Controversial but data-backed ranking of the 10 best MCU movies
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been dominating the Hollywood landscape for over 15 years and it shows no signs of slowing down. Though the Marvel Studios franchise has taken a number of hits in recent years, it's still drawing millions of people to the movie theaters (and the Disney Plus streaming service these days, too!), breaking box office records, and producing some of the most anticipated movies of each year.
From 2008's Iron Man to 2024's Deadpool and Wolverine (and beyond), there is plenty of entertainment to be found in the MCU franchise. That's one of the many reasons that fans find it so hard to rank which of the films are the very best in the series. The Multiverse Saga isn't as consistent as the Infinity Saga, but there have been some gems in there that can go toe-to-toe with the heavy-hitters. But when your heavy-hitters are plentiful, how do you choose which ones are the best?
It's all subjective, really, which is why everyone's MCU rankings look so different. But there is one way to get a clearer picture of which films in the franchise might be the strongest from a critical standpoint - and that is to look at the data. And thus, we decided to look at Rotten Tomatoes' iconic Tomatometer, which aggregates collections of critic reviews (both positive and negative) to generate a score for every film, in a bid to find out what the 10 best MCU movies really are.
That should provide a clearer look in terms of which movies are the best to the critics at least. But be warned, even though it won't match everyone's opinions, there are some films you might not have expected to crack the Top 10 - along with some shocking omissions.
10. Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings
There is no doubt about it that Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings is one of the best movies in the MCU's Multiverse Saga. The film was brought to life by director Destin Daniel Cretton, who delivered a project full of stunning visuals and outstanding fight choreography. Seriously, the battles looked amazing and it makes us all the more excited to see Cretton take on directing duties of Spider-Man 4.
Simu Liu starred as the titular hero, who vowed to master the Ten Rings and reconnect with his roots in the process. The adventure he went on was both vivid and mystical and Liu did a great job with such a career-defining role, proving himself as one of the MCU's next generation of Avengers.
The film was extremely well-received by both critics and audiences, earning itself a 91% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Even so, you might be a little shocked that it cracked the Top 10 - not because the film isn't great, but because of some of the more renowned, equally-great, movies that it beat out. That said, as one of the MCU's best origin stories in years, there is no denying that it earned that spot.
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