Top Six Infinity Saga Movies, Ranked
Let's face it, the world needed another list of the Infinity Saga movies, ranked. After all, there's really not a ton of MCU lists out there, right? It just seems they haven't quite invaded culture enough yet.
But how about a list that barely talks about the actual movies that appear on it? Well, that's crazy enough that it just might work...Here are the top six Infinity Saga movies, ranked.
Infinity Saga Movies, Ranked
6: Iron Man
You have to start at the beginning. With Iron Man, Jon Favreau managed to nail down the formula upon which the entire MCU would be based. Make it funny, make the suits look amazing, give us some good action, and nail the casting. Remember, this was a time when most people assumed Robert Downey Jr.’s career was dead. He was such a train wreck, Marvel actually tried to stop Favreau from casting him. Thank God he persisted.
The entire MCU is based on how perfect Robert Downey Jr. is for that role. Does the movie hold up perfectly? Of course not. Not a lot from 2008 is 2020-proof. But Tony’s skeevy character does have one benefit that most skeevy characters from the 2000s do not: eleven movies of character arc. Characters can only change so much over the course of a movie, but seeing Iron Man go from “I’d be willing to lose a few with you” to “I love you 3000” over the course of a decade is a rare treat in the world of movies.
5: Guardians of the Galaxy
To put it simply, it’s insane that Guardians of the Galaxy ever existed. Here’s a bunch of superheroes no one has heard of. One of them is a talking raccoon. They’re on a bunch of planets no one has heard of, fighting a bunch of villains no one has heard of. The director’s biggest movie before this was Slither. The star is Andy from Parks and Rec. And the budget? Over $200 million.
Yet it freaking worked. By far the funniest movie in the MCU (another risky choice for a superhero movie), James Gunn managed to stick the landing and allow the Marvel movies to get weird—to stop playing it safe. A lot of people might be upset that Thor: Ragnarok isn’t on this list. I also hold a special place in my heart for Guardians 2 (Yondu’s funeral would definitely make my top MCU scenes list). But to me, all these movies fit into the same vein, and the tie goes to the veteran.
4: Captain America: Winter Soldier
I like Captain America: The First Avenger a lot, but when you hold up that movie’s Steve Rogers against Iron Man’s Tony Stark, there’s a pretty clear winner. The MCU doesn’t work if we don’t like Captain America as a character—and let's be honest, making people like the most basic hunky white guy of all time isn't easy. Thank God Kevin Feige was a fan of Community.
For anyone confused, brothers Joe and Anthony Russo directed the famous paintball warfare episodes of Community. Feige loved those eps, tapped the bros to direct Captain America: Winter Soldier. A few years later, these two goofy, comedy-nerd directors helmed the highest-grossing movie of all time. I hope the Russos sent Dan Harmon a gift basket.
With Winter Soldier, the Russos (and their writing team, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely) figured out how to make Captain America as exciting as Tony Stark. They gave him a sense of humor. They made his down-to-earth abilities cinematically interesting (the fight choreography in that movie...chef's kiss). And, most importantly, they managed to make this one-dimensional character emotionally conflicted: They brought back his old pal Bucky Barnes as a Terminator-like killing machine.
Honestly, it’s a shame this movie sits so low on the list. A lot of MCU fans would argue it’s the best Marvel movie, and I’d have a hard time disagreeing with them. It’s kind of perfect. But every list is tied to the day it was written, and today, Winter Soldier sits at #4.