Critics often have a hard time gauging comic book movies, in many cases being either too generous or too harsh in their judgment of a superhero adaptation. Ever since the genre's rise from moderate popularity in the 80s to pop culture dominance in the late 2000s, comic book movies have often bristled with professional movie reviewers in disharmony. After all, with prestige cinema darlings like Martin Scorsese condemning the superhero genre, it's hard for many serious critics to accurately judge a given comic book movie.
In most cases, when critics make mistakes in reviewing comic book movies, they're either being too harsh or failing to grasp the point of the source material, something that is only compounded by the supposed modern trend of superhero fatigue. This results in many comic book movies being unfairly reviled by highbrow reviewers, either incapable or uninterested in joining in on the base fun. In other, rarer instances, critics will instead overvalue a given superhero film, forgiving its worst sins for very political reasons.
10 Blade
58% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes
If there's one film that the modern idea of the superhero movie owes a lot to, it's 1998's Blade. Starring Wesley Snips as the titular vampire hunter, this dark comic book adaptation was groundbreaking for several reasons, being both the first major R-rated superhero movie and the first one to feature an African American protagonist. From the stylish opening scene to the legendary delivery of Blade's closing one-liner by Snipes, few comic book movies have managed to live up to the hype of the original Blade.
Blade may be a case of style of substance, a fact recognized by even its positive critical reviews, but it more than succeeds at what it sets out to do, which is the only fair basis by which any film can be judged. Even then, the plot gripes many reviewers have raised about Blade's supposed lack of heart are quite unfounded, with scenes like Whistler's death and the reveal of Blade's mom being earnestly emotionally affecting at times. Not only is Blade's writing not bad enough to eclipse it's incredible flair and energy, but it's actually quite good.
9 Venom
30% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes
Sony's decision to continue building a Spider-Man cinematic universe without the presence of the beloved web head himself was a controversial one, which has led to critical and commercial disasters like Morbius and Madame Web. However, their first foray into the solo Spider-Man character spin-off world with Venom was actually quite a fun experience. Tom Hardy does an excellent job playing both co-leads as Eddie and Venom, representing a lovably dysfunctional partnership with pluck and aplomb.
By no means is Venom a perfect comic book movie, having almost endearing flaws that call to mind the awkward superhero stumbling blocks of the early 2000s. However, critics were quite harsh on the nascent Sony solo project, often finding themselves at odds with the film's noisy and uneven tone. For those that can revel in the chaos, Venom is actually quite a fun experience, certainly not a critical masterpiece, but nowhere near the dud a 30% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes might imply.
8 Constantine
46% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes
Bragging one of the highest gulfs between critical and audience score on any superhero film on Rotten Tomatoes, Constantine is a moody, misunderstood treat. Positing Keanu Reeves as the cynical chain-smoking magician, Constantine brings the paranormal demon hunter from DC Comics to life in a gritty live-action adaptation. A criminally underrated entry in Keanu Reeves' filmography, Constantine slowly drew enough of a cult following over the years to justify the production of Constantine 2 two decades later.
As much as Keanue Reeves' presence as the wise-cracking arcanist is the film's central strength, it invites an unfair point of comparison for critics to latch on to. Many reviewers of the film's age saw Reeves coming off the back of the Matrix franchise and were expecting a film on par with one of the greatest sci-fi action films ever made. With such impossibly lofty standards, even the finely-honed fun of Constantine was essentially doomed to fail in the eyes of critics, bearing impossible expectations thanks to Reeves' attachment.
7 Eternals
47% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes
Interestingly, Eternals was unfairly reviled by both critics and audiences at the time of its release, but whereas audiences have come around on the film after some time to digest, cri tics have remained staunch in their dislike for the MCU's failed expansion of their world.
The film introduces a new group of heroes to the hallowed franchise, a group of human-looking aliens gifted with incredible powers meant to protect the Earth from insidious predators outside the public eye. With so much set up to get out of the way, the first watch of Eternals can be quite alienating.
For those willing to return to the project, a finely-tuned character study wrapped up in a millennia-spanning epic is a heaping reward to reap. The A-list cast fire on all cylinders as they navigate their almost Shakespearean tragedy of a situation, and the excitement is added to by some of the coolest applications of superpowers in the MCU. In the end, Eternals biggest problems come from its awkward, vestigial attachment to the MCU in the first place, working much better as a separate story.
6 Batman Forever
41% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes
Similarly to Eternals, both critics and audiences are quite sour on Batman Forever, which took the franchise in quite a lighthearted direction after the grimdark holiday misery of Batman Returns. But whereas some fans have come around on Eternals, Batman Forever remains unfairly lambasted in the public eye even almost three decades after its release. Coming off of the Tim Burton movies, the film had impossible expectations to fulfill, with its campy tone and new actor replacing Michael Keaton as The Dark Knight himself.
Taken for what it is, Batman Forever is a fantastic exercise in enjoyable camp. From Val Kilmer's underrated Batman to the bombastic personalities of Jim Carrey's Riddler and Tommy Lee Jones' Two-Face, not to mention the phenomenal original soundtrack by the artist Seal, there's so much fun to be had with Batman Forever. When separated from the tonal whiplash incurred in comparison to the previous film, Batman Forever is relentless, dumb enjoyment deserving of more recognition.
5 30 Days Of Night
51% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes
A criminally underrated horror film based on the IDW miniseries of the same name, 30 Days of Night is one of the most egregiously underrated comic book movies ever. Set in the northenmost town of Barrow, Alaska, the movie takes place during the season-long nightfall that shrouds the small community due to its proximity to the North Pole. As the sun sets for the last time in a month, vampires descend upon the hapless town's inhabitants, wreaking havoc without fear of the sun's wrath.
30 Days of Night's criticism fails to identify any actual overt problem, with vague complaints about pacing and the blood-sucking villains' stage presence implying a different movie all together. In truth, the film is a tense battle for survival against some of the scariest on-screen vampires ever created, with the harsh cold of the Alaskan frontier being just as deadly an antagonistic force, as well. As both a horror film and a comic book movie, 30 Days of Night deserves far more credit.
4 Cowboys & Aliens
44% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes
Because of its ridiculous title alone, it's easy to see why Cowboys & Aliens was overlooked as B-movie filler by both audiences and critics alike. A rare instance of a film that was written as a screenplay first, only to be turned into a comic retroactively to better sell itself, Cowboys & Aliens is exactly what it says on the tin - A unique Western featuring sci-fi aliens coming to Earth in an exciting battle for supremacy. Critics lambasted the film for its jarring tonal shifts, struggling to balance its two genre influences.
While this issue is admittedly one that MCU darling director Jon Favreau did indeed struggle with, the strengths of the film should be given more credit. Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford both deliver energetic star performances, demonstrating a clear enthusiasm for the bargain bin novelty concept. Cowboys & Aliens is no critical masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but deserves at least cult status via the strength of its characters alone.
3 Black Panther
96% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes
Black Panther is by no means a bad film. But judging by the jaw-dropping 96% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes, one might be let down by the film upon a first viewing, with the overall quality truly ranking among the average standards for MCU fare. As great as T'Challa and Erik Killmonger are, the movie's predictable narrative, cringy aged humor, and terrible CGI provide more than enough faults to justify knocking it down a peg or two in the eyes of star-struck critics.
In truth, the representational implications for Black Panther as the first major MCU solo film to be headlined by a person of color eclipsed the actual quality of the film itself when it came to many reviewers' thoughts. The film's importance for representation might be accurately represented by its lofty percentage of winning reviews, but the number is by no means indicative of the movie's actual quality. With the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman, Black Panther has only taken on an even more mythical status, all the harder to separate from its strength as a film.
2 Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings
91% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a curious case for critical evaluation due to its very structure. The film almost feels like two different movies haphazardly stapled together, with the tense martial arts choreography of the first act far outshining the eyerolling CGI fantasy army battles of the third. As a whole, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is certainly not deserving of its critical acclaim, as evidenced by the fact that Shang-Chi has yet to reappear in the MCU main storyline after three years.
Just like with Black Panther, the important step of representation the MCU made with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings made critics afraid to leave overall negative reviews. It's great that Simu Liu was able to give the franchise the Asian representation it so desperately needed, but in all honesty, he only has passing charisma as a leading man, not to mention the film's tonal inconsistencies and the awkward pacing of its genre-shift finale. Certainly not a terrible film, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is still definitely over-praised.
1 Thor: Love & Thunder
63% critical score on Rotten Tomatoes
Unlike many Marvel Cinematic Universe films that get an unfair rap from professional movie critics, Thor: Love & Thunder got off shockingly easy. The natural evolution of Thor's degradation from a powerful god to a comedy punchline in the MCU, the film mires its promising premise in awkward humor, from annoying screaming goats to the uncomfortable ogling of Chris Hemsworth's impressive physique. Yet most critics were strangely ambivalent towards these obvious flaws, still insisting that Thor: Love & Thunder is a worthy addition to the MCU roster.
Indeed, the relatively high critical praise of Thor: Love & Thunder has less to do with the film itself and everything to do with its director, industry darling Taika Waititi. Even though Waititi's comedy stylings ran up against a wall in his second Thor project, the mere attachment of his name seemed to hypnotize critics into thinking the film could only do so much wrong. Instead, Thor: Love & Thunder is truly proof that even respected directors can stumble appallingly when at the reins of a comic book movie they feel no real passion for.
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