9 Comic Book Movies That Divided Critics And Fans

Something odd happened between critics and studios in 2016. Perhaps sensing their forthcoming superhero movies weren’t going to be well received critically, Warner Bros took the approach of dismissing any bad word of mouth, having actors and directors state they made movies for fans and not the critics.

This is weird, since those same critics previously lavished praise on Chris Nolan’s Dark Knight Trilogy, proving they can enjoy comic book movies. Y'know, when they’re actually good. Still, many fans took Warner Bros dismissal of critics to heart, leading to a strange divide where they felt any bad review of a DC movie was biased and probably paid for by Marvel.

This isn’t the first time fans and critics have been split over a comic book movie, though, and it likely won’t be the last. In some cases, it’s the critics singing the praises of a movie fans hate, which is an odd reversal. It’s always interesting to see where the critic/fan divide is, and here is a list of movies where a clear line was drawn.

The Mandarin twist in Iron Man 3 is like a Rorschach test for the Marvel fanbase; some felt it was a funny twist on a dated character, while others felt it was an insult of the highest order. While the film received strong reviews and is generally well-regarded, the reaction to this twist has been so vitriolic it commonly overshadows the good stuff.

This led to the film’s defenders pointing out that the Mandarin was a horribly dated stereotype, and there was no way to portray the character as he was in the comic. This argument didn’t wash, though, and Marvel eventually offered an olive branch to the angry fans by making a short film that made it clear the real Mandarin does exist, and he possibly might show up someday.

It’s a pity this twist has left a black mark on the film; it’s arguably the most underrated film in the MCU.