The divide between critic opinions and fan opinions regarding movies and tv shows has been growing farther and farther away in recent years. While some shows earn universal acclaim from audiences and critics, others receive accolades from critics while alienating mainstream audiences, or vice versa.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe is certainly not immune to the occasional divided response between audiences and critics. Marvel Studios walks a fine line between making films and TV series that critics will see as artistically sound while also satisfying fan expectations. Many times, that needle has proven impossible to thread.
Luke Cage
Though Luke Cage continued Netflix's MCU shows quite well, the show itself wasn't as big of a hit to fans than it was critics, with a score of 87% for the critics and an audience score of 70%.
Praise for the series seems to come from the acting, especially Mahershala Ali as Cottonmouth, as well as the social messaging translated through the course of the series. However, many people, especially fans, note that the series seems to teeter off halfway through seasons as well as the show's drawn out dialogue and poor writing at times.
Ms. Marvel
Though Kamala Khan was a breakout character in her titular show, Ms. Marvel had a decently wide gap between audiences and critics.
However, that doesn't mean that one side of reviewers thought it was bad. The very positive audience score of 80% simply didn't reach the heights of the 97% from critics.
Critics and fans alike loved the visuals and the colorful aspect of the series, though, once again, much fan criticism seems to come from poor writing and from the show runners changing Kamala Khan's powers and a poorly conceived villain.
Black Panther
Surprisingly enough, one of Marvel's most highly acclaimed movie had a significant divide between critics and fans, with a 96% score from critics and a 79% score from audiences.
Obviously, much of the praise comes towards Black Panther and Killmonger, one of the best MCU villains out there. Critics also point to the cultural significance as another positive for the movie. Fans, on the other hand, criticize the CGI in the movie and the predictable ending. Overall, many claim that the movie is overrated and simply in the middle of the pack in terms of other MCU movies and shows.
Runaways
Certainly not the most famous or best advertised of the MCU shows, Runaways still holds its own in the eyes of critics. Audiences, however, weren't as impressed, giving it a 68% average rating compared to crtics' 85%.
While critics enjoyed the teenage soap dynamic between the characters and the lore that the shows was delivering, fans weren't so forgiving, criticizing the characters -especially the children that make up the Runaways team - as being uninteresting and easy to dislike and the show as being chalked full of slow pacing and clichés.
Cloak And Dagger
Another show that didn't receive much advertising was Cloak and Dagger. Once again, critics seemed to enjoy this show far more than audience members, with a critics score of 87% and an audience score of 66%.
Critics have mainly praised the cast of the show as well as the theme of teamwork that is the focus point for the show and the titular characters. Audience members, however, had some major complaints about the show, most notably calling the show boring and criticizing the show for not being a show to escape from the horrors of the real world, as much of that is also present in the show itself.
Eternals
Eternals did not sit well with just about anyone, but, surprisingly enough, audiences gave it a higher score than the critics, with the final scores being a 77% audience score and a 47% critics score.
Audiences, while many of them still unhappy and unsatisfied with the film overall, gave praise for the attempt of the massive story that it was trying to tell. In contrast, most people, including critics, saw the film as too bloated, too long, and featuring too many characters for people to keep track of, very few of them being likable for some viewers as well.
Iron Fist
Iron Fist is mixed bag of opinions without a doubt. Often regarded as the worst of the Netflix Marvel shows, it also has garnered some fan support despite only lasting two seasons.
Fans' response was lukewarm, but the 68% audience score is still much better than the critics' abysmal 37%. Fans enjoyed the action and seeing the inner strength of main character Danny Rand, but critics pointed to the uneven pacing that the series offers as one of the many reasons why this show never achieved greatness.
Inhumans
This was a show that no one seemed to like, with both The 44% audience score is low but nowhere near as low as the critics' 11%. Though the series please no one, critics apparently reviled it.
Reviews slammed the show left and right for poor acting, writing, cinematography, and pretty much everything else imaginable when it comes to grading a work of media. Audiences, while many agreed with critics, were kinder to the series, mainly calling it average and citing a few moments where it showed heart. This kind of support led to much surprise and happiness from fans to see Anson Mount reprise his role as Black Bolt in Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness.
Captain Marvel
The divide between fans and critics continues to widen, especially with a movie like Captain Marvel, which received a 79% rating from critics and 45% from fans.
Critics were quick to praise the visuals of the movie and how much of a great character they saw that Captain Marvel was. Fans, however, overwhelmingly panned the character and the movie, calling the film low stakes, the writing terrible and Brie Larson's performance as one of the worst MCU performances to date. To that end, many fans hold this film as one of the worst MCU films yet.
She-Hulk: Attorney At Law
Never has any MCU property seen a larger divide between fans and critics than with the latest MCU series. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, earned a strong 87% from critics but a tepid 39% from fans on Rotten Tomatoes.
Though general critic reviews and opinions have yet to come out on Rotten Tomatoes for the series, given that it's still ongoing, fans have made it loud and clear that this is a bad show. Even without the bad CGI, which many have criticized even before the series started to air, fans have pointed to bad writing and feeling alienated by the messaging of the show as reasons why they rate the MCU's latest Disney+ series so poorly.