For more than a decade, Marvel’s in the frontline of superhero movies. Unfortunately, comic book fans aren’t always happy with what they saw on the big screen. Some movies lacked the comic book appeal that fans craved for, while there were instances when 2 hours of movie time wasn’t enough. We decided to come up with our list of top 10 Marvel movies that sucked.
But before we start counting, we have excluded the cheesiest Marvel movies from the 80s and those B-movies that made Marvel look bad!
10. Punisher (2004)
The Frank Castle character has always intrigued fans. But unlike its modern Netflix counterpart, Punisher on the big screen was a major flop. For the 2004 Punisher, it was based on two comic books mainly Welcome Back, Frank and Year One.
With a budget of only $33 million, it was a financial success. In its opening weekend alone, the movie grossed $13 million. It had a total gross of $54 million in the US. In terms of reviews, things are a bit different. There were mixed reviews. Rotten Tomato gave the Punisher 29% and even called it grim and cheerless.
What exactly angered the fans? Frank Castle’s character is far complex than what was portrayed on the film. If you’ll compare Punisher’s portrayal in Netflix’s Daredevil, you’d see the big difference between two. The 2004 movie that time was simplified into a 60s or 70s revenge action flick. It has guns, yes but never the depth that fans were looking for.
9. Hulk (2003)
What could possibly go wrong when you have Ang Lee as the director of a Marvel movie? It was during the time when Ang Lee made it big in Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. However, some things that look good on paper, don’t always look good onscreen.
What made 2003’s the Hulk a major flop is the fact that it involves more talking and less smashing, at least according to Rotten Tomatoes.
Though Eric Bana gave a solid performance as the Hulk, this didn’t help in getting the movie out of our list of Marvel movies that sucked. It was a failed attempt to push the comic book into the big screen. The effects weren’t that good during this time. Because of this flop, Edward Norton decided to take on the role of The Hulk years later.
8. Elektra (2005)
Why did Marvel make this movie again? After Ben Afleck’s performance in Daredevil, with the special participation of Jennifer Garner, there was no reason for Elektra to have a movie of its own. It was a bland depiction of Elektra, again far from what we saw on Netflix’s Daredevil series. It has an IMDB rating of 4.8/10 and that isn’t far from the reception of both fans and critics.
In 2005, Elektra also didn’t do well in terms of total gross. It was the lowest grossing Marvel movie since Howard The Duck in the 80s. Critics blame the script and the overall approach in the film as the culprit to its downfall.
7. Ghost Rider (2007)
Who would’ve thought that Nicholas Cage was almost the Superman of the 90s? Thankfully, it didn’t push thru. Unfortunately, in 2007, Nicholas Cage finally got the chance to portray the Ghost Rider. Nicholas Cage played the role of Johnny Blaze, a motorcycle daredevil who sold his soul to the devil to save his father’s life. In exchange, he becomes the Ghost Rider at night.
2007’s Ghost Rider simply lacked substance, not to mention the ability to connect with the hardcore comic book fans. He looks sad on daytime, and turns CGI at night. Johnny Blaze looks funnier than scary. Despite the negative reviews, this movie was a blockbuster hit. It grossed $228 million despite only having a budget of $110 million. This was probably the reason why they gave it a sequel.
6. Daredevil (2003)
Before Daredevil was cool on Netflix, Daredevil had its share of mixed but generally negative reviews. Daredevil was the story of a blind lawyer who had an accident when he was young. Matt Murdock then developed insanely sensitive senses which allowed him to defend Hell’s Kitchen on his free time.
When Daredevil in 2003 came out, a lot of comic book fans were excited. This was the time when Spiderman was a breath of fresh air. Unfortunately, Daredevil didn’t sit well with hardcore comic book fans.
In fact, some fans are calling Ben Afleck dull, while there are also others who think that he played the role decently. It can be considered a so-so film for something that could’ve been better. In fact, this career move on the part of Ben Afleck affected him on his next superhero role. Many questioned if he could be a good Batman especially after Christian Bale’s performance.
5. X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
The X-Men movies made a number of great hits for Marvel. But what made this part of our list of Marvel movies that sucked? First, you have a super rushed production that just didn’t meet the expectation of the fans. Next, you have a new director who isn’t familiar with all this. And lastly, you have an X-Men movie that killed fan favorite characters.
But of course, if not for X-Men: The Last Stand making it in our list of Marvel movies that sucked, we wouldn’t be able to see the rebirth of new X-men movies. After this particular flop, the studio was forced to rethink their approach and gave us X-Men: First Class and Days of Future Past.
4. Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance (2011)
The plot covers Johnny Blaze hiding in some part of Eastern Europe in order to stop the Ghost Rider from appearing. He was then approached by a monk claiming that he could help him free himself from the rider.
The first Ghost Rider in 2007 was a blockbuster success, despite getting negative reviews from the fans. In its 2011 sequel, Nicholas Cage still wasn’t able to meet the expectations of comic book fans. Even though it was hyped in comic con, makers of Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance still wasn’t able to win the trust of fans on this one.
But this time around, critics were even more brutal in their reviews. Ghost Rider received 26% overall approval from Rotten Tomatoes. Metacritic echoed the same sentiments as well. From cheesy dialogues to even worse portrayal of Ghost Rider, it was a movie that fits the bill as one of Marvel’s worse in recent years.
3. Fantastic Four (2005)
Fantastic Four had the ingredients to a classic Marvel movie. Unfortunately, a poor script and a boring climax, not to mention poor character development made a disappointment out of this 2005 Marvel Movie. In fact, even Jessica Alba can’t save this film from bad reviews and being included in our list of Marvel movies that sucked.
Fortunately, Chris Evans was able to step away from his dismal role in Fantastic Four and be known as Captain America. According to critics, the average score for Fantastic Four was 4.5/10. According to Rotten Tomatoes, it only had 27% positive reviews from its audience.
In terms of the box office, Fantastic Four was a success. There was even a sequel to this bad movie. It received around $330 million gross income from different theaters worldwide.
2. Spiderman 3 (2007)
Ok, let’s admit that Tobey Maguire reinvented superhero movies. He was able to become Peter Parker. In fact, when he first became Spider Man, it was really that good. Unfortunately, the third installment of Spiderman wasn’t really as good as the first and even the second.
Spiderman 3 involves Venom which then consumed Spider Man. Here, Peter Parker was seen as a slick guy once he got the black thing from outer space. He had his encounter with his Uncle’s killer who later became Sandman. Spiderman 3 wasn’t the movie fans were expecting mainly due to the tremendous number of things happening all at once.
We considered it as one of those Marvel movies that sucked because it simply didn’t have the same appeal as the first Spiderman movies.
1. The Wolverine (2013)
Hugh Jackman is Wolverine. There is no denying that he defined who Wolverine is in different appearances in X-Men. However, when you have Hugh Jackman for the nth time but this time in Japan as Wolverine, it can be a bit tricky. The Wolverine was a mediocre movie that simply capitalized on Jackman’s popularity and overall appeal Logan.
The story revolves around Logan’s involvement as a POW in 1945 in Nagasaki. He rescued a Japanese soldier during the atomic bombing. Later, this soldier wanted what Logan has. It could’ve been an interesting movie plot. Unfortunately, The Wolverine was somewhat cartoonish.
You may argue that it received a 70% positive review from Rotten Tomato. In contrast to how Wolverine was in the comics, the movie was simply a disappointment.
Movie goers can’t get enough of mutants and super heroes. Though some of these movies can really get a movie and comic fan excited, there will be those movies that are just bad. Do you agree with our list of Marvel movies? What do you think should’ve made it in our list?