Inhumans, the first co-production between ABC Studios, Marvel Entertainment and IMAX Entertainment, released to more than 1,000 IMAX screens worldwide yesterday, and critics haven’t been kind to the newest Marvel TV series.
Videos by ComicBook.com
IGN says the show “doesn’t live up to the usual Marvel standard,” knocking the show for its “crummy costumes, wooden dialogue and all-around dull delivery of the material.” Digital Spy, noting the “toxic” early buzz surrounding Inhumans, says those hoping the series would “defy expectations and prove haters wrong” are “going to come away disappointed,” while Fandom declares the show a “massive letdown” and Newsarama writes off Inhumans as “aimless and bleached-out, with its network television sensibilities and budget [feeling] self-consciously evident.”
Marvel diehards nonetheless purchased tickets to view the series on IMAX screens ahead of the series’ arrival to ABC on September 29, and took to Reddit to share their feelings on the latest offering from the TV corner of the shared Marvel Cinematic Universe:
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
“It is terribly dumbed down,” writes user murdockmanila, who says there are “huge lapses of basic logic,” the set design is “whack” and cheap-looking, and that Isabelle Cornish’s Crystal is “the stiffest cast member,” comparing her performance to George Lucas directing Natalie Portman in the Star Wars prequels. Auran (Sonya Balmores) is “one of the blandest and most generic henchmen” to come out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, according to the user, while the depiction of Karnak’s (Ken Leung) powers get “progressively worse as the episode goes [on].” Murdockmanila does say Karnak gets an interesting subplot and praises the appearance of Attilan (the Inhumans’ home on the Moon) and a “dope” fight scene for Medusa (Serinda Swan).
“Lockjaw’s CGI isn’t great,” writes IfIHadASaxophone of the Inhumans’ oversized, teleporting dog. “Maybe it’ll look fine on a small screen, but on IMAX it was pretty glaring.” Mysaadlife offers a counterpoint, listing Lockjaw as a positive alongside the performances of Anson Mount and Iwan Rheon as brothers Black Bolt and Maximus, respectively, saying the “reasoning behind [Maximus’] character made a lot of sense” and praising Mount’s “very expressive” performance and “very natural” sign language.
They add that IMAX “didn’t add anything to the experience,” recommending to “just wait for the show to come out on TV.” Mike Moh (Triton) and Cornish (Crystal) are singled out as “straight up bad,” while the show has strange editing, a lack of exposition, and an “apparent” low budget. “Even as a Marvel fan who sat through all of Iron Fist and enjoyed some parts, I found very little to enjoy here,” mysaadlife concludes. “I personally don’t even want this incorporated into the MCU, it was that bad.”
The Redeemable Inhumans
Fisheggsoup disagrees, saying the show is redeemable: “There’s enough from what I saw to say this show can make an Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.-like improvement in future seasons if given proper care and an entirely new showrunner,” they write, referencing Scott Buck (also the showrunner behind Iron Fist, which debuted on Netflix to less-than-stellar reviews). “Honestly if this show wasn’t hyped up with all the IMAX sh—t, I would have been blown away,” adds iampattym. User skerit says Inhumans “isn’t terrible, but very rough,” noting the show could use “a lot more polish,” and better editing and music.
Xmaj94 also praises leading man Anson Mount, adding, “I would honestly put him on the level of Chris Pratt or Charlie Cox in terms of acting ability.” Lockjaw is “adorable,” they say, and while Rheon’s performance as the villainous Maximus is “commendable,” they note than the actor “makes a good Maximus, but movie Maximus is kind of terrible as a character.” The user further points to the series’ “bad acting,” specifying actresses Serinda Swan and Isabelle Cornish, as well as a weak story and plot with no emotional stakes, and a failure to properly introduce the Inhumans and the Royal Family to general audiences. “Bits and pieces of Inhuman mythology was inserted randomly in the Royal Family’s conversations, and it felt so forced – people who didn’t watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. or read the comics would feel so, so lost,” they write.
At Least It’s Not as Bad as “Fantastic Four”
“It’s not Fant4stic,” writes BannerIsBeautiful. “It’s something like the cheesiest episodes of The Flash. You feel that they have good material and bad material, and they tried to assemble this thing and it became a mess.”
“I went in there expecting mediocre and that’s what I got,” says DoctorB86. “I hope it will find its legs in the later episodes, like [Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.] did after [Captain America: The Winter Soldier].”
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. did get off to a rough start, as did Iron Fist, but both series ultimately proved themselves to be salvageable. Whether audiences give Inhumans enough of a chance to find its eventual footing remains to be seen. One thing is sure: the cast seems to have put their all into their roles, and that alone could maybe convince Marvel diehards to give Inhumans a try when the beloved Stan Lee and Jack Kirby creations make their way to TV screens.
Inhumans is now playing on IMAX screens and premieres on ABC for an eight-episode run on September 29.
