Now that I have seen Doctor
Strange, and we have about 6 months until the next movie, I wanted to give my
two cents about the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Let me state this upfront: I think overall it's very overrated. Yes, there are a couple of good to great
movies. The majority, however, are
average or worse. The most interesting,
for sure, have been the "different" ones. The strongest aspect of it has been the
casting. Nearly all have been
great. Of course, there are two giant
flaws. First, as many people have said,
the villains are largely forgettable.
Because they are forgettable, the final battles are all the same and not
that interesting. The second biggest
problem, overall, is the music. There
are a couple of good themes (Captain America) and a couple of good scores (Ant
Man) but most are disappointing. That
means a lot to me.
So let's look at the movies:
Bad:
Iron Man 2 (2010)
The
worst of the bunch. It completely fell
flat. The villains were terrible. Huge disappointment, especially after the
first.
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
One
of those movies that is completely forgettable.
Another in a long line of "blue guy" villains and energy
beams.
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Blatant
anti-Church themes aside, this was a total misfire. Hey, I know, let's take a 15 minute pause for
no reason in the middle of the story to hang out at a farm. That's a great idea.
Ok:
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
I'm
a fan of the Ang Lee Hulk, so I was probably more disappointed than most with
this one. The same problem as the first
Iron Man: watching a villain who is exactly the same as the hero slug it out is
boring.
The Avengers (2012)
Some
people say this is the best, I say it's cliched and predictable. The final big battle has no stakes because I
knew exactly what was going to happen.
Only saving grace was Hulk Smash.
Iron Man 3 (2013)
Definitely
better than the second one, but still missing something that could have made it
a lot better. I wasn't too disappointed
with the whole Mandarin thing, and I thought Guy Pierce was better than most
villains (not surprising).
Good:
Captain America: The First
Avenger (2011)
I
really wanted to like this movie. I
think the concept was good. A
traditional Captain America World War II story.
The problem is, I hardly ever think, "man, I really want to watch
that."
Thor (2011)
The
first stretch for the MCU, it was done very well by Kenneth Branagh. Perhaps the best supporting cast of any of
the movies. Plus, the introduction of
Hawkeye.
Ant-Man (2015)
A
fun heist movie with a very good cast.
Michael Pena is probably the best supporting character of them all. But again, the villain is "meh."
Doctor Strange (2016)
Quite
a ride. The graphics are breathtaking in
many scenes. The cast is solid. All around, a very good addition.
Iron Man (2008)
The
one that kicked it off, with the "real" Rhodey. It's good it worked or this whole thing would
have crashed on takeoff. Robert Downey
Jr. was, of course, perfect.
Great:
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
(2014)
A
great Cold War type spy movie. People
like to dump on Captain America for some reason, but his is one of the few (if
only) trilogies that got better with each installment. The only truly great non-Loki villain, and
there's two of them.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Just
fun, and a complete shock to most. It
even gets over some of the usual bumps (forgettable villain, sky machine)
because it's so fun.
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
My
pick for best of them all because it's the best overall. The airport scene (yes, some people say
there's no stakes because friends are pulling punches) is one of the best
scenes in any superhero movie.
A brief look at the scores (not a
great track record):
5 Good Ones:
Thor (Patrick Doyle)
Ant-Man (Christophe Beck)
The Incredible Hulk (Craig
Armstrong)
Captain America: Civil War (Henry
Jackman)
Doctor Strange (Michael
Giacchino)
A Good Theme and Not Much Else:
Iron Man (Ramin Djawadi)
Captain America (Alan Silvestri)
The Avengers (Alan Silvestri)
Not Bad, But Nothing To Write Home About:
Iron Man 2 (John Debney)
Iron Man 3 (Brian Tyler)
Thor: The Dark World (Brian
Tyler)
Captain America; Winter Soldier
(Henry Jackman)
Guardians of the Galaxy (Tyler
Bates)
Avengers: Age of Ultron (Brian
Tyler and Danny Elfman)
