Tag Archives: thor

From ‘Avengers’ to ‘Thor 2’, Let’s Rank the Marvel Movies

With the release of “Avengers: Age of Ultron” it is only natural to create a list ranking all the Marvel movies so far. Because why have your own opinion when you can read mine, right? From 11 to number one, here is how the Avenger movies stack up in my book.

11.) THOR: THE DARK WORLD

I think this one is universally accepted as the weakest entry in the franchise, and is the only genuinely bad film of the series to date. People said the first “Thor” was forced and felt obligatory (more on that in a second), but this one made its predecessor look like the epitome of Marvel movies and how they should be. It is dumb, noisy and boring, and features a material with a changing list of abilities. It really felt like nothing but a cash grab for the entire runtime. Thank God they’re making a third one, right? [sighhh]

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Variety

10.) CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER

Many things in this one work, however there are a lot of aspects that simply don’t. It features some fun 1940’s World War II scenery, not to mention the whole scrawny Steve Rogers thing was well-done, but at times felt disjointed, featured a material with a plot-reliant list of powers (seeing a pattern?), and essentially was one big movie trailer for the “Avengers”.

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ScreenRant

9.) THOR

It is a lot of fun, and thanks to director Kenneth Branagh has a nice Shakespearian flare about it. Forget that Loki’s plot doesn’t make sense when you think about it for more than a minute and that most everything that happens is negated by the next film. It still is light years better than its sequel.

thor

 8.) THE INCREDIBLE HULK

Before Mark Ruffalo was turning green, Edward Norton starred as everyone’s favorite physicist with an anger issue. The film features a fun villain (Tim Roth’s Abomination) and was the first real hint that the Marvel Cinematic Universe was going to actually come to fruition.

the-incredible-hulk-movie

7.) IRON MAN 2

Sure, this film has its flaws and is nowhere near as good as its predecessor, but it is too much fun to hate. Downey’s charm is impossible to resist and let’s be honest: this is still a way better sequel than “Thor 2” (yep, I’m just going to keep bashing).

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ScreenRant

6.) GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY

Now we’re getting into good-near-great territory. When this came out last year, few knew what it was; much less that it was a part of the Marvel Universe. However 9 months and $775 million later, you would be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t seen the misadventures of Rocket and Groot. It is random and colorful and just a lot of fun.

Variety

Variety

5.) AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

It may not be the redefining superhero film some were hoping for, and may feature one of those darn ability-changing materials, but it is honestly hilarious and features some of the most ingenious and entertaining action sequences I’ve seen in a long time.

Variety

Variety

4.) THE AVENGERS

I’m not a fanboy of this film like it seems most people are, I recognize its flaws (like its darn use of an ability changing—forget it), but it was able to fit six superheroes into one film seamlessly, and was immense fun to boot.

Variety

Variety

3.) IRON MAN 3

This is where people may scratch their heads and/or get upset, depending on how much of a comic book fan they are. I personally loved this film, thanks in large part to director Shane Black’s writing. It is clever, self-referential and had some nice twists. It’s been two years; let’s stop pretending that one scene ruined this entire movie.

Variety

Variety

2.) CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER

I adore this film. I saw it three times in theaters alone. It blew me away. It is everything the first “Captain America” was not, and in all the best ways. It is perfectly directed, cleverly written and immensely entertaining. It could be argued that it could be the top choice on the list, and I would have no arguments. It’s that much fun.

Variety

Variety

However it is not number one, because that title belongs to…

1.) IRON MAN

And here it is, the one that started it all. I remember seeing the trailers for this one and thinking it looked dumb, and leaving the theater floored. It was nothing like I had ever seen before, and remains, in my humble opinion, the greatest comic book movie ever made (“what about ‘The Dark Knight’?!” Oh, stop with that nonsense). It reintroduced the world to Robert Downey Jr., and seven years later I think we are all the better for it.

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There’s my list of the Marvel movies from top to bottom. I am excited to see how “Ant-Man” (the final film in Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe) plays out this July, mostly just because Paul Rudd is the man. However the film I really can’t wait for is “Captain America: Civil War”, which drops next May. Honestly, “Batman v Superman” is cool and all, but I am more pumped to see Iron Man take on Captain America, mostly because that film isn’t being directed by Zach Snyder…

‘Thor’ Sequel Forced More Than Fun

Thor_-_The_Dark_World_poster

            The bar has been set so high for superhero movies that it should come as no surprise that “Thor: The Dark World”, the sequel to 2011’s “Thor” and last year’s “The Avengers”, isn’t quite able to carry the torch of its predecessors. Chris Hemsworth returns as the long haired god with the shiny hammer, Natalie Portman returns as his human love interest, and his mischievous brother Loki is once again brilliantly played by Tom Hiddleston. Together the three must stop an evil ruler from plunging the universe into darkness. Alan Taylor takes over directorial duties from Kenneth Branagh.

This movie has to be compared to the other films in the connected Marvel universe. It may be unfair but that is the way of the world. And “Dark World” is not as good as the other films, and one could argue it is the worst of the series to date. The film isn’t bad, but it really just felt like it was an obligatory move by the studio to (A) get an extra $700 million plus out of audience members and (B) force plot points so we have more anticipation for 2015’s “Avengers” sequel.

The biggest problem with “Dark World” is its plot. It is just so unnecessarily complicated. The story goes that the Dark Elves want an ancient power source in order to coat the universe in eternal darkness and only Thor can stop them. Ok, sure. But why do they want to make the universe dark? What is the power source? Why is the main villain so underwhelming and uninteresting? Well none of these questions are answered in the film, so my rhetorical asking was simply a rouse.

The action in the film, while at times entertaining, is also a bit tiresome. The best way I can explain it is that the movie has the same problems as both “Kick-Ass 2” and “Man of Steel”. As with “Kick-Ass 2”, we have seen this type hammer dueling action before, so it is redundant rather that refreshing, and can get boring quickly.  But unfortunately the “Man of Steel” problem is that in some sequences the action is nonstop and unrelenting, almost to the point of exhaustion. We get it, seeing thunder gods smash aliens is cool and amusing. We also got it when the scene started ten minutes ago.

Now the film is still fun, and much of that praise goes to Tom Hiddleston. His portrayal of Loki is a scene stealer. He is sarcastic, devious and amusing, often all at once, and we hate how much we love him. It is also entertaining watching Thor try and interact with the basic human world, such as having to take a subway or using a coat hook.

“Thor: The Dark World” is fun at times, however most of the film just feels like a forced move to transition Thor into the next Marvel films. There are just too many plot holes and unneeded characters that keep “Dark World” from being a dumb popcorn flick. It just doesn’t meet the expectations that have been set for it by the other Marvel films. They say lightning never strikes the same place twice and that stands true here (ok, so what Thor is the god of thunder, not lightning. The analogy still works).

Critics Rating: 6/10