Here are Cinephile Corner’s 10 recommendations for movies like The Fantastic Four: First Steps:
Superman
I had mixed feelings heading into James Gunn’s 2025 Superman, his latest take on one of the most iconic superheroes in popular culture. Early trailers and previews left me underwhelmed, with so-so CGI and dialogue that didn’t land. Die-hard Superman fans seemed intrigued by Gunn’s approach, especially since this film effectively ends the DCEU and launches a newly defined DCU.
The Marvels
The Marvels is a movie that, while not devoid of entertainment and laughs, is a muddled entry in the recent lackluster saga of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Brie Larson continues to stand out as Captain Marvel in a franchise filled with questionable plot choices and villains.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Remember feeling overwhelmed and fulfilled leaving a Marvel movie? Neither did I, until I saw James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 – an emotional gut punch and a perfect swan song to this set of weirdos. The first must-see Marvel film in a while.
The Flash
The Flash doesn’t do the skeleton of the DCEU any favors. A cartoonish and goopy visual mess, the movie shows the worst of this expanded universe – cobbled together crossovers and derivative stakes.
The Adam Project
It has a heaping amount of heart and a dash of whit, but The Adam Project failed to deliver the breathtaking science fiction blockbuster that Netflix was hoping it would. The action vehicle for Ryan Reynolds lands with a soft thud.
Fantastic Four
With a new Fantastic Four film poised to reintroduce the characters to a new generation of audiences, this 2005 outing is best remembered as a learning experience—a misfire that helped pave the way for future adaptations to get it right. As it stands, Fantastic Four is little more than a dated relic, watchable only for curiosity’s sake, and not because it earns a place in the canon of great superhero cinema.
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), directed by Tim Story, stands as a frustrating missed opportunity in the already shaky legacy of the pre-MCU Fantastic Four films. A sequel to 2005’s Fantastic Four, this installment attempts to up the stakes by introducing cosmic-level threats and one of Marvel’s most visually iconic characters in the Silver Surfer. Unfortunately, it delivers little more than a lifeless, effects-driven cash grab that seems more interested in merchandising potential than meaningful storytelling.
Read our full review of Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Venom: The Last Dance
It’s unfortunate to say, but Venom: The Last Dance, the concluding chapter of Sony’s Venom trilogy, feels like a misstep. Stripped of much of the charm and irreverence that made its predecessors enjoyable, this installment doubles down on dense exposition and formulaic storytelling, leaving little of the fun that defined the series’ earlier outings.
Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four, often mockingly stylized as Fant4stic thanks to its awkward poster design and misfire of a marketing campaign, has become something of a cinematic punchline in the decade since its release. Directed by Josh Trank, this reboot of Marvel’s original superhero family has been dissected, dismissed, and memed into infamy. Revisiting it now, some of the initial scorn still holds, but with a bit of distance, Fantastic Four also serves as a compelling time capsule—a reflection of mid-2010s Hollywood’s frenzied push for its own interconnected superhero universes.
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania serves as a critical turning point in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie simultaneously introduces Jonathan Majors as Kang the Conqueror and tries to steer the inconsistent MCU back on track. It may not entirely succeed, but Paul Rudd‘s latest movie has a few glimmering pieces.
READ MORE: The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)
