Least favorite Marvel Cinematic Universe film

[Mr.Marion]

I didn't care for Hulk (2008) much better than the 2003 film but still pretty meh. Then Edward Norton got recasted making it further irrelevant.

Thor 2 (2013)the first Thor was good for being such a hard character to translate at film but the sequel saw it once, completely forgettable.

Iron man 3 (2013) not sure how it grossed over a billion, but a little too much of a self-indulgent RDJ show.

[Earth 2 Chris]

I don't hate any of them. Iron Man 3 would be my least favorite. The twist at the end left a bad taste in my mouth, and the real ending just wasn't satisfying. Plus, my son was so mad about the twist, it tainted it even more for me. The only MCU film we don't own, because he won't let it in the house, and we just indulge him as a gag.

I like Thor: The Dark World, but it is fairly forgettable. Re-watched it again a while back and found I liked it better than I remembered though. Has some good Loki/Thor moments.

Hulk (2008) was like a breath of fresh air after Ang Lee's artsy-fartsy mess. But although the Hulk himself looked more believable, I didn't like the design with all the veins, etc. I prefer Ruffalo in the role, but Norton wasn't bad.

But yeah, those three are toward the bottom for me too.

Chris

[Hedji]

^ What was the twist that your family disliked? I've always liked Iron Man 3, and am trying to understand the near universal hate for it. You can use spoiler tags if you need to.

[EMCE Hammer]

Hulk 1 and Iron Man 2 for me. I don't hate IM 3 like a lot of folks, not blown away by any means but I don't think it's much better or worse than the Thors or Hulk 2.

[MIB41]

For me both Hulk movies were snoozers. That character didn't find his groove until he became a guest star in the Avenger's films, then they had the CGI worked out better and a suitable actor to play Bruce Banner. After that definitely Iron Man 3 for the villain treatment and overworked CGI bots. I liked the first Thor movie but the second one left me wanting. For myself, he's interesting as long as they have him deeply rooted in a subplot for another Avengers film. I kind of miss not getting him in a duel role as Dr. Donald Blake. In fact, that is something I feel is missing from most of the Marvel films which is the majority of heroes not having a secret identity to protect. I've always thought that was a great plot point and useful tool for building tension in the comics. I wish that was something they could build into other characters they bring to
the screen. It's hard to believe they just all hang out at the Avengers ranch like the Marvel Ponderosa.

[emeraldknight47]

Chiming in on this subject, as well...

Like my Earth 2 counterpart, there hasn't been an MCU film that I've outright disliked, just a few that are, IMHO, not nearly as entertaining as the others. While IM III was not a great film (and did seem far more like an orchestrated RDJ vanity project), it still eaks out a slightly higher likability factor for me than IM II, which kinda felt like a reworked rerun of the first IRON MAN. Whiplash, to me, was all wrong and casting the usually stellar Sam Rockwell as Justin Hammer turned that character into more of a buffoon and a pawn than he ever was in the books. Plus, they sort of touched on the whole "Demon In A Bottle" storyline, but squandered it at the same time by not allowing it to develop fully. Plus, I always really hated the triangular arc reactor on Iron Man, even in the books. To quote Whedon; "The triangle was arse..."

IM III has it's own sins to account for and probably only did as well at the box office as it did because it was the first solo film following THE AVENGERS. Yeah, we saw way too much of Tony Stark and not nearly enough of Iron Man in the third outing and whatever brand of super glue Stark used to keep his suits together must've been a defective batch as his various suits did seem far more fragile than in previous outings. The Mandarin was another character in the Iron Man universe that was wasted by being a puppet. But, and this is just my opinion, III's biggest flaw, and the elements from it that I think have hurt MCU films since then at least pertaining to the character of Iron Man, was that when IM III ended, it felt like the end of the character in general. His house and workshop in Malibu were completely destroyed, Stark activated the "blank slate" protocol which, we assume was meant to destroy all of his various armors, and, miraculously, he was suddenly able to have the surgery to remove the shrapnel that actually caused him to don the arc reactor in the first place. It felt like his story was pretty much over and done with and then suddenly, without even a hint of explanation, he was back to being Iron Man in AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON. I guess it was a lack of continuity or story flow that makes his presence in the MCU now seem almost superfluous.

[Earth 2 Chris]

^ What was the twist that your family disliked? I've always liked Iron Man 3, and am trying to understand the near universal hate for it. You can use spoiler tags if you need to.

SPOILERS FOR IRON MAN 3


The fact that the Mandarin is just an actor, and not really the leader of the Ten Rings, and that Guy Pearce is kinda sorta the real Mandarin. My son, who grew up on the DVD set of the 90s Iron Man cartoon was TICKED.

Chris

[palitoy]

Like many of you, I found that first Hulk dull but i don't know if it folds into the "MCU" because the sequel is when Marvel got more creative control.

I'd have to say "Thor 2" is my least favourite of the MCU, not that it's horrible, I just felt kind of....meh about it.

[knight errant00]

Iron Man 3 . . . it was the only one I walked out of feeling terribly disappointed, from the reveal about the Mandarin to the substandard and malfunctioning armors. The ending of the big conflict with Pepper was perhaps an interesting idea but was so poorly handled that it really gutted out any impact for the characters and brought everything down around it.

On the other hand, IM3 did finally introduce a great Stark/Iron Man theme for the soundtrack,

[phil]

I didn't care much for the Edward Norton Hulk movie. I liked Guardians of the Galaxy but have no interest in a sequel.

[Marvelmania]

I liked them all but my least favorites would be Hulk 1 and Iron Man 2. I liked IM 3 (not thrilled but enjoyed it) and even Daredevil.

[phil]

I thought the first Hulk movie wasn't considered part of the MCU.

[Hedji]

I actually like Iron Man 2 best of all the Iron Man films! It's just plain fun.

I can understand how the twist in IM3 would bother diehard fans. I went in with not much background on Mandarin, so it was all good with me.

Least favorite, I guess Incredible Hulk, since we're not counting Ang Lee's version as part of the MCU.

[Hector]

Iron Man 3..I hope it becomes a "lost" film...never to be seen EVER again.

God, I HATE that movie with ALL my being...

[Brue]

I thought the first Hulk movie wasn't considered part of the MCU.

I agree.

And the worst then goes to IM3.