The Marvel’s “Ironheart” Reviews Are In

The first three episodes of Marvel Studios’ “Ironheart” series are now up on Disney+ with critics reviews held back until the launch tonight.

They’ve been coming in steadily for two hours as of time of publication, and the result is the series launching to 69% from 29 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes along with a decidedly mixed 58/100 on Metacritic.

On the latter, it’s the worst launch of the MCU on the streamer behind the 62/100 for “Echo”, and the mid 60s-low 70s scores of most MCU Disney+ shows including “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier,” “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,” “Hawkeye,” “Daredevil: Born Again,” “Moon Knight” and “Loki”.

The series follows Dominique Thorne’s Riri Williams, first introduced in “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” around a year after the events of that film. She becomes entangled with the enigmatic Parker Robbins/The Hood (Anthony Ramos), discovering secrets involving technology vs. magic.

Here’s a sampling of reviews:

“Even though “Ironheart” isn’t fully equipped to wrestle with the ethical arguments it introduces, the show’s accessible approach still makes room for generalized lessons to sink in.” – Ben Travers, Indiewire

“Despite the clumsy pilot and distracted finale, the warmth I felt for the four-episode filling of this televisual sandwich was real.” – Daniel Fienberg, THR

“If you’re still hanging on with Marvel, this isn’t the one that will make you give up; it’s a respectable piece of work. But it’s not going to revive anyone’s flagging interest.” – Mike Hale, The New York Times

“Ironheart is a compelling story about the limitations of genius, whether to overcome a lack of money or bend laws of the universe like death. It’s also a lot of other stories at the same time, none of which is as focused or affecting.” – Alison Herman, Variety

“Ironheart is neither an instant classic nor a debacle, but a breezy, reasonably engaging bit of Marvel business that doesn’t skimp on hardware or mystery. If it is guilty of anything, it’s being too pat and frictionless.” – Jarrod Jones, AV Club

“As written, and as played by Thorne, Riri is so dour, and so flat, that Ironheart all but grinds to a halt whenever a scene is primarily about the series’ protagonist. It’s a rare miss from a company that’s usually great at casting.” – Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone

“Despite some nice flourishes and big introductions, Riri — and Ironheart — still hasn’t taken full flight. If Season 2 does come, some serious upgrades are required.” – Amon Warmann, Empire

“Hodge is certainly trying to do something different with Ironheart, but every part of it feels clumsy thanks to radical tone shifts, underutilized characters, and bland fights.” – Samantha Nelson, Polygon

The second batch of three episodes releases on July 1st, meaning the full series will be available on that date as well.

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