By Morgan Schilling ’21
(Pre Infinity Wars)
1. Black Panther
Black Panther was the highest rated Marvel movie with a 96% Rotten Tomatoes. Chadwick Boseman had an excellent performance playing Black Panther. Especially because his accent in the movie is fake, but sounds authentic. What makes this movie so good is the character background that the viewers get. The director, Ryan Coogler does a great job showing us the background of the protagonists and the antagonists, including Erik Killmonger. Black Panther also is relatable to real world issues today. Should a powerhouse country help other countries or should they be neutral? Who will lead us and is he a good leader or a dictator? Black Panther definitely deserves the one spot in this top 5 list.
2. Iron Man 1
The MCU(Marvel Cinematic Universe) started in 2008 with the first Iron Man. This movie brought the well-respected comic books to life. With respect to the 20th century tv shows and movies, CGI and graphics make these movies much more watchable in today’s world. People who grew up reading the comics were able to see it on the tv, making it more realistic. Also, kids born in the 21st century who didn’t experience the era of comic books can be emerged into the MCU for the first time. Robert Downey Jr. does a great job as Iron man and as a “billionaire bad boy”. This movie was rated in rotten tomatoes as a 94% and finishes in the number 2 spot.
3. Marvel’s The Avengers
Since Iron Man 1 was such a success in 2008, the MCU introduced more movies like Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor, and The Incredible Hulk. Marvel had a hug workload trying to fit all these heroes into one movie. Director, Joss Whedon was able to wrangle all the heroes and villains and fit it into a 140-minute long movie full of suspense, action, and some laughter. There were many one-liner jokes that gave a comical brake to the action-packed killing. The CGI was awesome and the war with Loki was realistic. As an audience, it is amazing to see a group of hero’s come together, fitting our wildest dreams. This movie was rated on rotten tomatoes as a 92%, coming third on the list.
4. Thor: Ragnorak
Thor: Ragnorak was the third installment of Thor in his own movie franchise. The first two were good, but not great and Marvel really stepped up their game with this movie. The director, Taika Waititi decided to go with a more comical approach to Thor’s home world at risk of being destroyed. The one-liners and actions from the characters made everyone laugh. Hulk joined Thor to help him along with a women of Asgard and Loki. These different heroes fighting gave us a flashback to the Avengers movies. At the end of the movie, Thor unlocks his advanced abilities shooting lighting out of his hands and destroying anyone in his path. It was an amazing thing to see. This movie was rated at 92%, tying with The Avengers, but coming in as fourth.
5. Spider-Man: Homecoming
Other movie producers have tried and tried again to make a good Spider-Man movie, but has yet to have a breakthrough in this character. Marvel took on the challenge and knocked it out of the park with this installment of Spider-Man. Using humor in movies was now a habit for Marvel and they showed it in this movie as well. Marvel noticed that teens especially enjoyed the MCU movies, so they used that. Marvel casted Tom Holland, a young British actor, to play Spider-Man. The teens that loved the MCU could relate to a teenage life, changing body. coming-of-age, girls, and high school. I think this is why Spider-man: Homecoming was so popular. The fight scenes were intense and the use of his webs was creative. This movie was rated as a 92% as well, tying with Thor: Ragnorak and Marvel’s The Avengers, coming in as fifth on this list.