

But, as much as it pains me to say this, lets get those apologies out there. I’m sorry, Batman, I had to let you go. I can’t defend DC Universe. If one of my really good friends read this, she will give me a lesson also, but still…

*sigh of relief* Now that thats out of the way. I’m joining all of you tugging for Marvel.

Now, hear me out, ok? I had to pick a side and not just a hero.  If it was a hero, Batman would win hands-down but I took a good hard look at DC Universe and what its had to offer (in terms of movies).  Other than Batman and Catwoman, Green Lantern was a disaster and not to mention a snoozefest. Watchmen was a mega weird one and still so boring (but apparenlty I’m the minority who thinks that), and well, I didn’t see Jonah Hex because Megan Fox was in it and I don’t really want to watch it. Call it a lack of exposure to other DC universe characters but they aren’t winning over my heart right this moment.

Isn’t this concept art poster so cool?

With that said, Marvel has done a great job.  All the characters are fun.  Wolverine and X-men kicked some ass along with Cyclops and Rogue and the whole bunch.  Even the villains were pretty bad-ass.  I mean Xavier to Magneto, epic! 🙂 Then, just look at The Avengers. Would you want to mess with The Hulk? I wouldn’t.  I mean, thats one of the reasons, I would not choose DC either.  I mean, Joker is pretty nasty but some big-ass green dude can probably crush me.  Look over at the positives: Thor is just fantastic, I mean, he’s a demi-god. I think that says it all.  Ironman is not godly but he is quite torn and broken but pretty powerful in his own way.  And then, we have Hawkeye who is a great archer and Black Widow is a femme fatale right now.  A great team right there! Oh and how can I forget, Blade is in this mix also.  Who doesn’t love a vampires? I know I do!

What wins it for me has to be Spiderman though.  I mean, it was pretty much a battle between Spiderman and Batman in the first place.  I’m not very much Tobey Maguire Spiderman as opposed to Andrew Garfield but Spiderman is quite Amazing in itself.  There’s a god, a few superhumans and some pretty awesome fighting capabilities in this mesh and I’d say Marvel is the winner, for me at least 🙂

Do you agree? Maybe you disagree and you’re more of a DC Universe supporter? Head on over to the Matticus Kingdom HERE.  If you don’t want to do a post, then just leave a comment so that you can make sure that you give a bigger chance to your side.

Keep on tugging! Tomorrow is the last day to help out your side! 🙂