Anthony's MCU Binge: Phase Three, Part Two!

The Infinity Saga! 23 interconnected films about super-heroes released by Marvel Studios from 2008 to 2019! Collectively, they cost about five billion dollars to make. The theatrical gross? TWENTY billion! Holy profit margin! Obviously, these flicks don’t need my help getting your attention. Still, the snideness of genteel Apple+ subscribers compelled me to make a reasoned case for their merit as entertainment, starting a MCU Binge on this blog three summers ago. Phase One and Phase Two were watched that year. Phase Three began in 2025 and is wrapping up…now! Why did it take so long? Perfectionism. 100% perfectionism. Nothing else. Wasn’t it Oscar Wilde who said writing movie blurbs is mostly removing a comma in the morning and putting it back in the afternoon? Please remember the painstaking craft involved in this cinematic summation accordingly. My popcorn ratings are explained here.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

This aged way better than I expected. In recollection, Infinity War looked like mere prelude to the big finish, but it’s actually more of a The Empire Strikes Back, with the previous eighteen movies a very long Star Wars: A New Hope. The Guardians Of The Galaxy, the Avengers, Doctor Strange, Black Panther and Spider-Man are stories already in progress, interrupted by the impatient big bad Thanos, who demands his magic McGuffins take cosmic narrative priority. In the comics, Thanos wants to eradicate half of existence so Death (a hooded skeleton with boobies) will give him a kiss on the lips. I should read Jim Starlin’s original Infinity Stuff sometime, and respect those who resent the character’s degothification on screen. But the MCU’s Thanos is a fantastic villain all the same, framing his obsessive contempt and clear cruelty as necessary economic austerity. Josh Brolin is terrifyingly good in the role, giving glimpses of sincere humor and affection without disguising the titan’s psychotic self-certitude and unexamined joy in punishment. His underlings are cliche randos (including a Carrie Coon so absurdly underused - and apparently underpaid - that she didn’t bother returning for Endgame), but they’re just to give the umpteen heroes someone to punch when Thanos isn’t there.

An intergalactic executive, who sees the spheres merely as an unbalanced spreadsheet, is the perfect foil to frame the Marvel mega-franchise as a vibrant celebration of life, full of ensemble comedy, unpacked contradictions, delightfully unique gifts, and displays of selfless heroism. Iron Man and Captain America may not agree on how to best preserve life and liberty, but they know the answer isn’t to preserve less of it. Some heroes get bigger stakes and funnier bits than others (Thor stuck a dull mini-quest featuring Peter Dinklage, another HBO favorite left atypically adrift), but there’s a point to this parade of sassy pluck in comparison to Thanos’ army. And when the snap happens, despite it all…sniff. I’ve gathered kids had an easier time remembering the ashed would return next year, unlike more sentimental adults like myself. Peter Parker telling Tony Stark he’s scared, and then that he’s sorry? If you’re a dad with a son…it gets me like Tom Hanks remembering the end of The Dirty Dozen just thinking about it. “And Richard Jaeckel and Lee Marvin...were sitting on top of this armed personnel carrier...” POPCORN CLASSIC

Ant-Man And The Wasp (2018)

This is one of those sequels where established characters interact with less interesting new ones, the filmmakers hoping we don’t ask why we should give a shit whether Laurence Fishburne’s Ghost or Randall Park’s government or Walton Goggins’ goons get their hands on Hank Pym’s ant-magic. But that’s fine, because the ant-magic is still a joyous visual giggle-fest. This is a world where it’s easy to make small things big, and big things small. Ants are perfect employees, whether it’s a solitary human-sized one wearing your ankle monitor, or hundreds of tiny guys swarming security cameras. Buildings become suitcases, toy cars become real cars and back again, a giant Paul Rudd using a flatbed truck like a kick scooter. I love how Michael Pena’s Luis is just confident as Michael Douglas’ Hank, despite knowing infinitely less. Michelle Pfeiffer doesn’t have much to do as the prodigal mama, but she’s well cast as the rare woman who could make a freak like Douglas fly straight. While Hank Pym’s…colorful…legacy in the comic books isn’t MCU canon, I’d forgive de-aging tech to see a wild ‘70s SHIELD story with these two. (And if you can't place the song in the trailer...) POPCORN CLASSIC.

Captain Marvel (2019)

I never saw this flashback to ‘90s derring-do until now, and it’s possible that plays into my disappointment. Initially, I was very on board with Jude Law and Brie Larson bouncing around in tight space-suits, bantering as soldiers for the relatively dashing alien race the Kree, facing off against the Skrulls, who, when not understandably changing shape, look like green testicles with Spock ears. Brie’s “Vers” lands on earth to escape the Skrulls, meeting a de-aged, two-eyed Nick Fury (a still smooth in the good way Samuel L Jackson). It turns out that “Vers” is short for “Carol Danvers,” and that our hero was a proud Air Force pilot before getting amnesia and superpowers from an Infinity Stone-powered engine created by her undercover Kree mentor (Annette Bening!). Turns out those wrinkly Skrulls are the victims of Kree propaganda, and the newly crowned Captain Marvel quickly puts everything to right.

Indie dramedists Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck (Half Nelson, It’s Kind Of A Funny Story) directed Captain Marvel, which might be why it's oddly muted for a wham-bang space opera (even the score seems reserved). As charismatic as Larson can be, a confident space warrior discovering she’s actually a confident human soldier lacks drama, the film relying on generic montages of female gumption, rather than acting, to convey Danvers’ soul. Ben Mendelsohn, playing Skrull leader Talos, doesn’t seem to have much of an emotional journey either, despite his presence going from sinister to saintly. This is also the first entry in the MCU where the common complaint of actors fighting in front of screen savers is pretty dang valid; the climax is basically our Captain in the matrix, showing she can zap harder than a snide AI (also Annette Bening!). It’s not a great sign when a superhero origin story is mostly enjoyable for how the Oscar-level cast engages with a mysterious cat, but these things often have worse actors and no cats. FOUR BAGS OF POPCORN.

Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Captain Marvel gives the shattered Iron Man a ride home from space, and Ant-Man returns from the Quantum Realm to give the survivors of Infinity War hope to retcon the universe. I hadn’t noticed originally that those survivors include all the original Avengers, their time-trips to find the Infinity Stones in earlier movies allowing the megafranchise OGs a final emotional hurrah. My favorite is Chris Evans’ Captain America cynically exploiting his own disillusionment in The Winter Soldier, before admiring his own ass. Second place goes to Rene Russo and Chris Hemsworth (his Thor a hilarious, if still affecting, portrait of grief) retroactively dignifying the existence of The Dark World. Third goes to Jeremy Renner and Scarlett Johansson, who always gave Archery Dude and Bond Girl more humanity than such super-filler requires. It says a lot that Tony Stark accidentally making peace with his dad, and a Linklater-like rumination on time between Tilda Swinton and Mark Ruffalo, don’t even make the podium.

Unfortunately, current-day Nebula never changed her brain’s wifi password since 2014, giving that year’s Thanos Infinity Saga spoilers, inspiring him to takebacksie the Avengers’ takebacksie. So we get one last enormo-battle in a convenient giant pit, the fight already a bombastic ballet before the long-awaited Superhero Ex Magica, where all the ashed and not ashed get to smile at each other while zapping faceless ogres, as I cry once again like Victor Garber remembering Trini Lopez. When the laser beams and foley work finally subside, the longest emotional arcs of the Infinity Saga reach majestic climaxes. Tony Stark, the tormented CEO who wished he wasn’t smarter than everyone else, finally proves his selflessness. Steve Rogers, the good soldier who learned to question authority, accepts he’s saved the world enough times to earn a sex-filled retirement, his coda the Gallant to The Dark Knight Rises’ Goofus. We can debate whether this is art, or even true cinema. But it’s a hell of a lot more considered, complex and mature than hugging Ewoks for five minutes while ghosts smile at you. POPCORN CLASSIC.

Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

In a wry epilogue to Endgame, all questions about millions suddenly disappearing and reappearing five years later are dealt with smartly and amusingly enough that you’d have to be one resentful super-hater to still be going “but what about people who were in airplanes?” (My guess is the Infinity Gauntlet respects the intent of your wish, and isn’t a monkey’s paw that just plops cruise ship attendees in the ocean if the cruise ship isn’t still there). Peter Parker and his almost all-“blipped” posse go on a school trip across the Atlantic, our friendly neighborhood web-slinger eager to shoot one off at his droll crush MJ. Unless your theatrical eroticism needs include literal thrusting and visible butt, the Tom Holland/Zendaya chemistry here is full of "IRL love, you can tell!!" celebrity magic.

I hadn’t seen this one until now, so it was my first time having feels watching people have feels about the death of Tony Stark. Unfortunately for Peter, Nick Fury wants to get over his grief by forcing this kid to Avenge, while a seemingly ingratiating, vaguely questionable hero (nicely played by the seemingly ingratiating, vaguely questionable Jake Gyllenhaal) may or may not be a better New Tony until Peter isn’t distracted by tingling hormones. People who’ve seen all of Party Hard and all of Curb Your Enthusiasm might get more out of Martin Starr and JB Smoove’s European Vacation, and I’ll be surprised if director Jon Watts, while capable, will reveal Marvel was holding him back. Like Ant-Man & The Wasp, Far From Home is a sequel that would be nothing without playfully thrilling set pieces and established star power. But one of the greatest compliments I can give Tom Holland is that someone compared his Peter to Michael J Fox just days before I watched this. Though rightly shaken by the realization, within minutes I could brush it aside as a valid but not disqualifying precedent. This Spidey can get it. FIVE BAGS OF POPCORN.

The stones are back in place, the post-credit Easter eggs are mostly resolved, and the billions have been made. So let’s tally up this saga! An asterisk means it was my first time watching in full, disqualifying the film from POPCORN CLASSIC status for now.

POPCORN CLASSICS (in chronological order)
Iron Man, The Avengers, Guardians Of The Galaxy, Avengers: Age Of Ultron, Ant-Man, Captain America: Civil War, Doctor Strange, Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Thor: Ragnarok, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Ant-Man And The Wasp, Avengers: Endgame

FIVE BAGS OF POPCORN
Captain America: The First Avenger, Iron Man 3, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Spider-Man: Far From Home*

FOUR BAGS OF POPCORN
Thor, Captain Marvel*

THREE BAGS OF POPCORN
Incredible Hulk*, Iron Man 2, Thor: The Dark World*

Again, that's 23 movies, released over 12 years. 20 of them not pissing me off. 18 I wholeheartedly recommend giving an evening to. 14 have already gotten two viewings from me, and I’m confident they could easily reward another. While I’ll allow my fellow cineastes the opportunity to say “no thanks, I’m an adult,” I think you should allow me that - if you recognize the PG-13 blockbuster as valid form of entertainment - this is an unprecedented feat of Hollywood blockbusting. Despite the rights to Spider-Man, the X-Men, and other key properties thoughtlessly sold off to other companies, MCU majordomo Kevin Feige managed to surmise and sell the core charms of at least a dozen B and C level characters to the world, only one of which even having enjoyed TV success in the past.

When the tentpoles threatened to be swamped in the usual “spend more, get less” sequelitis, Feige hired more eager beavers to direct the solo stuff, gifted TV hands experienced with ensemble work (like Buffy The Vampire Slayer's Joss Whedon and Community's Russo Brothers) handling the team-ups. Where most super-franchises collapsed by the fourth film in a decade, and every other studio’s attempt at a “mega-franchise” devolved into flops and infamy, Marvel spiked a multi-billion dollar football in 2019, one belatedly including a never-more-successful Spider-Man after Sony begged for help. Assuming you aren’t over four-quadrant kablammo, you gotta give it up for this four-quadrant kablammo. And even if every MCU movie after 2019 was a shit-stuffed zeppelin bursting into flames over Epcot Center, you still couldn’t deny this Hollywood saga.

So, you might ask, is every MCU movie after 2019 a shit-stuffed zeppelin? I wouldn’t know, as I’ve only seen Shang-Chi (five bags) and a few of the TV shows. Believe it or not, I can be an adult, too. Will I dare to binge the MCU further? Probably. But considering how long it took me to blurb the glory days, don’t expect me to catch up by Avengers: Doomsday this Christmas, or even Avengers: Secret Wars in 2027. Here’s hoping we aren’t reduced to rationing popcorn by then.

Anthonyisright at gmail dot com is where you can reach my self-crafted AI assistant D-PALMA. They'll decide whether I should be bothered by your comments. Kidding, no AI here, all hyphens are my own.