I’m not sure any recent movie is more difficult to judge purely on its own merits than Fantastic Four.
Devoted Marvel Comics fans, who grew up reading the adventures of Reed Richards, Ben Grimm and Sue and Johnny Storm, probably won’t like this 2015 version because it barely resembles what Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created in the 1960s. But modern fans will tell you this portrayal of the Fantastic Four is inspired by the 2004 reboot — written by Mark Millar and Brian Michael Bendis, illustrated by Adam Kubert — that was part of Marvel’s “Ultimate” updating of its cornerstone properties and took a hard sci-fi approach to the characters and their abilities.
This particular film has had to contend with a wave of negative gossip and publicity that I can’t recall any project dealing with in recent memory. There were reports of Fox studio executives calling director Josh Trank’s work “a mess” and demanding extensive reshoots. Trank’s behavior was heavily scrutinized, with rumors of him showing up late for work, being high on the set, treating crew members badly and trashing the house he rented during production. All of this supposedly had a lot to do with Trank getting booted from what was set to be his next project: directing one of the Star Wars spinoff films.
I presume that stuff matters very little to the regular moviegoer. And maybe those of you reading this post, just wanting to know if Fantastic Four is worth your time and money, don’t care much about it either. But here is one case where I think unpacking this baggage has to be mentioned.
For one thing, it factors into the harsh buzz surrounding this movie before its release. Critics and fans were ready to hate this movie, virtually sight unseen, due in large part to these rumors and photos of the characters looking completely unlike their comic book incarnations.
But it also obviously influences the final product we see on the screen. The drastic change in pace and tone this movie takes as it progresses toward its finish is jarring, leaving an unsatisfying feeling. It’s like the waiter taking your plate away before you were finished with the meal. Or switching the plate out for an entree you didn’t order. Either metaphor applies. And if you doubt that the studio and producers heavily tinkered with the final third of this film, consider this tweet Trank posted Thursday night before deleting it.
Maybe that’s Trank (who had a promising debut with 2012’s Chronicle) trying to cover his ass against poor reviews for a film with his name on it, attempting to salvage his reputation. But he may also have just firebombed his career in terms of working with a major studio on a blockbuster property again. The tweet was deleted, but certainly made its viral rounds beforehand and was screencapped by plenty of writers and fans. We may never hear from this guy again. It’s sort of fascinating as a study in how not to do big-budget studio filmmaking. But that’s probably a discussion for a separate post.
Putting aside the negative publicity and faithfulness to the original comic books, Fantastic Four is a pretty good movie. It’s certainly not what we’ve become accustomed to seeing from these sorts of stories, especially from Marvel Studios and its series of films related to The Avengers. This is a dark story that tries to deconstruct the traditional superhero narrative, focusing especially on how terrifying it might be to suddenly undergo genetic changes caused by outside forces, regardless if they result in abilities that might turn out to be pretty cool.
But as depicted by Trank and his cast, it is most certainly not cool when these characters get their superpowers. And that’s a really interesting take on the superhero mythos, one we really haven’t seen before. The X-Men series has stepped into that territory before, but the changes that mutants experience as their abilities manifest are basically a representation of puberty and physical maturity. What happens to the title characters and their main adversary is an accident, a trope of superhero stories, one brought about by hubris and impulsiveness. Their superpowers are essentially a punishment.
In Fantastic Four mythology, that tragic element has really only applied to Ben Grimm, otherwise known as The Thing (though he’s not called that in this movie, even as a throwaway remark), whose mutation results in a drastic change to his appearance that makes him a rocky-skinned monster. This film definitely gets that part of the character (played here by Jamie Bell) right. The others embrace their abilities — either willingly or as a means to an end — but eventually learn to control and hide what’s happened (albeit under strict government supervision), lessening the trauma of what’s occurred.
Some will object to the choices particular characters make here, which are turns they never would have taken in the comic books. One allows himself to be weaponized by the military — likely feeling the lack of a normal existence gives him no recourse — while another abandons his friends, goes into seclusion and uses his deep mistrust to fuel a solution. But within the context of this particular story, those decisions are believable.
What seems unbelievable is the choice by the filmmakers to jump ahead one year from the accident to the point where the narrative builds to its climax. There’s an entire story to tell within that gap and seeing it so needlessly discarded is a facepalm moment. I don’t know if that jump was in the original script or was a result of forced studio revisions, but it’s pretty baffling. Maybe Trank, along with fellow writers Simon Kinberg and Jeremy Slater, realized character exploration could only be taken so far and eventually the story had to drive forward, even if by arbitrary means.
The shame of Fantastic Four is that it may have been on its way to being really good — maybe even great. And though the movie takes a radical departure from the original comic books, I’d argue that it’s true to the spirit of a mythology based around science and exploration. (Though I’m a big comic book fan, the FF weren’t really favorites of mine, with the exception of John Byrne’s five-year run in the 1980s.) In my view, the Fantastic Four were adventurers more than superheroes, though there was certainly plenty of the hero’s journey and good vs. evil in their stories. Science is a big part of this film. The characters are excited about pioneering the breakthrough of interdimensional travel.
I was enjoying that movie. Then at some point, it had to become a superhero story. And while watching, that’s where the studio interference seemed to become most apparent. (Something that makes these reshoots almost laughingly apparent is Kate Mara clearly wearing a wig in those newer scenes. She goes from strawberry blonde to pure blonde back to strawberry blonde rather noticeably.)
The pace of the film changes so radically, moving from a thoughtful character study (powered by an outstanding cast including Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Toby Kebbell and Reg E. Cathey) into an attempt at an action movie. And it just moves too fast once the villain, Kebbell’s altered Victor Von Doom, enters the story with questionable motivations and abilities that seem to be tailored toward whatever the story needs in a particular moment. The resolution arrives so quickly, followed by the setup for sequels (which may never come), that even when you know the credits are about to roll, it’s still kind of a surprise.
Really? That’s how it ends? How badly do they just want to get past this origin story and get to the next movie?
I’d love to see another movie with this version of the Fantastic Four. I’d argue it works better on screen than a more faithful adaptation. I enjoyed the cast and how they portrayed their characters (even ones with ridiculous superpowers, like stretching limbs). It’s just too bad they ultimately don’t get to act in a better movie, especially the final third of it. But this could become the Fantastic Four that comic book fans are more familiar with, a story that superhero movie fans are accustomed to seeing, the next time around, now that the establishing origin is out of the way.
Ending aside, I believe Fantastic Four would have been considered a really good movie 10 to 15 years ago, when a superhero premise still had to be sold to the masses. But these movies don’t have to apologize for their comic book roots anymore. Audiences have accepted such stories and characters. Unfortunately, I don’t think people will accept this story and these characters — even if they represent a bold choice that deserves a far better treatment.
