Ranking the MCU Movies by Favorite

One of my favorite Instagram movie accounts, Old Hollywood Swoon, recently has been ranking various groupings of movies.  Movies in a franchise, or by a director, etc.  I have really enjoyed those posts, and they reminded me of when I ranked all of the Alan Ladd movies I had seen by order of favoriteness.  And I thought, why not do more posts like that?

So, I will.  Beginning with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, because I have been re-watching those movies slowly with my teens over the past few months.

Just to be clear: for me, the MCU ends with The Avengers: Endgame (2019).  I watched a couple of movies and Disney+ shows that take place after it and did not like them or where the franchise was heading, so I decided to just stop there.  For me, this is the MCU.  I'm not dissing the later movies, especially since I haven't seen most of them.  But this list won't include later movies and the TV shows.

I haven't reviewed all of these movies, but the ones I've reviewed have their titles linked to my reviews.

1. The Avengers (2012)

2. Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

3. The Avengers: Endgame (2019)

4. Thor (2011)

5. Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)

6. Iron Man (2008)

7. Captain America: Civil War (2016)

8. Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)

9. Captain Marvel (2019)

10. Doctor Strange (2016)

11. Black Panther (2018)

12. The Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

13. The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)

14. Thor: The Dark World (2013)

15. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)

16. Ant-Man (2015)

17. Iron Man 2 (2010)

18. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

19. Iron Man 3 (2013) 

20. Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)

21. Black Widow (2021)

22. Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 (2017)

23. The Incredible Hulk (2008)

Wow.  I've reviewed way more of those than I thought I had.  I should fill in that handful of gaps sometime.

What is your ranking of MCU movies by favorite like?

Ranking Alan Ladd's Movies by Favorite

(This is from Lucky Jordan)

Since I just reviewed one of Alan Ladd's movies very recently, I decided to do something a little different to celebrate his birthday today.  I'm arranging all 32 of Alan's movies that I have seen in order of how well I like them.  I've reviewed 29 of those here, but have watched three others only once each -- I want to watch them a second time before I review them, as is my wont.

Like my Ten Favorite Lists, this is arranged by my own personal preference, not by which of his movies I think is objectively the best.

You might notice that my top ten list is slightly different from the list of my Ten Favorite Alan Ladd Movies that I shared back in 2017.  Part of that is because I simply hadn't yet seen some of these movies when I made that list.  And part of it is because my affections have shifted a little after many rewatches.  I should probably make an updated Ten Favorites list for him!

1. Branded (1950)

2. Shane (1953)

3. And Now Tomorrow (1944)

4. The Blue Dahlia (1946)

5. The Great Gatsby (1949)

6. Whispering Smith (1948)

7. China (1943)

8. Calcutta (1946)

9. Red Mountain (1951)

10. This Gun for Hire (1942)

(On the set of Shane)

Movies 11-20 are all extremely rewatchable, I simply haven't felt pulled to rewatch them quite as often as I have my top ten picks.  But they're all solidly enjoyable, and Alan is lovely in them.

11. Captain Carey, USA (1949)

12. Saigon (1947)

13. The Proud Rebel (1958)

14. Appointment with Danger (1950)

15. Saskatchewan (1954)

16. The Glass Key (1942)

17. Drum Beat (1954)

18. O.S.S. (1946)

19. Santiago (1956)

20. Hell on Frisco Bay (1955)

(With his son David Ladd on the set of Saskatchewan)

Movies 21-25 are all really good too.  I'd say the top twenty-five of my favorites are films that can be enjoyed by basically anyone, whether they're an Alan Ladd fan or not.  They're all-around good stuff.  Movies 26-32 might be a little less so... but I've seen two of those only once, so they might move up on this list after another watching.

21. Chicago Deadline (1949)

22. The Iron Mistress (1952)

23. The Big Land (1957)

24. Two Years Before the Mast (1946)

25. Lucky Jordan (1942)

26. Botany Bay (1952)

27. Guns of the Timberland (1960)

28. Wild Harvest (1947)

29. The Light of Western Stars (1940)

30. Her First Romance (1940)

Alan has minor roles in The Light of Western Stars, Her First Romance, and Paper Bullets, so it's not shocking that I don't put them high on this list.  He's undeniably the star of One Foot in Hell, but if you read my review of it from a week or so ago, you'll see that it's an unpleasant movie.  I can appreciate it, but I don't like it, so it goes at the bottom.

31. Paper Bullets (Gangs, Inc.) (1941)

32. One Foot in Hell (1960)

(This is from Her First Romance)

Happy birthday, Alan Ladd!  <3