Over the last decade, we have seen a number of superhero movies get a much needed reboot. After the atrocious Batman & Robin, Batman was brilliantly brought back to the big screen in Batman Begins. When the Spider-Man franchise hit an embarrassing rock bottom with Spider-Man 3, it was reinvigorated with the very likable The Amazing Spider-Man.
Eight years on from the dud that was Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and it's time that Marvel's first family got a reboot. With a lot of rumours flying around about trouble on set and the studio not seeming to have total confidence in their product, could 2015's Fantastic Four do these iconic comic-book characters justice?
Reed Richards (Miles Teller) is a brilliant young scientist on the verge of discovering how to both transport matter to another dimension and bring it back. Recruited by Professor Franklin Storm (Reg E. Cathey), Reed is given the resources and help, in the form of Sue Storm (Kate Mara), Victor Von Doom (Toby Kebbell) and Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan), to to finish what he started in his younger years. When they finally crack inter-dimensional travel, Reed invites his childhood friend Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell) to travel to another world along with him and his team. An accident causes their physical form to drastically change. Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben must learn to harness their powers and work as a team to stop Victor, who is hell bent on destroying Earth.
So what is wrong with it? One word – chemistry. In any superhero team/ensemble there should be great character interactions and a feeling that these guys can effectively make a team, never mind a ''fantastic'' team. The best team movies all have characters playing off each other as in the Avengers and X-Men. However, there is zero chemistry between any of the F4. We see an attempt at some early romance between Reed and Sue which doesn't go anywhere. Johnny Storm is billed as a genius but troubled kid however we never see why he has a high IQ, he is just shifted in to make up the numbers. We never see him form any sustainable bond with any of the others. Ben Grimm also appears as an outsider, brought in with little sense to the project to fill the final slot. The chemistry between the original F4 (2005) was MUCH better whereas here they feel like 4 individuals.
The only slight upside to this movie was I suppose the cast... Miles Teller shines in the Divergent series, and had high hopes for the reboot of the unsuccessful one prior 10 or some-odd years ago. Michael B. Jordan is an actor I enjoy. He plays his role well, that is in most movies, and I again had high hopes. The director, Josh Tank also directed the successful film, Chronicle which also starred Michael B. Jordan.
The terrible script does not offer much to the actors, but it's not like they make the most of what they are given. Teller tries much too hard to fit into his character and fix something that just cannot be fixed. Mara and Bell seem like they do not really care at all most of the time. Jordan and Kebbell are really the only ones who "almost" make the most of what they are given, but it's not enough to save the picture. The cinematography was the one aspect of the film that was done right in the first hour. Then, when the need for strong special effects came, the film seemed almost as cartoonish as "The Green Lantern." In this day and age, where great special effects rule cinema, audiences should not be subjected to the simple, effortless effects seen here.
3.9/10 - IMDb
8% - Rotten Tomatoes
27% - Metacritic
4/10 - VERDICT
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