'Fantastic Four' (2015) Review

I will admit I have been concerned about how this film would turn out from the beginning with rumors of very troubled production, the fact that they were changing tradition and cast a black actor as Johnny Storm but failed to make his sister Sue Storm the same ethnicity instead saying she's adopted, the look of Doctor Doom, and the fact that this is the only incarnation of the Thing not to wear a pair of pants. So I went into this film with very low  expectations, especially after seeing the dreaded reviews but tried to remain optimistic since sometimes I don't agree with the majority of critics but sadly that is not the case here. This reboot is a jumbled mess but the sad thing is that it's apparent the trouble comes from behind the camera. The story is incoherent with no theme or central message, the tone of the film proved to be very inconsistent, and the script was ridiculous at times. This movie is very boring and almost entirely chocked full of exposition with little to no action. It also takes a team who are usually depicted in a light setting and tries to mimic the Christopher Nolan Dark Knight Trilogy by having a darker tone but this proves to be very unsuccessful. There are specific scenes or gags in the film that you can tell screen writers wrote to be intentionally funny but it doesn't really come across in the dark setting. I'm unsure if 20th Century Fox or Josh Trank is to blame for what has occurred because there are various conflicting reports. Trank even tweeted last evening that a year ago he had a great film in mind that was ruined due to studio interference. This does seem likely since he was practically removed from the project and there were many reshoots done but in the end it does't matter since it's very unlikely there will be a sequel. I will admit there are a few aspects I enjoyed about the film. There were many great concepts that just seemed to be developed poorly, the cast was terrific, and the visual effects looked amazing. The cast is very talented and each gave admirable performances with what they were given. I particularly enjoyed Miles Teller, Jamie Bell, Michael B Jordan, and Kate Mara in their respective roles. Miles Teller made a very convincing Reed Richards and had great chemistry with Jamie Bell who did quite well in the role of Ben Grimm. One of my biggest complaints about the film prior to seeing it was the look of the Thing and I must say that I have changed my opinion for the most part. I did like the CGI look of the Thing that was much more expressive than the 2005 adaptation but I still think it's ridiculous that the Thing didn't have pants. All of the other team members were given some form of a suit except the Thing. Unfortunately Michael B Jordan and Kate Mara, who played Johnny and Sue Storm, didn't have much to do in the film and there was so much potential to explore their adoptive sibling relationship in this adaptation that was simply ignored. Despite the good performances almost none the the actors really had good chemistry or worked well as an ensemble cast like for example The Avengers cast as these actors seemed to work better independently other than off of one another. Toby Kebbell portrays the film's villain Victor Von Doom, a while back it was reported he would be an internet blogger with a different name but I assume they reverted back after fan backlash, and he does a decent job but once he is transformed into Doctor Doom the character is ruined. He has absolutely no motivation, looked ridiculous, and is simply a stereotypical powerful villain that must be stopped because he wants to destroy everything. I did really like most of the visual effects though, especially the effects used for the Fantastic Four's power set. Throughout the film there are many cool conceptual ideas that weren't quite able to flourish for some reason that might work more effectively in a sequel. Overall, I will admit the film wasn't awful but it wasn't good either, it was just "alright". I do believe that with the proper guidance a successful sequel could be made thanks to the talented cast but I doubt it will even be greenlit. If you were remotely interested in the Fantastic Four at all, I'd advise that you go see either Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation or Ant-Man as better substitutes for a fun action film. 

Film Assessment: F

Throwback Thursday Review: 'Fantastic Four' (2005)

Given this week's release being the Fantastic Four I thought it would be good timing to review the previous Fantastic Four to draw comparisons. I'll admit I like this film more than most critics because I grew up with it and have nostalgia for the film but it's fun to go back as a matured viewer and see the change in perception of the film.

'Fantastic Four' Review

I have a very mixed perception of this film. There are aspects that I love and others I'm not particularly a fan of. The strengths are certainly the visual effects, action, performances, and humor that make this a lighthearted superhero team origin story. The visual effects look pretty great for most of the film but look really fake in a few instances with Reed Richard's stretching effect, which look either spot on or really cheap. There isn't too much action till the third act but there is a great sequence where the Fantastic Four first work together to save a firetruck on a bridge with some great visual effects in regards to Johnny as the Human Torch and Sue as the Invisible Woman. The action in the third act however is brief and somewhat anticlimactic. I think I am one of the few that like the makeup effects used for the Thing as it's actually accurate to the comic books and doesn't look terrible. Each of the cast members are very entertaining in their various roles. The standouts in my opinion was the team itself. Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis each perfectly embody their characters for this performance.  Chris Evans is particularly great at nailing the hothead attitude of Johnny Storm as well as the one liners. It's interesting to compare how drastically different the attitude of this character is as compared to Captain America who he currently portrays in the MCU. Gruffudd really captures the genius mind of Reed Richards and even resembles the character quite a bit. Jessica Alba is enjoyable but doesn't particularly stand out or bring anything refreshing to the film. Chiklis really does a great job humanizing Ben Grimm once he becomes the Thing despite the makeup restricting his ability to emote and act using his face. Each of the actors all have great chemistry with one another. Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm both have a great relationship that seems like it was pulled straight from the comics and make a believable "family team". The film's villain who is played by Julian McMahon, actually manages to be a menacing presence with believable motivation so I'd consider him better than some of the villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe home mostly lack motivation. There is quite a bit of humor in this lighthearted adaptation that even shows the heroes using their powers to help them in everyday tasks as one gag, Johnny constantly pranking Ben can be humorous at time, and there are many one liners. A weakness of this film is the story as there isn't much depth and substance that can be fond in more recent comic book movie adaptations. I feel the opening of the film is awkward because it inserts the characters straight into the story without providing the necessary backstory but once the characters are introduced the awkward opening is slightly resolved. I'm glad the film opens into the team's origin so as to prevent the awkward extended period of time where there is little action. It seems a little ridiculous that the team encounter the space cloud that grants them their abilities only 15 minutes into the film. So aside from a weak plot and story I do consider this to be an entertaining film that faithfully adapts the source material for the most part. It's not a great superhero origin story, but it's a decent one nonetheless.

Film Assessment: C+