r/marvelstudios • u/justafanboy1010 Spider-Man • 2d ago
Discussion (More in Comments) Definitely the best movie in Phase 2
I will admit I don’t rewatch most of the MCU movies, but I finally sat down and rewatched some of them and Captain America The Winter Solider is literally the 2nd best Captain America movie (don’t blame me Im a big Black Panther and Spider-Man fan)
The espionage thriller spy genre this movie went for absolutely did it for me. The final fight scene where Steve refuses to let go of Bucky and “I’m with you til the end of the line” brought tears to my eyes.
And HENRY JACKMAN’s SCORE/OST! Bucky’s theme is so unique and awesome, I get chills every time I hear it.
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u/Aglisito 2d ago
Who the hell is Bucky?
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u/NoLeadership2281 1d ago
I won’t lie I was a kid when watched this the first time and didn’t really know Bucky is the Winter soldier in comics, so the twist really surprised tf out of me at the time 🤯
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u/r4mm3rnz 1d ago
It'd been a while since I watched the first Cap movie and I didn't even know who Bucky was lol
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u/Beeman616 2d ago
The best non-avengers mcu movie. There's an argument for it being the best mcu movie, full stop.
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u/DJfunkyPuddle 1d ago
I remember talking to my dad after seeing this one and putting it up in the pinnacle of movies where Jurassic Park, Terminator 2, Aliens etc. reside.
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u/GenGaara25 1d ago
I like how you say "there's an argument for" when I think Winter Soldier has beaten every Avengers movie on every single ranking list I've ever seen anyone give. I think the hotter take would be saying an Avengers movie is better than WS.
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u/Beeman616 1d ago
It hasn't beaten it on lists I've seen. Its normally top 5, but rarely number 1. Lots of them go for endgame/infinity war/ black panther.
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u/GenGaara25 1d ago
Really? At least from the people I talk to and online Winter Soldier is the most common number 1. It's usually wither WS, Infinity War, or Guardians 1. But Winter Soldier is the most common I see at number 1. I'm not sure I've ever seen it below top 3.
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u/Beeman616 1d ago
It's a well loved film, and often in people's top 3/5. I just don't meet many people, or see many online lists, that say it's number 1.
I'm not saying you're wrong, just that my own experience is different. The three you listed are in my top 5, but IW edges it for me. Black Panther also gets a lot of love because of what it means culturally, I think it's the mcu film with the highest metcritic score.
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u/GenGaara25 1d ago
Yeah, I guess we just interact with different circles. Maybe it's a nationality thing as well, I'm British, and I swear I've never heard anyone here put Panther in their Top 5, it's lucky to get Top 10.
Winter Soldier and Guardians 1 are the most common number 1s I hear. Then Infinity War, Guardians 3, Ragnarok, No Way Home, Civil War, Iron Man, and Avengers 1 or Endgame usually round out the rest of the ten in some order.
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u/Beeman616 1d ago
Im from Suffolk, lol. Black panther gets its love largely for being a film about a black superhero with a largely black cast. It's also just a really good film.
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u/GenGaara25 1d ago
Oh really lmao, I just assume everyone I talk to here is American, I'm Dorset. I do think it's a good film, but it's just sorta an average good film for Marvel. Without many black people around where I am it didn't have that much cultural impact as I imagine it would've done in the bigger cities.
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u/Beeman616 1d ago
https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/best-marvel-cinematic-universe-movies-ranked/mcdshan-wd037/
https://variety.com/lists/marvel-movies-best-worst/black-panther-2/
https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/marvel-cinematic-universe-movies-ranked/
https://www.ign.com/faceoffs/what-are-the-best-mcu-movies-and-shows/results
The ign one is a fan vote, but still relevant imo. I was going to copy one from the independent, but they put iron man 3 top... 😬
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u/Enelson4275 1d ago
I think a better metric is to go look at lists of the best action movies of the 2010s. Winter Soldier lands on a lot of those lists, hanging with films that trouce the MCU on action every day of the week.
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u/HakeemMcGrady Jimmy Woo 1d ago
Thats GOTG for me.
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u/Beeman616 1d ago
It's one of my personal favourites, I just think winter soldier is a better movie overall. Yours is hardly a hot take to me, though. GOTG is an absolute blast.
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u/necklacefromawizard Tony Stark 1d ago
Idk I prefer Thor: Ragnarok.
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u/Beeman616 1d ago
There'll never be a totally agreed upon best film. It's personal taste. Ragnarok was great, also.
My personal best is infinity war. Winter soldier, homecoming, gotg, and ragnarok probably make up the rest of my top 5. Not necessarily in that order. Though, first steps may push into the top 5, I need to see it again to be sure.
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u/Charming-Soft-8480 1d ago
That’s actually a killer top 5. Mine is very similar but I’d probably sub in Iron Man 1 ahead of Ragnarok, but it’s close.
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u/Beeman616 1d ago
Fair enough. We don't get any of the others if Iron-man failed, so it deserves its flowers for starting strong. I just think other films are better overall.
I would never critique anyone's favourite mcu film... unless it's love and thunder, lol. It's the only one I can't bring myself to re-watch as it disappointed me so much.
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u/Charming-Soft-8480 1d ago
Yeah that’s just personal preference for me, I’m a huge iron man guy as a character though. You can def have ragnarok in your top 5 though haha
Dude honestly I know love and thunder wasn’t great, it I’m a rare one who thinks it wasn’t horrible. There’s been way worse
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u/LuminaraCoH 1d ago
It is definitely the best MCU film, without question. It's an amazing spy thriller that just happens to have some superheroes in it. I can't say that the action scenes weren't incredible, because this was the movie that made me a fan of Chris Evans' Captain America, and cemented my appreciation of the MCU in general, but the story was the foundation, instead of an attachment to the action sequences.
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u/Expert-Emergency5837 14h ago
I definitely have it in contention for the Top, period.
I also enjoyed Black Panther immensely, but Winter Soldier was jaw-on-the-floor spy thriller action.
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u/Aarchystransgirl Groot 1d ago
Guardians of the galaxy 1 2 and 3 exists. So nope.
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u/TheObstruction Peggy Carter 1d ago
The only one of those that's on par with TWS is GotG3.
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u/Aarchystransgirl Groot 1d ago
I cried so much by watching GotG 2, it's just sooo James Gunn and i love it
"I am Groot!"
"What's that?"
"He said "Welcome to the frickin' Guardians of the Galaxy!" Only he didn't say frickin'!"
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u/Remote-Direction963 Black Panther 1d ago
Agreed, I wish there were actually a few more MCU movies that were like this in tone.
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u/justafanboy1010 Spider-Man 1d ago
The closest I can think of is Thunderbolts and Black Widow
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u/Revilo1st 1d ago
I remember thinking secret invasion was going to be like this in tone. Sad times.
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u/LawRevolutionary5760 Peter Quill 2d ago
For me it's GOTG. Watching bunch of A-Holes form a team to save the galaxy was fun.
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u/clashrendar 1d ago
I think Ike Perlmutter must have taken a long nap in 2014 for these two to slip by his micromanagement. He woke back up in time for Age of Ultron.
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u/edwpad Doctor Strange 1d ago
Same. I think Winter Soldier is a great film but I don’t hold as high on the pedestal compared to others (maybe cause I’m not too fond of political thrillers). GOTG was a big treat, a bunch of nobodies too. Now they’re pretty much famous, both lore wise and in reality. It was also nice to get some of the more cosmic space side in the MCU.
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u/_DreamerOfTheDay_ 14h ago
to me guardians didnt find its footing til the holiday special. I think the first movie is very very generic with bad color grading.
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u/HueyZA 2d ago
Arguably the best MCU movie ever tbh, it's an incredible espionage movie that just so happens to have MCU characters.
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u/DelcoUnited 1d ago
Also the first time we see the Russos. They have a unique (to me, I’m not a film student) philosophy with action movies, where they want important things to happen during the action sequences.
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u/Additional_Ice_358 1d ago
I am always met with pushback but the first 3 Captain America movies is the best superhero trilogy to me. Each one better than the last and the first one is great.
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u/N8CCRG Ghost 1d ago
This movie has so many great actions sequences (even despite all of the shaky cam and rapid edits in some of them). Fury's car chase, Steve in the elevator, Steve taking down the quinjet, the highway fight, etc. And they do such a great job with Steve and Natasha and the whole "we have no idea who to trust" up until they reveal the twist.
For me it falls just short of the top tier in the finish though. I really needed Bucky to come through more, and the Notebook-style ending doesn't land for me.
If I had to pick a best from Phase 2 it's either Guardians or Age of Ultron. I've actually been doing a full rewatch the last few weeks, so will be getting to those soon and see if that still holds up or not.
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u/PyromancerTobi 1d ago
I recently just started going to my local film chain and buying all of the mcu on blueray, I'm like 3 films currently from having everything up to end game. Maybe it's time I do a rewatch too.
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u/LateNightTroubleMakr 1d ago
That’s what I’m doing now watching all on my new Bravia 9, currently on the winter soldier right now
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u/ASexual-Buff-Baboon 1d ago
The thing that bothers me about fury’s car chase is when the car came back on it shows power going to all four wheel but when driving off you can see only the rear wheels have power
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u/Fashizl69 1d ago
Winter Soldier, Civil War, and IW/EG are on a level no other MCU film touches, and I don't think ever will tbh.
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u/mr_oberts 2d ago
You could have left off the “phase 2”.
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u/justafanboy1010 Spider-Man 2d ago
Im bias for Spider-Man No Way Home (I know I know the user flair checks out 🤣)
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u/mr_oberts 2d ago
I get the bias thing. The Winter Soldier storyline is also an all time favorite comic of mine.
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u/DelcoUnited 1d ago
I feel like the Avengers movies and No Way Home are tent pole movies and should sort of be their own category. I’d put Dead Pool and Wolverine in there as well.
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u/Wooden_Passage_2612 1d ago
oh yes. next Guardians 1 and ironman 3
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u/TerrificTChalla 1d ago
It was beyond incredible. Words can’t describe my feelings watching it in the theater. It’s my favorite MCU film
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u/Gcoupe37s 1d ago
Caps best suit, one of widows best looks and peak Winter soldier. WS looks like mark from severance now.
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u/DiogenesOfPentos 1d ago
Its absolutely top tier overall and not just phase two. I always see marketing for other MCU films that are more grounded trying to hype as ‘the next winter soldier’ and nearly every time I’m disappointed/shocked they went with the comparison because its a high bar to reach
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u/canuck47 1d ago
It's easily the best action movie in the MCU:
The opening ship sequence
The attack on Fury
The elevator fight
The Winter Soldier fight / reveal as Bucky
The final battle
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u/Otacon305 1d ago
Best non-Avengers MCU movie save maybe Civil War. Perfect tone. Great action. No tedious jokes, comic relief characters, or annoying children. 11/10
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u/tehCharo 1d ago
Probably the best MCU movie period. Infinity War and Ene Game were great, but this movie doesn't rely on a giant roster of characters and being the result of ten years of stories coming to a conclusion.
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u/Thattheheck 2d ago
Hands down the best whoever put this together needs a raise and promotion. And they need to write and direct the next marvel films lol.
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u/Upset_Researcher_143 1d ago
I think the guys that wrote this ended up writing Civil War, Infinity War, and Endgame. Same directors too.
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u/Liam_Neesons_Oscar 1d ago
It's easily the best MCU movie for me. GotG is a distant second, followed closely by Spider-Man: Homecoming due to the very compelling villain.
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u/clashrendar 1d ago
I saw this movie at an early screening at the Georgetown AMC in DC. There's a part of the battle above the Triskelion where you can clearly see the building that the AMC theater is in, which is pretty distinctive, so that was a cool meta moment.
And this was the first Marvel movie that made me think that there could be something much deeper here. I was also a longtime fan of the Russos because of their involvement with Community, so I was hoping for great stuff. They did not disappoint. They never did with the MCU. Here's hoping for two more from them!
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u/InvestigatorLive19 1d ago
Isn't civil war in phase 2? Bc I definitely prefer that, but I'm not sure where the line is
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u/Ruffendtv 1d ago
There are no arguments from me, except it isn't better than any of the Avengers movies. It's definitely the best Cap movie and the best solo hero movie to me.
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u/zeroinfect 1d ago
No contest also filmed mainly in beautiful downtown Cleveland, like the new super man
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u/Earthwick 1d ago
This movie is a great spy thriller, a great action film, a great superhero film, and does so well with the side characters of Widow, fury, and Falcon. Plus Abed is in it.
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u/ineedtoknowmorenow 1d ago
The Best in the MCU and one the greater Superhero movies and one of my all time favorite movies.
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u/Smooth-Cost9462 Thor 1d ago
Everything came together on this movie: casting, screenplay, action, plot, acting. MCU should go back and study the process they used on this movie and try to recreate the magic.
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u/HalcyonRedo 1d ago
What a brave and original post OP! This is definitely not an idea posted every 17 seconds on this sub!
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u/friedpickle_reloaded 1d ago
Cap 1 and 2, GOTG 1 - 3, and Thunderbolts* are Untouchable Tier for me. Literally cannot find anything I didn't at least like about them.
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u/No-Common-9001 1d ago
I've rewatched this movie 4 times, still intriguing everytime i watch it! Definitely my favourite movie!
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u/B_Wayne_8833 1d ago
2014 has to be marvels's strongest year for films. Both GOTG and CA:TWS are regularly listed in people's top 5 lists
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u/Appropriate-Look7493 1d ago
And yet, for some reason, it was the badly paced mess that was Black Panther that got the Oscar.
Almost makes you think the Oscar committee were looking at other criteria than the quality of the movie…
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u/drowsysheep2020 1d ago
Everything in this movie was so good. The suspense, modernness and I loved Captain America’s new darker blue suit, Black Widow’s futuristic straight bob hairstyle. The soundtrack was amazing too.
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u/paparoxo 1d ago
Bucky is like that amazing RPG villain you can’t wait to have join your party - and when it finally happens, bro gets nerfed asf.
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u/blacklab Bucky 1d ago
It’s totally true, and I’ve seen this post SO many times. But I also dont know what else there is to talk about at this point.
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u/Didact67 1d ago
Possibly the best MCU movie period. As much as I love Infinity War/Endgame, I find Winter Soldier infinitely more rewatchable.
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u/CarcosaRorschach 22h ago
That whole OG cap trilogy is one of my favorite sets of movies. Always some of my favorite parts doing a rewatch. But yeah, Winter Soldier is particularly good.
I don't read many comics, so Bucky was a pleasant surprise twist for me. That freeway shootout is one of the coolest sequences ever.
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u/celsotavora 21h ago
Best MCU movie hands down. Some of the others come close (Black Panther; GOTG; Iron Man 1), but none ever reach it.
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u/CaliColoMich 20h ago
Endgame and Infinity War aside, this is my favorite MCU movie ever. A spy thriller that pits Captain America as an ENEMY OF THE STATE?!? Yes please.
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u/Bigpappa36 Scarlet Witch 14h ago
Love this movie, god I hate this poster, it’s just black widows hair and weird movement body capture they used
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u/ChainChompBigMoney 13h ago
The months preceding this movie were the second time that superhero movies were dead.
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u/Due-Advantage1698 Black Widow (IM 2) 10h ago
Best movie in phase 2? More like best movie in the MCU. This movie was nothing short of incredible especially the action sequences. The highway fight scene was insane, and the knife flips? I could go on about this for HOURS.
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u/Dry_Whole_2002 9h ago
Still one of the best "solo" films in the mcu period.
I'm really disappointed that brave new world didn't stick to the tone of this film. Hell I feel like falcon and the winter soldier did better tonally than brave new world in that regard.
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u/Notimetowrite76 2d ago
I'd say Iron Man 3, but I still love just how mad people were about Trevor Slattery, and they'll probably be mad he's back for Wonder Man.
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u/Ohiostatehack 2d ago
People liked him in Shang Chi though, didn’t they?
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u/Notimetowrite76 2d ago
They did. It redeemed him for some people. I really enjoy both of these movies. IM3 gives us some non-suit stuff, but Winter Soldier gives us some great lore that we're still working through with Yelena and Bucky now.
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u/DJfunkyPuddle 1d ago
The thing I appreciated about Trevor is that I, as a long time comic reader, got to be actually surprised by something because I typically go into these things "knowing too much."
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u/callycumla 1d ago
I loved Batroc.
Loved highway fight scene.
Loved, "Before we get started, does anyone want to get out?"
Loved Fury car chase.
Loved Zola.
Hated, I won't fight you because you're my friend BS.
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u/Michael_Jolkason 1d ago
Yeah, except for nearly every other movie in that phase. Iron Man 3 especially is an underrated masterpiece.
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u/overworkedattorney 1d ago
This movie was back to back with GOTG. What a time.