The Fantastic Four were created by comic book legend Stan Lee and made their comic book debut in Marvel Comics in 1961. The four people who gained their superpowers after being exposed to cosmic rays are Reed Richards known as Mister Fantastic who is the leader of the group and gained the ability to stretch his body to various length and shapes; Sue Storm known as the Invisible Woman who as her name suggests can render herself invisible; Johnny Storm, known as the Human Torch, is Sue’s younger brother, can generate flames, surround himself with them; and Ben Grimm known as The Thing , who possesses superhuman strength and endurance due to the nature of his stone-like flesh. The Fantastic Four stories are about characters who did not have to wear masks, and who sometimes clashed with each other. The comics were set in the real world so readers could identify even more with the Four. This will be the fourth film appearance of the four with the first film in 1994 never being released via theaters or home video but is available via bootlegs. The first released film was in 2005 and not well-received by audiences or critics. Despite the lackluster performance a second film was made RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER which was another disappointment. The franchise has been rebooted yet again and the results are less than that….fantastic.
Reed Richards (Miles Teller), a young inventor, spends hours in his mom’s and stepdad’s garage in their suburban home. He invents a transportation device that he puts together from parts he obtains from the salvage yard of his classmate, Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell). The device, a “cymatic matter shuttle,” can transport objects from one place to another. Four years later at his high school science fair, Reed’s innovation catches the interest of Dr. Franklin Storm (Reg E. Cathey), Dean of the Baxter Institute, a school dedicated obtaining the best new ideas from high school and college students. Dr. Storm asks Reed to be part of his elite group of brilliant students and Reed moves to New York City. He develops a shuttle that runs on the technology he created. One night Reed decides to test his device and enlists Ben along with Dr. Storm’s son, Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan, and fellow Baxter student Victor von Doom (Toby Kebbell) to travel with him to another dimension. Of course the mission goes terribly wrong leading to an explosion that seriously injures them along with fellow student Sue Storm (Kate Mara), Dr. Storm’s adopted daughter, who stayed behind in the lab. Victor is left behind after he falls into the collapsing landscape. In the aftermath the government quickly ushers the four to a top-secret facility where they are analyzed. They begin to exhibit unique physical conditions that provide them with incredible abilities: Reed can stretch his body into extraordinary shapes; Johnny can light himself on fire; Sue can render herself invisible and create powerful force fields; and Ben has transformed into a six-foot eight, thousand pound rock creature.
What happens from there is one of the most boring and unsatisfying superhero films I have seen in a long time. Nothing happens in this film and I mean nothing until the final act of its sparse 100 minute running time. It’s all talking no action. It is essential a full length trailer for a sequel that is surely to come in a few years. The cast is good and do the best with the material but there really is nothing there that stretches any acting chops. Teller and Jordon have previously worked together in the awful THAT AWKWARD MOMENT but separately have appeared in three of my favorite films in recent memory; See THE SPECTACULAR NOW and WHIPLASH with Teller and FRUITVALE STATION with Jordon for much better examples of their work. The movie is dark (visually) and feels cheap and rushed. In the age of the Marvel big budget extravaganzas this film is small and lightweight. Rumor has it cost $120 million to make this; contrast that with AGE OF ULTRON’s $280 million budget. If I were running the studio I would demand an immediate audit. This film does not look like it cost that much and I doubt it went to the actor’s salaries or promotion.
There has been much controversy about this film almost from day one. From the casting of Jordon as Johnny Storm, who is white in the comics, to the deviation from the source material this project seemed to be doomed from the start will leave the issue of the deviation from the source material. My podcasting comrade Michael Jones AKA Q-Storm has been crying foul from day one. He has a deep dedication to the comic and material and I respect that. I do not share that admiration. My philosophy with this and every film I hear about is “wait and see” Q was adamant that this film was going to stink and my reply was always my trademarked “wait and see”. I have waited. I have seen. And Q was right along. Check out his review on for what I am sure will be a detailed analysis on why this film stinks on a professional comic book geek level. I can only speak on it as presented cinematically. As presented, it’s terrible. As a critic my word is not law, only a guide and suggest still seeing a film to make up your own mind. I cannot in good conscious recommend seeing this film, at least until the sequel is released. The best thing I can say about the film besides the cast is that it is not in 3D; it has that going for it.
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