12 Awful Superhero Movies You Won't Believe Scored Better Than JUSTICE LEAGUE On Rotten Tomatoes
Justice League was mauled by critics and has ended up with a score of 40%. However, there are a lot of awful superhero movies with better scores and we take a look at each of those after the jump...
With the signs all pointing to Justice League being a box office flop with a final worldwide haul which is likely to barely surpass Man of Steel's total from 2013, it's hard not to wonder where things went wrong. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes can be blamed to at least a certain extent as moviegoers put a lot of stock into the scores generated by the site but does the DC movie only deserve 40%?
That's an argument for another day but if there's one thing we do know, it's that there are a lot of truly ROTTEN superhero movies out there with better scores than Justice League which don't deserve them!
So, what you'll find here is twelve superhero movies - in no particular order - which boast better scores than the DC Comics movie which most definitely don't deserve them! We think you'll be surprised by our choices and regardless of how you felt about Justice League, you may still agree with us...
To view this list of movies in its entirety, simply click on the VIEW LIST (ONE PAGE) button below!
Daredevil - 44%
Critics Consensus: "While Ben Affleck fits the role and the story is sporadically interesting, Daredevil is ultimately a dull, brooding origin story that fails to bring anything new to the genre."
Justice League isn't the first superhero movie Ben Affleck has starred in which has been mauled by critics but it's fair to say that deserved a better score than Daredevil! This was released when superhero movies were still a relatively fresh concept but despite strong moments which not even the TV series has managed to top, Daredevil sums up everything wrong with the genre before 2008.
Superman Returns - 76%
Critics Consensus: "Bryan Singer's reverent and visually decadent adaptation gives the Man of Steel welcome emotional complexity. The result: a satisfying stick-to-your-ribs adaptation."
Superman Returns' heart was definitely in the right place but Bryan Singer's attempt to emulate movies which were released decades before this one fell flat. Light on action and heavy on bizarre story decision (the Man of Steel is a deadbeat dad), this movie sums up what a disappointing DC adaptation really looks like and Justice League's world was definitely preferable to this idealised nonsense.
Iron Man 2 - 73%
Critics Consensus: "It isn't quite the breath of fresh air that Iron Man was, but this sequel comes close with solid performances and an action-packed plot"
Iron Man 2 is a movie which definitely had its moments but it was an even bigger mess than Justice League and featured a villain every bit as bad as Steppenwolf. Mickey Rourke's Whiplash was an embarrassment, while the movie's may attempts to set up The Avengers made this feel more like two hours of exposition than an actual story which would deliver a satisfying follow-up to the first movie.
X-Men: The Last Stand - 58%
Critics Consensus: "X-Men: The Last Stand provides plenty of mutant action for fans of the franchise, even if it does so at the expense of its predecessors' deeper character moments."
Brett Ratner may have broughtaction to the X-Men franchise in a big way with The Last Stand but this superhero ensemble made far more mistakes than Justice League both in terms of story decisions and tone. It was an infuriating mess and one which soured what was otherwise shaping up to an amazing trilogy. Ratner and Simon Kinberg's many attempts at fan service also failed to redeem this threequel.
Hulk - 61%
Critics Consensus: "While Ang Lee's ambitious film earns marks for style and an attempt at dramatic depth, there's ultimately too much talking and not enough smashing."
Ang Lee's attempt at entering the superhero movie genre was definitely creative but his eccentric take on The Hulk was not remotely satisfying for fans beyond the pleasure which came with seeing the Jade Giant brought to life by CGI. This snoozefest clearly did it for some pretentious critics as that's the only way to explain this score! In fairness, the CGI used on The Hulk was better than Superman's jaw!
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - 52%
Critics Consensus: "While the cast is outstanding and the special effects are top-notch, the latest installment of the Spidey saga suffers from an unfocused narrative and an overabundance of characters."
The Amazing Spider-Man may have been disappointing but it showed some promise and fans were hoping the sequel would really be able to run with the ideas introduced by Marc Webb in the first movie. Unfortunately, this was a total mess which disappointed on every level. The tone was Batman and Robin-esque and the cast was wasted and it says it all that this movie killed Sony's franchise.
Thor: The Dark World - 66%
Critics Consensus: "It may not be the finest film to come from the Marvel Universe, but Thor: The Dark World still offers plenty of the humor and high-stakes action that fans have come to expect."
I didn't hate Thor: The Dark World but if you compare it to Justice League, it's hard to argue the Marvel Studios movie is a better film. Malekith was vastly more forgettable than Steppenwolf and the DC Comics superhero ensemble at least had a series of memorable moments. This sequel was light on those and while it certainly wasn't as messy as Justice League, the story still managed to be inferior.
The Amazing Spider-Man - 73%
Critics Consensus: "A well-chosen cast and sure-handed direction allow The Amazing Spider-Man to thrill, despite revisiting many of the same plot points from 2002's Spider-Man."
You didn't think we were going to leave The Amazing Spider-Man 2's predecessor out, did you? Justice League may have been plagued by extensive reshoots but so was this movie and that meant "The Untold Story" vanished along with the promise that we would get a new take on the wall-crawler's origin story. It may have been better than Spider-Man 3 but that didn't justify so many good reviews.
Red 2 - 43%
Critics Consensus: "While it's still hard to argue with its impeccable cast or the fun they often seem to be having, Red 2 replaces much of the goofy fun of its predecessor with empty, over-the-top bombast."
Red 2 may have boasted an ensemble every bit as impressive as Justice League's (even if they were quite a bit older) but this sequel had few redeeming qualities and the fact it got made at all after the underwhelming first instalment is shocking. There may have been plenty of action here but there was no plot and it's hard to believe this even managed to score in the double digits, never mind 43%!
The LEGO Batman Movie - 91%
Critics Consensus: "The Lego Batman Movie continues its block-buster franchise's winning streak with another round of dizzyingly funny -- and beautifully animated -- family-friendly mayhem."
91%? Really? The positive reviews for this underwhelming animated adventure felt like they were solely a response to Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, a much darker take on the Caped Crusader which was released the year before this hit theaters. The goofy tone may have been fun for younger viewers but there's no way this provided a more satisfying take on the DC Universe than Justice League.
Spider-Man 3 - 63%
Critics Consensus: "Though there are more characters and plotlines, and the action sequences still dazzle, Spider-Man 3 nonetheless isn't quite as refined as the first two."
Studio interference ensured that the amazing work Sam Raimi had done on the first two instalments of this franchise was far from spectacular here as we were left with a visually impressive Sandman but a ridiculous storyline about him murdering Uncle Ben and a watered down Venom thrown into the third act. The action may have been good but that shouldn't justify a score anywhere near this high.
Constantine - 46%
Critics Consensus: "Despite solid production values and an intriguing premise, Constantine lacks the focus of another spiritual shoot-em-up, The Matrix."
This movie may be only slightly better reviewed than Justice League but it's shocking that critics weren't considerably harsher. Perhaps they were just unfamiliar with the source material because this movie was pretty much Constantine in just name alone and while it's fair to say that it had its moments, it's another of those adaptations released before its time which have hurt its character.
Do you agree that these movies were all worse than Justice League despite boasting higher scores on Rotten Tomatoes? As always, let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below.