Comics: Why “Fantastic Four” was a failure
“Fantastic Four,” (2015) is the third attempt at bringing “Marvel’s First Family” to the big screen, may very well be the worst try. Let’s get something straight- it isn’t the worst superhero movie, or worst movie in general by far- that title goes to “Catwoman”- but it is a bad movie in its own right. The reasons, well, there are plenty.
Comics
The Fantastic Four was originally created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, in 1961, under the title, “Fantastic Four #1.” This was a milestone book, ushering in the “Marvel Age of comics,” as well as its bringing comic book popularity back to its height for the first time since the 1950’s. This is why the characters were dubbed, “Marvel’s First Family,” as they were Lee’s first of many creations.
Lee was able to craft characters that were relatable, having every one of them truly be a part of a family unit. These characters just wouldn’t be who they were without the others and they knew it, cementing their friendship into an ultimate superhero team. So, when the newest movie in the franchise completely skipped over any true form of family dynamic for a more dark-toned movie, they left behind what makes the Fantastic Four special.
Over the course of fifty-plus-years, Fox had a lot of material to pull from comics, storylines ranging from the simple origins of the characters to more galaxy-spanning adventures. So it seems a shame that, despite having a massive catalogue of stories to pull from, Fox decided to try something ‘original,’ AKA the poorly reviewed movie we received.
The year 2000 saw the creation of the “Ultimate Universe,” a revamp of the Marvel Universe to bring in new readers and modernize the characters. Among the revamp was the “Ultimate Fantastic Four,” and with it came a new origin story, the one used in the recent “FF” flick. So it really is a bummer that, despite using the new Ultimate origin almost panel for panel, Fox still managed to water down what was a new, modern, and epic take on the characters.
It almost seems as if Fox wanted to make a “Dark Knight” version of the Fantastic Four, but these characters are so grounded in familial and light-hearted ways of being that this approach to the movie just didn’t fit well.
Movies
This film is the third attempt to create a Fantastic Four movie. The original attempt, an unreleased film, “Fantastic Four,” was looked down on so poorly by its creators that it was scrapped before it truly became a finished product.
The second and most successful attempt was 2005’s, “Fantastic Four,” and “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” which delivered an, albeit campy, take on the family.
Regardless of 2005’s FF being silly and having “The Thing” be a giant walking suit on Michael Chiklis, the movie(s) still delivered what fans were looking for- family dynamics, discovering of powers, and awesome superhero battles. These two films delivered on both counts, and were decent movies altogether.
2015’s Fantastic Four had none of the above, substituting the discovering and honing of powers for a leap into the future- so no fun power learning or character growth there- and an awesome battle for a fifteen-minute slug-fest between the heroes and an incredibly poorly animated Doctor Doom.
In fact, any special affects in the movie were abysmal, looking even worse than the 2005 FF film, and I’m not even exaggerating- Doctor Doom looks atrocious, even worse than the costume worn in 2005.
The actors in the film were not terrible, with Michael B. Jordan making a truly well-rounded Johnny Storm, but there was absolutely no chemistry, something actors need to have to deliver solid performances. It seemed as though they all met five minutes before they started filming, which may have been true, but shouldn’t show on screen, especially if they are meant to be a family unit.
Finally
Fantastic Four 2015 was not a good movie comparatively to other films that are released today. It has shoddy acting, poor VFX, and a story that could have had the potential to bring a modern, fresh take on the First Family. Instead, it only brought disappointment. So, instead, here are some legitimately good Fantastic Four stories to fill any void left from the film-
