Marvel Cinematic Universe Movies Ranked

It’s been 11 years since the Marvel Cinematic Universe was created with the release of 2008’s Iron Man, and altogether there has been 3 phases with 23 movies. Since 2016 I’ve been meaning to write a list ranking all the movies (as you can probably tell it’s taken a while to write all of this up). The MCU is still very much alive, with Phase 4 starting from next year. With Phase 3 now at an end however, I couldn’t think of a better time to post my rankings than right now.

So I will be ranking all the MCU movies from Iron Man to the latest film in the MCU, Spider-Man Far From Home. I think I should clarify that I do like all the movies on this list. Many of them have flaws, some of them have major flaws, but I do enjoy all of them quite a bit nonetheless.

Also, I will be mentioning spoilers of some of the movies, so basically just assume that all of these movies will be heavily spoiled.

23. Thor: The Dark World

I actually didn’t mind this movie when I first saw it, in fact I originally liked it more than the original Thor. However, upon repeat viewings, I’ve been liking it less and less, now I consider it to be among the worst in the MCU, if not the worst. With that said, while it’s the worst movie in the series, it’s still a passable and enjoyable movie, if quite flawed and generic.

There are a lot of significant flaws in The Dark World. Malekith was such a generic and poor villain, he was another take over the world villain with no depth given to him (poor Christopher Eccleston’s given basically nothing to work with outside of delivering some typical cliché villain lines), I barely remember him, even after a few viewings of the movie. He wasn’t even memorably bad. For the most part, the comedy is really bad, especially when it involved Kat Dennings and the other human characters. While the movie didn’t spend as much time on Earth, every scene on Earth felt infinitely worse than the Earth scenes in the first Thor. However the worst part of this movie is that it just felt rather generic. It feels way too familiar, it’s difficult to care about what is going on, and it doesn’t really have a memorable style or direction. This movie is set more in Asgard than in the previous Thor, but since it’s not under the direction of Kenneth Branagh, it doesn’t have quite the same effect as when he directed Thor. With that said, there are aspects of Thor 2 which are legitimately good, Hemsworth, Hopkins, and Hiddleston were great as their respective characters of Thor, Odin and Loki, and the action scenes were entertaining, especially the final fight with all the portals. There are even some really good standout scenes, such as the funeral scene. Overall, Thor: The Dark World isn’t that good and is the worst in the series (in fact it’s commonly considered one of, if not the worst), but it is still somewhat enjoyable, I don’t dislike it by any means.

Review of Thor: The Dark World

22. The Incredible Hulk

Even though I didn’t rank it at the bottom of the list (though this and The Dark World are interchangeable), I’d probably consider The Incredible Hulk to be the most forgettable MCU movie, and so far it seems the rest of the cinematic universe have forgotten about this one (with the exception of William Hurt and his character of Ross). It’s such a strange movie that doesn’t fit in with the rest of the series. It does have some pretty good parts to it, but not enough to elevate it above being a somewhat decent and entertaining superhero flick.

There are parts of The Incredible Hulk that I do really appreciate. Hulk in this movie has some flawed visual effects but they really sold the whole horror and monstrous side to the character really well that the following versions of the character sadly didn’t explore or return to. The action scenes were also pretty good, from the human based chase/action scenes, to the larger scale fight scenes with The Hulk. The cast do well, from Edward Norton as a darker and conflicted Bruce Banner/Hulk than what we got with Mark Ruffalo’s version, to Tim Roth as a one off but still effective villain. I wouldn’t say that there’s a lot bad about the movie (outside of some dated effects) but it is a little weak. The story is very familiar, and not enough depth is given to that or the characters. While many of the movies in the MCU all need to be seen to get the full experience of the series, for the time being you really don’t really need to watch The Incredible Hulk. On its own, it’s okay but forgettable, and doesn’t do enough to make it worth rewatching.

I mean it’s at least better than Ang Lee’s Hulk.

Review of The Incredible Hulk

21. Iron Man 2

For many people, Iron Man 2 is the worst movie in the MCU. While I can understand why some people really dislike it, I’m one of the few people who actually liked it a fair bit. It has its faults, some of them are quite major but I still enjoy it whenever it’s on TV.

Robert Downey Jr was great as Iron Man (unsurprisingly), I liked Don Cheadle in the role of Rhodes (I don’t know if this is an unpopular opinion but I prefer him as the character over Terrence Howard), Sam Rockwell stole the show and it also introduced Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow. The action scenes were also fun enough, even though there weren’t quite enough of them. The worst part of the movie is that it just felt like an expansion pack of Iron Man and in a sense it really just exists to help set up The Avengers. There were so many plotlines in the movie, it really could’ve cut a couple out and focussed on the rest, it would’ve improved the movie immensely. With that said, the plotlines were generally decent, and I liked watching them unfold. So overall, Iron Man 2 is not a great film by any means and is a bit of a mixed bag, but is still enjoyable nonetheless.

Review of Iron Man 2

20. Captain Marvel

Captain Marvel is among the more ‘divisive’ (if that’s even possible) movies in the MCU, and while I’m not on the giant hate train for it, it really isn’t as good as it could’ve and should’ve been. Captain Marvel doesn’t do a ton of things wrong, it’s mostly that it almost just does the bare minimum. The characters and world aren’t interesting, and they failed to make Captain Marvel a character to really like outside of her doing powerful things. Overall fine but lacklustre.

Captain Marvel’s main goal is to establish the titular character, and in a way they did that. However, it unfortunately doesn’t do much more than that. Compared to other origin stories for comic book movies, I feel like I didn’t really get to know Captain Marvel by the end of the movie. Even the action wasn’t as impressive as it could’ve been, with only the scenes where Captain Marvel reaches her fullest power in the third act really standing out. With all that being said, I still partially liked the movie, though I feel like it wouldn’t hold up well if I saw it again. The cast mostly did a good job, Samuel L. Jackson entertaining as a young Nick Fury, and Ben Mendelsohn stealing every scene that he’s in (though Jude Law was easily the most forgettable villain in Phase 3). As for Brie Larson as the titular character, she certainly elevated the role from how it was written and directed. However she can only do so much, the character doesn’t go on a particularly interesting journey and I wasn’t interested in her outside of how powerful she was. Hopefully Captain Marvel’s next on-screen appearance will be much better than what we got here.

Review of Captain Marvel

19. Ant Man

The Ant Man movies I’ve noticed got a bit of a mixed reception from some people. While they aren’t among the best movies in the MCU, they are entertaining and decent for what they are. As the light hearted final entry of Phase 2, Ant Man is a considerably smaller scale comic book movie that works very well in its simplicity.

Ant Man is a straight forward comic book movie, full of plenty of entertaining scenes and humour that makes it a fun time. The cast all work, from Evangeline Lilly, to Michael Douglas and Michael Pena, and even Corey Stoll made for a simple yet suitable and fun villain. However, it’s Paul Rudd who stands out as Scott Lang/Ant Man, very likable character and perfectly cast in the lead role. The movie also gets pretty creative with a lot of its scenes with the shrinking and enlarging visual effects, and they do take advantage of that aspect. Some people refer to the Ant Man movies as ‘flavour of the week’ and I can sort of see why. It’s a typical comic book movie that’s a fun time but you don’t remember much from it afterwards. Still if you haven’t seen at least the first Ant Man, it is worth giving a watch.

Review of Ant Man

18. Captain America: Civil War

It may be surprising to many that this movie sits so low on this list. I was greatly anticipating this movie, and I thought that it would end up being one of the greatest comic book movies ever. But it ended up being one of the more disappointing comic book movies that I’ve seen in recent years, even though it does some great things on its own. It’s a shame because it certainly has potential, some there are parts that I legitimately loved.

If you want to have my full explanation and thoughts on this movie, I recommend having a look at my retrospective review on Civil War as it sets out all my thoughts really clearly. I’ll do my best to summarise some of my thoughts here though. The whole ideas of the conflict had potential but the setups were a little iffy. Deciding that the ultimate conflict would be over Bucky instead of the Sovakia Accords (which were set up but play little to no part in the second and third acts) pretty much made the whole Accords plotline pointless for the movie. Sure, the Accords may have partially affected some of the other movies but not by much, and you don’t really feel those consequences at the end of Civil War. It almost makes the movie feel a little meaningless at times. It’s not the only criticism I have but it’s one of my major criticisms.

However, there are some truly great parts in this movie. Robert Downey Jr gives one of his best performances as Iron Man, Chadwick Boseman stole the show as Black Panther and the final fight between Captain America and Iron Man is one of the best scenes in the entire MCU. I even like Zemo, who was one of the better villains of the MCU (even though I have some issues with how he was handled). Also most the action was generally good, all of them are really solid, with the exception of the airport scene, which I’m really not a fan of. The third act in particular is one of the highlights of the MCU in general. Also while the execution was a bit of a mixed bag, I do like how they really tried to end the movie as being much more of a personal and smaller conflict than a large scale one. Overall, I still say that this movie is pretty good, albeit with a lot of wasted potential. Not great, nor bad, just decent.

Original review of Captain America: Civil War

Retrospective review of Captain America: Civil War

17. Ant Man and the Wasp

What you think about Ant Man and the Wasp will probably be similar to how you’ll feel about the first Ant Man, people who don’t like the first movie will probably hate the second. However, as I liked the first movie, I enjoyed the second quite a bit, even though it’s not even close to being one of the best MCU movies.

Whether you like or dislike the two movies, they aren’t that far apart in terms of quality. The sequel is at least a little more creative with the shrinking/enlarging ability, and it feels like they really had a lot of fun with it. Generally the comedy works a lot better, the MCU has been known to have some humour that deflated a lot of the dramatic moments. However AMATW was a pretty light movie so all the comedy never had a moment where it ruined something. The first movie feels like it was going off of Edgar Wright’s involvement (before he dropped out), whereas here it feels clearly like Peyton Reed’s movie. It’s also a light hearted comedy and a familiar superhero movie, but still a step above the first movie. The cast as usual was really good, and Evangeline Lilly got a lot more to do as The Wasp. Outside of the credit scenes it seemed to be mainly meant as a much lighter movie to end the year on after Infinity War, however it was fun for what it was.

Review of Ant Man and the Wasp

16. Thor

Thor is a movie that some people are a little split on. People generally don’t like The Dark World, and people generally like Ragnarok, but with the first Thor I’ve seen mixed reactions. While it’s not one of the best movies in the MCU by any means, I liked it quite a bit, and has some elements to it that I wish was retained for the following Thor appearances.

Unlike Thor: The Dark World, Thor had a unique look and feel to it, that’s because of Kenneth Branagh’s direction. It feels a lot larger, and with the Shakespearian feel and dialogue, gives it this really grand and epic feel to it (dutch angles and all), which made it really stand out from other comic book movies in general. Like with Thor 2 though, there was the problem of too much time on Earth. While in the first movie it wasn’t terrible and it wasn’t a bad idea having Thor having to prove himself as worthy for his first appearance, the non-Earth parts are just way more interesting. Chris Hemsworth was great as Thor, even if the takes on his character changed with every single movie he was in, he brought it to each of his appearances. Although he was made iconic in The Avengers, Loki was an underrated villain in this first movie. He was quite well established, his motives believable, and the whole Shakespearian take worked perfectly for his character. The scene between him and Anthony Hopkins’s Odin after Loki realises who he really is really is one of the more underrated scenes in the MCU. I’m not really sure I can call any of the Marvel movies underrated, but the first Thor did some really good things that it really deserved more credit for, still a really solid movie overall.

Review of Thor

15. Captain America: The First Avenger

Not many people knew that this movie would actually work in the lead up to its release. Captain America was a well known comic book character but considering how silly he appeared on the surface level, it didn’t look good. Previous live action attempts to bring him to the big screen have been absolutely disastrous, so it was quite ambitious trying to make him actually work this time. With that said, the film somehow managed to introduce the mainstream audience to Captain America in a very credible way.

As I said above, the movie really could’ve been incredibly goofy and cheesy considering some of the concepts and the title character that would be leading the whole story. However, they really managed to find a way for us to take it seriously (enough). Chris Evans was about as perfect a Captain America as you could get, managing to elevate the character above just being a goody two shoes super soldier with a shield and really gave him humanity. Even Hugo Weaving worked really well as a perfect pick for Red Skull. The First Avenger is like an alternative World War 2 movie, and the setting (and especially with them sticking to that setting for almost all of the movie) was probably the best way to handle his first appearance. The First Avenger on the whole wasn’t great and not one of the best of the MCU but it does work well for what it is, and it’s at least worth praising highly for making Captain America successfully work for the big screen.

Review of Captain America: The First Avenger

14. Spider-Man: Homecoming

Spider-Man Homecoming is a topic of debate, especially when it comes to comparing it to the comics and the Raimi trilogy, generally the MCU version of Spider-Man is a hot topic. I don’t consider Homecoming to be on par with some of the other Spider-Man movies, but it’s still good, much better than I thought it would be at the time.

Homecoming worked much better as a coming of age movie than the prior Spider-Man movies, with it actually being set in high school from beginning to end. I also like how the stakes are a lot more grounded and personal than large scale (even if that came at the expense of some rather lacklustre action scenes). Tom Holland impresses as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, I wasn’t sold on him in Civil War, but his performance in Homecoming got me on board with him as the character. And Michael Keaton worked greatly as the villain Vulture, making a rather ridiculous character in the comics work on the big screen, one of the best MCU villains. I also really liked Peter’s arc in the story, and the brief but significant appearances by Downey’s Tony Stark helped with it. Homecoming is neither top tier Marvel, nor lower tier, it’s somewhere in the middle overall.

Review of Spider-Man: Homecoming

13. Thor Ragnarok

Thor Ragnarok is one of the most offbeat, unique and entertaining movies in the MCU. It’s got some issues that prevent it from being much better than it could’ve been, but I still had quite a lot of fun with it, and it’s one that I’d really like to watch again.

Thor Ragnarok is one the funniest movies in the MCU, however it’s a specific type of humour, very similar to the humour seen in writer/director Taika Waititi’s other movies. Chris Hemsworth is given the freedom to let loose and play full comedy as Thor. Returns of characters like Tom Hiddleston’s Loki and additions of the likes of Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie made it even better. The movie is just so different compared to the other movies in the series. Some of the action scenes were pretty standout too, particularly Thor finally awakening his full power without his hammer. Now there are parts that don’t work as well. While the plotline with Hela (Cate Blanchett) in Asgard had genuine potential, it was clear that most of the focus was on Thor’s story, and every time it cut to her it felt out of obligation more than anything else. So they really didn’t explore the plotline of Asgard’s secret past as much as they could’ve, even though they could’ve potentially done a lot with it. Also while some of the visuals could look absolutely stunning at point, in others it looks surprisingly bland, and I just wished that it looked a lot more consistently great throughout. I’m not really confident in saying that it’s the best Thor movie, as it didn’t feel like a Thor movie. The earliest version of Thor wasn’t perfect but I kind of missed some of the more epic and Shakespearian aspects that his movies started with. I almost would’ve preferred if this movie was done with a different character but then again it also did some things with Thor’s character I also liked. Nonetheless I did enjoy the movie quite a bit, and I wouldn’t mind seeing it again.

Review of Thor Ragnarok

12. The Avengers

Nobody knew that this movie would actually work, getting a single comic book character to the big screen was in itself a big task. However, combining multiple comic book characters in the same universe in the same movie was not easy. While today I wouldn’t necessarily consider it to be one of the best comic book movies, it definitely did a lot for its time.

The Avengers one of those movies that is just endlessly fun to watch, I’ve rewatched it plenty of times and every time I’ve had fun with what I’ve seen. With that said as a movie, there isn’t a whole lot to it, and looking at clips of it again, it looks quite dated and almost looks like a CW superhero show at points. However, it succeeds in its simplicity and is mainly good for what it is. Aside from the third act with everyone fighting together, what makes the movie work so well is that the dynamic between the characters are fantastic. Really the weakest link of the group is Hawkeye, who spends 2 third of the movie being brainwashed (but thankfully they made up for it in his following film appearances). It’s been a while since I’ve watched it, so I admit I’m just basing this off of memory, but it did a lot for comic book movies at the very least.

Review of The Avengers

11. Doctor Strange

When I first watched Doctor Strange, I’m pretty sure it was close to being one of my favourite movies of the MCU, and I may have liked the movie more at that point than I do now. Still, there’s a lot of things I like about the movie and I think it still held up pretty well.

Although I feel like he was utilised better in the Avengers movies, Benedict Cumberbatch really does well at bringing Doctor Strange to life. Strange’s character arc particularly was a standout among the MCU considering how far he changes. Tilda Swinton as The Ancient One also added quite a bit to the movie. Not all of the cast is utilised really well, Rachel McAdams made for a generic love interest, and Mads Mikkelsen wasn’t even close to being utilised to his fullest potential. One of the parts that I loved so much was the visuals used for magic and the like. I really like how the magic was utilised here, from the dark magic that Mikkelsen’s character uses, to the time travel infinity stone used prominently in the third act. The story may be pretty familiar, but the visuals alone make the movie stand out among the MCU. I’m looking forward to seeing more movies with Doctor Strange, with his appearances in the last Avengers movies proving to be even better, as well as Baron Mordo’s (Chiwetel Ejiofor) already set up as a future antagonist in the credit scenes.

Review of Doctor Strange

10. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

I had some mixed feelings after watching Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 for the first time, it’s generally a movie that although having a generally good reception (as most Marvel movies do), some of the reactions were a little split. I’m so glad I re-watched this movie because I like and appreciate it a lot more now for what it is.

You really feel that James Gunn doubled down with some aspects of the movie, it’s visually stunning, the action scenes are good (although limited), and the music choices were even better than the first movie’s. As a movie about family, it was really fitting, whether it between Peter and Ego, Gamora and Nebula, and the like. Although in the third act it turns into a large scale save the universe climax, I really do like how small scale and personal they made the general movie feel, also it was separated from the MCU movies in general, it’s really its own movie and wasn’t forced to be another movie setting up things for Infinity War and Endgame. It’s also a lot more emotional with most of the characters, the Yondu death scene even worked on a first viewing, among the best scenes in the MCU. I still prefer the first movie quite a bit, some of the jokes in Volume 2 deflated the tension, but it’s very close. I’m going to need to watch it more, I feel like I’m going to like Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 2 the more I watch it.

Original review of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Retrospective review of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

9. Spider-Man: Far From Home

The most recent movie from the MCU, Far From Home was a lot better than I expected it to be. Not that I expected it to be bad or anything, but I just thought that Homecoming was pretty good. However not even the addition of Jake Gyllenhaal could make me super excited to see the movie, especially after Endgame feeling like a proper conclusion, Far From Home felt tact on at the end of Phase 3. It is probably the best live action Spider-Man movie since Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2.

Far From Home is overall an upgrade over Homecoming, it at least worked much better as a coming of age movie. Additionally, it seems like director Jon Watts is a lot more confident with his work, with his action scenes in this movie being a vast improvement over its predecessor (despite the occasionally iffy visual effects towards the end). A certain sequence involving illusions remains one of my favourite scenes in the MCU. Tom Holland once again proves himself a great Peter Parker and Spider-Man, he’s already played him 4 times before and he’s definitely got a handle on this role now. Jake Gyllenhaal made Mysterio, another over the top Spider-Man villain, work for the big screen. It was an almost perfect translation of the comic character, while changing some aspects so that we can actually take him seriously here, I hope we get to see him again. The first half of the movie is a pretty decent Spider-Man movie. However, after some revelations halfway through the movie, that’s when the movie really picks up. Not to say that I don’t have some issues. While I’m not as against it, the reliance on Tony Stark is definitely a little overbearing, especially seeing as how even Mysterio has some obligatory ties to him. Additionally, although I don’t have a massive problem with him not being constantly mentioned, the constant avoidance of even acknowledging Uncle Ben’s existence is bordering on embarrassing. However it’s just a minor annoyance to me even though some others take even greater issue with it. As long as the future movies don’t keep trying to bring in Tony Stark in the lives of Spider-Man and his supporting characters, I’ll be fine with it. With the point that the movie ends on, I’m definitely interested to see which direction they’ll take Spider-Man in next.

Review of Spider-Man: Far From Home

8. Guardians of the Galaxy

Guardians of the Galaxy was one of Marvel’s biggest risks, in their second phase they introduced 5 new characters, which sounded really random in concept (including a talking racoon and a tree who’s only line consists of him saying his name), and most people haven’t even heard of them. Considering the amount of money being put towards it, it could’ve ended up a disaster or a flop. Yet James Gunn and the cast and co. really came together to deliver on a very entertaining movie, and now the titular characters are now household names.

Guardians of the Galaxy is very loosely connected to the other movies, with the idea of the Infinity Stones seeming the only explicit connection made in the movie. Yet with Nicole Perlman’s writing and James Gunn’s direction, they do such a good job at introducing these new and different characters and worlds to the general audience. From beginning to end, it’s an entertaining sci-fi flick with quite a lot of effective comedy, with a few effective emotional scenes too. The cast were also great, with the highlights being Chris Pratt as Star Lord and the voice of Bradley Cooper as Rocket Racoon. One of the only weaker elements of the film again was the villain of Ronan the Accuser, but even he had a couple of good moments as well. I can’t wait to see where they will take these movies next.

Review of Guardians of the Galaxy

7. Iron Man

This is the movie that started off the MCU, and no one expected it to be as great as it was, let alone start off one of the largest cinematic universes. Director Jon Favreau and co. managed to pull together such a good movie that successfully brought the iconic Marvel comics superhero to the big screen.

Iron Man is very well known in Marvel comics but for the mainstream people at the time was very unknown. Now he’s known as one of the most iconic live action superheroes. It’s especially amazing considering that it had no script throughout, with it relying on a lot of improvising. When you look at Iron Man again after watching the movies following it, you’ll notice that there’s quite a unique tone to it compared to the other MCU movies. It’s got this level of grittiness and style that a lot of the other movies don’t have. Even if you treat the movie as its own thing and ignoring the following films, it’s already good. If anything, the credits scene with Nick Fury was tact on at the end, suggesting something they could pursue if the movie was successful enough. Even if the series didn’t take off like it did, they really did make itself quite a good origin superhero movie. Iron Man/Tony Stark was such a different character from the traditional superhero movies that he had seen on the big screen up to that point Robert Downey Jr was perfect as Stark/Iron Man, he basically made the movie. No one thought that he would work (especially considering him years before he accepted the role), but he really made the biggest comeback and surprised everyone. The rest of the cast were also effective, even Jeff Bridges does a pretty good job as the villain. 11 years later, Iron Man is still among the best movies in the MCU.

Review of Iron Man

6. Black Panther

Black Panther was a massive hit last year, even getting to the point where it became the first comic book movie nominated for Best Picture. While I wouldn’t even consider it to be among the best comic book movies ever made or anything like that, I still consider it to be very good, and definitely deserving of a lot of the praise.

While I don’t love it as much as I did when I first saw it, Black Panther is undeniably one of the best of the MCU. Director Ryan Coogler has done a great job at differentiating it from the rest of the movies in the series, both in story and the overall direction. With the themes and different directions they took the plot and characters, it’s for sure a breath of fresh air for comic book movies. The cast were all really great, with Chiwetel Ejiofor once again solid as the titular character and Michael B. Jordan made for an effective villain, one of the best of the MCU. Yes, some of the visual effects in the third act wasn’t perfect but none of that could negatively impact the movie all that much. There isn’t that much that Black Panther doesn’t do wrong honestly, sure some of the story is familiar but it doesn’t downgrade the movie that much. I’m interested to see a Black Panther sequel and I wonder where they’ll take it next.

Review of Black Panther

5. Iron Man 3

Iron Man 3 is quite a divisive movie for some people. Some people really like it, others really hated it for certain reasons. I liked it when I saw it, but it grew on me the more I watched it, to the point where it’s one of my favourite movies in the MCU now.

Writer and director Shane Black really made this movie his own, it’s the funniest, yet darkest of the Iron Man trilogy. It’s also rather standalone from the rest of the MCU movies (even though it’s clearly connected), outside of a mention to The Avengers. Robert Downey Jr as usual is Iron Man but you really see him more as Tony Stark, and this is really more of a Stark movie than an Iron Man movie, personally I really liked that about this movie. Many of the action scenes were also memorable and good, from the plane scene to the climax with all the Iron Man suits. Honestly aside from the twist with The Mandarin, I don’t really get why this movie gets hate. This twist is something I have mixed feelings on, not because of it not being comic accurate but because the build up with him was fantastic, only for it to turn out to be completely fake. Now I thought the actual villain that we got was alright, but kind of a bait and switch at the same time. If I had to come up with one other flaw, it’s the fact that even though Tony’s PTSD plays a part in the movie for quite a bit, it doesn’t have an ending for it, it’s very prevalent in the first two acts and in the last act it was just forgotten. It was mostly handled very well so it was a shame it wasn’t really resolved. On the whole though, I really liked Iron Man 3 and I think it’s rather underappreciated.

Review of Iron Man 3

4. Avengers: Age of Ultron

I liked The Avengers, it was a very entertaining movie and as I said earlier, it did the impossible and successfully pulled off the first superhero team up movie. However, Age of Ultron to me is a much superior film, from the direction, to where they were taking the plot. It just generally felt like a significant improvement.

Age of Ultron balanced the fun, and the dark elements quite well, I really liked where they took the story and characters. You can also tell that Joss Whedon got a lot more of a budget to work with, feeling less like a higher budget TV show and more like a big budget superhero movie. The addition of characters like Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) were also very welcome. Obviously this movie has some faults. Ultron could’ve been a far more effective villain and maybe toned down the jokes just a little bit (I still liked him though, and James Spader was absolutely perfect in the role). While I get that some people didn’t like how similar it was to the first movie, I do feel like it does enough to make itself stand out from that. Age of Ultron is one of the more divisive of the MCU movies but I actually consider it to be one of its best entries.

Review of Avengers: Age of Ultron

3. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Captain America: The Winter Soldier took a different direction than what was expected. It took a much more serious tone that most of the MCU movies didn’t have. It is highly regarded as one of the best of the MCU for very good reason.

The First Avenger made Captain America work in a World War 2 setting. However, the question was whether how Captain America would work in a modern setting, ignoring his appearance in The Avengers. The solution was having a much more serious tone and opted for a spy and espionage movie. The action scenes were all really memorable and impactful, from the opening scene to the final confrontation between Captain America and The Winter Soldier. This is probably one of Scarlett Johansson’s best outings as Black Widow (for the time being), same with Samuel L. Jackson’s Nick Fury, and Robert Redford was effective as one of the MCU’s more underrated villains (and yes the titular Winter Soldier was also very threatening). From beginning to end, the movie doesn’t have a weak link at any point. From the cast, to the story and the direction, it was great, and also had a lasting impact on some of the other movies set in the universe. For a while The Winter Soldier was for me the best movie in the MCU.

Review of Captain America: The Winter Soldier

2. Avengers: Infinity War

Infinity War is an event movie has been anticipated for many years, it did not seem like it would live up to it. Despite my scepticism (especially following Captain America: Civil War), the Russo Brothers delivered on the promise.

The way the MCU characters were brought together in one movie and cut between them, yet not making it feel too overstuffed was great. It may not have the same effect if you’ve missed out some of the movies but if you’ve been watching the entire MCU you definite got a lot out of it. Thanos had been built on for 6 years, ever since he was teased in the post credits of The Avengers. With mostly passable villains in the MCU in the movies leading up to Infinity War, he didn’t seem like he would live up to the hype but they met and surpassed expectations. Josh Brolin’s Thanos remains one of the best motion capture performances in a movie, not only is the visual effects on him fantastic, but they make him very memorable and give him well defined motives, making him probably the best villain of the MCU thus far. It’s no exaggeration saying that Infinity War really is Thanos’s movie, he is present throughout, he ends up winning, and the movie even ends on him. And then there’s the ending, with the infamous snap wiping out half of the population, including half of the Marvel characters that we know. Although I knew that more than likely everyone was going to come back in some action to reverse it (save for Loki and Gamora), the fact that they actually went there was really effective, and I can’t believe that they did it. However, whether the movie still held up on the whole all depended on how they would handle the follow up. Speaking of…

Review of Avengers: Infinity War

1. Avengers: Endgame

Avengers: Endgame is one long epic conclusion to the culmination of 22 movies before, one of the most anticipated blockbusters ever. Even though Infinity War delivered on its promise, it still seemed like Endgame had a lot that it had to live up to. It worked as the final outings of many of the major Avengers, as well as bringing to an end the Infinity Saga that audiences have been invested in for 11 years.

While some people complained about the long runtime, on my one viewing I felt that it worked perfectly well and I’m definitely glad that they took as much time as possible so they could get it right. The first hour took its time really showing the aftermath of the snap for each of the main characters. Surprisingly Endgame works much better as a character based movie compared to the other MCU movies. Infinity War was Thanos’s movie, Endgame was the surviving Avengers’. The second hour was the Avengers going back in time to certain events that longtime MCU fans are more than familiar with. I’m glad that they even brought back familiar characters like The Ancient One (Tilda Swinton) and Alexander Pierce (Robert Redford, making this his last film appearance). I mean it even manages to retroactively make Thor: The Dark World better. The last hour is the conclusion, with the final battle being one of the best sequences in a comic book movie. Yes. there is plenty of fanservice throughout the movie, but it feels very fitting (especially considering it’s the last time we’ll be seeing some of these characters). Seeing certain things happen like Captain America finally using the hammer was quite the sight to see. Even most of the divisive character decisions like the takes on Hulk and Thor I was on board with. I’ll admit that I get the feeling that this movie won’t hold up as well on a rewatch, with some elements of time travel not exactly making sense (not to mention I’m not exactly sure that what Captain America does at the end didn’t break the rules the movie tried so hard to emphasise and define). However, my viewing in the cinema was amongst the best experiences I’ve had watching a movie in the cinema. While the MCU is far from over, this is where a lot of people will be dropping off the series, it concluded the main 11 year long story arc, and it did it fantastically.

Review of Avengers: Endgame

What is your ranking of the MCU?

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Top 10 Movies of 2015

I know that it’s a little late (2-3 months) for me to be posting my best of the year, but I deliberately held off making the list because I wanted to watch many of the later released films like Steve Jobs and Carol. Time went on and progress on my best of the year had been slowed down, but now I’ve finally completed it. I should mention that I haven’t watched every movie, so movies like The Hateful Eight and Room won’t make this list, though I’m sure that I would’ve included them in this list, had I watched them. And yes, I’m going to make a worst of the year list.

Honourable Mentions

Ant Man

This movie proved to me that Marvel can do no wrong, at this point they could probably do a Howard the Duck movie and I’d be confident that it would be great. This movie doesn’t have an easy concept to adapt to the big screen but somehow they made it work. Paul Rudd made for a likable character, the supporting cast of Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Michael Pena and Corey Stoll were also great. It was also a breath of fresh air from the ‘save the world’ type superhero movies and went much smaller scale and the movie really benefited from that. Ant Man is another solid entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and along with Age of Ultron, shows that Marvel are showing no sign of slowing down.

My review of Ant Man

The Big Short

The Big Short didn’t have an easy task: it had to create a story about the collapse of the economy while making it entertaining and interesting for the general going audience, but this movie in my opinion succeeded at doing this. Director Adam McKay (Anchorman) made his directional debut in drama and seeing this makes me think that he might have more success in drama than comedy. The performances from Christian Bale, Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt and others added even more to the movie. As I said in my review, the film doesn’t always get it right as some of the details did get confusing but the fact that I understood some of the concepts showed how well written and directed this movie was. Definitely worth checking out if you haven’t already.

My review of The Big Short

Avengers: Age of Ultron

Avengers Age of Ultron is a movie that I’ve noticed get a lot of criticism. It’s been compared to the first Avengers quite of bit, and is often called lesser in comparison. In some ways I think that it is better than the previous movie. The characters are more developed (particularly Hawkeye) and the story does go bigger and does everything a sequel needs to do. James Spaders’ Ultron was a little divisive for some people but I actually thought that he made for a pretty entertaining villain. On its own I think Avengers Age of Ultron is a really good movie, whether you compare it to the first film or not. It’s not perfect, but neither was the original film. My trust in Marvel has not wavered after this movie, if anything it has been strengthened.

My review of Avengers: Age of Ultron

Mission Impossible Rogue Nation

The Mission Impossible Franchise has been on the rise ever since its third instalment. No one thought that Ghost Protocol could be topped, with its actions and particularly with the stunts. However Christopher McQuarrie has successfully created a sequel which in my opinion stands at least at the same level of Ghost Protocol. Tom Cruise shows once that he can still be great in action films, his supporting cast also does great an Rebecca Fergusson was awesome in this movie (and will probably now be in more movies now). This movie has all the action you can hope for, a water scene, a motorbike chase scene, a car chase scene, and of course, Tom Cruise doing a risky stunt with the airplane. The Mission Impossible franchise is getting better and better the more the series is going on and I’m looking forward to see is get even bigger and better, it’s hard to imagine that happening at this point.

My review of Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation

Steve Jobs

Despite a lot of hype, Steve Jobs didn’t get the acclaim that it deserved, both by the critics and the box office and I personally don’t understand why. The direction by Danny Boyle was excellent and stylish, working quite well for the movie. The cast also did quite well, Michael Fassbender was magnificent as Steve Jobs, and the supporting cast with Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen and Jeff Daniels were also great, they all added to this movie and had their moments. But what tied it all together was Aaron Sorkin’s excellent screenplay. The dialogue, the focus on three important segments of Steve Jobs’s life, everything was well put together. If you haven’t seen Steve Jobs, you really should, it is a dialogue driven movie so it’s not for everyone but even if you aren’t a fan of those types of movies I think this film is worth a watch anyway, it might change your mind.

My review of Steve Jobs

10. Kingsman: The Secret Service

2015 was a big year for spy movies and in my opinion, Kingsman: The Secret Service was the best out of all of them. With Matthew Vaughn’s excellent direction, Kingsman ended up being one of the most fun cinema experiences I’ve had. The action was so well filmed by Vaughn, in particular the church scene which is completely insane and over the top and fun. The humour was so well put in, it poked fun at the spy genre while being a great one itself. The acting was also great, with newcomer Taron Edgerton impressing, Colin Firth showing that he can do action and Samuel L. Jackson having a ton of fun as an over the top villain. I heard that the sequel is being planned for a 2017 release and after seeing this movie twice, I’m looking forward to seeing it.

My review of Kingsman: The Secret Service

9. The Martian

Ridley Scott has been making some films that weren’t that good recently (take the Counsellor for instance) but with The Martian, he seems to have made a welcome return. It did do well at focussing on one character struggling to survive, which is no easy task. The cast was great, consisting of Matt Damon, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jessica Chastain, Jeff Daniels and many others but it really is Matt Damon’s show here, whether or not this movie would work depends on him. Damon pulls off an excellent performance just right for the film. Unlike a lot of isolated survivor films, his character is very likable and entertaining to watch, and Damon conveyed all of this in a great way. I don’t know if Ridley Scott will go back to making above average films and I don’t know how Alien: Covenant will turn out but at the very least we can say that The Martian is his best film in a long time.

My review of The Martian

8. Inside Out

Inside Out shows once again how great animated movies can be. It tackled a subject that I didn’t think a kids animated movie would tackle very competently: emotions. However this turned out to be one of the best written and smartest animated movies I’ve seen, I actually think this film was actually more suited to adults. I don’t know if there is any spin offs or sequels to the original movie being planned (nor do I think they are necessary) but in whatever case, Inside Out is quite an excellent movie on its own and one of the best animated films I’ve seen in a while.

My review of Inside Out

7. Sicario

Denis Villeneuve has proven with Prisoners, Enemy and now Sicario that he’s one of the best directors working today. Everything on the production value was perfect, from the excellent cinematography from Roger Deakins, to the soundtrack from Johann Johannson, and the action scenes so brilliantly filmed by Villenueve, everything is so well put together. The performances were also great from Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro (the latter being a particular standout). With a new film from Denis Villenueve coming out this year (as well as him directing the new Blade Runner), I’m excited to see much more of his work.

6. Spotlight

Spotlight was one of the best written films of 2015. The way that the dialogue was written, the way the film was paced, the way we learned information about the Boston Priest Molestation scandals at the same rate as the protagonists, everything was nicely strung together by writer and director Tom McCarthy. The ensemble cast consisting of Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton and even more added much more to the movie. Now whether the movie deserved Best Picture or not, that’s up for debate. But ignoring the awards, Spotlight really is a great and important film by itself and if you haven’t watched it, you really should.

My review of Spotlight

5. Creed

I’m not a huge fan of the Rocky movies, I’ve only watched the first film before Creed. I wasn’t particularly excited for this film, sure it had director Ryan Coolger, Michael B. Jordan as well as Sylvester Stallone returning to the role of Rocky but I wasn’t sure of what to expect. Creed was one of the biggest surprises this year. Although it had many beats from the original it did manage to add its own spin on the classic story and made it even better than the original (in my own honest opinion). Creed also had fantastic performances from Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone (the latter particularly giving an Oscar worthy performance), and their pairing is what tied the film together. I heard that there is going to be a sequel in 2017, I don’t see how they can top this movie, especially with rumours that Ryan Coogler won’t be involved. I think that Creed can stand on its own as a great movie, and one of the best of 2015.

My review of Creed

Now these top 4 movies could honestly be put in any order, they are all 10/10 movies to me.

NOTE: My top 4 of the year had changed since I’ve made this list. Further below I will list the order.

4. The Revenant

The Revenant was one of the most intriguing cinema experiences I’ve had. As I said in my review, The Revenant is one of the best directed movies I’ve ever seen. Everything looked real and there were times when I could honestly not know how they managed to shoot certain scenes, take the bear attack scene for instance. Fantastic performances by actors like Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Domhnall Gleeson and Will Poulter elevate this movie even further. Director Alejandro González Iñárritu has proved along with Birdman that he is one of the best directors working today. I know that The Revenant has some divided people and to be fair, I know that this film isn’t for everyone. But even if you don’t like it, I hope you appreciate some of the strong aspects of the film. I know I gave The Revenant a 9 in my original review but months after seeing it, I have to say that it is a 10/10 movie.

My review of The Revenant

3. Carol

Carol is one of the best romance films I’ve seen in a long time and director Todd Haynes crafted this entire film perfectly. First of all the setting is right from the 50s with great attention to detail, whether it comes to production design, costumes, you name it. However the excellent acting is the highlight of the film, with Rooney Mara and Cate Blanchett shining and delivering some of the best performances of their career, and that’s saying a lot. The subtlety in their relationship is what makes the love story so great and along with the writing, both actresses convey that perfectly. Carol has unfortunately not gotten enough attention from a lot of people, especially when it comes to awards. If you truly appreciate film, I recommend checking out this movie.

My review of Carol

2. Mad Max Fury Road

As I said in my review, Mad Max Fury Road is one of the best action movies of the decade so far. It blended in practical effects with minimal CGI effects and it was the perfect balance, not one moment did it feel overly fake or CGI. The action scenes were some of the best I’ve ever seen but it’s not just the action scenes that impressed me. The film can do so much with so little, it had a story but achieved it through visual means, not requiring a lot of dialogue to explain what was going on. It is one of the most visual immersive movies I’ve ever seen and it will be remembered for years to come. On a side note I know that some people are unhappy that this movie didn’t win Best Picture but I think I should say that it’s an achievement in itself that Mad Max: Fury Road, a movie that could be just considered a non stop action movie, was recognised by the Academy with a nomination.

My review of Mad Max: Fury Road

1. Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens

Star Wars: The Force Awakens did what Creed and Mad Max Fury Road has done: create a new instalment in a franchise while making it a great movie on its own. The new cast with Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac and others show great promise and the next films look great. I will say that The Force Awakens is my third favourite Star Wars movie, in front of Return of the Jedi and behind A New Hope. The fact that The Force Awakens is anywhere near as good as the original trilogy is an achievement in itself. I am truly excited to see what these new Star Wars films have to offer in the years to come.

My review of Star Wars Episode 7: The Force Awakens

NOTE:
Now my top 4 of the year is as follows:
1. Carol
2. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
3. Mad Max Fury Road
4. The Revenant

So what do you think of my picks for the best of the year? Do you agree with them or disagree with them? What are your personal picks?

Ant Man (2015) Review

Time: 117 Minutes
Age Rating: Violence and Offensive Language
Cast:
Paul Rudd as Scott Lang/Ant-Man
Evangeline Lilly as Hope van Dyne
Corey Stoll as Darren Cross
Bobby Cannavale as Paxton
Michael Peña as Luis
Tip “T.I.” Harris as Dave
Anthony Mackie as Sam Wilson/Falcon
Wood Harris as Gale
Judy Greer as Maggie
David Dastmalchian as Kurt
Michael Douglas as Hank Pym
Director: Peyton Reed

Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

Ant Man has been receiving quite a lot of scepticism before its release. Not only was this concept hard to pull off but Edgar Wright’s separation from the project concerned many. Despite this, Ant Man manages to rise above all its potential problems and makes for a great and refreshing addition to the Marvel universe. Ant Man proves once again that Marvel can take a concept that is hard to pull off but actually manage to succeed in delivering.

The first thing you need to know is that Ant Man is not a big movie. Go into Ant Man as if you are seeing a heist movie as opposed to a save the world type of movies like Age of Ultron. It’s actually kind of refreshing, it can get a little tiring being bogged down by the large scope and stakes of some of the big movies. It is also a very funny movie, this might actually be the funniest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (either this or Guardians of the Galaxy). Although Edgar Wright has left the project, you can tell from a lot of the scenes, writing and dialogue his work. I would’ve liked to have seen what Wright had in mind for this film but it is still pretty good. Peyton Reed has directed this movie quite well, despite my doubts of his choice of helming this movie. The last thing to know is that Ant Man has 2 credit scenes, so be sure to stick around for them.

Paul Rudd is great in this film, this is probably the best performance I’ve seen from him so far. He really transitioned into the Marvel Cinematic Universe with ease and I look forward to seeing more of him as Ant Man. Michael Douglas was perfect casting as Hank Pym, it is one of his best performances in a while. Evangeline Lilly was also great as Hank’s daughter, I could really sense a lot of history between her and Michael Douglas. Michael Pena was great and he provided a lot of great comic relief. Villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (for the most part) aren’t that good and while Darren Cross, the villain of this film isn’t that fleshed out, its actor’s Corey Stoll’s performance that makes him one of the better antagonists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Like with the script, you can definitely see Edgar Wright’s style here, like with its fast editing. The effects to show Ant Man shrinking look really great and the film really takes advantage of its opportunities to create some really great, entertaining and at times hilarious scenes. This film is actually worth watching in 3D, it really does enhance and make the experience much better and that’s not something I usually say about 3D movies. The climax of this film is very enjoyable and it gets very creative and entertaining.

I said in my anticipated movies of 2015 that if Marvel can pull off Ant Man and make it great, I’ll be pretty much sold on any movie that they make, no matter how ridiculous a premise it may sound. They have done that with Ant Man and have made it much more. Looking at this film (and the end credit scenes) I’m excited for Marvel’s next films. So far it looks like today, Marvel can do no wrong (well at least movies by in the Avengers universe).

Top 15 Most Anticipated Movies of 2015

2014 was a big year for movies, whether it be with big blockbusters such as Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy and X-Men Days of Future Past or other impressive films like Gone Girl, Boyhood and Interstellar. I was initially going to write a list of the best films of the year, however I changed my mind as there are many films that I missed or at least won’t be able to see for a while (Nightcrawler, Birdman, Whiplash, etc). It is something to consider doing for the end of this year however.

I’m looking ahead at the movies coming up next and 2015 looks to be a very big year, an even bigger year than 2014. 2015 will have the release of a sequel to the third highest grossing movie of all time (The Avengers), a new Mad Max movie, a new Terminator movie and how can anyone forget, a new Star Wars movie. Along with that, we have many original films made by some great directors (Michael Mann, Quentin Tarantino). There are so many reasons to be excited for 2015.

Now keep in mind that I don’t know every movie coming out this year, many of them might have made my list if I had heard about them earlier. I’ve made a list of movies I’ve heard about at the last moment that I thought were worth mentioning (check at the end of the list for those chosen movies). With that said, let’s start the countdown.

15. Terminator Genisys

The Terminator franchise is one of the greatest franchises ever made and Terminator 2 is one of the best movies of all time. The last entry from the franchise was Terminator Salvation and it really disappointed. I didn’t personally find it bad but a lot of the elements were forgettable. 6 years later, the next entry in the franchise, Terminator Genisys will be released this year and has a chance to energize the franchise again.

On the verge of winning the war against Skynet in 2029, John Connor (Jason Clarke) sends his trusted lieutenant Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back through time to save his mother’s life and ensure his own existence. But what he finds on the other side is like nothing he ever expected. After being orphaned at age 9 by a Terminator, Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) has since been brought up by another Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger), programmed to protect her. This Terminator has then trained her to face her destiny, which she adamantly tries to reject. The film also stars Matt Smith, Lee Byung-hun, Dayo Okeniyi, Courtney B. Vance, Sandrine Holt and J. K. Simmons

Apart from the slightly generic title (and a confusing way of spelling Genesis) I’m quite curious with what the movie will be like. It is directed by Alan Taylor (Thor the Dark World, Game of Thrones) and I think that he’s a competent director for this movie. Although I don’t know what the outcome will be of the movie, I’m sure it will at least be entertaining. The story seems quite like X-Men Days of Future Past, in that it shows time travel from different time periods. There is an impressive cast which consists of Arnold Schwarzenegger (obviously), Emilia Clarke, Matt Smith and many others. There is a great amount of potential that this film has to be great and perhaps one of the better movies in the franchise. In either case it will at least be better than Terminator Salvation.

Terminator Genisys is scheduled to be released on 1 July 2015

14. Jurassic World

Jurassic Park is one of the most revolutionary films ever made and one of Steven Spielberg’s best films. Its two sequels were okay but didn’t get even close to reaching the level of the original. After many years, the franchise is releasing another movie, Jurassic World. I honestly don’t really know how this movie is going to turn out, it could turn out to be only better than Jurassic Park 2 and 3 or it could be even end up being better than just that. No matter how it turns out, I’m excited to see it.

Twenty-two years after the events of Jurassic Park, Isla Nublar now features a fully functioning dinosaur theme park, Jurassic World, as originally envisioned by John Hammond. This new park is owned by the Masrani Global Corporation. Owen (Chris Pratt), a member of Jurassic World’s on-site staff, conducts behavioural research on the Velociraptors. At the request of the corporation, the park’s geneticists create a genetically-modified hybrid dinosaur. The film also stars Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D’Onofrio, Jake Johnson, Nick Robinson, Ty Simpkins, BD Wong, Judy Greer and Irrfan Khan.

I personally think Jurassic World will turn out to be at least good but I’m cautiously optimistic of the results, as the last two instalments did lack some of the elements of the first, and this movie is made a couple of decades after the original. I do however think the film will at least be better than Jurassic Park 2 and 3. From the trailer it does look good, the special effects look decent and Chris Pratt is a great actor to be chosen as the main star. Although I’m not sure how the movie will turn out but I’m sure it will at least be entertaining.

Jurassic World is scheduled to be released on 12 June 2015.

13. Ant Man

Marvel is continuously expanding its movie universe and I’ve liked all of their recent movies ever since Iron Man. Although I don’t know much about the comic books, Ant Man looks to be another great addition to the franchise and I am confident that this movie will succeed just as well as Marvel’s other movies.

It’s about a con-man (Paul Rudd), who has a super-suit with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, who must embrace his inner hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), plan and pull off a heist that will save the world. The movie also stars Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale and Michael Peña.

I don’t know too much about the character or the comic books but I am nonetheless interested in how Ant Man will turn out, I’m a big Marvel movie fan after all. Marvel did very well with Guardians of the Galaxy, which was based on a group of characters that weren’t that well known, so I’m confident that this movie will turn out being really good. I am a little sceptical of the director Peyton Reed who has made such movies as The Break Up and Yes Man, however I’ll remain open minded until I finally see the movie. Marvel has been on a winning streak and have never let me down yet and if all goes well, Ant-Man won’t let me down either.

Ant Man is scheduled to be released on 17 July 2015

12. Mission Impossible 5

I’m a fan of the Mission Impossible movies (even the second despite its problems) and I particularly loved Mission Impossible 4: Ghost Protocol which is why I’m really excited for its sequel. Even though I’m not sure if it will reach the level of its predecessor, I’m curious to see how Mission Impossible 5 will end up. Although the plot isn’t given yet, I am confident that the movie will have a great plot to go along with the great direction.

Under the direction of Christopher McQuarrie (who previously directed Jack Reacher, a misunderstood film in my opinion) this movie looks to be quite big. It’s hard to imagine a bigger Mission Impossible movie than Ghost Protocol, particularly with the scene of Tom Cruise on the side of the tall skyscraper in Dubai. Recently however, there was news that Tom Cruise performed a stunt which involved him strapping himself to the side of an airbus as it’s flying in the air. This news shows me that there is a good chance that it won’t disappoint, even if it may not reach the level of Ghost Protocol, I am certain that it will be quite entertaining.

Mission Impossible 5 is scheduled to be released on 25 December 2015.

11. Furious 7

The Fast and Furious franchise didn’t really have my interest until it picked up with 2011’s Fast Five. It changed the franchise from a street race series to a heist movie series and in my opinion, the change was for the better, with it being more interesting and entertaining. 2013’s Fast and Furious 6 did in my opinion just as well. Furious 7 looks to follow along those lines of the previous two movies, which means those who loved those movies (including myself) won’t be disappointed.

Furious 7 is set to take place after Fast and Furious 6. After defeating Owen Shaw and his crew in the previous movie, Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel), Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) and the rest of the crew are able to return to the United States and live the normal life again as they had wanted, but Owen’s older brother, Ian Shaw (Jason Statham), is after Dominic, seeking revenge for the death of his brother, putting the entire crew in danger once more.

I’m guessing that the film will follow the same tone and feel as Fast Five and Furious Six. Paul Walker’s final and posthumous performance makes this movie seem even more interesting and elevates my anticipation even more. Added to this is the fact that Jason Statham is playing the villain; Statham for me is one of the most ideal actor to be in the Fast and Furious franchise, he’s been in a lot of action movies (especially those involving cars); it’s only just that he finally plays a part in the series. Under the direction of James Wan (Saw, The Conjuring) Furious 7 looks to be entertaining and another great addition to the franchise.

Fast and Furious 7 is scheduled to be released on 3 April 2015

10. Chappie

Neill Blomkamp is a director to watch, with his great films District 9 and Elysium. His next film, Chappie, is another science fiction movie but it is different from his previous two films, one that isn’t quite as dark as them. Although the plot does seem a little similar to some other movies, because of Blomkamp direction, I think that he has an opportunity to add some originality to it and to tell an engaging story.

Every child comes into the world full of promise, and none more so than Chappie: he is gifted, special, a prodigy. Like any child, Chappie will come under the influence of his surroundings – some good, some bad – and he will rely on his heart and soul to find his way in the world and become his own man. But there’s one thing that makes Chappie different from anyone else: he is a robot. The first robot with the ability to think and feel for himself. His life, his story, will change the way the world looks at robots and humans forever.

I’ve liked Neill Blomkamp’s previous movies so far which is the main reason makes I’m excited to see Chappie. The cast is great here which consists of actors such as Hugh Jackman, Dev Patel and Sigourney Weaver. Sharlto Copley, who was with in the director’s previous movies is also in this movie to motion capture Chappie and is sure to steal the show. The movie doesn’t look like it will have too much action (from the trailers there are some there but not a lot) but it looks good, as does Chappie. The main thing I’m looking forward to Chappie is the story and how Blomkamp will direct it, and so far, it looks like he will end up with a great movie.

Chappie is scheduled to be released on 6 March 2015.

9. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2

The Hunger Games franchise is one of the better young adult book adapted movies which I like. I personally liked the first Hunger Games despite its flaws and Catching Fire improved on everything and is overall a great movie. I also liked Mockingjay Part 1, although it at times felt stretched, it was a good movie. Finally after years of these movies, The Hunger Games movie series finally concludes with Mockingjay Part 2. Despite being a little tired of movies based on young adult books series always ending in two parts (Harry Potter, Twilight, Divergent), after all these Hunger Games movies building up, I’m excited to see the conclusion.

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) now fully realizes the stakes are no longer just for survival, they are for the future. With the nation of Panem in a full scale war, Katniss confronts President Snow (Donald Sutherland) in the final showdown. Teamed with a group of her closest friends – including Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Finnick (Sam Claflin), and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) – Katniss goes off mission, using the unit from District 13 – and risking their lives – to stage an assassination attempt on President Snow increasingly obsessed with destroying her, the mortal traps, enemies, and moral choices that await Katniss will challenge her more than any arena she faced in The Hunger Games.

Under the direction of Francis Lawrence, the director of the previous two movies, it looks to be a fitting conclusion to the series. I am certain that Mockingjay Part 2 will end up being the best of the franchise and will be the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 of The Hunger Games franchise. The rest of the great cast of the previous film returns: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore and Phillip Seymour Hoffman in one of his last performances ever to be recorded on film. I am hyped for the final chapter of the franchise and I’m sure that it will be the best.
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 is scheduled to be released on 20 November 2015.

8. Blackhat

Michael Mann is one of my favourite directors so I was excited when I heard about him directing a new movie. Blackhat is another crime-based sort of movie which I think are his best type of films (Collateral, Heat, Public Enemies). This time Mann is directing a movie involving cyber-technology and from everything I’ve seen and heard, Blackhat looks to be a very good movie, despite my initial worry of it being released in January, the month of bad generic movies (like with Woman in Black 2).

It’s about a man, Nicholas Hathaway (Chris Hemsworth) who is released from prison to help American and Chinese authorities pursue a mysterious cyber-criminal which leads them from Chicago to Hong Kong. The film also stars Tang Wei, Viola Davis, Holt McCallany and Leehom Wang.

The thing I’m most looking forward to see Mann’s direction, he is one of those visual directors who knows exactly how everything should look, just take the heist scenes from Heat or the nightclub scene from Collateral for example. The world from the trailer looks quite interesting and very big with all this cybertech. Michael Mann also knows how to create great tense thrillers and Blackhat looks to be that and even more. I’ve only seen a few of his movies but he’s so far hasn’t disappointed.

Blackhat is scheduled to be released on 16 January 2015.

7. Kingsman: The Secret Service

Comic book superhero movies are often enjoyable but I find it interesting when there are movies based on graphic novels which aren’t superhero based. That is the case with Kingsman, which is based upon an acclaimed comic book and is about spies. Although I haven’t read them, from everything I’ve heard and seen of the movie, it could be really good and an overall really fun experience.

The movie tells the story of Harry Hart (Colin Firth), a veteran secret agent of a super-secret spy organization that recruits an unrefined but promising street kid, Gary Unwin (Taron Egerton) into the agency’s ultra-competitive training program just as a global threat emerges from a twisted tech genius, Valentine (Samuel L. Jackson). The film also stars Mark Strong and Michael Caine.

With this film based on a graphic novel, it is only suitable that Matthew Vaughn, who directed movies like Kick Ass and X-Men First Class is the one to direct it. Kingsman from the trailer does have a Kick Ass vibe to it, it’s like the Kick Ass of British spy movies. It has a really good cast, including actors such as Colin Firth, Samuel L. Jackson and Michael Caine who are sure to bring a lot to this movie, I’m particularly looking forward to seeing Firth. I haven’t read the comic book it’s based on but from the trailers and everything I’ve seen about it, it looks to be a whole lot of fun.

Kingsman: The Secret Service is scheduled to be released on 1 February 2015.

6. Mad Max Fury Road

Before hearing the director of this movie, when I heard that there was going to be another Mad Max movie, I was sceptical because reboots/sequels of really great franchises don’t always turn out for the better. It is rare that a reboot/sequel which is made decades after the previous film is directed by the same person, in this case, George Miller, whose involvement boosted my confidence in the movie. I liked the three movies (some more than others, Mad Max 2 is my favourite) and it was fitting that Miller would be the one to make this movie.

From the trailer, this film looks like it will go back to the previous 3 movies’ styles with its gritty look and brilliant stuntwork and action scenes. Along with that, the cast looks pretty good with actors like Tom Hardy and Charlize Theron, Tom Hardy in particular as he is the one to play the role of Max. Tom Hardy has shown that he is an actor to really pay attention to and I’m certain he will be able to portray Mel Gibson’s classic character, which isn’t easy seeing as how much of an icon Max Rockatansky is as a character. I’m pretty sure Miller, Hardy and the rest of the people involved will have created a great movie.

Mad Max Fury Road is scheduled to be released on 15 May 2015.

5. Silence

Martin Scorsese is one of my favourite directors and has so far never failed in making a great movie. He just directs everything with style and every movie he makes feels complete, so naturally I would be very interested in him making a new movie. This type of story is much different than his previous film The Wolf of Wall Street, it’s more closely related to Kundun and The Last Temptation of Christ. I haven’t read the book it’s based on but nonetheless, I’m hyped to see it.

Two Jesuit priests, Sebastião Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) and Francis Garrpe (Adam Driver), travel to track down their mentor, Father Ferreira (Liam Neeson) in seventeenth century Japan which has, under the Tokugawa shogunate, banned Catholicism and almost all foreign contact. There they witness the persecution of Japanese Christians at the hands of their own government which wishes to purge Japan of all western influence. The film also stars Tadanobu Asano.
Silence is based off the book of the same name by Shūsaku Endō which is a historical fiction novel set in the 17th century. I’m looking forward to what Scorsese can bring to this movie, he has some good material to adapt and work with. The film also has a great cast, particularly Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver and I’m looking forward to seeing their performances. Everything I’ve heard so far about Silence is great and I can’t wait to see it when it comes out.
Silence is scheduled to be released in November 2015

4. Spectre

I’m a big fan of the Bond movies, especially with the latest instalments in the franchise. Because of this I’m of course excited that a new James Bond movie is being made. Sam Mendes’s involvement in this movie is exciting after directing 2012’s Skyfall, which was in my opinion one of, if not the best Bond movie. Every bit of news I hear about this movie is exciting, whether it be the cast or the story and elevates my anticipation even more.

A cryptic message from an unlikely source sets James Bond (Daniel Craig) navigating the layers of a sinister organisation known as SPECTRE. As M (Ralph Fiennes) continues fighting political pressures that threaten the future of MI6, Bond draws closer to uncovering a hidden truth that threatens to destroy everything he has fought to protect. The film also stars Naomie Harris, Ben Wishow, Rory Kinnear, Christoph Waltz, Léa Seydoux, Monica Bellucci, Andrew Scott, Dave Bautista and Jesper Christensen

The fact that Spectre is now a part of these new Bond movies really gets me excited because there is now a chance that it can play a part in multiple movies. I also really like the new James Bond movies have a more serious tone, my two favourite Bond movies are Casino Royale and Skyfall. The characters of Moneypenny, M and Q are established and the new cast is pretty good. A highlight of the cast is Christoph Waltz who will playing the villain, I’m very excited to see his performance as he’s a great actor. Some people are speculating that his character is secretly Ernst Stravo Blofeld, the head of SPECTRE. I don’t know whether it is true but in either case I’m glad that Christoph Waltz is playing the villain. I’m overall very confident that this instalment of the Bond franchise will result along the same lines of Casino Royale and Skyfall.

The film is scheduled to be released on 23 October 2015.

3. The Hateful Eight

After his intentions to not make it because of the script leaking, Quentin Tarantino finally deciding to create The Hateful Eight, his new western. I really liked Django Unchained and how well he managed to create that western world and I’m 100% confident that he will be able to create this movie at least as good as Django Unchained.

In The Hateful Eight, set six or eight or twelve years after the Civil War, a stagecoach hurtles through the wintry Wyoming landscape. The passengers, bounty hunter John Ruth (Kurt Russell) and his fugitive Daisy Domergue (Jennifer Jason Leigh), race towards the town of Red Rock where Ruth, known in these parts as “The Hangman,” will bring Domergue to justice. Along the road, they encounter two strangers: Major Marquis Warren (Samuel L. Jackson), a black former union soldier turned infamous bounty hunter, and Chris Mannix (Walton Goggins), a southern renegade who claims to be the town’s new Sheriff.

Losing their lead on the blizzard, Ruth, Domergue, Warren and Mannix seek refuge at Minnie’s Haberdashery, a stagecoach stopover on a mountain pass. When they arrive at Minnie’s, they are greeted not by the proprietor but by four unfamiliar faces. Bob (Demian Bichir), who’s taking care of Minnie’s while she’s visiting her mother, is holed up with Oswaldo Mobray (Tim Roth), the hangman of Red Rock, cow-puncher Joe Gage (Michael Madsen), and Confederate General Sanford Smithers (Bruce Dern). As the storm overtakes the mountainside stopover, our eight travelers come to learn they may not make it to Red Rock after all…

So far this movie seems like a mix between Reservoir Dogs and Django Unchained, both great movies by Quentin Tarantino. It has a great cast so far with actors like Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Channing Tatum and Bruce Dern. The real star of the movie however is Quentin Tarantino (his writing of course). Every line that he writes is perfect (excluding Death Proof) and I don’t see any reason why he would fail doing it here. Everything from the acting, directing and of course brilliant writing has my anticipation. The Hateful Eight might even turn out to be one of my favourite Tarantino movies, he has certainly achieved that with Django Unchained.

The Hateful Eight is scheduled to be released in the second half of 2015.

2. The Avengers 2: Age of Ultron

The sequel to the third highest grossing movie of all time is finally here, and everything from it looks absolutely amazing so far. The Avengers universe has been consistently good in making movies link into each other. I particularly like how Marvel managed to place all the Marvel characters, Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow and Hawkeye in one movie, The Avengers. This continues into Age of Ultron which even looks like it will be better than the first.

With S.H.I.E.L.D. destroyed and the Avengers needing a hiatus from stopping threats, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) attempts to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program with Ultron (James Spader), a self-aware, self-teaching, artificial intelligence. However, his plan backfires when Ultron decides that humans are the main enemy and sets out to eradicate them from Earth, and it is up to Iron Man, Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), along with support from Nick Fury and Maria Hill, to stop him from enacting his plans. Along the way, the Avengers encounter the powerful twins, Pietro (Aaron-Taylor Johnson) and Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen), as well as the familiar Vision.

The thing that stood out to me is the darker tone that set for this movie, I am excited to see how dark Whedon takes the film. With new characters Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch (played by Aaron Taylor Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen), and a much darker story, this movie looks to be one of the great superhero movies. Along with this, we have Andy Serkis (who’s character’s name is unknown as of this time) and James Spader, playing Ultron, who looks to be one of the best super villains. The trailer has made this movie look much darker and I actually think that this movie will end up being better than the first, which is no easy task.

The Avengers: Age of Ultron is scheduled to be released on 1 May 2015

1. Star Wars Episode 7 – The Force Awakens

I just couldn’t resist putting this at number one. I’m excited to return to the Star Wars universe after the last film, Revenge of the Sith was released 10 years ago and J.J. Abrams is in my opinion a great person to start the new trilogy off. Everything from the cast to the director and story looks great and seems to be going in a better direction.

Mark Hamill, Carrie Fischer, Harrison Ford, Kenny Baker and Anthony Daniels return to their roles after many decades, which is very exciting. The new additions to the cast include Andy Serkis, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong’o, and Max von Sydow. So far, everything I’ve heard is quite good, the director is good, the cast is good and there is a great potential for an incredible story. I don’t know if it would be as good as the original trilogy but I’m certain that it is better than the prequels. The teaser trailer makes the movie look incredible and much better than the prequels. After everything I know of The Force Awakens, I can say that I’m certain that this film will not let anyone down.

Star Wars Episode 7 – The Force Awakens is scheduled to be released on 18 December 2015

There are a lot of movies that I’ve heard of recently that sound very interesting. As I made the list already though, they might have missed making it. Had I heard of them earlier, I may have included them on the list. Many of the movies do sound very good and should be noticed, so I think I should mention them and give my quick thoughts on them.

Honourable Mentions

True Story

Michael Finkel (Jonah Hill) is a recently terminated New York Times journalist who’s struggling for work after a story gone wrong. One day, he receives a phone call from a man regarding an FBI Most Wanted individual named Christian Longo (James Franco), who’s been captured and claimed to be living as Finkel. Longo and Finkel meet and form a potentially marriage shattering bond while Longo is in prison awaiting his trial. Finkel exchanges journalism tips for the real events behind Longo’s alleged heinous acts of murdering his family. Through the twists and turns in the movie, only at the end will Finkel uncover the True Story.

The main reason I’m interested in this movie is the acting. The acting looks really good here, especially from Jonah Hill who has been on a winning streak recently with roles in movies like Moneyball and The Wolf of Wall Street. Along with that, the story does actually look pretty interesting, and it’s based on a true story. If all goes well this might be one of the best movies of the year.

Carol

Set in 1950s New York, a department-store clerk, Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara), who dreams of a better life falls for an older, married woman, Carol Aird (Cate Blanchett).

Carol is based on a book, The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith. Again, like True Story, the reason I’m most looking forward to this movie is the acting. The two standouts in the cast for me is Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, who are really great actresses and I’m sure that they will be really good in their roles.

The Revenant

It’s about a frontiersman, Hugh Glass (Leonardo DiCaprio), in the 1820s who sets out on a path of vengeance against his companions John Fitzgerald (Tom Hardy), Jim Bridger (Will Poulter) and Andrew Henry (Domhall Gleeson) who left him for dead after a bear mauling.

The main reason I’m looking forward to this movie again is for the acting, particularly from Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hardy. Alejandro González Iñárritu is another reason to be excited. Even though I haven’t seen his 2014 film Birdman yet (I can’t see it for at least a couple months), everything that I’ve heard about it is great. The story is also quite an interesting one, it’s a revenge movie. The Revanant is a revenge film directed by a great director with an excellent cast. What’s not to love?

Macbeth

Spurred on by an eerie prophecy of the power he could gain if he were King, Macbeth (Michael Fassbender), an army general, murders Duncan, the King of Scotland, and takes the throne. However, his guilt, and that of his wife (Marion Cotillard), may prove to be their undoing.

I haven’t read the play of Macbeth but I know of the type of story and characters that Macbeth has. From what I know of the characters, Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard are so far perfectly cast in this movie. These actors are the main reason I’m interested in this movie, as well as the type of story that it has, which is very interesting. If all goes well, this movie may end up getting some nominations at the Oscars.

Knight of Cups

Knight of Cups is a story of a man, temptations, celebrity, and excess from director Terrence Malick. Once there was a young prince whose father, the king of the East, sent him down into Egypt to find a pearl. But when the prince arrived, the people poured him a cup. Drinking it, he forgot he was the son of a king, forgot about the pearl and fell into a deep sleep. Rick’s (Christian Bale) father used to read this story to him as a boy. The road to the East stretches out before him. Will he set forth?

I will be honest, I’ve never seen a movie by Terrence Malick so far, I just haven’t gotten around the time to doing it but I know that he’s a great filmmaker. Just based on what I know of the film, Knight of Cups looks like a great movie. It’s not entirely clear to me what the story is but it does look quite interesting. Another thing that excites me the most is the great cast with actors like Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett and Natalie Portman; all who, from the trailer looks like they give great performances. Overall, everything I’ve heard so far is great and will hopefully result in one of the year’s best films.

Thank you for taking the time to read my list. Let me know in the comments what your most anticipated movies of the year are.