Why does Fox have a better handle on the X-Men movies then the Fantastic Four movies?

[Slushy]

I don't care what the haters say, Fantastic Four 1 & 2 were good!

 

[CaptainCanada]

It's pretty much the same as why the WB's Batman films have been better than anything else they made thus far: they lucked into a superior creator. The WB did a better job of getting out of Nolan's way than FOX did with Singer and other creators involved, though (historically; things evidently have been different since Rothman left).

 

[DACrowe]

I'd suggest X1, X2, and XFC were all good in spite of Fox, and I think First Class is on par with MCU's best films. I know some folks think it's cool now to rag on X1 because it is so dated, but that is it's appeal. It is the first superhero movie to treat comic books so maturely. While Superman '78 and B'89 proved comic book movies could work and appeal to adults, X-Men (2000) proved they could deal with quite mature themes and that be a strong element (it's the actual superhero stuff that is that movie's weakness due to budget and the post-B&R era).

The rest Fox kneecapped and Singer or Vaughn somehow made lemonade out of it anyway with X2 and FC. Then I think around the time of The Wolverine, Fox started taking X-Men material seriously. While The Wolverine is not a great movie, it is a fun one in parts.

Currently, I think Fox is being undervalued. Rothman has been gone for a while and it shows. Days of Future Past is just about as comic booky as the MCU, it is just working within the mythology Singer has already established (black suits, McAvoy's more free spirited Charles, Mystique being a central character and an anti-heroine, etc.). But it had Sentinels, flying baseball stadiums, and Quicksilver--all kind of like elements in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but DoFP did them better.

Now, X-Men: Apocalypse looks like a '90s comic book come to life (whether it's good or not is another thing, again, see: Avengers: of Ultron). Meanwhile, they got out of Deadpool's way and comic book fans are lapping it up like it is an MCU film.

I think in the previous eras, Singer and Vaughn could work within Fox's hostile environment to make good X-Men movies. Tim Story could not since he is not really a great storyteller to begin with; same goes for Brett Ratner and Gavin Hood for that matter.

Since 2011 though, Fox is no longer standing in the X-Men films' way. And by all reports, it sounds like they gave Trank a long leash too with Fantastic Four. It is just what he turned in was so bad that they then scrambled to reshoot it and probably made it worse. Oh well.

 

[BlackFox]

Simply haven't found the creative force for the FF that understands the material and has been able to cast well for the roles like the X-Men. They have managed to find two great Magneto's and Professor X's but not a single great Reed Richards or Sue Storm.

 

[Saitou Hajime]

Fox seems unable or unwilling to embrace the off the wall and larger than life nature of FF's stories and characters, and repeatedly try to reimagine the property in a "realistic" and "grounded" sense to it and their detriment. It's also why we're still stuck in the same storylines in X-Men and will probably never touch the cosmic side of the franchise.

 

[Doctor Octopus]

Bryan Singer and Matthew Vaughan are better directors than Josh Trank lol.

 

[BoredGuy]

But it had Sentinels, flying baseball stadiums, and Quicksilver--all kind of like elements in Avengers: Age of Ultron, but DoFP did them better.

strongly disagree on that last bit

but I agree with the larger point, Fox has improved after scrambling for years to make a quality product, and while I still think they interfere too much, resulting in often muddled products, hopefully Deadpool will give them the kick in the ass to say "okay, we have a decent team working on this, let's trust they know what they're doing'... it's something Marvel could also stand to do a little more often, though I think they got that message after GOTG

 

[SuperBatman]

I think fox should do what sony is doing with Spider-Man only with dr. Doom. He's a big villain in the marvel universe and I would've loved to see a movie where the avengers took him on in a movie. And no I'm not talking about the crappy versions of him we've seen already.

 

[3dman27]

In addition to many of the reasons mentioned, I'd add "Because X-Men works when dark, and Fantastic Four doesn't". The Fox execs like their comic book movies to be "serious and respectable", which basically translates into a surface level dark-and-serious tone. X-Men can do that, easily, simply by having an *actual* dark and serious plot and theme, which works with the material. Fantastic Four, by contrast, does not. Thus, they either do not treat it seriously, and give us something campy and silly, or they try and *force* the surface tone, and give us FFINO.

that may be true unfortuneatly shows what we've come to doesn't it ?

 

[Flint Marko]

The answer is Bryan Singer. They clearly do not have a handle on Marvel properties without him. Correct me if I'm wrong but the only movie they made without him that wasn't a dumpster fire was the shockingly mediocre Wolverine sequel, correct?

 

[Marvin]

^Tim Miller.
Vaughn seems likely to be able to anything, with or without Singer. He's done a few cbms thus far and they all seem well enough received.

 

[Flint Marko]

Can't believe I forgot Deadpool lol.
Vaughn is also great but he hasn't worked on a Marvel property without Singer being heavily involved. I'd love another Vaughn X-men movie.

 

[Marvin]

Can't believe I forgot Deadpool lol.
Vaughn is also great but he hasn't worked on a Marvel property without Singer being heavily involved. I'd love another Vaughn X-men movie.

Indeed, for me, it would have been great if he was doing this most recent x trilogy. As for the singer involvement I mostly look to Vaughn's other movies(cbms) to see his potential without singer. New creators will shuffle in with a new age sooner or later, as it does with these other companies. That really seems to be the impetus for good and bad imo.
Who knows maybe Whedon will finally get his shot at Xmen.

Till then I say give the game trailer guy more stuff to do cause he's certainly the future for for them.

 

[OcStat]

I didn't have huge issues with the original F4, initially anyway, when I saw them in theaters. No where near the heights of Spider-Man 2 and X2, but they tried to find their own corner to market, and I guess on paper the idea of Marvel's First Family as a kind of low-key family friendly-ish series makes some sense. But they could have been way better.

Honestly I think the same of the X-Men, they've delivered some good movies, some of which I enjoy very much and a few of which are exceptional. But as more time has passed it becomes apparent to me that these are not the X-Men I remember or envision when I read their books, it is Singers interpretation of those books. Much like Nolan had his own interpretation of Batman, which was outstanding. Singer has a solid grasp on the X-Men, but bends the mythos as we know it to his will to make his own. Days of Future Past making for an excellent entry into the X-Men franchise, but still further down the Singerverse rabbit hole and farther away from the source.

Fantastic Four needs a team that understands the concept. It can have an Interstellar vibe, like the new film was trying to shoot for...from the trailers I saw, I didn't see it yet, but they took the wrong inspiration from that film. F4 needs that sense of exploration and wonder, and like Interstellar and The Martian, Theory of Everything, Imitation Game, A Beautiful Mind...somebody that can bring out the excitement in watching a genius problem solve, so we can watch Reed's or Susan's gears turn.

I think both franchises would be for the better in Marvel's hands, but I trust Singer to finish his run. Fantastic Four however, needsto go back. Pronto. Marvel has done well with finding the right person for the job, that has the vision that brings the Marvel Comics version onto the big screen. They've gotten better with their picks over time, and they have a lot of new players taking the reigns for the Phase 3 films...so depending on how the next few years go, their knack for it may even improve.

It would be a shame for the franchise to stay buried because of others incompetence when there is a great movie in there, with all kinds of potential. And considering how Deadpool was made, getting the official green light for a second time due to fan reaction to leaked footage, after being put on the back burner; Fox may see the profitability in cutting a deal like Sony did to reinvigorate that brand, knowing fans will turn up if it's up to their standard, and if it is an all around quality movie, the GA will too.