Robert Stewart
After my defense of Phase Four, we still find ourselves in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s post-Endgame world. And this will be my last Ranking The Franchise for the MCU for quite some time; Phase Six’s culmination is nowhere in sight in the near future yet! So enjoy this article while it lasts.
After two straight [at least somewhat] extended phases, the MCU returned to the six-movie phase formula that worked so well for them in Phases One and Two. Does the return to form help or hinder, though? I personally thought the longer phases were the most entertaining ones.
Let’s dive right into the list for the MCU Phase Five and see how it goes!
6. Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania
Marvel Studios’ Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania | Official Trailer
► Subscribe to Marvel on YouTube: http://bit.ly/WeO3YJ Follow Marvel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/marvel Like Marvel on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marvel Watch Marvel on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/marvel Reward your Marvel fandom by joining Marvel Insider! Earn points, then redeem for awesome rewards. Terms and conditions apply.
It’s a very weak start for the MCU Phase Five with this, easily one of the worst outings of the entire MCU. Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania is a mess from top to bottom, and that’s even without factoring in Jonathan Majors’ screwing up the entire MCU plan by getting caught up in domestic violence accusations. So now we have just one Kang-related movie, and in it he is defeated by ants. Oops!
The simple heist film joy of the first two Ant-Man movies is long gone here, as instead, we send our heroes into a CGI spectacle realm for virtually the whole picture and turn everything into a generic superhero smash-up. Which, I mean, this is the MCU; I should be fine with generic superhero smash-ups. But the previous two Ant-Mans (Ant-Men?) were so pleasant in their simplicity.
I wish Kathryn Newton’s debut into Marvel lore had been in a better movie. I think she is a high-quality young actress who occasionally picks bad movies (I was not a fan of Lisa Frankenstein, either). Hopefully, she gets a call back for Young Avengers because I think she, like Florence Pugh in Black Widow, could emerge from a lower-quality film and lead to good returns later on.
5. Captain America: Brave New World
Captain America: Brave New World | Official Trailer
Anthony Mackie and Harrison Ford star in Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Brave New World. Watch the brand-new trailer and experience it only in theaters February 14. ► Watch Marvel on Disney+: https://bit.ly/2XyBSIW ► Subscribe to Marvel on YouTube: http://bit.ly/WeO3YJ Follow Marvel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/marvel Like Marvel on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marvel Reward your Marvel fandom by joining Marvel Insider!
Captain America: Brave New World is a movie I actually really liked when I saw it in theaters, but as I have mulled it over since then, it has slid further and further down all rankings (My MCU rankings, my 2025 new release rankings, etc). It definitely did some stuff right, but ultimately, I think it was mostly a generic outing that didn’t do as much as it could have.
What I liked, I thought this was a decent movie for the first half of its runtime. It’s more subtle and less blatantly superheroic. It has shades of Captain America: Winter Soldier where it feels more centered on espionage than on big smash-ups. That changes all up in the second half, but for a while, there’s some real positivity. That and Anthony Mackie giving a strong performance, taking over for Chris Evans; that’s what I liked.
But yeah, the back end of the movie. It’s not that impressive. This DOES end up turning into a big CGI brawl with Red Hulk and a really visually unappealing The Leader character. If they had kept Giancarlo Esposito’s Sidewinder as the primary villain, that would have been a superior choice, but The Leader was a massive letdown.
4. The Marvels
The Marvels | Final Trailer | In Theaters Friday
Be there for the moment that changes everything. Watch the final trailer for #TheMarvels, in theaters this Friday. Get tickets now: https://fandango.com/TheMarvels ► Watch Marvel on Disney+: https://bit.ly/2XyBSIW ► Subscribe to Marvel on YouTube: http://bit.ly/WeO3YJ Follow Marvel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/marvel Like Marvel on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marvel Watch Marvel on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/marvel Reward your Marvel fandom by joining Marvel Insider!
It’s tough to say this in a world where Tom Holland’s Spider-Man still exists, but if Iman Vellani were to become the face of the MCU going forward, I would be 100% okay with that. She is a dynamo of personality and charisma, and I love her iteration of Kamala Khan. She absolutely crushed it in both The Marvels and in Ms. Marvel. I am eagerly awaiting The Young Avengers or whatever they do next with her going forward.
Stop me if you have heard this one before, though, but this is a Marvel movie that has severe limitations in the antagonist department. Again, I’m not even sure what the name of the villain of The Marvels is. Some lady who looked a lot like Ronan the Accuser and stole his evil hammer gimmick. If the nemesis had been stronger, it’s possible this flick could rank higher. And it would unquestionably be higher up my own MCU rankings in total.
I kept mentioning during my rundown of Phase Four how long the movies were, especially the bad ones. In the MCU Phase Five, Marvel started rectifying that, and The Marvels comes in at a tight one hour and forty-five minutes. This movie has a lot of fat cut, and it is a ball, I think.
I love the interplay between Vellani, Brie Larson, and Teyonah Parris. It’s possible that The Marvels is TOO goofy and unserious. It doesn’t seem like it has a lot of long-term legs in the MCU. But it’s an easy, breezy watch.
For more in-depth analysis, click here.
3. Deadpool & Wolverine
Deadpool & Wolverine | Official Trailer | In Theaters July 26
LFG. Watch the new trailer for Marvel Studios’ #DeadpoolAndWolverine. Only in theaters July 26. ► Watch Marvel on Disney+: https://bit.ly/2XyBSIW ► Subscribe to Marvel on YouTube: http://bit.ly/WeO3YJ Follow Marvel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/marvel Like Marvel on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marvel Watch Marvel on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/marvel Reward your Marvel fandom by joining Marvel Insider!
This is one of those weird movies that virtually EVERYONE loved when it first came out, but as time has marched on, you will find more and more folks trashing it in online discussions. I don’t get it; this flick is unabashedly fun. Seeing Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds play off of each other is delightful. They have been working on their chemistry as friends for years, and it is on full display here.
Deadpool & Wolverine is another movie that doesn’t seem like it will have long-term ramifications for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it’s such a joy to watch that maybe that doesn’t matter. And hell, maybe the consequences of this outing are just that Disney was willing to do an R-rated movie and bring Deadpool into proximity of the rest of the MCU characters.
For my money, I prefer both the first two Deadpool movies to this one. But that says more about those pictures than it does this one. I think it’s been a damn good film series so far.
For more in-depth analysis, click here.
2. Thunderbolts*
Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts* | Big Game Trailer | In Theaters May 2
Not super. Not heroes. Not giving up. Watch the new trailer for Marvel Studios’ #Thunderbolts* only in theaters May 2. ► Watch Marvel on Disney+: https://bit.ly/2XyBSIW ► Subscribe to Marvel on YouTube: http://bit.ly/WeO3YJ Follow Marvel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/marvel Like Marvel on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marvel Reward your Marvel fandom by joining Marvel Insider!
It’s certainly controversial to put Thunderbolts* ahead of Deadpool & Wolverine, even with the revisionist history taking hold in the case of the latter.
Deadpool & Wolverine is an enormous financial success that gave out tons of fan service and brought a lot of joy to fans. Thunderbolts* was more of a flop than a lot of people missed. But damn… I just thought Thunderbolts* was so emotionally impactful and enjoyable. It’s not often you are going to see an MCU movie focus on mental health. And even less likely that you see one where the final confrontation is resolved by… a hug. But it was perfect, and it was just what this movie called for.
Secondary characters from all over the MCU’s past–movies and TV shows–were called forth to give this effort their best, and I think all of them delivered, though none more so than Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova. She is a stand-out here, and she delivered a nuanced performance as a warrior struggling with stress, loneliness, and guilt.
This movie is still recent, but I definitely see a world where it’s one of the franchise’s more rewatchable flicks. I have seen it twice now, and I enjoyed it just as much on my second viewing.
1. Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 3
Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 | Official Trailer
It’s time to face the music. Watch the brand-new trailer for Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 that just debuted at Brazil Comic Con. Only in theaters May 5, 2023. ► Watch Marvel on Disney+: https://bit.ly/2XyBSIW ► Subscribe to Marvel on YouTube: http://bit.ly/WeO3YJ Follow Marvel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/marvel Like Marvel on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/marvel Watch Marvel on Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/marvel Reward your Marvel fandom by joining Marvel Insider!
James Gunn hit another home run when he came up to his third at-bat in the MCU. It’s no wonder DC and Warner Bros. snatched him up the second he was available.
Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 3 took its own swing on the Marvel villains problem by giving us a take on the High Evolutionary that was so repugnant and despicable that audiences were going to be basically bloodlusted to see him defeated. Animal abuse is the worst, guys! And noted animal lover Gunn knew that and preyed on our emotions with it.
Volume 3 also hits with one of the better fight sequences in the entire MCU, with the one-cut hallway fight set to the Beastie Boys here. It’s a wonderful scene, even if it’s a CGI orgy. Which, honestly? It could have made it even harder to shoot, so credit to everyone involved there.
You’ve also got such a damn satisfying resolution to the Peter Quill and Gamora story, where the movie does not force the two together when it wouldn’t make sense. Great intuition there for the right decision to be made!
For more in-depth analysis, click here.
That’s it for now, but don’t worry; this series will be back when Phase Six is a wrap! Until then, let us know in the comments: what would your ranking of the MCU Phase Five be?
Before we leave, though, as I was finishing this article, I saw this comment on the ranking of Phase One:
I can’t say I am going to do an entire article on it, but now that everything is wrapped up, I can look back at it all and say my personal ranking is this:
Best phase: Phase Three
Second: Phase Four
Third: Phase One
Fourth: Phase Two
Worst phase: Phase Five
So let me and Mr. Jansen know YOUR rankings of the phases themselves in the comments, too!
Until next time… take care!
