Fantastic Four has had one of the most controversial, fascinating behind-the-scenes stories in recent years, and it seems like nothing but negativity has followed the production to its end. Critics and audiences alike are now completely ripping the film apart, but–in my opinion–for some of the wrong reasons. Many apparently just expected another fun, endlessly humorous superhero movie (with boring non-stop action) as if there aren't enough of those. Director Josh Trank had the right idea to implement some more refreshingly unique elements into the superhero genre though. Fantastic Four starts out its first five minutes introducing us to Reed Richards (Miles Teller) and Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell) in their childhood where their friendship truly sprouted. Seven years later, and these kids are now teenagers working on a fairly interesting science fair project that apparently irritates the school's administration more than impresses them with its ability to teleport small objects. I mean, who wouldn't scoff at those "pure magic tricks," right?
From there, Richards and Grimm's lives take a wild turn when they're recruited by a professor named Franklin Storm who runs a government- funded research institute. His daughter, Sue Storm (Kate Mara), and he run into this school demonstration and invite them to participate in a scientific experiment that could fully envision interdimensional travel. That's when every major character, at some point or another, runs into each other and the real journey begins. The movie very concisely takes us through all of their introductions and the fateful meeting. In fact, this first third of the film is grounded in science and is utterly focused on exploring the sci-fi origins of the property. Geniuses are conversing about compelling scientific theories and concepts, and several montages detailing the experiment's progress ensue.
However, after their expedition into another dimension goes terribly awry, the four friends wake up to sheer horror (their bodies have been horrifically mutated and their physical abilities frighteningly enhanced). At that point, Fantastic Four immediately turns into a cool body-horror movie where the superheroes painfully struggle with what their newfound powers have transformed them into: total monstrosities. Richards' limbs are stretching six feet forward, and an ominous score hits. (That's surely a new take on a genre that's been growing increasingly stale–the wait for Batman v. Superman is frankly unbearable). We even witness an eerie introduction to Dr. Doom in his full villainous form as he walks down a facility hallway—dim lights flashing—and blood thereafter lines the walls. The demon's pressurizing force and telekinesis faculty ruptures the soldiers' heads into gory stains. Honestly, the entire sequence made for a boldly gritty scene in a big-budget PG-13 film. So, when moviegoers criticize it for lacking fun and humor, I frustratingly think to myself, "is humor now part of this firmly defined criteria for a superhero movie?" It doesn't need to be "fun" if the tone is going for something far more intriguing and inspired.
Now, how could a film with such a promising start turn into such a comical, cheesy mess by its climax? When you take yourself so seriously as a movie and set yourself in a creepy, haunting atmosphere where you're battling with the unpredictability of science and then, all of a sudden, turn into a generic CGI-infested superhero movie by the last twenty minutes–that's when you really deserve to be called a disaster. That, in essence, is the problem: there are so many tonal shifts that you have no idea what the overall vision of the film even entails. At first, it's a Sci-fi feature about youthful inventions and imagination. Then, it turns into an incredibly dark and bloody horror film, and then, once everyone realizes they only have 25 minutes to conclude the story, there comes the pressure to finally end on the typical superhero note.
Continue the review at: http://moviemuscle.net/fantastic-four-2015-review/
From there, Richards and Grimm's lives take a wild turn when they're recruited by a professor named Franklin Storm who runs a government- funded research institute. His daughter, Sue Storm (Kate Mara), and he run into this school demonstration and invite them to participate in a scientific experiment that could fully envision interdimensional travel. That's when every major character, at some point or another, runs into each other and the real journey begins. The movie very concisely takes us through all of their introductions and the fateful meeting. In fact, this first third of the film is grounded in science and is utterly focused on exploring the sci-fi origins of the property. Geniuses are conversing about compelling scientific theories and concepts, and several montages detailing the experiment's progress ensue.
However, after their expedition into another dimension goes terribly awry, the four friends wake up to sheer horror (their bodies have been horrifically mutated and their physical abilities frighteningly enhanced). At that point, Fantastic Four immediately turns into a cool body-horror movie where the superheroes painfully struggle with what their newfound powers have transformed them into: total monstrosities. Richards' limbs are stretching six feet forward, and an ominous score hits. (That's surely a new take on a genre that's been growing increasingly stale–the wait for Batman v. Superman is frankly unbearable). We even witness an eerie introduction to Dr. Doom in his full villainous form as he walks down a facility hallway—dim lights flashing—and blood thereafter lines the walls. The demon's pressurizing force and telekinesis faculty ruptures the soldiers' heads into gory stains. Honestly, the entire sequence made for a boldly gritty scene in a big-budget PG-13 film. So, when moviegoers criticize it for lacking fun and humor, I frustratingly think to myself, "is humor now part of this firmly defined criteria for a superhero movie?" It doesn't need to be "fun" if the tone is going for something far more intriguing and inspired.
Now, how could a film with such a promising start turn into such a comical, cheesy mess by its climax? When you take yourself so seriously as a movie and set yourself in a creepy, haunting atmosphere where you're battling with the unpredictability of science and then, all of a sudden, turn into a generic CGI-infested superhero movie by the last twenty minutes–that's when you really deserve to be called a disaster. That, in essence, is the problem: there are so many tonal shifts that you have no idea what the overall vision of the film even entails. At first, it's a Sci-fi feature about youthful inventions and imagination. Then, it turns into an incredibly dark and bloody horror film, and then, once everyone realizes they only have 25 minutes to conclude the story, there comes the pressure to finally end on the typical superhero note.
Continue the review at: http://moviemuscle.net/fantastic-four-2015-review/