Film Loud dumb fun, with a solid emotional core. Eh, could be worse.
This is not just a reaction to the recent spate of Darker and Edgier comic book movies or the reboot I haven't seen and don't plan to. This is an honest and long-held opinion: these movies get way too much hate.
Yes, they spend way too much time trying to chase trends in the genre. Yes, their version of Doom sucks, lacking both the charismatic menace and interesting backstory of his comic counterpart, lack of magical powers aside. And, yes, they are very silly films that generally don't have great climaxes.
But, at the end of the day, that doesn't make them terrible films. They've got a wacky, campy sense of humor to them. All the characters have, over the course of both films, a recognizable arc. Even the worst actors don't give unwatchable performances, and, like everyone else, I must give props to Michael Chiklis's heartfelt and charismatic performance as the Thing.
First as a kid, then as an adult, I, rightly or wrongly, came to associate the Fantastic Four with the campy kind of comic book stories. And that's what this movie is: a story about a bunch of loveable fuck-ups who just want to help and sometimes do. The jokes are usually quite genuinely funny. The sitcom-like antics the cast get up to seem like the kind of thing that would happen in the Fantastic Four media I was familiar with. And while the action isn't groundbreaking, it is at least well-shot and well-lit, welcome virtues in an age when directors seem allergic to putting the camera on a damn tripod and turning on the lights so we can wee what's going on.
No, the story-telling isn't very good, and no, the movies never quite manage to put together a good third act, but they at least all feel like complete films in and of themselves, rather than the clumsy, ham-fisted attempts to ape the Marvel Cinematic Universe everyone seems to engage in these days.
And I really like this interpretation of the characters and their Personality Powers. (Reed is literally spineless, Sue's a wallflower, Ben's a brick, Johnny's a hothead, etc.) It feels very comic-like in the best possible sense. And, unlike the often-static characters from other movie series, whom corporate overlords are always afraid of allowing to change and risk losing sales, they all do develop and grow as people over the course of both films.
I won't pretend these are masterpieces of cinema, but they're exactly the kind of loud fun that the comic films of their time were. Back then, everyone was sick of that kind of thing and hoping for something more serious. In the future, perhaps, films like this one will do the same for modern, darker comic films. But, now and forever... these films will be there as silly, enjoyable bits of fluff. Sometimes, there's nothing wrong with having no ambition other than giving the audience an okay time at the movies.
Film The Superheroes that Do Nothing
Fantastic Four isn't the worst movie i ever seen, but it is not good either and here is a couple of reasons.
1: The Superheroes..ironically don't do anything. I mean most of the time, they are just glorified celebrities who mess around with their super powers. I can understand not so much action in an origins film, but I want superheroes actually doing superhero things.
2: While everyone else *with the exception of Michael Chikilis, who does the best from what he is given with* does a passable at best job, Jessica Alba is the worst. She can't really act at all, and it is hard for me to believe her as a scientist.
3: The final battle. The final battle was rather disappointing as well. The battle with Doom feels more like a curb stomp than anything else. When your heroes easily deals with your villain, than the tension isn't there.
If there is a positive in this film, it has to be Michael Chikilis. I think he captures the likeness of a man who considers his transformation as a curse, and is willing to do anything to return to a normal life. It is a shame that his talent was wasted on a boring film.
I would hope that the reboot will be better, but https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAgnQdiZFsQ
shows me that It'll probably be worse.
Rights back to Marvel Studios please *Just don't give it to the jokers who made Iron Man 3 and their brilliant idea into ruining what could have been an interesting villain for a lame joke*
Film When fate makes you gods you would seek a cure
I like Fantastic Four (2005).
I actually like the conflict of extremes between Dr. Reed Richards and Johnny Storm. Richards: Think before you act Johnny: That’s your problem Reed, you always think but you never act.
I like how sympathetically it portrays The Thing as his entire life is ruined by his transformation including the woman he loves leaving him and being regarded as a frightening monster by everyone who sees him, he accidentally causes problems by not knowing his own strength, he’s ugly. And he hates the situation. But he still manages to find Alicia who loves him for the man he is rather than the monster he looks like.
I like how Grimm initially wants nothing more than to be human again but then when Dr Doom transforms him using his machine Grimm realizes that Doom is looking to kill Richards so he readily returns to the machine and transforms himself back into the Thing that the way can confront Doom and say “it’s clobbering time”.
I like how Johnny struggles to learn to fly throughout and when he finally needs to Sue tells him “Don’t even think about it” and he replies “never do.
I like Chris Evans as the Human Torch better than I like him as Captain America.
I know that Doom is different from his depiction in The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes!, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man: Armored Adventures and apparently from the comics.
But I’m actually fine with this character. I like how he shows his willingness to let the four die in space in his introduction. I like how his response to being told the scar humanizes him is to comment “and that’s a good thing”. I was impressed by Doom’s murder of his boss which was much more coldblooded than anything Norman Osborne did in SpiderMan1.
And I like how his response to Sue saying that Reed can find a cure is “when fate makes us into gods you would have us find a cure” only to be told “you always thought you were a god, Victor”
I like how they have to work together to defeat Doom.
I like the humour that the film uses and find that unlike in the Marvel Cinematic Universe it seldom seems forced.
Were there flaws to this film? Yes. Richards is a Vanilla Protagonist and it implies Doom survived for the sake of sequel hook instead of letting the film stand on its own.
But all in all, it’s a good movie