With so many superhero/comic books films coming out over past decade at this point you really need to ‘dress to impress’ if you’re going to put one out there. With this being a well known fact – the question looming on most everyone’s mind regarding this film:
‘Is Fantastic Four..well..Fantastic?’
With only a few ups and many downs, the answer sadly is no. How you ask can this happen? Well oddly enough it’s the sheer lack of an exciting story.
We open on brilliant child scientist Reed Richards, (Miles Teller) who is on the verge of discovering how to both transport matter to another dimension and then bring it back though they don’t know where it goes or comes back from. Jump to a few years later at his high school science fair and he and the project while being dis-qualified from the fair are being recruited by Professor Franklin Storm (Reg E. Cathey).
With this Reed is given the resources and help by Storm’s children, the brother & sister team of Sue Storm (Kate Mara) and Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan) along with Victor Von Doom (Toby Kebbell), to finish what he started all those years ago in his garage. When they finally crack inter-dimensional travel, Reed invites his childhood friend Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell) to travel to the other dimension/world along with him and the team. An accident causes their physical form to drastically change. Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben must learn to harness and use their powers and work as a team to stop Von Doom who is now hell bent on destroying Earth.
You would think this could all be exciting right? Well it’s actually a rather dull and plodding affair which was surprising as with most of the cast here notably Teller, Jordan, Bell and especially Toby Kebbell are all actors who have had some damned notable roles in their perspective careers.
While I could have used more Von Doom, it probably still wouldn’t have saved this lifeless movie as the whole storyline is just weak with a finale that will impress no one. I expected so much more.
Grade: D+
@pegsatthemovies
Screening: Wednesday, August 5, 2015 courtesy of 20th Century Fox
Opens Nationwide: Friday, August 7, 2015
Peggy at the Movies 
Part of me laughs reading this, for a film so mired in expected failure to actually achieve it. Part of me is disappointed. Sigh.
I simply cannot jump on the Fantastic Four bashing train. Admittedly it’s not great but it’s far from the disaster I was warned about.
Here is the truth..I almost went C- because it’s not the worst movie I’ve ever seen by far and I do like the cast a lot.. but I will admit to 2 things..I was bored by it..just truly bored. Then, I saw it in the morning & that night I went to a 2nd screening of a film that was so fantastically good that I realized (review to come btw 🙂 ) it just didn’t deserve more & just went with what I thought was appropriate. it’s almost a C- but not quite. 🙂
I’m with you, Mark. This film isn’t the Catwoman-level mess I was expecting. Sure, it has it’s problems (that final half feels so rushed it’s ridiculous) and the character interactions were….well, meh, if I’m honest, but I thought Trank was going in an interesting direction with these characters and I’d have been keen to see what his final vision for it all was. Too bad we’ll never know.