It only took living fifty five years to reach this point!
Warning - there will be spoilers mixed in as I'm letting my mind wander on this one..
My only real complaint about this movie is:
It was only one movie.
I know we don't need another origin story for the Four. However, all that cool stuff in the opening montage, including the recreation of the Fantastic Four Issue One cover? That all could have been two or three films, easily.
Yes the Galactus threat was awesome, epic and off the walls. It also showed most of the Fantastic Four's powers being ineffective against the Devourer of Worlds and his Herald. It would have been cool to see the tales of some of their full on victories first.
I'm just saying while Movies are "Events," the Event doesn't always have to be a world ending one if the stories are well told.
Mole Man unleashing giant creatures from Subterannia on New York would have been a cool Event. (Fine- I'll grant only I would be excited about a whole movie "Event" where they fight the Red Ghost and his Super Apes, so we'll let that one go.)
On to the good stuff.
I really do hope we get more films set in this universe. The "Retro Future" vibe would be perfect for a retheming of Tomorrowland in Disney to keep them from having to update the theme of the place every couple of years. Also, Michael Giacchino's score was once again perfectly spot on for the setting and action.
The strongest thing about the Fantastic Four isn't their powers, its the family bonds between them. The comic runs where the interpersonal conflicts are minimized, at least in comparison to the external threats they face, are the best ones.
(Translation of "best"- The ones I, personally, most enjoy reading. On the off chance that wasn't clear.)
The cast and writing worked together to create a (dare I say) fantastic blend for the team. Each was a key part of the family in several ways. Herbie turned out to be a great addition because not only did how the family interact with him highlight their personalities and connections to each other, but who doesn't love a cute robot?!
Reed was truly the smartest man on the planet. While this did lead him to understand the existence of some terrible alternatives, it never drove him to consider selecting any of them. The need to lean into what were problematic behaviors of some of the Marvel leadership, based on the original time they were written in, to turn them into outright villains, or at least overly pragmatic to the point of not caring about people and driving away loved ones has been done far to often (and annoys me) in the comics and adaptations. This Reed will always put his family first, even if he occasionally expresses it poorly. The illustration that he can barely function trying to perform normal life skills was spot on, however. (And his CPR technique sucks, but that is a Hollywood problem, more than a Reed Richards problem.)
Sue was clearly the emotional core of the team, and the one with the greatest people skills. Having the god like alien demand the heroes' child- kind of cliche.
Having the previously supportive general public suddenly hate the heroes because they will not sacrifice their child to save the world- also kind of cliche.
Having Sue directly address the masses and convince them that handing over any baby to a world devouring cosmic entity is not acceptable- outstanding character moment.
I'm also glad they've started off showing what the comics took years to realize, that Sue, by far, has the strongest powers of the four.
Aside- The list of super heroes I would accept telling another hero directly to kill someone is miniscule. Sue when someone threatens her child- right at the top of that list.
Ben, contrary to his appearance, or possibly because of it, was the most human of the group. He was the one who had the strongest grasp of living a normal human life, and helped the others through that. They showed Ben still misses his human appearance. While Reed apologizes and promises to fix it, Ben says he's accepted it and doesn't constantly berate his friend about it. Because they are best friends. By having it be something he's embarrassed by from the in universe cartoon, it made him finally yell of "IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!" that much more epic. I was saddened at the leaving out of Alicia Masters, as her romance with Ben is one of my all time favorites in the comics. However, the woman Ben was attracted to on this Earth was based on Jack Kirby's wife. Since Ben is generally recognized as the character "The King" put the most of himself into, this is nice too.
Johnny had the biggest change from the original source material in this movie, however, he's also been through the most changes in the comics as he "grew up." It's also nice that we've left behind the initial origin story idea that Sue and Johnny only went into space because they were "the scientist's girlfriend and her kid brother." Making him a trained astronaut from the start elevated him without removing his sense of fun and impulsiveness. Sue may have the best skills for dealing with crowds and logistics, but Johnny is the best for one on one. That's what made him perfect for connecting with the Silver Surfer and figuring out her language.
I have no issue with using Shalla Bal instead of Norrin Radd for the surfer. First of all, it worked as a way of having more than only one female main character in the entire movie, while still using a cannon comics character. Second it made for a nice bait and switch reveal with Johnny. It initially looked like his traditional "girl crazy" nature was why he was fascinated by the Surfer, However, it was a much stronger connection, filled with emotional understanding that made for a great reveal.
Oh, everyone's powers?
LOOKED AWESOME!!!! WOO HOOO!!!!!
Used in cool ways too!
Except Reed for some reason. Don't get me wrong, elastic parkour is cool and all, but why is Marvel so afraid of really leaning into shape changing stretchy powers when so much other goofy stuff happens? The ball is in your court James Gunn, both Elongated Man and Plastic Man will fit just fine into your world.
Finally, Galactus.
Dang, they exceeded my expectations!
The way he interacted with the (tiny to his perspective) Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer conveyed all his power, yet never had them get lost in the shuffle. His ship, Taa II ("No one asked you"- Anabelle) was monstrously huge and impressive as well.
Yet he still had "humanity." He was a victim of the curse of his hunger, and he showed feelings as well as being a cosmic entity well beyond us.
The Fantastic Four were hopelessly outclassed by Galactus any time they faced him. However, they were shown to be powerful enough to get his attention, and that coupled by their various types of intelligence and the bond between them led to their victory.
That, and the fact that I don't care which universe you are older than, if you threaten Sue Storm's child, things will not end well for you.
Oh I didn't mention Franklin...
WOO HOO!! Franklin Richards in an adaptation!
Bring on Valeria!!!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment