Ever since its big debut in 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has held audiences from all around the world in a chokehold. People really love these films and the characters within them. This, of course, wouldn’t be possible if the movies they’ve put out hadn’t been pretty amazing all-around. Over the years,
Marvel Studios has delivered a plethora of bangers.
There are some, however, that feel amazing pretty much the whole way through.
Every movie has its dips, but certain movies dip less than others
and provide smiles from minute one to the final. Plenty of MCU movies do this, because being amazing from start to finish doesn’t always mean that they’re perfect the whole way through, but enjoyable nonetheless. There are ten that truly stand out among the rest.
‘Captain America: Civil War’ (2016)
Directed by Joe Russo and Anthony Russo
The Star-Spangled Man’s trilogy is one of the MCU’s best, thanks to how steadfast in quality his three movies are. The final movie,
Captain America: Civil War
, is the biggest in spectacle and could almost be considered an “Avengers 2.5” of sorts. It pits some of the
largest Marvel Studios heroes against each other
and even introduces the one and only Spider-Man (
Tom Holland
) to the MCU.
It’s not just action and high stakes that keep this movie an amazing watch from start to finish, however.
Paired with the super cool action is just as compelling emotional stakes and arcs. The “breakup” of the Avengers—especially the divide between Tony Stark (
Robert Downey Jr.
) and Steve Rogers (
Chris Evans
)—is honestly heart-shattering. From the very start to the end, there’s something to be marveled at in
Captain America: Civil War
.
‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ (2021)
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton
Of Marvel Studios’
rough-around-the-edges fourth phase of the MCU
,
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
is one of the best post-
Avengers: Endgame
releases from the company. The first two acts of the movie are absolutely rock solid, and the film as a whole features some of the best superhero movie action of all time. The martial arts here make for some phenomenal sequences.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
‘ third act isn’t as good as the first two, but the action keeps things up the full way through,
regardless. Shang-Chi’s (
Simu Liu
) familial struggles are super relatable for a huge portion of the audience—because who doesn’t struggle with family—which makes that final fight between father and son even better and caps off the film in an amazing manner.
‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ (2021)
Directed by Jon Watts
The trilogy capper for Tom Holland’s solo series in the MCU is not only wildly entertaining but also a masterclass in handling nostalgia and Holland’s most emotional entry yet. While the
Spider-Man: Homecoming
trilogy is a pretty lighthearted and youthful-toned one,
Spider-Man: No Way Home
keeps up that trend but brings the drama to a new level.
Aside from that, though, the biggest draw for what makes this movie awesome is thanks to
the inclusion of the multiversal players
on both the villain and hero sides of the conflict. The villains from the past two Spider-Man franchises provide a large array of new and unique conflicts for Holland’s Peter.
They bring so much good plot and emotion to the project and are the opposite of just being there for nostalgia’s sake.
‘The Avengers’ (2012)
Directed by Joss Whedon
The project that proved to studios and audiences alike that a cinematic universe like the MCU could work,
The Avengers
, did so thanks to how amazing it was the entire way through its runtime.
The Avengers
brought the titans of the MCU that had been showcased thus far and blew audiences away all over the world.
Not only did this keep them entertained, but shifted the landscape of superhero film forever.
The MCU is one of the highest-grossing film franchises of all time, and the foundations laid in
The Avengers
are what helped make it work in the long run. Seeing
these heroes try to team up
while simultaneously trying not to hate each other so much makes for some great conflict, along with some team-oriented action that only makes it better.
‘Iron Man’ (2008)
Directed by Jon Favreau
In a similar fashion to
The Avengers
, the first MCU film,
Iron Man
, is not only astoundingly entertaining but also just as impactful, too. If not for
Iron Man
, the landscape of superhero cinema would be extremely different from where it is now. This is mainly thanks to how extremely good the movie is and how much people adored it upon release in 2008.
The story behind this first MCU flick is pretty interesting, too, especially when thinking about how easily this could have been a profound disaster of a movie.
Jeff Bridges
once described working on the movie by
saying it was like working on a
“$200 million student film”.
Somehow, though, through the powers of
Jon Favreau
and Robert Downey Jr.,
Iron Man
ended up being one of the
best superhero origin story movies
of all time. The redemption arc of Tony Stark is the heart of the movie and keeps people invested the whole way through.
‘Thor: Ragnarok’ (2017)
Directed by Taika Waititi
The
Thor
series is a pretty rocky one in comparison to the other franchises within the grander MCU franchise. With an underrated first movie, a really terrible second movie, it got extremely lucky by having a movie like
Thor: Ragnarok
as its third. It’s comedic, filled with action, and actually
more emotionally compelling than people give it credit for—usually just being noted as
the “funniest” of them all.
Thor: Ragnarok
‘s sheer quality as a film doesn’t just revitalize the series, but the character, too. A lot of people claim that this movie made Thor (
Chris Hemsworth
) way more likable for them and got them into the character.
Taika Waititi
brought forth a movie that balances its tones very well and brings audiences on a rollercoaster ride.
‘Avengers: Infinity War’ (2018)
Directed by Joe Russo and Anthony Russo
While
The Avengers
is another movie that is amazing from start to finish, it’s
Avengers: Infinity War
that commonly holds the title of best
The Avengers
film of them all.
There is so much that happens in this third crossover film that should have made it an impossible movie to get made in a quality fashion.
However,
Joe Russo
and
Anthony Russo
managed to come together and make something truly spectacular.
The way the movie balances the story and character arcs of all the Avengers while keeping Thanos (
Josh Brolin
) as the main protagonist.
Avengers: Infinity War
is one of the fastest-paced Marvel movies, but it still takes time to let the moments that need to sit do so for as long as they need. This makes
Avengers: Infinity War
the best
The Avengers
movie
, by far.
‘Black Panther’ (2018)
Directed by Ryan Coogler
Especially ever since
Sinners
came out this year, it’s been a widely held opinion that
Ryan Coogler
is one of the best directors of the current generation. With hits like
Creed
,
Sinners
, and his Marvel smash-hit,
Black Panther
, he has taken over Hollywood. After being introduced in
Captain America: Civil War
, everyone was excited to see Black Panther (
Chadwick Boseman
) come back in his own solo film, and hype only grew when Coogler was announced to be helming it.
Dealing with some thematic real-world politics
,
Black Panther
shocked the world with its heart and meaningful message.
The film’s main villain, Erik Killmonger (
Michael B. Jordan
), is one of the best, most well-written villains in the MCU to this very day.
The performances all around the board are wonderful, and the writing is deeply thought-out.
‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ (2014)
Directed by Joe Russo and Anthony Russo
If one were to ask pretty much anyone what they thought the best MCU movie was, one of the main two would be
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
. People often credit this sequel for being the movie that “made Captain America cool again”. After going through the terrors of World War II in
Captain America: The First Avenger
and fighting aliens in the modern day in
The Avengers
, Steve Rogers finds himself in a world he continues not to recognize, even when his past comes back to haunt him.
There are so many reasons that this movie (and one other) is so commonly considered the best of the best. The action is raw, fast-paced, and thrilling.
The story is heart-pounding, using the political thriller genre to the very best of its advantage.
It brings Steve to heights and stakes he’s never been to or suffered from before, and that makes this feel so unique, even in comparison to the first film, a literal period piece.
‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ (2014)
Directed by James Gunn
2014 was a great year for the MCU, with both movies considered two of their very best,
Captain America: The Winter Soldier
and
Guardians of the Galaxy
releasing the same year. This space opera by the legendary
James Gunn
is a perfect example of how important it is for studios to take risks, not just with properties but with creatives, as well.
The Guardians were D-tier heroes in the comics up until this point, and Gunn had only really been known for
Super
and the live-action
Scooby-Doo
movies.
Both were risks for Marvel Studios to jump on at such a high point post-
The Avengers
. However, Gunn did more than deliver by injecting his fun and heartwarming style to make these misfits household names. This was only possible because of how astounding the film really is. The writing, performances, and, of course, Gunn’s directorial style all made it possible.
NEXT:
The 10 Most Rewatchable Superhero Trilogies, Ranked