The Marvel films have become some of the most popular movies ever made spanning nearly ten years with 17 films and counting! It’s quite the cinematic reign.
However with Infinity War coming around the corner you may be thinking “Wow that looks cool, but I haven’t really seen many Marvel movies am I going to be okay?”
And to this I say: “Yes. Yes you will… after you read my handy-dandy quick guide to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.” That being said this is still a condensed list of seventeen films so it’ll still be a weekend of movies.
I’m not going to post these in the order they came out, but rather in the order which the overarching narrative Marvel has been building.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER
Avoiding major spoilers for those who haven’t seen it, as much as Marvel likes to say they’ve had this big story starting with 2008’s Iron Man, but it really didn’t start up till 2011’s Captain America film.
The movie sets up a lot of what we know of as the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It also introduces the first of the Infinity Stones (you’ll hear more about those later.)
THOR
Who doesn’t love Chris Hemsworth? Thor sets up the big bad villain in Avengers which leads up to…
THE AVENGERS
The one where it all came together. In 2012 Marvel brought their characters together for a big bombastic film which changed everything. It’s a great watch and gave us our first sneak peak of Infinity War. Basically this one is crucial to your list.
THOR: THE DARK WORLD
Okay, this one’s not great. Just warning you. However it does dive further into the background of the Infinity Stones and deals with the aftermath of The Avengers.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER
While not connected directly to Infinity War, Captain America: Winter Soldier does a lot to introduce new characters and shakes up the world Marvel created.
AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON
This one is better than Thor: The Dark World, but it was not the smash hit follow up to The Avengers everyone was hoping for, I’ll tell you that right now! “Age” of Ultron, more like two days of Ultron! It does however introduce a couple of key characters and plot threads you will need to know.
GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY
This one you should watch regardless, it was a fun rock and roll style space epic no one was expecting. This dives into more infinity stone mythos and introduces some of the best characters Marvel has ever put out. It also gave audiences their first glimpse of a backstory for Thanos, the villain for Infinity War.
CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR
The third installment to Captain America’s story sets up what the Avengers’ status quo will be for Infinity War. Feeling more like an Avengers 2.5 than just a Captain America film, this one is a must see before you see Infinity War.
THOR: RAGNAROK
The movie no one expected. After Thor: The Dark World became Marvel’s lowest rated film, Marvel needed to change things up, but no one would have guessed they’d use Kiwi indie director Taika Waititi to do it.
Colorful with a retro Flash Gordon feel to it, as well as a script that was 80% improvised; Thor Ragnarok quickly became one of the biggest hits Marvel’s ever had. It answers a few questions left from Age of Ultron and ends, I think, right before Infinity War takes off.
And that about does it, your quick catch up list, or fun marathon of Marvel films to watch before Infinity War. Enjoy!
