Director Josh Trank
Staring Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan
Rated M
Score 3.5/6
Four young outsiders teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe which alters their physical form in shocking ways. The four must learn to harness their new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend turned enemy.
Before I get too far into things a quick note from to the movie executives who are generally regarded as being creatively bankrupt. I understand that Marvel just got the rights to the Fantastic Four back and it’s time to celebrate. But you guys did not have to go and tell an origin story for the Fantastic Four especially considering that it has been only eight years since Rise of the Silver Surfer. I’m pained to admit it but sometimes I feel that there are too many movies and not enough time to watch them all.
For those of you who haven’t realized it yet even though I would probably consider myself a fan of these comic book movies even though I do not have an encyclopedic knowledge of the Marvel or DC universes. Because, if these movies are treated in the right way the movie studios will be able to resurrect a movie going experience that our parents and grandparents knew in the form of ‘Saturday matinee movie serials’. But of course comic book movies would have to be released with a greater degree of frequency for that to be possible.
Now, it’s time get off of my little soap-box and back to the business at hand the review for Fantastic Four. Compared to the Fantastic Four movies released in 2005 and 2007 this is several shades darker and for the most part seemed to be a watchable movie (and to the comic book aficionados out there the world did not come to a tragic end with the casting of Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm) and director Josh Trank should be congratulated for his efforts with the movie. Though maybe it would have been a better idea, if the executives involved had have hired a director with more than two feature films to his credits.
I would have liked to have seen a little more effort to have gone into the computer effects used to animate the flames for Johnny Storm, particularly around the face. And a question that I hope somebody can take the time to answer for me doesn’t The Thing usually wear pants?
