With Disney+ comes the mission of watching all the MCU Movies, in plot chronological order. I haven’t seen many. Didn’t like several. But here we go. First up...Captain America: The First Avenger. I hated this in the cinema.

The CGI to make Chris Evans look scrawny is atrocious. Great cast, though. Weaving, Tucci and Tommy Lee Jones are great supporting actors.

I know I’ve said this before, but I feel like Tommy Lee Jones plays a US police officer/FBI agent/general in every film he’s in. To be fair, he is very good at it.

It’s great that Captain America’s WW2 Team is made up the allies, not just Americans.

So I really liked Captain America: The First Avenger. It’s fun and has emotion in the right places. Chris Evans is perfect. His relationship with Peggy Carter carries a lot weight. Also a nice bookend with Endgame.

From the 1940s to the 1990s, with Captain Marvel. I’ve never seen this.

The Blockbuster reference is worth half a star, already. 90s kids will remember.

Ben Mendelsohn is good in *everything*

The film is average. I got very bored during the final act.

Iron Man is genuinely excellent. It also possesses the most authentically intense scenes in perhaps the entire MCU. All the scenes in Afghanistan are actually quite distressing. RDJ, obviously, makes the film. He makes a MySpace reference within the first few minutes. Good times.

The Monaco sequence in Iron Man 2 is superb. Right down to the Sam Rockwell reaction shots.

I love the sequence in Iron Man 2 where Tony Stark basically does his best pre Iron Man Robert Downey impression. Abusing substances and acting recklessly.

I really admire Marvel’s commitment to Audi throughout these films. I do wonder how much they paid.

Thor, now. Directed by Kenneth Branagh. Largely diagonally.

So the ‘Frost People’ in Thor surely influenced the Night King in Game of Thrones.

Thor is severely lacking in his charismatic composure in this movie.

Loki isn’t Thor’s brother. Not technically a spoiler because it’s revealed in the first 20 minutes of meeting him. But still. Mind blown.

People talk about the A-List cast in the actual Avengers, but the supporting actors list is ridiculous. Hopkins, Portman, Elba, Russo, Weaving, Paltrow, Rourke, Bridges, Skarsgard, Bettany, Rockwell, Mendelsohn. And I’m only 5 films in.

I forgot Annette Benning and Jude Law. Also, Thor was average but I still preferred it to Captain Marvel.

Honestly though, Kenneth Brannagh and his Dutch angles is like JJ Abrams and his lens flair; only nowhere near as good.

The Avengers, now. Which is where we meet Hulk. I skipped Edward Norton’s Hulk movie because it isn’t on Disney+ and is supposed to be bad. I think that’s fair. It doesn’t really count. Anyway, Ruffalo really is inspired casting. Tbh they get them all spot on.

This film is absolutely brilliant and the death of Agent Coulson is honestly heartbreaking. They ramped his character development up in this film. They lured us in. Then they killed him. Fantastic filmmaking.

The Avengers theme music ladened, Hulk takes control and smashes through the alien ship, legendary circular camera shot of all of them...is an unbelievable moment.

Iron Man 3, now. This movie is different. Never seen Tony Stark so vulnerable. I like Ben Kingsley in very few films. This isn’t one of them. Even the bad guys drive Audi’s.

We can add Guy Pearce and Ben Kingsley to Marvel’s list of ridiculously famous MCU supporting actors.

So Iron Man basically isn’t in Iron Man 3. This was a strange direction to take. Still more interesting than Captain Marvel and possibly the first Thor movie.

Ben Kingsley’s character is watching Liverpool vs Chelsea. Anyone who can tell me what game it was, will get a cash prize. Liverpool score a goal. Skrtel is playing.

Air Force One has been compromised. I repeat, Air Force One has been comprised. You know what that means...

Time for Thor: Dark World. Never saw this. Not particularly looking forward to it. These movies love a bit of Anthony Hopkins opening monologue.

The palace and armoury of the Asgardians is very Lannister.

Natalie Portman is in London and on a date with Chris O’Dowd. Didn’t see that coming.

I find Kat Denning’s character exceptionally annoying in theee films. That’s the moxy sidekick scientist.

This movie is dull but Thor on the Tube is fantastic.

Anthony Hopkins is in full Shakespeare mode in these films. Chewing scenery like there’s no tomorrow.

Benicio Del Toro in the post credits scene! That’s another Oscar winner. Need to do a tally. I’m not sure giving him the Aether was a good idea. Seems untrustworthy. Plus he said ‘one down, five to go’. That’s a bit ominous.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier. This movie was so good that I even liked it the first time. Steve Rogers has blonde highlights. That’s the most unrealistic thing to happen in any of these films, so far.

This is the Russos’ first Marvel movie. They are head and shoulders above all but Favreau. The fight choreography in opening boat scene is fantastic.

We have two incredible scenes back-to-back. The attempted assassination of Nick Fury and Captain America’s chase of the Winter Soldier.

The Russos create a palpable sense of peril in this film which is lacking in previous Marvel movies. You fear for Fury. The action is expertly executed. Remnants of The Dark Knight when the Winter Soldier arrives.

Then you have Captain America crashing through doors and walls to catch him. The moment he catches Cap’s shield...chills.

Robert Redford is in this movie. Another Oscar winner.

Lift scenes. They are so rarely done right; but this was (of course) perfect. The building of tension. The hand-to-hand combat. The escape. I can only think of one film that has nailed it as well. Even though it’s completely different.

A computerised version of Toby Jones giving us untold exposition, then telling Captain America it’s time to die. Like something out of a Bond film.

What’s so great about this film is how based it is (relatively) in reality. The first Captain America vs The Winter Soldier fight scene, is just two men trying to beat the life out of each other. It’s complex in its simplicity. Brilliant in its execution.

The level of violence really steps up in this film. Captain America literally threatens to, and then does, break The Winter Soldier’s arm - knowing it’s Bucky. Bucky shoots him in the leg; and then back.

Captain America: Winter Soldier was extraordinary. Guardians of the Galaxy, now. This movie opens in 1988, focussing on a child losing his mother after a horrendous battle with cancer; and then immediately getting abducted. That’s very, very dark.

Also, fun fact: Young Peter Quill is Stanley Uris from IT - Wyatt Oleff.

Glenn Close is, naturally, in this film. Famously not an Oscar Winner. But she came damn close. Also Gamorah and the Blue one being Thanos’ daughters is fantastic subtext. Think this was Thanos’ first mention in the MCU. Having seen him in the Avengers post credit scene.

So Gamorah isn’t actually Thanos’ daughter. Who knew. Also her dance with Quill is very sweet. Proceeds a fantastic Footloose pop culture reference.

The Collector (knew I couldn’t trust him) just explained the Infinity Stones in what was a very helpful scene. He nearly had 2/6. Wasn’t to be.

Djimon Hounsou is in this film. Who is seemingly in every film. Blood Diamond and Gladiator to name a few.

Yondu abducted Quill as a child. I don’t think enough is made of that. Horrendous crime in any context.

John C. Reilly deserves a shoutout in this film; as part of the outstanding supporting cast in the MCU.