Ranking Every MCU Phase 2 Movie From Worst To Best
The good, the great and the... meh.
Marvel Studios' quest for world domination continues, with the adventures of the company's roster of superheroes now unquestionably the biggest brand in the movie industry. The Marvel Cinematic Universe is now the highest-grossing film franchise of all time with $8.7bn and counting in box office receipts (including three of the ten biggest movies in history), with every single one of the studio's twelve features to date opening in the number one slot at the domestic box office.
While Phase One was all about introducing and establishing characters that weren't particularly well known to general audiences, Phase Two has seen the studio expand both the size and scope of their output, with each of the six entries having a distinct genre and tone including fantasy, conspiracy thriller, space opera and heist flick. Of course, it doesn't matter if your movies are all completely different from each other if they aren't any good and while some entries in the MCU have been average at best, the studio has yet to make a movie that has been widely condemned as awful, with all twelve currently certified fresh on RottenTomatoes.
Marvel Studios aren't exactly renowned for their filmmaker-driven projects or risky creative choices, but have proven more than capable of churning out blockbuster entertainment of a consistent quality. While the studio's bubble is going to have to burst at some point, Phase Two nonetheless saw the MCU add another half-dozen solid entries to the established canon ranging from the okay to the awesome.
6. Thor: The Dark World
While the God of Thunder's two solo outings have earned a combined total of over $1bn at the box office, it would be fair to say that Thor's movies have been fitfully entertaining at best and painfully mediocre at worst. In fact, sequel The Dark World is the lowest-rated film in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe on both RottenTomatoes and Metacritic. It isn't a bad movie by any means, its just kind of... there.
If it wasn't for Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston's charisma, screen presence, onscreen chemistry and comfort in their roles, then who knows how much worse the movie could have turned out. The Dark World's highlights come when Thor and Loki are sharing the screen together, bringing a great dynamic and real sense of fun to an otherwise-convoluted narrative that features both talk of an inter-dimensional convergence and a naked Stellan Skarsgaard running around Stonehenge.
The final battle across the Nine Realms is a great action sequence and the movie does boast some good sight gags, but Thor: The Dark World is let down by a one-dimensional villain, underdeveloped supporting characters and irritating comic relief (yes that's you, Kat Dennings). Director Alan Taylor fails to give the visuals any real sense of style or identity, with the result being a simply adequate movie rolling off the Marvel Studios production line.