Millions around the world used to pile into movie theaters when the long-awaited release date finally arrived, solely to watch another beloved Marvel film. The excitement that erupted when a trailer was released or a long-lasting theory was confirmed has slowly declined as years have passed. It’s safe to say that lately Marvel has been lacking, rarely producing hit movies. With that, I think that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has lost some of its relevance, although occasionally, they manage to have a significant release.
As a die-hard Marvel fan, it hurts to watch the MCU’s films that don’t satisfy the rest of society, one of them being Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In the post-credit scene, Strange’s third eye opens as he sinks to the ground, screaming in pain. To be fair, I didn’t immediately notice the poor quality of the CGI, but online, the public was poking fun at Strange’s fake-looking eye. Despite that, I didn’t particularly hate the movie, however I wasn’t immensely engaged throughout the entirety of the film. I follow this with how the progression of the multiverse plot is tedious, however it has brought back many past characters and put them back on Marvel’s radar.
The most recent Marvel movie I’ve watched in theaters was Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which was phenomenal. The characters were iconic, Rocket’s backstory inflicted so many emotions on the audience, the CGI and the graphics were great, and the humor was amusing. The final touch was when all the characters were going their separate ways while dancing to “Dog Days Are Over,” which brought tears to my eyes. I haven’t been back in the theaters to watch a Marvel movie since. Recently, The Marvels released, yet I had no urgency to go watch it, as there weren’t any original characters featured. Based on Marvel’s recent track record, films without early phase characters are a flop, so I decided that it would’ve been a waste of money to visit a theater to watch the film.
After the extraordinary Spider-Man: No Way Home movie, I was so excited to see what Marvel had to offer, but as I watched the new films, the only ones that were truly remarkable to me were Wakanda Forever and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. It’s possible that the Spider-Man movie set unrealistic expectations for Marvel, especially since it featured two returning icons, Toby Maguire and Andrew Garfield. The Marvel fan base hadn’t experienced a crossover as epic as this since Avengers: Endgame, when Captain America picked up Thor’s hammer, Iron Man sacrificed himself, and every hero that was blipped came back. Reminiscing on the times when theaters erupted into cheers of joy, along with tears of sadness, is a bittersweet feeling to fans.
It seems that Marvel released too many movies, as well as shows, far too close together, which has had a detrimental effect on their viewing rates. Towards the end of phase four, the MCU started to go downhill, as the public expressed their distaste for the newer films. I loved Black Widow, but I found Eternals boring. I thought the new Doctor Strange movie was okay, but I was disappointed with Thor: Love and Thunder, despite Thor being my all-time favorite superhero. These are only four of the ten movies that were released over just three years, not including the TV shows. Some think that the reason for Marvel’s decline in viewing rates is due to their failure to appeal to Gen Z. This was especially apparent in the viewing rates of the latest release, The Marvels, when compared to Captain Marvel which came out in 2019. 40% of its viewers were a part of Gen Z, however, only 19% of The Marvels viewers were in that age group. Regardless, viewing rates have gone down amongst every generation, and it becomes more evident every time a bad film is released.
The last Marvel show I viewed was Moon Knight, which was fantastic. I think that Marvel’s TV shows are produced very well and rarely miss, yet there are still some faults in the production. For example, She Hulk, another Disney Plus series, did a great job sending the message of empowering strong women, however the CGI was terrible and most people didn’t enjoy the humor. Regardless of the poor feedback about She Hulk, I enjoyed the other shows and learned to love new and old characters alike.
Generally, I have a mixed opinion on whether or not Marvel has lost its spark. In some ways, I believe that it has, but Marvel always manages to make a huge comeback after every few mediocre-to-bad movies. Regardless of how subpar the plot and production may be, I will forever cherish and appreciate the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
