Phil’s Best To Worst: Star Wars Movies! (Updated with The Rise Of Skywalker)

Phil’s Best To Worst: Star Wars Movies! (Updated with The Rise Of Skywalker)

by Phil Hobden A Blog

Listed from best to Attack Of The Clones, Phil, of Phil’s Quick Capsule Review, breaks down a film related subject in order of his own personal enjoyment.  This time out: Star Wars Films!

 

The Rules: So I’ve excluded the throwaway 80’s Ewok kids films here as well as the Christmas special as it’s far from cannon.  So just the main 12 Star Wars films and the feature length Clone Wars movie.

——

 

BEST: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Empire Strikes Back is a franchise high point for many reasons but MOSTLY as it’s the Star Wars film Lucas had least to do with, instead putting the film into the hands of Kasdan.  It shows – more mature, darker and edgier it still boasts one of cinemas best twist endings and adds depth to the cut out characters from Star Wars.  Essential.

★★★★★★★★★★

 

——

2. Star Wars: A New Hope

Groundbreaking, epic and genre defining space sagas don’t get much better than this. A lean plot, some edge of your seat action sequences and THAT ending make Star Wars a simply outstanding film.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

3. Star Wars: The Return Of The Jedi

I love Return of The Jedi.  Growing up it’s the Star Wars film I watched the most (it certainly has the best action of any Star Wars films).  Years on the excitement still holds but there are shadows of the failings of the prequels here also (Ewok’s for some but mostly the convoluted plotting, the fact everyone knows or is related to the Skywalkers and the weak dialogue).  Still the final space battle and the lightsabre duel stand out as the franchises two best moments

★★★★★★★★★★

——

4. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Yup that hit the spot.  Rogue One, a war story, a story of hope and overcoming overwhelming odds.  And thats just the making of it.  Yet it works.  It works SO well in fact that it’s jumped to No4 on this list.

★★★★★★★★★★

 

——

5. Star Wars: The Last Jedi 

Delivering a new style of Star Wars film, The Last Jedi makes some bold choices (and some silly ones) to take Star Wars in a fresh new direction that will finally allow it to move past it’s Skywalker focus story and firmly land the legacy on the shoulders of some new characters. It doesn’t all work but when it does it’s some of them most spectacular Star Wars yet!

★★★★★★★★★★

——

6. Star Wars: The Force Awakens  

After the much maligned prequels, the first Star Wars film to be Lucas free felt very much like a homage as it retooled A New Hope’s story and gave us a “Best of” compilation.  That said it was well done, set up an array of exciting new characters and gave us well hell of a twist when you know what happens to you know who.  Not as good as we wanted it to be but a massive step up from the prequels.

★★★★★★★★★★

 

——

7. Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker 

Look The Rise Of Skywalker is a mess for sure, the whole trilogy lacking a cohesive drawn out narrative from the start and this for sure plays out as a massive negative here as JJ struggles to pull it all together.  It also is hampered by Carrie Fisher’s death, something that causes narrative issues.  BUT these points aside it’s a good film – spectacular action sequences, solid twists and turns and some great character work by the core cast.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

8. Solo : A Star Wars Story 

Solo is good.  It’s just a victim of the production issues that plagued it from the start.  The cast are mostly superb (Clarke isn’t sadly) but the film runs out of steam as it tries to hit every Solo touch point referenced in previous Star Wars films.  Good but could have been better

★★★★★★★★★★

 

——

9. Star Wars: The Revenge Of The Sith

The best of a very bad bunch, Sith at least had a darkness to it that the franchise had avoided previously.  It’s still shouldered with terrible acting, a plot that steps on the original trilogy more than it ever needed to and some terrible FX work BUT it’s not Attack of The Clones.

★★★★★★★★★★

 

——

10. Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2005)

From little acorns big Oak Trees grow and that’s very much the case here.  See the Star Wars: the Clone Wars animated film has nuggets of promise that would later be fulfilled by the excellent TV show but the feature length pilot instead gets itself weighed down in trying to please too many people and ends up being a bit of a mess.

★★★★★★★★★★

 

——

11. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace 

Deeply flawed, badly plotted and criminally dull at times this film is saved by some excellent visuals (although dated FX), the pod race and the final duel between Jedi & Sith.  It overplays it’s hand throughout however and the Jedi prove to be rather dull as leading characters.  Less said about Jake Lloyd the better.

★★★★★★★★★★

 

——

WORST: Star Wars: Attack of The Clones 

A real low for the series and one of the worst sequels ever made, Attack of The Clones gets almost nothing right.  If A terrible story that makes no sense, a boring end battle where CGI things shoot CGI things and the blowing of one of Star Wars most talked about moments (The Clone Wars!!!) weren’t enough you also have one of the most wooden central performances ever (helped by some of the worst dialogue ever).  It’s a bad film. And one to be avoided.

★★★★★★★★★★

 

 

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Tarantino’s Best To Worst Films (Inc: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood)

Tarantino’s Best To Worst Films (Inc: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood)

by Phil Hobden Best... Other Cr*p Quick Review

With Once Upon A Time In Hollywood now out, Phil takes a look at the Best To Worst of Quentin Tarantino‘s DIRECTED films to date…  (and yes there are more than 9)

 

Best: Jackie Brown

It’s Tarantino’s best work, restrained like never before (but brutal when it needs to be), it’s a great adatpation of a good book and is cast to perfection with the story & directyion being the highlight not the dialue or the actors.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

2. Pulp Fiction

It’s brilliant and a classic.  The fact I cant watch it after seeing it too much at University isn’t the films fault but whilst it’s flashy and expertly done, I still prefer Jackie Brown overall.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

3. Reservoir Dogs

A brilliant debut, raw and brutal and it still holds up today. Set the tone of Tarantino’s later work except that he has never shown restraint like he does here.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

4. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Baggy for sure and displaying QT at both his best and worst, but Once Upon A Time In Hollywood also feels fresh, interesting and (feet aside) free of a lot of Tarantino’s cliches. Damn good fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

5. Inglorious Bastards

It’s long.  It’s over written. But it has two of the greatest scenes in QT’s arsenal which saves the film from being a lot lower on the list.  Great cast, funny finale.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

6. Death Proof

Yup hated by most , I kinda like Tarantino’s grind house entry.  It’s raw, over long (as most of his post Pulp Fiction films tend to be) but at least it felt genuine.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

7. Django Unchained

Loved this on it’s release but in all honesty I’ll never watch it again.  Full of excess and flabbiness, Django is a 100 minute film stuck in the body of a 3 hour self proclaimed epic. And don’t even get me started on QT’s cameo…

★★★★★★★★★★

——

8. Kill Bill Volume 2

Kill Bill Volume 1 was more fun, but I liked Tarantino’s first western more than his actual Westerns. The ending was a kick in the face to others but I liked ho wit played out.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

9. Four Rooms

Directing on of the story segments (and the second best), it’s fun if totally forgettable Yet I’ve watched it much more than his later work and for the last time it showed that with restrictions Tarantino can deliver.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

10. Kill Bill Volume 1

It’s fine and the action is well handled but it’s overlong and spends FAR too much time paying homage and far too less time kicking behind.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

Worst : The Hateful Eight

Another film that could have been half as long and twice as good, Tarantino’s need for a strong editor and better producer are never more apparent than they are here.

★★★★★★★★★★

 

 

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Once Upon A Time In Hollywood: Tarantino’s Best To Worst Films (So Far!)

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood: Tarantino’s Best To Worst Films (So Far!)

by Phil Hobden Best... Other Cr*p Quick Review

With Once Upon A Time In Hollywood out this week, Phil takes a look at the Best To Worst of Quentin Tarantino‘s DIRECTED films to date…  

 

Best: Jackie Brown

It’s Tarantino’s best work, restrained like never before (but brutal when it needs to be), it’s a great adatpation of a good book and is cast to perfection with the story & directyion being the highlight not the dialue or the actors.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

2. Pulp Fiction

It’s brilliant and a classic.  The fact I cant watch it after seeing it too much at University isn’t the films fault but whilst it’s flashy and expertly done, I still prefer Jackie Brown overall.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

3. Reservoir Dogs

A brilliant debut, raw and brutal and it still holds up today. Set the tone of Tarantino’s later work except that he has never shown restraint like he does here.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

4. Inglorious Bastards

It’s long.  It’s over written. But it has two of the greatest scenes in QT’s arsenal which saves the film from being a lot lower on the list.  Great cast, funny finale.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

5. Death Proof

Yup hated by most , I kinda like Tarantino’s grind house entry.  It’s raw, over long (as most of his post Pulp Fiction films tend to be) but at least it felt genuine.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

6. Django Unchained

Loved this on it’s release but in all honesty I’ll never watch it again.  Full of excess and flabbiness, Django is a 100 minute film stuck in the body of a 3 hour self proclaimed epic. And don’t even get me started on QT’s cameo…

★★★★★★★★★★

——

7. Kill Bill Volume 2

Kill Bill Volume 1 was more fun, but I liked Tarantino’s first western more than his actual Westerns. The ending was a kick in the face to others but I liked ho wit played out.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

8. Four Rooms

Directing on of the story segments (and the second best), it’s fun if totally forgettable Yet I’ve watched it much more than his later work and for the last time it showed that with restrictions Tarantino can deliver.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

9. Kill Bill Volume 1

It’s fine and the action is well handled but it’s overlong and spends FAR too much time paying homage and far too less time kicking behind.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

Worst : The Hateful Eight

Another film that could have been half as long and twice as good, Tarantino’s need for a strong editor and better producer are never more apparent than they are here.

★★★★★★★★★★

 

 

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Rated: Marvel Cinematic Universe (up to Spider-Man: Far From Home)

Rated: Marvel Cinematic Universe (up to Spider-Man: Far From Home)

by Phil Hobden A Blog

RATED looks at EVERY Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film and gives a QuickReview as well as putting them in order of BEST to, well, Iron Man 2.!  Updated as and when a new Marvel (Studios) film is released…

(Note scores reflect my original IMDB ratings)

Best: Captain America Winter Solider

A cold war thriller with Robert Redford and a mini Avengers team up.  Add in the always awesome Frank Grillo and a genuinely interesting script and you have Marvel’s strongest cinematic outing.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

2. Guardians Of The Galaxy

Massively far out of Marvel’s usual comfort zone, Guardian’s introduced spaceships, talking racoons and a giant tree person. Cracking script, expert action and a heap of fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

3. Iron Man 3

The Iron Man film that broke a lot of Marvel fans, Shane Black took the playbook and ripped it up.  Twists, turns and a cute central relationships made this a different take on the norm and was all the better for it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

4. Thor: Ragnarok

Well this was a bundle of fun.  The previous Thor films have been okay but Ragnarok delivered a brilliant romp which dragged in The Hulk, a handful of memorable new characters (Korg!)  and some great set pieces to end up being one of Marvel’s best films yet.

★★★★★★★★★★

 ——

 

5. Avengers: Endgame

Funny, emotional, heart breaking and smart – Endgame ties up 21 films worth of story across 12 years almost perfectly.   Bitter sweet for sure but Marvel totally stuck the landing.

★★★★★★★★★★

 ——

 

6. Marvel’s The Avengers 

All the groundwork paid off as Marvel delivered it’s first ever super hero team up.  The Hulk was back (and done right this time), Hawkeye and Black Widow joined the team and director Joss Whedon delivered the goods.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

7. Spider-Man: Far From Home

Far From Home takes the ball from both Homecoming and Endgame and runs with it.  A charming, funny and emotionally charged MCU film…  it delivers real relationships, a superb villain, an interesting enough story and characters you really care about.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

8. Spider-Man Homecoming 

Funny, charming, with Marvels best villain and best Spiderman (yup sorry Andrew Garfield) Homecoming is a joy of a film that is by far the closest to what the comic book Peter Parker is.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

9. Avengers: Infinity War

Shocking, well paced and with one of Marvel’s greatest screen villains Avengers Infinity War ALMOST delivered on it’s considerable promise.  Almost.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

10. Iron Man

The Film that started it all… Iron Man was a rock n roll action movie with an unlikely lead, an even more unlikely director and enough balls out moments to wow.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

11. Captain Marvel 

A great origins story, a fun film and a great soundtrack – what more could you ask for really?

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

12. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

Loud, silly and funny as heck, Vol. 2 isn’t quite the tight film that it’s 2014 original is but it’s a hell of a lot of fun.  Add in an amazing cast (including Stallone, Hasselhoff and Russell) and you have another winner from Marvel…

★★★★★★★★★★

——

13. Ant-Man

Ant-Man is a heist movie. With Ants.  And fights on toy trains.  It’s crazy but it’s also full of charm, humour and fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

 

——

14. Black Panther 

Black Panther takes a different approach to the usual Marvel film, yet falls into a lot of the same traps of relying a bit too much on visual effects at times.  That said it’s one of Marvel’s most intimate stories and whilst not perfect is a really strong entry into the increasingly bigger MCU.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

15. Ant-Man & The Wasp

Ant-Man & The Wasp is GREAT fun.  It’s also totally forgettable and delivers what is possibly Marvel’s weakest villain to date.  Not bad by any stretch just off pace of the original.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

16. Doctor Strange

Off the big screen Doctor Strange looses a little but this visually stunning film shows that marvel are still interested in pushing the envelope as far as you can in mainstream blockbusters.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

17. Captain America: The First Avenger 

Solid, fun and well done, whilst it has little rewatch appeal Captain America again took a different approach and gave us a couple of Marvel’s most enduring characters.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

18. Captain America: Civil War

It’s not bad.  It just didn’t gel with me as much as it did others. Don’t get me wrong there’s a lot to like and again it plays with the expected formula, but ultimately i’m just not that keen to go back to it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

19. Thor: The Dark World

I liked The Dark world MUCH more than others.  Okay so it’s flawed for sure but it’s crazy fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

20. Thor

Thor was a sold film, tasked with the near impossible job of making a god fit in a world of men.  It does it well but not one you’ll rewatch much.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

21. Avengers Age Of Ultron

Marvel’s first disappointment, Age Of Ultron was all show and little else.  Too big, too dumb and too long.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

22. The Incredible Hulk (2008)

It has charm and the casting works well but ultimately The Incredible Hulk (whilst FAR better than the Ang Lee version) just doesn’t have enough to recommend it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

Worst : Iron Man 2

The idea was fine but sadly most of the film misses.  Even Mickey Rourke (yes one of the oddest Marvel villains ever) can’t save this.

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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Rated: Marvel Cinematic Universe (up to Avengers: Endgame)

Rated: Marvel Cinematic Universe (up to Avengers: Endgame)

by Phil Hobden A Blog

RATED looks at EVERY Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film and gives a QuickReview as well as putting them in order of BEST to, well, Iron Man 2.!  Updated as and when a new Marvel (Studios) film is released…

(Note scores reflect my original IMDB ratings)

Best: Captain America Winter Solider

A cold war thriller with Robert Redford and a mini Avengers team up.  Add in the always awesome Frank Grillo and a genuinely interesting script and you have Marvel’s strongest cinematic outing.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

2. Guardians Of The Galaxy

Massively far out of Marvel’s usual comfort zone, Guardian’s introduced spaceships, talking racoons and a giant tree person. Cracking script, expert action and a heap of fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

3. Iron Man 3

The Iron Man film that broke a lot of Marvel fans, Shane Black took the playbook and ripped it up.  Twists, turns and a cute central relationships made this a different take on the norm and was all the better for it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

4. Thor: Ragnarok

Well this was a bundle of fun.  The previous Thor films have been okay but Ragnarok delivered a brilliant romp which dragged in The Hulk, a handful of memorable new characters (Korg!)  and some great set pieces to end up being one of Marvel’s best films yet.

★★★★★★★★★★

 ——

5. Avengers: Endgame

Funny, emotional, heart breaking and smart – Endgame ties up 21 films worth of story across 12 years almost perfectly.   Bitter sweet for sure but Marvel totally stuck the landing.

★★★★★★★★★★

 ——

6. Marvel’s The Avengers 

All the groundwork paid off as Marvel delivered it’s first ever super hero team up.  The Hulk was back (and done right this time), Hawkeye and Black Widow joined the team and director Joss Whedon delivered the goods.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

7. Spider-Man Homecoming 

Funny, charming, with Marvels best villain and best Spiderman (yup sorry Andrew Garfield) Homecoming is a joy of a film that is by far the closest to what the comic book Peter Parker is.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

8. Avengers: Infinity War

Shocking, well paced and with one of Marvel’s greatest screen villains Avengers Infinity War ALMOST delivered on it’s considerable promise.  Almost.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

9. Iron Man

The Film that started it all… Iron Man was a rock n roll action movie with an unlikely lead, an even more unlikely director and enough balls out moments to wow.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

10. Captain Marvel 

A great origins story, a fun film and a great soundtrack – what more could you ask for really?

★★★★★★★★★★

——

11. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

Loud, silly and funny as heck, Vol. 2 isn’t quite the tight film that it’s 2014 original is but it’s a hell of a lot of fun.  Add in an amazing cast (including Stallone, Hasselhoff and Russell) and you have another winner from Marvel…

★★★★★★★★★★

——

12. Ant-Man

Ant-Man is a heist movie. With Ants.  And fights on toy trains.  It’s crazy but it’s also full of charm, humour and fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

13. Black Panther 

Black Panther takes a different approach to the usual Marvel film, yet falls into a lot of the same traps of relying a bit too much on visual effects at times.  That said it’s one of Marvel’s most intimate stories and whilst not perfect is a really strong entry into the increasingly bigger MCU.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

14. Ant-Man & The Wasp

Ant-Man & The Wasp is GREAT fun.  It’s also totally forgettable and delivers what is possibly Marvel’s weakest villain to date.  Not bad by any stretch just off pace of the original.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

15. Doctor Strange

Off the big screen Doctor Strange looses a little but this visually stunning film shows that marvel are still interested in pushing the envelope as far as you can in mainstream blockbusters.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

16. Captain America: The First Avenger 

Solid, fun and well done, whilst it has little rewatch appeal Captain America again took a different approach and gave us a couple of Marvel’s most enduring characters.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

17. Captain America: Civil War

It’s not bad.  It just didn’t gel with me as much as it did others. Don’t get me wrong there’s a lot to like and again it plays with the expected formula, but ultimately i’m just not that keen to go back to it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

18. Thor: The Dark World

I liked The Dark world MUCH more than others.  Okay so it’s flawed for sure but it’s crazy fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

19. Thor

Thor was a sold film, tasked with the near impossible job of making a god fit in a world of men.  It does it well but not one you’ll rewatch much.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

20. Avengers Age Of Ultron

Marvel’s first disappointment, Age Of Ultron was all show and little else.  Too big, too dumb and too long.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

21. The Incredible Hulk (2008)

It has charm and the casting works well but ultimately The Incredible Hulk (whilst FAR better than the Ang Lee version) just doesn’t have enough to recommend it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

Worst : Iron Man 2

The idea was fine but sadly most of the film misses.  Even Mickey Rourke (yes one of the oddest Marvel villains ever) can’t save this.

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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Rated: Marvel Cinematic Universe (up to Captain Marvel)

Rated: Marvel Cinematic Universe (up to Captain Marvel)

by Phil Hobden A Blog

RATED looks at EVERY Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film and gives a QuickReview as well as putting them in order of BEST to Iron Man 2.!  Updated as and when a new Marvel (Studios) film is released…

(Note scores reflect my original IMDB ratings)

Best: Captain America Winter Solider

A cold war thriller with Robert Redford and a mini Avengers team up.  Add in the always awesome Frank Grillo and a genuinely interesting script and you have Marvel’s strongest cinematic outing.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

2. Guardians Of The Galaxy

Massively far out of Marvel’s usual comfort zone, Guardian’s introduced spaceships, talking racoons and a giant tree person. Cracking script, expert action and a heap of fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

3. Iron Man 3

The Iron Man film that broke a lot of Marvel fans, Shane Black took the playbook and ripped it up.  Twists, turns and a cute central relationships made this a different take on the norm and was all the better for it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

4. Thor: Ragnarok

Well this was a bundle of fun.  The previous Thor films have been okay but Ragnarok delivered a brilliant romp which dragged in The Hulk, a handful of memorable new characters (Korg!)  and some great set pieces to end up being one of Marvel’s best films yet.

★★★★★★★★★★

 ——

5. Marvel’s The Avengers 

All the groundwork paid off as Marvel delivered it’s first ever super hero team up.  The Hulk was back (and done right this time), Hawkeye and Black Widow joined the team and director Joss Whedon delivered the goods.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

6. Spider-Man Homecoming 

Funny, charming, with Marvels best villain and best Spiderman (yup sorry Andrew Garfield) Homecoming is a joy of a film that is by far the closest to what the comic book Peter Parker is.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

7. Avengers: Infinity War

Shocking, well paced and with one of Marvel’s greatest screen villains Avengers Infinity War ALMOST delivered on it’s considerable promise.  Almost.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

8. Iron Man

The Film that started it all… Iron Man was a rock n roll action movie with an unlikely lead, an even more unlikely director and enough balls out moments to wow.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

9. Captain Marvel 

A great origins story, a fun film and a great soundtrack – what more could you ask for really?

★★★★★★★★★★

——

10. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

Loud, silly and funny as heck, Vol. 2 isn’t quite the tight film that it’s 2014 original is but it’s a hell of a lot of fun.  Add in an amazing cast (including Stallone, Hasselhoff and Russell) and you have another winner from Marvel…

★★★★★★★★★★

——

11. Ant-Man

Ant-Man is a heist movie. With Ants.  And fights on toy trains.  It’s crazy but it’s also full of charm, humour and fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

12. Black Panther 

Black Panther takes a different approach to the usual Marvel film, yet falls into a lot of the same traps of relying a bit too much on visual effects at times.  That said it’s one of Marvel’s most intimate stories and whilst not perfect is a really strong entry into the increasingly bigger MCU.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

13. Ant-Man & The Wasp

Ant-Man & The Wasp is GREAT fun.  It’s also totally forgettable and delivers what is possibly Marvel’s weakest villain to date.  Not bad by any stretch just off pace of the original.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

14. Doctor Strange

Off the big screen Doctor Strange looses a little but this visually stunning film shows that marvel are still interested in pushing the envelope as far as you can in mainstream blockbusters.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

15. Captain America: The First Avenger 

Solid, fun and well done, whilst it has little rewatch appeal Captain America again took a different approach and gave us a couple of Marvel’s most enduring characters.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

16. Captain America: Civil War

It’s not bad.  It just didn’t gel with me as much as it did others. Don’t get me wrong there’s a lot to like and again it plays with the expected formula, but ultimately i’m just not that keen to go back to it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

17. Thor: The Dark World

I liked The Dark world MUCH more than others.  Okay so it’s flawed for sure but it’s crazy fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

18. Thor

Thor was a sold film, tasked with the near impossible job of making a god fit in a world of men.  It does it well but not one you’ll rewatch much.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

19. Avengers Age Of Ultron

Marvel’s first disappointment, Age Of Ultron was all show and little else.  Too big, too dumb and too long.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

20. The Incredible Hulk (2008)

It has charm and the casting works well but ultimately The Incredible Hulk (whilst FAR better than the Ang Lee version) just doesn’t have enough to recommend it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

Worst : Iron Man 2

The idea was fine but sadly most of the film misses.  Even Mickey Rourke (yes one of the oddest Marvel villains ever) can’t save this.

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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Rated: Marvel Cinematic Universe (up to Ant Man & The Wasp)

Rated: Marvel Cinematic Universe (up to Ant Man & The Wasp)

by Phil Hobden A Blog

RATED looks at EVERY Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film and gives a QuickReview as well as putting them in order of BEST to Iron Man 2.!  Updated as and when a new Marvel (Studios) film is released…

(Note scores reflect my original IMDB ratings)

Best: Captain America Winter Solider

A cold war thriller with Robert Redford and a mini Avengers team up.  Add in the always awesome Frank Grillo and a genuinely interesting script and you have Marvel’s strongest cinematic outing.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

2. Guardians Of The Galaxy

Massively far out of Marvel’s usual comfort zone, Guardian’s introduced spaceships, talking racoons and a giant tree person. Cracking script, expert action and a heap of fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

3. Iron Man 3

The Iron Man film that broke a lot of Marvel fans, Shane Black took the playbook and ripped it up.  Twists, turns and a cute central relationships made this a different take on the norm and was all the better for it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

4. Thor: Ragnarok

Well this was a bundle of fun.  The previous Thor films have been okay but Ragnarok delivered a brilliant romp which dragged in The Hulk, a handful of memorable new characters (Korg!)  and some great set pieces to end up being one of Marvel’s best films yet.

★★★★★★★★★★

 ——

5. Marvel’s The Avengers 

All the groundwork paid off as Marvel delivered it’s first ever super hero team up.  The Hulk was back (and done right this time), Hawkeye and Black Widow joined the team and director Joss Whedon delivered the goods.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

6. Spider-Man Homecoming 

Funny, charming, with Marvels best villain and best Spiderman (yup sorry Andrew Garfield) Homecoming is a joy of a film that is by far the closest to what the comic book Peter Parker is.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

7. Avengers: Infinity War

Shocking, well paced and with one of Marvel’s greatest screen villains Avengers Infinity War ALMOST delivered on it’s considerable promise.  Almost.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

8. Iron Man

The Film that started it all… Iron Man was a rock n roll action movie with an unlikely lead, an even more unlikely director and enough balls out moments to wow.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

9. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

Loud, silly and funny as heck, Vol. 2 isn’t quite the tight film that it’s 2014 original is but it’s a hell of a lot of fun.  Add in an amazing cast (including Stallone, Hasselhoff and Russell) and you have another winner from Marvel…

★★★★★★★★★★

——

10. Ant-Man

Ant-Man is a heist movie. With Ants.  And fights on toy trains.  It’s crazy but it’s also full of charm, humour and fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

11. Black Panther 

Black Panther takes a different approach to the usual Marvel film, yet falls into a lot of the same traps of relying a bit too much on visual effects at times.  That said it’s one of Marvel’s most intimate stories and whilst not perfect is a really strong entry into the increasingly bigger MCU.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

12. Ant-Man & The Wasp

Ant-Man & The Wasp is GREAT fun.  It’s also totally forgettable and delivers what is possibly Marvel’s weakest villain to date.  Not bad by any stretch just off pace of the original.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

13. Doctor Strange

Off the big screen Doctor Strange looses a little but this visually stunning film shows that marvel are still interested in pushing the envelope as far as you can in mainstream blockbusters.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

14. Captain America: The First Avenger 

Solid, fun and well done, whilst it has little rewatch appeal Captain America again took a different approach and gave us a couple of Marvel’s most enduring characters.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

15. Captain America: Civil War

It’s not bad.  It just didn’t gel with me as much as it did others. Don’t get me wrong there’s a lot to like and again it plays with the expected formula, but ultimately i’m just not that keen to go back to it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

16. Thor: The Dark World

I liked The Dark world MUCH more than others.  Okay so it’s flawed for sure but it’s crazy fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

17. Thor

Thor was a sold film, tasked with the near impossible job of making a god fit in a world of men.  It does it well but not one you’ll rewatch much.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

18. Avengers Age Of Ultron

Marvel’s first disappointment, Age Of Ultron was all show and little else.  Too big, too dumb and too long.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

19. The Incredible Hulk (2008)

It has charm and the casting works well but ultimately The Incredible Hulk (whilst FAR better than the Ang Lee version) just doesn’t have enough to recommend it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

Worst : Iron Man 2

The idea was fine but sadly most of the film misses.  Even Mickey Rourke (yes one of the oddest Marvel villains ever) can’t save this.

★★★★★★★★★★

 

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Phil’s Best To Worst: Marvel Cinematic Universe (inc. Ant-Man And The Wasp )

Phil’s Best To Worst: Marvel Cinematic Universe (inc. Ant-Man And The Wasp )

by Phil Hobden Best... Other Cr*p

Our ongoing look at the Best To Worst of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films!  Updated as and when a new Marvel (Studios) film is released…  Note scores reflect my original IMDB ratings.

[divider]

Best: Captain America Winter Solider

A cold war thriller with Robert Redford and a mini Avengers team up.  Add in the always awesome Frank Grillo and a genuinely interesting script and you have Marvel’s strongest cinematic outing.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

2. Guardians Of The Galaxy

Massively far out of Marvel’s usual comfort zone, Guardian’s introduced spaceships, talking racoons and a giant tree person. Cracking script, expert action and a heap of fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

3. Iron Man 3

The Iron Man film that broke a lot of Marvel fans, Shane Black took the playbook and ripped it up.  Twists, turns and a cute central relationships made this a different take on the norm and was all the better for it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

4. Thor: Ragnarok

Well this was a bundle of fun.  The previous Thor films have been okay but Ragnarok delivered a brilliant romp which dragged in The Hulk, a handful of memorable new characters (Korg!)  and some great set pieces to end up being one of Marvel’s best films yet.

★★★★★★★★★★

 ——

5. Marvel’s The Avengers 

All the groundwork paid off as Marvel delivered it’s first ever super hero team up.  The Hulk was back (and done right this time), Hawkeye and Black Widow joined the team and director Joss Whedon delivered the goods.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

6. Spider-Man Homecoming 

Funny, charming, with Marvels best villain and best Spiderman (yup sorry Andrew Garfield) Homecoming is a joy of a film that is by far the closest to what the comic book Peter Parker is.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

6. Avengers: Infinity War

Shocking, well paced and with one of Marvel’s greatest screen villains Avengers Infinity War ALMOST delivered on it’s considerable promise.  Almost.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

8. Iron Man

The Film that started it all… Iron Man was a rock n roll action movie with an unlikely lead, an even more unlikely director and enough balls out moments to wow.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

9. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

Loud, silly and funny as heck, Vol. 2 isn’t quite the tight film that it’s 2014 original is but it’s a hell of a lot of fun.  Add in an amazing cast (including Stallone, Hasselhoff and Russell) and you have another winner from Marvel…

★★★★★★★★★★

——

10. Ant-Man

Ant-Man is a heist movie. With Ants.  And fights on toy trains.  It’s crazy but it’s also full of charm, humour and fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

11. Black Panther 

Black Panther takes a different approach to the usual Marvel film, yet falls into a lot of the same traps of relying a bit too much on visual effects at times.  That said it’s one of Marvel’s most intimate stories and whilst not perfect is a really strong entry into the increasingly bigger MCU.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

12. Ant-Man & The Wasp

Ant-Man & The Wasp is GREAT fun.  It’s also totally forgettable and delivers what is possibly Marvel’s weakest villain to date.  Not bad by any stretch just off pace of the original.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

13. Doctor Strange

Off the big screen Doctor Strange looses a little but this visually stunning film shows that marvel are still interested in pushing the envelope as far as you can in mainstream blockbusters.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

14. Captain America: The First Avenger 

Solid, fun and well done, whilst it has little rewatch appeal Captain America again took a different approach and gave us a couple of Marvel’s most enduring characters.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

15. Captain America: Civil War

It’s not bad.  It just didn’t gel with me as much as it did others. Don’t get me wrong there’s a lot to like and again it plays with the expected formula, but ultimately i’m just not that keen to go back to it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

16. Thor: The Dark World

I liked The Dark world MUCH more than others.  Okay so it’s flawed for sure but it’s crazy fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

17. Thor

Thor was a sold film, tasked with the near impossible job of making a god fit in a world of men.  It does it well but not one you’ll rewatch much.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

18. Avengers Age Of Ultron

Marvel’s first disappointment, Age Of Ultron was all show and little else.  Too big, too dumb and too long.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

19. The Incredible Hulk (2008)

It has charm and the casting works well but ultimately The Incredible Hulk (whilst FAR better than the Ang Lee version) just doesn’t have enough to recommend it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

Worst : Iron Man 2

The idea was fine but sadly most of the film misses.  Even Mickey Rourke (yes one of the oddest Marvel villains ever) can’t save this.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

Click here for related content

Phil’s Best To Worst: Star Wars Movies! (Updated with Solo)

Phil’s Best To Worst: Star Wars Movies! (Updated with Solo)

by Phil Hobden Best... Other Cr*p

Listed from top to Attack Of The Clones, Phil, of Phil’s Quick Capsule Review, breaks down a film related subject in order of his own personal enjoyment.  This time out: Star Wars Films!

 

The Rules: So I’ve excluded the throwaway 80’s Ewok kids films here as well as the Christmas special as it’s far from cannon.  So just the main 11 Star Wars films and the feature length Clone Wars movie.

——

 

BEST: Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Empire Strikes Back is a franchise high point for many reasons but MOSTLY as it’s the Star Wars film Lucas had least to do with, instead putting the film into the hands of Kasdan.  It shows – more mature, darker and edgier it still boasts one of cinemas best twist endings and adds depth to the cut out characters from Star Wars.  Essential.

★★★★★★★★★★

 

——

2. Star Wars: A New Hope

Groundbreaking, epic and genre defining space sagas don’t get much better than this. A lean plot, some edge of your seat action sequences and THAT ending make Star Wars a simply outstanding film.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

3. Star Wars: The Return Of The Jedi

I love Return of The Jedi.  Growing up it’s the Star Wars film I watched the most (it certainly has the best action of any Star Wars films).  Years on the excitement still holds but there are shadows of the failings of the prequels here also (Ewok’s for some but mostly the convoluted plotting, the fact everyone knows or is related to the Skywalkers and the weak dialogue).  Still the final space battle and the lightsabre duel stand out as the franchises two best moments

★★★★★★★★★★

——

4. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Yup that hit the spot.  Rogue One, a war story, a story of hope and overcoming overwhelming odds.  And thats just the making of it.  Yet it works.  It works SO well in fact that it’s jumped to No4 on this list.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

5. Star Wars: The Last Jedi 

Delivering a new style of Star Wars film, The Last Jedi makes some bold choices (and some silly ones) to take Star Wars in a fresh new direction that will finally allow it to move past it’s Skywalker focus story and firmly land the legacy on the shoulders of some new characters. It doesn’t all work but when it does it’s some of them most spectacular Star Wars yet!

★★★★★★★★★★

——

6. Star Wars: The Force Awakens  

After the much maligned prequels, the first Star Wars film to be Lucas free felt very much like a homage as it retooled A New Hope’s story and gave us a “Best of” compilation.  That said it was well done, set up an array of exciting new characters and gave us well hell of a twist when you know what happens to you know who.  Not as good as we wanted it to be but a massive step up from the prequels.

★★★★★★★★★★

 

——

7. Solo : A Star Wars Story 

Solo is good.  It’s just a victim of teh production issues that plagued it from the start.  The cast are mostly superb (Clarke isn’t sadly) but the film runs out of steam as it tries to hit every Solo touch point referenced in previous Star Wars films.  Good but could have been better

★★★★★★★★★★

——

8. Star Wars: The Revenge Of The Sith

The best of a very bad bunch, Sith at least had a darkness to it that the franchise had avoided previously.  It’s still shouldered with terrible acting, a plot that steps on the original trilogy more than it ever needed to and some terrible FX work BUT it’s not Attack of The Clones.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

9. Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2005)

From little acorns big Oak Trees grow and that’s very much the case here.  See the Star Wars: the Clone Wars animated film has nuggets of promise that would later be fulfilled by the excellent TV show but the feature length pilot instead gets itself weighed down in trying to please too many people and ends up being a bit of a mess.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

10. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace 

Deeply flawed, badly plotted and criminally dull at times this film is saved by some excellent visuals (although dated FX), the pod race and the final duel between Jedi & Sith.  It overplays it’s hand throughout however and the Jedi prove to be rather dull as leading characters.  Less said about Jake Lloyd the better.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

WORST: Star Wars: Attack of The Clones 

A real low for the series and one of the worst sequels ever made, Attack of The Clones gets almost nothing right.  If A terrible story that makes no sense, a boring end battle where CGI things shoot CGI things and the blowing of one of Star Wars most talked about moments (The Clone Wars!!!) weren’t enough you also have one of the most wooden central performances ever (helped by some of the worst dialogue ever).  It’s a bad film. And one to be avoided.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

For Related Content Click Here

Phil’s Best To Worst: Marvel Films! (Updated – with Avengers Infinity War )

Phil’s Best To Worst: Marvel Films! (Updated – with Avengers Infinity War )

by Phil's Quick Review Best... Other Cr*p

In our latest regular feature, coming out the first Friday of each month, Phil (of Phil’s Quick Capsule Review) breaks down a film related subject in order of his own personal enjoyment from Best To Worst.  This time out: Marvel Cinematic Universe films!

Note scores reflect my original IMDB ratings.

[divider]

Best: Captain America Winter Solider

A cold war thriller with Robert Redford and a mini Avengers team up.  Add in the always awesome Frank Grillo and a genuinely interesting script and you have Marvel’s strongest cinematic outing.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

2. Guardians Of The Galaxy

Massively far out of Marvel’s usual comfort zone, Guardian’s introduced spaceships, talking racoons and a giant tree person. Cracking script, expert action and a heap of fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

3. Iron Man 3

The Iron Man film that broke a lot of Marvel fans, Shane Black took the playbook and ripped it up.  Twists, turns and a cute central relationships made this a different take on the norm and was all the better for it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

4. Thor: Ragnarok

Well this was a bundle of fun.  The previous Thor films have been okay but Ragnarok delivered a brilliant romp which dragged in The Hulk, a handful of memorable new characters (Korg!)  and some great set pieces to end up being one of Marvel’s best films yet.

★★★★★★★★★★

 ——

5. Marvel’s The Avengers 

All the groundwork paid off as Marvel delivered it’s first ever super hero team up.  The Hulk was back (and done right this time), Hawkeye and Black Widow joined the team and director Joss Whedon delivered the goods.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

6. Spider-Man Homecoming 

Funny, charming, with Marvels best villain and best Spiderman (yup sorry Andrew Garfield) Homecoming is a joy of a film that is by far the closest to what the comic book Peter Parker is.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

6. Avengers: Infinity War

Shocking, well paced and with one of Marvel’s greatest screen villains Avengers Infinity War ALMOST delivered on it’s considerable promise.  Almost.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

8. Iron Man

The Film that started it all… Iron Man was a rock n roll action movie with an unlikely lead, an even more unlikely director and enough balls out moments to wow.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

9. Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2

Loud, silly and funny as heck, Vol. 2 isn’t quite the tight film that it’s 2014 original is but it’s a hell of a lot of fun.  Add in an amazing cast (including Stallone, Hasselhoff and Russell) and you have another winner from Marvel…

★★★★★★★★★★

——

10. Ant-Man

Ant-Man is a heist movie. With Ants.  And fights on toy trains.  It’s crazy but it’s also full of charm, humour and fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

11. Black Panther 

Black Panther takes a different approach to the usual Marvel film, yet falls into a lot of the same traps of relying a bit too much on visual effects at times.  That said it’s one of Marvel’s most intimate stories and whilst not perfect is a really strong entry into the increasingly bigger MCU.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

12. Doctor Strange

Off the big screen Doctor Strange looses a little but this visually stunning film shows that marvel are still interested in pushing the envelope as far as you can in mainstream blockbusters.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

13. Captain America: The First Avenger 

Solid, fun and well done, whilst it has little rewatch appeal Captain America again took a different approach and gave us a couple of Marvel’s most enduring characters.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

14. Captain America: Civil War

It’s not bad.  It just didn’t gel with me as much as it did others. Don’t get me wrong there’s a lot to like and again it plays with the expected formula, but ultimately i’m just not that keen to go back to it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

15. Thor: The Dark World

I liked The Dark world MUCH more than others.  Okay so it’s flawed for sure but it’s crazy fun.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

16. Thor

Thor was a sold film, tasked with the near impossible job of making a god fit in a world of men.  It does it well but not one you’ll rewatch much.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

17. Avengers Age Of Ultron

Marvel’s first disappointment, Age Of Ultron was all show and little else.  Too big, too dumb and too long.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

18. The Incredible Hulk (2008)

It has charm and the casting works well but ultimately The Incredible Hulk (whilst FAR better than the Ang Lee version) just doesn’t have enough to recommend it.

★★★★★★★★★★

——

 

Worst : Iron Man 2

The idea was fine but sadly most of the film misses.  Even Mickey Rourke (yes one of the oddest Marvel villains ever) can’t save this.

★★★★★★★★★★

——