Critics Were Wrong About These 5 Superhero Movies (& 2 Of Them Boast A Future MCU Superstar)

The superhero movie genre has proven to be one of the most consistently popular and successful of the 21st century so far. With the development of remarkable visual effects technology, the larger-than-life stories of comic book superheroes have become increasingly less complex to adapt onto the big screen. There have been many great comic book movies that have brought the genre huge success, not just with fans but with critics, too. Some, such as 2019’s Joker, can also boast the major cinematic accolade of winning multiple Academy Awards, a feat which many would have once thought impossible for a movie based on a comic book character.

For every widely celebrated superhero movie, there seems to be at least one other that critics dismiss entirely. However, the critics aren’t always right, and some of the supposedly worst superhero movies are actually far better than their reputation suggests. While they might not be cinematic masterpieces, the critical panning of the following movies seems pretty harsh, as they each have some unique appeal that at least partly redeems them.

5) Batman Forever (1995)

After Tim Burton’s two Batman movies brought the hero to life in epic fashion, the Joel Schumacher-directed follow-ups seemed pretty disappointing. 1995’s Batman Forever saw Val Kilmer cast as the hero, and told the story of him taking a young Robin under his wing while also battling against the combined threat of the Riddler and Two-Face. Critics and fans widely trashed the movie, dismissing its campier and more colorful tone as far inferior to Burton’s prior two-film arc. The truth is, Val Kilmer is far from the worst live-action Batman actor, and Batman Forever is actually a far better movie than it gets credit for.

There’s a reasonable amount of depth to Batman Forever‘s hero, and though some of it got lost among the movie’s sillier ideas, there is a solid superhero story at its core. It might seem poor when compared to Burton’s movies, but Batman Forever is still a fun and entertaining Batman story that feels reasonably true to the character’s core tenets, just with a greater focus on making it more appealing to all ages. However, if dark and gritty stories were essential to good superhero movies, the MCU wouldn’t be anywhere near as successful as it is.

4) Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007)

2005’s Fantastic Four was a reasonable success, and that led to a 2007 sequel, subtitled Rise of the Silver Surfer. The second film was panned by critics, and Marvel fans everywhere railed against its depiction of Galactus as a large space cloud. While they were rightly upset with the movie’s poor adaptation of a major Marvel villain, Rise of the Silver Surfer is a movie that was unfairly criticized, as it actually has many great qualities. It also starred Chris Evans only shortly before he was cast as Captain America in the MCU.

Watching the movie back nearly two decades after its release, it’s remarkable just how well some of its visual effects hold up. It’s far from the worst Fantastic Four movie — that odious honor goes to the 2015 reboot — and it at least attempts to develop its characters and their stories in an interesting and satisfying way. It might be far from perfect, but Rise of the Silver Surfer definitely doesn’t deserve its terrible reputation, especially when compared with some of Marvel’s other maligned movies.

3) Speed Racer (2008)

While it might be somewhat of a stretch to refer to Speed Racer as a superhero movie, its comic book source material combined with its scathing reviews qualifies it for a spot on this list. The 2008 movie was directed by the Wachowskis, but despite their previous critical success, Speed Racer was despised by critics. Harshly judged on several points, including its stark, colorful visuals, cartoonish acting, and unconventional racing scenes, Speed Racer was considered a critical disaster.

The problem is that those reviews seem to fundamentally misunderstand both the source material and the movie itself. It has since come to be appreciated by a cult following, who cite its pop-art visuals and cartoonish ideas as brilliant homages to the source material rather than conceptual weak points. While the Speed Racer movie is admittedly not for everyone, the reviews upon its release seem incredibly narrow-minded in hindsight, and it has been more favorably reappraised in the years since.

2) Jumper (2008)

Instead of being based on a comic book as most superhero movies are, 2008’s Jumper is loosely based on the 1992 novel of the same name, and tells the story of a young man capable of teleporting who is hunted by members of a secret society. Despite a strong central cast of Hayden Christensen, Jamie Bell, and Samuel L. Jackson, critics were unenthused with Jumper, and while the reviews weren’t scathing, they certainly weren’t good. In truth, Jumper actually deserved much better.

Perhaps the year of its release was partly to blame for Jumper‘s poor reviews, as the release of both Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk made Jumper‘s action sequences seem relatively uninspired by comparison. However, it’s a solid story about an average young man with superpowers, and it puts a very different spin on the genre than most other superhero movies. As such, Jumper remains one of the genre’s most underrated titles of the 21st century.

1) Push (2009)

The second movie on this list to feature a pre-Captain America Chris Evans, 2009’s Push is another example of a superhero movie thoroughly misjudged by critics. Its story concerns a community of superpowered humans who each possess one of a limited number of abilities, and follows a man drawn into a battle against a government agency seeking to create an army of supersoldiers. Critics widely panned the film, with the vast majority of reviews criticizing many elements of its plot.

Push is an incredibly underrated superhero movie, and critics seem to have overlooked the strength of its premise. Its depiction of an underground community of superhumans, as well as the general premise of a limited set of potential abilities, make its ideas feel pretty fresh in comparison to other titles in the genre. Push boasts a great cast and a suspenseful story, and while critics might not have appreciated it overmuch, it’s well worth checking out for fans of the genre.