MCU (Phase 1)

Phase 1 of the MCU was definitely mind-blowing at the time. A cinematic universe slowly establishing characters so they can form the Avengers team for one big crossover film? That's awesome! Nowadays, with how many studios are rushing out cinematic universes, Phase 1 is a lot less impressive, but I think it's still noteworthy how slow it takes things. Nearly every single one of the Avengers gets an origin film and the ones who don't still appear pre-Avengers. This does result in nearly the whole phase being origin stories which I've just gotten so tired of by now, but it made the payoff of The Avengers that much better. I also think the visual effects held up incredibly well here! While later MCU films end up overusing VFX and making some noticeable errors, most of the Phase 1 films limited the visual effects a bit and they aged pretty impressively, especially the Iron Man films.

Iron Man: The first MCU film is a peak case of Early Installment Weirdness because wow, this does not seem like an MCU film at all. The endless pile of snark in the later phases isn't here, there's a huge lack of action, the tone is a lot more gritty, Tony Stark's kind of a bad person at the start of the film, and the more realistic antagonists means that the danger feels a lot more palpable here. It's just so strange coming back to this one after watching all of the other MCU films, but maybe that's what I like about it so much. It's not really a superhero movie more than it's just a movie about a rich dude facing the consequences of his own decisions and trying to make amends. My only major gripe is the CGI-heavy final battle, but otherwise, Iron Man is a really solid first movie and easily one of the best origin stories in the whole MCU. 

4/5 Stars

The Incredible Hulk: Okay, so you know how I mentioned Iron Man was a lot different than the rest of the MCU? The Incredible Hulk isn't the only MCU film to not be solely made by Marvel (the Spider Man films, for example), but it definitely feels the most out of place, and not just because the Hulk's actor is different. The tone is really dour, the comedy is nonexistent, and the CGI is way less polished, it feels like a movie from a different studio and that's because it is. And while this should make this movie feel more distinct and unique, it doesn't. The Incredible Hulk is a bland film with a dull performance from Ed Norton (who's usually really good), and the scenes of carnage suffer from poorly-aged CGI. It has its merits like the shockingly good soundtrack, but overall, I tend to forget this film even existed. I caught both this and Ang Lee's Hulk on TV and the latter one, while probably worse, definitely stuck out in my mind a lot more. 

2/5 Stars

Iron Man 2: I don't hate this film as much as a lot of people do. It's easily the weakest Iron Man film with way too many subplots and not enough Tony Stark, but there are lot of entertaining individual moments that I found enjoyable here, especially the amazing action scenes, which are super bombastic and filled with long takes and beautiful shots. Iron Man 2 lacks the compelling character arc of the first or the fun deconstruction of the third, but it's just plain fun to watch. At its best, we get the debuts of War Machine and Black Widow, and at it's worst, we get hilarious sequences of Mickey Rourke mispronouncing the word "bird". You can tell this movie wanted to do way too much and left all of its plots undercooked, but there's a schizophrenic sense of fun to it that I still enjoy.

3/5 Stars

Thor: Thor's first film is interesting in that a lot of its aspects feel like a double-edged sword. Thor's plot line of being banished to Earth is a good way to bring him down a peg and give him a compelling character arc, but it also means we spend the film in a dull location. The dutch angles give the movie a visual flair, but they can also be either grating or unintentionally hilarious. And the romance with Jane, while well-done, is also incredibly boring. There are a lot of aspects about Thor that I enjoy, from the solid  action to the visually stunning Asgard to just everything about Loki. You can definitely tell that Kenneth Branagh was trying to put his own spin on the superhero genre, but there are large chunks of this film that are kinda dull and not everything it's trying to do works.

3/5 Stars

Captain America: The First Avenger: Captain America has consistently had my favorite movies in the MCU, and while The First Avenger is the weakest of the bunch by far, it's still one of the better Phase 1 films and that's all thanks to Steve Rogers. Steve is an amazing character with a great origin, even pre-serum, he's so determined to lay his life on the line to help people. Even more, his relationship with Peggy Carter is easily the best romantic subplot in the whole series, and the fact that the movie is so willing to end on such a downer is incredibly powerful. Aside from the main character, however, the rest of this movie is somewhat standard. Red Skull is fine, but they could have done a lot more with the character. The action is fun, but I wouldn't call any of it outstanding. The First Avenger is carried by Chris Evans's performance and the amazing main character, and it's why I think it stands out as one of Phase 1's best movies.

4/5 Stars

The Avengers: I absolutely adore The Avengers, it felt like the satisfying culmination and payoff of everything that Phase 1 had been building up to. Seeing these characters from disparate films unite is great on its own, but the interactions and banter between them all is just amazing. It works so well as a crossover because of how well the cast meshes together, even in the excellent fight scenes which are filled with fun combo attacks. I also thought Loki was a great first villain, even better than in Thor as he really got a chance to ham it up. And the second half of The Avengers is, in my opinion, some of the best MCU ever. Obviously the final battle is great and all, but my favorite sequence in the whole film is actually that big helicarrier battle near the end of the second half where everything goes wrong, the Hulk surfaces, Black Widow has to fight Hawkeye, the helicarrier is about to crash, and Loki imprisons Thor. It's just such a tense and exciting sequence that serves as one of the high points of the MCU. Frankly, this whole film is one of the high points of the MCU, it's just so much fun!

5/5 Stars