Is Marvel’s Inhumans already on shaky ground?

Marvel properties are generally regarded as sure fire hits in movie theatres and they have also had success with their TV properties too with ABC’s Agents of Shield and the multi-character Netflix series’ based on members of The Defenders receiving positive reviews. In fact the only real criticism received on a large scale was for the first season of Netflix’s Ironfist, which many fans felt fell short of the high standards already set by two seasons of Daredevil, alongside strong opening seasons of Luke Cage and Jessica Jones. That said, Iron Fist was still a big success in terms of viewing figures for the Netflix show.

Even the cancellation of the Agent Carter series was followed by a solid fan base and campaigns for its return and despite Fox’s disappointment with the show’s viewing figures, they still came on board to make another Marvel title with Legion and have commissioned a second season for the show. In short, television companies are now quick to acknowledge that a Marvel TV show usually means success.

However Marvel’s latest foray into television already seems to be on shaky ground. Inhumans is set to premiere shortly on US television channel ABC and early indications are that the show may be set to flop with fans mocking the show’s CGI effects when a short trailer was released last month. This could be attributed to the rushed production of the trailer as it has previously seen with other promotional material for similar shows, that trailers don’t always effectively reflect the finished product when it comes to special effects.

Aside from this, it seems that IGN have put their own critical nail firmly in the coffin with their review of the first episode which was recently released online. Here are some extracts of the review:

“This might sound like the MCU’s version of Game of Thrones, and it certainly had the potential to be with its superhero monarchy and plays for power, but the show is a disappointment on every level. The costumes and makeup look like a group of friends decided to do Inhumans cosplay the day before Comic-Con. The royal palace, a main setting, looks like a warehouse on the outside and is full of bland, forgettable spaces on the inside. The clunky dialogue sounds like a first draft, not the sharp material you’d expect from the MCU. ”

It doesn’t get any better with the site also posting some rather scathing comments about the quality of the acting and direction of the opening episode;

“Iwan Rheon’s Maximus is Diet Loki, the jealous, scheming brother of King Black Bolt, but he’s given such insidious dialogue and direction that his motivations are immediately obvious. (Also, there’s one scene in particular where it seems no one on set pointed out that Rheon’s accent was coming through.) The few action scenes we find the characters in are filled with unimpressive visual effects and tepid choreography. Not even Lockjaw, the obscenely cute, giant, teleporting dog is enough to make you want to sit through another episode.”

The review was seemingly posted early and has since been removed from the site but not before eagle eyed fans had spotted it.

Inhumans was originally supposed to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe series of films and was due for release in 2019 but was subsequently pulled from Marvel Studio’s release slate. It was then replaced with an 8 episode “event series” which will also debut with an IMAX release in cinemas.