Our Top 10 MCU Films

Spoiler: A Dark World didn’t make it…

for 12 years, Marvel has been the gift that keeps on giving with adventure after adventure from heroes such as Iron Man, Captain America and The Incredible Hulk.

With currently 23 instalments in the film series, and more incoming with the likes of this year’s Black Widow and 2021’s The Eternals and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, the Marvel universe has expanded and brought in a whole host of remarkable individuals.

For all Marvel fans, there is the favourites that can be viewed over and over again, and with the current Lockdown in the UK, our movie viewings have gone through the roof. So, our team have come together to whittle down our top 10 Marvel features from between 2008’s Iron Man and 2019’s Spider-Man: Far From Home. Take a look and see what you think of our choices…

10. Avengers Assemble

The team-up outing that paved the way for all team-ups pretty much! The first assembling of Iron Man and co. back in 2012 gave us an exciting cinematic look into how our Marvel heroes compliment each other on screen and it also shown pretty well how easy it is for such big characters to share the screen quite equally!

With strong acting and a pretty straightforward plot with a familiar villain, you get nearly two and a half hours of thrills. We also get our introduction to Mark Ruffalo’s Bruce Banner/Hulk in this one. Sorry Ed Norton, but, it’s one of the best things about this instalment. Why is it not higher in the list I hear you ask? Well, to put it simply, the MCU has come a long way since this film. The franchise became more bold with stories and ideas and they tended to outshine this simple story of a group of heroes teaming up to stop one villain. Hear me out by reading on…

9. Ant-Man

Who’d have thought a superhero/comedy/heist film could exist and be successful? On paper the combination sounds a bit too muddled but in Kevin Feige and director Peyton Reed’s hands it works okay. 2015’s Ant-Man introduces us to Paul Rudd’s likeable Scott Lang and introduces us to the likes of Michael Peña’s masterful storyteller Luiz. Also, it’s the film that embroiled Michael Douglas into the superhero genre…another unlikely combination, right? But again, it works a treat. We also get a grounded lead in Rudd’s Lang, an ex-con who wants nothing more than to be a responsible parent and is willing to do whatever it takes to do so.

However, the film definitely does have it’s down sides. Yeah, the villain of the piece is maybe a bit exaggerated (he simply blows everything out of proportion because his mentor didn’t tell him he was a miniaturised superhero). It can also play too much on the comedy from time to time also, but with Paul Rudd as your lead, what can you expect? Aside from that, it’s fun and interesting what with all the ants and the changing size and stuff…if you haven’t watched, you’ll get what I mean when you finally get a viewing in. Don’t expect an epic masterpiece of a superhero film, but rest assured you’ll be watching to be entertained.

8. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

The first instalment of Guardians of the Galaxy (which, spoiler alert, we’ll get to later) gave us a new and exciting backdrop to the space opera genre, and volume number two does nothing else but dial everything up. With a new selection of golden oldies and perfect tying of plot threads left dangling from the last film, you can’t help but love what director James Gunn brings to the table again.

Chris Pratt and the rest of the ensemble are once again on form, giving us the outlandish “family” of rogues trying to do some good and some bad somehow simultaneously. The way that the plot surrounding the lineage of Pratt’s Star Lord is handled can’t be applauded enough, completely taking your off the ball of who the story’s true villain is. Although the formula around the use of music doesn’t really change and some of the action pieces can feel a tad stretched out, it’s a sequel that definitely doesn’t weaken the characters or the world they live in.

7. Captain America: Civil War

Described by many as “Avengers 2.5”, Civil War gives a big conclusion to the Captain America trilogy and sets up the future of the MCU in a huge way. The story adapts it’s source material/comic book really well, having Downey Jr’s Tony Stark finally lock horns with Chris Evan’s Steve Rogers after years of bubbling disagreements, whilst having a great spin on the story that fits into Kevin Feige’s universe. The film pretty much acted as an audition for The Russo Brothers to direct the monster double bill of Avengers films that would follow this film closely.

With great misdirection that has the eventual big showdown of Captain America and Iron Man actually being due to a huge plot twist in the third act as opposed to the main plot of the story, it’s a thrill ride from start to finish. Of course, it is seventh in the list for a reason, not even the introduction of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man could get it higher! The plot can be confusing here and there (it should gel after the second or third viewing). Although it is great seeing so many heroes on the screen at once and they are all brought in with great intent, the story fails a bit because of overcrowding and not knowing how to handle it to the extent of the latest Avengers outings. Considering it is Cap’s last film in his trilogy, you pretty much forget it is supposed to be his film from time to time.

6. Guardians of the Galaxy

As we mentioned, this film gave a new style to the space opera genre. The first Guardians joined up a rag-tag team of criminals who decide to save the Galaxy pretty much because if they don’t it’ll mean they’ll probably perish along with everyone else. It gave us the cool introduction of Peter Quill’s mixtapes. We get the dripped the tidbits about Quill’s father for the sequel. We get emotion, laughter and action in two hours and it’s great how Gunn did it.

Why is this better than the first Avengers instalment? We get a lot more depth within the story and it isn’t treated as purely a pay off for introducing heroes in past films. We meet this team within this first outing and we get everything we need there and then to justify them teaming up and also enjoying it. Much like it’s sequel, the action sequences can drone on a bit and become boring. Plus Bradley Cooper’s Rocket Raccoon can become a bit stale after his 500000 arrogant comment. Then there’s Dave Bautista’s Drax the Destroyer giving out his 50000000 stone-faced, literal reaction to a metaphor. Yeah, some tropes about it drag it to sixth place a bit but still, it’s a film that brought us a superhero film set in space and made it as unique as you can get.

5. Spider-Man: Homecoming

Probably one of the boldest moves Marvel and Sony made was bring in this new take on teenage Peter Parker’s antics as a crimefighter. They made it much more grounded than any incarnation beforehand, obliterated pretty much any mention of the hero’s origins, made it almost completely a high school drama in the vein of John Hughes’ classics. Dare I mention…they gave us an attractive Aunt May. It was all a big risk and it worked very well. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man, probably one of the most perfect pieces of casting in the MCU so far, was quickly introduced in Civil War, then being brought into this solo film where you get a teenage boy who has had a taste of saving the world and wants more of it.

With cameos from Downey Jr’s Stark and Jon Favreau’s Happy Hogan, the film really puts pressure on making you remember that Peter Parker is a teenager with no responsiblities and begs the question “what does a teenager do when he has the power to save people every day?”. The film is a really great take on the webslinger that definitely takes influence from the comics more than ever before and has fun with it. Not to mention, Michael f*cking Keaton returns to the superhero world, swapping his batsuit for a mechanical vulture costume, and nails his part as Parker’s first big bag.

Yeah, the lack of origin story and the doubling down on teenage side of Parker’s life seems a bit off, especially for newcomers to the character, but that can be simply a case being too comfortable with the old formula of how Spider-Man was interpreted on screen. Take an in-depth look into how Parker’s life is handled in this version and it does reflect modern day society very well.

4. Captain America: Winter Soldier

Marvel’s interpretation of an espionage-thriller. Winter Soldier is the instalment to watch if you want to watch a superhero film without it feeling like a superhero film. We get to take a look at Steve Rogers trying to adapt to life seventy years after what should have been his time. We get a lot of “who can be trusted?” and investigating into what is really going on at SHIELD, whilst harkening back to aspects of Captain America’s first outing in The First Avenger. This is basically Mission Impossible in a world where being superhuman isn’t completely out of the ordinary anymore.

Chris Evans absolutely kills it as Steve Rogers once again – he looks the part and acts the part perfectly. He also gets some back up from Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury and Scarlet Johansson’s Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow. We even get the great Robert Redford involved. No superpowers in sight for the entire duration of the film and it’s a nice breather in that respect.

The twist of who the Winter Soldier is is great for people not familiar with the comics, but for people who are, the twist of the story is kind of tainted – it depends how you look at it I guess. The spy take on the Marvel universe may not be everyone’s cup of tea but the franchise is tending to expand into different genres and this is one of the best attempts.

3. Avengers: Infinity War

The first in a double bill Avengers storyline that had everyone talking around the globe. Infinity War is tasked with bringing more characters onto the screen in the MCU than ever before and evenly spreading out the multiple story threads so everyone gets a piece of the glory. We get our first look proper meeting with Josh Brolin’s Thanos and we get a heavily layered film that follows the Mad Titan in his quest to bring together the mythical infinity stones, meeting our Avengers at different stops along the way.

With a jaw-dropping cliffhanger and a villain that actually has a clear point in his mission, it’s a tough film to beat. Very, very tough. However, the next two choices are even harder to top according to our team…

2. Thor: Ragnarok

Dusting away the feel of the first two Thor films, director Taika Waititi does a fun revamp in the aesthetic of the world of Chris Hemsworth’s Thor Odinson. It is fair to say that this line of solo films weren’t the most popular with fans, until we got this massive improvement. Ragnarok incorporates classic story elements around the destruction of Asgard from the comics and even mixes in the Planet Hulk storyline so everyone can get a more up-close and personal viewing of Ruffalo’s Hulk than ever before.

We get a mix of 80’s styled sci-fi and adrenaline pumping action in a story that feels very much like the first Thor (our hero is abandoned lightyears from how and struggles to get back and save Asgard) but with a bit more…how do you say it…UMPH.

Cate Blanchett is introduced as Thor’s villainous older sister Hela and leaves her mark really really well as Marvel’s first solo female villain. Waititi also plays to his strengths with comedy and lets Hemsworth and Ruffalo have fun with their roles, not having as much of a serious take as before and really showing their comedy chops. We do still have nitpicking even at the number two spot – you can lose track of which act you’re in when watching this film, and some characters seem a bit wasted *cough cough* KARL URBAN’S SKURGE *cough cough*, but thankfully the thrill ride just about slightly overshadows it. An incredibly cool and funny insert in the Marvel dossier, but, it falls short to one film and one film only.

1. Avengers: Endgame

If you are looking for the superhero film to rule all superhero films…actually no…to rule all of pop culture on screen…Endgame is the answer. Tying up threads 11 years in the making. Leaving the tiniest of easter eggs only diehard fans would notice. Having too many spine-tingling moments to count. This truly is a fitting end to the Infinity Saga. considering how Infinity War ended and all of promotional material attached to this film, you expect this final outing for the original Avengers to be purely dramatic, and it isn’t. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and you’ll cheer thanks to The Russo Brothers’ handling of characters and, for many of them, their farewells.

The film to take the top spot does still have a few issues though. The technicalities surround a unique explanation for time travel does pose a couple of questions and can have you awake at night for weeks trying to fathom it all out (…no…just me?) but for how time travel serves the film and how it leaves some of our characters, you can let it slide and just accept how well the film is done. Every single character gets at least one moment to shine, and considering we have upwards of 30 heroes in one scene in the third act, it’s quite a feat. Hands down, the best superhero film to date.

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So, there you have it, our take on the top 10 MCU films so far! Agree with our take on it? Questioning some of our choices? Don’t be sky – give us your thoughts in the comment section below!

The entire MCU collection is available to purchase of DVD, Blu-ray and digital download now. You can also stream all of Marvel’s films (excluding Spider-Man’s solo outings) on Disney + right now!