Director: Josh Trank
Starring: Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, Toby Kebbell, Reg E. Cathey, Tim, Blake Nelson
Studio: 20th Century Fox, Marvel Entertainment, Constantin Film, Marv Films, Robert Kulzar Productions, TSG Entertainment
Release Date: August 7, 2015 (U.S)
Plot: A team of scientist who are working on inter-dimensional travel gains extra-ordinary abilities that they must learn to accept and harness, to save the world from a friend that has turned against humanity.
Fantastic Four (2015) is probably the most underrated superhero movie of all time.
After reading all the negative reviews from critics and comments from audiences alike, I can confidently say that this is the most underrated superhero film ever. A lot of critics say it was so awful that it looked like a 100-minute trailer itself. Others say that it was a total disappointment.
So I've decided to see the movie myself to find out what is wrong with the film. And after the film, while leaving out of the theatre, I wondered exactly is the reason why almost the whole world hated the film. I tried to re-evaluate the film over and over again in my head and I can't seem to find a good reason to hate it. I don't know what is wrong with me, because the whole wide world is all because dissing the film. But me, I actually felt glad that I've watched it for myself in theatres and didn't believed all the negativity around the movie.
I know a lot of people will get mad at me for saying this but I love the 2015 re-imagining of the Fantastic Four.
And so I have decided to say everything that I have to say about this film to defend it to the crowd of people who have nothing but hate it. I have come to realize that my mission is to defend this film, as it now sits among my Top Ten Favorite Superhero Films of all time. Yes. I repeat. My Top Ten Favorite Superhero Films of all time.
Note: I am not yet crazy, delusional, nor taking any drug medications. I am fully insane and aware of what I am doing while writing this review of the film.
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| From left to right: Jamie Bell as The Thing, Michael B. Jordan as The Human Torch, Kate Mara as Invisible Woman, and Miles Teller as Mr. Fantastic |
My Love For Origin Stories
The Amazing Spiderman (2012) is one of the best superhero movies wherein they usually start off during the childhood of it's heroes, explaining the motivations of the character instead of just showing how they got their power, etc. And this re-imagining of the Fantastic Four does exactly just that.
It starts off with a very young Reed Richards who is already working on a prototype teleporter. He meets Ben Grimm who became fascinated with his work and decides to help him build it until they reach adulthood. Later on, they caught the attention of father and daughter, Professor Franklin Storm (Reg E. Cathey) and Sue Storm (Kate Mara). They recruited Reed (Miles Teller) to work with them into finishing the "Quantum Gate" that was designed by Storm's previous protégé, Victor von Doom (Toby Kebbell), who begrudgingly commits to help them because he has unrequited feelings for Sue. Ann that's where the story kicks in.
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| The Quantum Gate. |
The Film Makes its Heroes Really Human
The film is not like any other superhero origin film. It doesn't shove it's heroes right into the action with the antagonist for a slam-bang battle. Instead, the film takes it's time in introducing the characters as ordinary people. It gives us a background for each character and their relationship with other people around them that will affect their motivations later in the film. We have the relationship of Sue and his brother Johhny (Michael B. Jordan) wherein he thinks that his father is more proud of his adoptive sister than his own real son. We see Prof. Franklin and how he tries to reconnect with his son who has already lost faith in him. There is also the reaction of Victor Von Doom with how his designed is being used by the government for military advancements. But the best relationship that is featured in the film is the friendship of Reeds and Ben.
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| The Best Superhero BFFs. |
The film took it's time in building up the friendship between the two characters. They showed how the two of them built their teleporter from childhood up until they became adults. It was so beautiful and yet so heartbreaking as the film progresses.
I remember one scene in the film where we see Reeds being accompanied by Ben into the Baxter Building after he received a scholarship from the said foundation. After they entered Reeds' room, Ben stared outside from the window and marveled at the skyscrapers outside. Then, he told Reeds that this is where he belongs. Reeds lives his dreams in the city but Ben is left to stay at their family's junk yard. That is one of the most memorable scenes from the film for me.
Then, after they have finished their project later in the film, Reeds decides to call Ben (while drunk) to join him in venturing the other dimension that they've discovered. Unfortunately, it didn't ended really well (most especially Ben as he was turned into a monstrous looking stone creature). That was just heartbreaking to watch because if you think about it, Reeds have almost forgotten his best friend due to the time he spent in working for the project, then he remembers him once they have finally finished it. But their supposedly-reunion didn't turned out good and Ben was the one who suffered the worst in the said disaster for something that he wasn't supposed to be at in the first place. If his best friend didnt called him while he was drunk that night, he wouldn't end up like this hideous thing. The way their relationship ended after that really broke my heart. This is something I dont feel while watching the action-filled extravaganza from other Marvel films. But again, if that didnt happened, there's no story in the first place.
Another thing that I want to salute the film for is for showing us the horrors of being a superhero. I mean, yeah, it's cool to have these powers. but come to think of it, it's not always a sunny day everyday in the Superhero World.
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| Imagine waking up with your arms and legs stretched like this. |
Of course, you will find yourself confused and scared of what you've become. Unlike Peter Parker who becomes the bad-ass web slinger dude in less than 10 minutes after knowing his abilities, the characters of Josh Trank's vision of the Marvel's first family weren't really that happy about what they became to be after acquiring their powers. They were scared, bewildered. It shows the natural reaction of every person on Earth. And this adds up to the human part of these superheroes that not a single superhero film has ever showed before. They're really... human.
It's like a Serious SciFi Flick
Another thing that I liked about the film is it's overall tone. It's far from the cartoonish Fantastic Four reincarnations that came before with Jessica Alba and Chris Evans. The 2005 movie adaptation of the Fanstastic Four and it's sequel were all but crap. At least for me. It's so 'child-friendly' that it feels like a kiddie adventure movie already (which it really is).
And this is the bigger difference that the 2015 reboot has from the original film series. Director Josh Trank made a bit darker and more serious in tone similar to his previous work, Chronicles (2012). It has this heavy Scifi atmosphere all over it. In layman's terms, it's more Interstellar (2014) than The Avengers (2012). The colors are muted. There's no joke cracking villains. It's got some real drama there. In short, it's a more mature and grown-up version of the superhero genre.
The film doesn't need to be like Guardians of The Galaxy (2014) or Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). It's good being by itself. It's seriousness is one of the coolest thing about it.
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| Toby Kebbell as Doom. |
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| Oh, don't worry. They're not fighting. |
It's Not A Perfect Film, Though
Yes, I admit. Fantastic Four is not a perfect film. It does have it's flaws. But c'mon, almost all the superhero movies that we have seen before have one at least. I mean for example, Ultron isn't really a scary villain in the Avengers sequel. Obviously, Loki is still a better antagonist.
In Fantastic Four, one of the main things that I noticed was that the primary villain, Doctor Doom, was absent in like most of the film. We don't even see a glimpse of him or what happened to him and the story was trying to make a twist out of his appearance a few minutes before the finale of the film (as if we don't know what really happened to him). And the battle between him and the F4 was really too short that it left me wanting more.
But still, in the end, this didn't really changed the fact that I enjoyed the whole film itself. I mean, what matters most is that I was entertained. and that's the main reason why we make these films, right? To entertain people. To escape reality. To have a good time. And I did.
Verdict:
I was really impressed with this film that I have decided to include it in my Top Ten Favorite Superhero films of all time.
Fantastic Four (2015) is a triumph when it comes to it's characters development. The film may lack some action where we see our heroes on battle mode, but instead, it takes it's time in building up their personalities and relationships with all the people around them that it's hard not to love them. Very few superhero films were able to achieve this (such good examples are Unbreakable, X-Men: First Class, Captain America: The First Avenger, Guardians of the Galaxy, Antman). But the way that Josh Trank has built up his characters and their relationship with each other was just so strong that it makes the whole origin tale worth a look again.
P.S. I am soooooooo looking forward to the sequel.
I am rating this film 5 out of 5 stars. Hell, yeah!
Fantastic Four - Trailer #2 (2015) by inthefame
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it a lot, not as much as you, but it is quite flawed. Solid 3/5 for me.
I'm glad that I'm not the only one who liked it. Thanks!
ReplyDelete