Entertainment
20 Best MCU Movies, Ranked According to Letterboxd
Who doesn’t love a good Letterboxd franchise ranking? Taking a look at the average Letterboxd reviews for movie franchises is a ton of fun, given the fact that the social media platform has some of the more accurate general thoughts from fans and audiences alike. Letterboxd isn’t like Rotten Tomatoes, where there are critic reviews, but it is a platform for the people.
When it comes to rating franchises, it doesn’t get more interesting and divisive than the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s one of the longest-running franchises in cinema and has one of the largest numbers of films in a movie series. So, there are a lot of movies to rank, and many that are fan favorites for different people. This makes the MCU a specifically difficult one to put against itself, but Letterboxd should be helpful in discovering the consensus among audiences.
20
‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ (2022)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.3/5.0
After the untimely passing of Chadwick Boseman, it was up in the air whether Marvel Studios could continue to produce the Black Panther franchise. Thanks to the ever-beloved director, Ryan Coogler, though, the sequel managed to work out very well. They didn’t recast T’Challa, but rather had him pass in-universe, which incites a phenomenal character arc for his surviving sister, Shuri (Letitia Wright).
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is one of the most underrated post-Avengers: Endgame MCU films. The character arcs that Shuri, her mother, Ramonda (Angela Bassett), and Namor (Tenoch Huerta Mejía) go through are extremely well-written. This movie is character-first, and that serves it so well, especially given the fact that this is a huge tribute to Boseman and everything he did for not just the MCU, but cinema as a whole.
19
‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ (2025)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.3/5.0
The Fantastic Four has needed a win in cinema for quite some time. Always seeming to pull the short end of the superhero movie stick, Marvel’s first family, they finally got a huge win in 2025 with the release of Marvel Studios’ first bout with the team, The Fantastic Four: First Steps. While it’s not some perfect film, no, it’s still super entertaining and keeps the audience on their toes.
Set in the 1960s, with a retro-futuristic backdrop, this movie takes so much inspiration from the classic era of Marvel Comics, and it serves it very well. This movie is so inherently The Fantastic Four in every way, and with that, it found a lot of love from fans and, honestly, people simply hoping the movie would turn out alright. Not to mention, Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) totally owns the screen and is the highlight of the film, with a Letterboxd user saying, “invisible woman ALWAYS serves.”
18
‘Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ (2021)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.4/5.0
While the consensus of Phase 4 of Marvel Studios’ MCU doesn’t have as good a reputation as the previous three, one film that absolutely stands out is the likes of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. A huge thanks goes to Andy Cheng from Jackie Chan‘s stunt team, who brought some amazing martial arts to this movie and gave it some of the greatest fight sequences in a Marvel movie.
“[From] me to marvel — don’t forget that you have Shang-Chi,” is an opinion given by one fan on Letterboxd that is often shared by many, with people hoping that the general performance of Phase 4 MCU doesn’t land Shang-Chi (Simu Liu) in a place like the likes of Moon Knight—being discarded for seemingly the rest of time. Thanks to the fact that Simu Liu has been cast in Avengers: Doomsday, it seems like Marvel Studios understands what they had here… Good.
17
‘Captain America: The First Avenger’ (2011)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.4/5.0
Captain America: The First Avenger may very well be one of the most underrated Marvel Studios films ever made. Being a period piece, it finds itself being unlike anything found in Phases 1, 2, or 3 (aside from Captain Marvel). It’s a movie about a character that defines what America could and should be, put best by one user: “every unpatriotic cell in my body leaves when I watch this movie.”
While the third act isn’t absolutely perfect, one could argue that the first two are pretty dang close to perfect as one could get. Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) is easily one of the most well-written characters in the MCU, and it all begins here in his origin film. Captain America: The First Avenger sets the standard for how the character should be brought to life.
16
‘Spider-Man: Far From Home’ (2019)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.4/5.0
Spider-Man: Far From Home has plenty of issues with it that many will gladly note—being more of an Avengers: Endgame sequel rather than a Spider-Man: Homecoming one—the movie is still phenomenally entertaining all around. While it struggles in Act Two, Acts One and Three are both genuinely amazing.
Jake Gyllenhaal stands out here as giving one of the best Spider-Man movie performances of all time, solidifying himself as one of the best Spider-Man villains out there. While Spidey fans knew that Mysterio had nefarious things up his sleeve, they didn’t know what exactly it was, and it paid off very well. Hilariously, one Letterboxd user describes the character of Mysterio very well when he said, “Working for Mysterio is what I imagine being friends with a D-List actor is like”. Not to mention, this project features one of the best visual sequences in a modern superhero film as the Wall-Crawler steps up against Mysterio in his “illusion world”.
15
‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ (2024)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.4/5.0
The Deadpool franchise has been beloved by people ever since the first film’s release in 2016, thanks to how little it holds its punches, while still having a plethora of heart and soul at the core. While some have complaints about Deadpool 2, the franchise returned to its former glory in the third film, and the first time the 20th Century Fox characters made an appearance in the MCU, Deadpool & Wolverine. One Letterboxd review reads: “It made me laugh quite a bit, and the emotional aspects were much weightier than I had hoped for.”
It was a bold move making Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) of all characters the first X-Men-related character to be introduced in the MCU. While he’s tagged along by Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine in this adventure, it’s safe to say that having it be an R-rated title for the X-Men universe of characters’ first debut was risky. However, it paid off extremely well and even went on to be one of the highest-grossing movies of all time. If that isn’t a testament to its quality, there’s not much that is.
14
‘Doctor Strange’ (2016)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.5/5.0
Doctor Strange is an incredibly underrated superhero origin film, and the people of Letterboxd seem to really recognize that. It’s been pretty forgotten over the years, but the first movie following the Sorcerer Supreme is not bad in the slightest. One Letterboxd user expresses the charm of Doctor Strange in comparison to others when he says, “Doctor Strange is bonkers. It goes to so many weird places.”
That’s right, the world of the Mystic Arts that this movie introduces to the MCU is so funky and unique, which makes what would be seen as a standard and basic origin film into a trippy ride. This flows into the visuals, making Doctor Strange one of the more visually electric MCU movies, as well.
13
‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ (2017)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.5/5.0
In what world does a Spider-Man movie not find itself being successful in one way or another? Not this one, because while there was some anxiety and nervousness surrounding the MCU Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) first solo outing, people ended up loving it (for the most part — looking at you, Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.).
Iron Man complaints aside, though, Spider-Man: Homecoming finds itself being adored by many — even being a favorite Spider-Man movie for some, with one user saying, “My favorite Spider-Man.” The decision to bring Spider-Man back to high school and keep him there for the entire first trilogy was abundantly smart on Marvel Studios’ part, and the entire charm of it was established first here.
12
‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’ (2017)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.6/5.0
One of the most beloved superhero trilogies out there is also one of the most beloved space opera trilogies, too. The second film of said trilogy may not be the best of the trilogy, but there’s no denying that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is still amazing. It has so much heart and soul as it explores the newer corners of the cosmic side of the MCU.
One fan emphasizes one of the best parts of the sequel when they write, “… loved Ego and Peter’s dynamic and story,” in their review of the film. The father-son plot here is one of the beating hearts of the film and serves to be pretty dang relatable to a lot of audience members, keeping this sequel still very adored despite not hitting the same highs as the first and third movies.
11
‘Captain America: Civil War’ (2016)
Letterboxd Rating: 3.6/5.0
Also considered by many fans as “Avengers 2.5,” Captain America: Civil War brings the MCU together once more, but this time, they’re facing each other (for the most part). Adapting one of the most famous comic book storylines of all time, of the same name, this second Joe Russo and Anthony Russo-directed Marvel Studios project is unforgettable for multiple reasons. It also cements the Steve Rogers trilogy as one of the best, similarly claimed by a user when they said, “This film solidified for me that Cap had one of the best trilogies in Marvel, rivaled only by Guardians.”
Not only did this project split the Avengers up in a terrible way before Thanos arrived in the third and fourth The Avengers movies, but it also introduced none other than the MCU’s iteration of the web-slinging wall crawler himself, Spider-Man. This makes Captain America: Civil War not only significant for its quality, performances, and action sequences, but also because of how much it changed the cinematic landscape between studios with the Disney and Sony Pictures Entertainment deal to bring Spidey into the MCU.
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