It’s been a long, harrowing journey, but after 33 Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, and a major dip in quality currently occurring, maybe now is a good time to look back at what MCU movies actually worked these last 15 years.
IndieWire has done just that, ranking all 33 MCU movies and, Lord almighty, they rank “Black Panther” #1. I remember my original pan of that one resulting in an endless amount of hate mail. On the night I published my review, here’s the first email reaction I received …
“Shut up about “Wakanda Forever.” Racist! You are going back in time with segregation. Shame on you, dumb c*nt!”
Is there any reader who seriously thinks “Black Panther” is the best Marvel movie? Back in 2018, critics, and really just an assembly of the entertainment press, were selling the idea that “Black Panther” was some grand piece of cinematic art. It was being shoved down our throats and we could only smile in disbelief.
Here’s what Brett Easton Ellis had to say about the batsh*t crazy reactions Black Panther was receiving from critics and pundits at the time:
“Representation is so important to them. And with a huge fatuous inclusivity and diversity push. What the most flattering pose might be in the moment — as if inclusivity and diversity have anything to do with awarding a movie’s merits. Yes, this is the culture they are pushing, and it is rather nauseating.”
The hate mail wasn’t just “Black Panther,” but, really, about my overall criticism of Superhero movies. That’s essentially stopped. It’s now “cool” to hate on Marvel movies. It’s amazing what just a few years of mediocre releases can do.
Fact of the matter is that, just by looking at IndieWire’s list of the 33 ranked Marvel movies, there have been some diamonds in the rough. Even grouchy old Francis Ford Coppola admitted that he enjoyed “Deadpool” (although that one doesn’t count as “MCU”).
Coppola: "I liked Deadpool, I thought that was amazing.”
Actual quote.
I found seven Marvel titles that are worthy of mention. They never sacrificed storytelling for special effects and they had a unique enough vision to separate themselves from the herd. I’ve seen all of these only once, so I can’t really comment on how well they’ve aged over time:
Avengers: Endgame
Captain America: Winter Soldier
Iron Man
Guardians of the Galaxy
Captain America: Civil War
Thor: Ragnarok
Iron Man 3
These last four years, things have drastically changed. Marvel movies are now making less money at the box-office. Critics are also, quite suddenly, not onboard anymore. The glowing reviews have turned into pans. Regardless, I always thought critics were too kind when it came to reviewing Marvel, maybe they were sucked up by the hype, or they actually, genuinely believed that what they were watching was a good movie.
So, what happened? Everybody seems to have a different answer, and I tried to tackle it this past weekend. It’s probably a hybrid of things, all suddenly clashing at the same time. The timing seems to have been just right for the Marvel machine to crash and burn, and I’m all here for it.