It's time for a little palette cleanser after the intensity of Avengers: Age of Ultron. Bring in the first Ant-Man film to hit the Marvel Cinematic Universe. 

In the time following the Battle of Sokovia in Avengers: Age of Ultron, we pick up the story of Scott Lang (Paul Rudd), a felon who has just been released from prison and attempts to stay on the straight and narrow in order to rejoin his family, especially his young daughter Cassie (Abby Ryder Fortson). When his friend Luis (Michael Peña) brings him into a heist at the mansion of technologist Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), Lang is thrust into a world of intrigue, assisting Pym with breaking into his own company and foiling the plans of his former student, Darren Cross (Corey Stoll) who is trying to use Pym's technology to bring military might to the world.

Lang is supported by Pym and his daughter Hope van Dyne (Evangeline Lilly) as he learns how to use the Ant-Man suit and harnesses the power of his mind to lead Pym's army of ants against Cross and his high-tech Yellowjacket suit.

I love that this is a heist film disguised as a superhero film. There are multiple levels of heist in this film and it brings in the standard montage scenes of the heroes getting ready for their mission. There are plenty of tangential references to the other MCU films that came before, including a nice connection to Ultron in the fight scene Lang has with Falcon on the grounds of the new Avengers base we saw at the end of that film. It's just enough to make it truly feel like part of the bigger universe, but not so much that it hits you over the head.

Ant-Man rounded out the two MCU films released in 2015 (with Ultron) and did not receive any Oscar nominations.

While Ant-Man is not 100% critical to understanding the rest of the MCU films that follow, it does help provide some background on the character and set up some of the action for Captain America: Civil War.

​​7 out of 10

Previous: Avengers: Age of Ultron | Next: Captain America: Civil War

Get Ready for Endgame

While the first Captain America film focused on his history during WWII, Winter Soldier picks up the action after The Battle of New York in The Avengers. This is Cap's first appearance in Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, other than a quick cameo in Thor: The Dark World.

Now that Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is making himself comfortable in the 21st century, he makes use of his time cleaning up issues for S.H.I.E.L.D. around the world, at the behest of Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson). He is supported in his missions by S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Natasha Romanov (Scarlett Johansson) and they bicker like old friends, discussing Steve's love life while fighting baddies in the field.

When Fury is killed in a professional hit by a mysterious assassin called The Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) Rogers and Romanov end up as fugitives on the run from S.H.I.E.L.D. which they discover is infested with undercover Hydra operatives. They enlist the help of former military man Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) who obtains a high-tech jetpack with wings that allows him to fly and bring help from the skies for Rogers and team.

Hydra's master plan for world domination involves Project Insight, a S.H.I.E.L.D. initiative built on the back of three new helicarriers created after The Battle of New York. I personally love the idea of the helicarrier, even if in practice it would be incredibly impractical. I'm not sure if the design is really the best way to implement the concept, but they are pretty cool flying over the Washington D.C. skyline in this film.

Overall, this film feels like it is starting to open up the MCU to multiple threats. We went from arms dealers and terrorists in the Iron Man films, to aliens from outer space in Thor and The Avengers, and now come to realize that we can't even trust the people who have been fighting side by side with us for many years. The film feels very real for the time in which it was made, realizing that threats to international peace and security are changing ever faster. It addresses questions of how far any government or organization should be allowed to go to maintain peace and what the true cost of freedom can be in a world with so many threats.

While Captain America: The First Avenger did not receive any Oscar nominations, The Winter Soldier did receive a nomination for Best Visual Effects, losing out to the Christopher Nolan film Interstellar.

As this if the first film in the MCU directed by the brothers Russo, it should be required to help set up the events of Infinity War and Endgame.

​​8 out of 10

Previous: Thor: The Dark World | Next: Guardians of the Galaxy

Get Ready for Endgame

After visiting Earth briefly during the events of The Avengers, Thor returns to the big screen in the second film in his trilogy and the second film of Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

As with Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World picks up after The Avengers. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) returns to Asgard to bring his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) before Odin (Anthony Hopkins) to be judged for his crimes. Loki is imprisoned while on Earth, the team of Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), Darcy (Kat Dennings) and their new intern Ian (Jonathan Howard) discover an empty warehouse in London possessing mysterious wormholes that seem to teleport objects through space.

Foster is teleported to a remote world and encounters a strange force called the Aether, hidden away millennia before to safeguard it. When the Aether joins with her body, it awakens the Dark Elves, eternal foes of Asgard, led by Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) and they begin hunting it and her. Thor returns to Earth and brings Jane with him to Asgard for protection, only having to break out with the help of Loki and face off against Malekith in a battle to save the Nine Realms.

While this is an adventure film like all the rest, this if the first one that has a real feeling of romance. Thor longs to be with Foster throughout the early part of the film and finally gets to bring her home to meet Mom and Dad. While most romantic comedies/dramas don't feature the same level of action as a Marvel film, this one still has some of the key beats of those films. Foster is seen at the beginning of the film on a date with another man and when he calls her phone later in the film, Thor asks who the man is, clearly jealous even though he's a god.

As with the previous Thor film, Thor: The Dark World did not receive any Academy Award nominations.

This film is by no means required viewing before Endgame, except for setting the stage as to where the reality stone is. But that's more of a set-up for Infinity War.

​​7 out of 10

Previous: Iron Man 3 | Next: Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Get Ready for Endgame

The group of Avengers comes together for the first time in this Marvel Cinematic Universe film directed by Joss Whedon. Of course, all is not smooth sailing as infighting and squabbles pop up as a preview of things to come in the series.

With the coming together of the Avengers as a team, the group that backs them up begins to have a much bigger role. Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), and Agent Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) feature prominently in this film, and Coulson especially brings the Avengers team together, albeit in a bit unconventional way.

The film revolves around a plot by Loki (Tom Hiddleston) to use the Tesseract to subjugate planet Earth with the help of an alien race called the Chitauri. He recruits scientist Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) to help him in his plans, taking up residence at the top of Stark Tower in New York City.

Various members of S.H.I.E.L.D. are dispatched to activate the "Avengers Initiative" bringing together the team of superheroes including Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), and Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) to help save the world. Thor arrives and frees a captured Loki in hopes of changing his mind.

The ending of the film is an all out battle royale in and above the streets of New York City as Chitauri aliens attack through a wormhole opened by Loki and his band. The group of differing personalities must come together and use their individual strengths to become an even stronger whole in order to defeat the alien menace.

There are obvious undertones of friendship and trust in this film, as we see Stark not fully trusting Banner and his temper that might transform him into the Hulk. Thor completely distrusts both Rogers and Stark at first, but ultimately must join forces with them against his own brother. We also get a much better glimpse into Fury's character in this film, when he...stretches the truth about a certain event in order to help drive the Avengers together as a team.

Despite the overwhelming scope of this film, Marvel's The Avengers was only able to muster one nomination at the Oscars, for Best Visual Effects, and lost out to the Ang Lee film Life of Pi.

While short for an Avengers film, it still clocks in at nearly two and a half hours. That said, it doesn't feel like an overly long movie. The pace keeps moving, and there is action happening in enough places to keep any one piece from getting stale. This one is definitely on the list of key films to watch before checking out Endgame.

​​8 out of 10

Previous: Captain America: The First Avenger | Next: Iron Man 3

Get Ready for Endgame

In re-watching this film with the benefit of hindsight, I have to admit I was a bit disappointed. Our introduction to Captain America (Chris Evans) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe brings us to WWII and introduces another key element of the battle between good and evil, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s evil counterpart, Hydra.

Don't get me wrong, The First Avenger is a fun film that does an adequate job of introducing an additional critical character to the world. It also gives us background on the Tesseract which contains one of the Infinity Stones that we will start to hear so much about in another few films.

The film stars with Steve Rogers as a scrawny kid who has tried multiple times to sign up for the army during the war, only to be told no every time due to a number of ailments. He tries once more and catches the attention of a former German scientist (Stanley Tucci) who brings him into a new army program testing the development of super soldiers by injecting them with a special serum. Rogers receives the injection and emerges several inches taller, and many muscles larger, immediately taking off to chase down a Nazi/Hyrda agent who sabotages the experiment.

Following his heroics, Rogers joins a traveling revue complete with a chorus line and "Hilter" himself, trying to get the country to pony up for war bonds to fund the fighting. After receiving applause across the country, the show moves to Italy, just miles from the front lines and receives a much different response. Upon hearing that his childhood friend James "Bucky" Barnes (Sebastian Stan) was captured or killed nearby, he takes it on himself to free the prisoners and receives a hero's welcome upon returning to camp.

Other than The Incredible Hulk, this film feels the most "comic-booky" in the series so far. You really get the wartime feel, even if this is not a great "war movie." It could have easily been twenty to thirty minutes longer in order to flesh out some of the story better. Trying to pack the entire backstory of America's greatest hero into a little over two hours is really tight, but with The Avengers needing to come together in the next film, it had to be done here.

Captain America: The First Avenger did not receive any nominations for Academy Awards.

Had I written this review when the film was first released, I probably would have given it a 7 or 8 out of ten. As it is, I can only muster a 6 for the film today.

​​6 out of 10

Previous: Thor | Next: Marvel's The Avengers

Get Ready for Endgame

In what might have been another dud along the lines of The Incredible Hulk, the Marvel Cinematic Universe took a turn away from Earth to introduce us to Thor, the Asgardian God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth), along with his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and trickster brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston).

Thor is the introduction to two additional members of The Avengers, Thor himself along with Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) who has a small part in this film but will expand in upcoming films. We also meet a myriad of supporting characters including Thor's friends from Asgard, Heimdall (Idris Elba), the guardian of Asgard, and the Earthbound friends Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård), and Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings). Unlike The Incredible Hulk, Thor introduces these characters with ease by making them relatable and connecting them to familiar characters Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) and Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson)

The story here is simple enough. Thor is the selected heir to the throne of Asgard but is also brash and searches out a fight with the Frost Giants of Jotunheim after a small band of them break into Asgard even though Odin had forbidden such action. As a reward for his insubordination, Thor is stripped of his powers, along with his hammer Mjölnir, and banished to Earth.

Odin's health takes a turn for the worse and Loki takes the opportunity to seize the throne of Asgard, sending a powerful machine to Earth to eradicate Thor. Thor must learn to accept his limitations in order to be deemed worthy of his hammer and powers once again.

We begin to see the intertwining of the stories between multiple films here with a repeat of the credits scene with Agent Coulson from Iron Man 2. We also find out the full meaning of his being sent to New Mexico and start to see the team of Avengers coming together. 

Thor did not receive any nominations for Academy Awards.

Ultimately, this is a good addition to the MCU and provides a welcome respite from fighting only earthbound foes. The inclusion of more mystical elements helps show that there is way more at stake in the universe than Tony Stark's ego or Bruce Banner's rage.

​​7 out of 10

Previous: Iron Man 2 | Next: Captain America: The First Avenger

Get Ready for Endgame

The Marvel Cinematic Universe gets back on track with the second installment in the trilogy of Iron Man films. Despite the bad guys feeling like alter egos of characters from the first film, the second Iron Man continues to provide intense action, a few doses of comedy, and budding relationships (romantic and professional) that will last through the rest of the MCU films.

We are introduced to several new characters throughout this film, from the vicious Ivan Vanko (Mickey Rourke) and the conniving Justin Hammer (Sam Rockwell) to the Tony Stark's sultry new secretary Natalie Rushman (Scarlett Johansson) who turns out to be none other than Black Widow, a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent assigned by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) to work undercover within Stark Enterprises. It may be the first time we are meeting these individuals, but they all have a realness about them allowing us to easily accept who they are and what motivates them.

​The plot here is simple, and a bit derivative of the first film. Tony is dying because of the arc reactor he build into his chest in the first film. He is back to being the flashy billionaire, only made worse as he faces his mortality and feels powerless to change it.

The two villains feel familiar and basically come across as two sides of the main villain from the first film. Hammer is the billionaire side that really wants to make money selling weapons and will go to just about any length to do so. Vanko on the other hand is the scientist side, dedicated to bringing down Stark by using the technology that their fathers worked on a generation earlier. In Vanko we see what Stark could have become, had he fallen to the "dark side," to mix film metaphors.

We are also introduced to the fact that there is a much larger story at work for the first time in this film. Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) is assigned by Fury to keep Stark under house arrest until such time as he can find a non-lethal compound to power the reactor in his chest. However, once Stark returns from breaking house arrest, Coulson announces that he's being reassigned and heading out to New Mexico, a comment that is explained in the post-credits scene. These scenes have become something of a cult favorite, but they really started hitting their stride with this scene.

Iron Man 2 received one nomination from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, for Best Visual Effects, but was beaten out by Inception.

In the final analysis, Iron Man 2 is a tremendous film and helped propel the MCU forward. I couldn't quite give it a full 10 out of 10 since some of the material felt a bit recycled from the first film, but applaud what it accomplished in setting the tone for the next several films in the series.

​​9 out of 10

Previous: The Incredible Hulk | Next: Thor

Get Ready for Endgame