The Great MCU Rewatch: Phase 3

4/24/2018

Written by Rick Warren / gfn21

When comparing the third phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the previous groups of movies, it’s hard not to be impressed. When Civil War dropped, Marvel Studios began a hot streak and they haven’t stopped since. Every movie in Phase 3 is excellent, with the introduction of new heroes like Doctor Strange and Black Panther, as well as the return of Marvel’s biggest star: Spider-Man. There is so much greatness in this group of movies, and I’ll be talking in detail about what makes them so great to me in this article.

Captain America: Civil War

Original Score: 4.5/5
Rewatch Score: Same

Civil War was a movie I never expected to see, even with the MCU moving closer and closer towards its comic book roots. Yet, it still happened, and it totally delivered. Captain America: Civil War is wildly different from its comic book counterpart, but in some ways, it’s better. The secret identity plot is out, given that the clear majority of Marvel heroes aren’t hiding that. Spider-Man switching sides and Captain America dying are also left out, along with hundreds of heroes and villains. This Civil War instead offers a more personal plot where both sides are equally understandable as opposed to the books where Tony came off as a villain, and the Team Cap/Team Iron Man argument is still going on today. It has some flaws, such as the Battle of New York being included in the reel of damage done during the team’s fights (the city would have been NUKED without the team) and Zemo’s plan being heavily luck-based, but they’re hard to notice unless you’re searching. The airport fight offers a quick, temporary shift of tone from the rest of the film, something that could be a flaw... but I wouldn’t change it for the world. SPIDER-MAN WAS HOME! They had to do his return the right way, and that meant making him the hero he’s always been. The interaction when Tony goes to recruit him is mesmerizing and shows off some of the best chemistry in the MCU. The airport battle itself is packed with quips, awesome action (Ant-Man and Spider-Man are unforgettable in this fight) and an extremely underrated piece of music that plays when the heroes first clash. Black Panther is introduced in this movie and immediately stands out from the other heroes and has a great moment with Zemo as the movie nears its end. Finally, the best third act in the entire MCU. RDJ delivered his best performance yet in this movie, and the emotion on his face when he finds out Bucky’s secret is chilling. The final fight is as brilliantly choreographed as those from Winter Soldier, and the Russos deliver a perfect end to the best superhero trilogy of all time.

Doctor Strange

Original Score: 4/5
Rewatch Score: Same

Like almost everything else in the MCU, I loved Doctor Strange. It was different from everything else, largely due to Strange’s unique set of powers. The magic offered exciting changes in the environment while fights were going on, and the special effects were terrific. The out-of-body battle in the Astral Plane was cool, as was the fight in the Sanctum Sanctorum. The injury to Strange’s hands is appropriately brutal, and his relationship with Christine is solid. It also features my favorite takedown of a villain in any MCU movie, as the “I’ve come to bargain” sequence is incredibly clever. Still, it has some flaws, and I bet you can guess one. Yep! You did it, gold star for you. The villain is weak. It’s especially disappointing since Mads Mikkelsen is in the role of Kaecilius, and he feels completely wasted with what he must work with. His motivations are extremely thin, and they lack that big push to help us understand his logic in seeking out the Dark Dimension. There’s also a lack of visual variety with his spells, as almost everything is orange. Even Mordo’s motivation for his post-credit switch could have used more work, as he went from not supporting the use of certain magic to hurting those who use too much. Still, even with these large flaws, the movie is a great entry into the MCU. Cumberbatch fills the role perfectly, and the scene where he comes to terms with having killed someone is a glimpse at how great he’ll be as Doctor Strange for years to come.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Original Score: 4.5/5
Rewatch Score: Same

For a long time, the two Guardians films were tied for me. After this rewatch, though, I’ve finally come to a decision on which I prefer; it’s Volume 2. Yes, the movie is a victim of quite a few crappy jokes, like the whole “taserface” exchange, but lines like “trash panda” and “I’m Mary Poppins, ya’ll” still outnumber them. The first Guardians of the Galaxy is still more consistent in its humor and funnier overall, but in virtually every other way, this sequel is stronger than its predecessor. The action is phenomenal, with Rocket taking down the ravagers and the Yondu and Rocket killing spree being two of my favorite sequences in the MCU. The visuals are unreal, with Ego’s planet being breathtakingly beautiful. The soundtrack is as strong as should be expected from a Guardians of the Galaxy property. The movie works especially well because of how well it explores its characters. This movie is filled from beginning to end with character moments, such as Gamora’s encounter with Nebula and Drax and Mantis discussing his family. Best of all is Star-Lord’s story, as his connections with Ego and Yondu make for a dramatic and memorable conclusion. To me, Guardians 2 is one of the best movies in the MCU because it doubles down on the universe’s greatest strength: its characters.

Spider-Man Homecoming

Original Score: 4.5/5
Rewatch Score: Same

It was always going to be hard to be hard to set my bias aside when seeing this movie, as it was something I always dreamed of but thought I wouldn’t see for a long time. Yet, after seeing it seven times, I’m comfortable with its position as one of my favorite MCU films ever. On every rewatch, I find myself blown away by Tom Holland’s performance. In the few scenes he has with RDJ, he stays on his level. With every clumsy mistake he makes (which there are a bunch of) and every lighthearted line that he delivers, he embodies the Spider-Man I grew up with. He doesn’t feel like a guy in his twenties pretending to be a high schooler; Tom Holland feels like Peter Parker. He isn’t just good at one or the other like Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire; he’s great at both. For me, he’s inseparable from the role just like Robert Downey Jr’s Iron Man. This movie is a love letter to Spider-Man and making it a full-on high school movie works perfectly for this younger version of the character. Lines like “honestly, I-I’m shocked” after a battle with Shocker are straight out of the comics and bring a smile to my face every time they come up. Yet this movie is great for more than just getting Spider-Man right. It tries new things, too. Marissa Tomei’s younger, hotter Aunt May is entertaining, and she still does a great job of showing that she cares about Peter. Ned is an awesome character, and even though I was worried about him early on I can’t wait to see more of him. Karen was a brilliant way to work in Spidey’s inner dialogue. Finally, everything with the Vulture. Wow. They took a one-dimensional character and made him into a great villain (one of the MCU’s best, even), and he’s both menacing and relatable throughout the film. The twist involving him came out of nowhere and caught my theater off guard every time I saw the film. The car scene between him and Peter was one of the tensest scenes I’ve seen in a movie, and that’s largely thanks to Michael Keaton’s acting ability. The “Come on, Spider-Man” scene is my favorite moment in any movie, and I’ll always be thankful for that. The only thing I don’t like is the “MJ” bit at the end, as it was intended to be an homage but just ended up being confusing. Knowing what it really is completely ruins that moment for me, and I wish it wasn’t there at all. Despite that, though, this is my favorite Spider-Man movie by far. I can’t wait to see this Spidey grow up and get more experienced as the movies go on.

Thor Ragnarok

Original Score: 4.5/5
Rewatch Score: Same

Ragnarok is so much better than the other two Thor movies that it’s laughable. Speaking of laughing, I did a lot of that in this movie, as it’s easily the funniest movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Korg is hilarious, as are Hemsworth and Ruffalo as Thor and Hulk. Loki is at his best here, and gets some actual character development, while Valkyrie is a promising new character for future films. Jeff Goldblum’s Grandmaster is unbelievably great, because he’s basically playing himself. The action is superior to the other two Thor movies, with an amazing sequence at the beginning and end that show off Thor’s power in the best possible way. The fight with Gladiator Hulk delivers, and Cate Blanchett does a great job playing someone as menacing as Hela. Doctor Strange’s cameo is something you’d expect to see in a comic book, which is perfect. The movie is colorful, fun, and extremely rewatchable. It proudly embraces Taika Waititi’s style and I’m so glad that he took on the job. Still, as with the rest of these movies, there are some flaws. The plot hole of placing Surtur’s head RIGHT NEXT TO the Eternal Flame, in a vault that has already been broken into before, is a move that makes no sense and is too big of an issue to ignore. There’s also a bit too much humor. Not in the sense that it doesn’t land, as nearly every joke is a home run, but in the sense that it distracts from the plot. Serious moments like Odin’s death, Thor’s loss of an eye or the destruction of Asgard are bookended by jokes, and it’s hard to feel the weight of these big moments in Thor’s life. It almost feels like these were two separate movies mashed together... and that’s probably because they were. Based on the original logo, it’s clear that Ragnarok was supposed to be darker and more serious than the other two Thor films, and certainly more so than the Ragnarok we did get. The colorful friend movie seems like it came straight from Waititi, and Thor Ragnarok became a combination of two different concepts. Still, even if the Ragnarok elements aren’t as important as they should be, this movie is tremendous. Thor is in a better place than he’s ever been in the movies, and I can’t wait to see more.

Black Panther

Original Score: 5/5
Rewatch Score: 4.5/5

When I first got out of my Black Panther showing, I was pretty sure that this was the first “flawless” MCU movie. It had the best supporting cast by far, with the hilarious Shuri joining the kind-hearted spy Nakia and warrior Okoye. All three of these women got time to shine, as did Andy Serkis’s Klaue. He was a villain the MCU hadn’t seen yet; he was borderline crazy and was bad because he enjoyed it. Still, as strong as he was, he couldn’t compete with the MCU’s best villain by far: Erik Killmonger. I don’t want to spoil everything that goes down as this movie is the newest of the bunch, but Michael B. Jordan nails his performance and is backed up by brilliant writing. The final act is exciting, and everything works. The closest I had to a complaint was “some of that CGI” was weird, and I was certain that I had no real gripes with Coogler’s masterpiece. After my second rewatch, though, and a conversation with Dean (you know him; Power Up, former Level Up co-host, dreamcrusher, awesome guy) a problem did come up. If you noticed, I haven’t talked about the main character of the movie: Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther/King T’Challa. To be clear, it’s not for something nonsensical, like I think he did a bad job or anything. In fact, it’s the opposite. He was great in every scene he was in, and I loved him as T’Challa. As Black Panther, however? There’s room to improve. The Black Panther is treated as this unstoppable badass, and in many ways, he is, but he never gets a big moment to show that badassery. He almost loses his first fight for the throne and gets beat down in his second. He struggles throughout the entire movie. Yes, he does some damage in the final battle and opening fight scene, but he never has that iconic display of power. There is no “Come on Spider-Man” or “I’m with you to the end of the line”. There’s no wildly cool fight scene like at the end of Ragnarok. Instead, Black Panther gets shot a bunch and fires it back. It’s neat, and essentially God Mode straight out of a video game, but it doesn’t make Black Panther seem skilled enough. T’challa is a terrific leader and Chadwick plays the hell out of him but going down the road I need to see him be more of a superhero. Even with this noteworthy flaw, though, Black Panther is one of the MCU’s best and an absolute must-see for everyone, not just comic book fans.

If you made it through all three of these articles... wow, thank you! This rewatch, combined with the process of writing down all, my thoughts took around 50 hours. I’m happy I did it though, as I love these movies so much and wanted to know how they hold up compared to the great superhero films of today. On top of that, I’m officially ready for Infinity War!

Did you do an MCU rewatch of your own? What are your thoughts on the movies you took another look at? Did your views change? Let me know in the comments down below!

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