Summary

• The Marvels is receiving harsh reviews from critics, as it fails to impress with its comedy, musical segment, and lack of cohesive storytelling.
• The film's attempted comedy feels strained and relies too heavily on quippy humor, similar to previous Marvel movies.
• The inclusion of a long and out-of-place musical segment and the disted story detract from the overall quality of The Marvels.

In the days of waning interest in the MCU movie is more dangerous than ever.

Other than Captain Marvel herself, the movie introduces Monica Rambeau, the older versio of her best friend's child, and Ms. Marvel, of Disney+ fame. The trio fight alongside each other after being entangled, their powers switching their positions by teleporting them through space every time they're used. From the information available on The Marvels at the time of writing, nothing could've prepared MCU hopefuls for such a poor initial showing.

10 The Comedy Doesn't Land

"The bits of absurd comedy tend to feel strained." - Owen Glieberman, Variety

From its very foundations, the MCU has relied heavily on quippy comedy, characters quickly endearing themselves to audiences with fast-thinking situational humor. A style of humor owed largely to Joss Whedon's work on The Avengers, this kind of comedy has begun to wear on audiences over time, with characters' voices blending together in a sarcastic chorus. Yet after the success of Thor: Ragnarok, the MCU has doubled down on the laughs, the comedy sometimes getting in the way of the story itself.

Sadly, it appears The Marvels has thus far proven that the MCU has yet to learn this lesson, with critics slamming the script for its excessive over-reliance on quirky humor. The first Captain Marvel film struggled with comedy as well, making it all the more disappointing that Marvel Studios scripts seem unable to move away from the safety of gags and jokes. At this point, the attempts of any Marvel movie to make its audience laugh have an exceptionally high bar to clear, viewers being worn-out from years of the consequences of Whedon's success.

9 The Musical Segment Is Too Long And Out Of Place

"At least [Nick Fury]'s saved the indignity of the MCU's second and by far the worst song-and-dance sequence" - Richard Whittaker, Austin Chronicle

Marking the film debut of Kamala Kahn as Ms. Marvel, The Marvels seemed to bring together influences from the various sources of its main characters. Likely as a result of the widely-praised Bollywood-adjacent dance number featured in Kahn's solo series, the movie includes a musical segment, featuring an entire planet of people who communicate via song and dance. Unfortunately, it seems that this is a classic case of a big studio learning the wrong lesson from a success.

Critics have not been kind to the inclusion of a musical segment in the film, citing the scene as yet another distraction in an already disted collection of shallow ideas. What made the Bollywood scene in Ms. Marvel work so well was how it paid homage to the character's Pakistani heritage. In The Marvels, however, there is no such connecting line for the segment, and the result is an out-of-place planet that asks general audiences to get on board with the narrow appeal of a musical.

8 The Story Isn't Cohesive Enough

"The messiest Marvel movie." - Matt Singer, ScreenCrush

With their combined entangled powers, Kamala Kahn, Monica Rambeau, and Carol Danvers must forces to take down the tyrannical Dar-Benn. It seems that how exactly these opposing forces come together is largely lost on critical audiences, describing the movie as a trek from one set piece to another. The lack of a clear throughline seems to be a point of contention for early viewers, dragging down the potential score of The Marvels.

The shortest MCU entry yet at only 1 hour and 45 minutes, the low time commitment The Marvels asks of its audience has been one consistent point of praise. However, the downside of such a brisk pace is the film's inability to properly pay attention to any of its three protagonists while also providing enough context for its villain, Dar-Benn. The addition of Samuel L. Jackson's subplot is yet another plate for the movie to keep spinning with an already lean allocation of time.

7 The Villain Is A Worse Version Of Thor: Ragnarok's Hela

"Ashton's Dar-Benn is as thinly drawn an MCU villain as any." - Clint Worthington, Wealth of Geeks

Historically, the MCU has struggled with villains. While there have been standouts like Loki and Thanos, the majority of the franchise's repertoire has been filled with forgettable antagonists. To stand out from an increasingly similar catalog of brightly colored movies, The Marvels needed to buck this trend with a powerful, memorable villain that felt like a fresh adversary for Captain Marvel and company to face. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem that Zawe Ashton's Dar-Benn is any more memorable than the bland Marvel villains to come before her.

As the only other major female villain introduced and defeated in a single film, comparisons are inevitably drawn to Cate Blanchett's Hela from Thor: Ragnarok. While this may be unfair, there's no denying that a warmongering female commander from an advanced race is well-worn ground for Marvel to tread on once again, and critics deny that Dar-Benn does enough to stand out. A general of the barely-introduced Kree, Dar-Benn even wields the same weapon as Ronan the Acc from Guardians of the Galaxy, keeping her from having a unique power or gimmick.

6 The Dialogue Has Too Much Technical Jargon

"I would have just liked to see a little more story and less pseudo-science." - Linda Marric, The Jewish Chronicle

Technobabble has long been a time-honored tradition within the MCU, the flimsiest of scientific explanations being politely offered to explain the bombastic superheroics of the series. Occasionally, Marvel's movies will overdo these explanations, slipping into something like a physics lecture from another dimension. It seems that The Marvels has finally breached over into eye-rolling territory, the nonsensical jargon assaulting critics to the point of annoyance.

The explanation for Kamala Kahn, Monica Rambeau, and Carol Danvers' powers being linked together is an immediate hurdle for audiences to overcome, especially considering the sources of their powers are all different. Not only that, but the inclusion of the magical bangles, of which Ms. Marvel already possesses one, further complicates matters. Add in the dense histories of alien planets embroiled in bitter civil war, and it appears The Marvels is spending what precious little screen time it has on explaining itself away.

5 Audiences Need To Have Done Homework To Know The Characters

"You’ll need to watch Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain Marvel, and the Ms. Marvel television series to understand anything." - Alan Ng, Film Threat

The Marvels trepidatiously guides audiences into new territory for the MCU, being the first feature film of the series to star characters introduced in the Disney+ original TV series in lead roles. In addition to Ms. Marvel's origin being explained in her titular series, Monica Rambeau only appears as an adult and gains her powers in WandaVision. It's safe to say that to be able to understand who these characters are, fans will need to have done their homework, watching hours upon hours of individual mini-series to get a feel for two-thirds of the main characters.

In defense of the critics, this conceit isn't enough to raise objection alone. It's the lack of payoff that fans get for sinking all that time into the extended Marvel catalog the film provides that most take issue with. As Johnny Olenski of The New York Post writes, "You need to watch at least two Disney+ series — “Ms. Marvel” and “WandaVision” — and the awful 2019 film “Captain Marvel” just to know who the characters are. And once you do? Meh."

4 The Quantum Band Is A MacGuffin

“What is a quantum band?” - Mike Massie, Gone With The Twins

The high-concept, science-fiction worlds the MCU tends to operate in are rife with MacGuffins. Referring to indiscriminate objects of great power that the story resolves around as an easy goal for the heroes and villains to pursue, the inclusion of such artifacts in Marvel's stories isn't necessarily a bad thing. After all, the Infinity Saga was built upon the Infinity Stones, all powerful cosmic rocks capable of granting god-like powers. But by this late in the game, Marvel audiences may be expecting more as future movies must work harder to justify their greater place in MCU canon.

The Marvels once again retreads familiar territory with the inclusion of the Quantum Bands, two magical bangles that give the wearer the ability to travel through wormholes. Naturally, the evil Dar-Benn seeks this object in order to manifest her plans of planet-wide domination, and it's up to Captain Marvel and company to stop her. This by-the-numbers plot simply isn't enough to impress jaded critics who have already waded through four phases of the MCU.

3 Carol Danvers Is Too Strong

"[Monica is] a constant reminder of Carol's tendency to leave people behind due to the nature of her role as a cosmic savior." - Clint Worthington, Wealth Of Geeks

Since her introduction in 2019's Captain Marvel, the titular character has long been criticized for being too overpowered. Despite showing up so late on the scene, Carol Davers is undeniably one of the strongest heroes in MCU lore, her absence in previous world-threatening events needing to be explained away in order to justify her lack of participation. Gaining two new allies in The Marvels, fans may have hope that Captain Marvel's days of single-handedly saving the day just in time all by herself would soon be long behind her.

It seems that Brie Larson's super heroine has remained relatively invincible in her latest installment in the MCU, with The Marvels never managing to manufacture enough tension for critics to feel her character was ever truly endangered. Even with the aid of the powerful Quantum Band, Dar-Benn simply isn't able to pose enough of a threat for fans to scoot any further in their seats. Yet again, Carol Danvers has yet to demonstrate any mortality after four years in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

2 Marvel Fatigue Has Set In

"The clearest evidence yet that maybe we don’t need some sort of Marvel product in theaters or on streaming at all times." - Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com

By now, audiences and critics are coming up on 15 years of the MCU dominating cinemas. There's a running throughline within most critical reviews evoking the exhaustion of this fact, not helped by the last few offerings from Marvel Studios, barring Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, having been met with a lukewarm reception at best. The prospect of yet another CGI-heavy, overly comedic, by-the-numbers entry represented by The Marvels just may be the straw that breaks the camel's back for many.

The advent of numerous shows on Disney+ flooding the Marvel continuity with a horde of limited series, which have become increasingly important, hasn't helped audience expectations. It's clear that the MCU needs a true breakout hit to reinvigorate fans, and based on critical reception, The Marvels simply isn't it. Even if the movie isn't necessarily bad, being anything other than groundbreaking is a death sentence at this stage of Marvel's existence.

1 None Of The Trio's Personalities Are Enough To Carry A Movie

"These personas are so poorly scripted that audiences will surely feel the grating lack of chemistry and creativity." - Mike Massie, Gone With The Twins

If there's one secret weapon The Marvels could've unleashed against its early viewers, it's the dynamic between the three leading ladies finding themselves entangled through cosmic intervention. The team-up promises an interesting dynamic between the three women, with Danvers struggling to come to with the adult Monica as a peer while maintaining the expectations of her ferocious irer, Kamala Kahn. This particular point of strength has been stressed as a positive across some reviews, but others have disparaged the film's very attempt at camaraderie as a selling point.

Iman Vellani's efforts as Ms. Marvel have been praised by even the harshest critics, many citing her relationship with Carol Danvers as a particular bright spot in an otherwise muddled story. Unfortunately, the team's dynamic still seems to struggle to escape the shadow of the Avengers, an impossible standard to which future team-ups of the MCU will nevertheless be held. If The Marvels were able to display an exceptional team dynamic to sell fans on, it may have been able to overcome its other weaknesses as targeted by critics. As it stands, The Marvels is shaping up to be the latest lukewarm entry in a struggling MCU.