Fantastic Four (2015) (English Language)

Review

100min

Genre:    Comic-Book, Action, Adventure, Sci-fi

Director: Josh Trank

Cast:      Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan…and more

Writers:  Simon Kinberg , Jeremy Slater , Josh Trank

A lavish Marvel comic “re-boot” by 20th Century Fox of yet another recent superhero franchise which sees a new cast of young stars playing four scientists who gain extraordinary powers following an experimental inter-dimensional travel accident, will these abilities be enough to save the world from an equally powerful and tyrannical super villain?, you betcha!

When we first learned of a reboot for Marvel’s original super team the “Fantastic Four” our expectations were not high, after all the 2005 version and its 2007 sequel ‘Rise of the Silver Surfer’ were among the weakest comic-book adaptations of the 21st century, and like Sony with ‘Spider-Man’, 20th Century Fox’s deal to retain the rights from Marvel means they have to keep making these films within a certain timeframe, regardless of the quality.

So when about half way into the film things were moving along nicely if predictably, our hopes arose, this seemed like a more considered origin tale for the characters who were presented in this version as super-kid geniuses, Miles Teller as “Reed Richards” was leading the performances admirably and things were building up to something that would surely be “Fantastic”.

But Fantastic is hardly the word we’d use for what follows in the second half of this ‘Fantastic Four’, after the group gains their powers following a disaster in the discovery of inter-dimensional travel, a discovery which is in itself more interesting than the powers it creates and the rest of the story, the tone of the film changes and the story becomes uneven.

The drama of the inner struggles of the team becomes tedious and we barely get to see them in action, then abruptly their now nemesis “Dr. Doom” re-enters the fray, they have a brief and utterly underwhelming inter-dimensional battle on a distant planet with unimpressive visuals, depriving the audience of a momentous action finale… and that’s it, the film is over.

Any jeopardy and promise built up by the origin story is obliterated by potentially the most disappointing pay-off in comic-book movie history, an utterly underwhelming conclusion that justifies our fear that this would be another pointless and disappointing superhero reboot, perhaps the inevitable sequel set for 2017 will expand the story and visuals to where they should be.

The Bottom Line…

All build-up with no payoff, any initial promise is spectacularly squandered through a faltering narrative and majorly disappointing conclusion with very little drama or action to speak of, perhaps they’re saving any thrills for the sequel but the result is just another pointless superhero reboot.

Out tomorrow the 6th in the UK, Friday the 7th in the US

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Similar films you may like (Home Video)

The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

A Sony reboot of the recent franchise featuring a talented high-school kid who gains extraordinary abilities after being bitten by a genetically modified spider, with his new powers comes the responsibility of protecting the city and his sweetheart from his once mentor and now equally powerful super villain.

Directed by Marc Webb and starring Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Rhys Ifans among others.

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