MCU Phase 3 Review

This blog post aligns with the SAG-AFTRA strike guidelines. None of my content is sponsored or promoting any projects from struck companies. I am also not a member of any union that has been affected by these strikes.

Welcome back to my MCU film reviews where I continue with Phase 3, which is also the final phase of the Infinity Saga. This was a perfect conclusion to the first ten years of Marvel movies as we see stories of some OG characters come to an end, and get introduced to new ones that will carry on the legacy in the future. I expected this review to come out earlier, but this phase had a total of 11 films which is the most amount of movies in any phase so far. Well, if you want to end your saga in a memorable way, you have to go out on a bang. There were a lot of films in this phase that had strong performances that I had to give a full 10/10 rating for more than one. Just like the first two phases, each one is given a rating that is based solely on my opinion. Therefore, please don’t be a troll and bully me if my review is different from yours. Also be sure to check out my other reviews for the first two phases of the MCU.

Captain America: Civil War (2016)

Phase 3 of the MCU jumpstarts in an epic head-to-head conflict with not only Captain America, but several of the Avengers against each other. Honestly, it shouldn’t have had the “Captain America” title, but it still evolved around Steve Rogers a bit based on his future of Captain America at the end of the film. It also gives great introductions to new heroes like Black Panther and Spider-man (making his debut in the MCU in this film) who have their own successful franchises down the line. Honestly, I thought this version of Spider-man was a little young and nerdy after seeing older versions of him from previous Spider-man films, but he is still a young teenager. The one thing that surprised me in this film was when the Black Panther was revealed to be Prince T’challa after seeing him at the UN conference for the first time. Overall, this film is a result of the Avengers having a falling-out from Age of Ultron which had negative consequences for them in Infinity War. Also, be sure to watch Captain America: the Winter Soldier, and Avengers: Age of Ultron prior to seeing this film because I saw this film at my college during orientation weekend, and I was very confused. Again, this is a great start to Phase 3 of the MCU!

Rating: 9/10

Doctor Strange (2016)

After rewatching this movie, I had mixed feelings about it. It was neither good or bad, but wasn’t as great as some Marvel movies. What really stood out was the visual effects used in the film. However, the only thing you need to know about this movie is that it introduces another Infinity Stone. There was also some controversy surrounding this film when one of the characters was subject to whitewashing with Tilda Swinton playing that role that even back then questioned the decision (https://www.insider.com/doctor-strange-tilda-swinton-comments-on-whitewashing-of-her-role-2021-7#:~:text=Tilda%20Swinton%20said%20she%20questioned,that%20he%20regretted%20this%20choice). The film does set up the future of the MCU such as the concept of the multiverse. Honestly, the events of this film could have been avoided had Doctor Strange kept his eyes on the road instead of his phone. In fact, they even made a little PSA statement about texting while driving in the credits. Then again, he wouldn’t be the Doctor Strange we all know based on the multiverse concept since we know what happened in episode 4 of What If? I would have also wished we saw an entire scene of Doctor Strange trying to get back to Kamar-taj using the portal for the first time as a way of adding to his origin story.

Rating: 6/10

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)

Just like the first movie, the sequel to the Guardians franchise did not disappoint. Although it was a little more emotional than the first one, it was a perfect balance between that and the comedic parts. This movie focused more on the Guardians being a family and coming together which turned out to be the great aspects of the movie and the franchise overall. Once again, the list of songs also fit perfectly into the film. In fact, I didn’t say this for the first film, but even though the songs are from the 70s-80s, they have become more popular and familiar thanks to this franchise. Peter Quill’s biological father, Ego, makes a great villain for this film showing the audiences how much of a jerk he is. Now, usually I skip past the end credits of a lot of films, but this one was the most interesting one I ever sat through thanks to the graphics and the multiple post credit scenes sprinkled throughout it. To make this film more amazing, there is even an original song sung by David Hasselhoff with a music video that features most of the cast!

Rating: 9.5/10

Spider-man: Homecoming (2017)

For a while, we didn’t see Spider-man in the MCU due to Sony’s rights, but he finally has his own solo film in the MCU (and this movie finally made it onto Disney+ recently). I like that this film gave us a fresh take on the Peter Parker that we have known. I am glad they didn’t start with his full origin story of him getting bit by a radioactive spider because we have seen that in previous Spider-man films. We got to see him struggle with the responsibilities of being a superhero and a high school student. There were a lot of great moments of Peter being Spider-man in action. I also love how this film continues Tony Stark’s character development of him being a mentor figure to Peter Parker, but I wished there was a moment where they teamed up and fought together. However, this is a Spider-man-centric film where he learns that “with great power comes great responsibility.” They also did a great job of hiding that fact that Micheal Keaton’s character was the father of Liz, which was really a shocking and intense moment. Unfortunately, the post-credit scene makes no sense ever since seeing Vulture end up in Morbius’s universe for some reason.

Rating: 8/10

Thor Ragnarok (2017)

This was a step up from the first two Thor films. There were many memorable moments and some fun ones too, such as the interactions with the different characters like Korg. I especially loved Jeff Goldblum’s character where he wasn't evil, but the way he portrayed it was funny. I also loved Thor’s character development in this one where he steps up and fights for the people of Asgard even if he has to eventually sacrifice the place. Loki also had great character development when he tries to redeem himself by helping his brother which leads into Avengers: Infinity War and the Loki Disney+ series. I wished that the people of Asgard had a happy ending when they were trying to find a new place, but we know what happens at the beginning of Infinity War. Overall, this film took a whole different direction from what we have seen in the Thor franchise so far.

Rating: 9.2/10

Black Panther (2018)

I can’t believe I am saying this about a superhero movie, but it was breathtaking and beautiful in every single detail from the production design to the costumes. Everyone worked together to bring the fictional land of Wakanda to life, while still telling the story of T’Challa taking over the throne. Even the music was amazing just like the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise. It is no wonder why this film was the first superhero film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars, and the first MCU movie to take home 3 of them in costume design, best original score, and best production design. For some reason, it also gives off “The Lion King” vibes. As for the actors, everyone had a lot of great moments not just the lead characters. This film is more emotional in light of Chadwick Boseman’s passing, and I am sad this was his only solo film in the MCU. However, I am impressed with his performance in the other MCU films that he was in.

Rating: 10/10

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

I am just going to cut right to the chase and say, OMG! This is the first time I have seen a superhero movie where the heroes actually lost which is unheard of. I couldn’t help but seeing them take hit after hit while rooting for them to still win. Honestly, this was the first MCU film that had dark tones. It is also the biggest crossover movie, and I loved all the interactions with the different characters. You got Tony Stark and Starlord, Thor and Rocket, and many more like it really worked. This film also showed us all the different sacrifices such as Gamora dying, Vision dying (twice), leading up the the big ending when Thanos snapped his fingers and half of the universe was erased. No wonder this would predict the pandemic of 2020. Speaking of Thanos, he is the most iconic Marvel villain based on his evil intention and actions from this movie. I wished there was a film where we saw an origin story of how he became what he was. Even the end credits made the film sound depressing with the black background and most of the title getting erased. Overall, it was a film full of emotion, action, and excitement which leads up to Avengers Endgame.

Rating: 10/10

Ant-man and the Wasp (2018)

I was actually bored while watching this film most of the time as it wasn’t really special or added anything to the entire Infinity Saga. All it did was show what happened to Scott Lang after Captain America: Civil War. Speaking of which, I never saw any character development of Ant-man in this film compared to the first Ant-man movie. The only unique thing this film did was set up the third Ant-man film, which didn’t do well if you saw it. Also, if you are confused as to why this film comes out after Infinity War, the entire plot takes place before that film except for the post-credits scene. However, it did have those same comedic moments from the previous Ant-man film such as Luis’s narration. I wouldn’t say it is forgettable because we do see some characters come up in future MCU projects like Jimmy Woo in WandaVision, Ghost who will appear in The Thunderbolts, and a grown-up Cassie Lang in Quantumania.

Rating: 7/10

Captain Marvel (2019)

It was at this point that Marvel finally gave us a female-centered superhero movie which wasn’t really common back then. It was a generic story of a female protagonist who goes on a journey to discover who they are, goes through the obstacles and fights their way no matter what. It was really a plot-twist when I found out that villain from GOTG: Vol. 1 showed up in this film, and the Skrulls were actually the good guys (for now). I also liked how we find out the inspiration behind Nick Fury forming the Avengers which was built in Phase 1. It is too bad that Captain Marvel herself, Brie Larson, got some hate when the film was released but still did really well at the box office. (https://collider.com/brie-larson-toxic-marvel-fans-samuel-l-jackson-comments/). I just wished that she was utilized more in Avengers: Endgame which is what this movie partially sets up. With the upcoming sequel, The Marvels, I can’t wait to see what is next for Captain Marvel as she works alongside people that have looked up to her.

Rating: 8.5/10

Avengers Endgame (2019)

I have nothing else to say except that this movie was a iconic event in pop culture starting from word spreading around social media to not spoiling the endgame to watching the movie itself and feeling all the reactions and emotions. It does a great job wrapping up the Infinity Saga with a lot of great callbacks to past films especially during the time heist part. I still get emotional seeing all the blipped superheroes come back through the portals, and the conclusion of this film. Speaking of which, it also did a nice job of wrapping character arcs for some of the characters like Steve Rogers, and Iron Man. There were also some great moments during the final battle that other characters got. I don’t know how the upcoming Avengers films are going to top this phenomenal conclusion, but it was unforgettable. I wished this was the conclusion to Phase 3 and the Infinity Saga, but that did not end up being the case as you can tell by the next film this follows.

Rating: 10/10

Spider-man: Far from Home (2019)

It feels weird but this film is the final film in Phase 3, and in the Infinity Saga overall. I don’t know why this had to come out a few months after Endgame because I assumed everyone in the MCU needed time to recover from all the trauma they endured during the blip. Even before the trailer started, Tom Holland himself had to announce that there were major spoilers to be shown if you haven’t seen it. However, if you look at the entire MCU timeline, I guess it works out. I loved how this film shows Peter Parker learning to move on without his mentor, Tony Stark, as Spider-man. This film did a great job of having the major plot twist of Mysterio being the actual villain. The nightmare illusion sequence was terrifying especially when it shows Iron Man’s corpse, like way too soon! What caught me off guard was when it was revealed during the post-credits scene that Nick Fury and Maria Hill were Skrulls in disguise (only because I didn’t see Captain Marvel before this film at the time). Also, Spider-man is the second superhero to have two films in one phase (other one was Iron Man). Overall, I feel like this movie works as an epilogue for phase 3 and the Infinity Saga.

Rating: 8.5/10

That is my review of Phase 3 MCU movies and in the entire Infinity Saga. There were a lot of movies that I liked, making this the strongest phase in the MCU so far. It brought the Infinity Saga to a close by connecting all the past MCU films to each other (even if some were average). After seeing some of these movies in the theaters, it made me want to go back and rewatch all the them. Now, we move on to the Multiverse saga with phases 4-6. I am not sure if they will stand up to par with the previous phases from the Infinity Saga, but I hope that with a lot of time on making high quality projects, Marvel will once again give us an unforgettable experience. Despite what I said at the very beginning, I won’t be posting Marvel-related content for a while to show my solidarity with the writers and actors until the get a fair deal. However, there is another way I am giving back. If you haven’t been aware, there were huge wildfires that devasted the island of Maui. Many homes and businesses were lost, people are dying/missing, and some even had to jump into the ocean for their safety. In light of this, I will be donating $5 to the Hawaii Community Foundation based on half of the MCU films I watched in this phase. If you would like to support those affected by the wildfires, there are links to some organizations below. There are also other resources on social media where you can also show your support. Please help wherever you can because it is going to take a while for the island to recover.

Organizations

Hawaii Community Foundation

Maui United Way

American Red Cross

Social Media

@ainamomona

@kakoo_haleakala