Ranking the MCU Infinity Saga Based On First Impressions

  So the other day I did a Star Wars ranking based on what my first impressions were of each canon film and show when I first saw them. As I stated in that post, I did so because first impressions cannot be changed. I tend to change my mind about things a lot, but I still have an “itch” to post rankings that I won’t constantly feel the need to come back and edit over and over, so basing said rankings off of first impressions is the best compromise I can think of…

Like with Star Wars, however, I would say that another way of looking at the Marvel Cinematic Universe Infinity Saga (aka Phases 1-3) is to accept that it started off very “pure” with the first Iron Man film, and each entry that followed “eroded” away at that purity little by little. On a similar note, I would also say that viewing order is the best way to view the Infinity Saga…

I was originally also going to include the entries of the Multiverse Saga (aka Phases 4-6) that we’ve had so far, but decided to do all that stuff as a separate ranking instead (eventually). I would also like to remind everyone one last time that this ranking is based on first impressions, and may not be a completely accurate reflection about how I feel about any of these movies now.

With that all out of the way, let’s get going:

Loved it

1.Guardians of the Galaxy

2.Thor: Ragnarok

3.Avengers: Infinity War

4.Captain America: The Winter Soldier

5.The Avengers

6.Black Panther

7.Iron Man

8.Captain America: Civil War

9.Spider-Man: Homecoming

I liked it but didn’t love it

10.Avengers: Endgame

11.Ant-Man

12.Doctor Strange

13.Captain America: The First Avenger

14.Thor

15.Iron Man 3

16.Captain Marvel

Wasn’t sure how to feel about it

17.Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2

18.Spider-Man: Far From Home

19.Ant-Man and the Wasp

20.Iron Man 2

Didn’t like it

21.Avengers: Age of Ultron

22.Thor: The Dark World

23.The Incredible Hulk

…Well, it was nice to post about a different franchise for a change, I guess.

Peace!

Related Article: MCU Multiverse Saga Ranking

Ranking Star Wars Based On First Impressions

 DISCLAIMER: I might come back and update this post as more canon films and shows are released (I’m defining “canon” as stuff present on Disney Plus’s “Timeline” playlist).

So recently I posted my proposed new viewing order of canon Star Wars (which differs from release order, chronological order, and machete order) and mentioned that I also sometimes consider it to be my ranking of the franchise. In that same post, I also mentioned that I sometimes consider release order to be my ranking. What I meant by that is; I consider the original 1977 film to be the “purest” entry of the franchise, and I sometimes feel that every entry to have followed since has “eroded” away at that purity little by little.

That said, yesterday I was thinking a bit more and realized that I actually have a third ranking for the franchise as well, which I like to call my first impressions ranking. In other words; a ranking based on how I felt about each canon film and show immediately after I first saw them. I’m comfortable sharing this ranking is because, obviously, first impressions cannot be changed. Therefore, there’s no second-guessing myself on this one. And just so we’re clear, this is NOT my end-all, be-all ranking. As I’ve said many times before, each Star Wars entry has things I like and things I don’t, and my opinions change all the time. Like I said earlier, I tend to alternate between this ranking here, release order, and my own unique viewing order, among other viewpoints. Lastly, I don’t have a preference between the different versions of each film, except where noted…

So with that all out of the way, here you go:

Loved it

1.Star Wars

2.The Last Jedi - Score-Only Version

3.The Empire Strikes Back

4.Solo

5.The Clone Wars

Saw it as a little kid, so...

6.The Phantom Menace

7.Attack of the Clones

8.Revenge of the Sith

9.Return of the Jedi (theatrical version)

I liked it but didn’t love it

10.The Rise of Skywalker

11.The Force Awakens

12.Rebels

13.Ahsoka

14.The Last Jedi (theatrical version)

15.The Mandalorian

16.Rogue One

17.Obi-Wan Kenobi

Found it to be a bit boring at first

18.The Bad Batch

19.Resistance

Wasn’t sure how to feel about it

20.Andor

Didn’t like it

21.The Book of Boba Fett

22.Return of the Jedi (all other versions)

So there you have it. I understand that the top section might surprise most of you. I didn’t watch The Clone Wars until I was an adult, but ended up loving pretty much the entire series. Similarly, Solo is the only recent movie I recall watching in theaters where I had little-to-no complaints about it. And yes, despite my general dislike of the dialogue in The Last Jedi, I think that the story itself is “Empire but smarter,” hence why I have the score-only version (google it if you don’t know what it is) ranked as high as I do. And yes, when it comes to the Abrams films, I like Rise more than Awakens (at least Rise was a bit more original, and didn’t rely on mystery boxes as much).

I feel kinda weird ranking Attack of the Clones so high. That said, it was the first Star Wars film I saw in theaters specifically, and I was only seven years old at the time. I still remember finally getting the DVD like six months later and watching it over and over to the point where I wore the disc out (I didn’t even know you could do that). And yes, it’s true that I wasn’t quite as over-the-moon about Revenge of the Sith when I first saw it. I was ten years old at the time, and I think my brain was starting to get better at picking up on flaws. I don’t think I liked that Anakin basically turned to the dark side over some bad dreams, among other things, and Natalie Portman’s acting in that one didn’t help either. I’ve always loved the Yoda vs. Sidious fight, though (and still do).

Furthermore, it’s true that I found Return of the Jedi to be the weakest of the Lucas era when I first saw it on VHS at age six (alongside The Phantom Menace and the rest of the original trilogy). While I like it a bit more now, I vividly remember that I struggled to pay attention to it often back then, and the sibling retcon still irritates me more than most things. Additionally, though I find all the changes from the theatrical cuts to be useless and annoying, the ones in Return particularly make that movie almost unwatchable for me…

    Phantom is actually the first Star Wars thing I ever saw, period, but then I remember watching the original movie shortly thereafter (being well aware that it was made first, thanks to my dad explaining things to me) and noticing where all the “rhymes” from Phantom came from and immediately going “Oh, I get it now. Nice.” Similarly, when I saw the big twist in The Empire Strikes Back, I recall immediately understanding why all the adults in the theater were laughing when I saw Toy Story 2 a year earlier and Zurg told Buzz Lightyear “I am your father.” Instantly, at least on a subconscious level, I recognized Empire’s pop-culture relevance.

Ahsoka was good for the most part, but the pacing was a bit weird, and the show itself doesn’t really work unless you’ve seen Rebels first (Ezra is a much better character in Ahsoka than he is in Rebels, though). I like both The Bad Batch and Resistance more now, but feel they both started out “rough.” Andor is another placement on this list that’ll likely piss a lot of people off. Again, I like it a little better now, but as I was watching it initially, I found myself feeling fairly irritated and anxious with certain scenes (mainly around the Mon Mothma subplot). The Mandalorian also used to be a bit higher on this list, but then Season 3 happened (which I don’t hate as much as everyone else, but it definitely felt like a big step down from what came before). I know most people would also rank Rogue One higher, but I personally found the first and final acts of that film to be rather hectic (the middle act is good, though).

I could do other rankings based on other metrics (visuals, acting, etc.), but I feel like all of those are too “subjective” to build a ranking from without me just changing my mind about it over and over again later…

That’s all for now! Maybe this will be the last time I blog about Star Wars for awhile… Maybe…

Peace!

PS: No matter what anyone says, The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi are still C-3PO at his most annoying. Also, why doesn’t he recognize Leia’s hologram in the original movie? I guess he was just playing dumb…

Related: Ranking Repository

My Own "Ozymandias" Sonnet

  BACKGROUND: Way back in the late 1800’s, two writers named Percy Shelley (husband of Mary Shelley of Frankenstein fame) and Horace Smith challenged each other to a competition: Write a poem (a sonnet, specifically) called Ozymandias (the Greek-given name of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II). Historians reading this likely know that Ramesses famously had a giant statue with words at its feet that basically bragged about how his kingdom and legacy of greatness would last forever, only for that very same statue to end up tumbled over, ironically surrounded by vast, barren desert…

Shelley’s poem (which was used as the inspiration of the Breaking Bad episode of the same name), explored this irony head-on, highlighting how the pharaoh’s hubris ultimately led to his own demise. Smith’s poem, on the other hand, took things a step further, by comparing the fall of Ramesses’s kingdom to the possibility of a post-apocalyptic future London, making the point that all “kingdoms” come and go in cycles, no matter what.

That all being said, several months ago I was discussing this very topic with a history buff friend of mine, who claims that a lot of “discoveries” that were made under Ramesses’s rule (medical, agricultural, etc.) went on to shape the future world for many ages to come, regardless of whether people even knew it or not. I’m not smart enough to know whether or not my friend is talking out his ass, but nevertheless, his words still inspired me enough to make me write an Ozymandias sonnet of my own. I used “Shakespearean rules” for mine, like Shelley, whereas Smith used “Italian rules.”

Anyway, here you go:

The great pharaoh looks upon his kingdom

A kingdom that once stood tall, above all

Now he watches it crumble, in lonesome

For what rises must eventually fall

Far off lies the statue of his image

Words of his “greatness,” written at its feet

Now a mere joke, as is his lineage

“Greatness,” now a legacy of defeat

…But then he recalls, all he discovered

Medicine, military, so much more

All which his time in power uncovered

All for the world to forever adore…

He looks to the future that will forget him

Knowing that it wouldn’t exist without him

…Well, thanks for indulging in my mediocre poetry!

Peace!

Related: Poetry Repository

Poetry Repository

  Recently I went through a phase where I wrote a handful of small poems (not strictly haikus, just small poems in general). Figured I might as well share them here. I may come back and add additional entries if I get bored and write more…

LIMBO

You don’t know what you want

Can’t accept what you need

Can’t just relax either

So welcome to limbo…

NOW

Do not worry about

Writing everything down

Or getting it all out

Just worry about now

SELF-EXPRESSION

Desire to belong

Mixed in with the fear of

Overwhelming them all

But what more can you say?

You’re human, after all

SCIENCE & NATURE

The pureness of the past is important

As is the advancements of the future

We can have both, in this world we call home

SHORELINE COMMUNITY

Summer rolls around

The beach comes alive

People come and go

All with a story

All with a mission

A mission to feel

Feel alive again

Even if only

For just one last time

Cause every time counts…

The bars come alive

As do the cafes

And all the lodging

Arcades and whatnot

Music festivals

And more of the like

All with a purpose

A purpose to help

Help others to feel

Feel alive again…

But none of it lasts

All temporary

Only one season

One season per year

Before it all dies

Dies out once again

And only few remain

The few who belong

Who truly belong

The few born for it…

Those few aren’t you

Time for you to go

The shore won’t save you

Only one thing can

That one thing is you…

THE BOY & THE LAMPPOST

A small, old-fashion lamppost

In his grandmother’s backyard

He once played with it often

Way back in his toddlerhood

Now he visits, as a man

Passing by that same lamppost

But unable to recall

All that it once meant to him

Another piece of his youth,

Forgotten, nothing more than

A vague memory, fading…

EUROPE (HAIKU)

Good food and dry summers

Ancient buildings with character

All I took for granted…

INSOMNIA (HAIKU)

Sleepless nights

Over and over

But screw it…

MATTER

Every sentence must matter

Every line must matter

Every word must matter

Every moment must matter

In one way or another…

OVER/UNDER (HAIKU)

Big things are overrated

So focus on the small things instead

Small things are underrated…

BOOM & BUST

Many kingdoms consume each other

Until only a few remain

But then they become unstable

And fall apart

Into many kingdoms again…

MERGER (HAIKU)

Two universes

Secretly merged together

Now, memories clash…

JUST A FEELING

A bleak future, where all humans are sterile

A future where everyone is cloned

The population remains the same

Generation after generation…

You pass by someone familiar

Maybe the person you are cloned from

Knew the person that they were cloned from

Or maybe the people they were cloned

Were the ones who were really together…

Just a feeling…

EVIL ALWAYS RISES

Always a need to keep training

And always a need to prepare

Because evil always rises

No matter what form it may take

DAM HEIST

A dam is bombed, flooding a nearby town

All so that the cops would be too busy

To stop everything from being robbed

A once-in-a-lifetime diversion…

INFLUENCE

A spark, expanded with gasoline

Instead of being allowed to

Expand naturally, on its own…

THE BULL

Grab the bull by its sharp horns

Not to be its enemy

But to learn to work with it

AGING POLITICS

Personal politics

Becomes more central with age

For one reason or another…

HIGHWAY EXITS (HAIKU)

Entering a run-down town

Practically a different world

Dangerous, yet nostalgic

COMMUTE (HAIKU)

Underground transit

Ancient, yet still relevant

Proof of timelessness

BOSTON

Closest U.S. city to Europe

In a few different ways, in fact

A transition point, between two worlds…

DISTRACT (HAIKU)

You used to be my distraction

Now I need something to distract from you

Funny how the tables can turn

CHANCE

Isolation; calm and peaceful

…But connection may be better

Not essential, but nonetheless,

The chance of it is always there

However small that chance may be

IDLE

A fantasy world

One that never breaks down

Destined to be magical forever

But also destined to never develop

For development only leads

To the end of the magic…

ECHO LAND

The Wild West, land of no rules once more

Since the fall of the U.S. government…

A young woman stands there alone, watching

As ravagers take away all her land

Land which had belonged to her family

For too many generations to count…

She recalls her parents once telling her

How it all once belonged to the natives

Until her ancestors came and took it

Funny how things come and go in echoes…

NEW JERSEY

Deep forests, humid in the summer

Maybe a gas station here and there

Contrasted with expensive beaches

And rusty cities, some riddled with crime

But mostly suburbs, always the same

…And yet, there’s something to admire

A nostalgia, that can’t be explained…

SIDEQUESTER

The other heroic knights

Make me do their “dirty work”

In this vast, magical land…

But being the “sidequester”

Has perks, believe it or not

Less pressure to live up to…

WHO SAYS?

Find your own small corner of the world

So you can be peacefully alone

Cause who says you need other people?

SHRINKING SUN

The sun will shrink down to a white star

Some time in the far future from now

Allowing us humans to migrate

To worlds like Venus and Mercury

And the rest of the solar system

…But what happens when the sun shrinks too much?

BLUE BLOOD (HAIKU)

This ain’t the Middle Ages

Nepotism is no longer praised

Quite the opposite, in fact…

SURVIVAL MODE (HAIKU)

Sometimes relaxation

And the human need to survive

Can be one and the same…

CASH (HAIKU)

Driven by money

When you should simply relax

Let life take its course…

That’s all, for now!

Peace!

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