The critical reception of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has been notable for garnering a 75% score on Rotten Tomatoes, which contrasts with the higher ratings that the Marvel Cinematic Universe is known for. Compared to more than several other Marvel character-based releases over the past decade, though, Doctor Strange 2’s rating looks gargantuan indeed.
The majority of the movies that received a Rotten rating in the last 10 years are either releases from Fox, Sony, and other distributors. Still, these characters are part of the Marvel multiverse and fall under its banner. Whether it’s a commercial success like Venom or a downright flop like Dark Phoenix, it’s interesting to see which movies impressed critics the least.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) - 59%
Although considered an improvement over its predecessor, Venom: Let There Be Carnage also received negative reviews for its overtly fast-paced story. It sees Eddie Brock and Venom accidentally create the Carnage symbiote that bonds with Cletus Kassidy and decides to hunt the protagonists down.
Praise went toward the hilariously dysfunctional main duo and their tendency to act like a couple going through a breakup phase. Negative aspects included the lack of depth in the supporting characters and the Carnage symbiote coming across as a generic monster movie villain with no real goals other than just being evil.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) - 52%
There are plenty of reasons why Amazing Spider-Man 2 isn’t as bad in retrospect, but critics weren’t all too impressed by it at the time. The movie was criticized for featuring too many villains and setups for a cinematic universe, which took away from the marketed threat of Electro to turn him into a low-stakes villain.
There was praise directed toward Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone’s performances and the love story between Peter and Gwen was highlighted as the strongest point. However, the negatives appeared to outweigh the positives, as the overcomplicated plot of Harry Osborn’s illness and sudden turn into the Green Goblin didn’t gel well with the story.
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) - 47%
It was always going to be difficult to match the critical peak of X-Men: Days of Future Past and the follow-up was criticized for attempting to make a generic story of good versus evil into something bigger. Reviewers also didn’t rank the X-Men villain here well, as Apocalypse had little to no personality.
Some felt the chemistry between the young cast didn’t translate onscreen, with the primary characters of Professor X and Magneto feeling underutilized. There were positives like the action sequences and Quicksilver’s portrayal, which indicated that the film just didn’t live up to the potential it had.
Eternals (2021) - 47%
The MCU appeared to be invulnerable to bad reviews until its first Rotten movie came to pass. Critics felt there were many things Eternals needed to improve in order to justify the characters’ future in the series. The story about immortal beings simply living human lives didn’t connect, as reviewers felt it didn’t make sense.
More than anything, it was the exposition-riddled presentation of Eternals that contributed to the bad reception, with the majority of the movie dedicated to characters talking about their pasts. Since viewers had no idea who these people were before this film, these bits of exposition had no impact or weight for fans to care about.
The New Mutants (2020) - 36%
There was nothing to suggest that a horror-themed movie would work with the style of the X-Men film series and The New Mutants turned out to be a creative misfire. The premise of dysfunctional characters seeking to escape confinement through the use of their powers was interesting but didn’t work because none of the characters were interesting.
Much criticism went toward the angst-ridden personalities that didn’t match the intended horror theme. The New Mutants’ many delays were evident in the final product, as there were numerous edits that didn’t align with where the story was heading in the previous scene to where things culminated.
Venom (2018) - 30%
Sony’s Spider-Man Universe kicked off with Venom, which became a massive box office success raking in $856 million worldwide. As far as the story went, reviewers weren’t too impressed with how conveniently the symbiote Venom bonded with Eddie Brock and decided to rebel against his own kind’s plans of feeding on the human race.
Most positive reviews went toward the performance of Tom Hardy in the lead role, with the actor’s high-strung portrayal of the anxiety-ridden Eddie entertaining viewers. The simplistic story let down critics who had come to expect more depth in superhero movies due to the MCU and Venom ended up receiving far more negative reviews.
X-Men: Dark Phoenix (2019) - 22%
This entry in the X-Men series has aged even worse by now than the bad reviews it got upon release. Director Simon Kinberg promised far too much prior to the film’s release and presented far too less of the Phoenix Saga in the movie proper. ]Dark Phoenix’s essential outline is of characters asking Jean to resist her overwhelming powers, only for Jean to attack them.
The same aspect is recycled throughout the movie with different characters meeting the same result. Reviewers understandably reacted unfavorably and Dark Phoenix was considered a poor farewell to the series. It’s rated even worse than X-Men: The Last Stand, the previously lambasted story about the Phoenix Saga.
Ghost Rider: Spirit Of Vengeance (2012) - 18%
Nicolas Cage has an unparalleled drawing power that means fans will flock to theaters no matter how his movies are rated. The story sees Johnny Blaze keeping a young child caught up in a demonic conspiracy safe. It was noted that the film went for a relatively goofy style rather than play to the character’s scary presence.
Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance did good business of $132 million worldwide, but experienced terrible critical reception that went toward multiple areas. Everything from the movie’s lackluster script, dated CGI visuals, and B-movie aesthetic was singled out.
Morbius (2022) - 16%
Morbius is the latest superhero movie to suffer the wrath of critics, who blasted the film’s nonsensical story of the titular character and his brother becoming living vampires after curing themselves of a blood disease. In addition, Morbius’ attempts at coming across as a horror movie didn’t work out.
The movie would have done better by sticking to a more comedic style like the Venom movies, as the serious nature of proceedings ultimately made Morbius boring. More negativity went toward the failed attempt to carve out Sony’s Spider-Man Universe, with the arrival of MCU’s Vulture into this universe being heavily criticized as fan service that was too on the nose.
Fantastic Four (2015) - 9%
The release of Fantastic Four cemented the notion that the MCU was the apex distributor of Marvel movies. It has the same premise as the previous series where the Fantastic Four members gain their powers, but the biggest issue critics had was the complete lack of humor and thrills.
The Fantastic Four team is popular because the material heavily features laughs and light-hearted characters, while the film went the opposite way. The Thing’s CGI was another point lambasted by viewers, who found his appearance to be jarring. The terrible reception ended up getting a planned sequel canceled and the Fantastic Four are next expected to appear in the MCU.