MCU Movies

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Just saw Captain America the Winter Soldier and I gotta say it was pretty good. Probably one of the best in the MCU, though not number one though I have heard a lot of reviewers say it's the best one of the MCU even getting a higher percentage than the Avengers on Rotten tomatoes but that may change in a few days. What is your favourite?

9) Iron Man 2 [3/5]
8) The Incredible Hulk [3.5/5}
7) Thor: The Dark World [3.5/5]
6) Iron Man 3 [4/5]
5) Thor [4/5]
4) Captain America: The First Avenger [4/5]
3) Captain America: The Winter Soldier [4.5/5]
2) Iron Man [4.5/5]
1) The Avengers [5/5]

I haven't seen "Winter Soldier" yet, so I picked "The First Avenger". Of all the main heroes so far, Cap's my favorite, with Tony in second place and the 2008 Hulk in third.

I agree - so far, The Avengers is the best of the bunch, though that may change after I see the new Captain America movie. The Incredible Hulk comes in second place for me.

So, no all too obvious Disney touches, as you were fearing a while ago?

My personal favourite superhero movies in the Marvel Movieverse is the Iron Man trilogy as a whole (though maybe they're gonna make a 4th one. I dunno). I like Downey's Tony Stark best when he's directed by Favreau/Black, and not Whedon. I personally thought that Iron Man was the best comic-to-movie translation among the Marvel Studios films. It helps that, of all the Marvel superheroes who have starred in their solo films in the MCU so far, Tony Stark is probably the character most likely to occur in real life- the other three, (Cap, Thor, Hulk) each have something that makes them a bit more 'otherworldly' than Tony. Even though Stark is a genius billionaire (and most of us are neither), his adventures in the movies are actually quite plausible, and the almost ad-libbed dialogue make it a quirky counterweight to the excellent Dark Knight Trilogy, which was likewise trying to push the man behind the mask more center stage.

I have a split opinion when it comes to Avengers. The comic book fan in me loves it. Even if you don't watch any of the MCU films that came out prior to Avengers, but you're still an Avengers reader, you're probably gonna think it's cool (though YMMV). The costumes, the situations, the technology, the way the world works, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s role in it, are all to some degree lifted straight from the comic books. It's a 'feast of recognition' as we say in the Netherlands.
But the movie fan in me is a bit more critical. I understand that it functions as a part in a larger series of superhero movies. But I like my movies to have a start, a middle, and an ending. I don't want to be dependent on other films or other media full stop, to enjoy a single 2 hour movie. In my opinion, an ideal movie about Marvel's Avengers would require zero prior knowledge of either the comics or the other movies, and could stand on its own well enough. The solo films in the MCU can do this, even if there is a lot of tying in going on. Avengers, however, can't, because it doesn't really bother to properly introduce the team members, or put them up against a threat that's worthy of their stature. Loki is a bit underwhelming in it, and the Chitauri are faceless. The defeat of both of them is rushed, in spite of a 30 minute action scene. Avengers is executed brilliantly, great script, great acting, great special effects- but it falls short in my opinion, by reducing itself to simply a chapter in a series. For all its pomp, it can't stand on its own like for example Batman (1989), Blade, or the first X-Men film.

The Avengers is my absolute favorite of the movies, though Iron Man 1 is a very close second. Actually none of the movies there are ones I hate. Still waiting on Guardians of the Galaxy though.

While I genuinely love "The Avengers", it feels a little too cramped at times. This was lessened by the Hulk being blasted away from the Helicarrier, and Thor being tricked by Loki. The battle scenes had a different dynamic, because you never saw all of them fighting at the same time. The "circling around" shot is still awesome, but I'm glad Whedon made sure to keep the characters a fair distance apart when outside the plane.

The Avengers

The Incredible Hulk

Thor

The Avengers. I have them all on Blu-Ray, except for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, which still needs to come out.

Me too. I thought the fight scenes in Avengers had a fantastic 'choreography'. It's something Michael Bay might take a couple notes from, because while it was utterly destructive, you could at least tell what was happening. And every Avengers got their own shining moment.

That and the fact that the main characters weren't screaming every 5 minutes. And you could actually identify them all.

What's that supposed to mean? The characters weren't screaming all the time in their solo films. Tony did while drunk in "Iron Man 2", and Thor did when he realized he couldn't lift Mjolnir. The Hulk tends to roar more than scream, and the only moments like that in the first "Captain America" were from the Red Skull and Bucky falling off the train.

The Avengers, hands down.

All subsewuent portrayals of Bruce Banner/The Hulk will henceforth be judged on their ability to match Mark Ruffalo.

Why? Well, that's his secret, Captain. He's always angry.

I meant that those seem to be trademarks of characters in Michael Bay films, Transformers specifically.