My HONEST Opinion on the MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE

In my opinion, the MCU is one of the best movie franchises ever created. HOWEVER, we all know, since Endgame, there has been a serious downfall in quality. The hangover since Endgame has been so transparent within the MCU, that Marvel fans have been left scratching their heads, wondering what on earth has happened to their beloved Marvel Cinematic Universe.

I am a strong believer that the MCU will make a HUGE comeback and it will get back to its best. I mean have you seen the Deadpool & Wolverine trailers?? Although, this does not mean that in the last few years I have been extremely disappointed. Disappointed in the lack of story telling, creativity and quality. Star-studded movies that should have been box office phenomenon's, turned into desperate attempts of making a good movie. 

In this post, I will be breaking down ALL MCU movies and TV shows and giving my honest opinion on them all. Over the past month, I have re-watched every single MCU movie and TV shows, just to make sure I can give an honest assessment of what I am saying. The easiest way for me to show this to you guys is to create a tier list...

Above you can see how I will set out this tier list. We have the following;

Stan Lee - This category is what I believe to be the best of the MCU. A true credit to the legend himself, Stan Lee.

Amazing - This category is for films which I thought were great, but not quite the best.

Bang Average - This category is fairly self-explanatory, they are not the best but not the worst. 

Not the Best - This category is for films / tv series which just didn't hit with me and I did not enjoy.

My eyes are burning - This category is for what I believe is the worst the MCU has offered. My eyes are burning.

Without further a due, lets get into every single MCU showing and see where I believe they rank.

*All these rankings are strictly my opinion*

Lets start with captain america

I am starting with Captain America as this was the first MCU film I ever watched. Captain America The First Avenger was an absolute banger back in the day. But having re-watched it, I can only give it bang average. Just missing out on being amazing. 

Captain America The Winter Solider & Civil War have to be amazing for me. I was so close to putting The Winter Soldier in 'Stan Lee' but it just misses out. I just love the storyline and the rise of the Winter Soldier himself is truly incredible.

Civil War gets amazing. Even though it is a bit flawed, the overall film was epic and introduced us to some of the MCU's best characters. The big question is, where you Team Cap or Team Iron Man?

THE IRON MAN TRILOGY

As much as I like Iron Man, I personally believe his movies are quite forgettable.

Iron Man 1 is iconic which is why it has to be in amazing for me. The storyline and development of the character is superb. Robert Downey Jr plays the character so so well.

Iron Man 3 also makes its way into amazing. A lot of people are very divided on this film, but I think it is quite good and has a lot of awesome moments.

Iron Man 2 is the first project in 'Not the best'. It's just not great. I had to google the plot again when making this tier list. That speaks volume to me.

THOR, THOR, THOR, THOR

For me, Thor is one of the weirdest characters in the MCU. He is, by far, one of the best characters within the MCU, however his moves are just so hit and miss. Almost like Thor is better in the film when the title does not have his name in it. 

Saying that, Thor Ragnarok is an absolute GOAT of a film. Very deserved to be the first film in the 'Stan Lee' tier. The humour, unlike some other films, is bang on and still makes me laugh to this day. The storyline is also very cool. The moment where Hela breaks Mjolnir is simply iconic. Korg is a fantastic character to introduce and has an awesome sense of humour. The final showdown is iconic. Truly a masterpiece by Taika Waititi.

Thor and Thor The Dark World make it into 'not the best' for me. I don't really have any opinions on these. Just not the best.

Now Thor Love & Thunder may be the biggest let down for me in the MCU. I actually bought cinema tickets for this, read the reviews and gave the tickets to my friends as I did not want to go. I waited for it to come on Disney+ instead and I was so so disappointed. How can a follow-up to Ragnarok be so bad?? The humour misses almost every single time. The Guardians of the Galaxy have a muted role and are only in the film for what seems like 10 minutes. The story itself is just dreadful and desperate. My eyes are burning. Truly a disaster-piece by Taika Waititi. 

tHE SPIDER-MAN TRILOGY

Now on to everyone's favourite Superhero - Spider-Man. His films in the MCU are a very mixed bag. Not as good as the Sam Raimi trilogy, but still decent enough to hold their own.

Spider-Man Homecoming is quite good, but in the grand scheme of things, does not deserve better than bang average.

Spider-Man Far From Home makes it into 'Amazing' due to the awesome storyline and the cinematics. Some of the illusions by Mysterio are truly fascinating. Along with some pretty decent action scenes, I like it.

Spider-Man No Way Home may not be everyone's favourite movie. However, IT IS one of my favourite movies of all time. This is why it becomes another entry into the 'Stan Lee' tier. The hype this movie generated in my life was very similar to the excitement for the World Cup with England or Christmas for a small child. Everyone I knew was buzzing for this film. I actually bought my tickets 1 month early, in my favourite cinema, in my favourite seat. The hype was absolutely unreal and I personally don't believe the movie disappoints. All of the returning heroes and villains absolutely smash it. My favourite moment is when Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man completes his redemption arc and saves MJ. Mainly because I  said this would happen, after watching one of the trailers, months before the movie came out. Spectacular. 

THE MAIN EVENT - THE AVENGERS

I'm almost definitely going to get judged for this, aren't I? 

But lets start with the lowest on the list - Avengers Age of Ultron. Compared to what we have received out of the MCU recently, Age of Ultron is actually quite a decent film. The introduction of my favourite character in the MCU - The Scarlet Witch is awesome. The only big disappointment for me is what they did to the main villain himself - Ultron. Ultron in the comics is an absolute force to be reckoned with, but in this movie, he is just kind of... OK.  This film is worthy of bang average.

Next up is Avengers Endgame in 'Amazing'. Some people do not want to hear this, but the main film is actually not that great. It is mainly a nostalgia trip with an epic lead up to close the Avengers storyline. Cap lifting Mjolnir - Iconic. Iron Man's snap - iconic. The lead up the final fight - Iconic. The actual final fight - average at best. This is why this film could not make it in to 'Stan Lee'. The hype around the film was one of the best times of my life, but having re-watched it, I cannot give it top tier.

Avengers and Avengers Infinity war are some of the best films in the MCU. Truly iconic and worthy of 'Stan Lee' tier. Loki is a awesome villain in the first film. Thanos is an extraordinary villain in Infinity War. The death of Vision pulls on the heart strings. The death of half of the MCU characters is truly heart breaking. I could type for hours about these films but I don't really need to. We all know they are unbelievable.

the wonderful guardians of the galaxy

I absolutely love Guardians of the Galaxy. I know they are not for everyone, but I absolutely love them.

Some people don't like Guardians of the Galaxy, some people don't like Guardians of the Galaxy 2, some people don't like Guardians of the Galaxy 3, but I do. I love them all. They're all going in 'Stan Lee' & 'Amazing' tiers. Enough said.

Also please ignore Avengers Infinity War in Amazing, I do sort this out further down...

ANTMAN (AND THE WASP)

The Antman movies might just be the most frustrating movies in the MCU. Let me explain why...

The first Antman is very respectable and earns its way to 'Bang Average'. The storyline is alright, the main villain is OK and some of the visuals are pretty decent. Not bad. Bang average.

The second Antman film has an absolutely awful plot line. The main villain ends up teaming up with the heroes because they both want the same thing. EVEN THOUGH they both want the same thing for the whole movie? Just weird. Definitely describes being 'Not the Best'. The best thing about this film is the comeback of Luis and his nutty stories. However, even Luis' stories where missing from my worst MCU movie...

Antman and The Wasp Quantumania. Oh this film just stresses me out. Another MCU film I didn't even bother watching in the cinema. After a dreadful 'Phase 4', Antman and the Wasp Quantumania was meant to kick start 'Phase 5'. The trailers all looked super cool for this film, with some awesome visuals and a terrifying villain. However, the end results is just awful. Kang, the new big bad, defeated by ants? How does this create any sort of expectation for future films with him in? Imagine in Avengers Infinity War, before Thanos snaps, he gets taken out by some ants. Would he still be one of the most iconic villains in cinema? Absolutely not. Kang is meant to have several more films but nobody is excited for them anymore. At least I'm not.

Also lets talk about M.O.D.O.K. A serious comic villain turned into pure comic relief. What a waste. What an absolute shambles. He doesn't even look intimidating. In fact, he looks horrendous. Almost ruins the movie all by himself.

This film actually ruined the MCU for me and seriously lowered my interest. Luckily Deadpool has bought a lot of that interest back, but this film is truly unforgivable. My eyes are burning. Please never put me through that ever again.

doctor strange and black panther

The first Doctor Strange and Black Panther films are both pretty good which is why they have been put in 'Amazing'. Both films have an awesome main villain and some really cool visual effects. Very good films.

Unfortunately the sequels ruin it for me. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has a 10 second scene going through various multiverses and that is it. The rest of the film is in 2 universes. If you watched the trailer for the film, you already saw the 'Multiverse of Madness'. The Illuminati scene is just a complete waste. My favourite character Scarlet Witch is the main villain in this film. You would think I love it? Nope. They got her plot line so so wrong. Its a real shame as the film would been amazing if the storyline was better. Not the best.

My opinion on Black Panther Wakanda Forever is going to be controversial as I really do not like it. The tribute to Chadwick Boseman is beautiful and does pull at the heart strings. RIP Chadwick. Gone far too early.

The film just doesn't work properly for me. They killed the queen off far too quickly as well. The final battle is very average. Namor is written really weirdly. Not the best for me.

THE REST OF THE MOVIES GIVE MIXED RATINGS

The rest of the films I will go through quite quickly...

Shang-Chi is a decent film with some really cool fight scenes. Goes in 'Amazing' for me.

Captain Marvel and Black Widow are 'Bang Average'. Captain Marvel was lucky it came out between Infinity War and Endgame because not as many people would have watched it. Black Widow is just written awfully. I also find it weird to release her only solo film after she has died?

Hulk, The Marvels and Eternals are all 'Not the best'. I didn't hate The Marvels like most people do, but it is still not good enough. 

the tv shows are all over the place 

Another quick one to finish off this tier list.

What If...? is 'Stan Lee' tier for me. I don't really like watching cartoons, but I absolutely love this and would happily watch endless seasons of it.

Loki and the Guardians of the Galaxy Christmas Special are 'Amazing' for me. Loki just got in above 'bang average'.

Hawkeye, Moonknight and Werewolf by Night are all 'Bang Average'. Most of these TV shows start off really good and then completely drop off towards the middle.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is 'Not the Best'. Same with Miss Marvel. Both don't really have a lot to them. I do like the actress who plays Miss Marvel though, I think she does an awesome job, just needs a better movie / TV show to go with her.

She-Hulk, Secret Invasion and Echo are all surplus to requirements. I think She-Hulk is far too toxic. Secret Invasion makes the most over-powered character in MCU history. Echo is just boring. My eyes are burning. 

That is the final part of my tier list, I hope you have enjoyed seeing my opinion on the MCU! I absolutely love Marvel and even though some of my opinions are quite strong, I will still be a fan for as long as it lets me. If you agree / disagree with any of my opinions, please let me know in the comments down below. I just want to say thank you for your support recently, it is awesome seeing the website grow! You can catch updates on how the website is doing on my Instagram page - itsTarby. Thank you for reading guys, have a great day! :D

If you want to see more Marvel-related posts from me, click the link below to see our Marvel's Spider-Man post;