There was a time when it seemed like the Marvel Cinematic Universe could do no wrong, having earned Disney billions, made Kevin Feige an Academy Award-nominated producer, and redefined the comic book film as a touchstone of modern cinema… depending on who you ask. However, its reputation for consistently churning out some of the greatest superhero movies ever has been challenged in more recent years.
When you take all of the films in the long-running, interconnected franchise into account, the MCU has a pretty solid average score on Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb, but not all of the individual ratings – especially among the movies in Phase 4 – were certified fresh. While we still have hope for the upcoming Marvel movies to meet our expectations, the following are the top six MCU movies that critics and audiences seemed to take issue with, ranked from best to worst reviewed.
6. The Incredible Hulk (2008)
You might no longer count this film as part of MCU. In fact, some might not even remember it exists, especially since Mark Ruffalo has maintained a winning portrayal of the MCU’s less-than-jolly green giant since 2012’s The Avengers, after Edward Norton walked away from playing Bruce Banner in future films. His exit must mean he agreed with how most people seemed to feel about the movie.
Scores for The Incredible Hulk are actually pretty neck-and-neck, with IMDb users awarding it a 6.6 rating and critical reception averaging to 67% on the Tomatometer. Many have deemed it as mediocre popcorn fluff with no other purpose than to introduce the Hulk to the MCU. Rarely had there been such an unusual meshing of opinions between two disparate filmgoing worlds that are usually at each other's throats, especially over comic book films, since… well, probably the last time Hulk got his own movie.
5. Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Taika Waititi’s Thor: Ragnarok is one of the most beloved MCU films yet for its dazzling, colorful aesthetic right out of an ‘80s Saturday morning cartoon and giving the title character a much-needed sense of humor. However, there was a time when the God of Thunder did not have the same appeal whenever the Avengers were not around – even to its star, Chris Hemsworth. Exhibit A: Thor: The Dark World.
In an attempt to bring a darker vision to Asgard than the Shakespearean tone Kenneth Branagh applied to 2011’s Thor, Marvel brought in Alan Taylor to instill a vision for the sequel more in line with what the director brought to Game of Thrones. Instead, Thor: The Dark World failed to surpass its predecessor with a villain (Malekith) – who is not exactly considered one of the best Marvel movie antagonists yet – and a convoluted story that makes for an utterly forgettable experience overall. Tom Hiddleston’s Loki serves as the silver lining, but the movie ultimately has a 6.8 rating on IMDb and only 66% on the Tomatometer.
4. Thor: Love And Thunder (2022)
When it was confirmed that Oscar winner Taika Waititi was returning to helm Thor: Love and Thunder, we assumed that we would never have to worry about legends of Norse mythology suffering from a rotten RT score again. That was until the fourth solo movie starring Hemsworth as the God of Thunder actually came out.
The film was not without its reasons to love it (particularly Natalie Portman’s return as a magically enhanced Jane Foster and Christian Bale’s performance as Gorr the God Butcher), but with even more reasons to bring down the hammer on it (such as Thor’s excessively dumbed down personality and an overreliance on improv comedy). Overall, critics and audiences were in pretty close agreement over Love and Thunder, which earned a 63% Tomatometer aggregate and an average score of 6.2 on IMDb.
3. The Marvels (2023)
Serving as a follow-up to 2019's Captain Marvel, 2021's WandaVision, and 2022's Ms. Marvel, The Marvels sess Carol Danvers (Academy Award winner Brie Larson), Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), and Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) form a superpowered trio. Bringing them together is a strange phenomenon that causes their powers to become entangled, forcing them to work closely together to stop a villain who... well, I honestly forgot what Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton) was plotting.
That is just one of the reasons why some critics and audiences were a bit harsh on the Marvel debut of 2021's Candyman director Nia DaCosta, in addition to a tone that shifts more often than our three leads shift places and attempts at humor that often fall flat. The main plot is intriguing, the action does deliver for the most part, and the 100-minute runtime is a blessing but, still, The Marvels' RT score is only 62% and IMDb users were less favorable, rating it 5.5.
2. Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
Whether or not the MCU’s Phase 5 got off to a good start depends on who you ask. Some more favorable viewers believe the installment to kick it off, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, is the best of the trilogy starring Paul Rudd and Evangeline Lily as the incredible shrinking love bugs, especially with Jonathan Majors stealing the show as Kang the Conqueror.
However, some critics – including our own Eric Eisenberg – felt that the film’s overly simple plot, cheap humor, and lack of the same spark that we have come to know and love about Marvel movies is cause for concern over the franchise’s future. This otherwise visually amusing adventure through the mysterious Quantum Realm ended up getting one of the lowest Rotten Tomatoes scores for an MCU movie yet with just 48%. At least it has a 6.1 on IMDb at the moment, and can also say that it is not the very lowest point for the franchise yet.
1. Eternals (2021)
Following Chloé Zhao’s win at the Academy Awards for directing the Best Picture Oscar winner, Nomadland, Kevin Feige’s praising comments about the filmmaker’s vision, and the announcement of its A-list cast, the hype for Eternals was high, to say the least. Perhaps that has something to do with why the reception to the MCU induction of Jack Kirby’s immortal heroes was so underwhelming.
Speaking as someone who actually enjoyed the movie overall, I can understand why its harshest critics believe that – even at 156 minutes long – it does not take the time to allow us to become emotionally invested in each member of its vast character ensemble. I often wonder if stretching it into a Disney+ original Marvel TV show might have saved it from its 47% RT rating and 6.3 average on IMDb.
At the end of the day, there really are no right or wrong choices for the best or worst Marvel movies to date. However, statistics show that the six titles above are the biggest losers from one of Hollywood’s most winning franchises. Do you agree?
