F@NT-FOUR-STICK: A Discussion and Comparison

When you see guys like Scott Lang and the Inhumans getting their own releases, you know that comic book movies are selling tickets and making money. Yet Marvel’s first family have always had trouble finding a breakout performance at the box office, both in a financial and critical sense. A lot of events leading up to this movie didn’t exactly inspire hope; from the tempestuous relationship between Josh Trank and the studio to Trank himself actually making Kate Mara cry. There’s even a sad story in which no one stopped the cast at comic con when they were walking freely among the crowds. It was as if no one knew or cared enough to bother – I’m not sure which is more depressing. I can’t help but feel that this is a movie that never wanted to be made; an idea that was painfully ripped out of a bubble of thought and thrown into terrifying reality. 

The only real thing this movie had going for it was the name value, hoping that it could muscle its way onto the stage with the other comic book blockbusters in the hope to make some cash and get some mileage out of Fox’s movie rights. But there’s only so much you can do with just a name - and on a superficial level, Fant4stic seems to understand the basic outline of what a superhero movie is. Yet it doesn’t care to take the time to understand the relationships between these characters and what makes them unique. The Fantastic Four were born in the silver age of comic books in which science fiction was a fountain of endless adventure, providing several scenarios across a spectrum of various colourful themes. Yet Fant4stic is devoid of all colour and is saturated in endless gloom and misery. Space is only a barren wasteland, reminding us how alone we are in the universe. This is one of the many misinterpretations of the source material provided by Fox. 

“It’s clobberin’ time” is a line used by Ben Grimm’s brother before he proceeds to physically abuse him. It is not a cute slogan to promote the team’s brand or a magazine headline, it is a line anchored by horrific mental and physical trauma that drives The Thing to commit acts of violence. That can sum up Fant4stic in a few sentences really. It doesn’t want to be an enjoyable romp for all the family, it takes every moment of levity and either replaces it with misery or nothing at all. Characters don’t appear to take much inspiration from the original comic book. Many fans raised their arms and cried “betrayal” towards the casting of Michael B Jordan as Johnny Storm but if anything, Jordan’s talent is completely wasted in this movie. In Chronicle, Jordan plays a cocky young punk who’s popular, successful and comes from a rich family. 

After becoming imbued with supernatural powers, he mostly uses them to show off and impress his friends. Jordan clearly has the ability the play Johnny Storm, as his character in Chronicle wasn’t all that different. Yet Johnny does not seem to exhibit any kind of laid back charm or retain anything that makes him likable. He mostly just scowls at his father, acts cold towards his sister and only uses his powers to deal with his daddy issues. There’s no opportunity for him to play the comedic relief that we all recognise him as. Change isn’t exactly a bad thing but the problem is that they go nowhere with this. He doesn’t seem to develop any kind of bond with his distant sister or really reconcile with his father. As I said before, they take away everything and replace it with nothing. 

This continues with the other members of the group. The movie takes the time to establish a close bond between Reed Richards and Ben Grimm yet this clearly falls apart halfway through the movie. A common trait of Reed Richards is that he carries the burden of forcing these powers onto his friends and family members. Guilt drives him to pursue every avenue possible to restore his friends back to normality. It’s obvious that Grimm has received the short end of the stick, due to his transformation into the Thing which robs him of his humanity. The movie seems to understand the relationship at a basic level but fails to grasp the depth between them. This is egregiously blatant when Reed abandons his three comrades for an entire year, claiming that he’s no good to anyone. When reunited with Grimm, it’s clear that the two are not friends anymore. There’s this clear aura of mean spirit that encapsulates this dynamic. It’s not a genuine act of friendship where Reed wants to help his friend. It’s as if Grimm is coercing him out of spite as a reluctant Richards acquiesces. Unsurprisingly enough, this relationship goes nowhere. They seem to be homies towards the end without any real discussion or talk or even a reason for trusting each other again. 

Which one is the black guy again?

The popular banter between Johnny Storm and The Thing is also removed for no reason and replaced with nothing. This movie is completely empty in both terms of character and story. The story’s pacing awkwardly hovers over scenarios for way too long, which eventually leads to a boring climax that never has any time to build drama or suspense. There’s no opportunity for the Fantastic Four to branch out into the public or interact with civilians – they don’t even converse in the Baxter Building. Most of the scenes take place in a science lab, a private military compound and the cold vacuum of space. This provides little variety or any real opportunity for the cast to embrace their supernatural capabilities. The story falls back on the boring cliché of “Private Military Corporations wanting to harness these powers”. Studios should enforce a new rule where PMCs can’t be used as a plot device anymore. The obvious topic of “Good guys defeat nasty villain” isn’t really that ground breaking either but that can be enhanced with good writing, profound character development and notable dynamics and storytelling. All of which are not found in this movie. Good guys get powers. Bad guy gets powers. Good guys beat bad guy by punching him really hard. End.

After seeing Fant4stic I watched the original 2005 release the same night. It wasn’t to serve as a palate cleanser but to remind myself if the movie was as bad as its 2015 counterpart. The 2005 flick is shockingly better in almost every aspect. If you’re curious to watch a Fantastic Four movie, I’d recommend this one. What’s funny is that this isn’t even a very good movie – the dialogue is particularly lame and cheesy and the story doesn’t really do enough to separate itself from the other releases at the time. What this movie did understand though was its characters. They all knew one another and had their own quirks and relationships. Sue and Reed had their back and forth romance, Johnny pulled pranks on Ben, Sue constantly scolded her brother for his misdeeds as Johnny used his powers to goof off on live television. Johnny Storm is actually likable and quick witted! Ben Grimm goes through his own story arc, in which he learns to cope with his condition and eventually accept himself. The 2015 release takes no time to show how Ben is feeling. Instead he’s thrown into the battlefield in the dried up PMC cliché. Yet the 2005 movie can make Ben a much more sympathetic character through simple scenes like watching him struggle to pick up a fork to eat. 

One particularly affective scene shows Ben trying to pick up his wife’s wedding ring after she leaves him; Reed eventually steps in and helps pick up the ring for Ben, and promises he’ll do everything he can to fix his best friend. It’s scenes like this that aren’t anywhere to be found in Fant4stic, despite its story having a longer time span. The original movie ostensibly takes place over a few weeks where as Fant4stic takes place over MORE THAN AN ENTIRE YEAR. The characters are still the same as they were at the beginning and are still emotionally distant from each other. The 2005 movie had moments of conflict between the heroes but there was reasonable motive and resolve afterwards, which reinforced the bonds between them. Fant4stic tries to be this serious, modern science fiction thriller yet is as bland and uninspiring as its colour palette. Fantastic Four (2005) hasn’t aged well in terms of dialogue and soundtrack yet it still ends up being the more charming and deeper film because it took the time to understand the characters and what makes them likable. 

It might seem that Josh Trank was initially a good choice for this movie considering his success with the movie Chronicle. Yet Chronicle was never much of a superhero movie to me; it had individuals with super powers but they were never used for heroic purposes. Chronicle shared more philosophy with Carrie and Akira than it did with Superman or Spiderman. It was a tale of how the downtrodden and meek can become society’s worst nightmare when equipped with powers beyond our comprehension. Fant4stic seems to follow in Chronicle’s footsteps; the powers aren’t really seen as gifts, only weapons for the military to regulate. The original transformation scene which shows the characters becoming fused with their powers is a gruesome visual, in which Johnny Storm is torched alive while Ben Grimm is crushed under a pile of rubble. Everything about this movie is ugly and depressing, yet the last five minutes want to be this happy resolution out of nowhere. Despite wanting to cash in on the success of the Superhero boom, this film does not want to be seen in the same light. It shuns its original source material by demanding to be seen in a more gritty and serious manner, yet it fails to carry anything profound or likable to make it superior in anyway. Gritty and serious does not make anything better, yet some superhero films (i.e. Man of Steel) are afraid to show any kind of colour out of fear of looking “silly” or “kid friendly”. Lines like “It’s Clobberin’ Time” or “Flame On” are either surrounded by dark origin or muttered under their breath like the writers are embarrassed over it. Susan Storm jokingly retorts at Victor Von Doom’s petty tirades, claiming “Get a load of Doctor Doom over here”. Comic book references and titles can’t be said or stated without some kind of ironic self-awareness. It’s as if the film is ashamed of its original source material. 

Perhaps this is similar to the same trend that plagued comic books in the 90’s, where everything was trying to be “super serious”. The Marvel films may have cringe worthy moments of Joss Whedon cheesiness but they still find the time to develop its characters and make something meaningful.

Mature interpretations aren’t automatically a bad thing (i.e. Watchmen) but maturity alone doesn’t make it successful. Mark Waid’s run on the Fantastic Four in the early 00’s featured some dark stories such as Reed Richards becoming disfigured and his son Franklin suffering from PTSD but the stories still had heart and weren’t afraid to smile every now and then. It also understood that the Fantastic Four were a family - they bickered back and forth, they had their quarrels, they sometimes needed their own space and time away but they would ultimately come back to each other. At the end of the day, they understood one another and had deep bond between all of them. The 2005 movie at least understood this somewhat with the characters having known each other for a long time at the start of the movie and becoming even closer towards the end. Fant4stic doesn’t attempt this, with most cast members not knowing one another at the start. That isn’t initially a bad thing but no attempt is made for these characters to grow together. 

This entire film feels lost and alone. Fox should have followed in the footsteps of Sony and lent the movie rights to Marvel. The Marvel Studios interpretation of the cosmic universe would make Jim Starlin proud. There would be a place for the Fantastic Four both on earth and across the galaxy but right now they’re trapped in an awkward limbo with no real identity to what makes them special. While the Avengers are more of a supergroup, the Fantastic Four are a family which makes them stand out and gives writers the opportunity to create deeper relationships and dynamics. This could give Marvel a lot to work with.

Also I just want to see The Thing, Hulk and Groot in a triple threat death match. Is that so much to ask for?!