WISE Score
Avg. Tomatometer
Four teens survive a teleportation accident that gives them powers, but the real disaster is this joyless, gray slog of a movie.
4.39%
27
Skip this one. It's a famously broken movie that strips the 'fantastic' out of the title and replaces it with gray hallways and brooding teenagers.
If your kid is on a Marvel kick, the 2005 version is cheesy and dated but at least has a pulse. This 2015 reboot is a joyless exercise that feels more like a military thriller than a comic book movie, and it never actually sticks the landing.
Best for 12+ purely because younger kids will be bored to tears by the lack of action and creeped out by the 'accident' vibes of the powers.
The tone is relentlessly grim and joyless, lacking the sense of family and optimism that usually defines this team. It replaces heroics with brooding and military labs.
The interdimensional travel setup has some initial sci-fi spark, but the visual execution is murky, gray, and lacks any sense of wonder.
Standard PG-13 superhero violence, though the 'body horror' aspect of the transformations is treated as a traumatic accident rather than a gift, which might be unsettling for younger kids.
There is very little to take away here in terms of character growth or ethical themes. It's a masterclass in how to mismanage a beloved property.
In 2015, the trend was 'gritty and grounded,' but Fantastic Four (often stylized as Fant4stic) took that to a pathological extreme. The Fantastic Four are supposed to be Marvel's first family—explorers who love each other and the wonder of discovery. This movie treats their powers like a chronic illness or a workplace injury.
Most of the film takes place in a dimly lit government facility. There's no chemistry between the leads, not because they aren't good actors, but because the script forces them to be miserable. By the time the movie remembers it's a superhero film, it rushes through a final act that feels like it was edited by someone who hadn't seen the first two acts.
If you want to show your kids a great version of this team, check out the Earth's Mightiest Heroes cartoon or even the campy mid-2000s films. This version is only worth watching if you're a film student looking for a 'what not to do' guide on franchise management.
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