Marvel’s First Family has had a notoriously difficult journey to the big screen. For decades, the Fantastic Four have struggled to find their footing in live-action, with multiple attempts resulting in films that failed to capture the unique blend of cosmic adventure, family dynamics, and scientific wonder that defines the iconic comic book. These cinematic misfires have become a recurring source of frustration for fans, who have long awaited a movie that does justice to the characters created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. It’s not all the fault of filmmakers, as the history of these adaptations is a messy one, full of troubled productions, studio interference, and creative visions that missed the mark.
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps is Marvel Studios’s promise to change this, giving fans a film that embraces the space race dynamics of the 1960s to give the First Family the retro futuristic adventure fans always wanted to see on the big screen. With Marvel Studios finally bringing the heroes into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the time is right to look back at the team’s entire live-action history, ranking every film from the absolute worst to the one that finally got it right.
5) Fantastic Four (2015)
Josh Trank’s 2015 reboot Fantastic Four stands as one of the worst superhero films ever made and a cautionary tale of studio interference. For starters, the film is a joyless affair that completely misunderstands its source material. Instead of a fun, adventurous family, the movie presents a group of detached characters, bogged down by a bleak tone that feels more like a Cronenbergian body horror film than a superhero blockbuster. In addition, the production of Fantastic Four was notoriously troubled, and the finished product wears those scars openly, culminating in a disjointed and incoherent mess with visible signs of last-minute reshoots, like Kate Mara’s infamous wig.
Fantastic Four‘s talented cast, including Miles Teller as Reed Richards and Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm, is wasted on a script with non-existent character work. After a painfully slow first act, the story abruptly jumps forward a year, skipping any meaningful development to rush into a poorly conceived climax against a baffling version of Doctor Doom (Toby Kebbell). Originally an edgy computer programmer named Victor Domashev, the character was transformed into a generic CGI monster who lacked any of the menace or regality of his comic book counterpart. Fantastic Four was a complete creative and commercial disaster that rightfully killed this iteration of the franchise on arrival, burying the franchise for another decade.
4) Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
The 2007 sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer represents a step backward for the franchise. While it aimed to introduce cosmic elements, the film amplified the weaknesses of its predecessor and squandered its most promising concepts. The story brings back the original cast to face a global threat in the form of the Silver Surfer, whose arrival heralds the coming of a world-ending entity. The Surfer himself, voiced by Laurence Fishburne and portrayed by Doug Jones, is a visual highlight, but he is trapped in a film that is too juvenile and simplistic to do his character justice.
Rise of the Silver Surfer‘s most infamous failure is its depiction of Galactus. Instead of the iconic, larger-than-life humanoid from the comics, the world-devourer is reduced to a generic and non-threatening cosmic cloud. This cowardly creative choice is emblematic of the entire film’s refusal to embrace the grandiosity of its source material. The plot is thin, the humor is painfully unfunny, and the central family dynamic feels even more forced than before. Rise of the Silver Surfer had the right cosmic building blocks but used them to construct a flimsy and forgettable adventure that offered more of the same, only less effectively.
3) The Fantastic Four
Long before the big-budget attempts, a low-budget version of Marvel’s First Family was produced by B-movie legend Roger Corman. The 1994 film, titled The Fantastic Four, was never officially released and has since become the stuff of Hollywood legend. Produced for a mere $1 million, the movie was created solely so that producer Bernd Eichinger could retain the film rights to the characters, a fact that was unethically kept from the cast and crew. However, despite its shoestring budget and cynical origins, the unreleased film has a certain charm that later versions lack and is surprisingly faithful to the source material.
Viewed today through bootleg copies, The Fantastic Four is undeniably cheesy. However, its earnestness is its greatest strength. Corman made a genuine effort to bring the Silver Age comics to life, from the characterizations to the classic blue and black costumes. Plus, the practical effects used to create The Thing are impressive for the budget, and Joseph Culp’s portrayal of Doctor Doom captures the villain’s melodramatic flair perfectly. As a result, The Fantastic Four is a fascinating “what if” story, a heartfelt effort that, despite being made for legal reasons, managed to capture the spirit of the comics in a way more expensive productions never did. Nevertheless, the limited nature of the budget still makes it look like a fan movie, which can be distracting.
2) Fantastic Four (2005)
The first modern attempt to bring Marvel’s First Family to the screen, 2005’s Fantastic Four remains the best of a bad bunch. This lighthearted and colorful film from director Tim Story was a significant commercial success, and while it is far from perfect, it at least understands the core of its characters. The movie’s greatest strength is its cast. Chris Evans delivers a star-making performance as the arrogant but charming Johnny Storm, and Michael Chiklis brings a genuine pathos to the tragic Ben Grimm, conveying deep emotion from beneath pounds of prosthetics. Their bickering chemistry successfully grounds the film’s weaker elements, making Fantastic Four worth a watch despite its flaws.
However, Fantastic Four is held back by a predictable origin story plot and an entirely forgettable villain. Julian McMahon’s Doctor Doom is presented as a petty corporate rival rather than a menacing Latverian monarch, lacking the presence to be a true threat. Furthermore, the action sequences are serviceable but ultimately uninspired, and the central romance between Ioan Gruffudd’s Reed Richards and Jessica Alba’s Sue Storm lacks any real spark. Still, Fantastic Four succeeded in capturing the essential family dynamic, making it a nostalgically watchable superhero movie.
1) The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Finally, Marvel’s First Family gets the movie they deserve with The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Directed by Matt Shakman, First Steps is a vibrant adventure that triumphantly captures the heart and soul of the comics. The movie wisely sidesteps the well-worn origin story, introducing a team that is already established and confident in their roles as heroes and explorers. In addition, the retro-futuristic aesthetic, heavily inspired by the 1960s source material, gives the film a unique and stylish look that sets it apart from anything else in the genre. Adding to all of this, the cast, led by Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards and Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, has an electric chemistry that perfectly embodies the loving family at the team’s core.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is equally a visual feast, with immaculate special effects and a truly epic sense of scale. This is most evident in its depiction of Galactus (Ralph Ineson), who is finally presented in all his terrifying glory, a definitive correction of past mistakes. Finally, Shakman, who previously helmed WandaVision, brings a sharp directorial vision to the project, balancing spectacular action with genuine emotional weight and exploring the human cost of the team’s cosmic adventures. By embracing the hope, optimism, and sense of scientific wonder inherent to the characters, The Fantastic Four: First Steps finally delivers the definitive cinematic take on these iconic heroes.
Which Fantastic Four movie is your personal favorite? Let us know in the comments!
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