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Marvel Cinematic Universe Review (Phases 1-2)

Since I may never get around to reviewing the Marvel Cinematic Universe, here’s a brief overview of my thoughts on it.

Iron Man

 

Iron Man is the one Marvel movie that I’ve already reviewed, and it’s excellent. Robert Downey Jr. nails the role of Iron Man, and the movie itself just feels fresh and new. The score is fantastic, the acting is fantastic, the directing is fantastic… Basically, this movie is a fantastic start to a legendary franchise, and it manages to avoid feeling like a cliché superhero film. 4.3/5 stars.

The Incredible Hulk


I have a lot of thoughts about The Incredible Hulk, but I’ll try to keep it brief. It’s a good movie, but I feel like it wasted quite a bit of its potential. This movie thrives in its more emotional moments, and when it focuses on Bruce Banner instead of The Hulk, it excels. However, on the more negative side, it has a weak villain, its final act just feels a bit tired and poorly written, and some parts of the movie feel forced.  However, it ultimately doesn’t feel like a Marvel movie, and that’s a good thing. It’s different. 3.5/5 stars.

Iron Man 2


I’m gonna be honest. Iron Man 2 is garbage. Utter garbage. Robert Downey Jr. is still fine as Tony Stark, but even he just has no direction in this movie. I’ve heard that this movie was made just to make money until The Avengers could come out, and I’m convinced it’s true. There are 23 minutes of action in this movie. Three are at the beginning and twenty at the end. But sadly even the finale is boring. Both villains in the film are atrociously dull and weak, and the movie is about 2 hours too long. It drags on and on and on. It tries to be a drama in some places and meaningful in others, and it ends up as just nothing. The actors do their best, but they’re given nothing. The script is simply terrible. Nothing significant whatsoever happens in this film. I’m begging you, skip it. If not for your sake then mine. 2/5 stars.

Thor


Thor is a decent movie. It’s not fantastic, but it’s decent. To be honest, I’m not sure there’s much you can do with a Viking god from space, but the Marvel team seems to do the best they can. The story and tone is kind of all over the place, and some plot points seem a little rushed. Thor’s greatest fault is its third act. It feels so rushed and so fake that it takes away a lot from the movie. Aside from this, Thor is a decent movie. The actors do a fine job, and in the end, Thor isn’t the worst movie that Marvel has ever made. 3.4/5 stars.

Captain America: The First Avenger


Captain America manages to successfully capture its titular star’s spirit, but on most other levels it does not succeed entirely. Perhaps its greatest problem is that it is completely unambitious and goes only places that we expect it to. Even when it tries to be emotional, these scenes are rushed in an attempt to get back to montage sequences. For some, these sequences work. For me, they didn’t. The movie already felt a bit unbalanced, and while it feels too slow in some parts, it feels rushed in others. This isn’t to say that this movie is a complete loss. It’s not. Despite an extremely weak third act, Captain America: The First Avenger still manages to be an entertaining film, and a solid start to the legendary hero’s story. 3.5/5 stars.

The Avengers


To some people, The Avengers is not just the greatest superhero movie ever made, but one of the greatest movies of all time. I personally have never understood this. Let me explain why. I find The Avengers to be an entertaining film, but that’s all. It’s neither immensely entertaining nor emotionally rewarding. It tries to be both, and this is its main weakness. All attempts at emotion are rushed and feel forced, and action sequences quickly give way to more talking and deliberating. People go to a movie about the Avengers to see them fight, and we get about 15-20 minutes of that, and at the very end. The Avengers tries to be too much, and in some ways falls on its face. Nevertheless, it has excellent dialogue, some of which will be as immortal as that of Star Wars, its few action sequences are very rewarding, and it manages to be entertaining. 3.5/5 stars.

Iron Man 3


Iron Man 3 is a significant improvement over Iron Man 2, but that could be said of nearly any movie. Thankfully, Iron Man 3 is a good movie. This time we get to see Tony Stark out of the suit, and consequently this movie has more emotional depth. It does have a few flaws in the plot, and the villain reveal at the end is rather disappointing. However, Iron Man 3 ultimately overcomes a few weaknesses to be a satisfying action movie, and one of the more solid entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 3.7/5 stars.

Thor: The Dark World


To be honest right from the start, Thor: The Dark World is a complete mess. Nevertheless, it’s vastly entertaining. While it is a disaster tonally, the pacing is atrociously off, and it has a rather weak villain, it has what the first Thor was missing: Entertainment. Whereas the first Thor movie tried to be too many things, its sequel knows exactly what it is. For every boring scene we get, we receive two of Thor demolishing something. Perhaps the greatest disappointment of this movie is that it has an excellent plot, but it is wasted in execution. It tries to be dark, but just ends up feeling weird. Ultimately though, Thor: The Dark World is an entertaining movie, if one of the lesser entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 3.6/5 stars.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier


I most certainly never expected a Marvel movie to be this excellent on so many levels. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is not only a tremendously satisfying action film, it’s easily one of the best superhero movies ever made. Whereas the last few Marvel films tried to be too many things and failed at most of them, this film tries to be many things and succeeds at all of them. It’s a spy movie, a thriller, and an excellent action movie, while throwing in excellent political commentary. It never slows down, and not one single scene feels unnecessary. Even its emotional aspects succeed immensely. Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a rewarding and absolutely satisfying entry in the Marvel universe. 4.5/5 stars.

Guardians of the Galaxy

Image result for guardians of the galaxy poster

Ah, and now we come to the film that absolutely nobody expected to succeed. Guardians of the Galaxy manages to span several genres, and it succeeds in spectacular fashion. Many thought this movie managed to be a masterpiece, but for me it falls just short. While it is hilarious, some of the jokes fall a bit flat in places, and some of the tonal shifts can be slightly jarring. Nevertheless, I’m mostly nitpicking, and Guardians of the Galaxy is ultimately a sheer delight. One of Marvel's very best. 4.25/5 stars.

Avengers: Age of Ultron


While I didn’t think that this film was perfect, I found it to be a large improvement over the first Avengers movie in many ways. Its action sequences are far more rewarding and entertaining, and there are many more of them. However, it is missing many of the things that I liked about the first movie. The excellent dialogue is missing, and the dark tone never quite catches on. While the movie tries to be terrifying and depressing, it just doesn’t succeed in this area. However, the character development in this film is far better, even though there are more characters. Still, the film feels overlong and overpopulated, and its attempted detours into darker environments often fail. Nevertheless, it does succeed in being more entertaining than its predecessor, and it is in many ways an improvement over it. 3.6/5 stars.

Ant-Man



People expected even less from this movie than they did from Guardians of the Galaxy, and it’s not hard to see why. The premise is absolutely absurd, but the strength of the movie is that it recognizes this. Ant-Man is often hilarious and always entertaining. Its only weakness is that its first hour or so is a bit slow, but it manages to keep us interested with various plot developments. And once the action starts, it doesn’t stop, and it is some of the most inventive and entertaining action I’ve ever seen. The third act is one of the most consistently thrilling and genuinely funny that I’ve ever seen. Though it certainly has flaws, Ant-Man manages to distract us from them, and it more than makes up for them eventually. 4.1/5 stars.

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