It seems like the Marvel Cinematic Universe can't catch a break with Phase Four, as Thor: Love and Thunder is yet another MCU movie that's gotten an underwhelming reception from critics and fans. The movie doesn't quite have the "rotten" score that Eternals does, but it's close. This isn't the first time that Marvel Studios missed the mark, and Letterboxd users have drawn a line in the sand when it comes to their expectations.
Interestingly, most of the universe's lowest-rated movies on the website are from the early days and the most recent entries. While it makes sense that a few Phase One and Phase Two movies might not have been hits, as the studio was still finding its footing, Letterboxd users expect more from Marvel Studios 14 years in.
Thor: Love And Thunder (2022) - 3.17
Thor: Love and Thunder is the newest entry in the MCU, and despite coming off writer-director Taika Waititi's complete space odyssey overhaul of the character with Thor: Ragnarok, it couldn't quite recapture the same magic. The new movie is surprisingly only marginally better than the first two Thor films, and it even shares the same score as The Dark World on IMDb.
While Ragnarok featured a lot more comedy than other MCU movies, it was also well balanced with meaningful moments like Odin's death. Unfortunately, Love and Thunder is a not-stop goofy comedy to the point where it almost ruins the character. The movie ultimately missed the mark, as there are too many jokes about Thor cheating on Stormbreaker with Mjölnir as if he's in a relationship, and there isn't enough Gorr the God Butcher actually butchering gods.
Avengers: Age Of Ultron (2015) - 3.14
Just like Love and Thunder, Avengers: Age of Ultron was coming off the huge success that was The Avengers. The 2012 team-up movie pulled off the impossible and it featured all of the heroes' best moments. But the sequel feels thrown together, and the sequences don't tie together half as well as its predecessor.
The scene where Ultron is born is a bizarre sequence where two electric balls fight, Quicksilver's death isn't at all emotional given that he's such an expendable character, and the Avengers battling a faceless army doesn't quite land a second time around. However, some MCU fans love Age of Ultron, and there are still some classic scenes that live rent-free in fans' heads, such as the party scene where all the Avengers try to lift Mjolnir, and the Hulkbuster is one of the best pieces of fan service in the franchise.
Ant-Man And The Wasp (2018) - 3.12
There wasn't much hype surrounding the first Ant-Man movie, as it wasn't as imperative to the overall Infinity Saga, but it ended up being the best family-friendly superhero movie due to its phenomenal visual gags. Those visual gags are still there in Ant-Man and the Wasp, and even more so, as Giant-Man returns like a sea monster by the San Francisco pier, and Scott uses flatbed trucks like scooters, not to mention that Pez dispensers become lethal weapons.
But while all of those scenes are entertaining and still endlessly creative, the sequel doesn't have as much of a compelling premise as the first movie. Ghost is one of the most forgettable villains in the MCU, and the stakes are even lower than they were in its predecessor.
Iron Man 3 (2013) - 3.10
While most of the lowest-rated MCU movies were more or less received the same way by fans, whether they were underwhelming or totally disappointing, Iron Man 3 is actually completely divisive. Few fans think the film is just fine. Instead, viewers think it's either an amazing Shane Black-directed movie or an offensive film that obnoxiously ignores the source material.
Iron Man 3 is the first film that feels like it had an auteur's vision behind it, as Black is best known for his mystery crime comedies (The Nice Guys, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) and subverting expectations. And, love it or hate it, that's what he does in the 2013 superhero movie. The Mandarin is one of the most imposing Marvel villains in the comic books, but in Iron Man 3, he's an imposter and actually an out-of-work theatre actor from London called Trevor.
Eternals (2021) - 3.07
Eternals didn't get the reception that superproducer Kevin Feige and the rest of Marvel Studios thought it would. Before its release, the 2021 movie was being hyped up as a Best Picture Academy Award nominee, but that's far from what audiences got. The film was criticized for its terrible pacing, overlong runtime, and undercooked premise.
Eternals is the first MCU entry ever to be rated "rotten," and it's the lowest rated on IMDb too, but, interestingly, Letterboxd users are more positively receptive to the film. That could be because users of the social media movie site are interested in the finer details of filmmaking, and as badly paced as the film is, there's no denying just how beautiful it looks. And some even believe Eternals is the most underrated MCU movie.
Captain Marvel (2019) - 2.98
There's a lot to love about Captain Marvel. For starters, it's one of the very first films to look back at the '90s in a nostalgic way that movies have been doing with the '80s for years. Seeing Blockbuster and hearing classic '90s rock songs was a dream for any kids from that decade.
Captain Marvel is full of hidden details too, such as Nick Fury's birthday being the same as Steve Rogers'. But a few Easter eggs wasn't enough to keep fans from being fairly disappointed with the first female-led MCU movie. Many thought that the movie didn't live up to the potential it had, especially given that Captain Marvel is the most powerful Avenger.
Iron Man 2 (2010) - 2.92
Iron Man 2 was a huge misstep following the first movie, as it focused too much on setting up The Avengers, and the main storyline suffered because of it. The premise is essentially the same as the first Iron Man movie, as a businessman wants to make billions off of Tony Stark's tech and build war machines with it, only it wasn't anywhere near as interesting.
Whiplash didn't seem remotely intimidating, and the character was written as nothing more than a henchman. But the biggest insult to the fans of the title superhero arrived when Tony hosted a party at his mansion, as he got too drunk and urinated in the Iron Man suit, which was Iron Man's Love and Thunder moment.
Thor (2011) - 2.90
The first Thor movie has its fans, as it has unique look and almost a Shakespearean approach to the mythology. That's thanks to Kenneth Brannagh, who comes from a theater background and even directed Henry V and Hamlet. The film also introduces Loki (Tom Hiddleston), and Hiddleston and Hemsworth had stellar chemistry, and it was the beginning of the most iconic love-hate relationship in cinema.
But it's clear that, at this point in time, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was still in its infancy. It wasn't quite the well-oiled machine that it is today, and the movie's storytelling and effects are more reminiscent of 2000s superhero movies than the ones that came later.
The Incredible Hulk (2008) - 2.50
The Incredible Hulk had a miserable reception when it was first released, and even though Abomination has recently returned to the MCU, it's a film that few fans ever talk about. A lot of fans don't even consider it canon in the MCU given that the titular character is played by Edward Norton instead of Mark Ruffalo.
However, the film is, at least, still better than Ang Lee's Hulk, which arrived in 2003. Either way, there still hasn't been a great Hulk movie, even though he has become the best thing about any MCU releases he's in. Whether he's facing the Hulk Buster in Age of Ultron, chained up like a gladiator in Ragnarok, or in the form of Smart Hulk in Avengers: Endgame, the character is destined to always be a great supporting character than the lead in his own movie. But fans are still dying to see a Planet Hulk.
Thor: The Dark World (2013) - 2.46
While Thor was impressively the first of the Marvel heroes to get four movies, that doesn't exactly mean much when three of the four weren't received all that well. Out of all of them, The Dark World is the most negatively received.
It has the typical humor and action sequences that are expected of the MCU, but it's the absolute bare minimum, and whether it's the jokes or the action, the 2013 movie is reaching for low-hanging fruit every step of the way. However, it does have one of the most exciting cliffhanger endings in the franchise, which is second only to Infinity War.