Ranking the Fantastic Four Movies from Worst to Best

With the release of Fantastic Four: First Steps, I decided to watch all of the Fantastic Four movies. The Fantastic Four have been some of Marvel's most popular characters but unfortunately couldn't be a part of the MCU until now due to licensing rights. Before Marvel/Disney got the rights to The Fantastic Four, the movies were made by Fox and they were unfortunately all bad so there is a pretty clear number one on this list. With all that said, here are my thoughts and ranking of the four Fantastic Four movies.

4. Fantastic Four (2015)

Fantastic Four (2015) or Fant4stic as the cool kids call it, is the last of the Fox Fantastic Four films and easily the worst. This movie is ruined by bad ideas, even worse execution, and worst of all, studio interference. The movie takes the classic characters who are supposed to be scientists and astronauts and turns them into a bunch of college kids with an internship. The movie is also extremely boring as nothing happens for the entire runtime. It takes 45 minutes for the characters to even get their powers and then 30 minutes before they even fight anybody. It has been reported that Fox cut so much out of this movie including 3 action sequences to bring the movie from a 2 hour and 20 minute runtime to an hour and 40 minute runtime. The movie was also corrupted by so many rewrites and reshoots to the point that the director pretty much-lost control of the movie. The Fantastic Four doesn't even feel like a team as they don't even come together until the last 15 minutes of the movie. The whole idea of the Fantastic Four is a superhero family and this movie misses all of that. On top of that, the movie just butchers Doctor Doom by having him randomly show up as the big villain in the last 15 minutes of the movie. No build-up, no introduction, he is just there because the movie needs to end. Overall, this movie is a disaster from beginning to end and proves that the Fantastic Four should be in Marvel's hands.

Score: 3.5/10 Grade: D

3. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is a significant step from Fantastic Four (2015) but is still not good. I felt that this movie was a big missed opportunity. On paper, it had everything to be great from the Fantastic Four in their prime, a fully established Doctor Doom, and a fight with Galactus. However, when it comes to the actual execution, the movie fails so hard. Instead of focusing the beginning of the movie with the Fantastic Four going on missions, it instead opts to be about Reed and Sue's wedding and a weird bachelor party where Reed dances with his stretchy arms. We also never get to see the Fantastic Four fully vibe together as a team, they are either separated or keep swapping powers. The movie also wastes the potential of Doctor Doom. Instead of making him be a big baddie, they instead make him go back into his normal guy look and pretty much give him nothing today. However, the biggest grievance I have is the handling of Galactus. Galactus is one of the most powerful and iconic villains in all of the Marvel universe but this movie turns him into a giant space cloud who gets defeated in 10 seconds. It is such a waste. The only redeeming quality is that the Silver Surfer as a character was pretty well done but he just didn't have the iconic boss to back him up. In the end, this is another poorly executed yet slightly more watchable Fantastic Four film.

Score: 5.5/10 Grade: C

2. Fantastic Four (2005)

This is the best of the Fox Fantastic Four films but still not a great movie. To give the movie a little bit of slack, I get that there were some effects limitations because of the times. It isn't going to look as good as a Superhero movie today should. For some positives, I do think the casting was pretty well done. The actors who played the Fantastic Four are all well chosen and fit their parts well. I think Chris Evans as Johnny is the standout here. It is fun to see him play a superhero so different than Captain America. He was even popular enough to show up in Deadpool and Wolverine in 2024. I also thought the Thing looked pretty good. I can appreciate that they went for a practical costume instead of a CGI body. However, beyond the characters themselves, this movie is another letdown. This is yet another story where were don't get to see the Fantastic Four together in action. They spend 80% of the movie cooped up in the Baxter Building trying to get rid of their powers with the only action being in the last 15 minutes where they fight Doctor Doom. While there isn't much happening in this movie, it is considerably more fun than the lower films on this list. You can feel the family aspect between these characters, something that just isn't there in the 2015 film. Overall, while this version of The Fantastic Four nailed the characters and the dynamic between them, it just doesn't have a good or compelling story to give them the movie they deserve.

Score: 6/10 Grade: C+

1. Fantastic Four: First Steps

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the newest Fantastic Four and easily the best. It isn't even close. This movie does a great job of embodying the family aspect that The Fantastic Four is known for. These actors have great chemistry together, and it is clear that there is nothing this team wouldn't do for each other. I like the retro-future aspect of the film. It gives the movie a unique vibe and style that we haven't seen in another MCU movie. It has this Jetsons 1950s vibe to it, which works with the tone of The Fantastic Four. I also liked how the movie embraces the space aspect of the team, with them going on an actual space mission with their power. It also brings some cool Interstellar references in. I was so happy that the movie was finally able to deliver a proper Galactus. Instead of an evil space cloud, like in other films, this movie brings a comic book-accurate Galactus for the team to fight. I felt that this movie was one of the most comic-booky movies in the MCU. It feels like a Jack Kirby comic come to life. Overall, this is a great Fantastic Four movie, and you can tell that Marvel took extra care to make sure everything was perfect before releasing it.

Score: 8.5/10 Grade: A-