Road to Infinity War - Phase 3 - Doctor Strange (2016)

Things to take quantum leap forward in the Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to Doctor Strange. We had previously seen travels into the Quantum Realm in Ant-Man and this film would take that to the max with multiple mystical dimensions along with a hint of magic. Or is it science? As Thor would say "I come from a world where they are one and the same."
Strange was mentioned in passing during The Winter Soldier but it took another four films before he would make an appearance. Why? It could be argued that his powers were too great to be involved in the Civil War fight as he could have easily influenced the final outcome with a quick spin on the Eye of Agamotto.
Instead, Mister Doctor is given an origin story set some time during the increasingly confused MCU timeline (but one that ends synced up to the events in Thor Ragnarok).
In terms of plot, this is the most straightforward origin tale that Marvel has done since the original Iron Man.
Benedict Cumberbatch is well cast as the pompous, over-opinionated surgeon and he plays it as though he is doing an impression of Hugh Laurie doing his House accent. Following an accident in which he loses the use of his hands, he travels to Nepal in search of answers on how to heal himself and that is where he finds Kamar-Taj and the Ancient One (Oscar winner Tilda Swinton).
One of the first things that is noticeable about the film is the cast list. Cumberbatch, Swinton, Ejifor, Mikkelsen, McAdams. It reads more like an Oscar contender than a superhero blockbuster and it is to Marvel's credit that they are now in a position to attract this calibre of talent for lead and supporting roles.
So while the plot might be straightforward, the visuals are anything but. Twisty, turny and dizzying to the point that it feels like if Inception had labyrinthitis, they are unique within the MCU and make for a welcome (and by this point needed) change to the formula). Beyond Strange's first trippy, er, trip into the Quantum realm that borders on the horrific, it is the Manhattan sequence that is the stand out.
Thankfully, the mirror realm allows the wizards to fight without causing any destruction or death to the people of New York (goodness knows they've been through enough!).
And it was nice to see a novel twist on the third act climax with having Strange stuck in a Groundhog Day-style time loop being killed over and over again by the big bad Dormmamu until he agrees to bargain. Was a nice change to having the hero solve the problem with their fists.

Infinity Stone counter = 5 (Time Stone)

Road to Infinity War - Phase 2 - Iron Man 3

The Avengers had opened to $200 million in its first weekend. It would go on to make over $1.5 billion worldwide.
It would be safe to say that Marvel Studios were feeling pretty pleased with themselves at this point. Yet instead of resting on their laurels and sticking to a tried and tested formula, they very riskily and daringly threw out the rule book with Iron Man 3 and hired Shane Black to write and direct.
Shane Black was best known for being a screenwriter in the Eighties, cranking out the screenplays for such hits as Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout and The Long Kiss Goodnight, but it was Kiss Kiss Bang Bang that landed him the job with Marvel.
His hilarious neo-noir directorial debut in 2005 based on his own script was the film that offered Robert Downey Jr a way back into the Hollywood elite and it was his performance in this film that persuaded Feige et all to give him a chance as Tony Stark. One he has seized with both hands and never looked back.
For any fans of Shane Black, it is clear that this has his fingerprints all over it; flashbacks, voiceover narration, whipsmart dialogue and it is set at Christmas!
It felt fresh, daring and dangerous compared to everything that Marvel had produced before. This took Tony Stark out of the Iron Man suit and forced him to show that he could be a hero in his own right.
Of course, the most controversial, and divisive, moment comes at the start of the third act when it is revealed that the villainous terrorist The Mandarin is actually a drunken, out of work British actor called Trevor Slattery, portraying a character created to take the blame for Guy Pearce's experiments gone wrong.
The twist works because The Mandarin is a racist stereotype from the Sixties and it would have been met with controversy if they had gone down that route, and it works because of Ben Kingsley, sorry Sir Ben Kingsley's performance. He is suitably menacing as the face of the Ten Rings and also hilarious as Trevor Slattery.
It sets the bar high for Phase 2 in that anything can happen. Well except the death of Iron Man that is. I mean, you have him making this potentially huge sacrifice play at the end of The Avengers but it lacked the emotional weight due to the fact that Iron Man 3 had already been announced.
Looking back at the Marvel Cinematic Universe now during Phase 2, there is so much happening within a tight time frame that this leads to some odd story choices which impact repeat viewings of some of the films. Iron Man 3 in particular.
At the end of this film, Tony Stark essentially retires as Iron Man, even going so far as to remove the arc reactor from his chest. Yet, a couple of years later, there he is back as Iron Man in Age of Ultron where Whedon seems to have ignored most of what happened to him thematically.
Still, it is difficult to be that negative about a film being narrated by Tony that you discover in the post-credit sting that is actually being told to Bruce Banner who has fallen asleep, because he is not that kind of doctor.

Infinity Stone Counter = 2

Road to Infinity War - Phase 1 - Thor (2011)

Again, it seems hard to believe but at the time, Thor presented a huge gamble for Marvel Studios. It introduced Asgard, Norse Gods, Space, Alien races and monsters. It could have gone so horribly wrong. Yet this was the studio that would go on to give us a film starring a talking raccoon and a tree monster!
Thankfully for Marvel, under the guidance of director Kenneth Branagh, Thor was the best movie since Iron Man.
It works because Branagh does not treat it as a Flash Gordon-esque adventure (that would have to wait till Ragnarok) but as a Shakespearean tragedy with the focus on a family feud between a King and two squabbling Princes both with an eye on the throne.
It succeeds thanks to having British heavyweights like Anthony Hopkins spitting out lines like "You are a vain, greedy, cruel boy" and "But you're NOT King. Not yet". Plus it introduced the majority of the world to Tom Hiddleston as Marvel's number one villain you love to hate, Loki.
Chris Hemsworth was also a relative unknown at this point. Really only appearing in the first ten minutes of the Star Trek reboot. But he perfectly captures the fish out of water element of his character as the selfish, boorish warrior who is stripped of his power and forced to learn a lesson on earth... and find love along the way.
Thor continues the development of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Coulson is firmly established as Fury's number two, running the whole show in New Mexico and even ordering around Clint Barton aka Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner).
It remains one of the strongest entries in Phase 1 but contains the single biggest mistake in the history of the MCU. One that was thankfully rectified come The Avengers and that was the decision to dye Hemsworth's eyebrows blonde!

Infinity Stone Counter = 1 (Brief glimpse of the Tesseract aka the Space Stone in the post credit sting)

Road to Infinity War - Phase 1 - Iron Man 2

"I'm not saying that from the ashes of captivity, never has a phoenix metaphor been more personified"
It is difficult if this line was talking about Tony Stark, warmonger turned superhero, or Robert Downey Jr, troubled actor turned A-list superstar.
After the surprise success of Iron Man, the third film in the MCU was to continue the adventures of "Shellhead".
Looking back at it now, it is full of surprises such as the screenplay being written by Justin Theroux. The appearance of later Fox superheroes Kate Mara (Sue Storm) and Olivia Munn (Psylocke) in tiny roles. It is the film that brought together Hollywood couple Sam Rockwell and Leslie Bibb.
It also deals with the casting change of James Rhodes in a similar way to the introduction of George Lazenby as Bond with his "This never happened to the other guy". When Don Cheadle is introduced, there is the wonderful exchange between Stark and Rhodey:
"Didn't expect to see you here." "It's me. I'm here. Deal with it"
Heroes were present and correct. It's a shame that the villains didn't quite match them. Mickey Rourke's Whiplash is wasted after an entertaining action sequence in Monte Carlo. Although not a match for Iron Man physically, there is more fun to be had from Sam Rockwell's rival arms dealer Justin Hammer (love the way he refers to Stark as "Anthony") and Garry Shandling's Senator Stern.
Stern's committee hearing is one example of how Marvel is able to ground their films in reality, with a very real discussion of how Iron Man's actions on foreign soil would affect America and how he is not accountable to the government. This is something that will come round full circle in Age of Ultron and Civil War.
The issue with Iron Man 2 is not the CGI man in flying metal suit battles multiple other flying metal suits but that it was less concerned with being an Iron Man sequel as it needing to be an Avengers prequel.
Whereas the original Iron Man only had a couple of nods to the wider Marvel universe, this film burns through references faster than Tony Stark burns through palladium cores for his arc reactors.
There could have been a fantastic take on the Iron Man "Genie in a bottle" storyline from the comics where Tony descends into alcoholism to cope with the pain that his arc reactor is causing him.
Instead we get multiple references to SHIELD, Nick Fury, Captain America's shield and the introduction of Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow.
Jon Favreau's direction keeps things moving at a good pace however and manages to showcase Stark's inventiveness and action credentials. He even manages to give himself a chance to use his UFC skills in a fight... even if he is upstaged by Black Widow!
Overall, it is the weakest of the Iron Man trilogy but does serve as an effective building block in the foundations of the MCU.

Infinity Stone Counter = Big Fat Zero

Road to Infinity War - Phase 1 - The Incredible Hulk (2008)

One forgets that The Incredible Hulk came out a mere 6 weeks after Iron Man. The MCU were either very, VERY keen to build on the success OR that is what happens when you were dealing with multiple distributors on your films (until Disney bought Marvel Studios, Paramount were releasing the Iron Man, Cap and Thor movies while Universal still had Hulk. Actually even to this day which is why you don't see a solo Hulk movie).
Incredible Hulk is viewed by many as bottom tier Marvel. It is not a bad film. It's certainly a hell of a lot better than Ang Lee's 2003 Hulk with the mutant poodles!
It is just not as good or as slick and polished as the rest of their catalogue. Indeed, the MCU was clearly still finding its feet here as evidenced by Thunderbolt Ross's references to the Super Soldier plan not tying in perfectly with Captain America: The First Avenger.
Also, they seemed a little bit unsure of themselves and had the post-credit sting of Tony Stark telling Ross that they were putting a team together before the credits.
To think this is the same studio that gave us the troll-heavy Captain America sting at the end of Spider-Man Homecoming.

The Incredible Hulk always seems slightly out of place in the MCU and is mostly remembered for their handling of Edward Norton who did no publicity for the film after they rejected his 3 hour cut that was more of a Jekyll and Hyde character study in favour of retooling it as a two hour "Hulk Smash" action film.
The effects never really worked as the CGI Hulk never really felt like Norton's Banner. Something that would be fixed when Mark Ruffalo would be cast and did performance capture as the Hulk. Although it was nice to see Lou Ferrigno provide the voice and make a cameo.
It certainly wasn't all bad and there are some really lovely, fun moments such as Banner getting "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry" wrong in Portuguese or stopping himself from getting intimate with Betty Ross because his heart rate is getting too high and fearful he may Hulk out, or Craig Armstrong (delivering one of the strongest MCU scores) using the "sad walking away" music from the TV show.
In terms of references and world building, there is a nod to the Ultimates series of comics where they drop Banner out of a helicopter at an enemy to induce a change. This is also the series that introduced the Samuel L. Jackson version of Nick Fury and so gave comic fans an idea of where the over-arching story might be going.

Infinity Stone Counter: Still zero!