The 'Not-So-Critical' Critic:
on FANTASTIC FOUR (2015, 100 minutes, PG-13)
After all is said and done, maybe I should quit this gig of
writing movie reviews. I just seem to pick out the ones that drawn in the most
critical bashings and end up on the wrong side. You know, the films where the
majority of critics love to dismember a controversial release, because it’s the
fashionable thing to do. All I find posted everywhere are clever little quips
that have no grounded understanding of what they watched.
First off, this FANTASTIC FOUR is nothing like the set from
the 2000’s, and be happy that it is not. Those were the worst films found in
any comic universe. ANY. When reviewers try to convince you that this one is
inferior, this is your warning sign that you are surrounded by a bunch of
trolls. TROLLS. (If you haven’t caught on, I am getting more irritated as I
write this.)
Yes, the movie is broody and has a darker tone. Yes, there
are slow points in the action. The time was used to building tension and to
create depth for the main characters as individuals and their relationships.
Show me an origin story where this doesn’t happen at some point. And yes, this
film is thankfully devoid of the campy humor. FOUR is an origins film that
portrays a high level of character development, a serious sense of the struggle
to regain what is lost, and the conflict within these adolescents trying to
understand their purpose in life, to establish their identity.
Director Josh Trank shows the same strengths from his
previous film CHRONICLE being carried over to this project, and probably why he
got the job. If you consider this, you can see the similarities in style and
understand why the film has this artistic execution. For whatever reason,
critics tend to completely miss this detail. I, for one, will first watch a
film and try to see what the story tells me instead of scoffing at everything
that doesn't fit my criteria for the film I envisioned. SHOULD I say that again
in summation…? There should be no surprise that Trank's FOUR and his previous
film with a similar story and characters shot not three years ago exhibits the
same style.
Sure, there are rumors out there that blame conflict on the
set, Trank bickering with execs, and producers unhappy with Trank’s erratic
behavior. Either way, FOUR has his characteristic gloom, what everyone should
expect at this point and appreciate. His skill lies in the ability to tell a
story that subtly captures the underlying struggle in his teenager and young
adult characters, something that cannot be openly caught on film and not seem
contrived.
The writing, a collaboration of Jeremy Slater, Simon Kinberg
(a FOX go-to for the X-Men films), and Josh Trank, shows an understanding in
character progression and plot pacing. This did slow the overall movie but you
are creating an origin story with multiple characters, attempting to make them
relatable to the audience, and balance the real-world setting with an extremely
comic-booky foundation. You can scream until you are blue in the face about
‘source material’ but this was no LAST AIRBENDER. They tried keeping to the
source material in the first series and failed miserably. No one can convince
me otherwise, sorry. FOUR had enough subtle hints added to relate to the
die-hard fans without making outrageous attempts to appease the masses and
disrupt the story. So go see the film and judge for yourself, ignore the Critic
Trolls that plague the internet.
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