MCU (Phase 3)

Phase 3 of the MCU is considered by many to be the best phase, and for good reason. Some of the best Marvel films are in Phase 3, even moreso if you include Civil War! While I have a personal nostalgia and connection to Phase 2, I admire how this phase tried to be a bit on the weird side. Guardians Of The Galaxy walked, so we could get absolutely bizarre films like Doctor Strange, Ragnarok, and Infinity War. It also introduces my favorite superhero of all time to the MCU (Spider Man), and it ends the Infinity Stones arc on an incredibly satisfying and climactic note. However, I do have some issues with Phase 3. I feel like the repetitious nature of MCU films became really apparent here, Marvel's interfering got especially prevalent, and I definitely felt burnt out on superhero films by 2018. There were also a lot more CGI issues this phase in films like Black Panther and Spider-Man, and the sheer abundance of space-related films meant that it didn't feel like Marvel was putting too much effort into the more grounded stuff like Ant-Man and Captain Marvel. I definitely enjoyed Phase 3 in all its ambition, even if it's not my favorite of Marvel's phases. 

Doctor Strange: Doctor Strange is probably the one of the most forgettable MCU films, maybe second to the first Thor. The main character arc for Strange feels quite similar to Iron Man's, the main villain was a massive waste of Mads Mikkelsen, and the action seemed to rely too much on the visuals over the choreography. However, there are a few things I quite liked about the film as well, some of the MC Escher-esque visual setpieces are still really cool, Wong is a super enjoyable side character who should have been in Infinity War more, and the final battle was a nice change of pace from the usual "big blue beam in the sky" MCU finales. As a result, I'd say Doctor Strange has a lot of cool ideas and individual moments, but it's strung together by one of the most generic origin stories in the franchise.

3/5 Stars

Guardians Of The Galaxy 2: I adored the first Guardians Of The Galaxy movie, but this is a pretty great sequel that even surpasses the original in some ways. This is one of the few recent Marvel films to eschew the standard concrete gray color grading, making this probably the most visually pleasing film in the franchise, helped by the fantastic cinematography. The emotional depth is also better than the first, between Peter's father drama, Rocket's arc, Yondu's death scene, and Gamora's compelling conflict with Nebula. The action is some of the best in the series with a nice balance of "heroes kicking ass" setpieces and genuinely tense sequences, all filmed with long takes and badass slow motion unlike most MCU films. The humor is probably even stronger than the first as well, this movie is so damn funny. While I still think I generally prefer the first since the pacing drags a bit and the cast being split up kinda sucks, this is another really strong GoTG movie that fits in with the first movie like a puzzle piece. But best of all, this movie really feels like James Gunn's own project, as far removed from the MCU as one of its films can get, and that's just such a great breath of the fresh air in Phase 3. 

5/5 Stars

Spider-Man: Homecoming: I know MCU Spider Man is a bit divisive, but I quite like his films. Homecoming's greatest strength is that it depicts Peter Parker as who he is, a kid. As much as he's a superhero who saves people, Peter is also a normal teen who goes to high school, plays with LEGOs, and can even break down when the tension gets too much for him. I'm a big fan of the high school antics in the MCU films, they're funny, charming, and surprisingly accurate to my own high school experience (many films are not). The action scenes are zippy and fun, Vulture is a great villain with a masterful reveal, and the character arc of Peter not relying on Stark's tech was great. The final battle was also one of the MCU's best, it was personal and character-driven rather than some massive CGI battle. I'm a big fan of Homecoming, it's easily in my Top 3 Spider Man films alongside 2 and Spider-Verse.

5/5 Stars

Thor Ragnarok: Thor Ragnorok is an interesting film for me, because while I do love it and think it's one of the best films of this phase, I also think it suffers from Marvel's meddling more than any other film in the MCU. But let's start with the good stuff, Planet Hulk is visually amazing, Taika Waititi's writing is hysterically offbeat, the goofier version of Thor is far more compelling, Jeff Goldblum was a joy to watch, and it really felt like the cast was having a good time while making the film. As a whole, Thor Ragnorok is a ton of fun. However, this is also the film that made me realize that Marvel's control had gotten way too far. Many of the film's subversive decisions ended up being rendered meaningless in Infinity War, the otherwise vibrant and beautiful art direction was made a bit worse by the MCU's token gray filter, and the action scenes felt oddly generic and stuck out from how bonkers the rest of the film was. Thor Ragnorok is an amazing MCU film, but I can't help but feel it could be even better if Watiti was given full control. Still, I love this one, and it caps off one of the best MCU years along with 2014.

4.5/5 Stars?

Black Panther: Similarly to Thor Ragnorok, Black Panther was an amazing film made just slightly worse by Marvel's meddling. Ryan Cooler is a great director who allowed for some of the most unique and memorable shots in the series, even adding in a great long take fight scene. Wakanda is a super cool and well-realized location, the movie's themes are some of the most compelling in the MCU, and best of all, Killmonger is probably my favorite MCU villain of all time. He perfectly toes the line between villainous and sympathetic, and Michael B Jordan's performance is just flawless. However, once again, Marvel's meddling turned what could have been one of the best MCU films into one of the best first two-thirds of an MCU film because Black Panther's finale was just bad. The fight between Black Panther and Killmonger could have been far more emotionally charged and personal, but instead it had shaky choreography, two characters with nearly identical dark purple costumes on a dark purple background, and rushed CGI that had to be finished in only six weeks. At this point in the franchise, I was starting to get a bit frustrated with Marvel, but Black Panther was still a strong movie for most of its runtime, and I hoped once Infinity War came, it would all be worth it... 

4/5 Stars

Avengers Infinity War: Okay, here's my hot take. I don't like Infinity War all that much. It's too relentlessly paced with its cast spread far too thin, and the action scenes blend together in a flurry of CGI (though there are highlights like the fight on Titan). I'm also not a fan of the ending, because as important The Snap is to the MCU, it felt like a cheap cliffhanger given how obvious it was that it was going to be reversed. But probably the worst of all, I just don't like Thanos, which is bad since he's the film's main protagonist. He's physically imposing, sure, but his motivations are poorly thought-out (why not just double the amount of resources?) and he just isn't interesting. The film could have used his cool comic motivation to court Death, but instead the big bad of the whole Infinity Stones arc had to be made sympathetic at the cost of his motives not making any sense. While I admire the MCU fleshing out its villains a bit more, they really led to just let some of them be evil pieces of shit, especially Thanos. Still, this is a fun movie with some cute character interactions and badass Thor moments. I like how James Gunn wrote the dialogue for the Guardians, which meshed well with the rest of the film. Some of the hero entrances were badass as hell, and the dark tone was a welcome change of pace for the MCU. Overall, this is definitely a solid and enjoyable film, but I just can't bring myself to love it, no matter how much I try. It's a shame because Thor Ragnorok, Black Panther, and Infinity War are all really solid and well-liked movies, but at this point, I had been more disillusioned with Marvel than I have been in quite a while... 

3/5 Stars

Ant Man & The Wasp: I actually really liked this film. Even with how exhausted I was with superhero movies, I was perfectly fine with watching this one twice in a month, probably because it's just so well-crafted. While Ant Man 2 doesn't reach the heights of any of the previous movies in this phase, it's hard for me to really think of anything wrong with it? Ant Man & The Wasp is a well-made film with a charming cast, funny writing, and some of my personal favorite action scenes in the franchise (the car chase especially). I liked how it wasn't super high stakes, this is a personal film about saving a single person, but because I care about these characters, I cared about their quest. Even the Snap post-credits scene felt more genuinely chilling and terrifying than anything from Infinity War since I spent an entire movie with the characters who had just disappeared. Ant Man & The Wasp is a pretty standard superhero movie, but it's also the least disjointed film Marvel had made since Homecoming, it's character-driven, grounded, and a ton of fun.

4/5 Stars

Captain Marvel: Captain Marvel was pretty average, for the most part. It was the first MCU film I didn't watch in theaters for quite some time, but it also wasn't too bad either. I actually really liked Brie Larson as the titular character, her cockiness and snark was super enjoyable, and perfectly fitting since she used to be a pilot. The action, while not all that high stakes, was mostly pretty fun. And Nick Fury's role gave Samuel L Jackson a ton of entertaining material. There isn't much for me to say about this one since it doesn't quite do anything groundbreaking, but it's a solidly enjoyable MCU film even if I'd probably call it the weakest in the phase.

3/5 Stars

Avengers Endgame: After I found myself not enjoying Infinity War, I was kinda worried about this one, but I adored Endgame. It felt like both the culmination of the Infinity Stones arc and a love letter to the MCU as a whole. The five-year time jump was such a clever twist that caught me off-guard and actually gave The Snap an impact. I love how the first hour was slow-paced and filled with emotional moments of the characters coping with their failure, the second hour was a fun mix of goofy references to past films and actual moments of reflection, and the final hour was a massive battle sequence with tons of awesome payoffs that made me jump in my seat. If the MCU ended here, I would be perfectly fine, it felt like the perfect ending. The effects and action were great, the score was triumphant, and the character arcs got satisfying resolutions. Endgame is easily one of the most rewarding movies I've ever seen, and for that reason, it's my favorite film in the whole MCU.

5/5 Stars

Spider Man: Far From Home: Far From Home is a far more disjointed and inconsistent film than Homecoming, it does some things better and some things worse. The high school antics were still a ton of fun, and Peter's love story with MJ was incredibly compelling. Mysterio is a great villain and seeing a meta commentary on Marvel's usage of CGI was exactly what I needed at the time. I liked how Peter's character arc revolved around the split between his high school life and superhero life, a conflict that the best Spider Man stories (2) revolve around. And the second half of the film had some great setpieces like the awesome final battle and insane Mysterio's vision sequence. I even liked the massive cliffhangers in the post-credit scenes. However, Mysterio's big reveal would require a bunch of mindless CGI monster fights in the first half of the film that make it far less enjoyable to watch than the second half, and while I like the attempt to have Spider Man travel around the world, there's nothing quite like having him back in New York swinging across the buildings. This is a solid MCU film and a solid Spider-Man film, but not one of the best of either.

4/5 Stars

The Future Of The MCU: So now that I've reviewed pretty much every MCU movie up to this point, what's going to happen next? Well, Marvel has just started its fourth phase with its Disney+ series, and Black Widow is coming out fairly soon. Given how much of a powerhouse Marvel has become, I think the most beneficial thing they can do is experiment. Wandavision was a good start with its unique premise and colorful visuals, but even it suffered from a rushed finale and troubled production, as did Falcon And The Winter Solider. Black Widow looks pretty generic as well. And the trailers for Black Widow and Shang-Chi, while fun-looking, still have that same frustratingly dull color grading. However, I don't want to be too negative here. The Disney+ shows have been some of the most creative MCU content yet, and the news I've been hearing for Shang Chi and The Eternals are good omens for resolving Marvel's issues with letting directors do their thing. There's no such thing as a bad MCU film, as a matter of fact most of them are great, but I think Marvel letting go of the reins can be a massive breath of fresh air, even if it comes at the cost of the consistency the MCU is known for, we might just end up getting some truly amazing films.