Here we go folks, moving right into Phase 2 of the MCU! I have to be honest folks, it’s a good thing I established the ‘short paragraph and bullet points’ format in my first post, ‘cause there are a few movies on this list that I could have gone on and on about. Thanks, past Andrea!
Iron Man 3 - 2013, directed by Shane Black
I came into this with weirdly high expectations after enjoying Iron Man 2 so much than I expected to and was kind of let down. I think it has one too many storylines. And yes, I’m saying this knowing that Infinity War and Endgame are on the horizon. I don’t know if it’s Extremis, ‘cause that’s a cool story from the comics, and Guy Pearce makes a great baddie. I still don’t love the twist with The Mandarin, although I do love Ben Kingsley. Weirdly, for me, I think it’s this ‘it’s Christmas’ is the thing that throws me the most in this flick. I had to double-check its release date (May 3, 2013) to see if it came out at Christmas to warrant this strange plot point. However, there are plenty of things I do like about it. I think Robert Downey Jr. does an amazing job portraying Tony’s PTSD, panic attacks, state of mind, etc, after the Battle of New York. Great action sequences and Tony with Harley Keener is really fun. However, I don’t particularly care for this movie’s treatment of the ladies. Yes, Pepper gets her Rescue origin here, but Rebecca Hall comes in as Dr. Hansen, and while a genius she kind of gets reduced to ‘woman that Tony slept with once who then gets killed by the bad guy’. Not a strong look Marvel.
The saddest is when the robots ‘die’ in the attack on Tony’s house
No mid-credits scene
Thor: The Dark World - 2013, directed by Alan Taylor
The complete opposite to the previous film, I came into this movie with very low expectations, ‘cause apparently, the one thing everyone knows about Thor 2 is that it’s bad. You guys! It’s not that bad! I think that’s the thing with the ‘bad’ Marvel movies is that there’s still a lot of stuff to like in them, Jane’s date with Chris O’Dowd, (and Chris O’Dowd in general) adorable. Kat Dennings, still fantastic. Stellar Skateboard running around Stonehenge naked, genuinely funny. The whole aether thing is very confusing, and the Dark Elves feel a bit out of place in the MCU. Like, truly, they feel like they should be in J.J. Abrams Star Trek franchise, not a Marvel movie.
Darcy: “It’s okay we’re Americans” Jane: “Is that supposed to make them like us?”
That Chris Evans cameo though? Pure GOLD
Renee Russo’s Frigga = underrated
Also, add another notch for the Whoniverse! We’ve got a companion and a Doctor (Christopher Eccleston) now!
Captain American: The Winter Soldier - 2014, directed by Anthony and Joe Russo
I mean, considering my pretty mediocre feelings about the previous two movies, I was SO excited to finally get to this one. Anthony and Joe Russo have been a gift to the MCU. I love a good spy thriller, and to get one of those with Cap, Tasha, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, and Sam Wilson thrown in…I mean, this is a perfect Andrea movie. Getting to see Steve re-integrating into society as best he can, while Tasha gives him a hard time about it is gold. All of the Hydra stuff, the Winter Soldier’s intro attacking Fury, THAT ELEVATOR FIGHT, you guys, it’s just great! On top of that, you get that reminder of how Steve and Sam first bonded, as soldiers, who survived when their brothers in arms didn’t. I’m sad that it’s been so long since I watched this one, ‘cause I really love it. Additional thoughts:
“On your left” pure gold
This is Natasha at her spy-iest, and I LOVE IT
Steve visiting the Smithsonian and old Peggy
FWWGA addition: Robert Redford
“Air conditioning is fully operational” This line when Fury’s vehicle’s being attacked is just amazing
Agent 13 is so under used, I wish we got a lot more Sharon Carter
WE HAVE AN Abed cameo! Just a reminder that Community is also top-notch entertainment (at least for a few seasons)
Guardians of the Galaxy - 2014, directed by James Gunn
I have ridiculously fond memories of seeing this movie in theatres. Packed house on opening weekend with a massive group of friends and strangers. And then that opening, Star-Lord dancing and singing his way through those ruins, you just knew you were in for something completely different than anything we’d seen in the MCU before. Kevin Feige knocked it out of the park yet again, by taking a Marvel property that not a lot of people were familiar with, giving it to a talented director (James Gunn) and letting him do a fun heist movie in space! (And boy do I love a good heist movie!) The casting is great, the story is fun and fast-paced, and we finally get to meet Thanos after him lurking around the shadows and post-credits scenes for a while. Plus, that soundtrack is absolute perfection, I still listen to it often. (and sing along very loudly to every song)
Do you love early-2000s CW classic Roswell as much as I do? Then you probably also clocked the Brendon Fehr cameo on Xandar
For a change we a ‘famous award-winning white WOMAN’ addition to the MCU in Glenn Close, well in addition to, ‘cause John C. Reilly.
Doctor Who addition to the MCU arrives in Karen Gillan’s Nebula
I actually recently watched this really interesting video that explains why Guardians worked so well in comparison to Suicide Squad when they have essentially the same characters and plot. Enjoy.
Avengers: Age of Ultron - 2015, directed by Joss Whedon
I had a lot of trepidation going into this one, ‘cause I remembered not being particularly fond of it. However, I was pleasantly surprised, and have determined that this is a movie that has benefitted a lot from what comes after it: Civil War, Infinity War, Endgame, WandaVision. Something I noticed (but clearly missed when I originally watched it) was all the talk of ‘monsters’ in this film. Natasha, Bruce, Tony, the Maximoff twins and Ultron all refer to themselves as monsters at one point (or more) in the movie, but since I’m not doing in-depth analysis here, I’ll refrain from doing a deep dive into what that means. (I told you there were a few I could go on about😉) However, the big thing that I took away from this movie (and especially as we’re heading towards Civil War) is the difference between Steve and Tony, just on a base level of dealing with the world. Steve was and is a soldier, he was on his own by 18 and has learned to trust his gut and intuition when it comes to people (he shows this on Sokovia when he doesn’t question letting the twins join in the fight against Ultron) and prefers to talk things through. Whereas Tony trusts himself, and he’d much rather ask for forgiveness than permission. However, he’s been doing things based on his guilt and fear and then has to deal with the world-altering repercussions of those decisions (more on this when I talk about Civil War) I’ll stop myself there, ‘cause I also have to mention that I FORGOT THAT ULTRON CREATED VISION?!?! WOW. Bad brain.
The “Language” running joke through this movie is fantastic. I love being reminded that Steve’s a literal old man.
“Please be a secret door, please be a secret door, please be a secret door, yay” RDJ gold.
The whole ‘who’s worthy?’ of Thor’s hammer, and how it comes back around in Endgame
Welcome to Wakanda and Hello! Andy Serkis.
OH YEAH, Hawkeye’s family’s in this one
“I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science created was me” - Cap
I love that Vision gives himself a cape because of Thor
“The city is flying, we’re fighting robots, I have a bow and arrow, none of this makes sense” Hawkeye’s self-awareness in this pep talk is top-notch
OH! This is when Hulk goes to Sakar!?
No post-credits scene
Ant-Man - 2015, directed by Peyton Reed
It’s kind of odd that Phase 2 finishes with Ant-Man, but it’s hard to be upset about it, ‘cause this movie is so dang fun! Did you know that I love a heist movie? Have I mentioned that already in this post….? Ageless vampire Paul Rudd joins the MCU as Scott Lang, and it makes me so happy, ‘cause I just love him. However, it must be stated that the true stand-out of the Ant-Man movies is Michael Peña’s Luis. Sure the plot of the movie with the power-crazed Darren Cross is a bit bland, but I’ll take it ‘cause it means that I get silly fights with train sets and other toys. The visuals in this movie are fun and well-done, the big to small to big again is probably really hard to do, but it looks great here.
Oh yeah, Peg’s in this! Hi Hayley Atwell, I love you!
Definitely forgot that Scott has a degree in electrical engineering
Bo from Superstore has a cameo and all I can hear when I see him is ‘bo bo booooow’
It should be noted that Judy Greer, Bobby Cannavale and Evangeline Lilly all join the MCU in this movie ON TOP of everyone else. It’s like Marvel calls and actors are like, “Yes.” no questions asked.
Cassie’s devotion to her dad is maybe one of my favourite things ever. (it also makes me want a Young Avengers something in the future)
Welcome to the FAWWG club Michael Douglas
“I think our first move should be to call the Avengers” You’re not wrong Scott.
When Antony dies, truly devastating
So, here’s my updated personal ranking as of the end of Phase 2. What does your Phase 1, Phase 2 MCU ranking look like? Comment and let me know! See you after Phase 3! Civil War here I coooooome!
