DISCUSSION: What Is One Disliked MCU Movie You Actually Like/Don’t Think Deserves The Hate?

While a lot of Marvel Studios' movies have been well-received, there are many others that haven't stuck the landing for people. With that said, what's one disliked MCU film you consider good?

Editorial Opinion

By DanielKlissmman - May 27, 2025 01:05 PM EST

Filed Under: Marvel Studios

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is a large tapestry of films (and TV series). Focusing on the big-screen side, since its inception, the ambitious superhero universe has experienced something many other franchises in Hollywood have not: quality consistency. With over 30 films and counting, the MCU has typically enjoyed a healthy amount of critical acclaim, which has allowed it to turn increasingly obscure characters into household names.

However, not everything has been a bed of roses for Marvel Studios — particularly in recent years. A considerable amount of its theatrical releases have been either divisive or downright critical duds. Yet, it's safe to say we've all experienced this — we watch a movie that's largely disliked, and we find ourselves liking it to an extent... maybe even enjoying it.

So, I thought it appropriate to ask the question: What's one MCU movie that's disliked/hated, but you actually appreciate? Now, the universe is comprised of 36 films, so picking just one film may be tough. As such, if you feel like it, you can expand your answer to three picks. As a reminder, here are all the MCU films released so far:

Phase 1:

Iron Man (2008)
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Thor (2011)
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
The Avengers (2012)

Phase 2:

Iron Man 3 (2013)
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Ant-Man (2015)

Phase 3:

Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Doctor Strange (2016)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Black Panther (2018)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Captain Marvel (2019)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Spider-Man: Far From Home (2019)

Phase 4:

Black Widow (2020)
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)
Eternals (2021)
Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)

Phase 5:

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)
The Marvels (2023)
Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)
Captain America: Brave New World (2025)
Thunderbolts* (2025)

To start off, I'll give my three picks (because, yes, I cannot pick only one). First, there's The Incredible Hulk. It captured the essence of the Hulk character perfectly. It portrayed Bruce Banner's turmoil in a way that was faithful to his comic book history, and delivered some of the best action in the MCU so far.

My second pick is Thor: The Dark World. Is it the best the MCU has to offer? No, but it was a fine Thor adventure that furthered the complicated relationship between the God of Thunder and his brother Loki. One could go as far as to say The Dark World was the movie that made the God of Mischief such a beloved character.

Through Thor and The Avengers, Loki was, for the most part, just a grand villain. The Dark World gave him depth and more relatable aspects that allowed us to connect with him and questionably say, "Hm, maybe the power-hungry, murderous space deity isn't so bad after all."

My third pick is Black Widow. Despite the criticisms directed at it, it was a great film. While some decisions were not the best, it was a gripping story about found family and sisterhood that did justice to Natasha Romanoff. It also introduced Yelena Belova to the MCU, a contribution that, on its own, would bump it up my Marvel Studios ranking.

To not break the rule of three picks, I'll give an honorable mention: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. It didn't have the same charm as the first two Ant-Man movies, but it was pretty fun. Some decisions were questionable, but it was overall a solid entry in Scott Lang's franchise that had fun with the nature of the hero's powers and furthered his family dynamics.

Now's your turn. What's the one (or, three) unpopular MCU movie that you enjoy? Let me know in the comments.

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114 Comments

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JacobsLadder - 5/27/2025, 1:32 PM

Iron Man 2 and Dark World are masterpieces compared to virtually everything of the past 5 years. And yes, that includes D&W. No Way Home is good.

BackwardGalaxy - 5/27/2025, 2:05 PM

@JacobsLadder - Iron Man 2 is a lot of fun. Plus, it has Rockwell, who damn near stole the movie from RDJ, and that's hard to do.

CorndogBurglar - 5/27/2025, 2:27 PM

@JacobsLadder - I remember people complaining about Iron Man 2 being too much about the Avengers build-up. It literally had 2 short scenes with Nick Fury that were building to Avengers. Thats it.

I loved Iron Man 2.

JacobsLadder - 5/27/2025, 3:35 PM

@CorndogBurglar - I do too. It was as close to the Demon in a Bottle storyline that we'll ever get from Disney.

DarthOmega - 5/27/2025, 4:29 PM

@JacobsLadder - Ironman 2 is one of my favorites. I was a bit shocked to see so many people disliked it.

Spike101 - 5/27/2025, 5:15 PM

@JacobsLadder - totally agree with you on that fact

SummersEssex - 5/27/2025, 8:01 PM

@JacobsLadder - came here to post about these two movies. Hope you’re not trolling.

JoshWilding - 5/27/2025, 1:35 PM

Eternals (Kro sucked, though).

McMurdo - 5/27/2025, 1:41 PM

@JoshWilding - that movie is just bad man

JoshWilding - 5/27/2025, 1:46 PM

@McMurdo - There are things I don’t like (Kro is a horrendously bad villain, Dane Whitman deserved a much bigger role, and there are too many characters), but when it’s good, it’s really good.

foreverintheway - 5/27/2025, 1:56 PM

@McMurdo - I thought Druig was the only saving grace in that whole movie. Controlling that little village or whatever was kinda sick lol

Spike101 - 5/27/2025, 5:22 PM

@JoshWilding - I agree, it’s really well made and introduced us to a host of new characters. And the Celestials who I’m sure will be a big thing in the future with the cosmic side of the MCU. I think the reasons why it was poorly received were that Marvel bridge to it very well so it felt not connected to what none comic readers had seen before, trying to hard on the all inclusive front and it’s rambled on a big in the middle section. In terms of the cinematography it was amazing to watch though.

Fogs - 5/27/2025, 1:35 PM

IM3. I kinda like the Lethal Weapon vibes. And all the armors. And I don't hate the Mandarin Twist as most people do (would be perfect if 'All Hail The King' was the post credits). A flawed, fun movie.

supermanrex - 5/27/2025, 1:51 PM

@Fogs - if they didnt do the Mandarin twist this movie would have been nowhere near as shit on. Feige and that bate switch comedy bit, thought it was cute for a while then people really started revolting that that shit is not funny especially after selling a movie or a show on the concept of someone being in it. the whole boehner twist from wandavision was another [frick] you fans this is a funny bait and switch. it got old when we want characters to really show up instead of some joke version.

Spike101 - 5/27/2025, 5:24 PM

@Fogs - I can never forgive the Mandarin twist, after watching Ben Kingsley pull of what we thought was the real Mandarin in the trailers I was so bitterly disappointed.

HeavyMetal4Life - 5/27/2025, 1:37 PM

Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania

I'd probably follow that up with Captain America: Brave New World, and Thor: The Dark World (depending on where these fall in the criticism rankings).

And here is a follow up to that: movies that deserve all or more hate:
1) The Eternals
2) Iron Man 3
3) The Marvels/Thor: Love and Thunder

MotherGooseUPus - 5/27/2025, 3:30 PM

@HeavyMetal4Life - WOW. Shocked. Thought i was the only one with Antman and the Wasp: Quantumania. I enjoyed it alot more than most.

I'd also throw in Black Widow as my second. Movie was really great until the 3rd act.

JonAwesome - 5/27/2025, 4:13 PM

@HeavyMetal4Life - the problem I have with Brave New World is how are you going to show Sam having a tough time fighting Copperhead and Sidewinder (60 year old man) and then later he is able to take on a Hulk without losing a limb? I mean, Thor had it rough with The Hulk in Ragnarok and he’s a DemiGod.

HeavyMetal4Life - 5/27/2025, 4:14 PM

@JonAwesome - that wasn't something I really thought about watching it the first time, so when I watch it again i'll see how I feel

HeavyMetal4Life - 5/27/2025, 4:17 PM

@MotherGooseUPus - haha no surprise we agree haha. I really enjoyed Quantumania. Kang was awesome, the final exploration of the quantum realm was awesome (something fans had been clamoring for), etc. I seriously don't understand the criticism of it, even when I am told it or read about it. People I know really liked it too.

Black Widow yeah, I could put up there as well in the 2nd or 3rd slot. I enjoyed the 3rd act as well.

dragon316 - 5/27/2025, 1:40 PM

Captain marvel , iron man three, guardians of galaxy two , avengers infinity war

dragon316 - 5/27/2025, 1:41 PM

@dragon316 - forgot eternals

Fogs - 5/27/2025, 3:27 PM

@dragon316 - Wait, IW? Who complains about that one?

HeavyMetal4Life - 5/27/2025, 4:15 PM

@Fogs - someone who can never and should never be taken seriously

HammerLegFoot - 5/27/2025, 1:41 PM

I donn't think The Marvels deserve all the hate. I just watched it again the other day and its a coo lil movie. Not huge and impactful in anyway but I wasnt bored or mad watching it. As well as Eternals and Brave New World. Love and Thunder has its good moments but that movie is a serious let down.

I'll also add that I've never seen Logan all the way through. I always fall sleep somewhere in the middle.

DannyBrandy20 - 5/27/2025, 1:41 PM

Captain America TFA

Fogs - 5/27/2025, 3:28 PM

@DannyBrandy20 - TFA is a legit good movie.

AllsNotGood - 5/27/2025, 1:42 PM

I don't think many get hate that don't deserve it.

EskimoJ - 5/27/2025, 1:45 PM

@AllsNotGood - "Many." Okay, so which ones DO "get hate that don't deserve it"?

HistoryofMatt - 5/27/2025, 1:42 PM

Iron Man 3 and Thor: The Dark World.

Especially compared to all the crap released post-Endgame and Captain Marvel which was pre-Endgame.

Prettydeadly - 5/27/2025, 2:19 PM

@HistoryofMatt - Ironman 3 is the best film in the trilogy. Shane Black nailed it. Such a cool film that is overlooked for whatever reason.

Fogs - 5/27/2025, 3:29 PM

@Prettydeadly - Hmm. IM1 has a grittiness the MCU never managed to reproduce.

Prettydeadly - 5/27/2025, 4:06 PM

@Fogs - I find IM1 to be vastly overrated. Like the original Superman film or the first Spiderman film it has a unique charm to it, a very charming, charismatic lead in RDJ and I really enjoyed his chemistry with Terence Howard. I also like Bridges as the shady yet maniacal Obadiah Stone (TONY STARK BUILT THIS IN A CAVE WITH A BOX OF SCRAPS!) sorry I had to lol.

However the climax is too simplistic for my liking, nitpicking I know but I love the first two acts much better than the third. With Ironman 3 I believe it has a better villain with Adrich Killian. I prefer the climax too because it’s not just Ironman fighting another villain in an Ironman suit. The film adopts the traditional - hero who loses their powers but is still the hero troupe but does it really well. Comedy isn’t OTT either. Just my two cents.

EskimoJ - 5/27/2025, 1:43 PM

Far From Home - (Seems like people turned on this one some time after it came out; aside from the lame Mysterio reveal speech, I liked it immensely.)

Iron Man 3 - (Honestly, I've only seen the niche Internet community ravage this one. Regardless, it's pretty good.)

Fogs - 5/27/2025, 3:31 PM

@EskimoJ - The mysterio fight scene is so good it seems it came right out of the CB pages.

Prettydeadly - 5/27/2025, 4:15 PM

@EskimoJ - Yes! FFH is my shit!! It’s such an underrated film. I don’t get why fanboys shut it down. It has a different setting which I find refreshing. A brilliant villain, superb performance by Gyllenhall. Action is inventive. I love the humour and character development (Ned & Betsy 😂).

The film is great fun but it still manages to find interesting challenges for Peter to overcome as Spider-Man. I just love the misdirection and deception that Mysterio executes towards Peter and the rest of the group. Also that moment when Peter got hit by a train was badass. 😱

Ironman 3 doesn’t get enough love, it’s my favourite of the trilogy, vastly underrated. A good film with a really good villain.

Nomis929 - 5/27/2025, 1:43 PM

Phase 1
The Incredible HUlK

Phase 2
Thor: The Dark World

Phase 3
Doctor Strange

Phase 4:
Eternals

Gmoney84 - 5/27/2025, 3:08 PM

@Nomis929 - Doctor Strange? That movie is fantastic. Don’t recall it getting hated on.

Nomis929 - 5/27/2025, 3:25 PM

@Gmoney84 - A lot of people dind't think Stephen was shown to be a big enough jerk before the accident and people were hating on Dormammu design as he was not redish with fire hair.

JonAwesome - 5/27/2025, 4:14 PM

@Nomis929 - yes! Lived Incredible Hulk! And Eternals is a good movie it just came at the wrong time.

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DISCUSSION: What Is One Disliked MCU Movie You Actually Like/Don’t Think Deserves The Hate?

While a lot of Marvel Studios' movies have been well-received, there are many others that haven't stuck the landing for people. With that said, what's one disliked MCU film you consider good?

THUNDERBOLTS* Concept Art Reveals A Very Different Look For Hannah John-Kamen's Ghost

MCU Rumor Roundup: A Scarlet Witch Spoiler, Spider-Man's New Suit, Plans For Nova, Mister Sinister And More

DISCLAIMER: As a user generated site and platform, ComicBookMovie.com is protected under the DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) and "Safe Harbor" provisions.