10 Unforgettable Fox Marvel Movies, Ranked

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When people talk about Marvel movies, it’s almost exclusively about Disney-owned MCU films. There was a time when Marvel’s most popular superhero franchises were spread across different studios such as Sony, Universal, and of course, Fox. Fox’s push of the X-Men franchise was not only a major success for Fox but also pivotal in making superhero movies mainstream.

Fox helped usher in a wave of superhero movies, but with it also came many bland Hollywood projects, often created by producers and directors who did not love the source material. Fox’s Marvel movies were not exempt from commercial decisions that ruined their franchises. Even amid corporate interference, Fox managed to give the world some of the most beloved superhero films ever.

10

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer Lacked the Charisma of Modern Marvel Movies

No one recommends revisiting the old Fantastic Four movies, but for their time, they were passable superhero films. While bogged down by the clichés of early 2000s blockbusters, they still managed to capture key elements from the comics. Rise of the Silver Surfer adapts the iconic Galactus Trilogy, with Silver Surfer scouting Earth for his master while the Fantastic Four try to stop the impending destruction.

The special effects are the film’s highlight—Silver Surfer looks impressive, arguably better than the MCU version two decades later. His character retains the stoic, conflicted presence of his comic counterpart. Galactus, however, is reduced to a giant dust cloud, stripping away much of his impact. Still, the arc’s core concept is intact.

9

Fantastic Four Wasn’t Quite Laughably Bad

For better or worse, Fantastic Four represents what a cookie-cutter superhero (or even action) film in the mid-2000s looked like. Fantastic Four doesn’t take any risks with its humor, action, or plot, but at the same time, it doesn’t do anything overly campy like its mid-’90s predecessor or poorly directed films like Elektra.

All four characters of the Fantastic Four are pretty accurate to their comic book adaptations, but only in a shallow sense—they feel very one-dimensional. The acting isn’t stellar, and The Thing’s costume looks ridiculous. However, Fantastic Four’s cheesy humor has aged to a point where it’s funny in how unapologetically 2000s it is. It also has fairly good special effects for its time, and Mr. Fantastic is charming in his own dorky way.

8

X-Men was Key In the Soaring Rise of Hollywood Superhero Films

Blade sparked many studios’ interest when it became a sleeper success. X-Men, already a household name due to its comics, was fully backed by a major studio, and its success made superheroes a pop culture phenomenon. Due to the campiness of Sam Raimi’s Batman movies, X-Men focused heavily on a more grounded approach, with everyone wearing monotone black costumes. This helped fans take the X-Men more seriously, but it does stifle the movie in terms of imagination for modern audiences.

One of the bigger issues with the original X-Men trilogy is the excessive focus on Logan, though the first X-Men movie suffered the least from it. Many characters get their fair share of screen time, with meaningful appearances from Rogue, Mystique, Sabretooth, Professor X, and Magneto. Special effects—especially when characters leap at each other—need some help, but the story is solid and feels like a plot pulled from an old-school X-Men comic.

7

The Wolverine is Utterly Ridiculous but is Good Mindless Fun

The first Wolverine movie was a disastrous origin story due to massive plot convolution and cheesy special effects. The Wolverine streamlined the plot and cranked up the action. Similar to Wolverine’s action-oriented solo comics, The Wolverine is a fast-moving storyline that tries to put Logan through as many set pieces as possible.

The last act with a robotic-like Silver Samurai may have left many fans with a bad taste in their mouths, but prior to that, it’s good fun. Wolverine fights a bunch of ninjas, with an incredible interpretation of how combat on a train would look—one of the better fight scenes in the franchise. Wolverine probably benefits the most when blood and limbs are involved, so The Wolverine not being Rated R does hurt it quite a bit (though the Director’s Cut is Rated R).

The first X-Men movie was lacking in the choreography department. X2 had better thought-out fight scenes, including its cold opening with Nightcrawler teleporting and taking out a group of armed CIA agents in an attempt to assassinate the President.

X2 introduced more characters like Iceman and Pyro, but much of the focus was on developing Logan’s past. Wolverine’s most hated enemy, Stryker—a man who experimented on him for years—is also trying to wipe out all mutants. The attack on the X-Men mansion and Magneto’s escape from prison were major highlights.​​​​​​​

5

Deadpool is Arguably the Most Accurate Comic Adaption Ever

Quite possibly the most comic book-accurate adaptation of all time, Deadpool truly feels like the comic coming to life. Everything from Deadpool’s suit, to his voice, to his quirks and sense of humor, is exactly what fans could want.

Deadpool frequently breaks the fourth wall, with Deadpool talking directly to his audience. This formed a strong connection between Deadpool and his fans, making everyone feel like they were “in on the joke” whenever he parodied or criticized a trope of the superhero movie industry. The movie wasn’t afraid to poke fun at its own studio, Fox, or its lousy films like the first Wolverine movie, which featured a version of Deadpool that was unrecognizable to any comic book fan.​​​​​​​

4

X-Men: First Class Reinvented Magneto and Mystique Into Even Bigger Fan Favorites

Going back to the groovy ’60s was the right choice when Fox decided to soft reboot X-Men: First Class. This movie tells the story of how the X-Men came to be, with the lead characters being a younger Xavier, Magneto, and Mystique. Magneto would go on to adopt the role of an anti-hero in every movie in this franchise, with Michael Fassbender delivering one of the better performances in the Fox Marvel canon.

The Hellfire Club was well adapted, combining ’60s fashion with the high-and-mighty cockiness expressed by its two most notable members, Sebastian Shaw and Emma Frost. The rehabilitation of the radicalized Magneto, as well as his eventual turn to evil, gave X-Men: First Class a mountain of momentum to work with.

Almost everything fans loved about the original is present in Deadpool 2, but now with double the budget and a bigger, more colorful cast of characters. Just like the underrated Deadpool series Cable and Deadpool, the time-traveling son of Scott Summers has to reluctantly team up with Deadpool. Josh Brolin’s interpretation of Cable is flawless. Comic book accuracy is something the Deadpool series excels at in general, with Deadpool 2 also doing justice to a fully CGI Juggernaut.

Although the action is an upgrade from its predecessor, it doesn’t ease up on the comedy. Deadpool 2 misleads its audience—especially comic book fans—into thinking X-Force will make an impact in the movie, only to have them die in crude and random ways as they parachute from a plane.

2

X-Men: Days of Future Past Juggled Several Complex Plot Points Without Becoming Convoluted

The comic book storyline of Days of Future Past isn’t the easiest story to adapt. Fox found a way not only to make it feel coherent on the big screen but also to create a unique narrative separate from its source material by tying together two different X-Men canons. The original X-Men trilogy had its own doomed timeline, and sending Wolverine to the X-Men: First Class timeline was the only way to fix the threat of unstoppable Sentinels.

The fanfare of seeing the 2000s X-Men characters was fantastic, but the plot focusing on the First Class era characters is what made this movie feel more than just a gimmick. The ’70s Sentinels look threatening while still retaining a robust comic book aesthetic. Magneto intervenes at the end by manipulating the Sentinels with his magnetism. Days of Future Past had the best combination of cohesive aesthetics, fight choreography, plot, and fanfare of any X-Men movie.

1

Logan was a Slow but Fulfilling Journey of Marvel’s Greatest Superhero

Superhero movies are usually fast-paced films where dialogue serves only as a quick vehicle to thrust into an action scene. Logan is a film that makes the audience slow down to match the withered Logan’s vibe. Logan is a heavily introspective movie that shows one of the most popular superheroes at his lowest point and how he could reclaim himself in a truly selfless way.

The aftermath of Logan’s world sells the impact of how dire his life is. The world feels post-apocalyptic without beating the audience over the head. Professor X, who has always commanded an amazing screen presence, is reduced to a weak and feeble state. Xavier never gives up on Logan, and seeing Wolverine redeem himself is possibly the most rewarding comeback story in any X-Men media.

“}]] Marvel’s movie legacy now belongs to Disney, but in the 2000s Fox was its most prominent studio. Fox has a handful of brilliant Marvel films.  Read More