10 Underrated Marvel Movies That Deserve Another Chance
When comic fans and film critics get it wrong.
Let's face facts for a moment, there are a lot of Marvel movies out there.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has taken the world by storm for nearly the last decade, films based on Marvel properties from other studios have been prevalent for almost twice as long with no end in sight, and that's not even counting all the other one-offs and TV movies that popped up back in the day.
That said, when you have many films of one category like this, there are bound to be a few underrated gems out there. In Marvel's case, an underrated film can be one that was serviceable, but overlooked; one that had a few small flaws that caused audiences to dismiss them, despite them otherwise being great; or one that was absolutely despised by fans and/or critics for one reason or another, but is actually quite good. Of course, it could also be any combination of those things.
There have been some irredeemably bad Marvel films over the years (Ang Lee's Hulk and Josh Trank's Fantastic Four spring to mind), but these should absolutely not be deemed as such. And if you rejected these movies the first time around, then maybe it's time to give them that all-important second chance.
10. Generation X
A lot of people may not even remember Generation X, but it was, for all intents and purposes, the first X-Men film.
It was a made-for-TV movie released in early 1996 based on the Generation X comics (an offshoot of the X-Men series) that was originally to serve as a pilot for a television series, but that never came to pass due to poor ratings. Plus, the film has mostly been dismissed by fans and critics alike for its deviation from the source material and its less than stellar visuals.
However, this simply isn't fair.
While it's clear that those in charge of the film knew very little about the comics, they still did everything in their power to create a quality piece of entertainment. For a mid '90's television film, the writing was decent, the acting was solid, and the direction was superb. And sure, the effects aren't exactly impressive, but you have to remember that they were a product of their time (and budget.)
It was a respectable first attempt at an X-Men movie and while it may have been far from perfect, it should be held up as a catalyst for all that came after it, as opposed to being swept under the rug and forgotten.