Ali Plumb Ranks His Top 5 Marvel Movies

Okay, this is a spicy one: what are your five favourite Marvel movies?

And by 'Marvel movies' I mean 'films within the Marvel cinematic universe', so from Iron Man in 2008 through to Avengers: Endgame in 2019, and nothing to do with X-Men (including Deadpool of course) or the pre-Tom Holland Spider-Mans or Eric Bana's ill-fated Hulk (remember that?).

So... of the 23 MCU movies released so far, which are in your top five? Back when Doctor Strange came out, I tried to rank them allhere and I quickly learned that when it comes to this sort of thing, you simply cannot get it right.

You will not agree with me. You simply won't. What I enjoy won't perfectly mesh with what you do. But, it's all a bit of fun, eh? So join me, won't you, as I pick five films that I love from this franchise of franchises and please remember not to roast me alive on social media afterwards, okay? I'm built like pre-serum Captain America so you've got to be gentle with me, I can't do this all day.

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I wanted to pick a fun one for my number five slot, a Marvel outing you can sit pretty much anyone in front of and they'll have a good time. Guardians Of The Galaxy is the silly sci-fi romp that does just that.

Big, wild characters on a big, wild adventure, full of jokes and absurd situations, all capped off with an appallingly catchy soundtrack. Plus, sentient tree creatures! Weapons-obsessed raccoon-like beings! An incredibly literal loveable tattooed thug! What's not to like?

What I love most about GOTG - acronyms are so handy, aren't they? - is how useful it is to get people hooked on Marvel movies. More traditional "superheroes" with their capes, magical hammers, science-suits, gamma radiation problems and patriotic shields can put people off and feel "too geeky" - as odd as that is to say in an article like this one - and I have really enjoyed getting friends into the whole world of The Avengers through this rogueish, offbeat, bizarro adventure that shouldn't actually work but really, really does.

By the way, in the 'recent fun Marvel movie to get people into them' stakes, I would also suggest Spider-Man: Homecoming, a film I enjoy more and more every time I watch it. Also, although to a lesser extent, Ant-Man. Both are fun capers with superhero attachments, just the way I like 'em.

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"Where the hell is The Avengers?" I hear you cry, I and get that - The Avengers is the cram-them-all-in-one-film mega movie with an amazing villain and an incredible final battle, the collaboration that made so many of the other big team-ups possible, but I feel that movie has had enough praise. Time to give the now Oscar-winning Taika Waititi a bit of time in the Marvel sunshine.

Thor: Ragnarok, like GOTG, is slightly dotty to say the least. Like its director, its dry New Zealand tone is a refreshing tonic to the general blockbuster bluster we've gotten used to, the thoroughly enjoyable back-and-forth between The Hulk and Thor an absolute delight whether it's in the middle of a gladiatorial arena or whispered frantically hiding out in an old spaceship.

Jeff Goldblum feels like he was born to play a bizarre, lackadaisical megalomaniac in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and seeing Taika himself as a man made of rocks is a true treat. This is the funniest, weirdest, the best Thor movie, a film that properly unlocks the comic potential of our favourite bearded God and gives us a fireworks display of multicoloured madness and rainbow-flavoured sci-fi oddities. Also there's so much Loki fun to be had here - that 'Get help!' moment alone - but will anything ever compare to 'Puny god'? Probably not, I admit.

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I put the original Iron Man at the top of my list last time to make a point: this is the film that started it all. This is the movie that established the tone, the style, the formula - more or less - of everything that followed, all the billion-dollar releases that have redefined blockbuster cinema forever and given us, eventually, a new biggest box office champion of all time (Endgame, by the by).

People are a bit dismissive of Jeff Bridges's villain Obadiah Stane / The Ironmonger, and while I agree the grey punch-a-thon at the end is a little weak, the emotional twist of Tony's father figure betraying him still carries a lot of weight for me. And Gwyneth Paltrow is brilliant as Pepper Potts, and it's so satisfying to see director-actor Jon Favreau still popping up on screen in the likes of Far From Home as Happy Hogan. Maybe let's not bring up Terence Howard, mind.

More than anything though, this gave us the genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist that is Tony Stark. Here's the loveable egomaniac we want to be best friends with, Iron Man himself - and just think about that bold 'I am Iron Man' ending that mirrored so neatly with his final lines in Endgame - a character everyone enjoys, full of one-liners and clever ideas, cool cars and the best suits (be they metal or tailored). Kind of a nightmare, kind of a gentleman, a bundle of issues and contradictions who is ridiculously charming and amazingly watchable. Here's to you Tony, we love you 3000.

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I am totally copping out on the whole 'top five' thing here by mashing two movies together at the number two spot, but it's my house my rules I'm afraid. Naturally they come as a pair, and trust me, I can't just watch one when I revisit them. You could easily argue they're one HUGE film chopped in two, so that's what's happening here. Phew. Sorted. Done. You're welcome.

What Marvel head honcho Kevin Feige, directors The Russo Brothers and writers Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely pulled off with Avengers 3 and 4 - as no-one calls them - is truly astonishing. This is the culmination of over 20 movies working together to make one final moment land, pulling dozens of disparate characters together with hours and hours of lore and backstory along for the ride and fusing it all together into a two-part Frankenstein's monster of a movie, involving time travel, "Fat Thor" and HALF THE UNIVERSE DISAPPEARING... it's a jaw-dropping achievement.

To try to tackle the immensity of what they made here is fool's errand. It will never be repeated on such a scale, in such a manner, with such success ever again. I could list some of my favourite moments - Thor's PS4 addy, Ant-Man really wanting a sandwich, 'Big Lebowski' etc - and it would take up most of the page. No, they don't work as standalone 'films' per se, and for newcomers this was an often dumbfounding experience, but if you were in tune with its frequency, boy did Endgame land. When Cap grabs Mjolnir... come on now. There was loud, distinct, very noticeable public whooping in my local cinema. In Britain, to be clear. Incredible scenes.

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I'd like to flag up how much I like Civil War first. There is so much good Tony and Steve (and Bucky) stuff there, the epic airport fight, Giant Man, our introduction to Tom Holland's Spider-Man... so many amazing scenes.

And yet, to get you there you undoubtedly need perennial fan favourite The Winter Soldier, the second in the Captain America trilogy and arguably - if you wish to make that argument, and I guess I do today so let's go - the most 'grown-up' film of the franchise. What helps it in that department is the lack of out-and-out fantasy in the form of, say, an angry green rage monster or a witchy lady who can throw you at the ceiling with her mind.

Bar the inherent man-out-of-time super-soldier serum premise and some wibbly-wobbly science stuff involving people's minds being stored in computers, The Winter Soldier is relatively grounded. Here's an action-filled tale of one man fighting his brainwashed best friend, trying to convince him to do the right thing. It's also a conspiracy thriller, a spies-on-the-run movie, a '70s-esque throwback and a brilliant opportunity to see what's inside Robert Redford's fridge (Paul Newman's salad dressings, in case you were wondering).

There's the very tasty Hydra twist, the elevator fight, the opening ship assault, the murky past of Black Widow, the Apple store bit, the introduction of The Falcon - "On your left!" - and all those international 'Things up catch up on' gags on Cap's notepad and a dozen other moments in a movie that really stands tall amongst the others. Yes, there's Black Widow along for the ride - it's similar to Thor and The Hulk in Ragnarok in that way - but it's not a backseat Avengers wannabe like Civil War, it's a character-led action movie with something to say alongside the ego-crushingly cool tough guy moments like Chris Evans holding onto a moving helicopter with his bare hands or the shield-slinging early fights with the new flicky spinny how-about-these-knife-tricks edition of The Winter Soldier.

I've watched these movie so many times, and one week I might think it's Endgame at number one, another might see me in an Iron Man mood, or maybe, like today, it's The Winter Soldier's turn.

But what do you think? Join the conversation on my podcast, Radio 1's Screen Time, where we'll be talking more in depth about all this Marvellous goodness, with plenty more besides, including 'Ali Plumb's Film Club' - you're going to love it, promise!