Summary
Between 2000 and 2020, 20th Century Fox produced a total of 18 feature films based on stories and characters from Marvel Comics, paving the way for the mainMarvel Cinematic Universe, but not all of Fox’s Marvel movies were as strong as others. Since Marvel sold the film rights to many of its biggest characters throughout the 1990s, 20th Century Fox set to work on developing live-action projects featuring some of these huge names. Most notably, Fox produced long-running film franchises focused on theX-Men and the Fantastic Fourthat preceded the MCU.
The early success ofFox’sX-Menfranchiseestablished superhero movies as a prominent form of cinema, opening the door for Marvel Studios to take the world by storm from 2008’sIron Manonwards. However,not all of Fox’s Marvel movies were hits, and the mixed-to-negative response to many of these movies contributed to a wave of excitement following Disney’s acquisition of the studio’s properties in 2019. Although the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, and Daredevil are back in the hands of Marvel Studios, it’s worth taking a look back at20th Century Fox’s previous Marvel movies.
18Fantastic Four (2015)
2015’s Fantastic Four Is One Of The Worst Superhero Movies Ever
After Fox’s previousFantastic Fourduology died on the vine, the studio rebooted Marvel’s First Family, with Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Bell portraying the titular team. Unfortunately, Josh Trank’s 2015 reboot faltered even more than its predecessors.Fantastic Fourbutchered the team’s iconic origin story and legendary Marvel villain Doctor Doom, and put its cast in the difficult position of having to muster up strong performances from a lackluster script.
Jamie Bell
Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Fantastic Fourwas panned by critics and audiences alike, and has come to be known as one of the worst superhero movies ever made. The film lacked any exploration of the family dynamic that makes the Fantastic Four so entertaining, was packed full of continuity errors, and was paced unusually with an unnecessarily complex and confusing plot revolving around Planet Zero. Thankfully, Marvel’s First Family will soon be recreated in theMCU’sThe Fantastic Four,which is bound to be far stronger than Trank’s disappointing attempt at bringing the team to life.
17Elektra (2005)
Elektra Was A Disappointing Follow-Up To 2003’s Daredevil
Jennifer Garner debuted asElektra Natchios in 2003’sDaredevil, and reprised the role in her 2005 solo spinoff, but both films failed to capture the audience’s imagination.The biggest let-down forElektrawas the movie’s script, which pitted the titular sai-wielding antihero against several boring villains working for the Hand. Relying on more supernatural elements also didn’t helpElektra,as the movie was begging to be a more grounded exploration of Garner’s costumed character.
Former Marvel Entertainment CEO once suggested thatElektra’spoor performance was the reason subsequent female-led superhero movies weren’t put into production. Whether this statement was true or not is to be disputed, butit seems more likely thatElektra’sfaults weren’t caused by lead Jennifer Garner - whose performance actually received praise - but the movie’s sloppy direction by Rob Bowman, poor script, and dull narrative. Nevertheless,Garner reprised the role in Marvel Studios’Deadpool & Wolverine, a swansong to Fox’s Marvel movies, good and bad.
16Daredevil (2003)
The prequel to 2005’sElektrawas only marginally better than its spinoff. Mark Steven Johnson directed Ben Affleck as the titular Matt Murdock, butthe goofy, early-noughties vibes of 2003’sDaredevildid nothing to demonstrate the power and impact of the popular vigilante-come-superhero. It seems more time was taken to makeBen Affleck’s Daredevilas brooding and mysterious as possible, rather than focusing on the complexities and in-depth details of his psyche and emotional state.
Daredevil’sstoryline was easier to follow thanElektra’s, however, and Colin Farrell and the late Michael Clarke Duncan’s performances as Bullseye and Kingpin, respectively, were notable high points of the movie.Daredevil’saction sequences were sometimes thrilling, but the movie was ultimately a disappointing expression of the titular hero’s talents. This is especially true when seeing how brilliant Charlie Cox has been in the role inNetflix’s Defenders Sagaand recent MCU projects - leagues ahead of Ben Affleck.
15The New Mutants (2020)
The New Mutants Fell Victim To Disney’s 20th Century Fox Acquisition
Josh Boone’sThe New Mutantsentered production prior to Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox. The process of this acquisition skewedThe New Mutants’filming, reshoots, and release, ultimately making it a disappointing end to Fox’sX-Menfranchise.The New Mutantswas planned to expand theX-Menfranchise by introducing several young characters who could grow and develop for many years to come, but this became impossibleafter Fox was absorbed into Disney.
Despite its monumental problems,The New Mutantsdoes have some positives, too. Its primarily female leads subvert what audiences knew of superhero movies, though none of them are as developed as they should be.The Smiley Menwere truly sinister, contributing to several jump scares, but the mythos and reasoning behind them wasn’t touched on in enough detail. Unfortunately,The New Mutantshad all the ingredients to be something special, but faltered under a rushed production period.
14X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
X-Men Origins Failed To Kick-Start A New X-Men Franchise
Following the release of its originalX-Mentrilogy, 20th Century Fox planned to explore the origin stories of some of its mutant characters in a new franchise,X-Men Origins. Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine was the guinea pig, though amovie exploring Magneto’s originswas also planned. However, Magneto’s project found itself dead in the water afterX-Men Origins: Wolverine, asthe 2009 movie was packed full of awkward visual effects, unusual editing, poor character depictions, and an overly-complex narrative that created a huge number of continuity errors.
Elements of Magneto’s planned origin movie were transformed into side-stories in 2011’s more-successfulX-Men: First Class.
What makesX-Men Origins: Wolverinestronger than the likes ofThe New Mutants, Daredevil,andFantastic Fouris Hugh Jackman himself. Even when faced with a drab script and ridiculous action sequences,Jackman’s commitment to the role of Wolverine is completely evident, which enhances many moments inX-Men Origins. Suffice to say, Gavin Hood did not return to direct any of Wolverine’s subsequent solo movies, which were far more successful than this installment.
13Dark Phoenix (2019)
Dark Phoenix Marked Another Failed Attempt At An Iconic Marvel Storyline
2019’sDark Phoenixmarked Fox’s second attempt at adaptingMarvel Comics' expansiveDark Phoenix Sagafor the big screen, yet was somehow even less effective than 2006’sX-Men: The Last Stand.Sophie Turner seemed to struggle under the weight of such a huge storyline as Jean Grey, even though certain elements of this movie were more comic-accurate than its predecessor. Simon Kinberg’s late rewrite and reshoots didn’t help things, as the entire third act was reworked with the movie’s release date fast approaching.
While the narrative was more understandable and impactful than those featured inX-Men Origins: WolverineandThe New Mutants,Dark Phoenixwas let down in other areas.The movie’s visual effects were incomplete at the time of release, which robbed characters such as Mystique, Nightcrawler, and the D’Bari of getting more impressive makeovers. Many dedicated and talented stars felt like they’d rather be anywhere else, which is a dire shame for Turner’s first and only run as lead in Fox’sX-Menfranchise.
12Fantastic Four (2005)
2005’s Fantastic Four Was Entertaining, Despite Its Problems
A decade before Fox rebooted Marvel’s First Family, 2005’sFantastic Fourintroduced the team to the big screen for the first time.This movie may have buckled under the pressure of debuting such a popular and iconic superhero team, but it also had many entertaining momentsthat have only grown more admirable as the movie has aged. Tim Story’sFantastic Fourmay have been marred by subpar acting, a poor script, and often-awkward attempts at wit, but Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis succeeded where others have failed.
Michael Chiklis
Namely,they managed to brilliantly demonstrate the family dynamic of the Fantastic Four, which has always been a key element in their adventuressince they debuted in Marvel Comics in 1961.Fantastic Fourhad a huge sense of funand excitement that made it an enjoyable watch, despite it being a cringeworthy and silly adventure for the team. The movie even managed to get Doctor Doomalmostright, or, at least, far more comic-accurate than his latter depiction in 2015’sFantastic Four.
11X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
The Last Stand Tried To Do Too Much In Too Little Time
X-Men: The Last Standonly comes aboveFantastic Fourbecause of the commitment of its main cast, who had fully come to embrace their characters throughoutFox’s originalX-Mentrilogy. Most notably,Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, Ian McKellen’s Magneto and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine shine in Brett Ratner’s 2006 movie, which is good, as they also act as a distraction from the plethora of issues withThe Last Stand. Following Bryan Singer’s exit from the project,The Last Standfailed to find an effective direction.
6 Reasons Why X-Men: The Last Stand Isn’t As Bad As People Say It Is (& 4 Reasons It Is)
Let’s look at some of the best and worst qualities of X-Men: The Last Stand to determine whether it really is as bad as people say it is.
The movie tried to explore several different storylines, including those featuring Jean Grey’s Dark Phoenix, the mutant cure, and Magneto bringing together the Brotherhood of Mutants. Using so much in the story meant that not one single storyline was developed as it should have been, leaving a lot to be desired. However,X-Men: The Last Stand’sfinal battle was poignant, Professor X’s demise was emotional, and the movie had several other positive momentsthat made it watchable, at least.
10Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer (2007)
Rise Of The Silver Surfer Was A Solid Sequel To 2005’s Fantastic Four
Gruffudd, Alba, Evans and Chiklis were even more entertaining the second time around as Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm in 2007’sFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.Tim Story’s sequel was a marked improvement on the original 2005 movie, though it was still packed full of awkward, juvenile, and uncomfortable elements. The introduction ofLaurence Fishburne and Doug Jones' Silver Surferwas a huge benefit, however, as was the movie’s improved visual effects and clearer narrative.
Interestingly,Rise of the Silver Surferalmost feels as though it’s plucked straight from the pages of Marvel Comics.This comes with all the advantages of being a fun and vibrant comic book movie, as well as all the stupidness and ridiculous moments that most other superhero movies edit out for live-action. Unfortunately, this ridiculousness wasn’t retained forRise of the Silver Surfer’sdepiction oficonic Marvel villain Galactus, who contributed to one of the movie’s most controversial moments after being seen to be a simple space cloud.
9X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
X-Men: Apocalypse Is Enjoyable (If You’re Not A Fan Of Marvel Comics)
For any die-hard fan of Marvel Comics, the depiction ofApocalypse in the eponymousX-Men: Apocalypsewas a huge disservice. However, for those who’d never heard of Apocalypse prior to Bryan Singer’s 2016 sequel, the movie was probably a lot more entertaining.Oscar Isaac portrayed a not-at-all-comic-accurate version of Apocalypse, but infused his version of the villain with intensity, strength, and a sinister tone that worked well. Coming off the success ofX-Men: Days of Future Past, there was a lot of pressure onX-Men: Apocalypse.
X-Men: Apocalypseintroduced several notable X-Men characters that audiences knew from the original trilogy, but these performances weren’t as captivating as their predecessors. There are moments of illusion-breaking visual effects issues and the storyline is often cliché and predictable, butX-Men: Apocalypsestill does a good job of pushing theX-Menfranchise forward. Once again, however,the few moments featuring Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine were the high points of the movie, which speaks volumes.
