Some MCU movies are worth the hype and a rewatch while others are better forgotten.
Whenever a new entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is coming out, fans either get their hopes up or prepare to be disappointed. If the franchise makes a movie out of a relatively obscure title like the Guardians of the Galaxy, especially in the early days when a movie bearing Marvel’s logo wasn’t a guaranteed hit, then a box office bomb is expected.
Of course, plenty of times, the MCU has managed to exceed expectations, creating pop culture sensations seemingly out of thing air. Other times, fans have been really excited to see a movie they were sure would be great and it turned out meh, or average, or so-so. Here are five MCU movies that exceeded expectations and five more that fell short.
When Marvel announced that it would follow up Captain America: The Winter Soldier with a movie about the Guardians of the Galaxy, most fans wondered: Who are the Guardians of the Galaxy? Better yet, what is a Guardian of the Galaxy?
At best, all fans could muster was that the Guardians were an obscure team consisting of a talking raccoon and a talking tree. Box office analysts predicted the MCU’s first bomb. But of course, writer-director James Gunn brought so much heart, humor, and spectacle to the movie that the Guardians became icons as beloved as the Avengers themselves overnight.
After the first Guardians movie arrived as a breath of fresh air, the second one used what worked in the first one as a crutch. Though some moments landed, overall, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 was a case of diminishing returns.
The first Guardians perfectly balanced its humor with emotionally engaging moments of drama. Drax, for example, was a tortured widow seeking revenge in the first film, but was reduced to a walking, talking meme with “famously huge turds” in the sequel. At least Vol. 2 gave us Mary Poppins.
Even the Russo brothers found the Captain America character to be boring when they signed on to helm his second solo movie. Not only did they have to find a way to make Cap cool, but their movie was also the first one to follow Captain America's adjustment to modern times.
The Russos’ disinterest in Cap ended up helping The Winter Soldier, as they had to go the extra mile to enjoy their own movie. Made in the style of a ‘70s paranoid political thriller, The Winter Soldier has breathtaking action, shocking plot twists, and a compelling villain.
Thor’s first solo movie wasn’t anything to rave about, but Kenneth Branagh at least brought an operatic, Shakespearean quality to the story and Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston were perfect for the roles of Thor and Loki. After The Avengers made Loki more popular, Marvel had the script for Thor: The Dark World tweaked to sideline Jane Foster and feature Loki more prominently.
This created huge story problems that caused Patty Jenkins to drop out of directing. The final product is the MCU’s most by-the-numbers entry; the kind of movie the MCU’s detractors accuse all its movies of being.
After the disappointment of Thor: The Dark World, Marvel fans pretty much unanimously decided that Thor had the worst solo franchise in the MCU, and his movies would stand among the least exciting releases.
The third Thor solo movie, Thor: Ragnarok, was initially developed as a dark, edgy movie but Taika Waititi retooled it as a zany comedy, which made it infinitely more entertaining than its predecessors. As a result of Ragnarok’s success, Thor: Love and Thunder (also directed by Waititi) is now one of the MCU’s most hotly anticipated upcoming releases.
After Joss Whedon’s first Avengers movie knocked everybody’s socks off, expectations were sky-high for the sequel. Whedon was expected to deliver an even bigger set piece than the Battle of New York, an even more diabolical villain than Loki, and an even bolder climax than Tony Stark flying a nuke into space.
Unfortunately, Age of Ultron was a bitter disappointment. It’s not a terrible movie, but it is a messy one especially due to then-Marvel head Ike Perlmutter overstuffing the plot. Worst of all, its titular villain poses such a huge threat that he fails to connect with audiences in a single movie. Too bad Ultron's too dead to redeem himself in a future movie.
No one ever expected Black Panther to be a bad movie, but similarly, no one could’ve predicted just how much of a cultural landmark it would be. It broke a ton of box office records, scored a nod for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and it looks like it’ll be talked about for years to come -- more so than the movie that actually won Best Picture in that year.
It was unprecedented that a solo movie introducing a new relatively character to the MCU wouldn’t be overshadowed in the public consciousness by a gargantuan Avengers team-up bringing together all the Phase Three heroes a couple of months later. And yet, Black Panther remains both a superhero achievement and a cultural milestone.
The Sorcerer Supreme was ripe for the big screen. His magical powers allow for truly mind-bending visual effects. While the VFX in the MCU’s first Doctor Strange movie didn’t disappoint, the movie itself did.
It was a bog-standard origin story, hitting all the familiar beats with a generic love interest and dead mentor, and featuring too much of the MCU’s signature bathos. At the very least, Benedict Cumberbatch portraying the eponymous doctor was a casting match made in heaven.
It’s practically impossible to fathom now, but Iron Man was a pretty obscure character when Marvel decided to make a movie out of him in 2008. And on top of that – and this is also difficult to believe now – Robert Downey, Jr. was considered a risky casting choice back then, due to his rocky history with personal demons.
Not only did Iron Man surpass initial doubt and revive Robert Downey Jr.'s career, but it changed Hollywood filmmaking forever. Not even the filmmakers knew that Iron Man would be the first chapter in a 23-part saga that would dominate multiplexes and change the face of cinema altogether.
There are some fans that think Iron Man 3 is great and some who think that it was a crime against humanity. Polarizing opinions aside, the third Iron Man movie is certainly not as amazing as it was hyped up to be.
The trailers made Ben Kingsley’s Mandarin seem like a terrifying villain, so the twist where he was just a joke felt like a slap in the face. Writer-director Shane Black is known for such action-packed gems as Lethal Weapon, The Long Kiss Goodnight, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, meaning expectations for his MCU debut were off the charts. There are glimmers of his idiosyncratic voice in the final product, but his script got messed up by Marvel nixing a female villain, among many other issues.
