Arrow Video is bringing the Friday the 13th sequels Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday and Jason X to 4K in May
Last September, the folks at Arrow Video gave the 2009 Friday the 13tha 4K release – and now they’re set to give the same treatment to two earlier entries in the franchise, 1993’s Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday and 2001’s Jason X! Arrow Video will be releasing both of those films on 4K Ultra HD on May 20th, and copies are already available for pre-order on their website. Jason Goes to Hell can be pre-ordered at THIS LINK and Jason X can be pre-ordered HERE.
Directed by Adam Marcus, who worked on the script with Dean Lorey and Jay Huguely, Jason Goes to Hell has the following description: After dying, coming back, taking Manhattan and dying again, Jason Voorhees is now back as a body snatcher in Jason Goes to Hell, an impossibly fun slice of campy supernatural slasher action! Jason Voorhees is finally dead! Or is he? After being blown to smithereens in a sting operation, the infamous killer’s body is taken to the morgue in Youngstown, Ohio. But Jason can’t be killed so easily, and his stillbeating heart possesses the body of the coroner performing his autopsy. The now body-hopping Jason begins hacking and slashing his way back to his stomping ground of Crystal Lake, where his last living relatives, Diana, her daughter Jessica and her newborn baby Stephanie still reside. Only by them can he be truly killed, and only through them can he be reborn, and Jason is determined to return to full power. Can the last remaining Voorheeses survive long enough to finally send Jason to hell for good? Featuring fan favorite Kane Hodder as Jason and spectacular special effects by industry legends Howard Berger, Robert Kurtzman and Greg Nicotero of KNB EFX Group, Jason Goes to Hell is a madcap entry in one of the most lasting and entertaining franchises of all time!
Arrow Video’s 4K release has the following contents: 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of both the Theatrical Cut and the Unrated Cut – Original lossless stereo and DTS-HD 5.1 surround audio on both cuts – Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing on both cuts – Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin – Double-sided foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin – Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by JA Kerswell and original production notes – DISC ONE: THEATRICAL CUT – Introduction to the film by director Adam Marcus – Faces of Death, a brand interview with special makeup effects creator Robert Kurtzman – Undercover Angel, a brand new interview with actor Julie Michaels – Mixing it Up, a brand new interview with composer Harry Manfredini – The Gates of Hell, an archival interview with director Adam Marcus – Jason vs. Terminator, director Adam Marcus on growing up with the Cunninghams – Über-Jason, an archival interview with Kane Hodder on playing Jason – Additional TV footage, with optional commentary by director Adam Marcus – Theatrical trailer and TV spots – Stills, behind-the-scenes and poster galleries – DISC TWO: UNRATED CUT – Brand new audio commentary with film historians Michael Felsher and Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton – Archival audio commentary with director Adam Marcus and author Peter Bracke – Archival audio commentary with director Adam Marcus and screenwriter Dean Lorey
Directed by Jim Isaac from a script written by Todd Farmer, Jason X has the following description: It is now time for Jason Voorhees to boldly go where no serial killer has gone before in Jason X, a spectacular sci-fi twist on the Friday the 13th franchise brought to life by legendary special effects supervisor Jim Isaac (Gremlins, eXistenZ). The year is 2455, humanity has left an overly polluted Earth for a new planet they’ve christened Earth II. A crew of scientists on an expedition to Earth I discover a research facility near Camp Crystal Lake where Jason Voorhees’ body has been cryogenically frozen. They decide to bring him back on their spaceship, but in so doing seal their doom! As they depart once again for the furthest stars, the masked maniac awakens, ready to kill again! With fan favorite Kane Hodder returning as Jason this time sporting a new space age look, and some of the most creative kills in all of slasherdom, Jason X is a rollicking blast from take-off to landing!
Here’s the information on the 4K release: 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) – Original lossless stereo and DTS-HD 5.1 surround audio options – Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing – Introduction to the film by actor Kane Hodder – Brand new audio commentary with film historians Michael Felsher and Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton – Archival audio commentary with writer Todd Farmer and author Peter Bracke – Archival audio commentary with director Jim Isaac, writer Todd Farmer and producer Noel Cunningham – Scoring the Stars, a brand new interview with composer Harry Manfredini – Outta Space: The Making of Jason X, an archival documentary on the making of the film featuring interviews with producers Noel Cunningham and Sean S. Cunningham, actor Kane Hodder and writer Todd Farmer – In Space No One Can Hear You Scream, an archival interview with writer Todd Farmer – Kristi Is a Headbanger, an archival interview with actor Kristi Angus – Jason Rebooted, Sean S. Cunningham on Jason Goes to Hell and Jason X – The Many Lives of Jason Voorhees, an archival documentary on the history of the character – By Any Means Necessary: The Making of Jason X, archival making-of documentary – Cast and crew interviews – Behind-the-scenes footage – Electronic Press Kit – Theatrical trailers and TV spots – Stills, behind-the-scenes and poster galleries – Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin – Double-sided foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gary Pullin – Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Matt Donato and JA Kerswell
Will you be getting Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday and/or Jason X on 4K from Arrow Video? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Orphan Black and The Monkey star Tatiana Maslany will lead Apple’s dark comedy series Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed.
With shows like Severance, Silo, Shrinking, and Slow Horses leading the pack at Apple TV+, the streaming platform looks to add another thoroughbred to the race with Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed, a new dark comedy series starring Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law). Why the horse metaphor? I don’t know. I got 4 hours of sleep last night. Let’s move on.
Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed is a 10-episode series coming to Apple TV+ from creator, showrunner, and executive producer David J. Rosen. Rosen’s latest series focuses on a newly divorced mom (Maslany) who falls down a dangerous rabbit hole of blackmail, murder, and youth soccer. See, now the thumbnail makes sense.
Interestingly, Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed will be directed and executive-produced by David Gordon Green, the director of Universal’s Halloween trilogy and the heartfelt holiday comedy Nutcrackers, which stars Ben Stiller as an unlikely surrogate parent to four siblings. Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed hails from Apple Studios and Counterpart Studios and was developed by Simon Kinberg and Audrey Chon for Genre Films.
Despite appearing in many films and television series since the late 90s, Tatiana Maslany made her loudest blip on Hollywood’s radar with her starring role in Orphan Black. The conspiracy thriller is about a streetwise hustler who is pulled into a compelling mystery after witnessing the suicide of a girl who looks just like her. Maslany plays several versions of herself in the series, highlighting her chameleon-like abilities and adaptability for alternate roles.
Maslany played Sister Alice McKeegan in the Perry Mason series and, despite unpopular opinion, crushed her role as Jennifer Walters / She-Hulk for Marvel’s She-Hulk: Attorney at Law. Reactions to She-Hulk were overly harsh when the 9-episode series launched on Disney+, making Maslany a target for online ridicule. Her latest film, The Monkey, is in theaters now. The darkly comedic horror film from Osgood Perkins (Longlegs) adapts the Stephen King short story. It revolves around twin brothers Bill and Hal, who find their father’s old monkey toy in the attic, and a series of gruesome deaths begins. Before long, the siblings throw the toy away and move on, growing apart over the years. However, the monkey returns, bringing death and dismemberment everywhere it goes. JoBlo’s Chris Bumbray loved The Monkey, and you can read his review here.
Are you excited about Tatiana Maslany taking the lead for Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed on Apple TV+? Let us know in the comments section below.
About the Author
Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.
Focus Features’ Last Breath, starring Woody Harrelson and Simu Liu, plumbs the depths of the box office with a $1M debut.
The domestic box office could be gasping for air this weekend as moviegoers play catch-up for the Sunday Oscars ceremony at home while theater owners try to keep their heads above water. Focus Features, whose Pope-oriented thriller Conclave could give the studio its first Best Picture Oscar this weekend, is keeping its head above water at the box office with the release of Last Breath, which earned $1 million in Thursday previews. The intense underwater feature, starring Woody Harrelson, Simu Liu, and Finn Cole, plumbed the depths of 2,475 theaters on Thursday. However, it could remain in the single digits throughout the weekend.
Make sure you check out our review for Last Breathhere.
Meanwhile, analysts expect Marvel’s latest superhero spectacle, Captain America: brave New World, to earn around $14M, as it remains in the top spot for its third consecutive weekend. Marvel’s political thriller starring Anthony Mackie as Captain America saluted $35.6M in its second week, totaling $148.6M.
Interestingly, Last Breath has a 79% Fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, which piques the interest of audiences who use the aggregate site as a measuring stick for what to see at the theater. Alex Parkinson (River Monsters, Living with Leopards) directs Last Breath from a script he co-wrote with Mitchell LaFortune and David Brooks. The deep sea drama follows the true story of seasoned deep-sea divers battling the raging elements to rescue their crew mate trapped hundreds of feet below the ocean’s surface. Coincidentally, the Seattle, Washington-based indie rock band Deep Sea Diver released their latest album, “Billboard Heart,” on Friday, which is already one of this year’s best records. Listen to the tracks “What Do I Know” and “Emergency” to make your ears happy.
Elsewhere, Osgood Perkins’s latest film, The Monkey, ended its first week with $18.2M at 3,000 theaters after an estimated $838K Thursday preview. The family adventure Paddington in Peru ended its second week with $8.1M worth of marmalade-covered dollars, while Dreamworks Animation’s Dog Man barked at the moon with $7M in its fourth week.
Are you going to the movies this weekend? What do you plan on seeing? Will you tune in for the Oscars this Sunday? What do you think about Last Breath‘s weekend chances at the box office? Let us know in the comments section below.
About the Author
Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.
The horror podcast Impact Winter is getting a Netflix series adaptation, with Francis Lawrence overseeing development
Audible’s horror podcast Impact Winter has already inspired comic books that were published by Skybound, and now Deadline reports that it’s set to get a Netflix series adaptation as well, with director Francis Lawrence, whose credits include Constantine, I Am Legend, multiple Hunger Games movies, and the upcoming Stephen King adaptation The Long Walk, overseeing the development. The aim to make the series something like “30 Days of Night meets The Last of Us.”
Created by Travis Beacham, who has written for the likes of Carnival Row, Pacific Rim, and Clash of the Titans, the Impact Winter podcast plays out on the order of an old radio teleplay like War of the Worlds by Orson Welles.More than a decade after a comet strike has inflicted an “impact winter” and blacked out the sun, vampires have emerged in the darkness to take over what remains of the world. Humans have fled underground, clinging to an existence that feels increasingly doomed. One vampire hunter, a young woman named Darcy, is lured from her bunker beneath an ancient castle by a powerful vampire overlord and thrust into a fight for her people’s future. Deadline notes that “the podcast has three seasons with a fourth coming, and has racked up nearly 6 million subscribers.” As for the story, “the way in is two sisters who find themselves on opposite sides of the war.”
Beacham has written two Impact Winter comic books for Skybound, both of them prequels to the podcast. One, simply called Impact Winter, has the following description: It’s been one year since a comet hit Earth and blotted out the sun. Now, the world is a dark, cold landscape ruled by vampires. In the British countryside, a band of survivors has formed a resistance in the fallout shelter of a medieval castle. Among them is Darcy, a young, headstrong fighter waiting for the chance to prove she can be on the front lines. But when that opportunity comes, Darcy will come face to face with the true horrors of this new world. The other was called Impact Winter: Rook and told this story: Hundreds of years before a comet hit Earth and created a cold, dark world ruled by vampires… A wandering Roman centurion saved a woman from being sacrificed by druids. Honor bound to return Fionnuir to her homeland, Rook embarked on a journey across ancient Britain, where all manner of human and inhuman creatures dwelled… but none more dangerous than the demon he’d sworn himself to.
Are you a fan of Impact Winter, and are you glad to hear that Francis Lawrence is turning it into a series for the Netflix streaming service? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
A Crazy Rich Asians TV series is being developed at Max, with Adele Lim, Jon M. Chu, and Kevin Kwan leading the charge.
After suggesting the “bar is too high” for a Crazy Rich Asians sequel, Jon M. Chu, Adele Lim, and Kevin Kwan are breaking ground on a development room for a Crazy Rich Asians TV series at Max. Lim leads the initiative as the project’s executive producer, writer, and showrunner. Lim co-wrote the screenplay for Crazy Rich Asians alongside Peter Chiarelli. The charming 2018 comedy won several awards in many ceremonies despite being snubbed by the Academy in every category. The film became a roaring success with audiences and helped boost the visibility of Asian-led cinema in the United States.
Max’s Crazy Rich Asians TV series finds Lim executive producing with Wicked director Jon M. Chu, who directed the original film starring Constance Wu, Henry Golding, Michelle Yeoh, Gemma Chan, Awkwafina, Ken Jeong, Jimmy O. Yang, and more. Crazy Rich Asians follows New Yorker Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) as she accompanies her longtime boyfriend, Nick Young (Henry Golding), to his best friend’s wedding in Singapore. Excited about visiting Asia for the first time but nervous about meeting Nick’s family, Rachel is unprepared to learn that Nick has neglected to mention a few key details about his life. Not only is he the scion of one of the country’s wealthiest families, but also one of its most sought-after bachelors. Being on Nick’s arm puts a target on Rachel’s back, with jealous socialites and, worse, Nick’s own disapproving mother (Michelle Yeoh) taking aim.
According to sources close to Deadline, there have been “unofficial conversations” about original cast members possibly returning. However, the project lacks creative direction, so we can only assume primary players would be necessary to carry the story. Deadline‘s sources also say the Crazy Rich Asians TV series does not replace plans for the long-gestating sequel to the 2018 film. We know the TV series will take inspiration from Kwan’s book series, including China Rich Girlfriend, Rich People Problems and Lies and Weddings.
Unsurprisingly, I loved Crazy Rich Asians when it debuted in 2018. It’s a delightful romantic comedy with a killer cast that will leave you in stitches. I’m glad to see Max is bringing Kwan’s beloved property back for a TV series, and there are still plans for a sequel to the original film.
About the Author
Born and raised in New York, then immigrated to Canada, Steve Seigh has been a JoBlo.com editor, columnist, and critic since 2012. He started with Ink & Pixel, a column celebrating the magic and evolution of animation, before launching the companion YouTube series Animation Movies Revisited. He’s also the host of the Talking Comics Podcast, a personality-driven audio show focusing on comic books, film, music, and more. You’ll rarely catch him without headphones on his head and pancakes on his breath.
With more than 15 years and 30 movies behind it, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is still doing alright. Across this cavalcade of almost three dozen movies are a wide variety of iconic superheroes, grand stories, impressive visual tapestries, and the occasional entry that manages to be just “not bad.” We all have our rankings for the very best and the very worst of the Marvel series, but now JoBlo officially has the MCU movies ranked from Iron Man to this year’s Captain America: Brave New World. Here we go, from least to best:
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
Director Taika Waititi harnessed the mighty power of Chris Hemsworth’s sense of humor and blended it with his own colorful sensibilities for the hilarious, character-reviving Thor: Ragnarok. All eyes were on the sequel, Thor: Love and Thunder, especially given it would see the return of Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster (taking on the mantle of Mighty Thor). Sadly,the rebellious, endlessly strange and hilarious vibe of Ragnarok was replaced by a sporadically funny, deeply messy outing that missed many chances to be a worthy follow-up. Waititi hacked a lot of movie out to reach the film’s 119 minute running time, but said everything that was cut was expendable. Most of it had been humorous tangents that wouldn’t have added anything but extra minutes and more laughs. But even the final cut feels like one long humorous tangent, a collection of half-baked ideas that were tossed together just to give Waititi, co-writer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, and the cast excuses to tell some goofy jokes. There are some very dark and serious ideas at the center of the story, but they don’t have much weight because the movie feels ridiculous from beginning to end. Thor’s story is muddy and the character is extremely over-powered, Jane’s story is diluted from her excellent comics run, the pacing and tone are all over the place, and many of the gags are phoned in or hammered to death. Bright spots are an absorbing action scene or two, supporting plays from Tessa Thompson’s Valkyrie, Russell Crowe’s Zeus, and the scene-stealing Christian Bale as villainous, unsettling Gorr. Thor: Love and Thunder is entertaining at times, for sure. But it’s an underwhelming mess overall.
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
You wouldn’t think that a planet-trotting action blockbuster with evil space elves and more of a Thunder God could be a total snooze, and yet, that’s what we got in 2013. Thor: The Dark World is proof that even after succeeding in setting up the MCU with several movies and with the massive hit of The Avengers at its back, Marvel was still capable of missing the mark. On a technical front, there are a few things the sequel to 2011’s Thor had going for it, like some solid costume design, visual effects, and great work from Brian Tyler on the score. Factor in yet another entertaining performance from Tom Hiddleston as Loki, and you have a movie that can at least be a distraction. But should you actually try to pay attention, you won’t get much back for that mental exercise. On a narrative and character development level for the title character (Chris Hemsworth), Dark World is a dud that seems to exist solely to introduce another Infinity Stone, all while wedging in Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster and a villain even an actor like Christopher Eccleston can’t make the least bit interesting.
Eternals (2021)
Marvel’s Eternals was one of the most poorly received films in the MCU, with a critical response that ranked it at the bottom of the franchise on Rotten Tomatoes when it was first released. (It has since been surpassed by the third Ant-Man movie.) But it does give the sense that director Chloe Zhao was really aiming to deliver something special. While other entries succeed on their showmanship and ability to add big, colorful pages to this cinematic compendium, Zhao’s vision here is singular and focused solely on the grand, existential challenges of its team of godly heroes. With a humanist lens and some of the most breathtaking visuals in the whole of the series, Eternals tells a massive, centuries-spanning story of these figures and what it means to love, lose, and embrace their own mortality and that of the humans they’ve sworn to protect. While it does fit in cataclysmic events, the film lives and breathes for the smaller moments. This is the first time we’ve met these characters, but the actors make you care for them, weaving in several heart-wrenching moments and some of the humor these movies are known for. There’s a whole lot of movie here and there’s no arguing it can struggle under that weight, but it also has an individually beautiful vibe.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
With the third Ant-Man film, Marvel and director Peyton Reed decided to shake things up, taking the characters from what had been a small scale series and dropping them into a story that builds up to becoming “an epic sci-fi war movie.” Ant-Man and the Wasp being part of Avengers: Endgame worked, but the sci-fi war scenario doesn’t fit them as well when they’re on their own. There’s some entertaining weirdness on display in this adventure through the Quantum Realm, but the film feels like it’s falling short of its potential – and so does it portrayal of Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors), who is never as interesting or as threatening as he should be, considering that Marvel was, at the time, hoping Kang would become their new Thanos-level villain. He is underwhelming and the end credits glimpse of his many variants is cringe-inducing. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania provides some laughs, but the action isn’t as thrilling as it should be and it’s just not as much fun as its predecessors were. Completely leaving out the Luis character (Michael Peña) was also a big mistake.
Black Widow (2021)
The movie arrived at least a half-decade too late, but Marvel finally got around to giving Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) her own solo adventure… two years after they already killed her off. The story shows what she was up to in between the wars of Civil and Infinity, giving a glimpse into Romanoff’s past and her family, providing the deepest look at the character yet. Black Widow succeeds largely thanks to the exploration of her family life, establishing a cast of characters that are worth coming back to in future movies, especially Florence Pugh’s Yelena. With a great ensemble and a welcome grounded espionage thriller approach, Black Widow does much more right than wrong. But those wrongs – namely a story that stays put for far too long and disappointingly messy action sequences – stop this from being the triumphant solo movie the character had been deserving for years.
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings director Daniel Destin Cretten and his team did the work to make sure this was a world audiences would want to come back to, delivering a martial arts fantasy that’s brought to life by some wonderful visuals, a great ensemble of characters, and some of the very best fight choreography of the series thus far. Like with any origin story of this caliber, the story of the lead character can get lost in all the world-building. That makes the middle act feel a little deflated compared to the rest, dampening some of its impact with lots of MacGuffin talk and exposition. However, Simu Liu is such a capable lead and the world is so refreshingly mesmerizing, it doesn’t always feel like a total hindrance. Then you can tack on great work from veterans Michelle Yeoh, Fala Chen, and Tony Leung – the latter bringing to life a villain with some actual dimension. Even with its first-entry hiccups, Shang-Chi has opened the doors to a fantastic new section of the Marvel world that’s only just beginning to unfold.
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Avengers: Age of Ultron is a messy one. It’s a big, messy second child. The visual effects are all over the place, the set pieces are either appropriately exciting or God-tier noisy, and when there aren’t some of the more compelling character interactions of the whole series, there are some character choices that are just damn questionable. But it also features some of the biggest ideas to come from a Marvel movie yet, with writer/director Joss Whedon using this massive tentpole feature and its super-powered characters to question their ideologies and the very nature of herodom. Truly one of the better MCU villains, Ultron (James Spader) is a sentient AI system that acts as a mirror for the Avengers and forces them to examine their place in the world, one in which humanity is perhaps doomed to fail no matter all of their heroics. He was sort of right, in the end. For a billion-dollar movie that pretty much exists to set things up for the next movies, there’s some deep philosophical stuff going on here that makes it a more fascinating watch than you probably remember it being… although it’s surprisingly dull at times, despite some solid laughs and set pieces. Yes, it is a sloppy chap, but it’s also one of the rare entries that feels like it actually has something to say. It’s up to individual viewers to decide if what it’s saying is interesting.
The Marvels (2023)
Carol Danvers (Captain Marvel, played by Brie Larson), Monica Rambeau (played Teyonah Parris), and Kamala Khan (Ms. Marvel, played by Iman Vellani) all have light-based powers, so maybe it’s appropriate that their team-up film moves along at the speed of light, blasting through an intergalactic adventure so quickly that The Marvels winds up being the shortest film in the MCU, sporting a running time of 105 minutes. Still, the quick pace director Nia DaCosta brought to the film winds up making it feel rather inconsequential, even when it’s dealing with huge stakes. It’s a fun movie that didn’t deserve to be written off as a failure the way it has, but it’s so light and fluffy that it also feels like it would have been right at home as a Disney+ streaming release. Given that it’s a direct follow-up to two Disney+ shows, Ms. Marvel and WandaVision (and it really relies on viewers being familiar with Kamala and Monica from those shows), a streaming release would have been fitting, if not for the massive budget. It’s better than its reputation would suggest, but there’s not much to it.
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
On the whole, Ant-Man and the Wasp is a colorful blast. The cast is hilarious, Paul Rudd is as charming as ever, Evangeline Lilly whips an insane amount of ass, and the shrinking/enlarging gags are a constant riot. As a palette cleanser after the destruction of the Avengers movie that came before it (Infinity War), it’s pure, undemanding Marvel fun. It also needs to be commended for how well it uses its returning characters. Scott (Rudd), Hope (Lilly), and Hank (Michael Douglas) are a team throughout the film, with Hope and Hank both getting even more to do than they did in the previous movie. This sequel also brings back Scott’s reformed criminal associates, who bring the laughs with them. Since Luis (Michael Peña) turned out to be a fan favorite last time, he was wisely given a fair amount of screen time here. The reason why the film ranks in the lower half of the list is because, despite being such an energetic blockbuster that it plays like Marvel-meets-Ferris Bueller, it’s kind of forgettable in the long run. But, it’s okay for the Ant-Man movies to be the quirky, low-key entries that never demand too much from the audience, and it’s fun while it lasts.
Iron Man 2 (2010)
As with a puppy peeing on the sofa, it’s hard to be completely upset with Iron Man 2 simply being the movie it is. Despite teasing big things at the end of the first movie, Marvel still didn’t quite know what they were doing with their film franchise, so with a sequel where they were juggling an expanding cast of characters, exploring heavy-duty subject matter for Tony Stark, and trying to recapture the magic of the first entry, you kind of had to expect it wouldn’t turn out to be amazing. The action sequences are kind of cool, Robert Downey Jr. is just as excellent as Stark, and there is some somewhat important stuff happening to his character that impacts who he is as a person going forward. But then there are all the symptoms of “sequel-itis” on display – such as too many villains who don’t spend enough time actually doing anything (which is a shame, because they’re played by Mickey Rourke and Sam Rockwell), and a bunch of characters wrestling for screen time (returning supporting characters, bad guys, a bigger SHIELD presence, the introduction of Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow, etc.) Iron Man 2 isn’t necessarily a bad movie – and it’s actually a solid summer blockbuster on its own – but compared to the rest of the series it’s definitely an example of how Marvel was still finding its feet.
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Perhaps the reason why The Incredible Hulk often ranks low on viewers’ MCU lists is because, whereas the other 2008 series entry, Iron Man, signified a bold step forward for the genre as a whole, this one feels like a holdover from another era. This crack at Bruce Banner (played here by Edward Norton) and Big Green would feel right at home in the early era of comic book movies that simply play like over-priced action movies. While Norton is fine in the role as a Banner on the run, looking to find a way to control his rage, his journey could have been more exciting, and the supporting cast would have benefited from the quick-and-simple movie taking more breathers for character work. With the exception of the final fight between Abomination (Tim Roth), the spectacle is underwhelming, and director Louis Leterrier’s approach is very by-the-numbers, checking off boxes to deliver a not-terrible Hulk movie, clearing the very low hurdle set by Ang Lee’s take in 2003. The negative reaction to that earlier, much more serious film is part of why this one is so quick and simple. The more heavy psychological drama moments were snipped out during post-production.
Thor (2011)
As far as Shakespearean dramas wrapped up in cosmic summer blockbusters go, 2011’s Thor isn’t too bad. Director Kenneth Branagh did the work of exploring the complex dynamics between the cast of Asgardian gods like Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Loki (Tom Hiddleston), and Odin (Anthony Hopkins), the effects of which continued to impact the characters going forward. He did equally efficient work with the fish-out-of-water, romantic elements between Thor and the Earthbound Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), crafting a sweet, funny story to match the more outlandish elements. But that doesn’t stop Thor from having an uninspired look or from being sluggish in the spectacle realm. Branagh couldn’t quite nail the blockbuster excitement with loud, ham-fisted action sequences fumbling otherwise effective character work. But, on the whole, Thor was a decent if flawed start for the God of Thunder with a cast of characters well established against an unremarkable backdrop.
Doctor Strange (2016)
After getting audiences acquainted with gods and the cosmos, Marvel sent audiences into the realm of the mystic arts with Doctor Strange, and it’s… mostly fun. Yeah, fun is a good summation. Not the kind of mind-blowing, transcendental experience Stephen Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) went through, but, yeah. Inception-level visuals are trippy and exciting, and the individual action within them is often quite clever – making use of all sorts of magical spells and objects. Director Scott Derrickson got the most mileage out of the movie when it came to bringing those magical elements to life and establishing that world, but everything on the character and story front left a lot to be desired. Much of Strange’s arc feels rushed, the romance angle is wanting, Mads Mikkelsen is criminally wasted as the key villain, etc. As an intro to the world of Marvel magic, it’s a bold entry, but for the ground-level stuff that can truly set these movies apart, it’s about as exciting as a birthday party magician pulling pigeons out of a hat.
Captain Marvel (2019)
Brie Larson soared into the Marvel scene in the first entry to feature a woman in the leading role and in the director’s chair (Anna Boden, directing alongside Ryan Fleck), introducing a powerful new character in Carol Danvers/Captain Marvel, who has limitless potential in the series. Her movie as a whole, though, wasn’t quite as marvelous. With a story instantly hindered by giving the character amnesia, much of the plotting feels centered on solving a mystery anyone will have solved from the jump, as well as on the prequel elements for Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s entry into the space game. In essence, it’s trying to be two origin stories at once, and while the aim of giving Danvers a story that finds her discovering her power and independence is admirable, the execution is too messy to be fully masked by the fine performances (Ben Mendelsohn is a great standout as a Skrull alien named Talos) and occasionally cool visuals.
Iron Man 3 (2013)
Director Shane Black (who co-wrote with Drew Pearce) clearly approached the process of making Iron Man 3 with this thought in mind: “Audiences want this, and I’m not giving it to them.” Not only did this apply to the villain, where a twist turned out to be perhaps the most controversial move in the MCU’s history, but to the general approach. The first post-The Avengers movie, it doesn’t cave to what was likely the audience’s expectations at the time, existing to tease future movies or feature a flyby from Thor. It operates entirely on its own terms, taking Tony back to the basics and crafting a colorful espionage story about him discovering that, even after an alien invasion, he’s so much more than just a suit. As for the villain, Guy Pearce understood the assignment as a smarmy corporate sociopath, who smartly uses the media – and Ben Kingsley – to stoke fear (which seems increasingly relevant nowadays) and works into that certain clever, hilarious switcheroo. Low points are “Rhodey”/War Machine (Don Cheadle) and Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) feeling just sort of “there” or being in captivity, but even they aren’t totally wasted, and there’s little to impede this one from becoming one of the franchise’s most undervalued entries.
Ant-Man (2015)
Ant-Man is an undemanding, uniquely fun bit of Marvel entertainment with one of the stronger MCU origin stories, painting a heroic arc for “thief with a heart of gold” Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) while giving dimension to the supporting cast, including Michael Douglas as Ant-Man tech creator Hank Pym, Evangeline Lilly as Hank’s daughter (and Scott’s love interest) Hope van Dyne, and David Dastmalchian, T.I. Harris, and fan favorite Michael Peña as Scott’s thieving friends. Rudd’s Scott has that likable, everyman approach, and his journey from well-meaning cat burglar to superhero puts a spin on the formula, taking us away from genius billionaires, super soldiers, and thunder gods. It’s a superhero origin story that isn’t reliant on big set pieces (albeit the ones here are hilariously clever and gripping), but on how hard you’re rooting for Lang to pull through. Does that make it an entry that manages to stand above the rest? Not really, but everyone involved pulled out all the stops to make this entry one that’s impossible to ever fully write off.
Captain America: Brave New World (2025)
The first film to have Anthony Mackie’s character Sam Wilson in the lead as Captain America will always carry the stigma of having undergone extensive reshoots to drop characters, add characters, and rework some of its major action sequences (and who knows what else?). Despite being the result of many different cooks and having a rough ride through post-production, Captain America: Brave New World does still manage to be an interesting blend of superheroics with a dark, heavy political thriller vibe. So much of the movie involves people having conversations in small, dimly-lit rooms, it’s difficult to imagine younger viewers getting much enjoyment out of it, aside from some of the action moments – like the aerial encounter at Celestial Island and the climax involving Harrison Ford turning into the Red Hulk. Longterm MCU fans, on the other hand, might be glad to see some loose ends from The Incredible Hulk get tied up many years later. Sam Wilson’s Captain America movie could and should have been better (figuring out your script and characters before you start filming would be a great idea), but the film is of a higher quality than its initial reputation would suggest. If it had been released before the era of post-Endgame expectations, it might have gotten a better reception – but, of course, that would be impossible, because it’s a direct follow-up to the events of Endgame (and the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier).
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Yes, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a messy, jumbled, sometimes illogical journey through the MCU multiverse, all with sorcery and witchcraft mixed in just to spice things up. But of all the Marvel movies that make up the middle range of this ranking, the flick from Spider-Man and Evil Dead helmer Sam Raimi is the most welcomely bonkers, in no short order thanks to Raimi going, “Okay, yes to the Marvel formula, but also yes to Scarlet Witch emerging from a gong like the Ring girl with her limbs contorting and rearranging into place.” The horror movie elements are comparable to the likes of his Drag Me to Hell, and sometimes get vicious enough in ways that can shock and even repel longtime viewers, and possibly give young watchers some everlasting nightmares. It’s fascinating; on the one hand, character development and logic buckles under the weight of franchise world-building. On the other, the movie goes to places no other Marvel movie ever has, making it a heavily flawed entry that’s really great to have in the franchise. If they are willing to let Raimi have his villain turn a beloved comic book character into string cheese within minutes of them making their MCU debut, who knows what else is next?
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
What do you do when the actor playing your iconic title character passes away? In most cases, the answer would be to recast. But when Chadwick Boseman lost his secret battle with cancer, Marvel and director Ryan Coogler chose to acknowledge his passing and let the character T’Challa pass away as well. This sequel has a deeply mournful tone, as T’Challa’s loved ones are grieving. For most of the film’s (overly lengthy, at 161 minutes) running time, there is no Black Panther. But with a war over vibranium threatening to break out and an aquatic kingdom headed up by Namor (Tenoch Huerta) – given an interesting Mayan reimagining here – at odds with Wakanda, there’s still need for a Black Panther to step up for the climactic sequence. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is a bit long-winded and overstuffed, and the cinematography is often too dark, but it features some great acting (Angela Bassett won a Golden Globe and earned an Oscar nomination for her performance), some interesting ideas, and stands as a heartfelt tribute to Chadwick Boseman.
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)
To get the good out of the way, Tom Holland is still doing a bang-up job a Peter Parker, and director Jon Watts and his collaborators are still finding those ways to make him that relatable teen we all know and love – especially when it comes to him trying to juggle his personal and superhero lives. To boot, Jake Gyllenhaal rules as Mysterio, one of the better MCU baddies. And yet, when it comes to fully shaping who Parker is as a hero in this world, this movie proves that, even in death, this Spider-Man isn’t doing much without Iron Man. While Homecoming found him handling the presence of Tony Stark while trying to break out and (often failing) to do his own thing, this one is all about who he is in relation to Iron Man. Can he be a hero without him? Can he live up to the pressure of being the “new Iron Man”? Can he responsibly wield the unbelievable power Stark gave to him? Can he, ultimately, step out of Stark’s shadow? Given how Parker had been set up before this with his bond with Stark, Far From Home feels like a bridge that needed crossing because there was no other way around it. Gotta love that ending, though.
Black Panther (2018)
So much of what Black Panther achieves is monumental, we’ll likely be experiencing its impact long after the MCU as a whole gets the reboot treatment. Even with a whole universe of movies at its back, this film operates entirely on its own level. The world of Wakanda is richly drawn out, with director Ryan Coogler and his team injecting incredible amounts of culture and personality into every element. Costumes, art direction, music, makeup, etc. – all these details make simply looking at the movie an invigorating experience from start to finish. Staking its claim in the craft arena, Black Panther also features some of the series’ best storytelling, forcing new king T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman) to confront his father’s legacy and Wakanda’s place in the world, with timely themes masterfully woven in. Alongside T’Challa is an incredible supporting cast including Danai Gurira, Lupita Nyong’o, Winston Duke, Letitia Wright, Daniel Kaluuya, Forest Whitaker, Angela Bassett, Sterling K. Brown, Martin Freeman, Andy Serkis, and more. A standout from the group is Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger, who is one of the MCU’s best villains, filled with purpose and depth and brimming with charm, making him tough to root against. The film is only brought down by some poor visual effects.
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Thor: Ragnarok proves that even if you don’t have the strongest story or make full use of the biggest members of the cast, you can still achieve peak excellence. Marvel mixed with Flash Gordon and the silly mind of director Taika Waititi, Ragnarok looks at everything surrounding the God of Thunder and confronts the reality that it’s all very weird and very strange and we just need to lean into it. This is easily the funniest movie in the MCU by however far the Rainbow Bridge can shoot, as Waititi and his team crafted the most colorful and effortlessly entertaining Thor movie, embracing the kind of comic book sensibilities that pull you into a world of bizarre. As a reinvention of Thor, it’s a huge success, embracing star Chris Hemsworth’s likability and humor, while not making him any less badass and god-like. Then you have Cate Blanchett as the key villain, Jeff Goldblum as The Grandmaster, and Mark Mothersbaugh on the music. There are simply so many levels on which Ragnarok pulled out all the stops, and you can feel that unrestricted sense of fun in every frame and from every cast member, making for an entry that’s easy to watch again and again.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
What is really admirable about James Gunn’s approach to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is that he looked at the sprawling adventure of the first movie and said, “Hey, for this next one, let’s slow it down a bit.” While its early minutes are chaotic, colorful mayhem, much of what follows is Gunn using the runtime to explore the core team, digging into many of their insecurities (especially Rocket and Yondu) and giving them scenes that make the fact that they come together as a team in the end all the more special. These folks are a bunch of assholes and they have stuff to work out, essentially. In that way, it feels like the antithesis to the nature of most blockbusters to “go bigger” the second time around. Gunn’s sequel values the characters over the (albeit stunning) spectacle, favoring small moments against gorgeous backdrops that deepen the characters, and thus makes the audience care more about them. The finale is a bit messy, but by the time the credits roll, it ends up being one of Marvel’s most heartfelt entries.
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Spider-Man: Homecoming is a perfectly fun, well-crafted entry of the MCU. It’s digestible popcorn entertainment, and director Jon Watts and the team of Homecoming smartly took a John Hughes route and put this new Peter Parker smack dab into the madness that is high school. Not only does this set the clock back from Sony’s Amazing Spider-Man fumble, but going back to school makes his origin feel perfect for his character, so eager to make a name for himself as a hero that, like many teenagers, he’s always biting off more than he can chew and having to learn from his mistakes. Of course, his mistakes can have more destructive consequences, but that benefits his arc and makes the final act all the more triumphant as he literally lifts himself out of the rubble. As a result, it plays more like a simple teen comedy that happens to feature superheroes, and in turn, is easy to just pop on because it’s not terribly challenging or trying to do anything unique. While having a modern voice and sense of humor, it owes a lot to simply being in the MCU and having the likes of other series figures around to add a special flavor and make it stand out from past movies. But, what works about it works well. Fit with an on-point, funny ensemble of young and veteran stars, and some standout work from Michael Keaton as one of the MCU’s best villains, Homecoming is a knockout first entry for the Web-Head.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
For a brief period of time, it was looking like director James Gunn wouldn’t have the chance to complete his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy – but thankfully, everything worked out. Sure, another filmmaker could have made a fun Guardians of the Galaxy movie, but they wouldn’t have made something as heartfelt, weird, and simultaneously fun and heart-wrenching at this movie is. With Rocket on the edge of death, we get a deep dive into his origin story as his fellow Guardians seek out his creator, the High Evolutionary (Chukwudi Iwuji does an incredible job making this guy the most detestable villain of the MCU), in hopes of being able to save his life. If Rocket’s lines about “I didn’t ask to get made” in the first movie were already enough to make you teary-eyed, get ready for a rough ride when you head into Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. But it’s worth the journey, because Gunn delivered a beautiful movie and ended his trilogy in the perfect way.
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
No one would have been surprised if Guardians of the Galaxy had been a failure… but there’s a freedom that comes with making a movie that features a talking raccoon who partners with a talking tree who can only say his name, and director James Gunn exploits every opportunity to embrace sci-fi weirdness. Blasting entirely off Earth, Guardians breathes life into Marvel in the cosmos, showing off just how strange and vibrant the galaxy is, loaded with colorful characters, warring factions, and mysterious planets. Coupled with a broad sense of humor and incredible visuals, and constantly delivering on unexpected thrills, Gunn’s vision of an adventure beyond the stars made space fun again. Gunn also understood the characters at its core. Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and Groot (Vin Diesel) are all giant jerks, but that doesn’t make them any less endearing and relatable. Finding that duality and not being afraid to explore it and their eccentricities – all against the backdrop of a stupendous space adventure with a killer soundtrack – is what makes Guardians soar, and its huge heart makes it truly timeless.
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
We knew Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool would be making his way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Disney acquired Fox – but we never would have guessed that he would bring Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine out of retirement and take him along for the ride, or that their team-up film would be a heartfelt tribute to the Marvel Comics adaptations that happened outside of the MCU. Not just the X-Men films that the title characters emerged from, with several actors reprising their roles (Dafne Keen, Aaron Stanford, Tyler Mane, etc.) but also the likes of Fantastic Four (Chris Evans as Johnny Storm!), Daredevil / Elektra (Jennifer Garner as Elektra!), and Blade (Wesley Snipes reprising the role after twenty years!). Channing Tatum even gets his chance to shine as Gambit after struggling to bring his take on the character to the screen for years. Directed by Shawn Levy, Deadpool & Wolverine borrows elements from the Loki TV series to take viewers on a wild multiversal adventure that delivers a lot of laughs, a ton of great fan service, and also has some touching emotional content.
Iron Man (2008)
Sometimes it’s hard to top the first, and even all these years later, the MCU’s first entry remains one of its very best. An indie movie as far as summer blockbusters go, 2008’s Iron Man was assembled by Marvel Studios alone on a massive gamble, hoping audiences would flock to see a relatively unknown character played by a leading man (Robert Downey Jr.) not very well known to mainstream audiences. But both that character and that leading man proved to be aces in the hole. The approach from director Jon Favreau and the team to make it a character piece about a man coming to terms with his life and creations – literally reinventing himself in the process – makes the movie a strong, singular character piece that explores Tony Stark beyond the armor, and gave RDJ more than enough ammo to make the character his own and bring his own charm and complicated past to Stark. Combine that all with a whip-smart sense of humor and super-powered set pieces, Iron Man only feels increasingly timeless as the series moves on without him.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
On the surface, it’s an easy – and even valid – complaint that Avengers: Infinity War is about nothing other than a big purple dude collecting space stones. In a way it is, and Thanos (Josh Brolin) being able to put his collection together so quickly feels like one of the MCU’s bigger plot holes. And yet, that doesn’t diminish the movie from being one of the more impressive feats of blockbuster filmmaking in cinema history. Directors Joe and Anthony Russo juggle the massive cast and equally massive set pieces very well for the most part, getting plenty of great character moments out of them and making Thanos the true main character (with Brolin nailing the big, ominous lug with menacing stature). The scope of the movie is immense, ranging between planets and various teams, seamlessly put together to feel like one massive adventure. It’s filmmaking at some of its most technically grand and, with a suitably epic score from Alan Silvestri, nothing can rob it of being an impressive feast for the eyes and ears. But what aids it beyond the “space rock heist” simplicity is how it makes the case that it’s about all these super-powered people realizing that they aren’t strong enough. All their upgrades and lessons learned are no match for a bigger threat, and seeing them having to operate on the back foot – and ultimately face their biggest failure – gives it more depth than the surface spectacle suggests.
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
During one moment between Peter Parker and Dr. Stephen Strange, the latter admits that, despite everything they’ve been through together, which involves saving the universe, he forgets that Parker is still just a kid. No matter his abilities and all he’s managed to accomplish, he’s still a teenager trying to find time with his girlfriend and get into college. Trying to have it all drives him to make some extreme, possibly fabric-of-time-ruining decisions, and what makes No Way Home a special entry for him and the MCU is how having him deal with the universe-bending fallout of his actions shapes him on a ground level as both someone on the verge of adulthood and a web-slinging superhuman. Yeah, that journey goes through the lands of blatant fan service, meta gags, and Easter Eggs specifically designed to make audiences hoot and holler in crowded theaters, which at times can be both exhausting and undeniably, unforgettably fun. But weathering it all, the team behind the camera and an exceptional Tom Holland ensure that Parker remains the clear focus, using the ghosts of Spidey past not only to make audiences wilt in their chairs but to tell one of the more enriching, human Spider-Man stories to grace the big screen. And yes, it was amazing and spectacular to see Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield back in action.
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) is very much the heart and the soul of the Marvel Universe. Despite a physical upgrade, he was always the kid from Brooklyn who stands up to bullies, no matter how big. That spirit drives his first outing from director Joe Johnston, an old-fashioned adventure filled with pulpy thrills, and one that ages like a fine wine. It’s the kind of heartwarming and inspiring movie that can bring you up when you’re feeling low, reaffirming why we love superheroes in the first place, brimming with romanticized, old school heroism that never feels cloying. The cherry on top of it all is some excellent work from Hayley Atwell, Stanley Tucci, and Hugo Weaving – giving Rogers a love, a mentor, and a villain all worth remembering. Perhaps that traditional approach is what turns some people off from the movie, as they feel it’s a bit too indebted to movies like Indiana Jones or The Rocketeer– but if anything, that makes First Avenger the perfect palette cleanser. There’s a simplicity to the movie’s themes and Rogers himself that – like Richard Donner’s Superman – really speaks to why audiences can love these characters so much and can be a much-needed ray of light when the franchise gets a bit too in the weeds.
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
One of the best things about Captain America: Civil War is that it’s a movie that acknowledges and emphasizes – via the conversations between the characters and some of the action sequences – that these characters are people with defined viewpoints that have evolved over time, and that there’s gravity to the fissure erupting between the team. The airport sequence, Spider-Man, Black Panther, there’s some undeniably cool stuff going on here. But Civil War is at its best when – after a destructive scenario shows these heroes need some accountability – it puts the Avengers under a microscope and explores how they would respond to that event and each other’s actions as a result. There are a lot of strings being pulled, and it can get messy at times, but what’s respectable is how these heroes we’ve come to admire on the big screen don’t feel cheated out of development, which is an impressive achievement, considering how much is going on. If these movies are going to act in part as set up for what comes next, then they should at least use their time to leave an impact and do the work to make it feel like what happens during the runtime matters. Civil War does that, and in often spectacular fashion.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
The First Avenger found Captain America looking at the biggest bully around (Nazis and Hydra) and standing up to them against some awesome set-pieces. The Winter Soldier finds Cap in modern day, and writers Christoper Markus and Stephen McFeely, along with directors Joe and Anthony Russo, asked what kind of villain he would stand up to today. While the answer is still Hydra, the team went in less for red-faced baddies and more for governmental forces via a grounded spy thriller approach – leading to tremendous results. The movie gets great mileage out of centering the story so strongly on Cap as a modern man trying to exist and live up to his own ideals, having to also grapple with his past in the form of Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan). Diverting away from the CGI mayhem of past movies, the kinetic action sequences and tone set it apart and made it compelling in ways Marvel hadn’t been up to that point, and still hasn’t again to this day. The Winter Soldier remains a fan favorite because the filmmakers had the confidence to look at how these movies could be different from how they had been before, which in turn pushed the excellent cast of new and returning actors to some of their best work in the series, resulting in an entry that still stands on its own.
The Avengers (2012)
The first wave of Marvel movies would’ve been nothing more than two great superhero movies and three so-so ones had The Avengers not pulled off the hat trick that it did. On top of being a masterclass of blockbuster entertainment – dishing out laughs and fun set pieces like it has them lying around – writer/director Joss Whedon proved that investment in character always pays off. Avengers works best during the downtime between showdowns, as the quarreling, budding team has to deal with their issues, mostly in ways that find them fighting each other. It doesn’t settle for getting the characters together and meandering through conversations before they can team up, but rather asks what would happen when a man like Tony Stark comes up against a man like Steve Rogers. It’s a movie that lives for the conflict between characters and uses the overcoming of conflict to form the backbone of what makes the team special. As the movie ages, it feels like a nostalgic entry unhampered by an over-abundance of CGI wherever it doesn’t need it. Locations, costumes, and sets feel lived in and authentic, and when the action gets going it’s bright and absorbing, with the perfect number of characters to make sequences feel uniquely epic without being too bloated. It’s as big as Marvel will ever get without ever having to sacrifice a single character in the name of a massive tapestry or story. That makes The Avengers a perfect balance of entertainment and pathos that Thanos would be proud of, and something that Marvel will perhaps never be able to recreate. (Aside from Endgame.)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
There’s no easy way to put the final stamp on 11 years of moviemaking that included well over a dozen movies featuring twice as many superheroes, all while giving some of them the proper sendoff they deserve… but Avengers: Endgame did just that, and in tremendous fashion. If Infinity War is all about chaos and failure, Endgame is all about learning to overcome failure and put everything on the line to make things right. It’s a more methodical movie than one like this should be, and is all the better for it. Thanos is not in the picture as much, and in bringing the story down to the original six Avengers and a few others, the story feels more focused and character-driven, but no less epic in scope. It’s a love letter to everything that came before, and the time travel angle allows for a thrilling adventure wherein the characters are able to look back on where they’ve come from to determine where they’ll go next. Directors the Russos and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely bring home the whole shebang in ways that manage to dazzle, surprise, and break your heart, aided by some series-best performances and countless rousing moments. It’s Marvel at its biggest, most ambitious, and emotionally resonant. Exciting and poignant, this film is a triumph.
How do you feel about this MCU Movies Ranked assembly? Sound off below with your own lists!
A trailer has been released for the horror comedy The Parenting, which is set to reach the Max streaming service in a couple of weeks
The Max streaming service recently announced that they will be releasing the comedy horror film The Parenting on Thursday, March 13th – and with that date just a couple of weeks away, a trailer for The Parenting has arrived online. You can check it out in the embed above.
The film has the following synopsis: A hilariously terrifying comedy, The Parenting follows young couple Rohan and Josh as they plan a perfect weekend getaway in the country to introduce their parents. As tensions begin to flare between the more traditional Sharon and Frank and the laid-back Liddy and Cliff, the families soon realize that their rental – managed by eccentric local Brenda – is haunted by the presence of a 400-year-old poltergeist. When one parent becomes thoroughly possessed, it’s up to the young couple and their meddlesome BFF Sara to unite the families and stop the evil entity once and for all.
An impressive cast was assembled for The Parenting, including Nik Dodani (Twisters), Brandon Flynn (13 Reasons Why), Brian Cox (Succession), Edie Falco (The Sopranos), Lisa Kudrow (Friends), Dean Norris (Breaking Bad), Parker Posey (Lost in Space), and Vivian Bang (Swedish Dicks). Dodani and Flynn take on the roles of Rohan and Josh, with Cox and Falco as Frank and Sharon, Kudrow and Norris as Liddy and Cliff, Posey as the eccentric Brenda, and Bang as meddlesome BFF Sara.
The Parenting was directed by Craig Johnson, whose previous credits include True Adolescents and The Skeleton Twins, from a screenplay written by Kent Sublette, who has many years of Saturday Night Live writing credits to his name and also co-wrote the 2011 dark comedy Lucky.
The film was produced by Chris Bender and Jake Weiner, with Richard Brener, Chris Pan, David Neustadter, and Jared Ian Goldman serving as executive producers. Filming took place back in 2022; the movie has been sitting on a shelf for a while due to the Warner Bros. Discovery shake-up that happened right after The Parenting went into production.
What did you think of the trailer for The Parenting? Will you be watching this movie when it reaches the Max streaming service? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
Jason Statham does what he does best in the first clip from A Working Man, the upcoming action thriller directed by David Ayer.
Amazon MGM Studios has dropped the first clip from A Working Man, the upcoming action thriller featuring Jason Statham doing what he does best: kicking ass and grunting monosyllabically.
The clip finds Levon Cade (Statham) brought before Dutch (Chidi Ajufo), who seems to be sitting upon some type of motorcycle club version of the Iron Throne. Dutch suspects that Cade might be a cop and orders his underlings to go through Cade’s pockets. Cue broken limbs, smashed faces, and all-around mayhem. Check out the clip for yourself above!
“Levon Cade (Statham) left his ‘profession’ behind him to go straight and work in construction,” reads the official synopsis for A Working Man. “He wants to live a simple life and be a good father to his daughter. But when his boss’s teenage daughter Jenny vanishes, he’s called upon to re-employ the skills that made him a legendary figure in the shadowy world of black ops. His hunt for the missing college student takes him deep into the heart of a sinister criminal conspiracy creating a chain reaction that will threaten his new way of life.“
In addition to Statham, A Working Man also stars Michael Peña, David Harbour, Jason Flemyng, Merab Ninidze, Maximilian Osinski, Cokey Falkow, Noemi Gonzalez, Arianna Rivas, Emmett J. Scanlan, and Eve Mauro. The film is based on Chuck Dixon’s novel Levon’s Trade. David Ayer directed the film and also co-wrote the script alongside Sylvester Stallone.
It was recently announced that Statham will be returning for a sequel to The Beekeeper, the action thriller directed by Ayer, which was a surprise hit last year. Ayer won’t be in the director’s chair this time around as he will be busy with Heart of the Beast, a survival thriller starring Brad Pitt and J.K. Simmons. Nobody 2 director Timo Tjahjanto will take the helm this time around, with production set to kick off this fall.
What did you think of the first clip for A Working Man? Will you be watching when it’s released on March 28th?
Haley Joel Osment, RJ Cyler, Justin Kirk, & more have joined the cast of The ‘Burbs, Peacock’s upcoming mystery series starring Keke Palmer.
Variety has reported that Peacock’s upcoming mystery comedy series based on The ‘Burbs has added a few more members to its cast. Haley Joel Osment (Blink Twice), RJ Cyler (The Harder They Fall), Justin Kirk (Weeds), Kyrie McAlpin (Cheaper by the Dozen), Danielle Kennedy (Man on the Inside), and Randy Oglesby (For All Mankind) have all joined The ‘Burbs as recurring guest stars.
Adapted from the 1989 movies of the same name, The ‘Burbs series will be set in the present day and follow “a young couple who have reluctantly relocated to the husband’s childhood home. Their world is upended when a new neighbor moves in across the street bringing old secrets of the cul-de-sac to light, and new deadly threats shatter the illusion of their quiet little neighborhood.” The series will star Keke Palmer (Nope), Jack Whitehall (Jungle Cruise), Julia Duffy (Newhart), Paula Pell (Girls5eva), Mark Proksch (What We Do In The Shadows), and Kapil Talwalkar (Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist).
The series will be filmed in the backlot of Universal Studios Hollywood, which is the same location as the original movie. Seth MacFarlane is onboard as an executive producer alongside Eric Huggins and Aimee Carlson for Fuzzy Door. Briar Grazer, Kristen Zolner, and Natalie Berkus will also executive produce for Imagine Entertainment, which produced the original movie. Celeste Hughey (Dead to Me) will write and executive produce the series.
The original film was directed by Joe Dante and included a great ensemble cast. The film starred Tom Hanks and Carrie Fisher and also featured Bruce Dern, Corey Feldman, Rick Ducommun, Wendy Schaal, Rance Howard, Gale Gordon, Henry Gibson, Courtney Gains, Robert Picardo, and more. Of course, it wouldn’t be a Joe Dante film without an appearance from the late, great Dick Miller. When asked about the series based on his movie, Dante said, “I think my actual comment was, ‘How are they going to make a whole TV series out of that story?’ As opposed to, ‘I want to be the one to do it.’ Good luck to them. It’s kind a one-off story…It’s always nice when things have a shelf life.“
You’re going to want to check out this teaser trailer for Terminator 2D: No Fate, an upcoming retro-style video-game coming to PS4 & PS5.
If you’re anxious to relive the 2D side-scrolling action of your youth, then you’ll be thrilled with Terminator 2D: No Fate, a new officially licensed video game that is a love letter to classic arcade games of the ’80s and ’90s. The game recreates and expands on the story of Terminator 2: Judgment Day and lets you take control of Sarah Connor, John Connor, and the T-800.
You can check out the announcement trailer for Terminator 2D: No Fate below.
That looks kind of awesome. “Our team poured its passion into crafting adrenaline-fueled arcade gameplay and stunning pixel art—the very elements that make games special to us,” said Mike Tucker, design director and programmer at Bitmap Bureau. “As our first licensed game, we wanted to do justice to the Terminator 2 legacy.“
“Our team are massive fans of the film—especially Sarah Connor, one of the greatest action heroes of all time,” Tucker said. “We knew playing as her would be special, so we worked hard to make her playstyle feel authentic. Sarah is agile and reactive, mirroring her paranoia and intense training. She excels in melee combat, sliding into enemies for direct attacks, reflecting her fearlessness. We also gave her a laser sight, inspired by the iconic Miles Dyson scene. It locks the player in place but significantly boosts damage.“
The game also includes a few Future War missions where you take control of John Connor leading the Resistance. “His gameplay emphasizes strategic mid-to-long-range combat, using a plasma rifle, pipe bombs, and three ammo types,” Tucker explained. “He’s less agile than Sarah but can execute a tactical roll to evade attacks.“
Of course, the T-800 is the big player. “We made him move deliberately to emphasize his weight and power, most evident in his devastating shoulder barge. He compensates for slower speed with high durability, taking significant damage before going down,” Tucker said. “The T-800’s segments were a blast to create, especially recreating iconic moments like the Corral bar brawl and the motorcycle escape from the T-1000 in a 2D arcade style.“
Terminator 2D: No Fate will launch on PS5 and PS4 on September 5th.
