'The Marvels' in review: Why do critics say the Marvel franchise is in trouble?

With the release of 'The Marvels' film in November 2023 and its disappointing results at the box office, there is a lot of chatter about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Critics of the superhero movie franchise are saying that the MCU's future depends on this film.

According to media like Collider, 'The Marvels' is the "lowest-Grossing MCU film in global box office history." Does that mean people should be worried about Marvel?

If we look at it from the bright side, Marvel has had some hits this year already. 'Loki' season 2 has been brilliant, and both 'Guardians Vol 3' and ‘Into The Spider-Verse’ were successes.

Image: 'Loki' / Disney Plus

The future looks great with titles like ‘Deadpool 3’, the reboot of ‘Blade’, ‘Daredevil’ and of course ‘Captain America Brave New World’. So what's the problem?

Image: 'Deadpool' / Mcu

However, movie critics say that this is the film that decides Marvel’s future because many have not been particularly enthused with the MCU since the 'Avengers' films came to an end.

Sure Marvel have had a few flops in recent times: 'Dark Phoenix' (2019) (in fact, when you do an internet search, you will find that the most common question asked is: ‘What was the point of the Dark Phoenix film?’). Deadline estimated that Fox lost $133 million on this final X-Men film.

Morbius (2022) and The New Mutants (2020) were also commercial flops.

Although 'The Marvels' is not looked upon favorably, Rolling Stone magazine claims that there was one film in the MCU that is still at the bottom of the pile. Reviewing 'The Marvels,' it says that the film "allows 'Thor: The Dark World' to comfortably keep its worst-in-show franchise place, at the very least."

But despite the film not being the ‘worst’, it appears some critics believe it certainly isn’t ‘the best’ either. After waiting for a new, exciting Marvel installment, the New York Post states: "The interminable movie, barely directed by Nia DaCosta, is not so much the story of Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel, and Monica Rambeau as it is a sad study of the downfall of America’s favorite screen franchise. “

In general, reviews have been mostly positive, and a lot of praise from both critics and fans is headed towards Iman Vellani (Ms Marvel). One thing is for sure, this new film is full of energy and fun.

The New York Times gave the public a pretty scathing review: it did not really feel the plot, direction (or much more, really). The review summarises ‘The Marvels’ as a story about the “cat lady zipping off to a planet and into another over-plotted, overextended escapade”.

The Guardian supported the opinion that the film is quite bizarre, but it did find a positive trait, saying: “It is all, of course, entirely ridiculous, but [it is] presented with such likable humor and brio, particularly the Marvels’ visit to a planet where everyone sings instead of speaks.”

“It brings me absolutely no joy to report that ‘The Marvels’ is terrible, and the worst film yet in the Marvel Cinematic Universe”, Roger Ebert joined the seemingly-offended group of critics.

The New York Post reverted back to tell readers what the highlight of the movie was: “The viewer is confused as h- from start to finish, but that’s OK because a herd of alien felines has just boarded a spaceship while Barbra Streisand croons 'Memory' from 'Cats.'"

Is there anything good about ‘The Marvels’? Yes, there is. At 1 hour and 45 minutes, it is the shortest MCU movie ever made.”

Variety also found one main positive in their harsh critique of the film: “The movie is short enough not to overstay its welcome.”

Variety continued: “As Taika Waititi established in his 'Thor' films, there’s a place in the MCU for w a c kjob silliness. But in 'The Marvels,' the bits of absurd comedy tend to feel strained, because they clash with the movie’s mostly utilitarian tone.”

Rolling Stone encourages us to think outside the box with ‘The Marvels’, but even then, it doesn’t quite hit the mark. “Think of this less as an actual movie, and more of a bonus Ms. Marvel episode with a few notable guest stars, some ill-timed metaphors, and a lot of corporate dead air.”

‘New Rockstars’ Erik Voss gave the film a good review, describing it as ‘wacky’ and ‘a lot of fun’. With nothing but praise for ‘The Marvels’ young actress Iman Vellani.

The New York Times thought that Iman Villani’s character did go on a bit with the constant focus on her obsession with her idol, Captain Marvel, stating that "Kamala’s fangirl shtick goes on too long."

“DaCosta’s film sings and is a breath of fresh air, rather than the MCU’s death rattle. Lifted by the chemistry of its leads - with a wonderful Vellani - it might not be top-tier, but it’s certainly enjoyable despite a handful of stumbles along the way”, the Bl..dy Awesome film podcast said in their review.

The Wrap joined the many critics who may not have been impressed with the storyline and writing but is happy to brand it a ‘feel good’ kind of movie: “It’s silly and makes little sense, but it’s such a fun time at the movies. And isn’t that why we go to see movies in the first place?”

Mainstream critics in the media have often cited that Captain Marvel has had very little direction in the MCU. She appears in cameos at the end of films that don’t really give her a place in the Marvel world. Hopefully, this film will give her a clear direction and a long and successful film career.

Marvel also have the added pressure of the high level of demand from Disney for the streaming platform. This may be affecting the quality of its feature films. Will they overcome the failure of 'The Marvels,' though, and rebound with 'Deadpool' and 'Daredevil' successes?