Ranking the MCU Phase 4 Films

[bat39]

With Wakanda Forever released, this marks the end of MCU Phase 4. To be honest, as a 'phase' this is probably my least favorite one. I've always felt that the MCU as a shared universe really peaked with Endgame. Which can be a good thing or a bad thing - not having to build-up to something like Endgame in the near-future does give the creatives a bit of breathing room to regroup and recalibrate. But it does also feel a bit like the wind's been taken from the sails without a clear endgame (pun intended!) for this phase. And I dunno if the expansion into TV has been a good thing or a bad thing for the quality of the films themselves (to be honest, I haven't watched any of the new shows, apart from a couple of episodes of Loki).

That said, I still did mostly enjoy Phase 4, maybe not so much as a phase but on an individual film-by-film basis. Here's my rankings from Best to Worst (not counting Black Widow which I hate to say I haven't watched yet.)

# 1 - Spider-Man: No Way Home

It's debatable how much this is an 'MCU' film, not just because of the nuances of the Sony-Marvel deal but also because this film is largely a celebration of Spider-Man's pre-MCU cinematic legacy. That apart, this is by far the best film of this phase, which is high praise from me because I thought the previous two MCU Spider-Man were good, but not remotely great.

# 2 - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

Not just recency bias talking. I legitimately think this is one of the best MCU films of all time - one of a handful which rises above being just another cog in the cinematic universe machine. It had to be a lot of different things and it juggled them all beautifully.

# 3 - Shang-Chi: Legend of the Ten Rings

I went into this with fairly low expectations and was blown away by how great it was and how it got me to care about these characters I knew absolutely nothing about beforehand. Above all, a genuinely fun time at the movies!

# 4 - Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness

I think this was a fun old-school comic-book movie. The best part was definitely the cameos in the middle. I feel I might have appreciated Wanda's turn to darkness had I watched WandaVision more.

# 5 - Eternals

I actually liked Eternals. The cinematography is beyond words and I legitimately appreciate the effort to do something beyond the standard MCU template. Honestly, it was a pretty good film - maybe just not what people were expecting from the MCU.

# 6 - Thor: Love & Thunder

This was an enjoyable film no doubt, but I daresay it's the Batman Forever of the MCU - a film that is so tonally disparate that it's actually two films rolled into one, and ends up being just above-average instead of good, or even great.

Of these 6, NWH and Wakanda Forever are the only ones who could make it to my MCU Top 10 (right now, in no particular order, I'd say that includes Iron Man, The Avengers, Avengers Endgame, Thor Ragnarok, Captain America The Winter Soldier, Captain America Civil War, Black Panther, Black Panther Wakanda Forever, Guardians of the Galaxy, Spider-Man No Way Home).

[Matt Rat]

Can we count shows too? I want to, because most of the movies were garbage. I will only rank two of them (1 and 5, the other three in between were all shows when judging the phase overall)

1. Spider-Man No Way Home: So perfect it's practically only a meme to find flaw with it over on Twitter. Crowd-pleasing moments and a Spider-Man that actually moves ten times more forward than the core comics will ever reasonably allow. Only movie of this phase that makes you look forward to what the character does next.

5. Shang Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings- A last act that's a tad too long aside, this is largely quite fun and a good way to balance drama and levity, something Marvel's had barely any control of in this phase. Reinvents comics characters in a way that normalises them, creates a unique world in the fight pit that has later repercussions in She-Hulk, a better performance from Kingsley than whatever the hell that was in Iron Man 3 too.

[bat39]

Can we count shows too? I want to, because most of the movies were garbage. I will only rank two of them (1 and 5, the other three in between were all shows when judging the phase overall)

1. Spider-Man No Way Home: So perfect it's practically only a meme to find flaw with it over on Twitter. Crowd-pleasing moments and a Spider-Man that actually moves ten times more forward than the core comics will ever reasonably allow. Only movie of this phase that makes you look forward to what the character does next.

5. Shang Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings- A last act that's a tad too long aside, this is largely quite fun and a good way to balance drama and levity, something Marvel's had barely any control of in this phase. Reinvents comics characters in a way that normalises them, creates a unique world in the fight pit that has later repercussions in She-Hulk, a better performance from Kingsley than whatever the hell that was in Iron Man 3 too.

I meant this thread to be focused on the films, but please go ahead. Would love to see your full ranking of the phase. Might help me when I decide to start watching the shows

[babyblob]

if I had to do my picks I would do them in this order.

1 Spider-Man: No Way Home

2 Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness

3 Shang-Chi: Legend of the Ten Rings

4 Thor: Love & Thunder

5 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

6 Eternals

[krazijoe]

if I had to do my picks I would do them in this order.

1 Spider-Man: No Way Home

2 Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness

3 Shang-Chi: Legend of the Ten Rings

4 Thor: Love & Thunder

5 Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

6 Eternals

Same.......

[Shadowedeyes]

For the movies, here's my ranking.

1) Spider Man: No Way Home
2) Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
3) Shang Chi: Legend of the Five Rings
4) Black Widow
5) Doctor Strange: In the Multiverse of Madness
6) Thor: Love and Thunder
7) Eternals

I included Black Widow just for completeness. Ultimately, I think Black Widow, Doctor Strange and Thor were all pretty close, and I quibbled over the exact placement. I think I might have even liked Thor more than Doctor Strange personally, but on reflection I think the former is a better movie overall.

[Jokerz79]

I really enjoyed Phase 4:

1: Spider-Man No Way Home.
2: Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness.
(What If)
(Werewolf by Night)
(Loki)
3: Black Panther Wakanda Forever.
(Falcon and the Winter Soldier).
(Hawkeye)
(She-Hulk)
4: Thor Love and Thunder.
5: Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
6: Black Widow.
(Wandavision)
(Moonknight)
7: Eternals.
(Ms. Marvel).

[babyblob]

If I had to do the Disney Plus shows I would do them like this.

1 Loki

2 Hawkeye

3 Wandavision

4 What If

5 She Hulk

6 Ms Marvel

7 Werewolf By Night

Moon Knight (Which bums me out because I loved him in the comics. But the show was a huge disappointment.

[Scott Taylor]

By far most of Phase IV has been good.

Good ones: Loki, Spider-Man No Way Home, Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, What If, Wandavision, Hawkeye, Werewolf by Night, Thor Love and Thunder, Black Widow and Ms. Marvel

Meh ones: Shang-Chi, Eternals, She-Hulk, FTWS, Wakanda Forever

(Leaving out Moonknight because I have not watched it)

[mace11]

I am groot is phase 4 too.

[useridgoeshere]

Am I missing F&WS on folks D+ lists or is it not Phase 4?

Movies:Trying to avoid recency bias, but failing. The top 4 for me are great and rewatchable. I liked Eternals despite the fact that it told more than showed. I didn’t dislike Thor and BW, but I’d never rewatch them.

1. Shang-Chi
2. Wakanda Forever
3. No Way Home
4. Doctor Strange
5. Eternals
6. Thor: Love & Thunder
7. Black Widow


D+ Shows: I liked them all overall, so this was difficult and could change with re-watching.

1. Loki
2. WandaVision
3. Werewolf By Night
4. Hawkeye
5. Ms. Marvel
6. Moon Knight
7. She-Hulk
8. Falcon & Winter Soldier
9. What If?

[Jokerz79]

Am I missing F&WS on folks D+ lists or is it not Phase 4?

I’m seeing Wakanda tomorrow, so I’ll do my list then.

On my list it was my mistaken oversight. The weird thing is I really loved that show but keep forgetting about when talking about Phase 4.

[babyblob]

On my list it was my mistaken oversight. The weird thing is I really loved that show but keep forgetting about when talking about Phase 4.

Im the same way. I keep thinking Phase 3 for some reason.

[choptop]

MOM
No Way Home
Thor Love and Thunder
Shang-Chi
Wakanda Forever
Eternals
Black Widow

[Noodle]

Spider-Man: No Way Home
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Hawkeye
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
Ms. Marvel
Loki
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Black Widow
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law
Moon Knight
WandaVision
Eternals
What If...?
Thor: Love and Thunder