Thanks to everyone who's watched so far! I've seen several comments asking about Werewolf by Night and the GOTG Holiday Special. As I say at 1:18 in the video, I didn't include them and decided to focus on the shows and movies directly tied to Phase 4. I enjoyed Werewolf by Night and obviously haven't seen the Holiday Special yet, but I'm looking forward to it.
great video as always dan I'm a film student at first institute in Orlando flordia I have project for a short documentary and the subject I choose is film criticism and the misconception people have about critics I was wondering if you would be interested in being the critic I interview which would be over zoom it would mean a lot I've such a big fan of you for awhile now hope to hear from you as soon as possible thank you
as a French-Canadian I found the partition plot line Highly offending. I mean complaining about getting your own country, I wish we had ours. Not Quicksilver, you sure ?? Cross-generational, nailed it!!!
@@danielvezina5521 Agatha would be a perfect opportunity to reveal that Evan Peters' Quicksilver actually escaped the destruction of the Fox X-Men universe and was put up in essentially a safe house by SHIELD. Vision became aware of this and that is the reason he selected that town to purchase a home in (he may have thought that introducing Wanda to an alternate "brother" would be comfort to her). Without doing this you have to deal with Agatha successfully duplicating Ralph Bohner's superspeed with her magic. Also why is Wanda so accepting of this "brother". Peters is not attached to the Agatha show, but I hope he actually secretly is. Quicksilver would be in the unique position to escape an alternate universe given his power set.
That podcast with the 3 of you was pure fan service...😝 Was so great listening to you guys again after so long...hope this will be a regular thing now...
One of the many reasons I like watching Dan's videos is that we see movies and shows in a very similar way. Dan's rankings is exactly how I would rank MCU phase 4. I originally thought I was the only outlier who really loved Moon Knight and Oscar Isaac's performance, really glad that Dan ranked it high as well.
I love Dan, Joe, and Spencer, especially in combination! Thanks for pointing this out. I subscribe to the podcast, but tend to watch most of your content on video rather than in the audio format.
hearing you joe and spencer together again was great! i hope you keep doing it…you guys could literally talk about anything and i would listen. but the segment ideas were great.
Teared up listening to the podcast with Joe and Spencer. Forgot how much I missed all of you together; felt like being reunited with old friends. Thank you for that!
I personally loved the Eternals. A lot of my list would agree with yours, but Eternals would be at the top. I have a soft spot for ambition, and even though it wasn't perfect in its execution, I thought it was very very good.
My Phase 4 Rankings #1). WandaVision #2). Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings #3). Black Panther: Wakanda Forever #4). Spider-Man: No Way Home #5). Moon Knight #6). Loki S1 #7). The Falcon and the Winter Soldier #8). Ms Marvel #9). Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness #10). Werewolf by Night #11). What If? S1 #12). Black Widow #13). Eternals #14). Hawkeye #15). She-Hulk: Attorney of Law #16). Thor: Love and Thunder
I know it’s a joke that all podcasts these days are bros just shooting the wind but if there’s any version of that podcast I’d listen to every week it would be Dan, Spenny and Joe without question.
Oh man the reunion video made my day! I can’t tell you how often I go back and watch the old honest trailer commentaries with you guys when I need a laugh!
Great video Dan! Love your analysis (even if I don't always agree), and I appreciate that you trust your audience enough to do some pretty nuanced criticism. Keep it up!
I am another one who really enjoyed the podcast reunion. I regularly watched all of you and the remainder of the crew at SJU, SJ and MF. It was good to have some of that energy back in my life. So thumbs up on this video if it means you can have more of an opportunity to do that again.
I have a personal theory that Loki affects the multiverse immediately after End Game. So every movie and show we've seen take place in this phase is in a different universe. It explains the different tones, lack of references to other MCU occurrences, and makes sense knowing that this is Multiverse Saga and Secret Wars is coming. I even think there are little hints in dialogue that this is the case. It's fun to imagine anyway!
The villain/dragon in Shang Chi should have had speaking roles. They speak in the comics, and we've seen Dragons speak before (LOTR/Dragon Heart/etc). It really hurt the film when the villain has been speaking to and influencing the main villain, but then when it appears it's just another roaring Kaiju. Same applies to the ancient dragon. It should have had a voice. Probably would have been British despite the Asian theme, but could've been a good way to get an aged Jet Li or Jackie Chan in the MCU.
OMG Thank you! Dr. Strange 2 was such a disappointment for me as well, for a lot of the reasons you bring up and more. Wanda went through a lot of character development in Wandavision... and then it's like "Hey, here's a book. Ooops I'm bad now. Vision who? WHERES MY KIDS". The Illuminati cameos were fun at first but then it just felt like a giant middle-finger to all the fans of those characters when they were systematically picked apart in the most idiotic ways possible. (Also, didn't want to skip over this: Thanks for plugging the mini-reunion podcast episode! It was really nice seeing/hearing you guys all together again!)
The first time I watched Eternals, I had somehow turned off the subtitles for the non-English language sections. So I had no clue what they were saying at those parts. I thought it was very avante guarde and daring of Marvel to rely on visual storytelling and subtle clues to make sense of those scenes. Then I turned back on the subtitles and rewatched it. Lol.
Really interesting list. Thanks for making it! Personally I’d put Eternals much higher, I think it ages better than any of the other projects and I do feel like you got to know the characters impressively fast, the problem you’re describing is true in Rogue one for me but not in Eternals. And I would’ve put Spider-man a bit lower.
I always enjoy your ranking videos and am super excited that you talked to Spencer and Joe on the podcast 🤗 I loved the three of you together at Screen Junkies!
Its amazing to me that everyone agrees that Phase 4 was a more unstable era of the MCU but no one seems to agree on why! I've seen Moonknight at the bottom of other people's lists, some people think Eternals is genius (I dont get why...) most people dont like What If but Dan just sees potential! Maybe this is the splitting point where fans of different genres just appreciate the MCU on different levels? The MCU may just be too diverse to appeal to everyone now but that's less of an indicator of quality than people think.
I think part of what makes this phase specifically so hard to rank is that everything is so damn long and “uneven” as you put it. It’s hard for me to rank stuff like WandaVision and Black Panther when they have so much stuff in them. As a side note, isn’t it crazy how all 3 of the best shows managed to completely fumble the ending?
Marvel has a huge problem with endings. Even most of their movies, the third act is arguably the worst. Shang-Chi, Black Panther Wakanda Forever, Eternals, etc. Spider-Man really was the exception and it makes sense why it probably made #1 on a lot of people's lists
I just dont agree with Loki fumbling its ending though. It was way diffferent from what we usually get, but that's arguably a good thing. It was never about a big climactic battle, it's about choices and ideas. That's what made Loki interesting and that's what it ends with.
I feel like my favourite might be Wakanda Forever. As much as I do love Spider-Man No Way Home, Wakdanda Forever was an emotional rollercoaster, and a real epic.
Almost pick for pick my ranking as well. I would have Ms Marvel a little higher actually, and I'd switch Loki with Wandavision (maybe), but yeah well said. and I totally agree with your sentiments on these rankings. I knew going in No Way Home would be #1.
Excellent stuff as always. Very pleasantly surprised to see No Way Home rank so highly for you. It is quite easily one of my favorite theater going experiences ever. An absolute dream come true for massive Spidey fans.
Sat with a sleeping baby on me for two hours. This dropped just as he woke up! Just managed to catch up. Love hearing your thoughts. Also working my way through the podcast with yourself, Joe and Spencer and laughing my ass off. A real gift to hear you three shoot the shit again.
Mine (What If is excluded, cause it’s a part of Marvel Animation) 1. No Way Home 2. Wakanda Forever 3. Loki 4. Eternals 5. Ms. Marvel 6. Werewolf By Night 7. Shang-Chi 8. Falcon 9. Black Widow 10. Moon Knight 11. Hawkeye 12. Multiverse of Madness 13. WandaVision 14. She-Hulk 15. Thor: Love & Thunder
It always amazes me how much I can completely agree with Dan 100% on one movie/point and then be totally in opposition on the next, lol Keeps things interesting, for sure!
My list I’m including I am groot and werewolf by night 17. Thor love and thunder 16. She hulk 15. Black widow 14. I am groot 13. Ms marvel 12. What if? 11. Falcon and the winter soldier 10. Eternals 9. Wanda vision 8. Dr strange 2 7. Shang chi 6. Werewolf by night 5. Hawkeye 4. Moon knight 3. Loki 2. No way home 1. Wakanda forever
"I said I wasn't going to do this again because the last time I did this, we got a lot of hate comments, but this time's different!" I love your endless optimism and seeing the best in people, Dan.
Nice list here’s mine 1. No way home 2. Wandavision 3. Loki 4. Falcon and the winter solider 5. Moon knight 6. Ms marvel 7. Shang chi 8. Wakanda forever 9. Dr strange and the multiverse of madness 10. Hawkeye 11. Thor love and thunder 12. Black widow 13. Eternals 14. What if 15. She hulk
0:49 omgomgomg...MUST download! I was about to leave a comment on the Fandom page to do an OG crew reunion, in the spirit of the season. I know that it's too late to organize a Thanksgiving release, but possibly a Christmas one? 🙇🏻♂️
I agree with this list, but also appreciate that even if I didn’t this was a well made and logical exploration of the many weaknesses and the few strengths of phase 4
So... am I the only one who absolutely LOVED Doctor Strange 2? It's probably my favorite MCU movie since Infinity War (yes, including Endgame). But I feel like no one else likes it besides my partner and me, let alone love it as much as I do LOL.
I gave it an 8/10, so can't say I loved it, but I really liked it. I'd rank it higher than Eternals(Also 8/10) and Love & Thunder(7/10). But I'd rank Spider-Man(9/10), Wakanda Forever(8/10), Shang-Chi(8/10), and Black Widow(8/10), in that order, above it. There were a few scenes in the movie I really loved, but overall it fell a bit flat for me.
Best of Phase 4: WandaVision premise What If: Dr. Strange Episode Mobius and Loki Elizabeth Olsen Iman Vellani Agatha Harkness Oscar Isaac Andrew Garfield's Spiderman Sam and Bucky Angela Bassett Sylvie Yelena Belova Ms. Marvel episode 1 world creation M'Baku Simu Liu Richard E. Grant ........... Personal indulgences: Greek Russell Crowe Evan Peters Hawkeye's daily life Cloak of the Damned Stormbreaker jealous of Mjolnir Zemo Dancing 1hr version *These are in no particular order. I might edit & add things as I remember them. **Listing the actor vs character is intentional.
I agree with you on Moon Knight, definitely at the top for me as well. If they just spread out the finale into 2 episodes, and added one or two more action set pieces it would be my #1.
MoonKnight as your top show? the taste! Couldn't agree more, I was so invested in Mark, Steven and Layla that I even loved the final episode. Imo it was a great premise, it just needed more time, wish it was an 8 episode series instead of 6, because Harrow was such an interesting villain and it would have been great to see more of his dynamic with Amyt and why he wanted to become her avatar after Khonshu left him (and know why Khonshu left him). What I love the most about MK is how it portrayed DID (I recommend Cinema therapy's video on the series if you haven't seen it!) and I think it had the best set up for a follow up, I can't wait to get to know Jake!. Episode 5 broke me, Oscar Isaac really deserved a nomination for that episode alone!.
I understand how people can not love She-Hulk, but as an MCU stan whose favorite TV show from the past is Better Off Ted, It’s felt like they made a show just for me… which also feels like a real mistake because my tastes are so bizarre, but I still thank them for it. I fully understand anybody who wasn’t onboard with it. I only saw 1 fault with your rankings, and that was not mentioning the music in Loki. One of the times I rewatched Loki was just because I had the music stuck in my head. It’s up there with The Mandalorian.
Taste! The same exact top-4 as me, which is rare because of my love for Moon Knight. Also have MoM ranked very low for the same exact reasons you mentioned re:Wanda.
Honestly Dr Strange was going be a totally different movie if Derrickson stayed on. His villain was going to be Nightmare and the story seem to focus on Dr Strange past and how he lost his sister. I agree with Dan, I felt they should've stuck with Derrickson vision and start showing signs and hints of Wanda turning because of that book. It would've been a better built up to here becoming Avengers level threat or Dr Strange 3 side villain to the main threat.
Yet it is obvious the Showrunner, directors, and writers have never opened a comic book. It started off great, but fell off a cliff in the last few episodes
First of all, thanks Dan for taking the time to rank and provide a reason for each ranking of the phase 4 MCU. Secondly, your ranking pretty much aligns with mine, and what you said about Strange MoM is pretty accurate because on the first viewing when the illuminate show up, yeah, cheers and excitement in the theater, but seeing it a second time and how quickly they were dispatched goes to show that it was nothing more than fan service. Strange had potential for much more and it didn't capture that potential.
Here's my ranking of phase 4. I'm including the specials too now that I've watched the GotG Xmas special. While I don't agree with a lot of your rankings, I do agree with a lot of the points you made about the things each project either did well or struggled with. I'm giving my list letter grades too to give an idea of the tiers they fall into for me. 1. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - A 2. WandaVision - A 3. Loki - A 4. Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special - A 5. Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - A- 6. Werewolf by Night - A- 7. Ms. Marvel - B+ 8. Falcon and the Winter Soldier - B+ 9. Eternals - B+ 10. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - B+ 11. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law - B 12. Moon Knight - B 13. Thor: Love and Thunder - B 14. Spider-Man: No Way Home - B 15. Hawkeye - B 16. What If...? - B 17. Black Widow - C
I appreciate the list; it’s well thought-out and measured. I agree for the most part about the list, but I will say that aside from ranking Love and Thunder above Multiverse of Madness, the one that causes me to scratch my head the most is your surprisingly high ranking of Falcon: Winter Soldier. Sebastian Stan really brings his all, his repartees with Zemo are some of the highest points for me, and then not only do they literally close the door in front of his big emotional cathartic moment (admitting to the old man he had killed his son), when they change the title to “Captain America,” they still keep him as “Winter Soldier!” His arc was all about him finally letting go of it, and they just sideline it at the very end! The show was so spread out and uneven, it would endear you to a character in one moment and then make you want to see them die five minutes later. It was an exercise in pure frustration to watch.
For me it's (all based on how I received it + personal rewatchability) : 1) Loki 2) Falcon and the Winter Soldier 3) No Way Home 4) Eternals 5) Shang Chi 6) Werewolf by Night 7) Hawkeye 8) Black Widow 9) WandaVision 10) Ms. Marvel 11) Wakanda Forever 12) Multiverse of Madness 13) She-Hulk 14) What If? 15) Moon Knight 16) Love and Thunder I have no plans on watching the Groot shorts that came out too
If they had less movies and half the shows in this phase, the overall impression would have been much better because most of them are fine. My favorites are WandaVision, for the lock down joy, and somehow Shang Chi. Special shout out to Black Widow, too little too late.
Great rankings and insight on the films as always! I agree especially with your first and last picks--Spider-man No Way Home was phenomenal and She-Hulk just didn't do it for me, despite Maslany's great performance. I'd easily put WandaVision at #2 and would probably only really disagree on Moon Knight's placement--I'd put it a little lower. I feel like MCU Phase 4 really struggled with "quality vs quantity" overall. I'm looking forward to Phase 5 and am nervously excited to see how they manage to bring all these characters together!
That news about the podcast with joe and spencer is kinda bittersweet. I loved you three and roth together and I'm looking forward to listening to it, but it's sad you guys haven't talked in two years. I know that doesn't mean anything, sometimes life gets in the way, but still. I hope this is the first of many.
Thank you!!!!! I agree with you in the first 8 places of your list, except for What if, I would change it for Black Widow, anything else is on point for me! Of course everything is subjective
I think phase 4 was disjointed mostly because of the pandemic. Multiple shooting timelines, casts, release dates and scripts had to be amended. I suspect they will get more on track in the next phase. It was going to be hard to follow the infinity saga no matter what so phase 4 will act like a palette cleanser, which may actually work to their benefit in the future.
Spoiler of Ranking with time stamps; incoming Spoiler of Ranking with time stamps: imminent 15. She-Hulk 1:55 14. Eternals 3:41 13. Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness 5:48 12. Thor: Love & Thunder 8:07 11. Black Widow 9:06 10. Hawkeye 10:45 09. Ms. Marvel 11:50 08. The Falcon 13:20 07. What if...? 16:32 06. Shang-Chi 17:55 05. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 19:15 04. Loki 20:11 03. Wandavision 22:12 02. Moon Knight 24:13 01. Spider-Man: No Way Home 25:47
Eternals was 🔥🔥🔥. They also have reference the giant head in the ocean I believe twice. I definitely felt way different about this list. Dr Strange was one of my favorite. No way Thor Love and Thunder over those 2 is kind of funny lol
Awesome chart Dan, and I agree with the position of everything that I actually saw lol... Gotta say, you're one of the few reviewers who could read the phone book to me and I'd pay attention. Always super smart, charismatic and full of integrity. Amazing 👌
For a minute there I thought your number one spot was going to..."Werewolf By Night". But obviously had to be No Way Home. A total slam dunk. The "Trilogy Ending" to Spider-man we always wanted. But not flawless as we did not quite get a Sinister Six on screen and the less said about the treatment of Venom the better. Just a few further reflections: (1) Hawkeye - had the most intense "diner/dinner" scene between the new versions of Black Widow and Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) since Heat with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in 1995. (2) She-Hulk- very enjoyable, comedy series and was in the vein of John Byrne's She-Hulk comic book series where Jen Walters threatened to put around your house and rip up your X-Men comic books if you did not buy her comic. In my opinion a great show and expertly done to be faithful to the vibe of the source material. (3) Loved "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" for the whole dramatic/comedic "Lethal Weapon" thing it had going on. Brilliant show.
Thanks to everyone who's watched so far! I've seen several comments asking about Werewolf by Night and the GOTG Holiday Special. As I say at 1:18 in the video, I didn't include them and decided to focus on the shows and movies directly tied to Phase 4. I enjoyed Werewolf by Night and obviously haven't seen the Holiday Special yet, but I'm looking forward to it.
When the guardians special comes out, a quick thoughts of their ranking in the review won’t be bad.
great video as always dan I'm a film student at first institute in Orlando flordia I have project for a short documentary and the subject I choose is film criticism and the misconception people have about critics I was wondering if you would be interested in being the critic I interview which would be over zoom it would mean a lot I've such a big fan of you for awhile now hope to hear from you as soon as possible thank you
as a French-Canadian I found the partition plot line Highly offending. I mean complaining about getting your own country, I wish we had ours. Not Quicksilver, you sure ?? Cross-generational, nailed it!!!
@@danielvezina5521 Agatha would be a perfect opportunity to reveal that Evan Peters' Quicksilver actually escaped the destruction of the Fox X-Men universe and was put up in essentially a safe house by SHIELD. Vision became aware of this and that is the reason he selected that town to purchase a home in (he may have thought that introducing Wanda to an alternate "brother" would be comfort to her). Without doing this you have to deal with Agatha successfully duplicating Ralph Bohner's superspeed with her magic. Also why is Wanda so accepting of this "brother". Peters is not attached to the Agatha show, but I hope he actually secretly is. Quicksilver would be in the unique position to escape an alternate universe given his power set.
Great List. Mine would have Eternals as #15, WandaVision at 3, Hawkeye at 2, Shang-Chi #1, & everything else in the middle.
That podcast with the 3 of you was pure fan service...😝 Was so great listening to you guys again after so long...hope this will be a regular thing now...
0:06 - Intro
1:17 - Disclaimer
1:47 - #15
3:36 - #14
5:42 - #13
7:57 - #12
8:59 - #11
10:41 - #10
11:45 - #9
13:16 - #8
15:04 - Sponsorship
16:27 - #7
17:51 - #6
19:09 - #5
20:02 - #4
22:01 - #3
24:10 - #2
25:39 - #1
One of the many reasons I like watching Dan's videos is that we see movies and shows in a very similar way. Dan's rankings is exactly how I would rank MCU phase 4. I originally thought I was the only outlier who really loved Moon Knight and Oscar Isaac's performance, really glad that Dan ranked it high as well.
Thank you, Dan, for doing the pod with Joe and Spencer, made my day yesterday. A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.
What's this???? What's the pod?
Thank you for pointing this out, didn't know this existed
I love Dan, Joe, and Spencer, especially in combination! Thanks for pointing this out. I subscribe to the podcast, but tend to watch most of your content on video rather than in the audio format.
hearing you joe and spencer together again was great! i hope you keep doing it…you guys could literally talk about anything and i would listen. but the segment ideas were great.
id pay for a patreon w a weekly podcast from the three of them
Loved the Podcast with Joe and Spencer, I hope you guys do that again sometime!
Catching up with good friends is tight... oh wait wrong YT channel for that comment. Great job with your channel Dan.
Wow wow wow. Wow.
Loved the podcast! It was just so fun having you all together again! I am here for it.
Teared up listening to the podcast with Joe and Spencer. Forgot how much I missed all of you together; felt like being reunited with old friends. Thank you for that!
Same, it was kinda emotional ❤
I personally loved the Eternals. A lot of my list would agree with yours, but Eternals would be at the top. I have a soft spot for ambition, and even though it wasn't perfect in its execution, I thought it was very very good.
The Marvel phases just don't feel right without an Avengers movie
In a way... No Way Home was kind of its own Avengers film. Kinda sort of.
True but next phase will have 2 to make up for it lol
It’s a warm up for phase 5!
@@jawill24 next... next Phase
It doesn't feel right without good movies
My Phase 4 Rankings
#1). WandaVision
#2). Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
#3). Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
#4). Spider-Man: No Way Home
#5). Moon Knight
#6). Loki S1
#7). The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
#8). Ms Marvel
#9). Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
#10). Werewolf by Night
#11). What If? S1
#12). Black Widow
#13). Eternals
#14). Hawkeye
#15). She-Hulk: Attorney of Law
#16). Thor: Love and Thunder
Hey fun fact that’s me at 14:21 behind Sharon with the beard and brown sweater walking by lmao, crazy to see myself in a Dan video randomly 😂
I cannot emphasize how great the reunion podcast is! Everyone should check it out
This might be the best list I’ve ever seen. Good work 👍
I know it’s a joke that all podcasts these days are bros just shooting the wind but if there’s any version of that podcast I’d listen to every week it would be Dan, Spenny and Joe without question.
More 3 Friends please! That ep was great! It was so refreshing to hear you three together again.
Dan, I LOVE that you ranked both the movies and shows!!! The shows are important too! Awesome ranking video 🎉
Yes!! I just listened to your podcast yesterday - love hearing the three of you together again and I hope you do it again!!!
Oh man the reunion video made my day! I can’t tell you how often I go back and watch the old honest trailer commentaries with you guys when I need a laugh!
Thanks for sharing about your 3 Friends podcast. So nice listening to the chemistry you three have again. Like peak Movie Fights again!
I love that you rated Moon Knight so high!
Agreed. I had it at number one, personally.
Just above she hulk for me
Great video Dan! Love your analysis (even if I don't always agree), and I appreciate that you trust your audience enough to do some pretty nuanced criticism. Keep it up!
Nice to see you get together with Joe and Spencer!
I am another one who really enjoyed the podcast reunion. I regularly watched all of you and the remainder of the crew at SJU, SJ and MF. It was good to have some of that energy back in my life. So thumbs up on this video if it means you can have more of an opportunity to do that again.
hey dan. i hope everyone is havin a good week.
Loved the podcast, thank you guys for let us listen that Amazon’s reunion 💕🙌🏻
I have a personal theory that Loki affects the multiverse immediately after End Game. So every movie and show we've seen take place in this phase is in a different universe. It explains the different tones, lack of references to other MCU occurrences, and makes sense knowing that this is Multiverse Saga and Secret Wars is coming. I even think there are little hints in dialogue that this is the case. It's fun to imagine anyway!
The villain/dragon in Shang Chi should have had speaking roles. They speak in the comics, and we've seen Dragons speak before (LOTR/Dragon Heart/etc). It really hurt the film when the villain has been speaking to and influencing the main villain, but then when it appears it's just another roaring Kaiju. Same applies to the ancient dragon. It should have had a voice. Probably would have been British despite the Asian theme, but could've been a good way to get an aged Jet Li or Jackie Chan in the MCU.
OMG Thank you! Dr. Strange 2 was such a disappointment for me as well, for a lot of the reasons you bring up and more. Wanda went through a lot of character development in Wandavision... and then it's like "Hey, here's a book. Ooops I'm bad now. Vision who? WHERES MY KIDS". The Illuminati cameos were fun at first but then it just felt like a giant middle-finger to all the fans of those characters when they were systematically picked apart in the most idiotic ways possible.
(Also, didn't want to skip over this: Thanks for plugging the mini-reunion podcast episode! It was really nice seeing/hearing you guys all together again!)
The first time I watched Eternals, I had somehow turned off the subtitles for the non-English language sections. So I had no clue what they were saying at those parts. I thought it was very avante guarde and daring of Marvel to rely on visual storytelling and subtle clues to make sense of those scenes.
Then I turned back on the subtitles and rewatched it. Lol.
Really interesting list. Thanks for making it! Personally I’d put Eternals much higher, I think it ages better than any of the other projects and I do feel like you got to know the characters impressively fast, the problem you’re describing is true in Rogue one for me but not in Eternals. And I would’ve put Spider-man a bit lower.
I enjoyed Eternals more upon a second viewing and would put it higher too.
Dan I listened to the podcast with Joe and Spencer, it was so fun! You guys should absolutely do this on a regular base!
I love Joe and Spencer! Is there footage of the podcast episode?
I always enjoy your ranking videos and am super excited that you talked to Spencer and Joe on the podcast 🤗 I loved the three of you together at Screen Junkies!
Just listened to the podcast. I LOL'ed so many times. That needs to be a weekly show. Put it in my veins!
Its amazing to me that everyone agrees that Phase 4 was a more unstable era of the MCU but no one seems to agree on why! I've seen Moonknight at the bottom of other people's lists, some people think Eternals is genius (I dont get why...) most people dont like What If but Dan just sees potential! Maybe this is the splitting point where fans of different genres just appreciate the MCU on different levels? The MCU may just be too diverse to appeal to everyone now but that's less of an indicator of quality than people think.
I think it is cool how people's rankings are all so different because they are making such different things!
I think part of what makes this phase specifically so hard to rank is that everything is so damn long and “uneven” as you put it. It’s hard for me to rank stuff like WandaVision and Black Panther when they have so much stuff in them. As a side note, isn’t it crazy how all 3 of the best shows managed to completely fumble the ending?
Marvel has a huge problem with endings. Even most of their movies, the third act is arguably the worst. Shang-Chi, Black Panther Wakanda Forever, Eternals, etc. Spider-Man really was the exception and it makes sense why it probably made #1 on a lot of people's lists
I just dont agree with Loki fumbling its ending though. It was way diffferent from what we usually get, but that's arguably a good thing. It was never about a big climactic battle, it's about choices and ideas. That's what made Loki interesting and that's what it ends with.
Werewolf by Night is forever iconic!!! 🌕🐺
Mad respect for the Moon Knight love. Cannot understand the hate for that show
I feel like my favourite might be Wakanda Forever. As much as I do love Spider-Man No Way Home, Wakdanda Forever was an emotional rollercoaster, and a real epic.
Almost pick for pick my ranking as well. I would have Ms Marvel a little higher actually, and I'd switch Loki with Wandavision (maybe), but yeah well said. and I totally agree with your sentiments on these rankings. I knew going in No Way Home would be #1.
Excellent stuff as always. Very pleasantly surprised to see No Way Home rank so highly for you. It is quite easily one of my favorite theater going experiences ever. An absolute dream come true for massive Spidey fans.
That clip you played for the #1 stopped me in my tracks and sniffle
Sat with a sleeping baby on me for two hours. This dropped just as he woke up! Just managed to catch up. Love hearing your thoughts.
Also working my way through the podcast with yourself, Joe and Spencer and laughing my ass off. A real gift to hear you three shoot the shit again.
Mine (What If is excluded, cause it’s a part of Marvel Animation)
1. No Way Home
2. Wakanda Forever
3. Loki
4. Eternals
5. Ms. Marvel
6. Werewolf By Night
7. Shang-Chi
8. Falcon
9. Black Widow
10. Moon Knight
11. Hawkeye
12. Multiverse of Madness
13. WandaVision
14. She-Hulk
15. Thor: Love & Thunder
It always amazes me how much I can completely agree with Dan 100% on one movie/point and then be totally in opposition on the next, lol
Keeps things interesting, for sure!
I miss y'all together!! Will definitely check out the podcast 💕
Edit: Solid choices
Great job Dan! You are a great critic who is very good at their job!
My list I’m including I am groot and werewolf by night
17. Thor love and thunder
16. She hulk
15. Black widow
14. I am groot
13. Ms marvel
12. What if?
11. Falcon and the winter soldier
10. Eternals
9. Wanda vision
8. Dr strange 2
7. Shang chi
6. Werewolf by night
5. Hawkeye
4. Moon knight
3. Loki
2. No way home
1. Wakanda forever
"I said I wasn't going to do this again because the last time I did this, we got a lot of hate comments, but this time's different!" I love your endless optimism and seeing the best in people, Dan.
Excellent breakdown 😉. Strange that I haven't seen a good deal of these offerings. Time to get cracking...
The podcast was such a pleasant surprise.
Nice list here’s mine
1. No way home
2. Wandavision
3. Loki
4. Falcon and the winter solider
5. Moon knight
6. Ms marvel
7. Shang chi
8. Wakanda forever
9. Dr strange and the multiverse of madness
10. Hawkeye
11. Thor love and thunder
12. Black widow
13. Eternals
14. What if
15. She hulk
This is the only phase 4 ranked video I agree with on TH-cam
0:49 omgomgomg...MUST download!
I was about to leave a comment on the Fandom page to do an OG crew reunion, in the spirit of the season. I know that it's too late to organize a Thanksgiving release, but possibly a Christmas one? 🙇🏻♂️
Dan saving sundays
I’ve found what I like more than rankings at tier lists, that may be a bit cooler imo
I will definitely be checking out the podcast with the screen junkies boys. I really miss you guys together.
I agree with this list, but also appreciate that even if I didn’t this was a well made and logical exploration of the many weaknesses and the few strengths of phase 4
So... am I the only one who absolutely LOVED Doctor Strange 2? It's probably my favorite MCU movie since Infinity War (yes, including Endgame). But I feel like no one else likes it besides my partner and me, let alone love it as much as I do LOL.
Well, I like MoM, more than DS1, but I wouldn't call it great.
I was really frustrated by it. It seemed very sloppy and inconsistent. Not the worst of the MCU for me but the worst of phase 4
I really liked the movie a lot and I actually like Infinity War more than Endgame.
I gave it an 8/10, so can't say I loved it, but I really liked it. I'd rank it higher than Eternals(Also 8/10) and Love & Thunder(7/10). But I'd rank Spider-Man(9/10), Wakanda Forever(8/10), Shang-Chi(8/10), and Black Widow(8/10), in that order, above it.
There were a few scenes in the movie I really loved, but overall it fell a bit flat for me.
@@benzaiten933 Awesome! So we agree on both things.
“What are we, jokes to you?” - Werewolf/Guardians Holiday
And Werewolf by Night was so great!
Love the ranking videos!
"Lets hope that Pizza Papa is not exploited for a six-episode series in the future" - See, that's where you and I differ, Dan.
Loved the Phase 4 ranking and also really loved the podcast!!
Putting an ad using Martin Scorsese as an example in the middle of a Marvel Top list is something I can respect.
We need a weekly podcast with you, Spancer and Joe 😃😃😃😃
Best of Phase 4:
WandaVision premise
What If: Dr. Strange Episode
Mobius and Loki
Elizabeth Olsen
Iman Vellani
Agatha Harkness
Oscar Isaac
Andrew Garfield's Spiderman
Sam and Bucky
Angela Bassett
Sylvie
Yelena Belova
Ms. Marvel episode 1 world creation
M'Baku
Simu Liu
Richard E. Grant
...........
Personal indulgences:
Greek Russell Crowe
Evan Peters
Hawkeye's daily life
Cloak of the Damned
Stormbreaker jealous of Mjolnir
Zemo Dancing 1hr version
*These are in no particular order. I might edit & add things as I remember them.
**Listing the actor vs character is intentional.
I agree with you on Moon Knight, definitely at the top for me as well. If they just spread out the finale into 2 episodes, and added one or two more action set pieces it would be my #1.
MoonKnight as your top show? the taste! Couldn't agree more, I was so invested in Mark, Steven and Layla that I even loved the final episode. Imo it was a great premise, it just needed more time, wish it was an 8 episode series instead of 6, because Harrow was such an interesting villain and it would have been great to see more of his dynamic with Amyt and why he wanted to become her avatar after Khonshu left him (and know why Khonshu left him). What I love the most about MK is how it portrayed DID (I recommend Cinema therapy's video on the series if you haven't seen it!) and I think it had the best set up for a follow up, I can't wait to get to know Jake!. Episode 5 broke me, Oscar Isaac really deserved a nomination for that episode alone!.
Thank you for this Dan!! Would be super cool if this got thrown up on your Letterboxd!
I understand how people can not love She-Hulk, but as an MCU stan whose favorite TV show from the past is Better Off Ted, It’s felt like they made a show just for me… which also feels like a real mistake because my tastes are so bizarre, but I still thank them for it. I fully understand anybody who wasn’t onboard with it.
I only saw 1 fault with your rankings, and that was not mentioning the music in Loki. One of the times I rewatched Loki was just because I had the music stuck in my head. It’s up there with The Mandalorian.
Taste! The same exact top-4 as me, which is rare because of my love for Moon Knight. Also have MoM ranked very low for the same exact reasons you mentioned re:Wanda.
wow i missed u spencer and joe together so much omg
The Loki finale is probably my favorite episode of any marvel show.
Honestly Dr Strange was going be a totally different movie if Derrickson stayed on. His villain was going to be Nightmare and the story seem to focus on Dr Strange past and how he lost his sister. I agree with Dan, I felt they should've stuck with Derrickson vision and start showing signs and hints of Wanda turning because of that book. It would've been a better built up to here becoming Avengers level threat or Dr Strange 3 side villain to the main threat.
Great list. I'm SUCH a Moon Knight fan! So great. Thanks again.
It's weird to say, but WandaVision is the clear standout of phase 4 in my opinion.
The inspiration and love that went into it oozes off the screen
Yet it is obvious the Showrunner, directors, and writers have never opened a comic book. It started off great, but fell off a cliff in the last few episodes
@@tristandevlin6667 I don't read comic books either and yet I thought it fell off a cliff too when it got out of the sitcom world.
First of all, thanks Dan for taking the time to rank and provide a reason for each ranking of the phase 4 MCU. Secondly, your ranking pretty much aligns with mine, and what you said about Strange MoM is pretty accurate because on the first viewing when the illuminate show up, yeah, cheers and excitement in the theater, but seeing it a second time and how quickly they were dispatched goes to show that it was nothing more than fan service. Strange had potential for much more and it didn't capture that potential.
Here's my ranking of phase 4. I'm including the specials too now that I've watched the GotG Xmas special. While I don't agree with a lot of your rankings, I do agree with a lot of the points you made about the things each project either did well or struggled with. I'm giving my list letter grades too to give an idea of the tiers they fall into for me.
1. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings - A
2. WandaVision - A
3. Loki - A
4. Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special - A
5. Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness - A-
6. Werewolf by Night - A-
7. Ms. Marvel - B+
8. Falcon and the Winter Soldier - B+
9. Eternals - B+
10. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever - B+
11. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law - B
12. Moon Knight - B
13. Thor: Love and Thunder - B
14. Spider-Man: No Way Home - B
15. Hawkeye - B
16. What If...? - B
17. Black Widow - C
Great video!
Would love to have Joe, Spencer or Roth pop in to co-host a review or two on this channel. Regardless, really enjoyed the podcast with the guys.
I appreciate the list; it’s well thought-out and measured. I agree for the most part about the list, but I will say that aside from ranking Love and Thunder above Multiverse of Madness, the one that causes me to scratch my head the most is your surprisingly high ranking of Falcon: Winter Soldier. Sebastian Stan really brings his all, his repartees with Zemo are some of the highest points for me, and then not only do they literally close the door in front of his big emotional cathartic moment (admitting to the old man he had killed his son), when they change the title to “Captain America,” they still keep him as “Winter Soldier!” His arc was all about him finally letting go of it, and they just sideline it at the very end! The show was so spread out and uneven, it would endear you to a character in one moment and then make you want to see them die five minutes later. It was an exercise in pure frustration to watch.
This was my favorite Phase can’t lie
For me it's (all based on how I received it + personal rewatchability) :
1) Loki
2) Falcon and the Winter Soldier
3) No Way Home
4) Eternals
5) Shang Chi
6) Werewolf by Night
7) Hawkeye
8) Black Widow
9) WandaVision
10) Ms. Marvel
11) Wakanda Forever
12) Multiverse of Madness
13) She-Hulk
14) What If?
15) Moon Knight
16) Love and Thunder
I have no plans on watching the Groot shorts that came out too
Don’t watch the groot shorts. Not good and mostly a waste of time
@@brandondavis3431 Lol I mean honestly I kinda figured, but at what, 5min a pop? I might put on one or two for background noise... One day 🤣
If they had less movies and half the shows in this phase, the overall impression would have been much better because most of them are fine.
My favorites are WandaVision, for the lock down joy, and somehow Shang Chi. Special shout out to Black Widow, too little too late.
Great rankings and insight on the films as always! I agree especially with your first and last picks--Spider-man No Way Home was phenomenal and She-Hulk just didn't do it for me, despite Maslany's great performance. I'd easily put WandaVision at #2 and would probably only really disagree on Moon Knight's placement--I'd put it a little lower. I feel like MCU Phase 4 really struggled with "quality vs quantity" overall. I'm looking forward to Phase 5 and am nervously excited to see how they manage to bring all these characters together!
That news about the podcast with joe and spencer is kinda bittersweet. I loved you three and roth together and I'm looking forward to listening to it, but it's sad you guys haven't talked in two years. I know that doesn't mean anything, sometimes life gets in the way, but still. I hope this is the first of many.
Great ranking! I'd probably put Shang Chi at the top, and Eternals somewhere in the middle, but otherwise I largely agree.
Thank you!!!!! I agree with you in the first 8 places of your list, except for What if, I would change it for Black Widow, anything else is on point for me! Of course everything is subjective
I think phase 4 was disjointed mostly because of the pandemic. Multiple shooting timelines, casts, release dates and scripts had to be amended. I suspect they will get more on track in the next phase. It was going to be hard to follow the infinity saga no matter what so phase 4 will act like a palette cleanser, which may actually work to their benefit in the future.
This video is a lot of fun to watch! :)
I'll be back, have to go listen to you Joe and Spencer first...
Spoiler of Ranking with time stamps; incoming
Spoiler of Ranking with time stamps: imminent
15. She-Hulk 1:55
14. Eternals 3:41
13. Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness 5:48
12. Thor: Love & Thunder 8:07
11. Black Widow 9:06
10. Hawkeye 10:45
09. Ms. Marvel 11:50
08. The Falcon 13:20
07. What if...? 16:32
06. Shang-Chi 17:55
05. Black Panther: Wakanda Forever 19:15
04. Loki 20:11
03. Wandavision 22:12
02. Moon Knight 24:13
01. Spider-Man: No Way Home 25:47
Eternals was 🔥🔥🔥. They also have reference the giant head in the ocean I believe twice. I definitely felt way different about this list. Dr Strange was one of my favorite. No way Thor Love and Thunder over those 2 is kind of funny lol
Awesome chart Dan, and I agree with the position of everything that I actually saw lol... Gotta say, you're one of the few reviewers who could read the phone book to me and I'd pay attention. Always super smart, charismatic and full of integrity. Amazing 👌
Solid list. I might move things around a bit in the top 8 but I agree each belonged in its tier for the reasons you mentioned.
For a minute there I thought your number one spot was going to..."Werewolf By Night". But obviously had to be No Way Home. A total slam dunk. The "Trilogy Ending" to Spider-man we always wanted. But not flawless as we did not quite get a Sinister Six on screen and the less said about the treatment of Venom the better.
Just a few further reflections:
(1) Hawkeye - had the most intense "diner/dinner" scene between the new versions of Black Widow and Hawkeye (Kate Bishop) since Heat with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in 1995.
(2) She-Hulk- very enjoyable, comedy series and was in the vein of John Byrne's She-Hulk comic book series where Jen Walters threatened to put around your house and rip up your X-Men comic books if you did not buy her comic. In my opinion a great show and expertly done to be faithful to the vibe of the source material.
(3) Loved "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier" for the whole dramatic/comedic "Lethal Weapon" thing it had going on. Brilliant show.
Damn I didn’t want that finale scene to end haha I think it’s my favorite scene in the MCU