MCU Phase 1 Review

Because it is the 10th anniversary of The Avengers, and I am also a fan of the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe), I decided to rewatch all the MCU films and rate each of them on a scale of 10. I have divided them up into the phases, starting with Phase 1. Phase 1 of the MCU basically introduces the entire lineup of the original Avengers through solo films, leading up to their team-up in The Avengers. The line-up includes Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye (Both BW and Hawkeye are two agents working for SHIELD, but only appear as supporting roles and cameos in this phase. However, they eventually get a solo film and Disney Plus show in Phase 4). Now please note, that the ratings I gave for these films is only based on my personal opinion, and some might not agree with it. That is totally fine, but please don’t get upset and take it out here.

Iron Man (2008)

This is the first movie of the MCU and in the Infinity Saga. It did an awesome job of telling the origin story of how Tony Stark went from a selfish, and arrogant billionaire to the more mature and heroic Iron Man. Little did the movie know at the time how much it would make an impact on Marvel Studios’ future movies down the line. The truth is that the entire Infinity Saga revolves around Tony Stark. According to a Youtube video from New Rockstars, Erik Voss discusses how crucial it was for Marvel Studios president, Kevin Feige, to cast RDJ (Robert Downey Jr.) as Iron Man. It is also a great movie to start setting up The Avengers with its post credits scene that introduces Nick Fury who is responsible for creating the team. I enjoyed this movie because of RDJ’s character development of Tony Stark as he grows with the Iron Man persona throughout the entire Infinity Saga.

Rating: 9.3/10

The Incredible Hulk (2008)

This was the only movie out of all the Phase 1 MCU films that is the most forgettable. Aside from the fact that it was distributed by Universal Studios, the story was mostly lackluster. The opening should have been fleshed out as a full prologue scene showing the protagonist’s origin story, rather than having quick flashbacks. Edward Norton’s version of Bruce Banner did not have any emotion or memorable moments as a human. Good thing Marvel decided to go with Mark Ruffalo as the Hulk in future MCU films. Also, the CGI was not impressive especially when showing the Hulk and Abomination. It just didn’t feel like an MCU movie, despite the connections it makes to other movies like Captain America. However, the only good thing about this film is that it introduced a Marvel superhero that was portrayed to be a monster at first, rather than the typical human with powers slapped onto them. Also, some characters do get redeemed for other MCU projects like General Ross (RIP William Hurt) and the Abomination who appeared briefly in Shang-Chi and will appear in the upcoming Disney+ show, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law.

Rating: 3/10

Iron Man 2 (2010)

Iron Man is one of the only two MCU superheroes that has two solo movies in one phase (the other being Spider-Man with his two solo movies in Phase 3). This movie was a strong sequel to its predecessor. It was fast-paced, but in a good way with lots of action sequences. Tony Stark continues his character development taking advice from his father creating a new element for his arc reactor. I also loved the choice of villain for this movie as he was powerful and horrifying carrying the plot forward. We also get introduced to Natasha Romanov, aka, Black Widow, and War Machine. Both characters were given enough scenes to set them for potential future MCU movies like The Avengers. Plus, I enjoyed how the post-credits scene sets up the next Phase 1 film, Thor.

Rating: 9/10

Thor (2011)

This movie introduced us to a different world in the MCU of mythology and the cosmos. The visuals showing Asgard were amazing, especially the Bifrost rainbow bridge. The character that intrigued me the most was not Thor, but his brother the antagonist, Loki. We start to see his character development in this film from being innocent to the mischievous and cunning villain we all know in future MCU movies and shows like The Avengers and Loki. However, the audience can sympathize for Loki as he didn’t become the antagonist on purpose, it was all because of how he was treated growing up. And because the upcoming Thor Love and Thunder movie is releasing around the same time this post gets published, I will say that this film showed a lack of chemistry between Thor and Jane Foster. Hopefully, the fourth Thor installment will explore more of their relationship especially since Jane gets the powers of Thor. Also, what was with Thor’s bleached eyebrows in this movie?

Rating: 8/10

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

Although this movie was released in 2011, it is first on the MCU timeline taking place mostly during WWII (way before the events of Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, and Thor.) The movie has great cinematography capturing classic America as well as showing wartime propaganda through Captain America “performing.” Another stand-out character from this film was Peggy Carter who defied the stereotypes of women during WWII. It is great that her story continues in other projects like Agent Carter and What If? since we don't get to see her story that much in this film (obviously since it is centered around Captain America). The overall origin story of Captain America is great, showing that even though he had no strength in the beginning he never gave up in fighting for his country and the world. It perfectly sets him up to be a strong leader for future movies like The Avengers and other Captain America movies.

Rating: 8.5/10

The Avengers (2012)

This was actually the first MCU movie I saw before getting immersed into all of the MCU films. The one thing I enjoyed about this movie was how a bunch of superheroes with different skills and powers put aside their differences and came together to form the most epic superhero team. Loki (the brother of Thor) was a great choice of villain for the first Avengers film because it continues his character development of being a misunderstood, mischievous, and revenge-seeking character. I also enjoyed the different interactions between different characters like Captain America and Iron Man, and Thor and the Hulk (who redeems himself in this movie) which gets replicated in later crossover MCU films like Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame. Also, the post credits did a great set-up of not only the future villain of the Avengers, but the villain of the entire Infinity Saga, Thanos. Overall, this was a great film to wrap up Phase 1 of the MCU.

Rating: 9.8/10

So that is my full review of all Phase 1 movies of the MCU, and overall, I thought it was a strong start to the MCU and the Infinity saga. These films paved the way to the foreseeable future of Marvel Studios with groundbreaking stories of heroes we can all relate to. Now, I will review the rest of the MCU films from Phases 2,3, and (when it is completed) 4 along with ranking the MCU Disney Plus shows. I hoped you enjoyed my first MCU review, and you can let me know how you would rate MCU Phase 1 films by contacting me here.