One Fantastic Four Actor Feels That Critics Were Wrong About The 2005 Marvel Movie

20 years ago, Marvel's first family finally made their way to the big screen. Released by 20th Century Fox, 2005's "Fantastic Four" was directed by Tim Story and starred Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis as the titular superhero team. The movie served as the first mainstream cinematic version of the characters, although some might argue that a similar, if not superior, iteration arrived a year prior to that with Pixar's "The Incredibles."

Despite garnering mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, "Fantastic Four" was profitable enough for 20th Century Studios to greenlight a sequel. Once again directed by Story, 2007's "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" featured the same leads as its predecessor, including the Four's archenemy, Doctor Doom (Julian McMahon), along with the notable addition of the Silver Surfer (voiced by Laurence Fishburne and physically performed by Doug Jones). And once again, the film failed to wow critics, earning less at the box office in the process. As a result, a third movie was scrapped in favor of an ill-fated reboot directed by Josh Trank and released in 2015. Now, one of the original stars of Story's films has spoken out, arguing the movies deserve more credit than they were given.

While Tim Story's "Fantastic Four" movies were not well-received by critics at the time of their release, Michael Chiklis' portrayal of Ben Grimm/The Thing was one of the few elements that received praise. Whether it was the actor's down-to-earth performance or the practical effects used to bring the tragic yet beloved hero to life, Chiklis left an undeniable mark on the character (delivering what is arguably still the best iteration we've yet to see on film).

Although Chiklis had yet to watch "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" — which has brought the Four into the Marvel Cinematic Universe — prior to his recent interview with Collider, he told the outlet he's a fan of the man behind the film's version of the Thing, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, calling him a "terrific actor." He also reflected on Story's "Fantastic Four" movies, sharing that he believes that, to this day, critics gave them an unfair clobbering:

"There were a lot of people, I think, critically who got it wrong. They really maligned our films, and they were very underrated considering ... they were very loved by the audience. It was one of those cases where critics weren't great to those films, but the audience was, and that still remains. I've always sort of quietly gone like, okay, say what you want to say, but the people see it. And now all these years later, people are sort of acknowledging like, hey, these films are family-friendly, fun movies ... they got a lot right. They may be imperfect, but they're really good movies."

Tim Story's "Fantastic Four" films were released right around the time that the superhero boom was about to hit the stratosphere. Regarding other Marvel projects from that era, "X-Men" and "Spider-Man" were easily the most successful cinematic adaptations, whereas 2003's "Daredevil" and Story's "Fantastic Four" were not as well-received and often subject to ridicule from fans. This was something last year's "Deadpool & Wolverine" heavily skewered, with Chris Evans' Johnny Storm/The Human Torch even dying a comedic death at the hands of the film's antagonist, Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin). Thankfully, other Fox-Marvel movie characters, like Jennifer Garner's Elektra Natchios, were given a more narratively satisfying sendoff.

Interestingly enough, Story's "Fantastic Four" films were quickly overshadowed by other superhero movies that would go on to define the genre for the next decade. "Batman Begins" was released in 2005, the same year as Story's "Fantastic Four," and although both grossed over $300 million at the global box office, Christopher Nolan's "Batman" reboot had a much bigger (and longer lasting) cultural impact. As for "Rise of the Silver Surfer," it came out the same summer as "Spider-Man 3," a film that, despite its mixed reception, became the highest-grossing entry in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" trilogy. Then, a year later, the one-two punch of "Iron Man" and "The Dark Knight" laid the foundation for what superhero cinema became in the 2010s, leaving lesser efforts like Story's "Fantastic Four" films to be mostly forgotten.

"The Fantastic Four: First Steps" is now playing in theaters.