MCU Part II
Bonus: Zack Snyder’s Justice League
The MCU movie-a-thon continues.
I have a friend who just finished all of the MCU movies with his kids who were seeing them for the first time. He got so much joy out of the experience that he is having more kids. Just kidding. But he did love watching the movies with his kids and seeing their joy.
Iron Man 3 (2013, $1.2 billion)
43/100
I don’t get why the Iron Man movies are so much worse than the other MCU movies. Maybe it’s because Loki isn’t in them. While there is lots of pure spectacle and blowing up of things, the plot is uninspired and exposes how weak Iron Man is on the Avenger scale. RDJ is smooth but Don Cheadle schools everyone in this film.
Captain America - The Winter Soldier (2014, $714 million)
85/100
Well, well, well, what do we have here? Bucky (the titular Winter Soldier) returns as a near unstoppable assassin, a newly introduced Avenger in Falcon (on your left), a new love interest in Sharon Carter (Peggy’s niece), and some some Canadian content in George St. Pierre giving Captain America all he can handle in an early fight scene. (Side note: If you are a superhero, don’t toss aside your most powerful weapon just because the villain taunts you. Avengers have such an inflated ego.)
I’m not sure why the Captain America movies are written so much better than the Iron Man movies. Maybe it’s just the basic premise. Iron Man is a dick, Captain America, for the most part, is not.
The elevator scene is one of the best in all the MCU movies. Max and I agree so strongly on this that we both said so just as it was about to start. Well, he said it. I was about to say it.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014, $773 million)
88/100
The MCU lets it’s freak flag fly and a good time ensues. While none of the main Avenger characters to date make an appearance (or are even referenced), we get a little face time with Thanos (now played by James Brolin), more information about the Infinity Stones, and five great new additions to the A-team, although none of them make the official Avengers cut, so maybe the B-team. Maybe if they had better costumes? Best soundtrack to date.
Sidebar - Guardians I Would Least Like to Fight
Groot- there is very little defence for those branches that suddenly can shoot out and pierce you.
Rocket - the smartest of the bunch with the best weapons. Will fight dirty. Presents a small target.
Gamora - fierce warrior with expert training from Thanos.
Star Lord - also an exceptionally dirty fighter with lots of tricks, including the ability to talk himself out of impossible situations. Still, just a human (well, half human).
Drax - one on one in a ring with no weapons, I would probably fear Drax the second most, but he usually fights with his hands and what he has in brawn he lacks in brains. Still, my favourite of the Guardians.
There are 22 MCU movies in total. Disney+ doesn’t count Spider-Man because they don’t have the rights to them yet. You’ll find them on Netflix. “Homecoming” slots in between “Civil War” and “Dr. Strange” while “Far From Home” is after “End Game” as it takes place post-blip.
After ten movies, here are the rankings:
Captain Marvel
Guardians of the Galaxy
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Captain America: The First Avenger
The Avengers
Thor: The Dark World
Thor
Iron Man 3
Iron Man 2
Iron Man
Not to continue to harp on it, but there is a big gap between Thor and Iron Man 3. Don’t let the rankings fool you.
Up next: “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. II,” “Avengers: Age of Ultron,” “Ant-Man,” and “Captain America: Civil War.”
Finally, by special request:
Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021, box office unavailable)
70/100
Unlike the movie, I’ll keep this short. It’s worth watching. Could have used more Wonder Woman and Superman, less Cyborg, Aquaman and Batman. I could take or leave Flash, although his jokes are needed. I like the structure of the film, the new opening scene, and more character backstory. Does it need to be four hours? Did it need to be re-edited with new scenes shot? It is a better movie at four hours and the new scenes help with the story. If Warner Brothers are willing to give Snyder $70 million to complete his vision, why not? It’s not like Hollywood doesn’t throw money around on trashier stuff all the time. Overall, better than the Iron Man movies, not as good as the rest of the MCU.
That said, I would pay to see a movie based on Bruce Wayne’s dream at the end of the movie. Super creepy. And more Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luther, please.
Sidebar I - Strongest Justice League Members
Superman
Cyborg
Wonder Woman
Aquaman
Flash
Batman
Sidebar II - Best Justice League Costumes
Superman - classic, love the black one.
Wonder Woman - surprisingly effective on the battlefield given the danger of all the exposed skin. Can’t see a man wearing shorts and a tank top to war but the Amazonians pull this off with style. Good thing they aren’t short because it just wouldn’t work with anyone under 5’10”.
There are no other good ones.
Until next time.