Phase One vs. Phase Two: Which did you prefer?

[The_Manhunter]

Phase II, it had 3 of the better MCU films and took many more risks, as everything between Iron Man and Avengers in Phase I seemed to pretty much follow the same formula.

Agreed. That's a big reason why I prefer Phase 2.

 

[Thoix]

I'm going with Phase Two on this one, which had the better films overall.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Seeing Ant Man tonight so will vote after that, but at the moment I prefer phase 1. I loved IM1, Thor and A1. Were as in phase 2 I have only loved TWS and GOTG, the latter being the best MCU movie so far for me.

I also feel IM3 and TDW are the 2 worst MCU movies and I found AOU disappointing, especially Ultron, and a worse movie than the first. So unless I find Ant Man as good as TWS or GOTG phase 1 will get my vote.

 

[Tony Stark]

I'm voting for Phase 1 only because it was a dream come true, seeing these characters all on screen and the building of something that has never been done before and is now being copied by all their competitors after saying it wouldn't work.

As for which Phase had the better movies that's six of one, half dozen of the other. IM1, Avengers, TWS, GOTG are among the top comic book movies ever made, not just among MCU films.

Phase 2 had an overall better quality to all the films, but without the foundation of Phase 1, none of it comes to fruition.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

I also feel some of the Phase 1 movies have got better with age. I thought Cap 1 was bang average when I first saw it, but after about another 5 viewings and thinking the same, the movie just started to click with me and I have loved it since.

TIH and IM2 I really enjoyed a lot as well when I did my MCU marathon before AOU came out, I actually think I prefer IM2 to IM3 now.

My viewing of Ant Man has been delayed until next week sadly

 

[The Caped Knight]

Phase 1 was the introduction and the lead up towards the formation of The Avengers. But Phase 2 we ramp up this established world with an elevation of character development for our characters particularly Captain America in "The Winter Solider". So most definitely PHASE II

 

[Wraith]

Phase I is a better overarching story, but the individual stories and characters are stronger in phase II imo. The buildup and payoff to the first Avengers was incredible, but phase I I movies like Iron Man 3, The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy and Ant Man are better standalone stories than the Phase I stuff.

 

[Shikamaru]

I felt Phase 1 was off to a great start with Iron Man and had a great end with the Avengers, but everything in between was meh. I find the middle part of Phase 1 to be generic, formulaic, watered down and littered with forced MCU easter eggs. Other than TDW and early AoS, they're some of the most bland experiences I've ever had in the past 7 years.

Interestingly enough, I felt Phase 2 followed the exact opposite pattern. It started out controversial (IM3, TDW, AoS), received critical acclaim in the middle (TWS, Guardians, Agent Carter, Daredevil), then dropped back to more "meh" results towards the end (AoU & Ant-Man).

Overall I'm easily going to give it to Phase 2, as I felt Marvel both stepped up their game and gave me more of what I wanted to see from them in the first place. Tonally, each project felt more distinct from one another than they did in Phase 1, as did the cinematography (TDW included). The shared universe connections and overall world building felt much more natural, not taking away from other films the way they did before and even enhancing other Marvel projects in certain cases. Risks have gone up, as expected. Most importantly, I felt Feige and Co. brought a level of maturity and complexity that wasn't that much present in the MCU pre-2014. Just three years ago I had very little faith in them executing Spider-Man or a more darker and nuanced character like Daredevil properly; now I've joined the "In Marvel We Trust" bandwagon to the extent any reasonable person would. I genuinely feel they've grown as a studio in the same way an individual person does.

 

[Erzengel]

Phase One

Tier 1 Excellent
Avengers & Iron Man

Tier 2 Good
Thor & Captain America

Tier 3 Average
Iron Man 2 & Incredible Hulk

Phase Two

Tier 1 Excellent
The Winter Soldier & Guardians of the Galaxy

Tier 2 Good
Age of Ultron, Ant-Man and Iron Man 3

Tier 3 Average
Thor: Dark World

Phase 2 has the edge with me.

 

[Spidey-Lad93]

Phase 2 because there was more diversity Phase 1 was just setting up the Avengers

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Despite seeing and thoroughly enjoying Ant Man last night, I still have the give the slight edge to phase 1, for me the worst of phase 2 is worse than the worst of phase 1 for me and that gives the first phase the slightest edge.

 

[ripse]

Phase one : Ironman 9.1/10, The Incredible Hulk 7.5/10, Ironman 2 6.5/10, Captain America TFA 8.5/10, Thor 6.3/10, The Avengers 9/10

Phase two : Ironman 3 9.5/10, Guardian Of The Galaxy 10/10, Captain America TWS 9.9/10, Thor TDW 6.2/10, Avengers AOU 8.4/10, Antman 8.8/10


So With Score in Above 8.9 , Phase Two Have 3 movies and Phase One just have 2 movies then the winner is Phase Two


Is all just my opinion, everyone have favorite score and just be yourself

 

[FeedOnATreeFrog]

Hmm.

Phase 1
-Iron Man and The Avengers blew my mind on first couple viewings, though they don't do it for me anymore.
-The rest of the movies were all pretty meh and didn't deliver much on the spectacle front either.
-There's something quite charming about the Thor movie though. Perhaps it's the musical theme.

Phase 2
-Winter Soldier and GotG were very fresh and highly enjoyable, even if I haven't felt terribly compelled to revisit them.
-IM3, Thor TDW, and AOU were pretty meh, although they do bring the spectacle.
-(Ant-Man still hasn't come out yet in China -__- )

So while Phase 1 started and ended with a bang, I'd say I prefer Phase 2.

 

[Steamteck]

Its hard for me to decide. Although the Winter Soldier was better than anything in Phase 1 except the Avengers and AOU almost matched the first one, My disappointment with IM3 was so great I almost lost faith in the brand. Dark world, while not up to the first was better than IM2 , which isn't as bad as everyone says it to me.

So while phase 2 was larger and had more films I enjoy, nothing in phase 1 enraged me past the point of rational thought.

I guess I'll go with phase 2 more strong highs but bigger despair. The despair being only one film though.

 

[Kahran Ramsus]

This is easy for me. My two favorite MCU films (TWS, GOTG) are from Phase 2 and my two least (TIH, IM2) are from Phase 1.

 

[First Avenger]

Ok, Phase 1:
Avengers
Iron man
Thor
TFA
TIH
IM2

Phase 2:
AoU
GoTG
TWS
Ant-Man
TDW
IM3

Total:
AoU
GotG
TWS
Avengers
Iron Man
Ant-Man
TDW
Thor
TFA
IM3
TIH
IM2

So Phase 2 Wins for me.

 

[Quasimod0]

Here's how it stacks up for me.

My favorite solo film of phase 1 is The First Avenger, but CA: TWS>CA:TFA
IM3=IM1 , and IM3>IM2
I can't decide which Thor movie I like more, because both have things I don't care for, and both have great moments. But I'll go, Thor>Thor 2

Now as for the Avengers films, I got back and forth on which one I like more. I think the first movie has less problems than the sequel, but I gotta say I like the second one a bit better. So, Age of Ultron>Avengers

And then Phase 2 has Ant Man and GotG, which are in my top 5 MCU movies. And those two easily beat out TIH.

 

[lordofthenerds]

Iron Man> Iron Man 3
Avengers> AOU
Thor> TDW

I wasn't a huge fan of Ant-Man. GOTG and TWS were both really good, but Phase One still edges out Phase Two for me.

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

Phase 1 had more moments that reasonated with me: Tony Stark's POW experience, the selection process for Steve Rogers, Thor's redemption and a few moments in Avengers.

I enjoyed Winter Soldier and Ant-Man alot but phase 2 had more heart and redeeming moments which are even more important than action and humor for me.

 

[Sleiek]

Three of my favorite MCU movies are all from Phase 2.

The Winter Soldier, Age of Ultron and Guardians of the Galaxy. Phase 2 is better imo.

 

[Flint Marko]

Phase 2 was undoubtedly a step up. Overall I think the first time around was a roaring success across the board, but they've really upped their game. I agree with Sleik, Age of Ultron, Guardians, TWS as well as Ant-man are all in my top MCU films along with Iron Man and the first Avengers.

 

[First Avenger]

Ant-Man was such a pleasant surprise,I liked how it felt like a Phase 1 movie after the Big spectacles from TDW to AoU. For me it's as good as Iron Man.

 

[Zant]

Captain America 2 just so happens to be a phase 2 movie. So by default I vote for phase 2.

 

[Loki882]

It depends. Phase One was more consistent imo. Whereas Phase Two has IM3 and TDW, neither of which I found all that impressive, and AM, which I found enjoyable but rather flawed. On the other hand, Phase Two was more ambitious overall and it reached greater highs (TWS and GOTG) when it succeeded.

 

[Loki882]

Ant-Man was such a pleasant surprise,I liked how it felt like a Phase 1 movie after the Big spectacles from TDW to AoU. For me it's as good as Iron Man.

I actually agree thatAnt Man felt like a Phase One film. In fact, it very much reminded me of a more overtly-comedic IM in many ways (although I didn't find it to be anywhere near as good as IM). Heck it even had a bald evil corporate bad guy who tries to take over the hero's company and has a grudge, oh and jumps into a super-suit for a third act fight scene. This is likely do to it being in-development for so damn long.

Which isn't a problem per se, but it did make it a rather awkward choice to END Phase Two on. I actually don't know why they did that, Phase Two seemed to be all about expanding/going bigger. And that movie, well wasn't. Plus ending each Phase with an Avengers film seems really right/natural to me. I'd have made AM the first film of Phase Three personally.