Marvel Studios Released MCU's Worst-Reviewed Movie And Series In The Same Year

Marvel Studios Released MCU's Worst-Reviewed Movie And Series In The Same Year

Warner Bros. Discovery gets a lot of flak for releasing two DC-based flops in a row, but Marvel Studios hasn't had the best year, either, debuting the MCU's worst-reviewed movie and series in 2023...

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By MarkCassidy - Jul 27, 2023 09:07 AM EST

Whether you happen to believe in the notion of "superhero fatigue" or not, there's no denying that recent big screen releases have suffered significant dips in box office revenue - and quality, if the critical receptions are any indication.

The Flash will go down as the biggest flop in the 100-year history of Warner Bros., and the studio's previous DCEU effort, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, didn't really fare much better, despite its predecessor being widely hailed as one of the better DC Comics-based films in the franchise.

WB/DC has come in for a lot of flak recently, but 2023 hasn't exactly been Marvel's year, either!

Although Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was well-received and has emerged as the highest-grossing comic book movie of the year so far, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania not only failed to meet box office expectations, but ended up becoming the worst-reviewed MCU movie yet.

Now, with 57% on Rotten Tomatoes (this week's season finale has dropped to 13%), 2023 has also delivered Marvel Studios' most negatively-reviewed streaming series in Secret Invasion.

Are these projects really bad enough to deserve such responses? That's obviously debatable, but superhero fatigue or not, it seems clear that fans and critics alike are starting to demand more from their comic book-based content.

Can The Marvels turns things around? There is a chance the Captain Marvel sequel will end up being delayed due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, but even if it doesn't, the trailers haven't exactly been met with an overwhelmingly positive response.

What do you think? Have fans and critics been overly harsh of late, or have these projects been missing the mark? Drop us a comment down below.

"In Marvel Studios’ new series Secret Invasion, set in the present day MCU, Nick Fury learns of a clandestine invasion of Earth by a faction of shapeshifting Skrulls. Fury joins his allies, including Everett Ross, Maria Hill and the Skrull Talos, who has made a life for himself on Earth. Together they race against time to thwart an imminent Skrull invasion and save humanity."

The series stars Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Cobie Smulders, Martin Freeman, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Charlayne Woodard, Killian Scott, Samuel Adewunmi, Dermot Mulroney, Christopher McDonald, Katie Finneran, with Emilia Clarke, Olivia Colman, and Don Cheadle.

Ali Selim directs and executive-produces, along with fellow executive producers Kevin Feige, Jonathan Schwartz, Louis D’Esposito, Victoria Alonso, Brad Winderbaum, Samuel L. Jackson, Ali Selim, Kyle Bradstreet and Brian Tucker. Kyle Bradstreet is also the head writer, and Jennifer L. Booth, Allana Williams and Brant Englestein serve as co-executive producers.

If you want to know my thoughts on Secret Invasion, and much more besides, you can have a listen to the first episode of the Roll Credits podcast below.

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FireandBlood
FireandBlood - 7/27/2023, 9:31 AM
They saw DC flopping left and right and wanted in on action
Fogs
Fogs - 7/27/2023, 9:35 AM
@PlusUltra - hahaha got jealous.

"What? We need to be better in anything, including on being shitty!"
Matador
Matador - 7/27/2023, 10:22 AM
@PlusUltra - Marvel just told DC
JoeInTheBox
JoeInTheBox - 7/27/2023, 11:04 AM
@PlusUltra - @PlusUltra - "Flop harder than DC, you say?"

Marvel:
AmazingFILMporg
AmazingFILMporg - 7/27/2023, 11:07 AM
@PlusUltra -


I blame the last Disney CEO that mandated alot more shows and movies and took away power from the studios and handed it to his wall street buddy. The guy had zero film experience🤡
Urubrodi
Urubrodi - 7/27/2023, 9:33 AM
Secret Invasion could have been better but to say it's worse than She-Hulk, Mrs Marvel or Hawkeye like the critics imply is bullshit.
FireandBlood
FireandBlood - 7/27/2023, 9:37 AM
@Urubrodi -

Urubrodi
Urubrodi - 7/27/2023, 9:41 AM
@PlusUltra - If that's your opinion, fair enough, but especially in regards to She-Hulk, couldn't disagree more.
SheepishOne
SheepishOne - 7/27/2023, 9:44 AM
@Urubrodi - It's worse than Hawkeye, but not worse than She-Hulk or Ms Marvel. The problem is, it's more boring than any of them. It has Dark World syndrome where it's not exactly bad, it's just mediocre and uneventful. It's barely worth talking about.
Urubrodi
Urubrodi - 7/27/2023, 9:46 AM
@SheepishOne - I can see the argument for putting Hawkeye above it, especially because of Hailee. Being a bit boring is still better than being crap, which She-Hulk is.
FireandBlood
FireandBlood - 7/27/2023, 9:46 AM
@SheepishOne - She-Hulk had some highs, like Daredevil, but Secret Invasion didn’t even have that. Agents of SHIELD S1 looks like a HBO show in comparison.
GameOn
GameOn - 7/27/2023, 9:55 AM
@Urubrodi - She Hulk and Ms Marvel are not nearly as bad as people like you claim they are. Issues for sure, but not THAT bad. I’d put them middle of the road behind WandaVision, Loki, and Moon Knight but def ahead of Hawkeye, Captain Falcon and Winter Soldier. I can’t speak on Secret Invasion yet since I haven’t watched the finale, but thus far I would put it closer to the bottom.
xfan320
xfan320 - 7/27/2023, 10:01 AM
@Urubrodi - the entirety of Secret Invasion could have been covered in 45 minutes to an hour. What a slog to watch. Every other D+ show at least kept me mildly invested week to week, Secret Invasion just kept meandering from week-to-week until I realized that there was literally no story to be had here. Shame too, This storyline could have easily carried an entire MCU phase.
MrDandy
MrDandy - 7/27/2023, 10:19 AM
@PlusUltra - nothing in the MCU is worse than She-Hulk. Bottom of the barrel. The Velma of the MCU
SheepishOne
SheepishOne - 7/27/2023, 10:23 AM
@GameOn - Ms Marvel had its fun moments, and the lead actress was very charming. I didn't think it was bad, it just felt aimed at a younger audience, and I couldn't really get into it. And then the last couple of episodes had some serious pacing issues, and I could not for the life of me care about the villains.

I wanted to like She-Hulk. I really did. When I was a kid, She-Hulk was genuinely one of my favorite Marvel heroes. But I always saw her as having this sort of WWE personality and being incredibly self confident and dynamic. I didn't get that at all from her show. Her show felt like She-Hulk in name only, and was thematically all over the place. They never knew how to handle her 4th wall breaks (I feel like it should have emerged as sort of a "power" that she leans into by the end, but it instead was sporadic and only served to fem-splain what was going on). They made Jessica feel like an apathetic millennial Twitter girl, which was just waaaaay off the mark for me. I liked the Daredevil stuff I guess, but it felt like a gross mischaracterization of one of my favorite Marvel characters. And I could have maybe gotten on board if the execution was better. But here we are.
SheepishOne
SheepishOne - 7/27/2023, 10:25 AM
@PlusUltra - Agents of Shield is miles better than Secret Invasion. Even at its worst.
GameOn
GameOn - 7/27/2023, 10:31 AM
@SheepishOne - I would think of that the same way I look at Quicksilver in Days of Future Past. I absolutely hated what they did with the character, like they changed everything about him, but the scenes with him were still very enjoyable. She Hulk may not have lived up to expectations in a lot of ways, but what I liked about it more than most things Marvel has been putting out is that it felt like it knew what it was and wanted to be. It set out to be an obnoxious superhero millennial lawyer sitcom and it was.
Tasmaniac
Tasmaniac - 7/27/2023, 11:35 AM
@GameOn - But sitcoms are supposed to be funny 🤷🏻‍♂️
ShamusG
ShamusG - 7/27/2023, 11:43 AM
@Urubrodi - I actually liked Hawkeye. How are we not talking about the pile of rubbish Thor: Love and Blunder?
DevilsDreams
DevilsDreams - 7/27/2023, 11:51 AM
@GameOn - Ms Marvel wasn't terrible, but it seemed to struggle with it's pacing a little.
She Hulk was just bad though...
GameOn
GameOn - 7/27/2023, 12:26 PM
@Tasmaniac - I thought it was plenty funny at times for the types of jokes it was telling. Not every sitcom will be on par with The Office and Seinfeld
GameOn
GameOn - 7/27/2023, 12:26 PM
@DevilsDreams - Why was She Hulk bad?
JFerguson
JFerguson - 7/27/2023, 12:28 PM
@PlusUltra - I surprisingly agree that She Hulk was somehow better than this show. Secret Invasion had zero redeeming qualities in what feels like a show that should never have been made to begin with.
DevilsDreams
DevilsDreams - 7/28/2023, 4:21 AM
@GameOn - While the premise held some promise, there were certain aspects that hindered the overall enjoyment of the series. The pacing seemed inconsistent, with some episodes feeling rushed whilst others really dragged, which impacted the flow of the narrative, with some of the CGI dragging down the quality of some scenes.

The character development felt lacking at times, and then there was the portrayal of the main character, the execution just fell short and we were left with a less likeable main character, the excessive 4th wall breaks, meant to add a unique element, ended up being a divisive choice for many viewers and at times disrupted the immersion in the storyline.

The conclusion of the series was pretty polarizing leaving many dissatisfied with the direction the story took. My partner and I slogged through the series but she actually gave up during the weird ending, whilst I appreciate many of the marvel series are going to leave openings for continuations and other stories, it just felt like a rushed ending which just side stepped the idea of continuity or a real conclusion.

I get that some of this will just be my opinion, but I don't think I'm alone in thinking the series wasn't good, whilst the critics loved it (77% on RT), the audience score indicates the opposite (36% on RT).
Urubrodi
Urubrodi - 7/28/2023, 8:45 AM
@PlusUltra - Even "Daredevil" couldn't save that episode. And when your high point is when some other character cameos on your show, you have a big problem. And just stop jeez, Secret Invasion is disappointing but the way you speak of it looks like we are talking about some shit like Human Centipede 2. Like damn. The acting is good, the writing is alright, the pace is bad, the story is lacking but it's far from being this bomb you seem to want it to be.
bobevanz
bobevanz - 7/27/2023, 9:34 AM
Hey guys, Off Topic:
You should see Oppenheimer, it's the best movie of the year hands down.
Here are some other movies and docs for you
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 7/27/2023, 10:14 AM
@bobevanz - I liked Mission Impossible more. Oppenheimer just was unnecessarily convoluted in my opinionn. Dead Reckoning was long too, but atleast it didn't feel like two movies in one
EZBeast
EZBeast - 7/27/2023, 10:27 AM
@bkmeijer1 - how does dead reckoning to ghost protocol in your opinion?
McMurdo
McMurdo - 7/27/2023, 10:59 AM
@bkmeijer1 - dead reckoning was just action set pieces with a ham fisted story. It's the worst MI since John Woos 2.
McMurdo
McMurdo - 7/27/2023, 11:00 AM
@EZBeast - they dont compare.. Ghoat Protocol buries it
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 7/27/2023, 11:22 AM
@EZBeast @McMurdo - there was enough story for me to enjoy it, but Ghost Protocol still has the best story. Rogue Nation and Fallout and have the best balance between story and action though imo
Tasmaniac
Tasmaniac - 7/27/2023, 11:43 AM
@McMurdo - For me it was that every one of the action sequences in Dead Reckoning just went on too long. They were brilliantly done, but it was like they were so proud of everything that they shot they didn’t want to leave any of it out. They could have all been cut down by 30-40% and it would have made them much more impactful. The train falling sequence in particular had me looking at my watch and thinking “Jeez, is it still going?!”
ShamusG
ShamusG - 7/27/2023, 11:58 AM
@EZBeast - Easily my favorite MI movie. Does not get enough love.
mountainman
mountainman - 7/27/2023, 9:34 AM
There is no way to deny that fatigue is playing a part. People are judging the projects more harshly than in the last and are more likely to skip them.

The industry isn’t done. It probably never will be done.

But the age of multiple big CBMs and numerous comic shows every year is nearing its end.

The studios just need to be more selective with releases and focus on quality content. The movie/show factories don’t cut it any more.
Fogs
Fogs - 7/27/2023, 9:37 AM
@mountainman - The decreasing quality is a huge (and the main) factor. But even if that wasn't the case, Endgame was just too big. Felt too much like a closure, it's so hard for people to still invested on them after that one.

They needed a better plan.
mountainman
mountainman - 7/27/2023, 9:43 AM
@Fogs - The “throw spaghetti at the wall” approach post-Endgame hasn’t helped.

And content overload is real. Leading up to Endgame, there were 1-3 movies per year to keep up. As the saga advanced, they started to become more interconnected and it people wanted to see where it was leading.

Multiverse seems like their way to go bigger than Endgame. They got the nostalgia bait of No Way Home. They may get something similar with Deadpool 3. But the rest of the multiverse stuff just isn’t resonating. The average movie goer doesn’t care about any of the Dr Strange 2 cameos besides Professor X and Mr Fantastic, and they haven’t led anywhere yet. Alternate versions of MCU heroes, unless it is bringing back one of the 3 popular dead ones, just doesn’t matter to most people. And the multiverse can be confusing to people. Too complex. Even though Endgame’s time travel rules were complex, that was the last movie in that saga. The overall story - prevent bad guy from collecting these powerful Magguffins to save the universe - is a easy story to follow.
GameOn
GameOn - 7/27/2023, 9:58 AM
@mountainman - That’s the thing, I don’t think it will matter how good some of the upcoming shows like Echo, Ironheart, and Agatha are. Those are just bad characters to put the spotlight on (nothing to do with the characters themselves, just their overall popularity) and the production quality of every MCU show to this point will do them no favors. Marvel will continue leaving a bad taste in people’s mouths with stuff like that.
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