Ranking the MCU’s Phase Four Movies So Far
It has been a slate of films that has exposed some inconsistencies in the Marvel method but the MCU’s Phase Four has explored some exciting avenues that the Marvel Universe had yet to tread.
which leads us to our ranking of the MCU’s Phase Four movies so far…
Eternals
Sersi (Gemma Chan) and Ikaris (Richard Madden) in Marvel Studios’ ETERNALS. Photo by Sophie Mutevelian. ©Marvel Studios 2021. All Rights Reserved.
The ranking of this film doesn’t reflect its quality, as Chloe Zhao’s first foray into the MCU was a successful one by all accounts, it’s just a film that perhaps suffers from its own ambition and density.
Eternals tackles massive themes, and it strives to be philosophical in its exploration of diety and responsibility, but it also gets better with age and multiple viewings; a fact that, while it is something to be praised, must also count against its rating in the grander scheme.
Black Widow
Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff and Florence Pugh as Yelena in Marvel Studios’ BLACK WIDOW. Photo by Jay Maidment. ©Marvel Studios 2020. All Rights Reserved.
A film seemingly destined to go down as one of Marvel’s most underrated, Black Widow was, ultimately, grossly mistimed; and it paid the price.
Telling a Natasha Romanoff story posthumously sounds excellent in theory, but it voids the film of the stakes that it needed and deviated from what was a brilliant narrative and a fantastic movie by all other accounts.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
Source: Marvel Studios
This is bound to be a bit controversial, but the highly anticipated Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness just didn’t do enough to crack the top 3 of the Marvels Phase Four slate, and ultimately was punished for its difficulty in building an emotional foundation.
The movie works as a play of Sam Raimi’s Greatest Hits and is a visual marvel in itself, but it just doesn’t allow audiences to invest due to its inability to truly engage in its title character in any meaningful way; with Elizabeth Olsen’s unbelievable performance not enough to save it from itself
Thor: Love and Thunder
Marvel Studios
Again, this is bound to be a bit controversial, but for all the rightful critiques facing Marvel’s most recent release, we would dare to argue that Taika Waititi’s second Marvel film still had the emotional foundation necessary to develop its foundation; only being hindered by its breakneck pace.
Chris Hemsworth was brilliant, and its action sequences were top-notch; combined with a truly transcendent villain, Thor: Love and Thunder is a Marvel experience that boasts flaws that are a bit more forgivable.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Photo: Marvel Studios
A film that already feels like a forgotten classic, Shang-Chi was as good a Marvel debut as any that the MCU has developed, and it feels as though its vitality has already been overlooked.
Simu Liu has an incredibly bright future as a hero that is undoubtedly set for a tremendous role in the Marvel Universe, and director Destin Daniel Cretton helmed a project that is maybe the greatest execution of storytelling that this phase has seen.
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Source: Marvel Studios/ Sony Pictures
Was there any doubt? The ranking of the MCU’s Phase Four films so far has to be topped the Phase Four project that is among the most successful comic book films of all time; both critically and financially.
A love letter to the most iconic creation in comic book history, Spider-Man: No Way Home was a celebration of the character that is among the most ambitious and well-executed Marvel films ever made.
Source: Marvel Studios
That’s our ranking of the MCU’s Phase Four films so far, what do you think? Let us know Marvel fans!
