-at least not yet, and I don't think this movie would be a sign that they are, even if it's bad.

He did compare it to Shang-Chi, which plenty of people- me and my wife included- loved, and that comparison was that many of us did love Shang-Chi.

I think there are too many new things coming down the pipeline to begin to say they've lost steam.

-Thor Love & Thunder. I have complete faith in Taika and Chris to turn in something fun and, to his criticism here, weighty. Hell, the basic plot itself already has some weight to it.

-BP2. Though, that's anyone's guess given Chadwick's passing. But they're adding a new character- Riri Williams- everyone should be excited about. And possibly Namor!

-Guardians 3, rumored to feature a plot around Rocket's origin. I trust the hell out of James Gunn to end his trilogy in both grand and meaningful fashion.

-Ant-Man: Quantumania. We're getting Kang! And the two prior films have been fantastic, IMO. I think the addition of Kang makes this the most intriguing movie on the current slate.

-The Marvels: We're getting Spectrum, full stop!
-Fantastic Four! Which means Doctor Doom, Galactus, Silver Surfer

And once the X-Men hit, that opens up a massive new world of plots and characters.

I just think there are too many new characters, directors, and actors coming into the picture, to see this as running out of steam. The incoming slate is massive, and so much of it is fresh territory for this universe. It's exciting.

And you may well be right in that this could be the first sign of a major slide to mediocrity. But I doubt it. Bare minimum, there's plenty to look forward to :)