Action Films Part 11 – The Failures
The bottom of the action ranking. The films that failed at every level at once, and the negative ratings that record how far below zero a picture can go.
Genre: Superheroes
Reviews of superhero movies across every franchise and era, from golden-age adaptations to modern cinematic universes, judged one film at a time.
ActionAction Films Part 10 – The Poor
The tenth tier of the action ranking. The expensive failures, the franchise entries nobody needed, and the adaptations that had a good design and nothing to put in it.
ActionAction Films Part 9 – The Mediocre
The ninth tier of the action ranking. Franchise assembly, adaptations that lost the source, and the sequels that demonstrate what the originals were doing.
ActionAction Films Part 8 – The Flawed
The eighth tier of the action ranking. Franchise machinery, sequels that undo their predecessors, and the remakes that removed the thing worth keeping.
ActionMortal (2019) Review
Mortal is what a superhero origin story looks like when the director comes from Norwegian horror cinema instead of from American comic book adaptation. Both films treat supernatural material as if it were happening in a country that has actual…
ActionThe Marvels (2023)
The Marvels is the Captain Marvel sequel that team-ups Brie Larson with two female MCU successors. Megan McDonnell, Elissa Karasik.
ActionIron Man 3 (2013)
Tony Stark hunts a terrorist called the Mandarin while battling PTSD from the Avengers, with Christmas as the season-long backdrop. Iron Man 3 is Shane Black's 2013 American superhero film depicting Tony Stark hunting an apparent terrorist called the Mandarin…
ActionThe Dark Knight Rises (2012)
2012 Christopher Nolan finale to his Batman trilogy. Christian Bale, Tom Hardy as Bane, Anne Hathaway as Catwoman.
ActionWonder Woman (2017) Review
Allan Heinberg wrote the screenplay from a story by Heinberg, Zack Snyder, and Jason Fuchs. Patty Jenkins had previously directed Monster in 2003, the production that won Charlize Theron her Academy Award for Best Actress.
ActionThe Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) Review
1960s retro-futurist aesthetic as protection against contemporary political fatigue. Galactus underdeveloped, period setting works.
ActionGuardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) Review
James Gunn's farewell with substantive Rocket Raccoon backstory, the High Evolutionary's dark register, the Phase 5 exception. The 6 reflects honest evaluation based on what the available material shows, the broader critical reception, and the documented commercial response.
ActionShang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) Review
Tony Leung's career-best Wenwu, Hong Kong-influenced martial arts choreography, the Phase 4 entry that demonstrated the alternative. The 6.5 reflects honest evaluation based on what the available material shows, the broader critical reception, and the documented commercial response.