Marvel Cinematic Universe Rewatch: Phase 1 Review

Marvel Cinematic Universe Rewatch: Phase 1 Review

**On my journey to rewatch and rerank the entire MCU, I will be posting overall "Phase" reviews, as well as little thoughts into each film.**

Phase 1 was the beginning of an era. Of an age. There was absolutely nothing like it. There never will be, at least for a long while. What Kevin Feige has done to this universe and what he has built, leading right up to Avengers: Endgame, is truly heroic. 

That's not to say that there were some rough patches along the way. Phase 1 is by no means perfect. In fact, I would argue that, after rewatching all 6 films, they spend the majority of the time trying to find their footing. Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk were barely concerned with setting up any sort of universe, not until their final scenes at least.

But once you got to Iron Man 2, you saw Feige's vision start to appear; you saw how each intricate piece was coming together to build to one thing: The Avengers.

I still maintain that if you see The Avengers, it doesn't work well. I'll discuss more individualized thoughts on each film later, but I think that The Avengers works only with investment, and fresh investment. Seeing 5 films of these characters build up to where they are in 2012 is what makes the film REALLY work. Because, and I was surprised at this, after going through the films in order, there is a real novelty factor associated with seeing the circle shot that we've otherwise seen a hundred times. 

Overall, Phase 1, was really what you would call a groundwork - a foundations. Within these 6 films, you see the development of characters and the settings and the world/universe in which they exist. It's true that these aren't the greatest 6 films in the MCU. I would argue that the three worst films in the MCU come from this phase. But that doesn't take away from the fact that without this, there would be no Avengers. That's for sure.

Iron Man: From Iron Man, to Avengers: Endgame, you can tell that this is a very different movie than what the MCU turned into. What I find most interesting about this film is that it feels so much more grounded. After seeing all the nano-tech and the glossy suits that Tony is able to create, seeing him on the ground in Afghanistan is something very different.

The entire process with building the suits is what really makes the film though. It really shows what kind of person Tony is and how smart, clever, and motivated he is once he realizes what his life's mission is. Granted, the film falls apart in the last fifteen minutes because of Jeff Bridges, who somehow thinks he took a crazy pill and became a lunatic after an hour and a half of being a charismatic businessman. But regardless, the dialogue, the action, the heart, and the performances make this film stand up to the test of time. 

The Incredible Hulk: This film is easily the worst one, in my opinion. If there was ever a film that you could skip out on, it would be this. Edward Norton tries his hardest, but in the end, he can't deliver a compelling performance.

The action and the CGI are mediocre at best, awful at worst. It just feels like such a low budget attempt to make the Hulk interesting, and it didn't work. The CGI for the Hulk is absolutely horrendous and extremely distracting. But regardless, it doesn't do anything blatantly wrong, like Iron Man 2 does (more on that later), and for that, I can't call it a horrible film. 

Iron Man 2: Iron Man 2 is interesting. Overall, it's a bad film. There's absolutely no denying it. The motivations for characters to get to places and events that Jon Favreau wanted to include (for example, the Monaco Grand Prix fight). But despite how awful this film is structurally, the film works because of Robert Downey Jr. There are those who can carry a film, and there are those we THINK carry a film. But RDJ legitimately caries a film that, under any other lead, would've crumpled almost instantaneously. 

Thor: I used to hate this film. I really did. I'm not quite sure why, but I did. Upon rewatch, yes, there are moments where I cringe. There are just bits of Shakespearean dialogue and acting that do not translate well into a world in which flying men in robotic costumes and giant green rage monsters exist.

But for what it's worth, there are some silver linings. The film has a lot of things going for it; some excellent action, SOME nice character moments and motivations, and an interesting mythology and lore. But to me, that's enough to hold up the film. 

Captain America: The First Avenger: The First Avenger is a film that's often forgotten. And I believe that's because it really set the tone for the MCU. It was the film that really established Markus and McFeely, as well as Alan Silvestri and Chris Evans as Marvel mainstays. This film feels the closest out of all six films in line with Infinity War and Endgame. It has a great villain, some great leads, and good action; it just doesn't have the "oomph" that some of the other films do. 

The Avengers: The film that everything built up to, The Avengers is by no means perfect, nor is it my favorite MCU films. But there is something to be said about it being the first. It really, truly is one of the greatest feats ever pulled off in any comic book film. Not only because it tied up five films previous, but because it managed to reintroduce and reintegrate these disparate, different, discordant characters in a film that felt cohesive, structurally strong, and action-packed. This film has everything you might want need. The only one actual knock I have against the film is the dialogue - I feel that at certain points the dialogue gets a little too surreal for its own good, but then again, Joss Whedon has a certain style to him.