The 10 Best Pre-MCU Kevin Feige Movies, Ranked According To Letterboxd

Nowadays, Kevin Feige is synonymous with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but that wasn’t always the case. Before there was a Marvel Studios as fans know it today, Feige worked on several Marvel films, starting with X-Men. He worked under Lauren Shuler Donner, the wife of late Richard Donner, and many other producers while also working for Marvel before he became the president of one of the biggest movie studios in the world.

Over on the social media site, Letterboxd, users can share their thoughts and opinions on films, in a somewhat more welcoming place than other places around the web. Most of the people who use Letterboxd are cinephiles who just want to share their opinions. Kevin Feige’s pre-MCU films have been met with various opinions, but this is what Letterboxd had to say.

10 Hulk (2003) – 2.3/5

Hulk, directed by Ang Lee, was a stylish attempt at a comic book film using more modern technology. It reinvents aspects of the character when it comes to his father, but keeps the important ones, such as him turning into a giant green rage monster.

While the film has been reevaluated lately for how stylish it looks with the editing, many fans and critics felt that story is just not there. Kevin Feige was the executive producer on the film and probably helped pull Ang Lee away from more diversions to the story, but most feel that this live-action version of Hulk falls short, ultimately.

9 Fantastic Four (2005) – 2.3/5

The second attempt to bring the Fantastic Four to the big screen was Tim Story’s Fantastic Four. This film told the origin of Marvel’s first family and their nemesis, Doctor Doom. After Reed Richards and the others are affected by cosmic radiation, they are imbued with powers that allow them to become superheroes.

Certainly not without its fans, Fantastic Four wasn’t the worst attempt to bring the characters to the big screen. Letterboxd users concede that the casting of Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis were good for Johnny and Ben, respectively, but ultimately the film falls flat for many. This was another step in Feige’s frustrating journey to adapting his favorites.

8 X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) – 2.6/5

After a few director changes, Brett Ratner steps in for X-Men: The Last Stand, the third film in the original X-Men trilogy. This time the X-Men have to deal with a resurrected Jean Grey, who’s the Pheonix now, and a government who has access to a Mutant cure.

Lauren Shuler Donner and Kevin Feige produced the first three X-Men films together, with this film being the last. Unfortunately, this film fairs poorly in the reviews on Letterboxd. It’s overly stuffed with too much and its attempt to adapt the Dark Pheonix story doesn’t quite get there, for most.

7 Punisher: War Zone (2008) – 2.7/5

One of the few films under the Marvel Knights film banner, Punisher: War Zone also has the distinction of being one of the few Marvel films directed by a woman, Lexi Alexander. This time around, Frank Castle Ray Stevenson, is going after the supervillain Jigsaw while trying to evade the anti-Punisher task force hot on his trail.

This is the last R-rated film that has Kevin Feige’s name attached to it and it’s often better remembered than the one that came before it. Even though not as many people have seen the movie, Letterboxd users found a lot to love in the brutality of Punisher: War Zone.

6 The Punisher (2004) – 2.8/5

The second attempt at the titular character saw Thomas Jane take over the role in The Punisher. After his family is killed by the mob, Frank Castle begins his quest to punish those who were responsible. John Travolta plays Howard Saint, the leader and one responsible for the death of Castle’s family.

It’s a little light on the action for some Letterboxd users, but The Punisher still delivers an enjoyable revenge fantasy that plenty of fans of the character would enjoy. Regardless of the quality of the film, before Jon Bernthal took over the role, Thomas Jane was many people’s definitive version of the character.

5 Spider-Man 3 (2007) – 2.9/5

While it’s not the worst live-action Spider-Man movie, Spider-Man 3, is considered the worst of the trilogy. It’s the final time, until recently, that audiences saw Tobey Maguire as Spider-Man and had him fight off attacks from Sandman, Harry Osborne, and Venom, the latter of which affected him personally, as it was part of why his relationship with MJ failed.

At this time, Feige was already in production on Iron Man, so he had bigger aspirations on his mind. That’s not to put blame on the Marvel Studios president, but this film tends to take a beating on any review site, including Letterboxd.

4 X-Men (2000) – 3.3/5

Bryan Singer’s X-Men was one of the seminal pieces of comic book films since it helped kick off the road that led us to where the audience is today. The big-screen introduction of the X-Men followed Wolverine as he joins Professor Xavier’s team of Mutants to stop Magneto’s brotherhood.

This was actually Feige’s first film and it has often been said that he was the one credited for making Wolverine’s hair look more like the comic. The movie is not without its issues since Singer tried to back away from the world of the comics, but Letterboxd still finds enough to enjoy.

3 X2 (2003) – 3.4/5

In X2, William Stryker has found a way to kill all the mutants in the world by controlling Professor Xavier and his Cerebro machine. The X-Men and the Brotherhood have to team up in order to stop him before it’s too late.

X2 is often considered the best of the X-Men films and one of the best comic book movies of all time. While Letterboxd doesn’t quite let it reach that high, many on the site think the film surpasses the first in every way.

2 Spider-Man (2002) – 3.7/5

One of Sam Raimi’s all-time best films, Spider-Man follows the origin of Peter Parker as he becomes Spider-Man. When he loses his uncle and moves to New York, he dons the iconic costume to try and save the city. Norman Osborne becomes the Green Goblin to bring the city to its knees and he wants Spider-Man’s help to do it.

This is the second film that Kevin Feige was attached to after X-Men. One of the most influential comic book movies of all time, Letterboxd users can’t get enough of this adaptation of the Wall-Crawler and the performance by Willem Dafoe as the Green Goblin is still one of the most iconic to this day.

1 Spider-Man 2 (2004) – 3.8/5

Spider-Man 2 reintroduces audiences to Peter Parker, whose life isn’t going the way he’d like. His best friend, Harry, is trying to kill Peter’s alter ego and a new threat in the form of Doc Ock is enough for him to want to call it quits. But when Ock takes MJ, Peter has to rise to the occasion and stop him before he destroys the city with the power of the sun.

Letterboxd, like many review sites, considers this one of the best superhero films of all time. It improves on everything that made the first one work and barely gets dragged down by anything. This is truly one of the shining examples of comic book films.

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