What to Expect in Fantastic Four
Outside the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Fantastic Four are getting an all-new, clearly darker reboot this summer. With the movie coming out in August, the press for it is obviously smaller, especially when the last attempt at a film’s not even a decade old yet. The film could still make waves in the less popular summer month if it remembers what it’s based on, so here’s what you need to know and expect from the movie.
Fantastic Four, or Fant4stic as some misguided posters label it, still follows the development of scientist Reed Richards, his best friend Ben Grimm, and siblings Johnny and Sue Storm as they gain powers and become the heroes known as Mr. Fantastic, The Thing, the Human Torch, and the Invisible Woman. While this is about as original as having a Spider-Man movie involve the death of Uncle Ben, the movie is still trying to add some independence by changing pretty much everything else.
Instead of heading to space, the group is transported to another dimension AKA the Negative Zone where the environment mutates their bodies. Instead of being a master inventor, Doctor Doom begins as an angry blogger. Johnny Storm is black which honestly doesn’t mean anything in the long run. It certainly wouldn’t have affected the other films if he was black, but now the movie will have to have at least one line of exposition on how a white Sue Storm and a black Johnny Storm are related. Any more time focus on that is unnecessary time away from the story, which as reboot it needs desperately.
If it’s any consolation, Fantastic Four is trying its best to be as different from other Marvel projects. It’s grimmer than other Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it’s certainly grayer than the X-Men films, but one has to wonder at what point does a Marvel movie (encompassing universe or otherwise) cease to be Marvel? This movie’s still about one of the longest running superhero teams in comics yet it took them two trailers to crack a joke.
That’s probably the most confusing thing about this movie so far. The actual use of darker tone is not a problem seeing how well it was used on Daredevil, but the fact that they are trying to do it with a team known as the “Fantastic Four” sends mixed signals. Basically, there’s a time and place for the dramatic close-ups and overbearing monologues on humanity’s potential in stories when they are not trying to scientifically explain Reed Richards’ powers as bending space around him rather than just stretching his body. I am going on the record as saying that is one thing the other film version seems to understand: sometimes it’s better to just walk away with superpower logic and tone.
The film’s not all gloom and doom since the cast actually has some promise and they finally decided to make a computer-generated Thing. Those things still mean nothing until the film actually comes out, but there has to be some good arguments for its existence. On the other hand, its darker tone might actually make the story more unpredictable. Sure, the Fantastic Four are going to make it out alive with Doctor Doom tagging along for a future story, but the movie may be dark enough to send someone to the chopping board whether it’d be a random soldier or Dr. Franklin Storm himself. That's good stuff.
One thing that is predictable is the sequel that was already greenlighted by the studio and has a release date for 2017. This also doesn’t mean anything considering the second this thing possibly tanks, the sequel’s off, but it does mean the first one’s going big and leaving even bigger hints about what the sequel will bring.
With characters like Franklin Storm and Harvey Elder, known in the comics as the Mole Man, confirmed for the movie, Fantastic Four’s already trying to build its own universe. Or whatever can carry a sequel considering the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s massive overreach on characters. Compared to Spider-Man’s last attempt at an expanded universe, this new attempt could also lead to another muddled mess of a story. Then again, the Fantastic Four’s status as a team already makes the idea of a bigger world a bit more manageable along with the comfort that this film is done by the studio behind X-Men rather than The Amazing Spider-Man.
One still interesting tidbit is the fact that this is the same studio behind X-Men. Beyond the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there haven’t been many attempts at a connective superhero universe, though X-Men has tried its best to make all of its films connected even through the use of reality-bending time-travel. It’s unlikely in the midst of the Fantastic Four’s reintroduction that there would be a connection to the already continuing X-Men series, but it would be a great opportunity. A brief name here or there would be nice because, with both series and spinoffs staying whether we’d like them or not, it certainly wouldn’t hurt.
Fantastic Four officially opens August 7. Despite its questionable date, uneven tone, and unclear details, the movie will hopefully have something to talk about in the fall. After all, people are going to see it no matter what happens.
