Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Original Review: Rise of the Guardians of Ga’Hoole (four stars)

SHIELD was the connective tissue that made the MCU feel like one thing instead of a bunch of disconnected super hero movies. The organization was so important that by 2014, Marvel had created a tie-in TV show on ABC about SHIELD’s agents. Then The Winter Soldier blew that all up, instantly making Agents of SHIELD a lot better but leaving us asking where do the movies go from here? How would the first new super heroes of Phase Two fit in without having Nick Fury show up to recruit them at the end? Well, don’t worry about it. James Gunn’s here.

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Captain America: The Winter Solider (2014)

Original Review: Cap’s Back (four stars)

Let’s talk about the politics of the MCU. Like a lot of post-9/11 entertainment, the MCU goes out of its way to make it clear that its villains are mercenaries or terrorists who have no genuine loyalty to any nation or ideology. Tony Stark was abducted in Afghanistan, but by a multinational group backed by an American businessman. Vanko was Russian, but his grudge was personal, not political. Captain America fought in WWII, but his enemy was Hydra, a faction of even more evil Nazis that later in the movie splits from Germany altogether. Again and again, the bad guys are simplified down to purely evil world conquerors. So who wouldn’t root for the good guys stopping them?

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Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Original Review: Thor 2 is the Star Wars Sequel We Always Wanted (three and a half stars)

My deliberately provocative (and misleading) title aside, I stand by the main points from my original Thor 2 review: I like the mix of sci-fi and fantasy, the comedy often doesn’t work, it’s cool that Phase Two was Marvel’s attempt at experimenting with genre. Regardless of my praise, there was a palpable apathy toward the film at the time that’s grown in the years since. Thor: The Dark World has become the black sheep of the MCU, the lightning rod for a never-ending deluge of thoughtless think pieces on “super hero fatigue.” Is that reputation deserved? Or does this movie shine when given a second look?

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Iron Man 3 (2013)

Original Review: Heavy Boots of Lead (three and a half stars)

My original review of Iron Man 3 is mostly focused on how off-putting it was that an Iron Man story could endanger the president and not involve the other Avengers or SHIELD right after The Avengers. It was so obvious to me where Steve Rogers or Nick Fury or at least Black Widow would fit into a story with this big a scope. I didn’t know it at the time, but the movie I wanted was Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and now that I do have that, it’s easier to appreciate Iron Man 3 for what it is: the end of Tony Stark’s journey to become a super hero. Plus, it’s not like the movie isn’t extremely tied in with The Avengers.

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Marvel’s The Avengers (2012)

Original Review: Avengers Assembled (four and a half stars)

In their “The Marvel Symphonic Universe” video essay, Every Frame a Painting explains how movies in the MCU tend to play it safe (and to an extent, obvious) with their scores. While this approach has plenty of upsides, it does have the major problem of making the music forgettable. I don’t totally agree with them – I would argue Captain America and The Avengers both have great themes – but I think they were right that phase one of the MCU was such a gamble in and of itself that Marvel avoided risk where they could. This issue goes deeper than the scores, and it’s the reason why seven years later I still can’t give The Avengers, probably my favorite MCU movie, the full five stars… Also star ratings are bullshit.

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