Hello all!
The next phase in the MCU was a great growing period for Marvel. They experienced success, and now people knew what to expect. It was time to expand, deepen, and flex possibilities. Overall, the second phase was a vast improvement in quality over the first and the stories thrived. Phase 2!
Iron Man 3 - 3 Stars
Marvel was riding an all-time high with Avengers proving what they were capable of. Iron Man 3 had high expectations from everyone. While it was good, this story felt off since we knew it wasn't the end of Tony Stark just yet. The direction pointed one way, while the MCU pointed another. The emotional beats don't land because of this, but the adventure was interesting and more enjoyable than the previous Iron Man 2. The Mandarin twist was not the amazing twist it felt like it was supposed to be, but I applaud them for at least trying something unique. I was just hoping for the next great superhero villain akin to Heath Ledger's Joker...we did not get that. Overall, enjoyable, but proved that Iron Man's first entry is his best.
Thor: The Dark World - 3 Stars
Seen as the weakest movie in the entire MCU, I actually enjoyed this sequel considerably over the first Thor movie. Taking the fun dynamics of Thor and Loki's complicated relationship and making them work together was great. I felt like this is the movie where they realized that Chris Hemsworth was a great comic who could make Thor really funny. The villain was one-note, but the notion of Jane Foster going to Asgard was interesting and Thor's mother's death hit surprisingly hard in my opinion. It was fun and felt fresh for the time. It was exactly what it needed to be and I had no qualms.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier - 5 Stars
I was blown away by this movie. After one movie, the impact that the Avengers movie did for Captain America's personal trajectory changed immensely, and all of it was for the better. Honestly, I have no complaints for this one. Steve Rogers deepened greatly from getting in touch with the modern age, finding a friendship in Black Widow and the newly introduced Falcon, the twist of Bucky's return was impactful, and the fighting and story was just top notch. This is how you do a sequel and the Russo's impacted the MCU in as big of way as an Avengers movie with the consequences of this outing. It hits hard and couldn't have been better.
Guardians of the Galaxy- 2 Stars
I...don't really like the Guardians of the Galaxy characters. 😬 Apart from Chris Pratt's Star-Lord, there is nothing that really draws me to the other characters. Gamora is really pouty. Groot is fine, but can't really do anything besides body humor. Rocket Racoon is obnoxious. Drax is...ugh. I thought it was interesting that Marvel wanted to try something different, and for the time it was, but I just didn't enjoy the humor and childishness of this romp. A mini Avengers movie without a lot of depth for any one character. It also wasted Thanos' official introduction into the MCU and while there was interesting aspects added with the Infinity Stones, it's just not that good.
Avengers: Age of Ultron - 4 Stars
A great improvement upon the first Avengers movie. While bloated, Age of Ultron seems like it actually has a footing to tell a great story with the characters that have been around for a few years now. It ties to the first movie well for being separated by several years and all the characters have grown and improved. This was the first movie where I felt like Iron Man was getting fully fleshed out and shown to be conflicted. Steve gets a little underused, but Thor and Hulk at least get extra time to showcase what makes their characters tick. It did feel bloated with Ultron, Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Vision all being introduced, but for the most part it can be forgiven. The action is grittier and more personal and the stakes felt serious.
Ant-Man - 4 Stars
I love Paul Rudd, so I'm biased, but the tone from the beginning was just perfect. Mostly humorous, but oddly touching and poignant when it needed to be. Scott Lang's journey was interesting for being an unconventional hero and this was the MCU's first "everyman" hero to enter the picture since Spider-Man wasn't around yet. All of the side characters shined in this entry and since everyone was expecting this to be a laughably bad entry, I ended up being impressed and satisfied.
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