VisionQuest Reviews Are In: Critics Divided on Marvel’s New Disney+ Series

The verdict is in on Marvel’s newest Disney+ series, and it turns out critics can’t quite agree on what to make of it. VisionQuest, the Paul Bettany-led saga that closes out the trilogy that began with WandaVision back in 2021, arrives on Disney+ this Wednesday, October 14 — and the first wave of reviews landed Monday morning with an 87% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but opinions swinging wildly in both directions.

Some reviewers are calling it a fitting, even emotional sendoff for one of the MCU’s most beloved characters. Others are scratching their heads, wondering what exactly all the fuss was about. And a few are straight-up unimpressed. If you’ve been waiting for a clear answer on whether to clear your Wednesday evening for this one, the honest answer is: it depends who you ask.

Here’s what the critics are actually saying — and why VisionQuest might be one of the most divisive Marvel shows in a while.

What VisionQuest Is Actually About

For the uninitiated — and honestly, even some MCU fans might need a refresher — VisionQuest picks up with Paul Bettany’s Vision as he tries to piece together who he is, what he remembers, and what he actually wants. After the reality-bending events of WandaVision, where Wanda Maximoff’s grief conjured an entire sitcom town around her family, Vision has been drifting. Now he’s searching for answers about his identity and his memories, and that search gets complicated fast.

Complicating matters is the return of James Spader as Ultron, the maniacal android villain he first played in 2015’s Avengers: Age of Ultron. Spader’s casting was one of the first announcements that got people genuinely excited about this show — he’s been sorely underused in the MCU, and the idea of him squaring off against Bettany’s philosophical android was catnip for Marvel nerds. There’s also a mysterious young man in the mix who may or may not be Vision’s son, because in the Marvel universe nothing is ever simple.

The show is positioned as the final chapter in what fans have started calling the Wanda/Vision saga: WandaVision in 2021, Agatha All Along in 2024, and now this. That’s a lot of emotional baggage for one series to carry, and it shows in the reviews.

The Fans: Critics Who Loved It

Let’s start with the good news, because there’s plenty of it. TechRadar gave the series four out of five stars, with critic Tom Power praising the chemistry between Bettany and Spader as a “scintillating slice of superhero science fiction” — and, maybe more surprisingly, calling the show a “surprisingly deep and emotionally resonant conclusion to the Wanda/Vision Saga.” That’s not the kind of language reviewers throw at Marvel lightly.

ComingSoon landed at a seven out of ten, with critic Jonathan Sim admitting that the show’s “ambition occasionally exceeds its execution” but arguing that VisionQuest is proof there’s “still plenty of life left in Vision and Ultron.” There’s a running theme among the positive reviews: the two leads are just so good together that everything else kind of fades into the background. Spader, in particular, seems to be stealing scenes left and right. One review called him fierce, funny, and fiendish all at once — and honestly, that’s exactly the Ultron the MCU never quite delivered in 2015.

The Daily Telegraph reportedly noted that the pair’s scenes crackle with chemistry, and Nerdist went even further, suggesting the show completes the best trilogy in the MCU. That’s a bold claim, but when you’ve got two heavyweight actors doing their thing with material this personal, it’s easy to see how it lands.

Other critics have highlighted the heart of the story. The finale episodes in particular have drawn praise for tugging at the heartstrings, which is exactly what fans of WandaVision — the show that made us cry over a fictional android couple — were hoping for. RogerEbert.com reportedly found the series charmingly enthralling, praising its balance of light and darkness.

The Skeptics: Critics Who Weren’t Convinced

Okay, now the other side. And it’s not subtle.

Looper gave the show a brutal four out of ten, with critic Alistair Ryder arguing that the series feels “jarringly behind the times” — and concluding that while VisionQuest is “not the worst MCU series,” it “might be the most passionless.” Ouch. That’s the kind of review that makes publicists wince.

The Hollywood Reporter landed in mixed territory. Critic Angie Han praised Bettany and Spader’s performances but took issue with the show’s structure, writing that it’s “at its best when it’s simply focusing on its lead characters and sitting in the dynamics between them,” but that VisionQuest “has too much else on its mind, and too few ideas for how to explore them.” Translation: less is more, and this show didn’t get the memo.

Variety was similarly lukewarm. Critic Alison Herman argued the show struggles to forge a real emotional connection, saying it “rehashes many of the same themes about recovering from loss” as WandaVision — but “doesn’t leave a lasting mark.” That’s arguably the harshest criticism of all: not that it’s bad, but that it’s forgettable. For a show positioned as the emotional conclusion to a beloved saga, “doesn’t leave a lasting mark” stings.

Rolling Stone reportedly argued the series lacks a clear sense of vision (pun very much intended, one assumes), while IndieWire handed it a C grade, suggesting it isn’t as complex or unique as it wants to be. Even some of the positive reviews admitted the second half gets uneven, with multiple storylines competing for attention.

Why Bettany and Spader Are the Real Story

If there’s one point of near-total agreement among critics, it’s this: Paul Bettany and James Spader are terrific. Almost every review — the raves and the pans alike — singles out their performances as the show’s saving grace, or at minimum its highlight.

Bettany has been playing Vision (in various forms) for over a decade now, and he brings a lived-in quality to the character that no one else could. He’s the guy who made an android’s grief feel real in WandaVision, and he reportedly brings that same emotional depth here. This is his broadest, most soulful take on the character yet — a Vision trying to understand what it means to be human while knowing, deep down, that he technically isn’t.

Spader, meanwhile, is having a moment. The man won three Emmys for his more conventional dramatic work, and his Ultron has always been one of the MCU’s great “what ifs” — a fascinating character who never quite got his due. In VisionQuest, he gets to be calculating, quippy, and genuinely menacing, sometimes in the same scene. It’s the kind of performance that reminds you why he was one of television’s most magnetic actors long before Marvel came calling.

The Premiere and What Comes Next

The show got a splashy sendoff on Monday, October 12, with a UK premiere event during the 70th BFI London Film Festival at the BFI IMAX in London. Bettany and Spader were there, alongside Emily Hampshire, Ruaridh Mollica, T’Nia Miller, James D’Arcy, and Todd Stashwick. Agatha All Along star Joe Locke showed up too, in a nice nod to the connected saga. The red carpet was packed, the photos were everywhere, and the buzz was real.

VisionQuest premieres Wednesday, October 14, on Disney+. It’s worth noting this is reportedly the last new live-action Marvel series currently on the Disney+ schedule — which gives the whole thing a slightly heavier air of finality. Bettany himself has called the show a huge creative swing, and fans are already speculating about how it connects to the bigger MCU plans, with Avengers: Doomsday arriving in December and Avengers: Secret Wars following in 2027.

So should you watch? Here’s the thing about divisive shows: the 87% Rotten Tomatoes score says most critics landed somewhere positive, and the ones who loved it really loved it. If you’re invested in Vision as a character — if WandaVision hit you in the gut like it did for so many of us — this is probably worth your time. Bettany and Spader alone might be reason enough.

But if you’re the kind of viewer who needs tight plotting and a show that knows exactly what it wants to say, the skeptics have fair warning for you. Either way, the premiere’s in two days. You’ll get to decide for yourself soon enough — and something tells me the internet will have opinions either way.

Source: Just Jared