It’s been 8 years since Fox released a Fantastic Four movie and while I’m not sure that anyone was actually gagging for the reboot, here it is anyway.
So, is it any good?
For being one of the greatest comic books teams in history, Fantastic Four as a movie franchise has had a really troubled past – Roger Corman’s 1994 incarnation was a disaster of such epic proportions that it was never released, and then 2005’s version was absolutely ripped to shreds by critics and comic-lovers alike, becoming a cautionary tale for other superhero movies (not enough for it to be denied a horrible sequel though!). This film has been plagued by criticism, beginning with even the earliest casting announcements, all the way up to the cancellation of the film’s 3D conversion last month, with plenty of tumultuous rumours in between. You sort of have to feel sorry for it.
It’s really hard not to draw comparisons between this reboot and the last so I’m just going to go there for a few seconds. The new cast is younger, the visuals are better and it’s much more modern. The last incarnation didn’t set the bar particularly high but this doesn’t really clear it, re-imagining the origins of the team. I’m not sure that it actually improved on the last version at all. If you’re here for the storytelling, this probably isn’t the movie for you. If you’re into superhero movies, and aren’t invested in the comics too much, this is 100 minutes of easy-listening eye candy. No thinking necessary.
The film opens with famous underdog/science nerd Reed Richards (Miles Teller) and his childhood origin story – he’s trying to get people to take his teleporter seriously (while simultaneously combating the evil force of puberty – side note, he’s losing that battle!) and only his best friend, Ben (Jamie Bell) believes in him. Fast forward seven years and Richards is finally discovered at a science fair by mega-genius Dr Franklin Storm (Richard E. Carthy) who realises that Reed has nailed inter-dimensional travel in a way he never could. He’s whisked off to the Baxter Academy, where he meets the rest of the team – Storm’s adopted daughter Sue (Kate Mara) and his rogue son Johnny (Michael B. Jordan). Former child star/unexplained whack-job Victor Von Doom (Toby Kebbell), whose name kind of gives away his intentions, is also enlisted to help and together they build the quantum gate.
Determined to plant the flag for team Reed and be the first people to use the device, they (including Reed’s childhood friend Ben) sneak into the lab and use the gate which predictably transports them to the other dimension. Things go awry from here and the team return with some sparkly new superpowers that they have to learn to control and use as a force for good.
It takes a lot more than half the film to get to clobberin’ time and with a name like Von Doom, it’s hardly surprisingly when the bad guy finally rocks up. The good vs evil, saving the world, hero storyline ensues. Alas, without a clear definition of what Dr Doom can actually do (what’s his superpower again?), the sequence falls flat and seems really out of place with the rest of the film and quite frankly, by this time, you’ve had so much of a lead up to something, that when the payoff finally comes, it’s short, to the point and utterly disappointing.
All in all, I feel like this movie could have been great – the performances were good, the directing was adequate but the script was cliched and often downright cheesy (this will only work if we work together as a team!). Worst than this though, it lacked character development and all the ratios were off – things that needed time were glossed over and the things that were included were often either too drawn out or completely unnecessary. At the end, it left you feeling like it was simply a 100 minute long teaser for the sequel, which I’m not sure if they will get to make, but if they do, they need to hire a whole new team of writers (and possibly a new director).
Visually, it was definitely an improvement – The Thing is a thing of beauty, however he has somehow managed to lose his trademark shorts (apparently he won’t be getting busy anytime soon, but he’s an enormous rock monster, so I’m not surprised). They’re not missed though, he has enough computer generated muscle and danger to make up for his lack of costume. Speaking of which, if costumes are something you care about, there isn’t a single big 4 emblazoned on a uniform anywhere to be seen. Much like the uniforms from X-men, they’re built for use, but in the immortal words of Cyclops, “what did you expect? Yellow spandex?”. Unless you’re a diehard traditionalist, you won’t miss this either.
The biggest issue here seems to be that the film tries to have this really dark, gritty tone but the dialogue and the characters just don’t stand up to it. Each of them is a stereotype, lacking further character development and the things that make these characters so great in the comics just haven’t translated into film. If Fox had planned for this film to kick start a new franchise, I’m just not seeing the potential here – it barely has enough steam to get it through this film.
FANTASTIC FOUR hits Australian cinemas on August 6th.