Written by Tanner Banks, Jan 22 , 2017, at 9:45 p.m.

When the top grossing movies of each year come out it seems like there’s always a Marvel movie at the top. The Marvel Cinematic Universe has the film world by the balls. Able to keep audiences glued to their seats through the credits for the hopes of a teaser for the next installment. With so much success however, there has been an uneven production of the movies. While there hasn’t been any bad movies so far, some were way better than others. So her is my totally subjective list of the top 10 Marvel movies so far. Fair warning if you haven’t seen certain films, spoilers ahead.

Missed the Cut:

Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, The Incredible Hulk, Ant-Man.

Although I’m an unabashed #TeamIronMan member, I couldn’t justify Iron Man 2 anywhere near the top ten. It felt unimportant, and Mickey Rourke was uninteresting. It wasn’t bad by any means, but it was not that good either. The Incredible Hulk faced similar issues with boring villains, and an air of “who gives a shit?” Edward Norton being replaced also helped out in the future. As for IM3 and Ant-Man they were simply victims of not enough room at the top. They were both really good, but just not good enough. With that, we move to the top ten!

10. Thor: The Dark World

This movie’s biggest weakness comes from the characters. Aside from Loki and Thor most of the acting and characterization fell flat for me. The evil brooding Malekith was boring to watch, and his lieutenant’s transformation was the only compelling thing they did. Thor’s mother Frigga had her moments but you could see her death an Asgardian mile away. Sif and the rest of the Warriors Three felt like they were included for no other reason than to appeaer. As for Natalie Portman as Jane… jeez I don’t know why, but she was just… so… bad.

Thor and Loki’s interactions were the highlights of the film for sure. Placing Loki in a morally gray (but very dark gray) was great to see. And his false death was a great surprise that I really liked. And the little wink to camera ending was confusing but a perfect way to end the movie.

Action packed and Thor in full-on badass mode was a treat to watch. The alien worlds felt rich and developed, and once again Darcy managed to steal the show. While it wasn’t perfect, Thor: The Dark World was entertaining and overall a solid performance. Nothing great, but it did its job.

9. Avengers: Age of Ultron

Next is Age of Ultron. I tried to love this movie, but it just missed the mark. It was action packed, quick witted, and had some great character moments. But it didn’t quite go all the way. While the team itself did a great job, side characters like Robin from How I Met Your Disappointing Finale and Falcon didn’t gel with the team. As for Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, blegh. I didn’t find their character’s compelling, and their scenes in the movie felt like chores to watch. They felt more like annoyances than threats for the heroes.I’d put more blame on the actors than the writing for that however. That being said, the machine gun scene at the end felt very satisfying to watch because of this.

Ultron on the other hand was a highpoint for me. He wasn’t like he’s described in the comics but acting as the evil mirror to Tony Stark was a brilliant move. Not to mention James Spader did a brilliant job giving Ultron life. Unlike the infinity stone in the movie. Ultron managed to do real damage the entire way through the movie.

As for the major battles in the falling city and throughout, it felt very fluid the whole way. This team had been doing this for a while and complimented one another. Everybody felt powerful and important. The movie triumphed most when it kept the pace going and action flowing. It wasn’t as good as OG Avengers (more on that later), but it was still really fun to watch.

8. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

Putting Winter Soldier here is not an indictment on the movie. It’s an example of how stacked the Marvel film lineup is. I really liked this one, but that’s just it. I only liked it, I didn’t love it. The film’s different tone, political setting, and pairing of Cap and Black Widow were all high points. But pacing issues and some questionable characters knocked it down a peg for me.

The movie’s haphazard pacing was like riding in the car with someone who was learning to drive a stick shift for the first time. One moment the film was slow and world building, the next it was explosions everywhere and HOLY SHIT WINTER SOLDIER IS BUCKY! That has been Marvel’s modus operandi for a while, but it felt a bit too jarring at times. And Red Skull’s scientist existing as a brain in a jar computer felt contrived. It was unexpected and exciting the first time I saw it, but afterwords it didn’t feel right.

But let’s get on with what the movie did right. Cap and Black Widow were buzzing with a friendly chemistry the whole way. It reminded me of when my favorite superheroes would join forces on a special episode of my Saturday morning cartoons. Falcon’s inclusion was a great way to expand the superhero list, while showing just how great Captain America is. But what I loved most in the movie was how the bad guy went from being some weird foreign power to three blocks from the White House. Everything felt urgent, and with everybody on their heels the whole time, the thrills kept coming.

7. Doctor Strange

Doctor Strange man. This movie was a visual trip the whole way through. Now we’ve entered territory into movies I loved. So that means a lot less complaining and more gushing over how bitchin’ these movies were. I went into the movie incredibly skeptical of how it would turn out. I’m not a big fan of Benadryl Cucumber-patch, but he owned this role like he bought it at the thrift store. His performance was fantastic and the action was like a firework show of magic and shit.

Doctor Strange’s interactions with Christine and the others were all fantastic. The movie’s writing was able to keep up with its stunning visuals by making everybody feel important. The villains were ready to wreck everything for everyone. The side characters were all important and felt like their own independent beings. The only thing that keeps it from being higher is that it came after so many other origin stories, so the story structure felt a little formulaic. But it was executed so well I had to put it on the list.

6. Captain America: The First Avenger

Marvel knows how to do an origin story, and this is a great example. Chris Evans does a tremendous job as Steve Rogers in his journey to becoming the hero he envisions. He doesn’t just be a hero when he gets pumped with those super ‘roids. We see him become the hero. And it’s really satisfying to watch Captain America kick Nazi ass.

One of the biggest strengths and weaknesses of the film was how it really felt like a comic book. It was like a bunch of issues of a comic book formatted into the movie. You could feel each scene leading to the next and it kept the pace up. But because of this, the end felt a tad rushed. Of course, with great side characters and a truly menacing antagonist in such an action packed film makes up for it.