Fantastic Four isn’t going to win any awards for great literature, it’s a far, far less objectionable flick than I’d feared. I don’t regret at all having watched it for free on HBO in my hotel room.
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Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four isn’t going to win any awards for great literature, it’s a far, far less objectionable flick than I’d feared. I don’t regret at all having watched it for…
I was looking forward to it until I heard what they did to my favorite comic book character of all time, Dr. Doom. Now I can’t bring myself to watch it.
Growing up with a character means I generally automatically ignore the base silinesss. Unfortunately, the base look, origin, name (Von Doom!) and all of this guy, done straight, make him only a bit more filmable than Tom Bombadil. They did pretty good, all things considered.
The new animated FF is worth catching as well. Only 2 eps shown so far, one with Doom switching bodies with Reed that shows this version has got Doom right (though he is still shown as a 5th member of the space mission in the credits). The other eps, with the Kree putting Johnny on trial for destroying their (unidentified and confusingly near-hostile) probes gets several things right as well.
The art is anime-style, but only in that figures are painfully thin (Sue and Johnny have chins that could put someone’s eye out) and the uniform re-designs are iffy but tollerable (except I have no idea why Ben paints a crude “4” logo on his chest).
Both manage the “FF is Family” aspect (in both its “trust and teamwork” and its “bickering and overwrought” aspects) better than the movie did. Both manage the “FF cause many — if not most — of their own problems” quite well (though so far that’s been limted to Johnny… I’m sure Reed will invent something uncontrollably dangerous before too long, though). Both manage “celebrity superheroes” quite well. It’s actually quite good. Which means there’s a real chance it’ll get canceled all too soon.
The new animated FF is worth catching as well. Only 2 eps shown so far, one with Doom switching bodies with Reed that shows this version has got Doom right (though he is still shown as a 5th member of the space mission in the credits, he’s shown also lurking the the Latvarian embassy and as an absolute monarch). The other eps, with the Kree putting Johnny on trial for destroying their (unidentified and confusingly near-hostile) probes gets several things right as well.
The art is anime-style, but only in that figures are painfully thin (Sue and Johnny have chins that could put someone’s eye out) and the uniform re-designs are iffy but tollerable (except I have no idea why Ben paints a crude “4” logo on his chest).
Both manage the “FF is Family” aspect (in both its “trust and teamwork” and its “bickering and overwrought” aspects) better than the movie did. Both manage the “FF cause many — if not most — of their own problems” quite well (though so far that’s been limted to Johnny… I’m sure Reed will invent something uncontrollably dangerous before too long, though). Both manage “celebrity superheroes” quite well. It’s actually quite good. Which means there’s a real chance it’ll get canceled all too soon.
Well, I’d heard lots of less-than-glowing stuff about the movie, esp. beforehand, so I didn’t go out of my way to see it. Having seen it now, I’m glad I did (and that I didn’t spend $10 to see it at the time).
Doom’s the weakest character — honestly, there wasn’t a huge need to sort of give him organic armor and electrical blasts and the like — heck, they could still make him the “fifth” member, and have him simply build his super-armor as a lashing out. That said, his accent drifts repeatedly, and we don’t get much of a sense of *why* he does a lot of what he does, except that he’s progressively more and more nuts. A pity, because it weakens the whole movie.
Reed is done pretty well — a bit less decisive/leaderly than in the books, but good enough for starters. Smart, uncertain, there’s some background info that get elided way too early to establish the character (the first half hour of the movie feels like it was brutally trimmed for time). Still, they do him pretty well, and his powers work a lot better than might be feared (if mastered way too quickly).
Ben is great. I thought the rocky shell was fine (esp. if you consider it a blend with the comic book’s early “dinosaur hide” Thing), and the character is played very well. The sole drawback is that he’s shorter than some of the other FF, which just isn’t right.
Sue is … Sue. Never get a feel for her as a character, but she has some nice special effects (and plays key roles multiple times).
Johnny is … Johnny. A bit more “worldly” here, but the character and characterization work pretty well, and the flame effect is very nicely done.
Really, I’d give this movie a definite B+, if it didn’t feel so featherweight that a good gust of breeze would simply blow it away. Worth borrowing, even work renting for a buck or two — or catching on HBO.