Pretty much on the same page other then I think a couple of the 'hits' have been Mickey Mantle size home runs - Deadpool and Logan.
Haven't seen Logan yet so I can't speak to it's quality, but for the most part Fox's filmography ranges from "pretty good" to "downright inexcusable". The "pretty good" ones are all formulaic and mull over the same story beats and themes, while the "downright inexcusable" ones are some of the worst in the genre.
So while I really do enjoy some of their movies (First Class and Deadpool at the top), Fox is still far behind Marvel (and even behind Sony) in producing genuinely great superhero films that I love. I don't like their cheap, dated aesthetic, I don't like their mishandling of their own continuity, I don't like how formulaic and tired the stories are, I don't like how little they care about the source material, I don't like how Simon Kinberg is still in charge.... I could keep going. The future is looking bright now that they have two genuine hits in both Logan and Deadpool, but I'm confident that for every one Logan or Deadpool, they'll crank out a turd like X-men Apocalypse.

Ha, you sound just like moviebob. Were you watching his Logan review?
I will say I truly don't understand why people hold First Class on such a high pedestal. Hell, it takes the most liberties with the source material.
Personally I think some of it is director bias. If Singer had directed First Class, exactly like it was, it wouldn't get nearly as much love as it does. Despite the fact that Days of Future Past is much better directed than the cheap looking First Class.
Regardless, I do agree the main x-men films need some new blood, and Kinberg needs to go away.
Haven't watched his Logan review, but I do love moviebob. We see eye to eye on a lot
First Class takes a lot of liberties with the source material because it kinda has to, I think. You can't make a true First Class movie in the 60's when the real first class is in their prime 40 years later in X1. And it's a cheap looking movie because it was a cheap movie - Fox desperately needed to make another X-men film by a certain time, much like FFINO, but Vaughn managed to spin it into gold.
If Singer had directed First Class I wouldn't have liked it as much because it would have been a much more average, unexceptional film in his hands. Vaughn is one of my favorite working directors.
Haven't seen Logan yet so I can't speak to it's quality, but for the most part Fox's filmography ranges from "pretty good" to "downright inexcusable". The "pretty good" ones are all formulaic and mull over the same story beats and themes, while the "downright inexcusable" ones are some of the worst in the genre.
So while I really do enjoy some of their movies (First Class and Deadpool at the top), Fox is still far behind Marvel (and even behind Sony) in producing genuinely great superhero films that I love. I don't like their cheap, dated aesthetic, I don't like their mishandling of their own continuity, I don't like how formulaic and tired the stories are, I don't like how little they care about the source material, I don't like how Simon Kinberg is still in charge.... I could keep going. The future is looking bright now that they have two genuine hits in both Logan and Deadpool, but I'm confident that for every one Logan or Deadpool, they'll crank out a turd like X-men Apocalypse.
I'm a fan of Vaughn, Layer Cake is a favorite of mine. But what was so exceptional about the direction in First Class? The future action scenes in DOFP+Quicksilver scene blow away anything I can think of in First Class. Heck, even going back as far as X2, you have the Night Crawler white house scene, and the Magneto prison escape scene which is baller (no pun intended).
I like the aesthetics of First Class, but the direction is actually kind of average. The movie as a whole has like, one decent set piece (when Shaw attacks the CIA headquarters).
And look, I know some people really love First Class. That's cool. I'm not here to argue against that, I just don't understand why some act like it's so much better than the other x-men movies.
See I don't get this logic, I have been fan of a lot film franchises that have highs and lows in quality: Star Trek, Star Wars, Robocop, etc.
Star Trek 5 doesn't ruin Wrath of Khan for me, the prequels don't ruin Empire Strikes back and Robocop 3 doesn't ruin Robocop 1.
Not every franchise is going to be as consistent as the MCU and even the MCU has some lows, I am not Thor 2 is that much better then Apocalypse.
I can think of good reasons to boycott Fox, but the FF movies isn't one of them. In the end, I am going to watch the movies I like and ignore the ones I hear bad things about.
If the next X-Men film is great, I won't really care that Apocalypse kinda sucked.
When you have a franchise that produces nothing but stinkers, like the DCEU, FF, Transformers, etc that is when I have a big problem, then I don't think the creators are competent enough to make a great film.
I'm confident that for every one Logan or Deadpool, they'll crank out a turd like X-men Apocalypse.
Agreed! I know I can't be the only one to watch a X-Men movie due to F4 rights.
I just don't understand why some act like it's so much better than the other x-men movies.
I'm not speaking of direction strictly in terms of action scenes, although I do believe that the final fight sequence in Cuba can stand toe-to-toe with anything in DOFP. Vaughn brought a palpable energy to the franchise and directed everything with a lighter, yet somehow more sophisticated, touch than anything Singer ever did. Not to mention how great the performances were across the board (except for January Jones, yikes) and how awesome the period setting was.
It comes down to this: the highs for Fox aren't very high, but the lows are incredibly low.
I disagree, I think with the X-Men movies, the highs are pretty high and lows are pretty low, like Star Trek, Star Wars, etc.
I think the best of the X-Men films can go toe to toe with the best of the MCU.
Now the FF movies are like Transformers or Resident Evil movies, just one stinker after another, only those 2 franchises made more money.
I don't mind a film series with highs and lows like Star Trek or Star wars, but I can't stand one where there are no good entries into the series, which is why I think X-Men is fine at Fox, but the FF must go back to Marvel.
Every time people talk great superhero movies, I regularly see more MCU films listed even though both studios have almost the same amount of films out.
Why does it matter?
I respectfully disagree, but I'm sure you knew that already![]()
could see the argument that First Class and DOFP can go toe to toe with the upper-echelon of the MCU. Logan as well if it lives up to the hype. I don't love those movies near as much as the top MCU films, but that goes without saying if you are familiar with my posting history
I think it's also worth mentioning how Marvel not only has Fox on quality (IMO, of course, I respect that you disagree) but quantity as well. Every time people talk great superhero movies, I regularly see more MCU films listed even though both studios have almost the same amount of films out.
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Agreed with all of this, actually. I'm really not in a rush to see the X-men at Marvel.
So there you have it. Thoughts?
and I don't believe bringing them into the '90s to meet Kurt Cobain is going to do it.
Also there is little about New Mutants that really strikes me as anything new or creative.
I wanted to take a moment to try and more objectively clarify Fox's Marvel film history and potential future. There are several ways to approach this so I will explain them all.
1) Option 1: The X-Men Saga
There is no doubt that the X-Men have been Fox's only Marvel success story. So let's start with just the 10 X films and rate them. Please note that none of the ratings in this post will be solely my personal ratings (I haven't even seen all the films) but rather the general consensus for each film. RT being my main source.
1a) Using the good old fashioned Roman Emperor "Thumbs up or Thumbs down" approach to whether the film is "good" or "bad". By that measure Fox has made 7 good X films (X-Men, X2, X-Men: First Class, The Wolverine, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Deadpool, and Logan) and 3 bad X films (X-Men: The Last Stand, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and X-Men: Apocalypse). By this simple measure Fox is batting 7/10 or 70% earning them a "C" average overall.
1b) However you may agree with me that this alone is not fair as "good" and "bad" are hardly sophisticated enough measures for overall quality so I have devised a more accurate rating system. It's a point rating system from 0 (Awful), 1 (Bad), 2 (Good), and 3 (Excellent). This way the 10 films can be rated from a 0-30 point scale allowing for variations in quality. The ratings, based reasonably upon consensus reviews, are as follows:
X-Men- 2
X2- 3
X-Men: The Last Stand- 1
X-Men Origins: Wolverine- 0
X-Men: First Class- 2
The Wolverine- 2
X-Men: Days of Future Past- 3
Deadpool- 3
X-Men: Apocalypse- 1
Logan- 3
So that makes the overall score a 20/30 or a 67%. That's a D average. (For the record I feel like I'm being way too kind to The Last Stand...but I'm trying to be objective and not use my feelings. That movie was an abortion but RT has it at 58.)
So there you have it. That's Fox's X-Men batting average to date...However I don't think it's fair to stop there. They still are holding Fantastic Four hostage, er I mean, holding onto the film rights so...how could we not count them in this calculation?
2) Current Fox Marvel holdings ratings: X-Men & Fantastic Four
2a) Adding the 3 bad F4 films (Fantastic Four, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and Fant4stic) in brings Fox's "good vs bad" average to...7/13 or 54%. That is an F average.
2b) What about the other model? Well let's look...
Fantastic Four- 0
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer- 0
Fant4stic: 0 (Can I take away points?)
So that brings their cumulative average to 20/45 or a 44%, which is an F.
3) And just for giggles let's look at their overall Marvel track record and add the bad Daredevil films (Daredevil & Elektra).
3a) 7/15 or 47% which is an F.
3b) Daredevil- 0
Elektra- 0
So that's 20/51 or 39%, which needless to say is an F.
Now I will add the one caveat that 3 of their last 4 films have been excellent, which could be a sign of things to come. Perhaps they are finally getting the message and/or hitting their groove?
But overall the numbers over the last 17 years just don't lie. It's been 10, 13, or 15 films (depending on how you look at it...but I think you really HAVE to add F4 since they still have them) and they are at a "C" average AT BEST.
Also X:A has shown very clearly that the mainline X-Men have run out of steam. The lame from the get-go "decades" gimmick is clearly imploding and they have painted themselves into a corner narrative wise. I think the audience has moved past the core team at this point. Unless something truly creative is to be done...and I don't believe bringing them into the '90s to meet Kurt Cobain is going to do it. Also there is little about New Mutants that really strikes me as anything new or creative. Combine that with general audience X-Fatigue and that could be very problematic for Fox. I stand behind my prediction that both Dark Phoenix and New Mutants will simple "middle" at the box office (ala Apocalypse). Also Logan is a narrative dead end, and I can't imagine that an X-23 movie is what the fans truly want (regardless of how good her performance is supposed to be). The film was a success because it featured LOGAN. I know nothing about Exiles so I read about them...and I still have no idea what they are about. The only thing I could glean is that they are from "other timelines" which is the LAST thing Fox needs to add more of to their continuity nightmare they currently have. Also Deadpool 2 has some concerns: a) comedy sequels generally struggle and b) Tim Miller's departure is troubling.
A Rated R X-Force will probably do very well and potentially be a very good film. Alpha Flight can be a very interesting concept for film too if the right people are found. And certainly having Deadpool will be a plus for future films.
In conclusion, I'd like to state that I would support a fully functioning X-Verse on film if the quality was consistently good (let's be honest that is the MCU's greatest accomplishment), the films were creative and unique ala Deadpool and Logan, there was a chance it could one day crossover with the MCU in a mega event film, and most importantly...if Fox finally does the right thing and returns the F4 back to Marvel!
So there you have it. Thoughts?
Fox doing a good job with the X-Men says nothing about how the Fantastic Four. The FF also belong at Marvel because of everything that they have bundled with them.
IMO, if I were Marvel, I'd offer a fat wad of cash to Fox in exchange for the Fantastic Four and all related characters (Skrulls, Doom, Annihilus, Kang, Galactus, Badoon, Silver Surfer, Wizard, Mad Thinker, Blastaar, Trapster, Mole Man, Abigail Harkness, Willie Lumpkin, Franklin and Valeria Richards, etc) and locations (Subterrania, Latveria and the Negative Zone) as well as shared rights to a number of X-Men characters like the Shi'Ar (Vulcan, Deathbird, D'Ken, Lilandra, Gladiator, etc), Juggernaut, Abigail Brand, Henry Peter Gyrich, The Brood, GW Bridge, Phalanx/Technarchy, Madame Hydra, Cytorrak and Gorgon can all be used by both studios.
Right now I feel like some X-Men character rights are holding back the Guardians of the Galaxy and Agents of SHIELD from reaching their true potential. That plus Gorgon if Marvel ever decide to give Elektra her own series, Cytorrak for Doctor Strange and Juggernaut for Spider-Man and Hulk sequels. Those characters in addition to the FF would make the MCU feel a lot more complete. Fox won't make another FF film so just the FF characters returning would be nice.
???
X-Men in 1990's is the only reason FOX bought the IP from Marvel in the first place.
90% of the general audience complaints about X-MEN is "That's not how it happened in the cartoon" or "Why doesn't the costumes look like the cartoon?"
The majority of X-MEN fans come from that era. 90's X-MEN may mean little to you but next year the hype will be real for 90's X-MEN. There's plenty like myself who have waited their entire life for 90's X-Film.
So the X-Men being Marvel's flagship property in the 90's means a lot of people want an X-Men movie set in the 90's?
'Inspired' being the operative word, not literally in the 90's. Maybe there is something to what Leo said, but I think most people would prefer it being contemporary. I know I would and I grew up in the 90's.I've waited a long time for a 90's X-Men inspired film. I wanted it more than just about anything, even more so than a Justice League movie.