#RANKED - Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 2
August 20, 2015With Ant-Man rolling out in pretty much around the world already (save for the usual suspects - China and Japan), thus ends another billion dollar era in the short history of Marvel Studios. Unlike Phase 1, the second phase in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) was tasked with not only expanding on the stories of our established heroes after the events of 2012's The Avengers, but at the same time introducing newer characters to the mix, these new entities deriving from more obscure source materials than the likes of Iron Man and Captain America.
As evidenced over the past three years, all films improved greatly over their respective installments, with two billion dollar-spinning entries (Iron Man 3 and Avengers: Age of Ultron), but the biggest surprise was 2014's Guardians of the Galaxy, which attained universal acclaim on its way to a $750 million worldwide gross.
On the flip side, criticism soon surfaced over the recycled storylines and forced connections for a wider universe, leading to some quarters to believe that Marvel are getting both lazy or lethargic, though the revenue on-hand speaks for itself entirely. With fan demand at a fever pitch after The Avengers, and with DC Comics' on universe building steam sooner rather than later, how does the six Phase 2 films released stack up against each other?
6) Thor: The Dark World
Being the more out-of-this-world property that Marvel could take advantage of, you'll think they could craft out a story that was in equal parts exciting standalone sequel and franchise builder, but The Dark World fails to deliver on both accounts. A weak story with an even weaker villain (criminally underused) in Christopher Eccleston's Melekith, the sequel was also one to suffer from abiding to the fans/fandoms. This movie ended up shifting from the promise of a post-Avengers Thor epic to "The Loki Show", which, while humorous with every scene Tom Hiddleston's in, gets rather tiresome as the film drags on. Here's hoping Thor: Ragnarok doesn't repeat the same mistakes.
5) Iron Man 3
Marvel's Phase Two curtain raiser began with the hero that started it all, with Shane Black in the director's seat for Jon Favreau. Overall, it's a smart and entertaining movie, one with a more focused take on the events surrounding Tony Stark (less snarky less before) post-Avengers. To be honest, it's hard to get as to why people hate the Trevor twist at all, as any studios' efforts to spice things up to avoid obviousness should be commended. It may be one of the more boring entries in Phase 2 (the entire snowy town sequence had no bearing on the story). Regardless, the real winner here is definitely Marvel's marketing team, who successfully hid this surprise for the months leading to its release.
Just missing out on a podium finish, Age of Ultron struggles to satisfy the enormous expectations, with a not as compelling villain and story 'unworthy' of such epic scale, but the chemistry between the casts, plus the amazing action sequences, makes the ensemble sequel can give the original a run for its money. On the bright side, Joss Whedon did not prioritize the need for foreshadowing future films (look at Iron Man 2), and having the distinction of cramming every character into the film with enough breathing space. In earnest, Age of Ultron instead leaves us quenching for more solo adventures and eventually the two part Avengers: Infinity Wars in 2018/2019. Hopefully, the Russo brothers, will be deliver an even larger movie event with the many new characters introduced by then, along with a surely exciting pair up between the Avengers and the Guardians.
3) Ant-Man

2) Guardians of the Galaxy


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