Captain America as a character can in some ways be tougher than any other character. He's as "pure good" as you get, which can easily be boring to watch. The first act of the film well establishes where Steve Rogers gets the chip on his shoulder, and that is more of a driving factor than simply being genuinely good. They also do a good job establishing that while the super soldier serum is what gave him power, it's not what made him great.
Admittedly, I'm a sucker for the alternate history stuff, so the retro-futuristic style is more appealing than most of these movies. It's also filled with clever little nods and easter eggs, from skinny Steve picking up a trash can lid as a shield to Professor Zola's introduction being his face blown up on a little screen as he looks into some device. There are even some moments of neat film making, with Captain American and the Red Skull standing on the platforms, explosions in between them. They are opposite sides of the same coin, yet given the war, it's as if to show that while they face off, the world burns between them.
It also sets the ground work for the the Stark/Rogers divide. Both characters spend their time in the public spotlight, facing down cheers and celebrity status. Stark comes from that and loves it, plus no one really ever calls him on it. Rogers doesn't love the spotlight, plus comes to realize that his talents aren't being used properly, which further adds to the chip always on his shoulder, making him the man he is.
The final act is set up fairly well, following a similar structure to its predecessors. Steve's plan to infiltrate the Hydra base is built around the fact that he can take a punch, something we saw early in the film. He displays cleverness that we saw while he was in training. Colonel Philips's grenade test in training camp highlighted Steve's selfless heroics, which foreshadows his ultimate end, apparently sacrificing himself to save the world. There's even a somewhat humorous moment where a Hydra soldier pulls a knife on Cap, which is a callback to Howard Stark showing Cap some armor and saying that Hydra won't be coming at him with blades, instead opting for high tech weapons.
And my favorite moment is after he sees Agent Carter in the Hydra base, where she encourages him to continue the mission and he regains focus. They have a relationship, but both understand the stakes and maintain focus. Steve grabs his shield - which was propping the door open - and moves on with the mission. And we see Agent Carter standing in the background as the doors close behind him and hints at the tragedy that his role as Captain America will cost him many thing. He must keep moving forward with the mission, leaving his own desires behind him.
The ultimate conclusion is one of the weaknesses, however. After a promising start to the final Cap/Skull battle, it ends in a rather anti-climactic fashion. Skull grabs the tesseract, then just, vanishes. And that's that. It's a very Indiana Jones type of moment, but leaves a lot to be desired. Cap's sacrifice though is well executed. While Tony Stark has had several moments in Marvel movies showing his willingness to sacrifice himself to save the day, Cap actually does have to. The last thing he says to Carter is about dancing, saying, "I'd hate to step on you..." before being cut off by the crash. This too is echoing earlier, when a tiny Steve was talking about how he could never find women to dance with, because they're "afraid of stepping on him." He finally finds a dance partner, and the role is reversed, and it's over. It's also easily the most bittersweet of the endings, as he has survived in the end, but wakes up in modern New York. "I had a date..." is a really sad and tragic line to end the film on.
It's just a shame nothing more ever came of Dum Dum Dugan and the Howling Commandos.
2. IRON MAN (2008)
The one that started it all, the first Iron Man was not quite the charming, quick-witted, pithy one-liner-filled fun fest we expect from Marvel today. In fact, it actually gets a bit dark throughout. It also has a good balance of action entertainment as well as thematic substance. Tony Stark will never be more interesting than he was as the spoiled man-child suddenly forced to confront the reality of his family business. It's perhaps the only time in any of these movies that he actually takes responsibility for anything, really. Many bemoan the weak villain and generic conclusion as a problem, but Iron Man does more to firmly establish the conclusion than any other Iron Man films.
There's a sort of tragic cycle enforced at the end. In the first half, Stark decides he no longer wants to build things that destroy. So he focuses on the arc reactor and the Iron Man suit. Yet at the end, another person took his suit design and turned it into a weapon. And they defeat Stane by essentially dropping him into the reactor, which then explodes. Basically, everything Stark worked on for peace is inevitably used to destroy, making it one of the most potent finales in Marvel's resume. All of this is only successful because of the ground work laid in the first half of the film.
3. CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER (2014)
Let's just get this out of the way: people make more out of this movie than they should. There's a tendency to over-promote the whole "privacy vs. security" element of the film, or Cap's growing concern about the behavior of the government body whose team he plays for, or the whole thing involving the soldiers from wars "returning to the world" - a clear parallel between real life soldiers and Captain America both trying to figure out how to fit back in to a world that is now completely foreign to them. While all of these are aspects of the film or exist within the film, they ultimately aren't really major elements of it. There's a tendency to make this movie seem smarter and more layered than it is.
Which is really the only major problem with it. There's a layer of depth that seems like it could exist if Marvel Studios would ever let substance return to the post-Avengers cinematic universe instead of overly focusing on world building, film and show connections, and working things from the comics into the movies. In the end, the Winter Soldier never gets the kind of attention he deserves for a film subtitled after him, and similarly, Black Widow and Falcon only get slices of back story that make them both interesting enough to merit being part of the team while also not getting enough to really be satisfying. Additionally, any political metaphors that could have been perceived in the first act of the film get completely undermined by the revelation that SHIELD is not actually so much corrupt as much as its been hijacked by the group of literally pure evil neo-Nazis that is Hydra. The plot element of Cap vs. the government/authority is also undermined by this fact, since this is a contrivance rather than an organic development within the film. We are never meant to question whether Cap is right or not because we are shown he's right. And the big twist that Pierce is Hydra doesn't hold much weight given they specifically tell us this at the start of the second act, meaning we spend the majority of the film already knowing exactly what's going on. And of course, the film suffers many of the same trappings of modern Hollywood action films in that they overuse quick cuts and shaky camera work to increase the feeling of action without actually letting the audience really see said action.
All that said, the action is really awesome. Both Captain America movies have hands down the best action sequences of any of the Marvel films, including the big cross-over Avengers films. A lot of this is because Cap fights hand-to-hand. He doesn't just blow stuff up with lasers and missiles like Iron Man. He doesn't just fly around and hit stuff with a hammer like Thor. He gets down and dirty, fighting in martial arts-driven combat sequences. Plus the stuff with the shield really is some of the coolest, most visually interesting and unique things all comic book movies have to offer.
Where the first Captain America was a sort of revisionist history war adventure film, this sequel both increases the scope while decreasing the focus. The stakes aren't that much different than before, with the whole world at risk of being destroyed by Hydra, but this time, they're more secretive about it. Instead of openly fighting everyone, they're trying to orchestrate this through infiltration of their enemies. The result here is that it's much more of an espionage thriller instead of the epic war film of before. And it's refreshing. Black Widow gets more to do, which is always great, and the fact that the Winter Soldier connects to both her and Cap gives him a little bit more weight than past Marvel villains, even despite the fact he doesn't ultimately get to do that much. And, while more is made of it than it should be, those elements of the scarred soldiers finding their place in the world after returning from war and the whole "can you trust the authorities?" do give it a little bit more of a punch than other installments in Marvel's resume. Although admittedly, even here the "spy thriller" is maybe slightly less interesting than it's made out to be because the film never hides anything from the audience. It's pretty clear on who we can trust, who is lying, and who the good guys are. It never loses sight of these things, so we're basically watching Cap and his team figure out a mystery that we already know the answer to.
So much of the success of these films though are on Chris Evans' portrayal of Steve Rogers. Despite being the Marvel equivalent of Superman in many ways, he makes Cap one of the most real characters in the movies. He is serious when he needs to be, but he never loses his sense of humor either. He isn't disrupting the tone of the film to make inappropriately timed jokes, but he will crack wise in situations that make sense for him to do so. And despite being put on a pedestal by the public, he sort of is a reluctant hero. He is completely aware of the toll this job has on him as an individual. What's strange is that going into these films, it would be easy to suspect he'd be the most boring character, being too "goody" of a character to really be interesting. Yet it's that fact that makes him so compelling. He's the most "good" person in this universe, so we want to see him overcome. Plus here, while he is annoyed with Fury's secrets, he also still does trust him in the end. His faith in Fury keeps him grounded on the right path, ultimately leading him to victory. We get to see him show his perhaps outdated - yet very much needed - idealism, which inspires the best in others as well. And this is why he works on screen. In a world where we as the audience are obsessed with Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, and Nolan Batman movies, Captain America gives us a little bit of that pure goodness that we sometimes need to see. He isn't a cocky asshole like Stark, or the hot-headed king of Thor. He's just a good guy doing the right thing according to his code in a world that's become increasingly cynical and corrupt. That's what makes him so compelling and these movies so good.
Plus again, the action really is that good, and that final fight with Winter Soldier and Cap is one of the most emotionally charged fights.
4. GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (2014)
Ok, so this might be blasphemy to put this "so low" on the list given that Guardians of the Galaxy was something of a revelation to many people. Admittedly, while the movie is really fun and entertaining, I didn't personally have the same experience given that I've been a fan of the comic since I started reading comics a decade ago. So for me, while I never imagined a movie, never mind one that other people would also enjoy and love, more or less I got something I was not as blown away overall due to my familiarity with the source material. Fair? Probably not, but it is the reality for me.
What's really refreshing about the film is the fact that for most of it, they are careful to keep makeup, costumes, and sets a major part of the experience. A film like this could easily be 99% CGI, yet that's not what they do. The make up is great and the sets are gorgeous. Yes, there are a couple of totally CG characters, as is sort of required when you have a moving tree creature and a genetically engineered super raccoon. But the inclusion of such great practical elements makes viewing the film so much more of a pleasurable experience.
As is the cast, by and large. Zoe Saldana is relatively ok as Gamora, though they make her more traditionally feminine than she is in the comics. Dave Batista is ok as the hulking Drax the Destroyer, though they make him sillier. And Vin Diesel is surprisingly good at Groot, a role which has a lot of heart despite having only one repetitive line of dialogue. The real core of this film though is Chris Pratt as Peter Quill and Bradley Cooper as Rocket, both of whom make the silliness of the film completely enjoyable. You never really think much of the fact that Rocket is a raccoon (but don't call him that to his face) because Cooper does an excellent job giving him personality. Casting Pratt was perhaps the smartest move any casting director has done, given his charm - while occasionally a bit out of place given the specifics of the story - is just so damn infectious that you can't help but love watching him.
Ronan the Accuser is a weak villain - something Marvel continues to struggle with for whatever reason. Here, he fits neatly into your typical "vengeance" motivation. In some ways, the film also gets bogged down my the Iron Man 2 syndrome of spending a little too much time and attention on world building. It's important to have Guardians of the Galaxy to start really connecting the dots between Thanos and the Avengers, and there are times where it feels like that's the main reason the film exists, but otherwise, it does a solid job being its own thing.
It's weird and silly and funny and irreverent. It's like nothing else. The ending might be stupid or brilliant depending on how you take it. (They basically beat Ronan by dancing to distract him, then just holding hands. Personally, I'm torn between thinking this is really stupid, but also appreciating that they defeat the villain in a way that has not been done before.)
And of course, it has a killer soundtrack.
5. THE INCREDIBLE HULK (2008)
Yes, yes, I know how ridiculous it sounds to put The Incredible Hulk above The Avengers, but this is called an opinion piece for a reason! It's a pretty safe bet that you'll fundamentally disagree, which is fine! You're entitled to your opinion too! At least hear me out on mine first.
The apparent black sheep of the Marvel cinematic family, The Incredible Hulk starts off wisely by introducing the origin story within the confines of the opening credits sequence. Banner and Hulk get moments of complexity. Hulk both is and isn't a monster. Bruce loses control to turn into Hulk, but Hulk also loses control to harm and damage things and people around him. Even more, General Ross isn't inherently evil. Not even Blonsky is, really. He just enjoys the thrill of a fight (like a screwed up Goku), all while trying to remain relevant as an aging soldier. Filled with Easter eggs, but not in a distracting way, it also makes a lot of fun nods to the comics and show. Plus, there's a good mixture of the loneliness that comes with the Hulk with the CGI punch-fest and destruction people hope for. The more serious, melodramatic tone (along with whispery Liv Tyler) can seem out of place given Marvel's turn to make things super light hearted, but the change of pace is great. The Hulk isn't a funny character, so the film shouldn't be super light hearted one either.
It continues some of the themes from Iron Man before it. The best part is that yet again, the finale is set up. All movie long, General Ross is hunting down Hulk. He finally gets him and has to reluctantly give him up to stop yet another problem he created in the process. The early Phase 1 Marvel movies really did a solid job of setting up the final act. It is a shame though that Marvel seems content to just ignore the movie ever happened, leaving several loose ends.
6. IRON MAN 2 (2010)
*Gasp!* More blasphemy! Again, I know that this is one of the Marvel movies that almost universally gets ridiculed and used as a shining example of what not to do, but again, here's where I'm coming from on this.
Though it gets a bad rap, Iron Man 2 might be filled with some silly moments, but it isn't actually all that bad. Ivan Vanko and Justin Hammer are actually among the better Marvel villains for their thematic significance. Both characters are alternate versions of Tony Stark. Ivan has the brains of Stark, but never had the means. Meanwhile, Hammer has the means of Stark, but not quite the brains. Both want revenge, but neither can accomplish it alone. Being a product of a capitalistic, western society, Hammer puts stock into the old expression, "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." So he hires Vanko. Yet Vanko isn't out to get rich. Hammer cannot understand this, as evident when he tries to exert power over him by taking his bird and pillows and boots. Vanko is out to destroy Stark. Before he kills him though, he wants to destroy his legacy.
See, the inherent story of Iron Man is one of redemption: a man who made money off of creating tools of destruction, and since creating Iron Man, has tried to right all the wrongs, especially with death looming. The public even loves him now, but Vanko - whose family has been hurt by the Starks - doesn't believe he is worthy of the second chance. Of course, this plot is made a little thin when it's revealed that Anton Vanko - his father - was deported by Howard Stark when he saw Anton using their technology to get rich (this revelation contradicts the apparent thematic significance of Ivan Vanko, which is unfortunate). The film does more to set up the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe, which can bog the film down. The daddy issues come up briefly, and gets resolved equally quickly, all of which should be considered weaknesses of the film.
Though the action is more shallow and "entertainment" focused than in the first film. Favreau still does a good job setting it up. The Iron Man/War Machine action returns - even providing the winning solution, as does the Happy/Black Widow joke as well. Plus, the Hammer ex-wife set up pays off. It's easy to look at the finale as generic, it's worth noting that we hadn't had the whole "fighting off an army of robots" trope seemingly countless times prior. Iron Man 2 set that standard, and in many ways, set up everything seen in The Avengers.
7. THE AVENGERS (2012)
A film so popular and successful, it completely changed the nature of the Hollywood blockbuster franchise overnight, The Avengers breaks new ground in a lot of ways, but also comes up short in many others. While not the first "cross over" film, it is the most successful at integrating different franchises into one world.
At its core though, it's a pretty typical sports movie. Nick Fury is the coach, putting together a ragtag group of misfits that few people believe in. The recruitment phase is executed well, effectively establishing the individual characters. The now-classic "heroes misunderstanding" fight among Cap, Iron Man, and Thor even establishes some of the realities of the world. Thor is stronger than Iron Man's suit, but his hammer can't dent Cap's shield. There are even some great shots, including Black Widow's interrogation of Loki, when he's trying to get into her mind, we see his face reflected off the glass, appearing right next to Widow's head. He thinks he's playing her, but Widow is stronger than that and he remains on the outside, unable to really get into her mind. Shortly after, all the heroes are gathered together, bickering. It's effective use of dutch angles and some subtly shaky camera work.
The film starts to fall apart shortly thereafter though, meandering unevenly from action set piece to action set piece. One of the big problems with the film is the dialogue once everyone is together. It goes back and forth between solid, multi-character writing and cheesy, out of character one-liners. On the most part, it is fine. Every once in a while though, they write lines for characters for the sake of injecting a joke. It can be distracting. The humor in previous films was practically seamless. Jokes came up organically within the character interactions. Here, it often feels less like a character is making a joke and more like Joss Whedon is making a joke. Additionally, there are plot elements that basically ignore the first four films. Cap calls out Stark for his unwillingness to make the sacrifice play, but we saw Stark do that in the very first Iron Man movie. They also conveniently ignore the conclusion of both Thor and The Incredible Hulk. It doesn't really help that Loki's plan makes no sense, and the goal is pretty unclear.
The meta-narrative and commentary is perhaps the most fun and interesting element. At times, the film references the innovative nature of itself. The mysterious heads of state talking to Fury early on can be viewed as studio executives shooting down the idea of an Avengers movie and mixing properties. Later, Stark figures out what Loki's play is, describing the Hulk ploy as "previews." Plus, there's all the mentioning of "Phase 2." These sorts of comments are Whedon at his best.
The final act is the big game. The team has already suffered an ugly loss at the hands of their rivals. It took a moment for them to get their act together and come closer as a team, which would be needed to win the championship/battle. For real, it's just a more fun sports movie, really, hitting all the same beats. It all culminates into that one big moment that you knew was coming the whole time, but still feels very satisfying.
Of course, it also requires a silly deus ex machina plot device to save the day, which is a bit lackluster. Still, it's effective in its structure. But like all sports movies, the second half is rarely as interesting as the first.
8. THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (2015)
These team up movies are rarely more than just a giant CGI spectacle, but Age of Ultron at least attempts to add a little more character to some of those who don't have their own solo features. But it's ultimately short on substance and just sort of re-hashes some of the same things as the first: the Hulk versus another Avenger fight, the psychological hit that puts the team at odds, the rallying pep talk from Nick Fury, the future heroes being manipulated by the villain, the giant army of robotic-looking creatures. It kind of is just the first film, just with more everything. Any thematic significance to the film had also already been touched upon, from Banner's reluctance to Hulk out to Stark's overzealous attitude and self-assurance causing problems for the world. The one new element - the implications of AI - gets such little attention that there's nothing interesting about it.
Not really much more to say on it than that.
9. THOR: THE DARK WORLD (2013)
Thor films always had a knack for getting the character close, but not quite. Thor: The Dark World surprisingly gets it closer than any other Marvel film, but it doesn't get anything else quite right. On the most part, everything on Asgard is solid. It even features a strong opening with Thor and his band of merry warriors fighting a solid fantasy battle on one of the other realms. It shortly after brings the audience back to Earth to follow Jane Foster and her band of merry comic relief sidekicks. Pretty much everything that happens on Earth is terrible where it can't go more than two lines without going out of its way to present yet another dumb joke. It couldn't clash more with the tone of the rest of the film, which is actually rather grave, featuring perhaps the most emotional actual death of a character in a Marvel movie (at least, until they reset everything with Ragnarok). There's also a strange conflict in visual styles, with Asgard having a fantasy look while the Dark Elves come in with a total sci-fi style.
Though comic relief is necessary, they go far beyond what is needed to the detriment of the film. It also isn't necessary to use the humans for it when you've got Loki prominently featured. Still, it actually does many things really well. The first of which is really upping the ante with Loki. As sharp and untrustworthy as ever, we finally see a more "human" side to him. His conversation with his mother, plus his reaction to the news of her death are among the best scenes in any of these films, in large part because of Tom Hiddleston's perfection as an actor. Indeed, the main reason this gets the nod above the first Thor is the increased role they give to him - which is easily the smartest thing any writer has done. The film hits its pinnacle when Thor must recruit the help of Loki. The prison break, followed by their team up, is actually some of the best stuff in these things.
Once again though, things fall apart in the third act. Rather than trying to set up something of relevance, it devolves into a mere, typical, gigantic and destructive action sequence. Loki's near-perfect character arc gets immediately reset and made irrelevant, ruining his plot completely. It also features one of the most forgettable villains in the movie-verse in whatever the name of the Dark Elf king is. The tone is all over the place, rotating between stupid joke and "the world is in grave peril" action.
Only other thing worth praising though is it's special "Avengers" cameo. Chris Evan's showing up as Loki making himself appear like Captain America was great, and Evans does a great job playing Loki playing Cap.
10. THOR (2011)
There are plenty of problems plaguing Thor. It's filled to the brim with CGI that can often clash with the great sets and makeup. The costumes look mostly ok, but occasionally come off as plastic toys. All of the human characters are under written, especially Jane Foster - who goes from leading physicist to clumsy bimbo the moment she sees a ripped dude without a shirt. There are often many out-of-place jokes (although there are some really well executed jokes as well). At times, it suffers from distracting world building references. And of course, the dutch angles. There are lots of them, though most often, it's used during scenes with SHIELD, to further add to the uncertainty to their role in each of the Marvel movies or when Thor is confronted with battling his brother Loki, basically highlighting that everything he used to know is about to change.
But there are a number of well executed elements to the film too. Tom Hiddleston as Loki is not only the best "villain" of any Marvel movie to date; he also gives perhaps the best acting performance in any Marvel movie as well. On the surface, he seems simple - jealous of his brother Thor's spot as heir to the throne. Yet there's more beneath that. He doesn't know his place in Asgard, or in his family. He also seems to truly believe that the hot-headed Thor might not be best for Asgard. Actually, Loki's plan ultimately works. He brings about the final defeat of Lafi, the Frost Giant King. There's also an almost sort of Shakespearean element to the film at times. Nothing is inherently good nor evil. There are subtle complexities and duality to almost everything. Pitting brothers against brother is one of the more tragic-feeling and bittersweet conclusions in one of these movies.
11. IRON MAN 3 (2013)
Iron Man 3 seems to be one of the most polarizing entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A lot of people love it; a lot of people hate it. It does some things really, really well. It's borderline insulting in how stupidly it handles other elements. People go back and forth on whether it's good or bad because it spends a lot of time with Tony Stark out of the Iron Man suit. Depowering a character can be a really effective plot device though for some interesting character arcs. It worked very well for The Wolverine. On the most part, it works well here too. It functions in a similar way in that while we know Logan and Stark aren't ever really going to bite the big one, it does heighten a sense of concern for the character.
One of the things that makes the film interesting is that it actually gives some weight to the events of The Avengers on the small scale. Stark seems to be dealing with a lot of anxiety, and maybe even some post traumatic stress from the alien invasion of New York. It's cool to see a solo flick that has a character actually dealing with something from his or her experiences in the past films. The first two acts might actually be the strongest entry into the Iron Man series of films. The crippling anxiety attacks and self-destructive tendencies in dealing with them are some of the more profound elements a character has had to deal with in a Marvel movie. It just completely falls apart by the third act.
It also suffers one of the weaker villains of the franchise. Where Justin Hammer and Ivan Vanko are basically alternate sides of the Tony Stark coin, Aldrich Killian is a petulant child. His revenge motif comes from a grudge because Stark skipped an impromptu meeting at a New Year's Eve party. Weak. Even more, the Mandarin starts off badass and intimidating, but serves no function in the structure of the film or in the story as anything other than a distraction (and a really, really bad joke - it's telling that shortly after the film, Marvel started backtracking on the Mandarin, hinting that the "real" Mandarin is still out there in a special short film for a blu-ray release).
And of course, all it takes for Stark to overcome his anxieties and PTSD symptoms is for that kid to tell him to build something. And he literally just goes, "Ok." Remembers he's Tony Stark. And BAM! Cured. Plot element dropped entirely. It's a little bit strange that for the character to grow, he needs to remember who he was. His arc is completed by going back to the start. (Or rather, back to the Stark.) The finale winds up being a pretty generic action sequence with tons of robots, cheesy villain dialogue, fake deaths, and going out of its way to make sure you know no innocent people got actually injured. All culminating in a lot of "resets" to bring the film back to where we were at the end of Iron Man 2.
Plus there's the whole thing that the point of the movie is to show that Tony Stark realizes he's more than just the suit. It isn't the armor that makes him a hero. And yet at the final battle, he's only actually able to save the day because he gains all the suits. In fact, it isn't even Stark that saves the day. It's a newly powered Pepper Potts in one of the dumbest fake-out deaths in these movies who defeats the villain. It runs counter-productive to the point of the film, marking the first time that the third act gets away from and has almost no relevant thematic connections to the first two.
I know, I know. It's almost a given that no one has the same list as I do. Most would put Captain America: The Winter Soldier or Guardians of the Galaxy or certainly The Avengers as the top three. Surely, no one else would put The Incredible Hulk or Iron Man 2 on the top half, when conventional wisdom is that those are among the worst.
Still, I can't help but feel a bit like "conventional wisdom" is a bit too built around the "cool" factor and less about actually quality film making or anything of substance. I've also got to admit that while I've genuinely enjoyed pretty much all of these films, it's hard to imagine many of them standing the test of time. The films that laid the ground work - the pre-Avengers films - have a better chance though given they crafted decent films built on a solid framework. There is a part of me that thinks that everything post-Avengers will eventually just be forgotten, inevitably function as dust collectors as part of every nerd's growing blu-ray collection. The movies, like many of the comics, will ultimately become valueless pieces of shallow entertainment meant to be consumed in the now, rarely to be revisited after the next piece of "now entertainment" hits theaters.
The trouble with a movie franchise functioning like the comics is that it's only a matter of time before it becomes too big and too complicated and too convoluted, and eventually, it will be rebooted. When that happens, we'll collectively forget everything that came before and focus again on whatever piece of shiny CGI-slathered, studio-driven movie comes out in the now. And we'll leave our blu-rays on the shelf, just like we leave the old comics in their boxes. These have been fun, but do seem to lack a bit of that "something special" that made other blockbusters like Jaws, Indiana Jones, or Die Hard such all-time classic action/adventure blockbusters. They're also losing their unique qualities by their own volition, given that Marvel is going to just keep pumping out three movies a year, all while rival studios will try to keep pace. The CGI-driven superhero punching fest will inevitably stagnate just the way the natural disaster film craze of the '90s did. Not that it will ever lose a place in the market (natural disaster flicks clearly didn't lose a spot either) but it's not something every studio is trying to do now.
For now, we can just enjoy the ride and see what happens, which is half the fun anyway.
What is your list?
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