The Watch-Men: ‘Fantastic Four’ really not so fantastic

Synopsis

When Reed Richards (Teller) successfully invents a teleportation device he receives a full-ride scholarship and an offer from Dr. Franklin Storm (Cathey) to come work at his laboratory where he meets fellow young geniuses Sue (Mara) and Johnny Storm (Jordan) and Victor Von Doom (Kebbell). After secretly teleporting to planet Zero, Reed, Johnny, Ben and Victor are caught in an energy explosion as they try to escape, which grants them all special abilities and strands Victor on Zero. Now Reed, Johnny, Sue and Ben must harness their powers and come together to save their planet from the vengeance of Dr. Doom.

The Fantastic Four was not so fantastic. If you’re looking for your typical action-packed Marvel movie, then be ready to be disappointed. This is one of the few Marvel franchises not owned by Marvel, and boy does it show. Fox once again mangles a comic book adaptation for the big screen, making me believe that apparently Marvel and Disney are the only companies that can pull off making comic book films at this point. I’m going to try to avoid spoilers. … Oh wait there aren’t any. … In fact conservatively 90 percent of the movie is based on the origin story and you get a whopping 5-10 minutes of action at the very end of the film. The team doesn’t even get its powers until an hour in and then it takes another 45 minutes for them to figure out how to use them. I do feel that all the actors did a good job, especially with the material given. Miles Teller was the standout; he did a great job playing Reed Richards. I had high hopes going into this film with Josh Trank as the director. I enjoyed his breakout film, “Chronicle,” and thought some of that magic would carry over to this film, but I was disappointed nonetheless.

What worked

All of the actors did a good job. I enjoyed how Miles Teller embodied a boyhood Reed Richards. He was smart yet awkward, courageous but single-minded. He is a good fit for this character. and if they get a sequel, he will be the standout again. I also enjoyed the origin story (first half of the film) built by Trank. They did a good job of introducing us to Reed and getting us invested in his character.

What didn’t work

This movie had so many problems, most beginning when they decided to travel to planet Zero. I did enjoy the first half of this film but it dragged on for way too long with no eventual payout. The CGI and green screen work looked like it was done by an eighth-grader in 2001. The writing was only slightly better than the CGI; I’m pretty sure they took half the dialogue straight from the 1950s comic books. The lazy storytelling in the second half of this film is just pathetic. There are so many plot holes that I can’t get into without spoiling parts of the film, but if you watch this movie you can’t miss them. Last but not least, the final battle between the FF and Doom is a complete joke.

The movie focused heavily on trying to embed humor for a younger audience while still maintaining the gritty real life feel and paid little attention on what really matters for a true superhero flick. Sometimes the trailer does look better then the movie. A lot of what was in the trailer that drew me to watching this film wasn’t in the movie. I recommend saving your money and pass on this blockbuster bust. I give this fantastic mess a fantastic 4, sorry scratch that, a fantastic 3.5 out of 10.

This story was originally published August 20, 2015 at 6:29 PM with the headline "The Watch-Men: ‘Fantastic Four’ really not so fantastic."