My Top Five MCU Movies

The Marvels Marks The Marvel Cinematic Universe's 33rd Movie. So Which Five Top The List?

It seems almost impossible to think that back in 2008 when Iron Man landed on our cinema screens 15 years later we'd be coming out of our 33rd MCU feature film. That's not even touching upon the vast amount of MCU TV shows that have come out since Disney Plus's inception. Whilst many feel as if the universe is facing a dip in quality at the moment, with many projects struggling to capture the magic pre-Endgame, there are still some stellar films in the universe, and I'm going to break down my top 5.

Captain America The Winter Soldier

With The First Avenger being perhaps arguably one of my least favourite movies in the MCU, I can safely say I did not expect The Winter Soldier to impress, never mind blowing me away the way it did. Ever since the film was released back in 2014 (The same year Marvel also dropped Guardians of the Galaxy, I know. What a year!) It's remained in my top five without question. The film balanced the plot, pacing and action perfectly, delivering absolutely exhilarating action sequences like the claustrophobic lift scrap. It wasn't just the action that made this a great watch, but the tale of Rodger's adjusting to the modern world, having his clear wrong and right views challenged by the grey area of espionage was a great story in of itself, and that's without throwing in Bucky's return as a relentless Winter Soldier and the HYDRA infiltration of SHIELD.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1

Not many people expected Guardians of the Galaxy to be the summer smash that it was, after all, it was a film starring a talking racoon and a tree with a very limited vocabulary. But James Gunn delivered a true Sci-Fi epic in every right. It had a galactic threat, stellar action and one of the best team dynamics we'd seen in a long time. All of that was wrapped up with one of the best soundtracks in the last 10 years. As I said before the story itself isn't anything special, but that's not what makes Guardians of the Galaxy so great, it's the brilliantly realised characters and their dysfunctional family dynamic that make this film one of Marvel's best.

Thor Ragnarok

Ragnarok, the end of all things. Or Thor Ragnarok, the end of mediocre Thor movies. I know that doesn't quite have the same ring to it, but what Taika Waititi's did with Thor and the characters around him was rejuvenating, but more importantly, it was an absolute riot. Ragnarok brought out the fun in Thor and delivered so many memorable scenes whether that be the opening battle vs Surtur matched perfectly to Led Zeppelin's Immigrant song or the endless great one-liners that had us laughing long after we left the cinema. Ragnarok was a breath of fresh air and a film that focused on fun. It was visually striking, full of hilarious moments and still delivered a great Marvel tale to boot.

Black Panther

Superhero Lion King. That's the basic premise of Black Panther, and my god does it work. With Black Panther Introduced to audiences through Civil War, director Ryan Coogler alongside the late Chadwick Boseman ensured T'Challa went from supporting character to bonafide star. The vibes of the film were on point delivering one hell of a soundtrack that perfectly harmonized with the film's uniquely African-inspired world. The film was always in full force, whether it was showing us Wakanda's culture or unleashing one of Marvel's first truly threatening villains in Michael B. Jordan's Imposing Erik Killmonger. Everything came together beautifully.

Avengers Infinity War

Infinity War delivered something I'd always wanted from an Avengers movie since watching Avengers Assemble back in 2012. They unleashed a villain that was a physical presence for the Avengers to deal with outside of cannon fodder armies. Loki was tossed around by Hulk, and the imposing Ultron was essentially undone by a few laser beams whilst his minions were ripped apart without threat. Thanos felt like he was more than a villain, but an unrelenting force. He felt INEVITABLE.

That's backed up by the fact Infinity War is really a Thanos film first and foremost. It's his journey to collect the infinity stones and enact his grand vision. The film gave so many great moments between characters we had only hoped for. On top of that, the film featured some absolute top-tier fights and a story with truly world-affecting stakes you couldn't help but feel the fear. Most notably it delivered one of the biggest shock endings of any film in the universe. Sure it may have been undone in the sequel, but for the film to end defeating us like that was just *Chef's Kiss.*

Agree with the list? What films make it into your personal MCU top five list? Be sure to let me know in the comments below. As always, thanks again for reading :)