With the release of heavily anticipated movies such as Black Adam (October 21) superhero films have continuously proved to be a staple in Hollywood. As audiences go in droves to see them and critics are intrigued by what Hollywood's biggest films have to offer, superhero movies are always the recipient of many reviews, , and opinion from fans and critics alike.
While normally fans and critics are pretty close in their opinions on these films, there have been many times (as shown by the Tomatometer and Audience Score on Rotten Tomatoes), where a divide formed between the audience and critics of superhero movies.
Man of Steel (Tomatometer: 56%/Audience Score: 75%)
Zack Snyder's reimagined version of Superman gave provided a darker and more serious tone than what fans had seen before in the original Superman movies. While doing so provided a fresh and new way to tell Clark Kent's origin story (much to the delight of fans), the film itself provided a stale and monotone Superman that many critics picked apart.
The grand scope and spectacle of the film won over many fans and would cause them to praise Zack Snyder's vision for a modern version of Superman, but critics acknowledged that Clark Kent lacked the charisma and charm that was vital to the role of Superman, which made for a pretty bland entry to the superhero genre.
X-Men: Apocalypse (Tomatometer: 46%/Audience Score: 65%)
It's no doubt that X-Men: Apocalypse marked the beginning of the end for Fox's ownership of Marvel's mutant family. With a bland and underdeveloped villain and very questionable plot decisions, the film received mostly sub-par reviews from critics.
Despite its performance with critics, there were enough fan-pleasing moments such as Cyclops and Nightcrawler ing the team and Jean Grey displaying her full power that caused the movie to receive a lukewarm response from the majority of fans.
Joker (Tomatometer: 68%/Audience Score: 88%)
While critics and fans agree that Joaquin Phoenix's Joker was a darker and unique entry compared to the typical superhero movie.
Many critics felt like the film's message merely pretended to have meaning while still acknowledging that the film was good but not as great as the general audience thinks. Viewing himself as the hero of his own story, Arthur Fleck may be far from an actual superhero, but Joker received just as much fan praise as any other blockbuster superhero movie.
Zack Snyder's Justice League (Tomatometer: 71%/Audience Score: 94%)
It's safe to say that DCEU films.
In giving each of its characters better arcs in the story and fleshing out Steppenwolf as a villain critics found the film to be acceptable but nothing special. However, many comic book fans were completely blown away by the film's final battle.
Justice League (Tomatometer: 39%/Audience Score: 68%)
Many fans were excited to finally see the Justice League on the big screen, and while that would show in the Audience Score, many critics felt like the film wasn't entertaining and many of the characters lacked any depth and emotion.
While it's true that Justice League was a flop at the box office, most of this could be attributed to the studio and post-production issues the film had and while the majority of audiences found it to be a pretty enjoyable superhero blockbuster, critics weren't as ive of the flaws of the film.
Glass (Tomatometer: 36%/Audience Score: 67%)
As a superhero film unrelated to Marvel or DC, Glass from director M. Knight Shyamalan had the potential of setting up its own universe centered around individuals with extraordinary abilities. While critics and audiences agreed that James McAvoy delivered one of his best performances in the film, their reviews of the film itself were pretty split (no pun intended).
Many critics were underwhelmed with the film and think Shyamalan focused too much on the twist instead of forming a compelling story while audiences felt like McAvoy's performance along with Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson made the movie enjoyable enough but not great.
Eternals (Tomatometer: 47%/Audience Score: 78%)
As the only Eternals is one of the most divisive MCU films to date. Arguing that the film is bogged down with too many characters, an unfocused story, and some of the worst MCU villains to date, many critics couldn't find much to praise besides a few visually impressive shots.
The majority of MCU fans were able to see past these flaws and appreciated the new scope Eternals brought to the MCU along with some pretty satisfying character moments made the film a solid entry amongst general audiences, but that doesn't save Eternals from being the lowest-rated film in the MCU.
Captain Marvel (Tomatometer: 79%/ Audience Score: 45%)
While it's true Captain Marvel was a very impressive performance at the box office, there were some haters of Brie Larson who weren't as fond of the film. A 79% Tomato score is only a bit below average for an MCU film but a 45% Audience Score is the lowest out of all MCU films.
Perhaps the emotionless and overpowered nature of Captain Marvel made it too difficult for general audiences to relate to the character, but as the MCU's first female-led film many critics praised Captain Marvel for being a groundbreaking film in the superhero genre.
Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Tomatometer: 29%/Audience Score: 63%)
It's no doubt that Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was one of the most anticipated films of all time. With many previews and opening night sold-out theaters, the film's huge potential fell pretty flat with audiences but hit near rock bottom with critics.
While the film tried to hit on pretty powerful subject matter such as the fallout from Superman's battle in Metropolis, the overcrowded plot along with unlikable versions of both Batman and Superman caused the film to be one of the lowest-rated superhero films of all time. Despite this though, many comic book fans found some enjoyment in seeing characters such as Wonder Woman and Doomsday appear on the big screen.
Dark Phoenix (Tomatometer: 22%/Audience Score: 64%)
Dark Phoenix was Fox's second attempt at the popular comic book saga of the same name and while there were some fans who weren't thrilled with the film, the majority of audiences found Dark Phoenix to have the internal conflict that makes the story work.
However, critics couldn't see past the emotionless and cliche villains, poor writing, and controversial plot decisions, causing the film to receive one of the lowest critical scores ever from a big-budget superhero movie. As the last film in the Fox era of X-Men, Dark Phoenix's lukewarm reception from general audiences couldn't save the film from being a critical and financial disappointment.
