What will be the best-regarded MCU film?

[chicago_bastard]

Including Shang-Chi, which is mostly the same generic origin story we've seen ten times before, in the poll instead of The Winter Soldier is baffling to say the least.

Imo cases can be made for the following:

Iron Man: Started the franchise, set the tone for the following movies

The Avengers: First successful team-up movie, as pivotal as Iron Man for kicking off the franchise, huge impact on pop culture

The Winter Soldier: Thematically the strongest entry

Black Panther: Cultural relevance, Oscar recognition

Infinity War: Culmination of the Infinity Saga and therefore of the biggest franchise of all time, huge impact on pop culture

Endgame: Conclusion of the Infinity Saga, held fondly due to its great fan service

[BeastieRunner]

I'd say the complete destruction of S.H.I.E.L.D was pretty impactful on the MCU, considering how heavy of a part it played in most the movies leading up to it.

But even then, I'd place Winter Solider on top not because of anything related to the MCU as a whole, but because it's just a really good movie.

SHIELD was pretty dead in the water after Avengers, it felt needless IMHO but I understand that the movie was trying to raise the stakes by making the side movies feel more impactful to the universe as whole.

The thing that made Winter Soldier the best movie is it was the BEST MOVIE. It was a spy thriller and superhero flick together. It had a story that most in the audience could not see coming a mile away. It had a superstar villain and made Black Widow a true top hero. (more so than IM 2). But mainly it was just a great action flick and gave us a great modern Cap.

I don't really remember that sentiment when the movie came out probably because most of my comic book interactions are on here, lol, where we all know Winter Solider as Bucky or with my geek buds that knew this as well. I guess I need more non-nerdy friends!

The more I think about it, the conversations I remember having about the movie were centered around it being a spy thriller and the elevator scene.

It is an okay movie in my book because it didn't have a full 3 act structure like Iron Man or Avengers before it and that in terms of the Cap movies, Civil War had the greater stakes and alterations to the universe. I also enjoyed the mirroring of the more the stakes rose in Civil War, the smaller & more personal the action got.

The second death of SHIELD from another falling helicarrier (excuse me, THREE helicarriers) is repeat stakes that were answered already in Avengers and felt very "Xtreme 90z" to me. The outing of HYDRA and publicizing some/most of the heroes was probably the bigger takeaway and IMHO should've been the bigger focus at the end. The big action piece needed to go to Black Widow, not Cap/Bucky, to really push this movie into the great catagory for me. I enjoyed her outsmarting the "big bad" if you will but ... she had the most to lose/gain from outing everyone and giving Widow the climax fight, IMHO, was a giant miss. It fit the theme of the movie, too. It was right there ...

The First Avenger had the better direction and technical aspects of the three.

The more I think about it, I think that the well-done action scenes in movie gave it a sense of being a more complete movie. The elevator fight is still easily the MCU's top 3 best of all time (I wouldn't even argue if people list it as #1) and the fight leading to the reveal of Bucky is in the top 10, IMHO. The apartment chase is a banger, too. The end felt too much of a rehash to me but that's just my personal taste.

And an "okay compared to the rest of the MCU" Marvel movie is still excellent. Part of the reason why the MCU is what it is today is the fact that they churned out so many good to great movies that even the okay or terrible ones are better than most of what has come out in the same time frame.

[Kirby101]

When I said didn't see it coming, it was more than Bucky, it was the reveal that Hydra had infiltrated Bucky and all the cloak and dagger with Fury and Pierce. The stakes, with Hydra killing a million people to take over the world, were pretty high. And yes, the action was top rate.
As good as Civil War is, it is one of the few MCU movies I find hard watching again. Maybe because the personal deaths, like Stark and T'Chaka are tough to watch. And Zemo is such a tragic villain. I would say it has a more raw emotional feel than most of the others. Or maybe I don't like seeing the parents fight.

[Scott Taylor]

I can say definitively that Iron Man was the movie that convinced me that the MCU was doing things the right way. It was the reason I ended up seeing TFA and the rest of the Marvel movies.

[phonogram12]

Black Panther or Endgame.

[shades of eternity]

Guardians of the Galaxy did Disney Star Wars better than the real thing.

So that's my vote.

[Mister Mets]

It's Captain America, Winter Soldier. Which should be on your list.

Why do you think so?

Is the modern take on 70s spy thrillers more appealing to critics circa 2032?

[Kirby101]

Why do you think so?

Is the modern take on 70s spy thrillers more appealing to critics circa 2032?

I think my post have established why I think so. 10 years from now, a good movie is still a good movie.
Or you can give me the criteria that future critics will use that is different from now.

[Mister Mets]

I think my post have established why I think so. 10 years from now, a good movie is still a good movie.
Or you can give me the criteria that future critics will use that is different from now.

It is interesting how critical consensuses can develop and change. Quality is a factor but not the only factor.

The American Film Institute surveyed critics and film professionals for their favorite movies in 1997 and in 2007.

https://www.filmsite.org/afi100films_2007.html

The Birth of a Nation disappeared and was replaced by DW Griffith's Intolerance. It makes sense that an influential film that rejuvenated the KKK had fallen out of favor.

Vertigo, Raging Bull, City Lights, the Searchers and The General made significant improvements, but not because they suddenly became better movies.

Toy Story was the only 3D-animated film on the list, and it was helped by being the first. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves had a similar advantage.

Sometimes what we really like as individuals lines up with the critical consensus. Sometimes it doesn't.

[Kirby101]

So we can only go by what we think is best today. I really don't see a big reappraisal of the MCU in 10 years. And we cannot possibly know what the future films will be.

I still think you left the best movie off the list.

[BeastieRunner]

Can you make a poll with all of them? Or go eliminator style by phases?

[choptop]

The thing that made Winter Soldier the best movie is it was the BEST MOVIE. It was a spy thriller and superhero flick together. It had a story that most in the audience could not see coming a mile away. It had a superstar villain and made Black Widow a true top hero. (more so than IM 2). But mainly it was just a great action flick and gave us a great modern Cap.

I agree on the action being good but I didn't think the plot was anything that great ether as a spy movie or superhero movie the villain was boring everything else was just okay I'm glad everyone else thinks it's great but I just don't get it.

[Kirby101]

I agree on the action being good but I didn't think the plot was anything that great ether as a spy movie or superhero movie the villain was boring everything else was just okay I'm glad everyone else thinks it's great but I just don't get it.

Which is fine. So which movie do you think is the best?

[Catlady in training]

I kind of see all MCU movies to be of the same quality and I can't even say I have a personal favorite among them. I like many of them but they kind of blur together after a while.
I picked Iron Man because that one started the whole era.

[Starter Set]

Winter Soldier is truly a great movie, whatever you like Marvel or not and even if you find the whole Captain America concept to be ridiculous.

I still prefer Spider-Man 2 (2004) over it but it's definitely second in my top 3 favorite super heroes movies.