I’m a bit late to the party, but I couldn’t just let this one fly by without saying a word or two about it. Fox released its latest reboot of the Fantastic Four. Directed by Josh Trank, this modern and younger version of the four superheroes is nothing but a disappointment. I’m truly at a loss for words after what I saw – but not completely of course. I’ve rarely seen a film so unbalanced, empty and just generally badly done.
If I were to find a movie example to describe the words appalling and failed, this reboot would qualify. It’s how bad I think it is. When will Fox understand that they need to give the Fantastic Four back to Marvel? I don’t know if they can save this cursed franchise, but at least they’ll try. I mean this is not a YA adaptation for crying out loud. This is not what the Fantastic Four is about!
A friend of mine made the remark that if it had been just another normal scientific movie about youngsters doing science, it would have been fine. But we’re talking about beloved characters here and more than that they are Marvel’s first characters ever. As a studio, you can’t mess that up and Fox managed to do so three times. It has to be some kind of record.
The first big problem is the sense of family. It is the essence of the Fantastic Four. They’re a somewhat dysfunctional family, but sticking together no matter what. Even if the first movies were also failures (I’ll still defend the first one, though. I love it.) at least that essence was all over the place. The reboot is cold, impersonal, and I know there’s the occasional bonding scene, but it all feels detached and without feelings.
The second problem is basically every technical detail. I’m not gonna weigh on it too much but to sum everything up, the visual effects are truly horrible, the cast is a mess, it’s excruciatingly long and slow, and the chronological storyline was a really bad move. Plus with superhero movies nowadays, it has to be bigger, more imaginative and way, way darker than its original content. By setting a darker and more serious path for those young superheroes, Fox erased everything that made the Fantastic Four, well, the Fantastic Four. They can’t seem to find a middle ground between the lighter and comical mood of the first ones, and the dark and serious atmosphere of the new version.
I know I’m harsh, but there were very few elements that I liked. Only two, actually. The first is the fact that it’s Sue that got adopted and not Johnny – like everyone has been saying for months. I thought it was awesome to see it that way and not the usual reverse. The second element I liked was Johnny’s one liners or little names he would call his colleagues – especially Victor. And that’s about all!
I think you got it by now, I’ve rarely hated a movie like I hated the Fantastic Four. This train wreck isn’t really worth your time. If you want some laughs, watch the first one, it’s ridiculous and the acting is messy, but at least there’s Ioan Gruffudd and pre-Captain America Chris Evans.
Rating: 0.5/5
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