The best films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ [VIDEO] was released in UK cinemas last week and it has been a huge hit. Indeed, it currently has a score of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes. While the consensus is that it is not as great as the original ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, the Film is proving to be popular with the public and critics alike. It is the fifteenth installment in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a franchise which has given us some great films. In honour of this latest release, let’s discuss some of the best films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

‘Guardians of the Galaxy’

‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, which was released in 2014, is probably the most unique film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This is because it is not as connected to the other films in the MCU as, for example, ‘Iron Man’ or ‘Captain America: Civil War’ are. ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is also the least serious film in the MCU.

Certainly, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is a very fun, original and fresh film and, because of this, it is many people’s favourite film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The ensemble cast, which includes Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Bradley Cooper and Dave Bautista, are fantastic too. They have great chemistry and provide a lot of laughs in a brilliant film that really separated itself from the other films in the MCU.

A film that achieved a similar feat was…

‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’

‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ was released in 2014 and is the sequel to ‘Captain America: The First Avenger’. One of the films’ greatest achievements was its ability to transcend the MCU. While a superhero film, it is also a political thriller that is very suspenseful which widens the appeal of the film.

Chris Evans stars as Captain America in a film which has a lot of character development. Additionally, it has a villain, played by Robert Redford, that is one of the best in a franchise where the villains are quite underwhelming. There are a lot of great elements in ‘The Winter Soldier’ for you to appreciate. Yet, if you prefer the films in the MCU that are more of an ensemble piece such as ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, then you might prefer…

‘The Avengers’

‘The Avengers’ was released in 2012 and was the last film released in Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

This film was the pay-off for what had been set up in previous films in Phase One such as ‘Iron Man’ and ‘Thor’. Our heroes came together in a film which had a great blend of action and comedy. Joss Whedon set the bar very high for future films in a franchise that went from strength to strength after ‘The Avengers’.

Additionally, this film is littered with great performances from Mark Ruffalo while Robert Downey Jr. was, as always, brilliant. The success of this ensemble film arguably set the foundation for films such as ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ and ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ to succeed to the extent that they did.