Board 8 > Board 8 Ranks: The Marvel Cinematic Universe (Phase III!)

(+) Yeah! (+)

First and foremost: a warning. There WILL be spoilers for all 23 movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in this topic (along with perhaps other Marvel properties...I can't be sure.) Again, this is a spoiler warning for the ENTIRE Marvel Cinematic Universe. Just wanted to get that out of the way.

Also, that "PHASE III" in the topic title doesn't mean anything like me handling the ranking by phase or anything like that. Given the size of write-ups I've received and hopefully how much interest this project has generated, we're already on our third (and likely final) topic of the list. This is already topic three, and if you want to read topics one and two, the write-ups are here for as long as the topics avoid the purge: https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/79272506 & https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/79288169

For the past ten months (give or take), COVID-19 has completely stalled a lot in our society, including Marvel's lengthy timeline for the premiere of their many, many superhero movies and television shows. Why, by this very date, we would be expected to have seen Black Widow, Eternals, and we'd be dealing with ads for Shang-Chi: Legend of the Ten Rings. However, those three movies did not come out in the past year. Before COVID hit, Marvel had conveniently wrapped up their first three phases (the Infinity Saga) in a neat little bow, leaving 23 movies as a part of their cinematic universe. And for the past several months, we--the Gauntlet Crew, and for the first time in a long time, the rest of Board 8--have been rewatching the Infinity Saga from Iron Man all the way up to Spider-Man: Far From Home, with the intent of ranking said movies and determining Board 8's favorite Marvel movie of them all!

Overall, we had a great deal of interest and a grand total of thirty-two participants submitted lists, ranking all twenty-three movies, complete with write-ups from almost everyone. The results have been tallied, and after a whole lot of work from all involved, we have our list set in stone.

Your Rankers:

Anagram
BetrayedTangy
CoolCly
Corrik7
Cybat
Eddv
GavsEvans123
HanOfTheNekos
Illuminatusbubu
Inviso
Jesse Custer
Johnbobb
Lopen
Maniac64
Mega Mana
Metal DK
MetalmindStats
Mr Crispy
NBIceman
Paratroopa1
PrinceKaro
Raka Putra
Red13n
ScepterOfLove
Sheep007
Snake5555555555
StifledSilence
TomNook
VengefulKaelee
Whiskey Nick
XIII Rocks
ZenOfThunder

There's a second post coming, so don't post yet!

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THE MCU:

12th. Iron Man (2008)
23rd. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
21st. Iron Man 2 (2010)
20th. Thor (2011)
16th. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
7th. Marvel's The Avengers (2012)
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15th. Iron Man 3 (2013)
22nd. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
18th. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
14th. Ant-Man (2015)
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8th. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
13th. Doctor Strange (2016)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
10th. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
9th. Black Panther (2018)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
17th. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
19th. Captain Marvel (2019)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
11th. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

THE SCORES:

114
183
183
197
233
256
258 (Marvel's The Avengers)
297 (Captain America: Civil War)
306 (Black Panther)
312 (Spider-Man: Homecoming)
313 (Spider-Man: Far From Home)
335 (Iron Man)
392 (Doctor Strange)
424 (Ant-Man)
471 (Iron Man 3)
497 (Captain America: The First Avenger)
513 (Ant-Man and the Wasp)
533 (Avengers: Age of Ultron)
533 (Captain Marvel)
569 (Thor)
593 (Iron Man 2)
653 (Thor: The Dark World)
669 (The Incredible Hulk)

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Yeah

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You are now tracking this topic.

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This is a really good top 6

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So far I've noticed I'm a pretty basic bitch

Top Tier
1) ???
2) Captain America Civil War
3) ???
4) ???
5) ???

Damn Good Tier
6) Black Panther
7) Marvel's The Avengers
8) Spider-Man: Homecoming
9) ???
10) Iron Man

Decent Enough Tier
11) Captain America: The First Avenger
12) ??? (Gonna lose points here probably)
13) Iron Man 3
14) Spider-Man: Far From Home
15) Captain Marvel

Below Average Tier
16) Doctor Strange
17) Avengers: Age of Ultron
18) Ant-Man and the Wasp
19) Ant-Man
20) Thor

Bad Tier
21) Iron Man 2
22) The Incredible Hulk
23) Thor: The Dark World

Civil War was a fair bit too low even if it got 8th.

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We're in the endgame now!

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Seanchan posted...

We're in the endgame now!

According to some predictions from last topic, perhaps it is.

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1. ??????
2. ??????
3. ??????
4. ??????
5. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
6. Black Panther (2018)
7. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
8. Iron Man (2008)
9. Marvel's The Avengers (2012)
10. Ant-Man (2015)
11. Doctor Strange (2016)
12. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
13. Iron Man 3 (2013)
14. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
15. ??????
16. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
17. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
18. ??????
19. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
20. Thor (2011)
21. Captain Marvel (2019)
22. Iron Man 2 (2010)
23. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

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Endgame probably does have the most objective problems out of the remaining movies, despite having some great highs too.

But going into this project, I was expecting Infinity War and Endgame to get the most number 1s as they're what the entire mcu had been building up to, the question would be which one would come out on top and if they'd sff each other enough to get one of the other highly regarded solo pictures to wedge in between them.

I still think Ragnarok is the most likely - it's hard for me to picture someone liking Ragnarok but not liking at least one of the Guardians movies more than Ragnarok because they're so similar in style (while someone who dislikes the more jokey Marvel movies could like Winter Soldier best out of the remaining movies and put it at number one).

so my predictions are
1. Infinity War
2. Winter Soldier
3. Endgame
4. Guardians 1
5. Guardians 2
6. Ragnarok

(now I'm going to be way off on this lol)

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Tag

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Bored so here's an average of what's left placement wise

3.56
5.71
5.71
6.15
7.28
8

So yeah the 1 is definitely higher than anything else average wise, if that helps with predictions.


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Tag

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I thought 1 was Infinity War as soon as I saw the scores and I'll be shocked if it's anything else. I'm gonna predict

1. Infinity War
2. Guardians 1
3. Winter Soldier
4. Ragnarok
5. Endgame
6. Guardians 2

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I'll post my full rankings because I'm not ranking. This is kind of a first pass; I don't have any strong feelings other than my top 5. No Hulk ranked because I never watched it.

1. Avengers: Infinity Wars
2. GOTG
3. Spider-Man: Homecoming
4. Thor: Ragnarok
5. Cap: Winter Soldier
6. Avengers
7. Avengers: Endgame
8. Spider-Man: Far From Home
9. Black Panther
10. Ant-Man and the Wasp
11. Iron Man
12. Cap: Civil War
13. GOTG2
14. Iron Man 3
15. Doctor Strange
16. Cap: First Avenger
17. Captain Marvel
18. Ant-Man
19. Iron Man 2
20. Thor
21. Avengers: Age of Ultron
22. Thor: Dark World

A few more thoughts:

• I just watched Infinity Wars again. While I love it, I can definitely see that it's...problematic for some. GOTG1 is probably #1 simply because I feel like there are less flaws in the movie.
• Next one is probably Endgame. The last third is undeniably great, but the first third and second third is more of a question. Once Endgame is ranked, I'm excited to read the reviews. I feel like, in some ways, Endgame came and went without little critical analysis.

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6. Thor: Ragnarok
Total Score: 256

Eddv - 2
PrinceKaro 2
HanOfTheNekos 3
Illuminatusbubu - 3
Jesse Custer 3
Johnbobb 3
Lopen - 3
MetalDK 3
Sheep007 3
Whiskey Nick - 3
Inviso 4
ZenOfThunder 4
Red13n - 5
XIII Rocks 5
Anagram 6
NBIceman - 7
StifledSilence 7
BetrayedTangy 8
CoolCly - 8
TomNook 8
Mr Crispy - 10
Corrik7 11
MetalmindStats 11
Maniac64 12
Paratroopa1 - 12
Cybat - 13
Mega Mana 14
Raka Putra - 15
Snake5555555555 - 15
GavsEvans123 - 17
ScepterOfLove 17
VengefulKaelee - 17

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Eddv
This is just a really fun movie - someone finally came along and reinvented the wheel and it was great. It actually does all of the things GotG gets credit for doing.

PrinceKaro
Thor finds out he has a long lost sister who managed to escape from a prison she had been held in for centuries, and she is really sweet and likes to play with puppies. Naw I''m just kidding, she's a homicidal sadist. What the fuck is wrong with this family.
Anyway, a bifrost accident throws Thor and Loki into the dumpster of the universe where they discover Hulk is a celebrity gladiator. Honestly Hulk has a bigger role here than in his OWN MOVIE which his kind of sad.
Don't be mislead by the title, the reason to see this film is not Ragnarok, but rather everyone's misadventures in junkworld.
The dialogue is top notch and every new character there is instantly memorable from the drunken space valkyrie to random rockman dude, seriously everything about this movie is just so wonderful.

HanOfTheNekos
Hulk and Thor had some meh movies. They were known for it. Loki was known as a villainous asshole. So Taika Waititi accepted the challenge and created the best super-team in the movies to date.

Finding Thor's proper role in the MCU has taken a little bit of time... Chris Hemsworth has always had a certain element of charisma that has been there, but being fully utilized was a long process. In Thor, he was just a stuffy old-style fancy boy. With a little bit of charm. In Avengers, he was the same, but played on his alien-ness more, for funsies. Thor 2... eh. Avengers 2 though, his character was pretty well-realized by that point, and his role was getting further explored for how important it was. As well as how just... funny the guy is.

So we get Thor: Ragnarok, a movie that just says "This is what is great about Thor. He is still old-styled and a little stuffy, and quite alien, but that's what's FUNNY. He has so much charm that you just take his style, combine it with being a complete troll, and let it run loose". Losing Mjolnir was... kinda lame, I'll admit. But he was always a tough boy. Now, he's just shoots lightning out of his face. Hell yes. Thanos has no idea what he's in for.

Everything Thor went through in this film... beating some fire dudes, revealing Loki to Asgard, losing his father, having his hammer broken, fighting Hulk, being friendly with Hulk, recruiting Valkyrie, etc... throughout it all, he stayed true to himself: a fun and good dude who loves a fight, and will do whatever he has to to protect his people. He's like... the best realization of a classic Asgardian from mythology. Even when throwing Loki at some baddies then predicting his betrayal, he was still rather jolly about it. So. Top. Tier. And now he has lightning powers, so that's pretty badass! And I guess he's king.

Loki has pretty much always been about making the best of situations, and that's really where he stood for most of this movie. He was himself... predictable, slimy, but quite wonderful. Thor had to go and tell him he could be MORE than the God of Mischief, and he listened, and of course came back as a complete badass to save the day. Finally... FINALLY Loki can be not on the Villains list. My Villains ranking has him on there 3 times at this point! But man, it was wonderful to see him go that route.

Valkyrie was badass. Clear defined character arc, had her own quirks, shot a big gun at a big wolf. All excellent. The real small amount of tension between her and Thor was kinda lame though. She was great with her interactions with Hulk though. Great character to add.

Hulk... FINALLY we get Hulk the character, and not just Hulk the plot device. Thor and Hulk as roomies was some of the best scenes we never got to see before. Hulk really is wonderful to watch fight, since he doesn't play by so many rules, so getting to go toe-to-toe with Fenris, punching the fire dude, everything against Thor... great fights. And then MARK RUFFALO having to deal with being the Hulk for two years straight... LOVE it. Guy has so many things to deal with, including getting blasted in the face with green powder. And even still, he's willing to sacrifice his humanity to save the day by turning into Hulk.

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Jeff Goldblum was just a great casting decision for the Grandmaster. Goofy asshole dictator. Sure, he was mainly comedy, but he oozed character. Also, apparently he's the brother of the Collector, so there's that.

The Warriors Three jobbing and all dying was kinda disappointing at first, but... I guess it makes sense to off them in this scenario. I'm really glad Sif wasn't around to die, but... where is she?

Odin didn't need much time, but he did his job right. Bit appearance by Anthony Hopkins, tells Loki that he loves him... it's very sweet. He could have given a little more heads-up to the two before Hela arrived, though. And why did she arrive right where he died, anyway? Kinda weird.

Hela... just a bad bitch who wanted to conquer everything and had no regard for life (being the Goddess of Death, and all). That someone could be so intimidating, so powerful, so threatening, piss you off by killing the Warriors Three and all the Valkyries in the flashback... and yet STILL make you like how strong and kickass she is? Excellent job. Not the best villain ever, but really well-utilized. Finally, a good Thor villain that isn't Loki!

The other gladiators were cute. Even being the dumb cringey humor of the movie... they weren't really all that cringey. It was really well-written - they played their role well, only straddling the line of being annoying and bad a few times, without really crossing it.

Heimdall, of course, is the biggest badass ever and will remain as such.

Doctor Strange xD That whole sequence was amazing and just states how much he needs a second movie already. But they better not use Mordo and just go full mystical/cosmic or whatever. I want to see even more special effects, but with less... Earth.

Everything about this movie was great. The humor was amazing... there were a few jokes in it that were kinda eh and didn't quite land, but usually there was a really good consistency to the jokes and how they fit in. There were a lot of really well done visual gags, like the skeleton's jaw dropping in Thor's opening speech, and Thor throwing the rocks at Loki's projection. There were even some that just kept getting drawn out... but well! "The hammer got you off?"

Plotwise... they were able to resolve Asgard, and bring Thor back around to Earth, or at least on his way. Loki is good. Presumably he has the Tesseract (and maybe the Casket of Winter too, that seems to be something up his alley to grab). I love that they fixed the plothole with the first movie with the Infinity Gauntlet in the vault.

In all - Hela did her job to help Thor become lightning dude without his hammer, cut his hair, accept his role as king...

I don't know what else to say! It was a damn good movie!

Illuminatusbubu
I dont really like Thor as a character in the first two movies but the change of tone toward comedy is done superbly that I have to give it a nod here. It seems like it was around this time that MCU really find a perfect balance between storytelling and comedy.

Jesse Custer
Up until this movie, Thor was not one of my favorite characters in the MCU. Not even close. But just as The Winter Soldier changed everything for Captain America, so too did Ragnarok for Thor. This is apparent from the opening minutes of Ragnarok, as we get a Thor who no longer takes himself too seriously, along with an unexpectedly fun fight sequence set to Led Zeppelin.

Amazingly, not only was Ragnarok a hilarious movie, but was still capable of being serious at just the right moments. For instance, the movie gets us to take Hela seriously as a villain immediately when she unexpectedly and easily catches and destroys Mjlnir. Its not easy to achieve that perfect balance between comedy and drama, but this movie did it just right.

Also, the Planet Hulk storyline could have easily felt tacked on as filler, but was seamlessly included. And casting Jeff Goldblum as the Grandmaster wound up being a stroke of genius.

From start to finish, this was a really fun ride, and its easily one of my favorite MCU movies.

Johnbobb
So, on the one hand, this is the closest we'll ever get to Planet Hulk, and on the other, it pretty much confirms we'll never get a World War Hulk. Either way, we get Hulk doing gladiator combat, we get consistently funny action humor, and most importanly, we get a really goddamn good Thor movie.

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Lopen
This is the peak of MCU comedy by far, lots of laugh out loud moments like Get Help and Hulk jumping on the bridge. Just so much stuff that hits home here-- I mean Jeff Goldblum as a mid-boss villain kinda says it all this is definitely more a comedy than anything.

BUT in the middle of it all you have Hela (beautiful and terrible as the dawn!) who is is just legit and totally imposing which is a nice contrast to all the buffoonery when needed.

MetalDK
Interesting discussions on nationalism and moving on

Sheep007
God, they made a third Thor movie? I hate Thor. I hate Thor, right? Not this Thor, because pre-Ragnarok Thor and post-Ragnarock Thor are just two completely different characters with the same backstory. One is likeable with a sense of humour and a lot of things he has to go through or that get changed, while the other has two modes: buffoon or angry. Im so glad this new Thor was carried over into Infinity War, because it just makes everything much better. The colour scheme is fabulous, Jeff Goldblum is great, as are the other antagonists (theyre underdeveloped, but underdeveloped and fun as hell is so many steps above lots of other villains). I love Tessa Thompson, I love that it is paced so well theres not a moment of boredom, I love that it manages to take a fun and actiony film slowly when it needs to, I love the creative fights, I love Loki (as always) and I think Bruce and Thor was a great combination which won me over. Hell, I would have been fine with an entire movie of just this Thor pissing around on random planets, maybe with Loki thrown in, but adding so many fun characters in takes it up another notch. They moved the story away from Asgard for the most part, which I was incredibly thankful for given how much I hated the setting, and somehow managed to turn my least favourite of the original Avengers into possibly my favourite. Ragnarok is fun and funny as hell too, par for the course for Waititi. I didnt even gush about Loki yet. Loki is the best and now he has other good characters in his movies, I dont have to just forward them til I get to his scenes! I think this is the best the MCU has to offer, in terms of pure enjoyment and fun (although you may notice this isnt quite at the top!).

Whiskey Nick
(No write-up.)

Inviso
Its amazing to me that the writers of this movie took a character whopotential spoilers for my rankingwas not the most interesting personality among the MCU prior to Ragnarokand they took him and made him part of an absolutely hilarious film overall. Taika Waititi is just a great director in that regard, it seems. Honestly, Ragnarok is one of the funniest films in the MCU, yet it doesnt feel like a movie thats just TRYING to be funny and lacks purpose. The fact that the villainHela, one of the best MCU villainsis the goddess of death, immediately adds some intensity and gravitas to the events of the plot. Its hard to describe, but it just feels like the cast finally gels together as personalities, and you just have some witty personalities shining through. Even the dynamic with Thor and Hela is a great microcosm of brother/sister relationships. And I have to say that I love the fact that yes, you have a bigger, world-destroying story going on, but the biggest chunk of the movie is just Thor and Hulk and Loki dicking around on a coliseum planet. Its great to have a little side story like that, rather than EVERYTHING needing to be the most important event in the history of the universe.

ZenOfThunder
Guardians but with Thor. Thor kinda sucks but Guardians is great so it events out

Red13n
First off, yes there is an argument to be made that this movie turned Thor into another GotG movie, but no, that doesn't make this movie any less fun. Thor seemed like a dead franchise. Thor was already an iffy property on his first adventure, and the second cemented him as boring serious hammer guy. The character had no life, we didn't care about his journey because he'd just make it boring. And he'd have a bunch of bland earth companions that we just wanted him to smash with his hammer. But we've thrown that out, staying mostly in space, keeping a much more lighthearted feel, and embracing the awesome character that is MCU Loki. This is everything you wouldn't have expected after The Dark World, and it makes for a fantastic watch. Weak villain though.

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XIII Rocks
This movie is "slight", and the comedy is perhaps over-employed - not taking itself too seriously is great, but the literal destruction of Asgard is played off as a joke, and that's probably a mistake. I'm also not a huge fan of the Thor/Hulk fight for a couple of reasons - 1 is the dodgy CGI of the arena itself, which will not age well, and 2 is the fact that the way Hulk is built up in the movie is incongruous with the marketing. The movie refers to the "champion" of the arena as being unbeatable but never reveals that it's Hulk until Hulk himself appears. Which would have been a cool twist, except for the fact that Hulk is on the poster, and Hulk coming through the door into the arena and Thor's reaction is IN LIKE EVERY TRAILER. A bizarre lack of joined-up thinking there to be honest. Either don't market Hulk, or reveal his presence early. Don't go for something that seems like it'd be a big twist in the movie but market it like it's information you're expected to have.

But that's like the full extent of my complaints. This is the funniest movie in the MCU and revels in absurdity, oddity, mining comedy out of the weirdest and best situations (apart from the aforementioned Asgard whiff, which was a step too far). I've mentioned this in other writeups and I will again - sometimes movies have moments that are instantly memorable and elevate it, where the whole thing kind of gloriously clicks. This had one such moment where it really clicked with me and where I realised I was watching something awesome, and it's the shot of Thor, surrounded by lightning as he lands on the rainbow bridge just as Immigrant Song kicks in again. What a fucking great choice of music and a brilliant scene to go with it.

Hela, obviously, is a superb villain, and unlike the awful Malekith is fully involved in the humour of the movie, with some of her scenes with the Executioner being among the funniest. Cate Blanchett is having the time of her life here and helps showcase a powerful, intimidating villain who is understandable and looks supreme in that costume. And of course Jeff Goldblum is in this, playing it every inch as odd as you would expect him to, and almost steals the movie.

There's a ton of solid gold scenes and moments in this. I had a cough while watching it the first time, and it was aggravated multiple times by spontaneous, raucous laughter - notably by the moment Thor hits himself in the face with the ball; it's such easy slapstick comedy, but for whatever reason it got me good. I love the easy, seemingly-improvised scenes, too, such as the one where Thor tells the story about Loki and the snake. The reactions of Valkyrie (a really excellent addition) and Banner seem so smooth and natural.

Just a brilliantly watchable movie that gets everything a superhero movie is supposed to get right, right, in spades - and has that little bit of extra to make it unique (in this case, its unexpected, off-kilter humour).

Anagram
What if Thor was more like Guardians of the Galaxy? This was a good decision, if only because Chris Hemsworth is not a very good actor and is mostly just good at comedy. We also get Hela, one of the better villains, just hamming it up and looking like an evil queen.

NBIceman
The biggest point in this movies favor is that Taika Waititi showed up and was completely unafraid to just make a fun, weird, bombastic space story. But thats a really obvious talking point that Im sure everyone else is gonna cover better than I could, so Ill talk about the second-biggest point in its favor instead. Thor and Loki are arguably the characters that have developed the most across the entire MCU (and hell, Thors changed more even since Ragnarok), and theyre now at the point where their interplay basically carries the whole film. They strike a great balance between genuine/heartfelt and legitimately funny. Thors new easygoing, jokey nature allows Lokis gradual shift to Chaotic Neutral to shine, and at long last, the rest of the cast actually complements that. The scenes with Odin are fantastic, Doctor Stranges cameo is delightful, Hulk is utilized perfectly, and Thor descending on the zombies with Immigrant Song playing has already gone down as an all-time MCU moment. Helas unfortunately a Phase 1 villain in a Phase 3 movie, which is what keeps it from being part of the very top tier for me, but the rest of it is wonderful. Very much deserving of all the love it gets.

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StifledSilence
This is a wild ride from start to finish. Taking the stuffy first two movies and making Thor far more quippy and likable was the perfect choice. Adding fun side characters and introducing one of the MCUs most intimidating villains was a nice touch as well. But perhaps most importantly, Ragnarok took steps to rehabilitate Hulk as a character as well. Adding depth not just to Banner, but the green man as well did wonders for the entire story as a whole. Not to mention those colosseum battles were so much fun.

BetrayedTangy
Ragnaroks biggest flaw is also its biggest boon. Its so stupidly funny that you cant take the majority of the film seriously. The scene with Odin is nice and Helas got some really cool scenes, but other than that its joke after joke and you kinda stop caring about whats actually going on. That said its way better than not caring because youre bored (see Thor 1 and 2), but it still is kind of a shame, because theres some cool character moments here. Also I hate Marvel for showing Hulk in the trailer, the arena scene wouldve been insane if casual audiences werent expecting him.

CoolCly
This movie is SOOO much fun. Taika Waititi is a genius, and Thor was reenergized as a character completely here with this sort of humour. Hemsworth is super positive about working with the MCU still because of this, and it carried forward into the Avengers movies really heavily.
Loki is great, the Hulk is great, the Grand Master is great. Korg is awesome.
Valkyrie feels a bit under whelming she wasnt as well developed as she could have been. I hope shes used better in the future.
Hela.. is a bit of a disappointment. She herself is AWESOME, but her story is just real generic. After she kicks Thor and Loki out, she just kills the Warriors Three effortlessly, which was a REAL let down. Heimdalls refugee story feels pretty forced. The whole Asgard storyline just feels tacked on, when it should be the highlight of the movie. I really wish her part of the story had been more compelling. Skurge made that all a bit better though.
Thankfully, everything with Thor on Saakar is awesome.
Overall, this is a great movie. If the Hela / Asgard story had been better, this would have been an absolutely top tier movie.

TomNook
This is the only movie that actually made Hulk fun, and that's because pairing anyone with Thor is a good way to make them fun. I love the world this movie is set in. In terms of the non-"Avenger" movies, this probably has the best cast of characters in the series, especially with prominent screentime for people like Valkyrie, Korg, and Jeff Goldblum as Jeff Goldblum.

Mr Crispy
After being overthrown by Loki in The Dark World, Odin falls victim to the Long Dark Tea-time of the Soul when Ragnarok begins. The second Thor movie tried to be more serious and failed, but Thor: Ragnarok successfully course corrects by channeling the Guardians of the Galaxy movies in tone and humor. It's not quite as good as either in that department, but easily beats out the more generic Hollywood romcom-ness of the first one and teaming up Thor with the Guardians in later movies was a pretty good call since he fits in better there with space characters than with the more fantasy oriented characters. Only major problem is the actual "Ragnarok" portion on Asgard is left feeling underdeveloped after the Sakar part.

Best part is definitely Loki standing up and cheering during the arena fight.

Corrik7
Thor ragnarok is a fun movie. Surtur was cool, as was Hela. However, this movie suffers a bit from a jarring tone shift from the rest of the Thor series. It becomes too focused on being fun at times and the gravity of the situation suffers a lot. I mean, his world is destroyed, Thor has become easily the worst ruler in Asgard history in a short frame, the Loki taking the throne part is basically just undone with no gravity, and to be honest, nobody really cares because it's funny? I like the movie, and I like the addition of Hulk to it. I just wish it wasn't so over the moon goofy at times.

MetalmindStats
We all know Ragnarok makes for a better time than Thors previous two showcases, largely hitting its marks in terms of action, humor, and characterization alike. Does it live up to the hype, though? If I had to make a one-word binary choice, Id say no to that.

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Maniac64
I love Planet Hulk, one of my favorite Marvel stories. So I was excited that they were doing a take on it, even if it was in a Thor movie. It just saddens me that this was all we will get of the excellent storyline. Also while the movie is very funny some of the jokes go to long for me or just miss. But Hulk and Thor are a great entertaining team up.

Paratroopa1
Upon rewatching, I realized that this was one of the funniest movies in the MCU when I laughed out loud like three times in the first ten minutes, when most of the other movies only kinda make me smile on the inside. Handing this franchise over to Taika Waititi was a bold and brilliant move - dude's funny as hell and he's totally willing to take the piss out of Thor: The Dark World, which was some of the funniest stuff. I didn't really vibe with the villain or the more serious stuff happening on Asgard, I largely tune that stuff out - the real shit here is the A-plot, which is like Guardians of the Galaxy but with Thor and Hulk instead. I don't seem to like it quite as much as everyone else does - I don't think this one has quite the emotional resonance for me that Guardians does - but it's an extremely watchable film, just entertaining from start to finish. It's a small miracle that they made a really good Thor film - I'm actually looking forward to the next one, which isn't something I thought I would say.

Cybat
I recognize that this movie is better put together than this ranking might indicate, but it just rubbed me the wrong way with a lot of its choices. I dont have a problem with the Thor movies being primarily comedies, especially given Chris Hemsworths sharp comedic timing, but of all the Thor storylines they could cover, it seems like Ragnarok should be the one that takes itself at least a little seriously. Even the scene where Asgard is completely destroyed had to end with a joke.
But it wasnt just the fact that they were joking around, it was the attitude Taika et al seemed to have about the whole property. Sure, they hit the marks along the way: Hela, Surtr, Fenris, etc., but it all felt kind of ancillary and thrown together. They obviously didnt care at all about the history of the character, both in-canon in how they gloss over all the Asgard stuff as much as possible, and in reality with purging basically everything from the previous movies gleefully. Jane and Selvig were understandable, but like I said, I am one of the few people who cared about the Warriors Three, so to see them get killed off for a joke was a little annoying.
Like I said, I wouldnt necessarily have minded all of this as much in a differently named Thor movie, but it just didnt seem right to me for the movie called Ragnarok to turn out like this. Its still a hugely enjoyable movie, just not what I wanted.

Mega Mana
First Scene That Comes to Mind: "YESSSS!"

While leagues better than his first two outings, I still have an aversion to really investing myself in it. I don't know why. It's a really solid movie with great comedy, pathos, action, moments, and characters. It's by far Thor's sweet spot as a tragicomic character, and Hulk's best outing. Valkyrie is a wonderful new character I look forward to seeing more from, Loki's arc towards a form of redemption (or even just a brother figure who isn't bad enemy man) is fulfilled far better than the previous two entries, and what could be a super-convoluted plot stitching together Ragnarok, Planet Hulk, Contest of Champions, and Infinity Saga set-ups is breezily handled.

So why don't I like it much? I really don't know. I want to complain about them eschewing much of Asgard, but after the two write-ups I made for Thor and Dark World, the time in Asgard was usually the weakest part of the movie. Maybe it's because every time we visit Asgard, it's under threat from Frost Giants or Dark Elves, but now that it's Hela (and without Odin around), it's taken out in no time flat. The Warriors Three get taken out in seconds, Lady Sif is nowhere to be found, Loki's so bad at being Odin that Thor figures him out in the five seconds he first arrives back in Asgard after like three years yet none of the other long-lived Asgardians managed to do or say anything (aside from explained-in-story Heimdall and perhaps Lady Sif who is notably absent) or at the very least figure out that the All-Father was completely out-of-character. The Grandmaster being a fop who never once really commands fear of his standing and is just another oddball space authority; Jeff Goldblum at his Jeff Goldblumiest is nice but offers little to me. And, again, Asgard grousing as Hela feels as wanna-be-complex-but-head-scratchingly-evil-to-be-evil as Loki was in the first Thor.

It's definitely the best Thor movie, no question, and it's a great movie. I understand why people have it as one of their favorites and have no intentions of paying word against that. It just... it comes up empty for me is all.

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Raka Putra
The movie where Thor becomes sexy and funny. I love that haircut. Anyway, the cast and settings are more interesting and memorable to me than the previous Thor movies. The story and villain are about average, so, yeah, it can go pretty far but not all the way to the top.

Snake5555555555
I want to like this more so much more than I do. I love Taika Waititis filmography and outside of James Gunn, he does one of the best jobs at making an MCU film that feels like a personal project that fits seamlessly into his work before and after. Yet, even Waititi cant make Thor or his lore a compelling story to tell. Thor in general is one of the biggest messes in the MCU. His supporting cast besides Loki is non-existent and cant settle on any one group if they even bother showing up at all, his villains are either charisma voids or missed oppurtunities, and even Thor himself cant decide if hes the jovial party-hardy dude or stoic warrior of Asgard whos scowling and angry all the time. Its telling that Hulk is the best part of this film and his name isnt even in the title. Hela is an amazing villain in the comics but I cant remember a single thing she really did here besides disintigrate Mjolnir. Jeff Goldblum is also a little far in the ridiculous camp for the MCU but at the same time I did enjoy his performance. I also think the Thor/Loki relationship was really powerful in this film. Its bright colors and off-color humor definitely worked for a lot of people, but for me it left a lot to be desired like all Thor films.

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GavsEvans123
No ranking list would be complete without at least one hot take, and this is sure to be my hottest: Im not a huge fan of Thor: Ragnarok. While I do think its better than Thor: The Dark World, I disagree with the consensus that its the best of the trilogy by far. Thor: The Dark World wasnt well-received, and while the first Thor was considered passable enough, nobody really went crazy for it. Marvel could see that something needed to be done to improve the Thor films and take them to the next level, but their solution was to throw the baby out with the bathwater and rehash Guardians of the Galaxy, with the same quirky sense of humour and the same use of classic licensed songs (even if theyre not pivotal to the plot here the way they are in Guardians of the Galaxy.) The loss of the old hammy, theatrical Thor style sadly makes the MCU a little less unique.

There are two major storylines running in tandem here, first with the return of Hela and her conquest of Asgard, and the second being the Planet Hulk storyline with Thor, Loki and Bruce on Sakaar. These two storylines are so different in tone that it feels like two films in one rather than a cohesive whole, and I would have preferred to have one plot expanded on to really focus on. If we had only the Hela storyline, we could have really seen how Thor feels to see his home apart by Helas tyranny.

Most of Thors supporting cast is gone this time around, and although Janes crew arent missed, the returning Asgardians get done dirty. The Warriors Three are wasted, jobbing even harder than Baron Strucker did in Age of Ultron (at least Hogun lasts a few minutes longer than the other two, to make up for being shafted in the last film), Odin dies early on to kick off the plot, and Sif is gone without explanation. Tying in with my point earlier about developing the Hela plot, I think it would have been a really good idea to have Hela resurrect the Warriors Three as lieutenants for her undead army. Just think of the anguish Thor would feel at not only the deaths of his friends, but them having been corrupted and him being forced to fight them!

On the other hand, Heimdall gets more to do this time as he works to save Asgardian civilians, and then theres Skurge, the best henchman of the MCU. He gets a plot arc and character development, going from comic relief buffoon, to allying with Hela out of self-preservation, becoming increasingly conflicted with his decision, and finally redeeming himself in time to stand alone at Gjallerbru. There are some prominent MCU characters who dont get as much development as he does!

The focus in this film is definitely on humour, and while there are some great moments such as Lokis Hulk-induced PTSD, or Hulk trying to smash Surtur, there are also times when the humour prevents the emotional scenes from having the impact they should. The biggest offender in this regard is the destruction of Asgard, accompanied by Korgs running commentary. The loss of his home should have been Thors equivalent of the fall of SHIELD, but it doesnt feel like it because its done in a humorous, non-serious way. But hey, at least the trailer mash-up with Samurai Jack was cool.

ScepterOfLove
(No write-up.)

VengefulKaelee
About 20-30 minutes too long and too jokey even by the overly quippy standards of the MCU's usual dialogue, though overall certainly an entertaining enough movie. The best thing by far about this movie is Cate Blanchett as Hela in a franchise that's not exactly known for its villains, Blanchett absolutely steals the show and delivers one of the more memorable villain performances of the MCU.

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OUTLIERS:

Eddv - 127
PrinceKaro - 103
Johnbobb - 93
TomNook - 85
Jesse Custer - 84
VengefulKaelee - 84
BetrayedTangy - 81
GavsEvans123 - 79
Paratroopa1 - 74
ScepterOfLove - 73
Lopen - 72
Mr Crispy - 71
Raka Putra - 69
Snake5555555555 - 67
Maniac64 - 65
Inviso - 64
StifledSilence - 63
MetalmindStats - 62
HanOfTheNekos - 58
Corrik7 - 57
Illuminatusbubu - 57
Cybat - 55
XIII Rocks - 55
Mega Mana - 54
Whiskey Nick - 52
Red13n - 50
Anagram - 48
NBIceman - 46
CoolCly - 44
Sheep007 - 43
MetalDK - 42
ZenOfThunder 25

With Karo now holding a ten-point lead over Johnbobb as the second person to hit triple digits in the outlier, it looks unlikely well see much more placement changing at the top of the list. However, down towards the bottom, CoolCly, Sheep and MetalDK are once again neck and neck for second place after the far-ahead Zen.

Spoiler for Number 5: Four movies in the MCU contain the Guardians of the Galaxy. All four made the top five of this ranking. Coincidence? Perhaps. Will they go four-for-four? No. One of those four movies goes out in fifth place.

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i give up
gotg2 is winning the contest

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Woo! I guessed one correctly!

I'm actually going to guess Infinity War next

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Man I should have made a list huh

(This is my number 1, just the perfect blend to me of everything MCU is and is a fun ride throughout)

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Seeing two people say they would've ranked Ragnarok at 1 makes me think, yes, you SHOULD have made lists. It's so glaring that a movie in the final 6 didn't have anyone rank it first.

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lmao where the fuck is guardians 2

i love how we all very obviously at least like it but everyone is still surprised and/or upset that it is placing this high

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Now with that write-up I'm pretty sure Eddv has GotG2 as #1.

And well we're quickly running out of my top picks and we're likely to end with a middling top pick for me.

C'mon #2 you can do it

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About time

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Endgame next

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Lmao

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1. Marvel's The Avengers
2. ???
3. Thor Ragnarok
4. Captain America: Civil War
5. Iron Man
6. ???
7. ???
8. ???
9. Doctor Strange
10. Ant-Man
11. SPIDER-MAN: Far From Home
12. ???
13. Spider-Man: Homecoming
14. Thor 2 Loki is Great
15. Black Panther
16. Thor By Odin's Beard
17. Iron Man 2
18. Captain Marvel
19. Ant-Man and Girl Flying Ant-Man
20. Captain America: The Force Awakens
21. Iron Man 3
22. Incredible Hulk: Default
23. Avengers: Age of Endless Whedon Quips

My remaining ranking with top 5 to go. 2 would be a great winner and 6 would be an alright winner but I have a feeling it's not them.

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1.
2.
3.
4. The Avengers
5.
6. Captain America: Civil War
7. Thor: Ragnarok
8.
9. Avengers 2: Age of Ultron
10. Captain America: The First Avenger
11. Iron Man
12. Spider-Man: Homecoming
13. Iron Man 3
14. Doctor Strange
15. Spider-Man: Far From Home
16. Ant-Man
17. Captain Marvel
18. Ant-Man and the Wasp
19. Black Panther
20. Thor
21. Iron Man 2
22. Thor 2: The Dark World
23. The Incredible Hulk

Normie Iceman with 4 of his top 5 making the overall top 5, and I'd have no beef whatsoever with any of them winning.

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Inviso posted...

Seeing two people say they would've ranked Ragnarok at 1 makes me think, yes, you SHOULD have made lists. It's so glaring that a movie in the final 6 didn't have anyone rank it first.

Honestly I forgot, but also I flip a lot.

(It's more the middle tier stuff I think I could change my mind on a whim pretty easily.)

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Zigzagoon posted...

This is a really good top 6

I would agree, but I think it's a bit too Guardians heavy. I liked the first one, but the second had a few too many flaws for me that I personally would not have it this high. I'd easily replace it with the first Avengers. Then again The Winter Soldier is still in so I can't seriously complain.
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I've only watched like 10 Marvel movies but one of them is GotG2 and major lol at it being top 5. Surely means GotG1 is winning the whole thing.

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yikes

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1. ???
2. ???
3. Spider-Man: Far From Home
4. Thor: Ragnarok
5. ???
6. ???
7. ???
8. Marvel's The Avengers
9. Doctor Strange
10. Ant-Man and the Wasp
11. Iron Man 3
12. Iron Man
13. Ant-Man
14. Black Panther
15. Captain America: The First Avenger
16. Spider-Man: Homecoming
17. Thor: The Dark World
18. Iron Man 2
19. Thor
20. Captain America: Civil War
21. Captain Marvel
22. Avengers: Age of Ultron
23. The Incredible Hulk

1/2 vs. 5/6/7 for me.

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Screw it, Endgame next.

Also, a lot of you really hate fun. I have no clue how Ragnarok ranks below so much considering there's such a large chunk of MCU movies that are boring as well as meaningless.

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1. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
2.
3.
4. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
5.
6. Marvel's The Avengers (2012)
7. Captain America: Civil War (2016)
8. Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
9.
10. Black Panther (2018)
11.
12. Iron Man (2008)
13. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
14. Ant-Man (2015)
15. Doctor Strange (2016)
16. Iron Man 3 (2013)
17. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
18. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
19. Captain Marvel (2019)
20. Thor (2011)
21. Iron Man 2 (2010)
22. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
23. Thor: The Dark World (2013)

looks like im gonna end at the bottom no matter what. it may be mathematically impossible for me not to

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Welp.

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Peter Quill: You put your turd in my bed, I shave you.
Rocket: Oh, it won't be my turd. It'll be Drax's.
Drax: [laughs] I have famously huge turds.

this is from a top 5 MCU movie, according to board 8.

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GotG2 with the well deserved top 5 placement!

Can you believe GOTG2 is the incident that will spark Board 8: Civil War?

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what the hell is with all this hela praise, btw?

yeah, i really wanted to see discount rita repulsa in the MCU.

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Sheep007 posted...

Screw it, Endgame next.

Also, a lot of you really hate fun. I have no clue how Ragnarok ranks below so much considering there's such a large chunk of MCU movies that are boring as well as meaningless.

I just think Thor: Ragnarok succeeds in spite of Thor rather then because of him, and that's kind of shame to me. Like I'll admit Thor is far from being a favorite character even in comics but he does have a very rich lore the MCU just doesn't really know to how to use to its advantage. I still do think it's a fun film though, it's a good movie just in the context of the MCU it ranks a little lower for me.

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