I posted this in the Eternals thread, but then later decided that it was more suited for discussion here in the general MCU thread, so here’s a copy paste…
I keep hearing buzz about phase 4 being a downturn so far, and I feel like it’s grossly premature to say that.
I hardly count BW since it technically takes place in the phase 3 timeline. Shang-Chi (as I stated in that thread) is an incredible film that easily enters the top half (maybe top 6?) of the movies, and definitely improves with a 2nd viewing. And The Eternals isn’t going over that well, but most agree that it at least trying to be different. And most of the shows have been pretty successful with generally very positive feedback.
That’s really just 2 films...one excellent, one not so much. And 4 TV shows, with What If being the only one with fairly meh feedback.
So I’m not seeing this supposed drop in quality that some sites are buzzing on.
Even before Endgame, we had a share of movies that got very “meh” feedback. Black Panther and Captain Marvel leap immediately to mind. So I think the MCU is just moving forward with the pattern of keeping up a good over arching story, with some parts being wonderful and others just being averagely entertaining.