MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE ROUND UP: THE BEST AND WORST OF PHASE ONE

THE BEST AND WORST OF...

We are standing at the dawn of PHASE THREE of Marvel's Cinematic Universe. In May of 2016 Phase Three will begin with the shattering of the Avengers in CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR. In light of this "Avengers Disassembled" event I think it's time to look back at where it all started, what brought them together and what ultimately revolutionized the concept of film franchises and nearly perfected the Super Hero genre of movies. This blog was started well after Phase One finished and after Phase Two was nearly completed. Consider this a retrospective as well as a catch-up.

Marvel Studios is a film company which exists for the sole purpose of producing super hero films. Their first film debuted in 2008, a time when the film market was already over-saturated with super hero films and growing stale. With the exception of the Spider-Man films, by the beginning of 2008 very few super hero movies grossed over $300 million. All sorts of adaptations and interpretations of the characters and properties had been tried by this point resulting in various degrees of success and failure. Needless to say the genre was at a tipping point and to open a new studio dedicated to the genre was either extremely risky or flat out dumb.

Marvel Studios didn't even have their A-List cast of heroes available to them. Spider-Man was off limits. The X-Men were off limits. The Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Ghost Rider, all off limits. Marvel had, at best, their B-Team, a host of characters only known to comic book fans and maybe a few others. Risky and dumb are the nicest adjectives to describe this move by Marvel Studios. They gambled everything on a duo of films, one fairly unknown character and another character with a failed financial history in film already. The odds were heavily against them. And it paid off.

With a greater vision, A-List actors, and a scope never before attempted, Marvel Studios reinvigorated the super hero film genre and achieved unparalleled success. Now, it's not just their characters audiences flock to see, it's the brand. Marvel Studios went further than anyone else and created a brand and that brand alone sells their films. They built a house. Phase One they laid the foundation. Let's sit in judgement and take a look back at the foundation for arguably one of the most successful franchises of not just the genre but cinema in general.

*note: These are my opinions and nowhere absolutes. The joy of making lists such as this is to compare with others and discuss.

THE LIST

 IRON MAN

Released May 2nd 2008

Box Office Gross: $318 million

Directed by Jon Favreau, when one asks why Marvel Studios is so successful all one needs to do is watch this film. Everything that is wonderful, entertaining, and powerful about these films is represented here. The style and feeling of the Marvel Studios films was created with this movie. This film owes it's success to all its parts, creating a total far greater than the sum. It isn't just one aspect of the film that stands out but many.

Robert Downey Jr. often receives most of the credit, and rightly so. But now having seen six films with Downey's Iron Man/Tony Stark there are examples where even the actor's signature performance hasn't translated to a quality film. Needless to say though, RDJ is Iron Man. His performance is legendary and this movie created an icon. Not only is his performance astounding but added to that are strong performances from Gwyneth Paltrow and Jeff Bridges. It's not just one actor that helps carry this film to greatness but all of them.

The set-up. This film lays the foundation for Marvel's Cinematic Universe in subtle and natural ways. The first time we meet Agent Phil Coulson and he rattles off the long name of his organization I didn't catch what it spelled out until the end of the film. SHIELD and Nick Fury are introduced in this film and they are the glue of Phase One along with Agent Coulson. SHIELD is what unites the world and brings everyone together in Avengers.

Then their is the mostly faithful adaptation of Iron Man's mythology from the comics. Yes, his origin is updated from Vietnam to the Middle East but even within that the movie remains incredibly faithful to the comic. We're given Pepper Potts, Happy Hogan, James Rhodes, Jarvis, the Mark One & Mark Two and more. Jarvis being a computer program rather than Tony's butler was perhaps the biggest departure from the comic, but even that was integrated into the plan years later and the real butler Jarvis would make his appearance too albeit elsewhere. Obadiah Stane ~ the Iron Monger and the storyline that culminated in Iron Man issue #200 were adapted for the central plot, one of the character's finest stories from the comics. All this while subtly laying the foundation for Iron Man's greatest nemesis The Mandarin and the Ten Rings.

Legacy. The core of Iron Man's character for the MCU, his motivation and driving force in every one of his films (with the exception of Iron Man 3) is firmly established. It's about legacies, not only his but his father's legacy, and ultimately the legacy of the Avengers. This is the heart of the film and the heart of the character. It's what transports the film from being another summer blockbuster to something more, something that connects to the audience and shows us what it means to be a real hero. From Yinsen's death and the death of the soldiers assigned to protect him to Tony asking Pepper to overload the Arc Reactor to stop Obadiah with the likely possibility of his own death too.

The Humor. It isn't ham-fisted over the top humor that makes light of the world of Marvel. Nor does the humor diminish the gravity or seriousness of the story. It's humor through clever dialog, charismatic personalities, and incredible or awkward situations. It balances out the action and the grim narrative qualities of the story providing a roller-coaster of emotions adding up to a fun exciting experience even after seeing it for the tenth time. This blend of humor and excitement has become a staple of Marvel's films along with the post credit scenes ~ the purpose of which is to give us a glimpse into the future.

If you loved the Iron Man character from the comic books this movie gives you a near perfect representation to show everyone else why you love the character and why the character is worthy of greatness. This movie launched Iron Man from a relatively unknown character to a world renown icon as financially successful as Spider-Man. Is this movie perfect? No. No movie is. But the impact of this film and it's quality is undeniable.

Overall Ranking: 8 out of 10

Jon Favreau, Robert Downey, and Kevin Feige breathe new life into the super hero genre delivering a movie more than the sum of its parts. Without Iron Man the state of super hero movies today would be very different.

THE INCREDIBLE HULK

Released June 13th 2008

Box Office Gross: $134 million

Directed by Louis Leterrier, as far as Marvel characters go the Hulk was the closest Marvel Studios had to a well known A-List character. But still they faced an uphill battle. Five years prior Universal Studios released the first Hulk major motion picture and the response was indifferent. Director Ang Lee gave a lengthy drama with a comic panel-like visual layout. It earned a respectable $132 million at the box office but failed to win the hearts of audiences. Marvel Studios's Incredible Hulk went with a different approach to the film but were met with nearly identical results.

This film suffered from a lack of unity between its creative leaders. Star Edward Norton had his own vision for the film that conflicted with producer Kevin Feige's. Director Leterrier was probably the one least in charge of the three. This was most likely the core problem that plagued the film. An argument could also be made about the limited appeal of the Hulk character in general, but the answer to that argument would happen four years later. Suffice it to say that the Hulk was not the problem with this film. Perhaps five years wasn't long enough to erase the general muted feelings and memories of Ang Lee's film.

Unlike Iron Man's faithful comic book adaptation, this film draws more of its inspiration from the 1970's Incredible Hulk television show starring Bill Bixby and Lou Ferrigno. In the comics the Hulk is born through a selfless act of heroism, Bruce Banner saving Rick Jones's life. This is central to the character just as Tony Stark's captivity is to the birth of Iron Man. No such moment exists in this version of the Hulk's story. The writer also seems to have cherry picked his favorite moments from Hulk stories written by comic authors Bruce Jones and Jeph Loeb whose writing is incontinuitous and ignores much of the greater Hulk mythology. So right off the bat the film isn't a very close representation of the character. If anything this film is more about setting up Captain America's origin than the Hulk's.

The film relies heavily on CGI effects for the main character and the central antagonist. In 2008 doing a piece of machinery like Iron Man or Iron Monger entirely in CGI looked more convincing than something organic. So many of the film's central set pieces lack a certain substantial feeling. They feel CGI rather than real. With Iron Man the helmet could come off and the audience could see Tony's face. With no real life references in the big action scenes a few moments appear hollow. The CGI worked best during the scenes where Hulk is partially obscured in the shadows.

Even with the CGI occasionally lacking, Leterrier delivers amazingly choreographed action sequences. He's an action director and he brings his A-Game in this movie. His action plotting is powerful and exciting. Even the chase scene with Banner running along the rooftops of the favelas is awesome coupled with film composer Craig Armstrong's incredible score. This score is one of my favorites amid many of the MCU's mostly generic film scores. Even so it is not enough to prevent this film from falling flat in comparison to all the other Phase One films.

The Strongest There Is. Despite the problems of this film it remains one of my favorite Marvel Studios films to date (but truthfully I am hugely biased as the Hulk is my all time favorite literary character). The design of the Hulk in this film is my favorite rendering of all his film appearances. And Edward Norton is a perfect fit for Bruce Banner, both in terms of acting and likeness. Unfortunately Norton caused more problems for the film behind the camera rather than in front of it, demanding he have final say in the editing room. When Feige told him "No" he walked. This is why Norton is no longer a part of the MCU.

Casting. One of Marvel Studios's strengths is their cast of actors. William Hurt as General "Thunderbolt" Ross is perfect and near identical to artist John Romita Jr.'s pencils. Sam Elliot was fantastic in Ang Lee's Hulk film and William Hurt is just as good and a closer likeness. Along with General Ross the film introduces Betty Ross, Leonard Samson, Emil Blonsky, and Samuel Sterns, all supporting characters from Hulk's comics. It's strange that the filmmakers took such pains to set characters in place but drew upon nothing else from the comic book story.

Personally I enjoy this movie more than others in Phase One and I come back to it often. I am very excited to see William Hurt reprise his role as Thunderbolt Ross in Captain America: Civil War (and I pray to God that Red Hulk NEVER appears in the MCU though). With Hurt back as Ross you can't ignore this film anymore. Even with all its flaws this is still an enjoyable film on par with a couple others in Phase One, though I may be the only one who thinks so.

Overall Ranking: 7 out of 10

While having similar caliber casting as Iron Man and even Tony Stark himself making an appearance, The Incredible Hulk suffered from being pulled in too many opposing directions and special effects unable to deliver.

IRON MAN 2

Released May 7th 2010

Box Office Gross: $312 million

Jon Favreau returns to direct yet another hugely successful film for Marvel. All the actors have returned save for Terrence Howard who was replaced by Don Cheadle. The cast also adds the talents of Sam Rockwell and Mickey Rourke as the villains Justin Hammer and Ivan Vanko ~ The Crimson Dynamo (with a little bit of inspiration from the Iron Man villain Whiplash thrown into the design). Marvel Studios seem to be intentionally selecting the villains for their films with trilogies in mind, in most cases saving the biggest and baddest villains for last. This is perfect if the trilogy eventually is finished. If the second or third films don't get made however the first film's villain is wasted. Thank goodness these films are successful.

The cast picks up right where they left off, integrating the newcomers without missing a beat. There's even an exchange between Robert Downey Jr. and Don Cheadle addressing the replacement of Terrence Howard. The humor is spot on identical from the last film and RDJ proves once again that he is Iron Man. The central theme to Tony's character, that of legacy, is explored further in this film and is once again at the core and the heart of the story. The last film was about Tony reconciling with himself and making the necessary changes to become a better man. This film is similar in that he is reconciling with his deceased father and learning how to become an even better Iron Man.

It really is a perfect sequel to the first film both in tone and character development. In the MCU chronology Iron Man 2 takes place before The Incredible Hulk in the timeline, so it is meant to be the next film to immediately follow Iron Man one. Watching IM1 and IM2 back to back is like watching one film (save the actor switch for Rhodey's character). Not only is Iron Man and his supporting cast further developed but also Nick Fury and SHIELD are explored more.

Agent Coulson is back along with a significant new addition to the whole cinematic universe in the character of Black Widow. In the comics Black Widow first appeared in an Iron Man/Crimson Dynamo story (Tales of Suspense #52). Scarlett Johansson is everything a fan of Marvel could want in a Black Widow portrayal, from character likeness to the fight scenes. There is even a shot of her in a bra albeit obscured, the only shot for us hetero-males as opposed to all those obligatory shirtless scenes with Cap and Thor that litter the future films of the MCU.

Speaking of the fight scenes, the action in this film is awesome! From inventiveness to CGI effects to cinematography, broken down it is one of the flashiest, stylish, and well-shot group of action scenes in all of the MCU films. The showdown between War Machine, Iron Man, and the Hammeroids at the film's climax is my favorite Iron Man action sequence in the entirety of the MCU. Favreau enlists the talents of Genndy Tartakovsky for the final fight sequence further solidifying Tartakovsky as an action director god. War Machine and Iron Man have never been more badass than there. The Japanese meditation gardens where the fight takes place is the coolest setting any MCU fight has ever been staged too.

Where this movie falters a bit is that it has no core comic storyline to follow. The first film was a mash-up of two stories, Iron Man's origin and the Obadiah Stane saga ending in Iron Man #200. Here there is no strong core concept for the film to draw from so the plot feels loose, like the writer winged some of it. If writer Justin Theroux drew from any Iron Man stories in particular it seems to be from early Tales Of Suspense stories with the original Crimson Dynamo (Anton Vanko) and the Justin Hammer stories from the Iron Man #120-127 and the Stark Wars Saga. This film appeared to be laying the foundation for the classic Iron Man story ARMOR WARS which could've been a wonderful trilogy cap.

Another complaint about this film is it lacks a general dread and fear from the villains. There isn't a feeling of doubt as to whether Tony (or Rhodey for that matter) will make it out alive. The terrorism and destruction is also localized, not world threatening at all. In fact the resolution comes fairly easily in the end. But this, I believe, was all by design. By this point Marvel knew where it was going with the Avengers. To achieve a bigger sense of scale beyond anything we'd seen, the five films preceding Avengers are all on a lower, sometimes personal scale. After Avengers there was no way Marvel could do another Iron Man story in a lower scale. So they got it done here.

Overall Ranking: 7 out of 10

If there is a significant failing of this movie it would be that it is too similar to the its predecessor. The ante wasn't upped enough. Some may see this as a flaw or really good consistency. Personally the more I watch this movie the more I like it.

THOR

Released May 6th 2011

Box Office Gross: $181 million

Director Kenneth Branagh was tasked with perhaps the most difficult and ambitious film of the five movies leading up to The Avengers. Norse mythology. Classical Shakespearean dialog. A pan-dimensional narrative accessible to a mass audience establishing a host of new and wonderful characters and foreign concepts. All this while keeping to the "Marvel Method" of filmmaking of employing clever humor and excitement. The odds of any director pulling this miracle off were slim to none. One look at this laundry list would scare even the mightiest of mortals.

But Kenneth Branagh is no mere mortal. He looked at such a challenged and laughed, "Haha! Surely you jest, Son of Feige. Hast though forgotten that I directed HAMLET? All thou requires tis a script worthy of the halls of Asgard!" Okay, this conversation probably didn't actually happen but I like to think that a version of it did. And that this is how Kenneth Branagh actually speaks.

Twas not long before this movie that the Marvel comic scribe J. Michael Straczynski redefined the characters of Thor and Loki returning them to greatness. Wisely Marvel Studios brought Straczynski in to work on the script and ensure that the movie was faithful to the character and the Marvel mythology. Between the story and the screenplay the movie credits a total of five writers, more evidence to support how difficult the task at hand was. A timeless "coming of age" tale was used as the heart of the story and journey for Thor to follow. Crafting Marvel's Cinematic world around it and staying true to the mythology resulted in one of the best scripts in all of Phase One.

The imagery. Not only was crafting a quality script a challenge but visually conceptualizing a mythological world must've been just as daunting if not more so. Taken too far in one direction or another runs the risk of losing your audience but then one also has to stay true to both the comic book and the mythology otherwise it loses its meaning. Asgard. The Golden Halls of Odin. The Bifrost. Jotunheim. The Rainbow Bridge. Yggdrasil. Oh my Thor, how in Hela's name they came up with the look of everything in this film is a mystery. Everything looks great and believable. Odin at one point shows up in a pillar of light atop an eight-legged horse! Too cool! A miracle of a script and a miracle of set/costume/concept design. Now all they needed were the actors to perform yet another miracle.

I always talk about casting. The actors in this film not only had to be great at their roles but the majority of them also had to pull off classic speech. Anthony Hopkins can do anything and he is a near perfect Odin. Chris Hemsworth is fantastic as Thor. Tom Hiddleston is ridiculously good as Loki. Stellan Skarsgard, Rene Russo, Idris Elba, and Jaimie Alexander are equally wonderful. Having so many good actors and characters helps this movie achieve greatness but also presents my one complaint about this film.

In this movie we are introduced to Thor, Loki, Odin, Frigga, Sif, the Warriors Three, Heimdall, Laufey, Erik Selvig, Jane Foster, Clint Barton, Jasper Sitwell, the Destroyer, and all the concepts that go along with Norse mythology and on top of that you have Agent Coulson, Nick Fury, and the Tesseract in the mix as well. This movie is stuffed to Odin's beard with characters, most of which are very likeable. We barely spend any time with them. How can we when the film is less than two hours long. I love that Marvel gave us all these characters in this one movie but they barely did justice to half of them. The epic scope of the world of Thor dwarfs any other character of Phase One. His movies need to be longer. If there is a three hour cut of the movie where we get to spend more time with the Asgardians I want to watch it. Thor: Ragnarok better be 2 hours and 45 minutes or longer.

Marvel Studios clearly recognizes that all the parts must be perfect or close to perfect in order for their films to go above and beyond the countless other super hero films out there. With the exception of Spider-Man, Marvel Comics hasn't a single character with the power and draw of DC pillars Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. Marvel Studios's films have to be amazing in every aspect just to get people to go. With Thor I feel they struck gold once again, maybe not in the box office, but with a truly wonderful film. They also end the movie with a song by the Foo Fighters "Walk." The presence of the Foo identifies this film as pure awesome.

Overall Ranking: 8 out of 10

Thor may not be the money maker that Iron Man is but his films, both this one and Thor: The Dark World are among the most well done films in all of the MCU. And I'm not even a huge Thor fan. When Marvel Studios cracked this code they showed the world that they were capable of anything.

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

Released July 22nd 2011

Box Office Gross: $176 million

Directed by Joe Johnston, Captain America was Marvel Studios's final piece needed to set the stage for Avengers. I mentioned earlier how the super hero genre was growing stale and over-saturated. Many of the super hero films out there are "Origin" stories. For Marvel Studios to come in with even more origins and do as well as they did says a lot about the quality of their films versus the other studios. Captain America is an origin story yet again but also another finely crafted film faithful to the source material... mostly.

The movie has an almost 80's Amblin Entertainment aura about it in the vein of Indiana Jones and the Rocketeer (another Joe Johnston film). The action channels the excitement of an adventure film rather than a war movie. There's even the montage scene that typified commercial 80's cinema. The horrors of war are almost non-existent, which is to be expected of a film marketed to a wide audience of all ages. Seriously though, I'd love to see a whole movie of Captain and the Howling Commandos in the trenches of WWII.

Stanley Tucci. Once again the cast for this film is amazing. Tommy Lee Jones provides the heavy hitter acting chops, basically playing himself, and it is great. And then there's Stanley Tucci. He's in the film for about thirty minutes and plays Dr. Erskine, the creator of the super soldier serum. Everything Tucci does and every line he delivers are emotionally moving and the heart of the film and the core of Captain America's character. Tucci's performance shines the brightest of all the actors. That being said there isn't a weak performance in the film.

Marvel Studios delivers wholly on the world of Captain America. The characters of Bucky Barnes, Peggy Carter, the Red Skull, Arnim Zola, and the Howling Commandos populate the film and just like in Thor each one of them is awesome and we don't get to spend enough time with them. Hydra also makes its debut in this film and goes on to play major roles in many future films. Plus we receive nearly a full breakdown of the Tesseract (known better to us comic fans as the Cosmic Cube).

Writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely deliver a fantastic script incorporating not only Cap's comic book mythology but also Cap's real world products (as in "our" world). The Captain America comic books, the old movie serials, radio shows, everything that existed in our world back in the 1940's with Cap exists within the movie as well. A large section of the film showcases Cap as a promoter for War Bonds. It was completely unexpected to see but serves the film and the history of the character well. The writers also lay some major groundwork for not only future Cap films but for many projects in the MCU.

There are a few failings which significantly hurt the film. The framing sequences at the beginning and end, the scenes that take place in the future, effectively neuter the tension. By knowing the outcome at the beginning of the film we know that anything Cap goes through he will be all right at the end of it. Marvel Studios also made it no secret that Avengers was coming once again under-cutting the threats in the film and to a large extent the film as a whole. By giving the film the subtitle The First Avenger it gives one the sense that this film is one we have to get through just so we can have The Avengers, turning this film from something you want to see to something obligatory. Marvel Studios was its own enemy here.

Looking at the film as a stand alone feature becomes an assessment of how faithful to the source material the film is and how well it functions on its own. There are plot holes and cliffhangers that aren't resolved in the film and if you know the comic books even more of these sequel set-ups present themselves. And then there is the Red Skull/Baron Zemo switch. Zemo, in the comics, is the one who essentially kills Bucky and puts Cap on ice but the film gives these moments to Red Skull instead. It's not a big deal unless you like Baron Zemo (I'm sure there at least two of us out there). Apparently Baron Zemo has been saved for last as he will be appearing in Captain America: Civil War. It will be interesting to see what the filmmakers do with him as his most iconic moments from the comic were used up elsewhere.

Overall Ranking: 6 out of 10

The excitement of the film is undercut by its own studio. However, the cast assembled for the film and the sheer spectacle of seeing Cap and Red Skull square off on the big screen is worth it. As a part of something bigger the film functions better every time I watch it. It doesn't work so well as a standalone though. It merely is a prologue to what was to come next...

Speaking of assembled...

THE AVENGERS

Released May 4th 2012

Box Office Gross: $623 million

Directed by Joss Whedon, THE AVENGERS represents the culmination of four years and five films worth of time, effort, and careful planning. All of Kevin Feige's and everyone at Marvel Studios's hard work resulted in unprecedented success for the genre and a film experience never before realized on the big screen. Some say that this film is far overrated and there is an argument for that. The Avengers and the success it achieved would not have been possible if it weren't for the five films that came before it. Like Captain America: The First Avenger, The Avengers doesn't function very well as a standalone film. But as a film that functions as a sequel to all five films before it, The Avengers truly becomes greater than the sum of its parts.

What hurts The Avengers as a standalone film is ultimately what helps it go above and beyond  anything that came before it. All the character development for most of the central players had been done in the previous films. The audience was already familiar with Loki and the threat of the Tesseract. Audiences were already familiar with the pieces to the puzzle. What Joss Whedon did with this film was put those puzzles pieces together.

Seems simple, right? Not so much. The heavy lifting wasn't finished. Putting the pieces together was probably just as hard if not harder than crafting and creating each puzzle piece individually. Each of the prior five films was done with so much care and detail. Individual world were created. How does one bring them all together and do justice to each one? This is where the film becomes remarkable and achieves (forgive the corny cliche) movie magic. 1: Balancing screen time between each of the characters. 2: Ensuring each character translates seamlessly with their individual films both in terms of story and character. 3: Being respectful of the characters and displaying on screen the reasons why we audience members love them. This was all Joss Whedon had to do. No biggy, right?

It's no wonder this perfect balancing act couldn't be repeated a second time and no wonder why Joss Whedon doesn't want to do it anymore. It's like a penny landing on its side. First off, RDJ's Iron Man is spot on perfect from where we last saw him in IM2 and he doesn't hog the screen. There are lengthy portions where we don't see Tony and the other actors are given just as much time and treatment. I'm sure the temptation to make this film in essence Iron Man 3 was there but the fact that they didn't do that shows guts and faith in the other characters and actors.

Whedon doesn't get the balancing act perfect though. Last time we saw Thor he was stranded in Asgard, the Bifrost destroyed. Getting back to Earth should be a big deal but it is barely touched on, explained away in one of Loki's throwaway lines. Then there are the hordes of Chitauri alien warriors (who aren't robots) blanketing the city. Once the Tesseract portal is shutdown so too are the Chitauri. Oops! Whedon addresses this in the film commentary. There's probably a whole other movie that could've been made with the world and the heroes hunting down and stopping the thousands of Chitauri warriors still on Earth. This is a whopper of a plot hole. Also Tony's absent Arc Reactor (one scene it's there and the next scene it isn't).

And then there is the matter of Hawkeye. He had his first appearance in Thor but it was only a small cameo. Here he spends most of the movie as a mind-controlled puppet of Loki's. Of all the Avengers Hawkeye was probably the one in this movie that needed the most development. In the comics Hawkeye began his career as a villain so this is kind of an homage to that era for the character. But still, as a result Hawkeye seems to be the magnet for trash-talk and Avengers hate. This film also has Captain America's worst film costume to date. Needless to say, the film has its problems. But it also has a Hulk.

The Avengers takes the least successful of all its characters and turns him into the show stealer of the movie. The Hulk, after two miserably failed movies, shines the brightest, even more than the charismatic man in the tin can. Hulk has the least screen time of the cast but has some of the best moments. Mark Ruffalo had the steepest climb of all the actors, having to step into Edward Norton's shoes and take on a twice botched character. As Banner he is likeable and endearing. As the Hulk he is the fan favorite. With moments like Hulk catching Iron Man out of the sky, punching Thor, "I'm always angry," and "Puny god" the Hulk becomes the character you cheer for the loudest. Marvel Studios finally nailed it with the jade giant.

But I'm making this all too complicated. This movie succeeds for six simple reason: Black Widow, Hawkeye, Thor, Cap, Hulk, and Iron Man. Seeing all these characters together, characters from other franchises, is something no other movie studio in this country has ever done before. And the characters are near perfect representations of their comic book counterparts. The scale of the threat is truly Avengers worthy. And the movie is fun. That Michael Bay-like shot of the Avengers together never gets old. Bottom line is this movie did what no other had done before. It changed movie making and franchise crafting forever.

Overall Ranking: 9 out of 10

We could nit pick this movie to death and it's easy to do so. There are a great number of faults. But look at what the movie got right. If the characters are treated well, and they are, and the audience is having a good time then we can forgive a lot.

And there you have it! The line up for Marvel's Phase One. Phew! I know that was long winded and thank you to anyone who actually got through it all. Since I don't have individual movie reviews for these six films consider this my retrospective review. With Phase Three the round-up will be much shorter since each movie will have their own long winded review in separate posts. But that post won't happen for another four years. In the mean time I'll give you this post four years late.

*note: Again these are my opinions and not absolutes. I actually like all of these movies and think they are all good films.

And now my ranking of the best and the worst staring with the worst:

THE WORST

#6 

#5

#4

#3

#2

#1

THE BEST

Well, do you agree? Yes? No? Let's discuss. Leave comments below and give me your lists of the Best and the Worst of Marvel Studios' Phase One films!

And here's to a wonderful PHASE THREE!!! 

Check out my PHASE TWO Best and Worst list

For more of the Marvel Cinematic Universe check out these other posts reviewing MCU movies and television...

Guardians of the Galaxy

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Ant-Man

Daredevil Season One

Daredevil Season Two

Jessica Jones Season One 

Also check out what's coming with Marvel Studios full schedule for Phase Three