All Four Fantastic Four Movies, Ranked

It's rankin' time.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is in theaters! This has been probably my most anticipated MCU project since the end of the Infinity Saga simply because we really haven't gotten a good on-screen version of Marvel's first family. It's been delayed and re-worked and new directors have come in, but it finally got to be released yesterday. So is it the adaptation we've all been waiting for? Find out in the ranking below.

4. Fant4stic

Gotta say, it's not fantastic

Widely regarded as one of the worst movies ever made, Fant4stic lives up to its terrible reputation. This grim, dull, dark version of the Fantastic Four is filled to the brim with exposition, wooden characters, and some of the worst and most rushed storytelling I've ever seen in a superhero film. The movie is 100 minutes long, and they don't get their powers until about an hour in. Once they get their powers, there's a year-long time jump where we skip over basically the entire second act and then get a final boss battle with an absolutely abominable version of Doctor Doom. This movie forgets that superheroes, especially the Fantastic Four, are supposed to be fun. No wonder this killed the team's popularity for ten years.

3. Fantastic Four

A shockingly boring origin story with basically no conflict until the third act

The original Fantastic Four is nowhere near as bad as the 2015 reboot, but it is miles away from being good. The entire story lacks any conflict or a true central villain until Victor puts on the Doctor Doom mask and becomes the main antagonist in the third act. It constantly repeats character beats: Reed is too focused on his work to be in a relationship, Sue is frustrated with Reed, Johnny doesn't want to lose his powers, and Ben hates himself as the Thing. It just keeps revisiting these same elements over and over again and it eventually becomes tiring. The film just drags out the team trying to adjust to their new lives, because none of the conflict feels organic or important. I enjoy Chris Evans as Human Torch and I do think some of the emotional conflict with the Thing works, but overall, this is a bad movie that does not do the Fantastic Four any justice.

2. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

Might not be great, but a very entertaining return of the 2000s F4

Far and away the most entertaining Fantastic Four movie up until now, Rise of the Silver Surfer is a better movie than most people give it credit for. The threat of Galactus creates a feeling of impending doom throughout the entire film, and it makes the movie have significantly more weight than the first one. I actually kind of love this iteration of Silver Surfer. He's a bit underdeveloped, but there's a legitimately tragic backstory for him and his arc is impactful. He also looks really cool. I do wish that Galactus wasn't a huge fart cloud, because that really ruins the third act, and this version of Doctor Doom is still terrible, but I find this movie to be endlessly entertaining and much more watchable than either Fantastic Four movie to come earlier on this list.

1. The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Marvel's first family finally gets the adaptation they deserve

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is, unsurprisingly, the best on-screen adaptation of the Fantastic Four, and it's not even close. The bar obviously wasn't that high, but the MCU's version of this team was just really, really good. They focused in on them actually being a family, an element lacking from other F4 movies. The visuals are stunning. The retro-futuristic 60s aesthetic just added a flair to it that made the movie more interesting to look at. Galactus was both awe-inspiring and terrifying. The characters feel like the team we've waited to see in film for so long. I cannot wait to see them return in Doomsday. This movie wasn't concerned with connecting to the wider MCU or having a bunch of cameos: it just wanted to tell a good, emotional story about the Fantastic Four. And, instead, it told a great, emotional story about the Fantastic Four.