Director: Josh Trank
By Alex Watson
Carrying high hopes, Josh Trank's Fantastic Four reboot falls way short of the mark. From the beginning this film feels clumsily put together and never quite gets to grips with itself. Although this a darker and more ambitious departure from , the characters that Marvel fans have grown to love just do not feel like themselves. A sequel is due after this, but it will have to pull a great magic trick to get the fans to come back again.
Reed Richards (Miles Teller) is a young scientist attempt to perfect human teleporting to another dimension. Along with colleagues Sue Storm (Kate Mara), her brother Johnny (Michael B Jordan) and his old friend Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell), they attempt transporting themselves. When the trip ends in disaster, the group finds themselves with new powers and abilities. Soon they face a threat in the form of their old colleague Victor Von Doom (Toby Kebbell) whose trip to the same planet has altered his life forever.
In some ways, this installment of Fantastic Four is a welcome departure from Tim Story's old kid friendly and cartoonish films of old. At the same time there is a distinct lack of immediate action on display which quickly drains the thrill level. The tinkering of the storyline to make our characters students in a scholarship program doesn't benefit the story. Majority of the screen time is taken up with the planning and executing of inter-dimensional travel. Sounds great for science enthusiasts, but Josh Trank struggles to make this translate into entertaining viewing. Where is the needed whopping of bad guys that the film so urgently needs to inject? Even Tim Story had that base covered!
Another key issue is the characterization and despite having all copious of Marvel stories at their disposal, none of the four characters has the spark to ignite some interest. The new Reed Richards is a little too bland for this films taste and despite some awkward quirks he just doesn't register. The new Thing visually is impressive but he lacks the comedic feel that Michael Chiklis was able to bring last time around. A thumping and large presence throughout, this version makes his impact felt but lacks the memorable quality to stick around in our minds after. Dr Doom lacks any sense of danger of real menace. Trank makes him seem more like pissed off class nerd going on a revenge mission.
The last act of Fantastic Four ensures that events descend into a dull and almost comical mess. Watching a face-off as Doom makes his inevitable reappearance could have been the save this installment badly needed. Instead we are limited to rather lifeless battle, complete with the obligatory booms and pows inter-cut with some laughable dialogue such as "There is no Victor...Only Doom!" This origin story ironically suffers from a lack of story altogether and despite ending with a hopeful feel, we can only wish this had stretched across the previous two hours.
A talented cast isn't able to improve things to the required level and the talented Miles Teller is wasted in a one note role. Teller is never able to fully convince us that Reed is the man to save the universe from danger. This is disappointing as he is one of Hollywood's most engaging new actors. Kate Mara and Michael B Jordan try their hardest breath life into the brother/sister Storm duo but the material just isn't there for them to make their mark. Jamie Bell is one of the movie's stronger notes and he brings across a more believable Ben Grimm. His hurt and betrayed reaction to his new form is a moment of rare emotion in a Marvel film.
Josh Trank after his great work on his cult movie, Chronicle is brought down to earth with a harsh bump here. His Fantastic Four is a misguided effort that is effected by too many details and not enough action. I hope he is able to pick things up for the sequel otherwise "It's clobbering time!"
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