Board 8 > Board 8 Ranks: The Marvel Cinematic Universe (PHASE 1)

(+) Yeah! (+)

I could never hate James Spader tbh

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Zen is *owning*

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i just explained this projected to my girlfriend and my position on the "leaderboard" and she called me a basic bitch

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DoomTheGyarados posted...

I could never hate James Spader tbh

yeah but if there was a film of him drawing a vertical line with a pencil, then erasing and doing it again 100 times, you wouldn't say it's a good movie

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HanOfTheNekos posted...

yeah but if there was a film of him drawing a vertical line with a pencil, then erasing and doing it again 100 times, you wouldn't say it's a good movie

He probably wouldn't be joking the whole time drawing lines with a pencil so he might be a more effective villain if this was his plot

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Related I now really want a movie where every bit of screen time involving Ultron is replaced with a cut to James Spader drawing or erasing a line (whichever makes correct continuitity)

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at the beginning of age of ultron Iron Man shoots all those guys and says "good talk" and one of the guys on the ground says "no it wasnt"

if you laughed at that joke then age of ultron is for you

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The Tony side of that joke is perfectly fine, but having a dude respond was a step too far imo

The writers were probably still dealing with the fact that Cap just said "language"

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Excellent. This list is shaping nicely for the most part.

It looks like were gonna say goodbye to Wasp next. That one strikes me as the poster child for aftermath movies.
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DoomTheGyarados posted...

I could never hate James Spader tbh

Honestly one of my biggest issues with AoU is that they wasted the brilliance that is Spader on maybe the worst role in the MCU

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I still maintain that there are a lot of really great scenes in Age of Ultron, but it is also overpacked, too quippy, and also has some reaaaally bad decisions.


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ZenOfThunder posted...

at the beginning of age of ultron Iron Man shoots all those guys and says "good talk" and one of the guys on the ground says "no it wasnt"

if you laughed at that joke then age of ultron is for you

pretty standard MCU humor tbqh.

not sure why people have such a problem with it in age of ultron but praise it in other movies but i'm sure i'll find out in later writeups!

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I'm actually surprised that people keep saying Age of Ultron was too jokey or quippy because I literally watched it about two weeks ago and don't remember it that way at all, I LIKE when the heroes are jokey but they all seemed like they were just kind of annoyed and tired the whole time in this movie

Mr Lasastryke posted...

pretty standard MCU humor tbqh.

pretty sure strucker's people are all nazi-derivatives so having one do a funny quip with iron man is pretty out of place. iron man's comment alone was enough

age of ultron did not know how to stop with the out-of-place humor

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Here were the predictions I had written down so far:

424 - Ant-Man and the Wasp
471 - Iron Man 3
497 - Ant-Man
513 - Captain America: The First Avenger
533 - Captain Marvel
533 - Avengers: Age of Ultron
569 - Thor
593 - Iron Man 2
653 - Thor: The Dark World
669 - The Incredible Hulk

I was a perfect 6 for 6 up until now if you give me credit for having Marvel and Ultron swapped in the TB, but the next one's not Cap 1 so I'm going to finally have a miss. But it's one of the next three that I put above it, so didn't miss by much probably. People keep guessing Ant-Man and the Wasp so maybe I'm wrong about it being above Ant-Man, I dunno! I still feel like the original will go out first.

ZenOfThunder posted...

pretty sure strucker's people are all nazi-derivatives so having one do a funny quip with iron man is pretty out of place. iron man's comment alone was enough

oh yeah, if your issue is just with the comeback, i get it.

i thought iron man's joke also sucked but whatever.


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I feel like the next 4 SHOULD be those 4, though?

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Think it's a slightly harsh to reduce Ultron to some useless joke machine, and anyway I thought they added to his character - he was much better than the generic robot I feared he might become.

I have a lot of time for AoU. Some of it's shitty and really suffers on repeat viewings (I didn't mention the party in my writeup, but yeah, a lot of that isn't great) but I have to give credit to the first time I watched it; it got the adrenaline pumping and gave me such a high that I initially thought it was better than the first one. Like, Ant-Man and the Wasp didn't give me that feeling.
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The problem is that Ultron IS a generic robot who also has a human personality and it's just tonally inconsistent. And like, he's a jobber.

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Oh yeah in fairness he should have beaten the shit out of Cap and that fight somehow not lasting 5 seconds (even after Hawkeye pointed it out) is dumb
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Amusingly enough, the party scene is probably one of the only times I had fun in AoU, and I thought its action scenes are probably the worst and most boring in the entire MCU! But, different strokes, I'm happy if someone can find treasure in my trash honestly.

I do actually sorta like Ultron though, since I think they did a good job at making him not a totally cliche robot character - my main problems with him stem from the fact that he seems weirdly not all that threatening and his origin is basically just from Tony Stark being an idiot which makes the stakes seem strangely low.

if AoU was just the party scene or a collection of party scenes it would be in my top 1

ultron is very much non-threatening compared to the comics version, and "age of ultron" sounds cool but that "age" lasts like what, 3 days?

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Yeah, the party scene, while overshadowed by the plethora of pointless, detached action throughout the rest of the film, is the best part of AoU by a long shot. That and hiding out at Hawkeye's cabin.

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The part where they try to pick up the hammer is a good scene, I'm not talking about that

I'm talking about all the stuff before it. I really hate the bit where Thor/Tony are comparing their girlfriends, for example. Eesh.

I guess the Stan Lee cameo is good but they're never bad, so I can't count that

ZenOfThunder posted...

and "age of ultron" sounds cool but that "age" lasts like what, 3 days?

I mean this applies to Civil War too. It's not remotely a war. Doesn't mean it's not really really good
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Party is the best part of AoU

Especially Tony and Thor comparing girlfriends, because its Tony and Thor, theyre like that.

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Paratroopa1 posted...

I'm actually surprised that people keep saying Age of Ultron was too jokey or quippy because I literally watched it about two weeks ago and don't remember it that way at all, I LIKE when the heroes are jokey but they all seemed like they were just kind of annoyed and tired the whole time in this movie

It's not that the heroes are joking too much it's that there is no one being serious. These are separate issues. I just need SOMEONE to be serious. Like that dude who got shot saying "no it wasn't" is a perfect illustration of what's wrong with the movie

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XIII_rocks posted...

I mean this applies to Civil War too. It's not remotely a war. Doesn't mean it's not really really good

I mean, that's not the reason why it isn't really good. There's other reasons.

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Watching a Midnight's Edge video made me remember part of the reason for the pre-release controversy surrounding Captain Marvel: people afraid it would be the Last Jedi of the MCU. Obviously in terms of impact no such thing happened, not to mention said controversy was pretty paltry anyway.

Also the conspiracy theories surrounding Disney buying out the film's box-office sound so ridiculous in hindsight. I hate it when people act like anything not going their way must be some hare-brained conspiracy.

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You probably shouldnt parrot it then!

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that was quite the stretch for LMS to bring The Last Jedi in here but he found a way

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17. Ant-Man and the Wasp
Total Score: 513

MetalmindStats - 7
Inviso 10
Jesse Custer 11
Paratroopa1 - 11
GavsEvans123 12
Raka Putra - 12
Illuminatusbubu - 13
ScepterOfLove 13
TomNook - 13
BetrayedTangy 14
HanOfTheNekos - 14
Anagram - 15
Corrik7 15
Maniac64 - 15
StifledSilence 15
Cybat - 17
Mega Mana 17
Red13n - 17
ZenOfThunder 17
CoolCly - 18
MetalDK 18
NBIceman - 18
PrinceKaro 18
Snake5555555555 18
Lopen - 19
Sheep007 19
VengefulKaelee - 20
Whiskey Nick 20
XIII Rocks 21
Eddv - 22
Johnbobb 22
Mr Crispy - 22

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MetalmindStats
Ant-Man and the Wasp effectively patches up the originals paucity of spectacle while preserving its upsides largely intact. Perhaps no one will mistake it for high cinema, but in a way, that only helps its standing as a capital matinee movie.

Inviso
For the last Marvel movie I had to watch (Id seen Captain Marvel, Endgame, and Far From Home before), this was a really fun film. Not to make a pun, but I appreciate that the Ant-Man films are such a smaller scale, because while it lowers the stakes, it also allows the writers to tell stories that arent completely driven by someone trying to take over the world. In fact, I think this is the only film in the entire franchise where the end goal of the bad guy isnt some broad, far-reaching power grab. Ghost may not be the most interesting character yet (I feel she could have potential in future movies), but her motivations are very simple, and its one of the better villain motivations weve seen. But yeah, Scott Lang continues to be a great, relatable everyman. Hes not your typical, quippy Marvel hero, but hes also able to be funny when necessary. The comic relief is left to his sidekicks, and Im fine with that. And the action scenes are pretty great as well, because they utilize a unique ability compared to just punching or chasing. Add in the emotional core of the relationship with Hank/Hope/Janet and the fact that the main plot of the film was just rescuing Janet from the Quantum Realm, and you get a really solid and enjoyable film.

Jesse Custer
While I cant say there was anything groundbreaking about this movie, it was refreshingly lighthearted and humorous for an MCU movie (which felt especially welcome right after Infinity War). It was nice to see Hope get a much bigger role than in the first movie, and the premise of Scott trying to save the day while on house arrest worked surprisingly well. It was also nice to get a sympathetic villain whos not truly evil with Ghost, whose abilities made for great fight scenes. Basically the movie did everything it sought out to do, even if none of it was particularly ambitious. And its one of the MCU movies I always enjoy rewatching.

Paratroopa1
Ant-Man and the Wasp is stupid and I love it. Like the first movie, it's funny as hell, Scott Lang is a relatable protagonist, and the action scenes are all super creative and entertaining - it's lighter fare than most of the MCU and I don't mind that at all. I do think the sequence of Hank Pym going to the quantum realm to find his wife is a little on the ridiculous side and gets resolved too cleanly - he doesn't really face any challenges and she's just like, completely okay, not changed by being stuck in the quantum realm at all, just kind of hanging out? No sacrifices are made and everything gets resolved a little too easily. I guess that's alright? I guess it does have one hell of a post-credits tease though to make up for it. Fun as hell movie - I'll always want to rewatch this one.

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GavsEvans123
Ant Man and the Wasp isnt a sequel that changes things up like Captain America: The Winter Soldier or Thor: Ragnarok, or raises the stakes to a higher level a la Infinity War. What we have here is remarkably consistent with the first one, and theyre both virtually on par in terms of quality. This means that anyone who enjoyed the first film (as I did) will probably enjoy this one too, but the downside is that those who didnt care for the first film will find nothing here to change their mind.

Whereas in the previous film, we had a corrupt corporate executive as our villain, this time we have Ghost, who is more sympathetic, due to her powers being a curse that is slowly killing her. She is driven not by evil, but by her increasing desperation to find a cure for her condition before it kills her. Ironically, this desperation also makes her the MCUs We could have avoided all this antagonist, as had she or Bill Foster simply swallowed their pride and asked Hank for help, she wouldnt have needed to take the more aggressive actions she did. I hope for her sake that she got snapped though, because the post-credits scene implies that Janets healing hands were only temporary, and with everyone capable of going to the Quantum Realm either trapped there or snapped, Ghost would have most likely faded away in the five years between Infinity War and Endgame.

While the first film had scenes of ordinary settings shown a tiny perspective, we dont get much of that this time, which is a disappointment as this was where the first film was at its best. Its not a dealbreaker however, as instead theres more emphasis on shrinking and growing objects in creative ways. This includes our MacGuffin, Hanks laboratory, which can be shrunk down to the size of a wheeled case, which leads to a very fun climax in which three factions are all fighting amongst each other over it. This just so happens to be a favourite storytelling trope of mine, so Im happy to see it here. Theres also the return of the giant cartoon character running gag, and this time its Hello Kitty. Who will it be for the next film? My moneys on Peppa Pig.

Raka Putra
I do love Ant-Man's (and the Wasp's) shrinking and enlarging powers. It can make for some very fun fights, like Jackie Chan dialed up to 11. And the relationship between Lang and Cassie is once again a great and wholesome one. The banters are also quite great once again. Funny how it turned into Interstellar near the ending though.

Illuminatusbubu
A light-hearted movie that serves as a break after the intense Infinity War before it.

ScepterOfLove
(No write-up.)

TomNook
I don't think the quality difference between the Ant-Man movies are very far apart. While the first one is better, I like seeing some of the dumb sci-fi concepts they mess around with here. Ghost is cool.

BetrayedTangy
While we dont know exactly what Edgar Wright did with the first Ant-Man, you can feel his presence missing with this one. It just lacks the same creative flair, which was pretty disappointing to me. That said theres still a lot to like here! I think this is probably the funniest MCU movie, its definitely treated as more of a comedy which was really refreshing. Instead of Scott and friends carrying most of the jokes we get a whole litany of really funny side characters, Randall Park as Jimmy Woo was probably my favorite. Him attempting the card trick in his office made me laugh pretty damn hard. Comedy aside, I also love what they did with the Quantum Realm. It really gave the same vibes as a lot of Jack Kirbys art, which was a really nice touch. Really looking forward to how they dive into Quantumania.

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HanOfTheNekos
This was a weird movie. The plot was unremarkable. It wasn't particularly high stakes, though it was meant to be personal, so that's ok... but even the bad guy who was just a bad guy was a bit of a pushover... like nobody cares about this Joe Schmo. it's all about sex goddess who just wants to NOT FREAKING DIE I mean that's perfectly understandable.

The first half of the movie didn't really catch me, but in the second half, I was just... mind off and enjoying it? Very much a character driven movie... Paul Rudd, as himself, is a solid lead again. Good actor, great at doing shit, still interesting that the MCU is like Iron Man and Hulk and Paul Rudd but I digress...

Paul Rudd's daughter was great. Really fun character. His ex and her bf were really good too! Lots of good support here. Luis was hit or miss but the other two workers were really good.

Hank is... baddad Hank, but oh well. Hope was just amazing, beautiful, badass, FINALLY they get a woman lead in a Marvel movie and man if Iron Man 2 is any indication, way way way better of an idea than a Black Widow movie would have been. CSI guy was cool too.

And yeah Ghost is just freaking amazing, top notch, I hope she's in Endgame because if she still has her powers (probably doesn't?) but that'd be pretty useful!

Overall... like, it wasn't a tremendous film, but I greatly enjoyed it. Hope is probably my favorite MCU lady but Ghost is just super cool as well. Damn.

Anagram
Possibly the most forgettable Marvel movie. Its either this or Spiderman 2.

Corrik7
Ant-Man continues to hold that solid ground in the MCU. The movies are relatively decent, but at no point is this the movie you are going to write home about or be amazed by. Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lilly are both great. The movie has a wild sequence of size shifting and is generally fun. It just doesn't advance much in the universe or goes beyond the solid level ever.

Maniac64
The cast really makes this movie better than it should be. From the returning characters to Ghost and Foster. I really liked what they did with Ghost, she was very interesting and showed off how seriously strong that power can be. I'm also fine with them swapping the characters gender as the Antman movies are all about fathers and daughters so it just fit perfectly. The last third of the movie really does not live up to the start and the humor isn't as strong but its still a good movie.

StifledSilence
Fun story, watching Ant-Man and his daughter interact made me extremely jealous because I wanted a daughter in addition to my son. His little girl is so cute! Well, as luck would have it (or I guess the lack of pulling out), my wife was pregnant with my daughter! I didnt do it on purpose and it was a huge surprise when she told me, but yay! Oh and yeah, the movie is good too. More heists, more ants, and even a wasp! Good stuff.

Cybat
It is certainly understandable that they would want to put out a low-stakes light-hearted movie after the Infinity War cliffhanger, but it was a little too muddled and convoluted to resonate with people. Which is a shame because its still a pretty fun little movie in and of itself. The Ant-Man supporting cast is one of if not the most likable in the entire MCU (young Cassie steals every scene she is in in both movies), and Ghost was a compelling character until her entire conflict got handwaved away by quantum magic. My biggest problem with the movie is that, despite the title, there was no action scene where the two of them actually fought side by side except for like a fifteen second skirmish with Ghost at the end. Felt like a missed opportunity.
It may be the case that the majority of people who saw this movie only really went to see what the post-credits scene would be, but I for one am glad it is getting a sequel. Even if the ideas in this movie werent necessarily fully developed, they still have an opportunity to get some good stuff done next time.

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Mega Mana
First Scene That Comes to Mind: Cardboard tunnelling with Cassie

This is a tough film to write up. There is so much to enjoy in the moment as things happen on screen. There is great humor, earnestness, superheroics, running gags, characters, and just a surprisingly breezy film for how many different characters and factions it is juggling throughout. Scott, his family, Hope, Hank, Foster, Ghost, the FBI, Walton Goggins, and X-Con Security Consultants. The movie looks fantastic with Ghost's afterimages, the seamless size-changing throughout, the quantum realm. There's a great deal of hope and 'never give up' attitude especially with the twist that the superpowered 'villain' of the film, Ghost, is just trying to survive with Bill Foster doing everything he can to make sure that happens without anyone else getting badly hurt.

It feels somehow too breezy, though. Everything comes together over a nice cohesive throughline, and it's impossible to truly wrap one's head around the mechanics of size-changing (where does the weight go from the cars and building when shrunk? How was Hank able to get to Janet at the quantum level just in terms of location? What happens to Ghost without the quantum energy Scott's harvesting when he comes back five years later? Will Randall Park learn close up magic?). It's magic that doesn't seem to have much in the way of rules, but it's fun and they have fun with it. The special effects are incredible throughout.

P.S. I just wanted to make a quick note. Right after re-watching this movie, I saw Justice League in my recommended movies for free and decided to watch for the first time. Two scenes in, I had to quit. Ant-Man & the Wasp is like C-Level in terms of MCU importance and in-between both Infinity movies as well as Captain Marvel. It's budget and special effects are probably not the best of the best at the company. How then does Ant-Man and the Wasp look one-hundred times better than Warner Bros. tentpole massive budget juggernaut to compete with the Avengers after only two scenes?! Two?! HOW DOES THE MOVIE START WITH THE SUPERMAN LIP THING?! WHY DOES THE GOTHAM FIGHT LOOK LIKE WORSE USE OF GREEN SCREEN THAN THE ROOFTOP ON THE ROOM?! WHY ARE THESE THE FIRST TWO SCENES YOU PRESENT YOUR AUDIENCE?!?!

Red13n
A lot of my enjoyment from the original Ant-Man was that aside from moments towards the end, it strayed further from the typical MCU genre. Ant-Man and the Wasp unfortunately just moves into more generic action filled comic book movie. Not bad territory, but Ghost is never a compelling enough villain to really drive the story beyond generic. Too far into the irrational character to ever be a character that feels compelling. Beyond that, we go in and tie up pretty much all the loose ends hanging from the first movie, get enough size jokes to go stale, and then just get the setup for Endgame, which was the real goal of the movie.

ZenOfThunder
I closed my eyes trying to remember the villain for this one for like 30 seconds and all I could picture was stupid-ass Sonny Burch with his stupid-ass cowboy hat and terrible southern accent. The actual villain is Ghost who was cool but this movie was just kinda "hey give us some more money before Endgame thnx." SHOULD HAVE BEEN EDGAR WRIGHT.

CoolCly
Fun heist movie! I love that this movie did not try to make the stakes extraordinarily large and kept it to a pretty small scale fight between thieves, with some emotional stakes added in trying to recover Hanks wife. I also am a HUGE fan of the villain triangle when theres two separate villains who are both antagonistic towards the protagonist, and *just* as antagonistic towards eachother. Its a pretty uncommon dynamic but I always enjoy it. Its too bad Ghost is a bit lacking character wise, but her moveset is pretty fun in how it interacts with Antmans.
Quantum Lawrence Fishburne is fun. I actually thought there was going to be a twist where he had been manipulating Ghost into doing what he wants, and maybe was even responsible for her parents deaths and her condition, which would have been a pretty generic twist. But then he just turns out to be a nice guy who is genuinely concerned about her well being, and even pushes back strongly when she wants to turn to genuine villainy.
Overall good movie! Just like the first Ant-Man, I feel like this movie doesnt go far enough to be a great movie it needs some kind of extra depth that isnt there that a lot of other MCU movies pull off.

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MetalDK
Both this and Ant Man right below are similar. Liked the tie in to Civil War with Scott being under house arrest in AMatW a bit more over the original. Thought the scene Hank and Janet in the quantum realm was a nice scene, but the rest was a normal heist type flick

NBIceman
This is the entry in the MCU that I have the fewest thoughts on, because it really wasnt meant to be super meaningful in the grand scheme of things. Its a lighthearted cooldown from Infinity War that also serves as a lead-in and setup to Endgame with the post-credits scene - everything else is pretty pointless. Its fun pointlessness, though. Rudd is a great Scott Lang, and the supporting cast plays off him well. The X-Con trio is probably even more entertaining than in the first Ant-Man. Walton Goggins is an absolutely delightful actor that should be in everything. Theres even some pretty creative action sequences. Just a good time.

PrinceKaro
So basically Scott is hearing messages from the beyond or something and this leads to a bunch of convoluted plot points that arbitrarily bring groups of characters into conflict with each other as they all fight over Pym's chibi lab.
We go though all the required motions we ride some ants, steal some macguffins, but the magic that made the first movie work is gone. Even the jokes are recycled from Ant-Man 1. More people are crushed by enlarged children's toys! Scott's mexican sidekick does his wacky storytime gag for like the fourth time! This isn't funny anymore, get some new shit.
it is a forgettable and safe sequel where everything works out far too perfectly, and I worry for the MCU if we get any more of these soulless cash grab movies like this one.

Snake5555555555
Ant-Man and the Wasp is one of the funniest MCU films, and also one of the best casts, if not for Walton Goggins alone. The compliments start and end there. This attempt to make Ant-Man of all heroes one of the corner-stones of the MCU just doesnt work for me. Paul Rudd has fine comedic timing but any attempts at serious or grounded moments always falls flat, and talk about your supporting cast out-shining you in your own film. Theres also a bunch of stuff thats simply glossed over like everything to do with Scotts non-sensical house arrest and other stupidity like a hot wheels car being able to run? The quantum mechanics are just so incosistent which is another reason maybe you shouldnt make a film entirely centered around this hero.

Lopen
This is the only movie from the MCU I hadn't seen when this list was announced. As it stands, the movie is "fine." If you liked Ant-Man this has more of the same charm. My main problem here is just that-- more of the same. You're only in it for a stock Marvel action fix. It doesn't really add anything to the big picture, and it lacks the world building appeal that the first had when the quantum world was new and exciting. I think Scott Lang kinda nails it when he says "do you guys just put the word 'quantum' in front of everything?" Like it's a funny line, yes, but it summarizes how lazy the movie feels really well. I don't regret watching this, but I think any time I'd watch it again I'd rather just rewatch Ant-Man.

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Sheep007
I watched this one in the cinema, pretty much on release. I forgot almost everything that happened until just now rewatching it. Firstly, it has the worst opening of any MCU movie. It starts off with a cute joke a worlds greatest grandma trophy for your dad. Its funny and made me smile, because its the sort of thing Ive bought for someone in the past and is just a nice visual gag. And then they explain the joke in the dialogue. I guess they think were too stupid to read? Something about that irrationally bugs (get it?) me. The humour doesnt really pick up from there, and for the movie intended to be lower stakes and goofy, thats a big problem. Ghost is intended to be sympathetic but I cant bring myself to care about her, and theres another even more generic villain whose name Ive already forgotten despite rewatching it yesterday. I dislike every character more than before in this: theyre pretty much all more irritating and less funny. Luis is good to watch in one movie, for the first time, but once you know that most of the gag is just a dude talking quickly it loses you a bit. Ill admit I liked the ant at the house, though. This leads me to another issue, though: theres too many plotlines, and not enough characters I care about. Seriously, how does Ant-Man of all things have so many characters or threads who require screentime in it? The plot is just so pointlessly complex, and this might be excusable if it were good. The film isnt boring, but few MCU movies are (and theyre all below this one), and I would like to be able to praise something to a higher standard than not boring especially when its an action movie with this kinda budget. People make movies ten times more entertaining and with hundreds more things to say, on fractions of this money. Marvel at this time started taking some risks (safe risks, but still outside the comfort zone of their previous work!), making the bland mediocrity of this even more apparent. Ive criticised it a lot, but its still a clear step up from the worst MCU movies. Ill even throw in some praise! The quantum realm is really interesting both in idea and execution (something with pretty colours in a less-good Marvel movie! Shocking!), and while it doesnt redeem it entirely, it could make the future Ant-Man films a massive step up.

VengefulKaelee
It's fun enough to watch in the moment, but in the long run, Ant-Man and the Wasp is one of those movies that you forget even exists shortly after you've seen it. Honestly the most memorable thing about this movie is the post-Snap mid-credits scene, which was an inspired choice.

Whiskey Nick
(No write-up.)

XIII Rocks
Sad that Michelle Pfeiffer (and Walton Goggins) went so underused and underserved here, but we did get Paul Rudd's impression of her, which was one of the most amusing and bizarre moments of a movie that was in general not amusing or bizarre enough; a lesser Doctor Strange in that regard. Still, Rudd/Lily/Douglas do a good job and it's reasonably entertaining. Very much Marvel at a stroll.

Eddv
The quintessential Marvel movie. I watched this once and it was fine. Perfectly inoffensive. It tried nothing, accomplished nothing and left no lasting impression. MCU in its pure state.

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Johnbobb
No film suffers from the dependency on the rest of the franchise quite like A Man and the W. Perhaps my favorite story to come from Behind the Scenes of the MCU was Michael Douglas (Hank Pym) not understanding what the fuck was going on when he read this script, only to later be informed it was because he hadn't seen Civil War. Ab Mab and the Wab just doesn't stand on its own, and it's one of the only MCU films that can't. It's kind of a shame too, because the first one was a bit of a funny gem, while this really felt more like it was only here to serve the purposes of the franchise.

Mr Crispy
This movie only exists for the post credits tag scene.

Ok that's not entirely fair to say, since Ant Man and the Wasp does resolve the plot threads from the previous movie about Hope's mother so it's not completely superflous or pointless. It's just boring and abandons much of what gave the original its personality compared to other MCU films while trying to expand the scope. What stood out about the original Ant Man from the other MCU films at the time was that it was more of a heist movie about planning on how to break into a highly guarded facility using shrinking powers, but Ant Man and the Wasp is mostly driving around the city to avoid being caught and making things bigger. There's probably not a whole lot of difference in making shrinking and growing special effects because they would both probably mostly involve actors interacting with oversize props, but shrinking is more interesting and charming (as I'll go into in my Ant Man writeup) than "Oh look he's 40 feet tall now. I guess you could say he's gi-Ant Man now. (That is a pun, or a play on words.)"

Ant Man and the Wasp isn't really even all that necessary for setting up the time travel in Endgame, since nothing in the movie really explains why it would necessarily work even in terms of technobabble (and in Endgame the explanation is pretty much it just works 'cos quantum, as an Unseen University graduate would probably say).

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OUTLIERS:

Eddv - 62
Johnbobb - 37
PrinceKaro - 35
BetrayedTangy - 26
GavsEvans123 - 26
Mr Crispy - 26
Lopen - 25
Raka Putra - 23
VengefulKaelee - 23
Illuminatusbubu - 22
Inviso - 22
HanOfTheNekos - 21
TomNook - 21
Jesse Custer - 20
ScepterOfLove - 20
Whiskey Nick - 20
Maniac64 - 19
Paratroopa1 - 19
XIII Rocks - 19
Snake5555555555 - 18
StifledSilence - 18
Corrik7 - 17
MetalmindStats - 17
Cybat - 16
CoolCly - 15
Red13n - 14
Sheep007 - 14
Anagram - 12
NBIceman - 12
Mega Mana - 8
MetalDK - 8
ZenOfThunder 2

Zen hits another spot-on to stay at two, as Mana stays at eight to claim a tie for second place at the bottom of the list, while Metalmind makes a large jump up into the middle territory. At the top, Eddv maintains a commanding lead, but with this place, Johnbobb overtakes Karo for second place!

Spoiler for Number 16: Only three movies left received a 23 placement on any list. This is the lowest of those three.

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You missed the title at the top Inviso!

My guess as to the three: Endgame (lol, fanboy rage), Cap 1, Iron Man 3 with Iton Man 3 being the next. I can also see Ant-Man as one of them.

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I love the idea of Hank Pym demanding his building architect include a giant handle in his building.

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I'm honestly surprised there's three movies left at all that got last-place votes considering what's already gone down. I guess that'd be IM3, Cap 1, and, uh... Did Ed have Endgame at 23 or something?

IM3 would be my guess for 16 for sure.

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Damn I'm really bad at guessing. Iron Man 3 has to be next this time I'm sure of it

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Ant-man and the Wasp doesn't really excel, but if the average Hollywood action movie (or even non MCU comic book movie) was at least as good as Ant-Man and the Wasp, the average quality would be a lot higher IMO.

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CoolCly posted...

Ant-man and the Wasp doesn't really excel, but if the average Hollywood action movie (or even non MCU comic book movie) was at least as good as Ant-Man and the Wasp, the average quality would be a lot higher IMO.

I can agree with this. I ranked Ant-Man and the Wasp only 10th, because compared to a lot of the BEST the MCU has to offer, it's lacking. But it's a fun movie and it's a smaller scale (no pun intended) than a lot of the world-ending plots that make everything feel like the highest stakes imaginable. That sort of story stands alone a lot better than similar stories in Amazing Spider-Man 2, or Batman & Robin.

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seems obvious that iron man 3 and cap 1 are two of the three "last place vote" movies. but i'd guess doctor strange is the third one rather than endgame. people were pretty mixed on that movie when it came out.

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NBIceman posted...

I'm honestly surprised there's three movies left at all that got last-place votes considering what's already gone down. I guess that'd be IM3, Cap 1, and, uh... Did Ed have Endgame at 23 or something?

IM3 would be my guess for 16 for sure.

You think you know me...

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I wish more superhero movies went with smaller scale plots and just focused on the characters. Especially sequels.

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Kinda odd that Ant-Man and the Wasp is below Ant-Man. I guess Ant-Man has the novelty, more Hank, and more Michael Pena. But Ant-Man and the Wasp always just felt way more fun, mainly because we already established all the characters now.

I have no idea what would even be ranking at #23. I guess Iron Man 3?

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So given that there's no chance I beat Eddv, gonna try to hang on to 2nd!

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