The 15 Best Marvel Movies Ever, Ranked According to Letterboxd

It's really no surprise that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is one of the highest-rated Marvel films of all time. Not only is it an incredible movie, but it redefined the animated film medium, with studios finally having the confidence to be more stylized with their films, even in television, as seen in Arcane. It's simply stated by a fan on Letterboxd, "best Spider-Man movie, it's not even close," and many people seem to agree.

While Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse may have upped the ante from this movie, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse still takes the cake for the best of the two. It's a lot more intimate, and Miles Morales' character arc is one of the best coming-of-age stories in superhero cinema. It's hard not to love this film with how much heart, soul, blood, sweat, and tears that clearly went into making it amazing.

Following up on the astounding first film, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse had a massive weight on its shoulders when coming out in 2023. This film takes all the things that made the first film so good and amplifies most of them to a whole new degree. Higher stakes, better animation, and even more Spider-People. One user gave it a perfect score and wrote that it was "one of the most overwhelming viewing experiences of [their] life."

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse takes the iconic trolley problem and makes it the crux of the plot, with the entire Spider-Verse—led by Spider-Man 2099 (Oscar Isaac)—trying to convince Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) that he has to let his father die in order to keep the multiverse safe. The emotional stakes are higher than ever.

The X-Men franchise has always struggled a bit in cinema, but one of their proudest achievements comes in the form of their only R-rated superhero film outside of the Deadpool franchise, Logan. People had been asking for an R-rated Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) flick for quite some time, because he lends himself so well to more brutal action, and when they finally got it, pretty much no one was disappointed. 20th Century Fox took a huge chance on director James Mangold, as an R-rating eliminates an entire demographic of the box office, but boy, did it pay off.

Logan opened to astounding reviews, being one of the most emotionally moving superhero films in a decade, containing one of the best performances in Hugh Jackman's career. Mangold makes the R-rating count, though, and uses the more intense violence as part of the plot, rather than just throwing it in because, hey, it's cool. This is best described by one user: "Its visceral and explicit violence really highlight Logan’s path of trying to be more than this vehicle of violence that his past represents."

With how many characters they had to juggle, keeping Thanos (Josh Brolin) as the main protagonist, there's no reason the Russo Brothers should have made Avengers: Infinity War work as well as they did. Somehow, though, they managed to deliver the best The Avengers film, and one of the best Marvel films. One Letterboxd user agrees, as stated in his review of the movie, "it’s absolutely insane to me how this film manages to work so well despite having so many characters and plotlines."

The pacing of Avengers: Infinity War feels non-stop, while still taking time to slow down when it needs to, which feels wild, but works perfectly. Giving every major character at least one major beat to shine, Avengers: Infinity War works perfectly as the "Part One" to the finale of the Infinity Saga. It's still one of the most entertaining Marvel films put to screen.

Ever since James Gunn put this band of misfits on the map with Guardians of the Galaxy, they've become some of the most popular Marvel superheroes of the modern day. So, when it came to ending the trilogy that started with that incredibly beloved movie, Gunn had a lot of pressure on him to stick the landing. Thankfully, he delivered one of the darkest and most emotionally compelling Marvel movies of all time.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3's quality is best described by one Letterboxd user in their review, "What a satisfying conclusion to Marvel’s best trilogy." Satisfying is the perfect word for it, as the movie wraps up every character arc introduced throughout the years for the Guardians and ties them all up with a neat, satisfying bow, having one of the happiest endings in superhero cinema.

After becoming one of the largest film franchises over the years since its debut in 2008, Avengers: Endgame had the massive job of being the project that had to end the "Infinity Saga" started by Iron Man. After the massive success that was the first part of this finale, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame had a lot of weight on its shoulders. If Joe Russo and Anthony Russo made the seemingly impossibly good Avengers: Infinity War work, there's no question they could handle Avengers: Endgame.

One user informs readers of the cultural importance of this movie in his review, "Having crushed all existing pre-sale movie ticket records, Endgame is already on its way to becoming the biggest movie event in film history." That's not hyperbole. Avengers: Endgame has been fighting back and forth with Avatar for the spot as the highest-grossing movie of all time ever since its release in 2019.

Spider-Man 2 is not only known as one of the best comic book movies of all time, but one of the best sequels ever made. This follow-up film tells one of the best Peter Parker stories in Spider-Man media, and that helps it be extremely compelling emotionally. People hold Spider-Man 2 in incredibly high esteem, and it's clear to see why. Sam Raimi truled cooked with this one.

After the recent re-release of the film in theaters—the first time the director's cut, Spider-Man 2.1 would hit the big screen—one Letterboxd user stated, "Can’t believe I missed the release of this movie. (I was just born) I loved seeing it [in] theaters for a second time though." It's still having a profound impact on people to this very day, and if that's not proof of how amazing this flick really is, then what else could be?

Of course, people were going to love the movie that brought the entire live-action Spider-Man multiverse together. Spider-Man: No Way Home finds itself being really special in comparison to others because it does so many things that have never been done in a film or television Spider-Man project before. This movie not only reveals Spidey's (Tom Holland) identity to the entire world, but it also kills Aunt May (Marisa Tomei) in a terrible turn of events. Uncle Ben may bite the bullet a lot, but Aunt May typically doesn't, not even in the comic books.

Spider-Man: No Way Home won over people who didn't enjoy the Tom Holland trilogy up until that point, best showcased in one user's review, "The MCU's Spider-Man went from mediocre to amazing within one movie." Holland's Peter really got to harness emotions that he didn't get to as much in the past, making Spider-Man: No Way Home have so much more emotional depth.

Captain America: The Winter Soldier is, without a doubt, most commonly known as one of, if not the best, MCU movies. So many people claim this is the best the MCU has ever offered. Period. For their first foray into the MCU, Joe Russo and Anthony Russo absolutely crushed it and delivered an incredible project.

One Letterboxd user spells out what makes the movie great in their review: "The hand-to-hand combat in this movie is fantastic. Much better movie than the first one. It’s also great seeing Captain America fighting for the most part of the movie without the shield. Top-notch action and great visual effects. One of the best movies in the MCU."

Many will find that the character Spider-Man is all over the top-ranking Marvel movies, and for very good reason. The character himself helped kick off the new age of superhero film in the early 2000s alongside X-Men. Sam Raimi crafted a film that was so well done that it not only kicked off a great trilogy but also helped prove that superhero movies could work as far more than just a "comic book" movie. The cultural impact of this film is profound, described best by one fan in their review, "This is the movie that made me love Spider-Man. I wouldn't be where I'm at today without this adaptation."

Spider-Man not only got great reviews but also introduced an entire generation to Marvel Comics and its wide slew of iconic characters. It was filled with performances that are beloved to this day, like Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin, aka Peter Parker's (Tobey Maguire) best friend's father, Norman Osborn. There is so much to love about Spider-Man that makes it not just a great film, but a moment in history for many.

Before James Gunn became the spearhead of the up-and-coming DCU, he changed the game for the MCU with Guardians of the Galaxy. He took a group of what are essentially some of Marvel's losers (thanks to how little attention they get in the books and especially outside of that), and made them into some of the most fan-favorite Marvel characters to this day.

Guardians of the Galaxy proved that any batch of characters from the books, regardless of popularity, could make a good franchise so long as the films are made with love, passion, and quality. The world fell in love with the Guardians, and they're still some of the fan favorites of the Marvel Universe to this very day. One fan expresses their love for the film in their review: "Guardians of the Galaxy is easily Marvel's most unique and entertaining film to date."

Some may not know that the hit animated 2014 movie, Big Hero 6, is actually a Marvel movie. It may not be part of any cinematic universe, but the team originated in Marvel Comics with Sunfire & Big Hero 6 #1 (Sept. 1998). This beloved film was met with great reviews, as it appealed not only to children but also to adults as well through its incredibly compelling plot and character arcs.

The characters in Big Hero 6 are extremely lovable, and people immediately fell in love with Baymax (Scott Adsit), the adorable robot protagonist. The proof can be found in many Letterboxd reviews, with one stating,"just wish Baymax was real so I could hug him." Having lovable characters can do a lot for a film and keep people invested. That, combined with the tear-jerking plot, makes Big Hero 6 a phenomenal movie.

It's hard to deny how important The Avengers is to cinema as a whole. It was the massive success of this movie that prompted seemingly every major studio in the game to invest in making their own cinematic universes, thanks to how The Avengers proved that the concept and formula could work (and make a plethora of money).

The Avengers is pretty much the first of its kind and helped usher the Hollywood industry into a whole new era that would bring audiences to where the landscape is at right now. With all of this in mind, it only makes sense why it's so beloved. One fan describes it best when they said, "The Avengers, or as I'd like to call it, 'How to go from a 36-year-old to a 12-year-old in 2.5 hours,' is this generation's Star Wars," adding simply that "it's iconic."

The only and only Tim Miller and Ryan Reynolds film, Deadpool, is not only a great superhero (more like an anti-hero) movie origin story, but it's beyond important and impactful for superhero cinema. Before Deadpool, not many studios in the superhero space were interested or willing to invest in rated-R movies. It alienates an entire demographic of their audience—kids and their families—that would likely result in less money than if it were simply PG-13. Deadpool changed that, though.

This rated-R romp changed the way these studios looked at R-rated features in the superhero space and paved the way for many more to come afterward. "A balance between drama and comedy is exactly what I love (humor at its best, in my opinion),"—translated from Spanish—is how one fan describes the charm of Deadpool, and they're exactly right.

Commonly known as the film that "saved Thor," Thor: Ragnarok is, without a doubt, one of the most well-known MCU films to date. It opened to massive success both critically and monetarily, and had people totally falling in love with the God of Thunder. Director Taika Waititi took a whole new comedic direction with the character, which did wonders for him.

"It’s so crazy that Taika Waititi found the MCU passed out in a gutter and single-handedly revived it, pumped its stomach and brought it back to full health," is how one Letterboxd user hilariously describes Waititi's impact on this era of the MCU. Thor: Ragnarok finds itself being one of many people's favorite MCU films, and for very good reason (the reason is Taika Waititi, by the way).