Marvel Cinematic Universe: From Worst to Best

With the impending release of Captain America: Civil War, Marvel fans are gearing up for an epic Avengers vs. Avengers showdown. For some, this means looking back at all the Marvel movies that came before this latest superhero flick. If you are one of these fans, or if you think Civil War looks interesting and would like to get caught up on the Marvel Cinematic Universe films before Civil War comes out, then check out this list before doing so. In this list, I will be ranking the Marvel Cinematic Universe films from worst to best, providing a one paragraph review (full reviews will be coming for some of these films sometime in the future) detailing whether or not these films are worth your time. Please note that I have not actually seen The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2, but there are reasons why I have chosen not to watch them. Therefore, they will still be on this list, with explanations of why I determined they were not worth my time before I bothered to watch them. I have seen all of the other films in this list. So here we go:

12. Iron Man 2

This is the third installment in this series of films. However, it ranks at the bottom of the list for two reason. The first is that it is a lot more inappropriate content-wise. After reading on Plugged In Online about the amount of sexual content in this film, I made my initial decision to not watch this film. However, I later found out another detail about the film that strengthened my determination to never watch this film. This detail is the fact that the screenwriters sacrificed good storytelling to further build the world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Rather than create a compelling conflict between the hero and the villain, the film focused more on doing things like introducing the organization known as S.H.I.E.L.D. and developing the concept of the Avengers Initiative. The combination of these facts made me decide that I would never watch this movie, and puts this film at the bottom of the list.

11. The Incredible Hulk

According to Plugged In Online, this film is incredibly violent - no surprise considering that it is about a guy who can turn into a green rage monster. However, this was not the only reason I chose not to watch this film. The film just looks boring. There is nothing about this film as far as I can tell from reading the storyline on Wikipedia that is at all different from any other film or TV adaptation of the character. Add in the fact that Marvel Studios clearly wants us to forget that this movie ever happened (based on the fact that they recast the Hulk later on and have totally ignored the events of the film in later installments), and I think there is sufficient reason to ignore this film.

10. Guardians of the Galaxy

The unfortunate thing about this film is that it is very well made and has an engaging story. It's even one of the funnier installments in the series. Unfortunately, this film about space criminals trying to save a planet is filled with profanity. The total count of profanities in Guardians of the Galaxy is 40 swear words. For me, these profanities were so frequent that I had difficulty enjoying the movie. This is one I would have skipped if I had known beforehand just how heavy the language was going to be.

9. The Avengers

I think I just infuriated the die-hard fans. Most people will tell you that this is one of the best installments in the series. However, this film sometimes feels like a bunch of action sequences strung together by some dialogue (though that dialogue is really good). Furthermore, the main villain's plan doesn't make much sense when you think about it long enough (though Tom Hiddleston does a phenomenal job playing the villain). This, in conjunction with a few tedious scenes and a deus ex machina ending puts this film toward the bottom of the list. This is still a film worth watching though, as it is very entertaining (especially when Tom Hiddleston is in the scene or when writer/director Joss Whedon inserts his famous sense of humor into the film).

8. Thor: The Dark World

This film suffers one of the same problems that The Avengers does, namely that it feels like a bunch of action sequences strung together by some dialogue. However, it does share one of The Avengers's good points (and in spades): Tom Hiddleston reprising his role from The Avengers. This film - while not a great film - ranks above The Avengers because it is more entertaining to watch than The Avengers.

7. Iron Man

Here I go making the die-hard fans mad again, but let's face it, Iron Man did well what The Dark Knight Rises did better. Both movies feature the hero being captured and tortured by the villain and the hero subsequently having to find the strength to escape. However, The Dark Knight Rises kept you on the edge of your seat when this was happening while Iron Man is just tedious at this point in the story. Both films have surprise reveals at the end, but Iron Man's is pretty predictable, whereas the reveal in The Dark Knight Rises is such a surprise that I would consider it to be one of the best movie twists I have ever seen. Iron Man is still a fun movie and worth a watch, but it's not as good as some other superhero films out there.

6. Captain America: The First Avenger

This one was once my favorite, but the more times I watch it, the less I like it. I love the main character. He is probably my favorite superhero of both DC and Marvel characters. However, the film contains quite a bit of profanity (the reason I like it less every time I watch is because I catch more profanity every time I watch it). However, it saves itself on the merit of its being totally different from any other Marvel Cinematic Universe film. This film is basically a war movie disguised as a superhero movie - which makes sense since it takes place during World War II. Like Iron Man, it can be tedious (especially in the first act), but the exciting second half makes the wait worth it. If only the movie had spent a little more time on the events of the second half of the film, this one might rank a little higher on the list. However, I still really like this movie just because I love the main character so much, and so I would still recommend checking this one out.

5. Iron Man 3

This is another unique entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe because it separates the main character from that which makes him a superhero: his Iron Man suit. Without the suit, the hero is just an ordinary guy trying to save the world from a superhuman threat. This gives some of the action sequences a feel that is rather reminiscent of the MacGyver television series. In addition, the hero becomes a lot more relatable in this installment. Many die-hard comic fans will be upset by the film's big twist, but for the general population, this is an entertaining romp worth checking out.

4. Thor

I'm a little partial to this one because this was the first installment I saw (despite the fact that it's actually the fourth one). However, I like it for more reason then sentimental reasons. Thor isn't strictly a superhero movie. It's a tale of an arrogant prince whose arrogance puts his father's people in danger and so the king must banish the prince. From there, the film becomes a fish-out-of-water tale as the prince learns to live without his power in modern day New Mexico. In addition, we get an interesting beginning to a romantic storyline that continues to play out in the film's sequel. All-in-all, this film is worth viewing because of its well written drama.

3. Avengers: Age of Ultron

Despite popular opinion, I think this film is an improvement over the original Avengers film. There are lots of storylines going on in this film, but writer/director Joss Whedon does a great job of doing them all justice. There are some new heroes in this film that get their time to shine, and some of the more underdeveloped characters from earlier films get some more development. All this is done while continuing the storylines for the three main Avengers (Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man). Well-written and very entertaining, this is definitely a film worth watching.

2. Ant-Man

Short version: this film is hilarious. It's a comedy about a superhero. The only concern here is that people who are scared of insects are probably going to be bothered by the large appearance of bugs when the main character shrinks to the size of an ant. For everyone else though, this film is a must if you want a good laugh and some fun superheroics.

1. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

This is my favorite superhero film of all time. Part superhero movie, part political thriller, this film is a masterpiece. With a compelling mystery and multiple twists, this film will have you on the edge of your seat. Plus, the film briefly looks at the ethics of doing spy stuff, which can serve as a conversation starter with teens about ethics in general. Just watch this movie if you haven't already.

*      *      *

Next week, I will post another Marvel Cinematic Universe list counting down which of these movies are necessary viewing before Captain America: Civil War if you are not caught up on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Plus, if you would like further information about the content of the films in this list, check out the links to Plugged In Online's reviews below (listed in the same order as the list above).

Iron Man 2  
The Incredible Hulk 
Guardians of the Galaxy 
The Avengers 
Thor: The Dark World 
Iron Man 
Captain America: The First Avenger 
Iron Man 3 
Thor 
Avengers: Age of Ultron 
Ant-Man 
Captain America: The Winter Soldier

"The Giver" - A Review

I apologize for not posting a review in a while. Life has been really crazy this past month. However, I recently had to watch a movie for school, and so I thought I would write a review for it. The movie was the 2014 adaptation of Lois Lowry's novel The Giver. This movie takes place in a futuristic society in which everyone lives together in perfect harmony. The Elders have accomplished this through various means: drugging the people so that their emotions are suppressed, assigning each person to the occupation that will best fit their strengths and weaknesses, and releasing those who will be a burden to the community to a place called Elsewhere.

Another factor that plays a role in this harmony is the loss of memory. More specifically, memory of history. No one remembers the evils of the past. Such memories could cause the continuation of those evils. No one remembers the good of the past. This would cause jealousy and other negative feelings between members of the community. There is only one who remembers all: the Receiver of Memory (Jeff Bridges). The Receiver retains these memories so that when the Elders come across a situation which they do not have the experience to deal with, the Receiver can call upon his memories of the past to provide guidance.

However, it is time for the current Receiver to train a new Receiver. After careful examination, the Elders determine that a young man named Jonas (Brenton Thwaites) is the best person to become the new Receiver. As Jonas begins his training, he learns the hidden truths of the community in which he lives. He discovers the real purpose of the drugs that suppress emotions (everyone is led to believe that these drugs are vital health drugs). He discovers that people's right to chose is being restricted by the rules set up by the Elders. The real turning point comes when he finds out what is really happening when someone is released to Elsewhere: the person is being killed and their body disposed of outside the community. The worst part is that not even the people performing the act of killing know what is truly going on. Jonas must do something about this. He must return the memory of history to the general public. But in order to do that, he's going to have to break a few rules.

Given the large number of movies that have been coming out lately of this nature (such as The Hunger Games series and The Divergent series), this stand-alone film seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle. This is very unfortunate because this is a very interesting film - both ideologically and cinematically. The film wrestles with some interesting questions about free will and government control. In the world of The Giver, no one is free to make their own choices. The government makes those decisions for them. This is done in the interest of the larger good. As the Chief Elder (Meryl Streep) says, "When people have the freedom to chose, they chose wrong."

In this respect, the film deals with the very basic issue of human nature. The Elders recognize the fallen nature of man, and in a well-meaning effort to save humanity from itself, they have eliminated free will almost entirely just so that no one will ever follow their sinful desires. Once Jonas realizes this, he determines that this solution is not the right answer. From the Christian perspective, Jonas is right. The only solution to man's depravity that works is the freedom from sin that is found in Jesus Christ. While the film never reaches this conclusion, Christian viewers can use this film to segue into a conversation about how we can truly be set free from our total depravity.

Cinematically, this film is very well done. The production design is breathtaking. One of the coolest scenes of the movie is a scene that takes place on a bridge that is a perfect semi-circle. Of course, the production design is only as good as the cinematography that shows it off. And in The Giver, the cinematography delivers. Not only is the film beautifully shot, but the way the filmmakers chose to use black and white in the film and the way it interacts with actual color in some scenes is really cool. It's one of those things that can't be explained, it has to be seen. Trust me, it's pretty cool.

Another plus for this film is that unlike other films in its genre, The Giver is a clean movie. There is no foul language, there is no sexual content, and what little violence there is is really tame (it's pretty much limited to a character getting punched in the face and another character almost dying from falling down a great height). The movie gets its PG-13 rating from the suspense of the third act and the themes of the movie (particularly the "being released to Elsewhere" storyline). Because of these two elements, parents probably shouldn't allow really sensitive children to see this film. However, for the rest of the family, this is a fascinating, well-made, and family-friendly alternative to popular films like The Hunger Games.

"God's Not Dead 2" - A Review

Yes, I am reviewing another sequel this week. Well, technically it's a sequel, but given that the main storyline is not at all related to the events of the first one, God's Not Dead 2 feels more like a spinoff that just happens to continue a few storylines from the first film (more on that in a moment).

Whereas the first film centered (mostly) around a college student that had to prove that God exists in order to avoid failing his philosophy class, this film centers around a high school teacher named Grace (Melissa Joan Hart) who answers her student's question about Jesus with a quote from Scripture and an elaboration that answers the student's question. Grace gets in trouble when the school board finds out, and when she refuses to apologize for her statements, she is sued by the student's parents.

One of the good things about this film is that the film stays focused on Grace's storyline for the majority of the movie, whereas in the first film there were so many storylines that were vying for attention that it made it feel like most of them should have been their own movies. In fact, the only other storylines (with one exception) in God's Not Dead 2 besides Grace's storyline are continuations of some of the storylines from the first film. These storylines will initially feel totally unnecessary to viewers who have not seen the first film, but (unlike the storylines of the first film) they all end up finding a meaningful connection to Grace's storyline. A non-spoiler example of this is that Pastor Dave's (David A.R. White) storyline from the first film continues as he is placed on the jury for Grace's case, and his presence ends up increasing the tension of the second half of the film.

Speaking of tension, a noticeable improvement from the first film was the actual presence of actual tension. The first film suffered from having no real stakes (at least, none that we really cared about). This film has major stakes, and we actually care this time around because (unlike the first film) we actually care about the characters and want to see them succeed. The fact that we care about the characters this time is also an improvement from the first film because the first film seemed to expect the audience to automatically care about the character simply by virtue of the characters' Christianity. The characters are well-rounded this time around and are also a lot more relatable. Also, unlike the first film, atheists are not depicted as always being downright mean people who are hostile Christianity and Christians. While most of the atheists in this film fit that Christian film stereotype, Grace's lawyer (Jesse Metcalfe) is an atheist who is depicted as being a very nice person - even to Christians. I think this is also an improvement over Christian films in general because not all atheists are mean, but Christain filmmakers tend to make all non-believers who don't come to Christ at some point in the film into these kinds of characters. It isn't very loving toward our unbelieving neighbors (even if it is true of some of them), and it is nice to see a Christian film making a step in the right direction in this respect.

There are only three things about this movie that I didn't like. The first is that the first few minutes are a little on the confusing side when one of the new characters is being set up. In the film's defense, these confusing elements make sense by the end of the film due to added information that we didn't have at the beginning, but it would have been nice if the screenwriters had given us at least some of this information at the beginning. Basically, the beginning will be a little confusing on the first viewing, but will make total sense on subsequent viewings. Second, it isn't very clear how long it's been since the events of the first film. This won't bother viewers who haven't seen the first one, but it will probably bother viewers who have seen the first one and who (like me) like to know what the story's timeline is. The final issue is a totally unnecessary storyline in which the pastors in the area are being required to hand over their sermons from the past three months to the government for analysis. This is explicitly a response to a similar law that was passed in Houston, Texas last fall (no seriously, there is actually a line of dialogue that pretty much admits that this storyline is here because of the Houston law). Given when this law was passed relative to the film's release, I'm pretty sure this storyline was added during (or even after) production. The fact that it was so obviously shoehorned into the film and the fact that only three scenes are dedicated to it (one of which is a post credits scene), this storyline feels totally unnecessary and really belongs as the first act of another film (which is what I think the storyline was also probably meant to set up). So, great news folks! We'll probably be getting a third God's Not Dead movie! The only reason that concerns me is that if this storyline is meant to set up a third film, this third film will probably feel too similar to God's Not Dead 2.

Anyway, despite these three issues I have with this movie, this film is a major improvement over the first one and is definitely worthwhile viewing. It won't be remembered as the best Christian film ever made, but it was a well-told story with great characters. If you saw the first one and liked it, go see this one because you will like this one even more. If you saw the first one and didn't like it, go see this one because I think you will like this one better. If you didn't see the first one, go see this one anyway because it's still something you can enjoy (oh, and don't waste your time watching the first one before you go see this one - it's not worth it).