Main takeaways:

• Aly: I liked this movie a lot. It had a lot of different elements that made it both an easy watch and a meaningful watch – it was a lot like Guardians of the Galaxy in that sense. This movie was more “Marvel” like than its predecessor since it dealt with Peter as a character more. We learned a lot more about one of the main Marvel characters, and it was less of just a nice Sunday watch. While the first movie talked about infinity stones and such, this one was more character development. I think Baby Groot is the best character in this movie for sure – dare I say all of the MCU. I love Coulson, but Baby Groot dancing…. I mean how can you top that. I also really liked the way the relationship grew between Gamora and Nebula – I thought that blended really well with Infinity War and Endgame. I also liked all of the little bits of foreshadowing they did – people disintegrated, just like in Infinity War, and Drax was ready to fight Thanos. Great movie, great music, great watch.
• Ally: This movie was much better than I remembered – I thought that it would be way worse than the first one, but I don’t think that’s how it turned out. I enjoyed the plot and the dynamic between the characters, especially Quill and Gamora. Rocket is the best as always and Baby Groot automatically elevates this movie to another level. Once again, the soundtrack was outstanding. We also noticed multiple instances of foreshadowing to events that happen in Infinity War or Endgame, and I don’t know whether these were intentional or not, but they definitely made me more engaged with the film. The end battle scene with Ego is very trippy and rather confusing, considering the man is somehow a planet and Quill is somehow the son of said planet, but the special effects are amazing in that scene.

Favorite scene:

• Aly: Okay… far and away the best scene was Baby Groot dancing to Mr. Blue Sky at the beginning of the film. No question about that. In terms of actual action in the film, I think that the best scene was when Yondu sacrificed himself for Quill. I think that’s one of the sadder scenes I’ve ever seen – he was so selfless, and it really redeemed him as a character. The Ravager funeral made me cry, too. Yondu really came full circle.
• Ally: The opening scene with Baby Groot dancing around while the other Guardians attack the monster is my favorite scene. The plot is catalyzed by Rocket stealing the batteries, so that’s important, but the best thing is Baby Groot’s dancing. He’s adorable and this scene really made me excited for the rest of the movie. Special mention to Yondu’s death scene, because it was emotional and really finished his character arc in a nice way. 

Favorite / least favorite character:

• Aly: My favorite character would have to be Baby Groot, of course, but besides him, probably Drax. I love his literal humor – it’s so funny when he just says exactly what he’s thinking. He’s not necessarily the biggest part of the team, but his addition of humor and strength is the best. My least favorite character would probably have to be Tazerface. That dude was just so annoying, and then he gave Quill and everyone else up to the golden people.  I think Ego was also one of my least favorite characters, because he really was able to put on the charm to get what he wanted, and then he showed his true colors. Quill didn’t deserve that, and QUill’s mom didn’t deserve to die at the hands of Ego,
• Ally: I love Rocket in this movie even more than the first one, even though there’s tension between him and Quill. I also appreciate Gamora more in this movie, because her relationship with Peter is more developed, but that just makes her impending death even more painful. My least favorite character is Kurt Russell, because he’s obnoxious and evil, and because of him being a planet but also having a human body makes me feel uncomfortable. 

Ranking (out of 10):

• Aly: 9/10. This movie was really good, the soundtrack was great, and the plot was easy enough to follow.
• Ally: 8/10. This movie was super fun and the soundtrack was amazing as always.

Main takeaways:

• Aly: This movie is like a staple of the MCU for me. It was the very first Marvel movie I saw growing up, so to me, it feels like the start of my MCU journey. I felt nostalgic watching this movie back since the memories I had while watching it for the first time were from so long ago. This movie is hilarious, and really engaging. I love the 90’s music – it truly strengthens the movie, rather than just being a random part. This movie is one of the better ones in the MCU – a good watch for the whole family, and truly a gem. This movie is a great “fun and easy” watch, but it isn’t my favorite in terms of being a “Marvel” movie. It’s more of a Sunday afternoon, kick back with some popcorn and relax movie, which is more than I can say for movies like Thor or Captain America. 
• Ally: I really enjoy this movie – I’ve only seen this once before so it was fun to watch it again and see what else I noticed this time around. The one thing that stands out to me about this movie is that it doesn’t feel like it’s part of the MCU. Maybe it’s because it takes place in outer space, or because none of the characters are related to anyone we already know (at this point in the timeline), but it has a different vibe. That’s not a bad thing, because I still love this movie, but the Guardians as a group feel entirely removed from the Avengers. Aside from that, this movie has the best soundtrack of any MCU movie and arguably one of the best cinema soundtracks in recent years. Peter Quill is a likable protagonist and Gamora is one of the greatest characters – I love a female assassin, obviously. The entire crew meshes well together by the end, even if it is a little choppy throughout. On the whole, this movie is super fun to watch and has a completely different feel than most superhero movies.

Favorite scene:

• Aly: My favorite scene is when all of them decide to band together. Gamora at the beginning said that she was going to die with the biggest idiots in the galaxy. After they all banded together to protect each other, though, she felt like they were all friends. Once they all decided to fight together, she said they were friends. And the group was henceforth known as the Guardians of the Galaxy. Boom!!!
• Ally: I like the prison break scene, because it’s the first time that our heroes are really working together and we get to see the dynamic between them. Rocket requesting the prosthetic leg is my favorite part of the movie because when it’s revealed that he did it out of cruelty we really get to see his personality. Groot initiating the prison break early is very representative of his character, which is impressive considering he cannot speak more than three words and therefore has very little to help aid his character development. 

Favorite / least favorite character:

• Aly: My favorite character is Groot!!!!! Adult Groot is so kind – you can really see this in the scene with the young beggar kids. He doesn’t have money to give them, but he grows a flower and gives it to a young girl.. Groot stole my heart 🙂 live love Groot. And now he’s Baby Groot!!! My least favorite character – Ronan. He’s jsut so annoying. I know Thanos is actually the worse character, but Ronan is just so much more annoying. Any time he talks he just thinks he’s the best person ever – I guess that ego is what allows him to be a villain, but he just pushes my buttons. Boooooo Ronan.
• Ally: Rocket is my favorite Guardian because he has so much attitude and brings a lot of humor. Thank you Bradley Cooper. To be fair, the entire crew is hilarious and Quill is also one of the funniest characters in the MCU. As for least favorite characters, I don’t think there’s anyone in this movie that I strongly dislike. Maybe that’s because I watched this late at night and was a little disoriented and couldn’t really keep the storyline between Ronan and Yondu and the Nova Corps and who was betraying who and who was working for her and how many units they were going to get for what item straight. I guess Ronan is the villain and he didn’t have any redeeming qualities like humor to keep him interesting, so I’ll give him my vote.

Ranking (out of 10):

• Aly: I’d give this movie a 9.5/10. It’s just an overall fun movie – a light watch, with good action that keeps you engaged. I’d recommend this movie 
• Ally: 9/10. I love this movie because it’s a fun experience all around, even if it doesn’t feel much like a Marvel movie. 

Main takeaways:

• Aly: This was a really good movie. I think it’s probably in the middle of the pack for me – it had a couple of standout scenes, but there wasn’t anything that made it super memorable. I liked how they brought Bucky back in and introduced Falcon, but I got kind of confused trying to follow everything that happened with Bucky. Eventually, I understood what was going on with him, and then I once again got confused with trying to distinguish good SHIELD people from Hydra people. Once I figured out basically everyone was a bad Hydra person, it finally made a little bit more sense, but by that time, the movie was pretty much over. There wasn’t anything that I truly disliked about this movie – the action, the plot, the character: everything was there. I just felt like it might have been missing a little something. It was definitely still one of the better movies, though. To be clear – it’s a good movie, but it’s just not the amazing film everyone hyped it up to be. 
• Ally: Best MCU movie, or at least the best one we’ve watched so far. Cap, Widow, and Falcon are the best trio in the MCU and this movie also has the best action scenes. Cap’s internal struggle with feeling like he died for nothing back in WWII, considering Hydra still exists in present day, really helps the audience identify with the character. This is the movie that makes Captain America more of a human character rather than a perfect super soldier. This also helps to set up the plot of Civil War, because it plants the seeds of doubt in Cap’s mind and makes him resistant to any sort of organization having power over him. It also gives more insight into his relationship with Bucky and builds up the tension which will come to a head in Civil War as well. The relationship between Nat and Cap in this movie is my favorite part, and the fact that they never end up together is my biggest complaint with the MCU. I also appreciate this movie for having a lot of Black Widow and absolutely no Hawkeye. 

Favorite scene:

• Aly: My favorite scene was probably the Apple Store scene. I thought it was one of the more realistic scenes of the MCU, and I really enjoyed how we could actually relate to what was happening. I also really liked the chemistry between Natasha and Cap – how she ever chose MARK RUFFALO (!!!) over him is absolutely beyond me. The Apple Store scene had the perfect mix of action, suspense, comedic relief, and reality. For being one of the more complex and slightly confusing movies, this scene really ties the whole thing together.
• Ally: Cap and Nat on the run is my favorite scene in any MCU movie so I have to give the nod to this one. From the Apple Store to stealing the car to meeting Arnim Zola in the bunker, this entire scene is important to the plot and to the relationship between my favorite characters. My other favorite scene in this movie is the first fight between the Winter Soldier and our trio, because each of them gets their chance to fight. My other other favorite scene is when they take Sitwell up to the roof and throw him off the top of the building, simply because that’s the most boss move I can recall seeing.

Favorite / least favorite character:

• Aly: My favorite character was Black Widow! I’m sure Ally will probably say the same, but that’s because we’re both correct. Whenever there are no cute kids like Harley or good characters like Coulson, I have to resort to other characters. Black Widow was really good for diversifying the plot since she was able to diversify the group – the only main girl character (besides Cobie Smolders, but she wasn’t in a whole lot of the movie). The movie also made her somewhat more complex, showing her relationship with Fury. My least favorite character would probably be Zola once again. He’s just so annoying – his little (literally) voice is just mind-numbing to me. He was a good addition in terms of connecting that previous Captain America movie to this one, but he just annoys me. 
• Ally: Black Widow is the best character in the entire MCU so are we surprised that I’m choosing her? Her skillset as a spy is on full display, her relationship with Cap is thriving, we get to see her attachment to Fury, and she has some of the best moves in this movie. The iconic line at the end will always be one of my favorites and I genuinely think her hair looks the best in this one. That’s very important to me. Rumlow and Pierce are my least favorite characters, but I’ll give Rumlow the advantage just because I know he comes back in Civil War and I know I’m going to hate him even more in that one. You can tell from the very beginning that there’s something off about him, but he does gift us with Cap’s iconic elevator scene so that’s something. 

Ranking (out of 10):

• Aly: 9/10. This movie was similar to an Avengers level of action for me. I thought that the plot was really interesting and it was fairly easy to follow, but I was still a little lost throughout the whole Bucky storyline. 
• Ally: 10/10. Maybe it’s generous but this is my favorite MCU movie so if this doesn’t get a 10/10, nothing will. My favorite characters with great action scenes makes a pretty perfect movie as far as I’m concerned. If you want to arrest me, arrest me. 

“Trust my rage.”

— Loki

Main takeaways:

• Aly: This movie was very interesting. It was overall a good movie – I liked the plot, I understood it about half of the time, and I liked the character development that took place over the movie. I think that all of the science-y stuff was too confusing, though – every time Jane started talking about gravity or wavelengths, my brain went numb. I think that the confusion that caused overshadowed the plot. There was a real possibility that this movie could have been one of Marvel’s best, with the awesome plot and cast, but the amount of science they tried to weave into the plot lost me. I think Endgame was a very good example of how that can work, since all of the time travel stuff was actually understandable – Thor: The Dark World definitely fell short in that sense. This movie was overall fairly good, but it just wasn;t quite up to par with the other MCU movies. Ragnarok, don;t let me down.
• Ally: This was the most exciting movie for me because it’s one of the few I haven’t seen before, and the first one in our marathon that was new to me. I’ve heard bad reviews about this movie, so I was expecting to be let down. I was actually pleasantly surprised by this film, and I genuinely enjoyed it for the most part. The cast is amazing as always and I love almost every character in this movie. The plot was engaging and the Aether is a big part of it, and having the backstory of the Aether was interesting, because it appears later in the MCU. However, Jane’s scientific research continues to leave me confused and her ability to warp gravity and create portals (?) resulted in a rather confusing action scene at the end. Still, the actions was exciting and the movie was fun to watch overall. Thor’s mother dying added another layer of tension and emotion, and it’s one of the few major character deaths we’ve seen thus far. Additionally, Loki is on screen for a long time and is an integral part of the plot, and we really get to see his mischievious tendencies and his relationship with his family. 

Favorite scene:

• Aly: My favorite scene was when Loki faked not helping Thor and Jane, only to actually turn out to help them. Loki pretends to stabThor, and we all thought he was a bad guy, but then after the dark elves extracted the Ether from Jane, he decided to help Thor save Jane. Loki is one of those characters that I can’t decide whether I love or hate, but I think that I only really like him when he proves me wrong. In any case, this scene was my favorite of the movie – it was the plot twist I wanted. 
• Ally: The final action scene, albeit confusing, was my favorite scene. To be honest, I couldnt’e even tell you who they were fighting. I also couldn’t tell you what the plot was and how they ended up at this point, but Jane sacrificing herself for Thor was quite moving. Also, Darcy and Ian got together in this scene. Yay! 

Favorite / least favorite character:

• Aly: My favorite character in this movie was Thor’s mom. I think that she brought everyone together, and acted as a catalyst for many events. Her and Loki’s relationship was very interesting, since he kind of stricized her by saying she wasn’t his mother. She also fought so hard for Jane, since she knew how much she meant to Thor, and ended up sacrificing her life in that battle. She was so selfless and eager to give up her life for her kids. My least favorite character would have to be the big elf man. He was obviously the villain, but he was just really annoying. He killed Thor’s mom, so I was mad for sure, but he also tried to hurt Jane,. Trying to take out 2 of my favorite girls? That’s a no go.
• Ally: Loki has to get my vote on both ends of this one. He’s the trickiest character in the MCU, and you can tell from our reaction video that I felt betrayed by him when he stabbed Thor. In that moment, Loki was my least favorite character because I had started to believe in him and I felt like he was letting me down. I put my trust in him and that was how he repayed me? It was tragic. Then, a mere minute later, Loki redeems himself. The joy I felt upon realizing he was not the villain was indescribable. I’m actually a little concerned with how invested I am in Loki’s character arc. I was even upset when he died, which is odd considering the fact that I was fully aware that he survives. Seeing Loki at the end was a religious experience for me, even though he was being rather evil and manipulating Thor into giving up the throne. 

Ranking (out of 10):

• Aly: 8/10. This movie had the opportunity to be amazing, and that;’s what makes it even more sad that it missed the mark. The science aspect and appearing/disappearing parts made everything way too confusing for it to be a good watch. 
• Ally: 8/10. I liked this movie a lot more than I thought I would, based on what I heard going into it. It gives some clarifying information about the Aether, but it’s not exactly necessary to your understanding of the rest of the MCU, so it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to skip this one. 

“My name is Tony Stark and I’m not afraid of you. I know you’re a coward. So I’ve decided, that you just died pal.”

— Tony Stark

Main takeaways:

• Aly: This movie was “totally wicked”!! (hahaha get the Incredibles reference?) I actually loved this movie. While the plot was complex, it was easier to follow since we’ve seen all of the movies leading up to this one. I actually enjoyed the high stakes of the plot – the tension between Tony and Pepper, the issues with Roadie, the problems with the bombing and terrorists, and the issues with the president all made for a thrilling movie. This film also had a lot of scenes I didn’t expect, with lots of people getting shot when I definitely didn’t expect it, but that made for a really engaging movie. Iron Man 3 is my favorite Iron Man movie we’ve watched, and it’s for sure one of my favorites of the MCU series as a whole. The only qualm I have – no Coulson. Boooooooooo Marvel. Bring Coulson back!!!!
• Ally: This movie was way better than I remember it being – if you had asked me what it was about before, I would have said it had Pepper and lots of fire in the final action sequence. Technically, that’s not incorrect, but it’s also not giving this movie enough credit. This plot has some complexities and the plot twist with the Mandarin is actually not completely stupid, which plot twists usually are. The president looked like George Bush, which was impressive to me. This movie makes Tony Stark more human, because he has his anxiety attacks, although that detail doesn’t really come up in future movies. Harley is one of my favorite side characters in the MCU, and I absolutely detest Aldrich Killian. Of course, Rhodey is featured in this movie as Iron Patriot, and there’s the whole terrorist subplot along with the weird enhanced people that glow and breathe fire (?). All around, it’s a very action packed film with a lot of action and exciting conflicts throughout.

Favorite scene:

• Aly: My favorite scene would have to be when the Mandarin Orange guy shot the man on live TV. Well, let me be clear – I didn’t enjoy him getting shot, like at all, but I like how it built the story from there. The President called Mandarin Orange to try and prevent the killing of the man, since it’s what Mr. Orange wanted, but he still shot him anyway. It shows that Mandarin Orange has an upper hand and the US is pretty powerless to his actions. Thankful Tony steps in and saves the day in the end! Later on in the film, we learn that it was all just a greenscreen and he was never actually shot, which is awesome. Wins all around!
• Ally: My favorite scene was Tony discovering that the Mandarin is just a British – I think – man named Trevor. I enjoy this scene simply because he’s so hilarious, but at the same time he reveals a lot of important information that helps to move the plot along. Without discovering this secret, Tony would never know how Aldrich Killian was involved with the “bombings” and he would never be able to save the President and figure out what Extremis was really about.

Favorite / least favorite character:

• Aly: My favorite character was for sure Harley. He was just so precious and kind of like a mini Coulson to me. He was there for Tony and was fighting for him to help save everyone, which gives me some major Coulson vibes. I hope that he comes back in future movies (even though I know he probably won’t). Team Harley forever!! Plus the little end scene where Tony gave him a brand new workshop was just the cutest thing ever. My least favorite character would have to be the scientist lady from the beginning of the movie. I was convinced she would turn out to be nice, and I guess in the end she was willing to give up her life for Tony and Pepper (which she ended up doing unwillingly), but still, her overall motivations were bad. She was just a character that had the potential to be so amazing, but in the end,s he just ended up on the wrong side. I think she’s my least favorite character not because she’s the worst, but because she had the potential to help Tony and the good guys but she chose Killian over them.
• Ally: Aldrich Killian is my least favorite characters, which really just means the writers did well in this movie. His backstory is well thoughout out and he’s got the same vibes as Syndrome from the Incredibles, but he’s more obnoxious and looks like a knock-off Brad Pitt. I did enjoy the parallel at the end of the movie where he and Tony are battling on the roof, but for the most part I hated him. Especially when he came out of the fire at the end, all burned and glowing, because I really just wanted him to die already. Conversely, Trevor is my favorite character in this movie. He’s not in the movie very much – especially as himself and not the Mandarin – but I greatly appreciate his few moments. He’s the comedic relief so we’re obviously supposed to like him, but I also found his accent especially charming. 

Ranking (out of 10):

• Aly: 10/10!!!!! WOOOO HOOOO! First one of the series! In all seriousness, this movie was amazing. I would only rate it a 10..0 because we watched all of the movies leading up to it – had we not seen any of the earlier MCU movies, I would have been totally lost and would have given it a 2/10, but thankful our background knowledge saved us on this one. I’m really excited to watch how the Iron Man character arcs throughout the rest of these movies up until Endgame!
• Ally: 9/10. This movie was better than I remember, and the action was fun, but I also hate the way that the evil people regrow and breate fire and glow orange the entire time. It gives me bad vibes. Nonetheless, this was a really good movie and I’m excited to continue our marathon. 

“There’s only one God, ma’am, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t dress like that.”

— Steve Rogers

Main takeaways:

• Aly: This movie – pretty swag. I’ve watched it once before, but I didn’t really remember much of it – pretty much only the intro and a few other major scenes. I thought this movie had the most coherent plot of the 5 we previously watched. Since it contained so many characters, it had a lot of different storylines and backstory going on at once, but it was fairly easy to follow. The first time I watched it I was lost for a big chunk of it, and that’s probably why I didn’t remember much of it. This time, though, I was able to follow the majority of the plotlines and I could recognize where everyone came from. Since I’ve seen some of the other Avengers movies, I’m predisposed to thinking that they’re better, but I thought that this one compared pretty well to Endgame and Infinity War. It was interesting watching this having seen Endgame first since I could recognize where some of the time travel scenes were from. In the big cinematic part where they all stood in a circle and the music played, I recognized a flashback from Endgame, so that was pretty cool. Overall, I’d say that this movie was a great – good plot, good characters (except for Hawkeye), good action, and good overall movie.
• Ally: I love this movie – it’s a classic. I’ve seen this one maybe four or five times, and it’s still fun to watch. It’s the first movie with the entire squad, and I love watching the characters interact. Once again, Loki is our villain, which is fantastic because he’s hilarious. This is one of the most important movies in the entire marathon, because everyone is involved and there’s a lot of foreshadowing for the future films. Additionally, the Tesseract is at the center of the conflict, and Loki’s Scepter has the mind stone, so two of the six infinity stones are heavily involved. The plot is exciting and the action is better than any of the previous movies. It’s interesting to see the way the original six interact with each other, especially since many of them meet each other for the first time in this film. Of course, the iconic scene in the battle of New York where the music swells and the camera circles around the Avengers will go down in history as one of the best action movie scenes.

Favorite scene:

• Aly: Taking the “favorite scene” spot this week would have to be the scene when Iron Man, Thor, and Cap are all fighting. I think it shows how they are all relatively equal. It also shows how they don’t get along immediately – the tension that it creates for the rest of the film is worth it when they all truly become a team. I like how that scene puts everyone on edge about how their relationship will turn out, but their rocky start turns into a beautiful team by the end of the film. The hard fighting that takes place culminates with a meal in the post-credit scene, showing how everything can come full circle to save the world.
• Ally: My favorite scene is when the entire group is arguing because you can feel the tension building and you can see the inherent differences between the characters. Iron Man and Captain America constantly butt heads because they have different perspectives on the world and different backgrounds. This conflict foreshadows Civil War, which is the ultimate clash between the two leaders. I also like that Nick Fury is part of the argument, because he’s an important part of the group and is the reason they’re all together in the first place. This is also where all the characters are right before Loki attacks, so it bleeds right into the climax of the film.

Favorite / least favorite character:

• Aly: My favorite character is my usual favorite – Coulson. He’s just the sweetest and so kind and so dedicated. He really gave up his life for the cause, and then when coming to terms with the idea of death, he knew that it would bring the Avengers together even more. My least favorite characters from this movie would be tied between Loki and Hawkeye. Loki is the obvious villain, and he killed Coulson, so DUH. He’s going to be on the list. But Hawkeye has always pushed my buttons, ever since he let Nat die for him. After seeing this movie, I can understand why she would sacrifice her life for him, but after he killed hundreds of people in Endgame?? Absolutely not. He also was working (though unwillingly) for Loki. I know it wasn’t under his control, but still…. The worst. Hawkeye is the worst and I will never like him. Period. End of story.
• Ally: Black Widow is the best character, obviously. When she manipulates Loki into revealing his plans to aggravate the Hulk, you really get to see her skills. In the same scene, you also get more of her backstory and you get to understand her motivations, which just makes me even more excited for her solo movie. The worst character has to be Hawkeye, because I appreciate Loki’s humor too much to ever hate him. I understand that I should like Hawkeye because he saved Nat’s life, but I also hate Jeremy Renner so…

Ranking (out of 10):

• Aly: 9/10. This movie was well written, well acted (except for Mark Ruffalo, who I think only has one voice and facial expression every single scene), and well directed. This movie hit all of the big marks for me and is probably the best of the 6 movies we’ve watched so far this series. 
• Ally: 9.5/10! That’s probably generous, but this is the movie, and it has some of the best action scenes in the entire franchise. It has all the characters, the best score (by far), and sets up the rest of the movies really well.

“You’re big. I’ve fought bigger.” 

— Thor

Main takeaways:

• Aly: I thought this movie was pretty good. While it’s no Thor Ragnarok, of course, it’s a good intro into the Thor series. I like the balance of Jane and Thor, the human vs the god, which made the story feel more grounded. The humor of Jane’s assistant made everything seem lighter, amongst the dark topics embedded throughout the movie. While it made me mad that Loki was annoying the whole time, it obviously made the plot the way that it was. My main takeaway from the movie is probably that this storyline gets better over time. I liked Ragnarok way more, but in order to establish this storyline, we had to watch this movie. It was also nice to get to know the other characters, like the gatekeeper and Odin. Overall, this movie was pretty good, but far from the best Marvel movie I’ve ever seen.
• Ally: I love Thor. This movie is not the best Marvel movie; it’s not even the best Thor movie. But it has the best villain of all in Loki, who is an absolute king. Also, Natalie Portman is a goddess and I love the character of Jane. On top of that, Bill from Mamma Mia is in this movie, which automatically makes it a winner. Obviously, Chris Hemsworth as Thor is one of the best casting decisions in the history of Hollywood. It’s becoming clear to me that I just love the cast of Thor, but I also appreciate the plot. Thor has a strong arc in this movie, going from being a headstrong, immature child to a man worthy of his own hammer. There’s plenty of humor in this movie, which is always a positive. Loki is one of the best characters in the Marvel franchise and his story as a villain is compelling. This movie is important as a whole in the MCU because aside from introducing Thor, there’s involvement from SHIELD and an appearance by the one and only Phil Coulson.

Favorite scene:

• Aly: My favorite scene would have to have been when Thor keeps dropping all of his plates on the coffee shop floor. While it’s a relatively stupid scene, it’s a good example of how Thor is used to a different culture on Earth vs Asgard It’s also cute how Thor feels badly since he was disrespecting the way they live life here. It made me really like Thor since he’s working hard to become good for Jane. Yay Thor for being a good person 🙂
• Ally: When Thor is on Earth, stripped of his powers, ready to take on the Destroyer single-handed, that’s the most beautiful moment of the movie. This really wraps up his arc nicely and shows his growth as a character, because he’s willing to fight what is essentially an impossible battle in order to protect Jane and Earth. His sacrifice is rewarded by his hammer, proving he is truly worthy. Also, Jane finally gets to see him in his element, and for the first time, he looks like the God of Thunder rather than a homeless man.

Favorite / least favorite character:

• Aly: My favorite character was Jane (FOR SURE!!). She was so nice to Thor the whole time, and she really seemed to care for him.  I hope that in the future, she stays in the Thor franchise. My least favorite character has to be Hawkeye because he’s a stupid butthead. He was only in this movie for like one minute, and he’s also just so annoying. Ruined the movie.
• Ally: Jane Foster is my favorite character, but that’s probably because I love Natalie Portman. Loki also gets a nod from me, because he is both a villain and a hero in my heart. He does some despicable things in this movie, but he really just wants to be accepted by Odin, which is cause enough to send an indestructible automaton to kill your only brother, I suppose. My least favorite character is Hawkeye, who is only in this movie for about a minute, but I hate him with so much passion that I cannot let it slide.

Ranking (out of 10):

• Aly: 8.5/10. This was a pretty good film, but in comparison to Ragnarok, it just isn’t up to par. I think a lot of things could have been improved, like the overall storyline and resolution with Jane, but I think it was a good start to a franchise I know will turn out to be great.
• Ally:8/10. This movie is a little boring and there’s not a ton of action – and the action scenes that were in this movie were extremely LOUD for some reason – but it has good exposition and is crucial in the whole of the MCU because it shows Thor’s origin story. With this movie, we’re finally ready to gather the entire crew and have an ensemble film. Avengers here we come!