Reborn franchise a far cry from previous flops: it's unpretentious fun

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5 days ago

The Fantastic Four: First Steps
(PG, 115 minutes)
4 stars
I'd have thought The Fantastic Four to be a fairly straightforward Marvel Comics to adapt effectively for the screen. It's got an interesting origin story and four solid main characters, each with individual qualities and powers, with which to work. But up to now, the cinematic adaptations have been surprisingly lacklustre, with box office returns ranging from bad to mediocre, and little acclaim or lasting affection for any of them. They had their enjoyable elements but lacked that certain something.
Filmmakers kept trying, though, and this version is easily the best so far. And that's not damning with faint praise: it's a lot of fun.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps takes on place on Earth-828, a reality in which the title characters seem to be the only known superheroes. The setting combines high tech with a distinctive 1960s look and feel - a nod to the period in which the characters first appeared (1961).
Two trivia notes: 828 is the date of original artist Jack Kirby's birthday, and there are cameos by the stars of the first Fantastic Four movie from the 1990s, made on a very low budget and only it's been said, solely so the man who held the movie rights could retain them. It never got an official release so it's nice those actors, who made the movie in good faith, finally get an acknowledgment.
The characters' origin story is cleverly and economically retold in a celebratory TV broadcast early in the film. Four astronauts returned from space physically changed by a cosmic ray shower, each in a different way, and become superheroes. Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) became the stretchy Mister Fantastic (curiously, his power is seen the least), his wife Sue Storm (c) is now the self-explanatory Invisible Woman (who also does powerful things with force fields), and her younger brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn) can transform himself into the fiery Human Torch. Reed's best friend Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) underwent the most extreme transformation, permanently becoming the superstrong, rock-skinned Thing.
Four years later the FF, who live together, are universally renowned as a force for good by a grateful, and seemingly much improved, world. They have as a helper a cutesy robot named HERBIE (Humanoid Experimental Robot B-Type Integrated Electronics, voiced by Matthew Wood) whose burbles began to grate: couldn't they have programmed him to have a proper speaking voice?
Everything seems to be going well, professionally and personally. Sue finds out she is pregnant, after she and Reed have spent a long time trying, and so the anxiety and anticipation of impending parenthood is thrown into the usual bantering and bickering in which happy families engage.
It can't last, of course.
The enigmatic Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) comes to address the world with some bad news. A massive, ravenous space being named Galactus (Ralph Ineson) is on his way. His diet is the life force of planets, and Earth is next on the menu (though his ETA is neither given nor requested, oddly).
Naturally, everyone looks to the FF to deal with this threat. But despite their powers, the heroes soon discover that is not going to be easy. Galactus offers a bargain: he will spare Earth in exchange for Sue's unborn child.
Reed and Sue are understandably not too keen on the idea, but is the sacrifice necessary for the greater good? Or can they find another way to defeat Galactus before he gobbles everything up?
The film is unpretentious and straightforward, some might think a little too much so, but it works. The story keeps moving along and the characters are well played and their interactions feel genuine. They're very much to the fore throughout. The film's bright colours and impressive production design are immersive, creating a world both retro and futuristic.
This simplicity might not be enough for some and it's possible to nitpick. There are few side characters and those that are around get little to do. But complaining about that kind of thing is really beside the point given the way the writers and director Matt Shakman (creator of WandaVision) have made the film. Just go with it and enjoy.
There's a mid-credits scene and a scene at the very end and the promise that the Fantastic Four will return. I'm looking forward to it.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
(PG, 115 minutes)
4 stars
I'd have thought The Fantastic Four to be a fairly straightforward Marvel Comics to adapt effectively for the screen. It's got an interesting origin story and four solid main characters, each with individual qualities and powers, with which to work. But up to now, the cinematic adaptations have been surprisingly lacklustre, with box office returns ranging from bad to mediocre, and little acclaim or lasting affection for any of them. They had their enjoyable elements but lacked that certain something.
Filmmakers kept trying, though, and this version is easily the best so far. And that's not damning with faint praise: it's a lot of fun.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps takes on place on Earth-828, a reality in which the title characters seem to be the only known superheroes. The setting combines high tech with a distinctive 1960s look and feel - a nod to the period in which the characters first appeared (1961).
Two trivia notes: 828 is the date of original artist Jack Kirby's birthday, and there are cameos by the stars of the first Fantastic Four movie from the 1990s, made on a very low budget and only it's been said, solely so the man who held the movie rights could retain them. It never got an official release so it's nice those actors, who made the movie in good faith, finally get an acknowledgment.
The characters' origin story is cleverly and economically retold in a celebratory TV broadcast early in the film. Four astronauts returned from space physically changed by a cosmic ray shower, each in a different way, and become superheroes. Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) became the stretchy Mister Fantastic (curiously, his power is seen the least), his wife Sue Storm (c) is now the self-explanatory Invisible Woman (who also does powerful things with force fields), and her younger brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn) can transform himself into the fiery Human Torch. Reed's best friend Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) underwent the most extreme transformation, permanently becoming the superstrong, rock-skinned Thing.
Four years later the FF, who live together, are universally renowned as a force for good by a grateful, and seemingly much improved, world. They have as a helper a cutesy robot named HERBIE (Humanoid Experimental Robot B-Type Integrated Electronics, voiced by Matthew Wood) whose burbles began to grate: couldn't they have programmed him to have a proper speaking voice?
Everything seems to be going well, professionally and personally. Sue finds out she is pregnant, after she and Reed have spent a long time trying, and so the anxiety and anticipation of impending parenthood is thrown into the usual bantering and bickering in which happy families engage.
It can't last, of course.
The enigmatic Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) comes to address the world with some bad news. A massive, ravenous space being named Galactus (Ralph Ineson) is on his way. His diet is the life force of planets, and Earth is next on the menu (though his ETA is neither given nor requested, oddly).
Naturally, everyone looks to the FF to deal with this threat. But despite their powers, the heroes soon discover that is not going to be easy. Galactus offers a bargain: he will spare Earth in exchange for Sue's unborn child.
Reed and Sue are understandably not too keen on the idea, but is the sacrifice necessary for the greater good? Or can they find another way to defeat Galactus before he gobbles everything up?
The film is unpretentious and straightforward, some might think a little too much so, but it works. The story keeps moving along and the characters are well played and their interactions feel genuine. They're very much to the fore throughout. The film's bright colours and impressive production design are immersive, creating a world both retro and futuristic.
This simplicity might not be enough for some and it's possible to nitpick. There are few side characters and those that are around get little to do. But complaining about that kind of thing is really beside the point given the way the writers and director Matt Shakman (creator of WandaVision) have made the film. Just go with it and enjoy.
There's a mid-credits scene and a scene at the very end and the promise that the Fantastic Four will return. I'm looking forward to it.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
(PG, 115 minutes)
4 stars
I'd have thought The Fantastic Four to be a fairly straightforward Marvel Comics to adapt effectively for the screen. It's got an interesting origin story and four solid main characters, each with individual qualities and powers, with which to work. But up to now, the cinematic adaptations have been surprisingly lacklustre, with box office returns ranging from bad to mediocre, and little acclaim or lasting affection for any of them. They had their enjoyable elements but lacked that certain something.
Filmmakers kept trying, though, and this version is easily the best so far. And that's not damning with faint praise: it's a lot of fun.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps takes on place on Earth-828, a reality in which the title characters seem to be the only known superheroes. The setting combines high tech with a distinctive 1960s look and feel - a nod to the period in which the characters first appeared (1961).
Two trivia notes: 828 is the date of original artist Jack Kirby's birthday, and there are cameos by the stars of the first Fantastic Four movie from the 1990s, made on a very low budget and only it's been said, solely so the man who held the movie rights could retain them. It never got an official release so it's nice those actors, who made the movie in good faith, finally get an acknowledgment.
The characters' origin story is cleverly and economically retold in a celebratory TV broadcast early in the film. Four astronauts returned from space physically changed by a cosmic ray shower, each in a different way, and become superheroes. Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) became the stretchy Mister Fantastic (curiously, his power is seen the least), his wife Sue Storm (c) is now the self-explanatory Invisible Woman (who also does powerful things with force fields), and her younger brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn) can transform himself into the fiery Human Torch. Reed's best friend Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) underwent the most extreme transformation, permanently becoming the superstrong, rock-skinned Thing.
Four years later the FF, who live together, are universally renowned as a force for good by a grateful, and seemingly much improved, world. They have as a helper a cutesy robot named HERBIE (Humanoid Experimental Robot B-Type Integrated Electronics, voiced by Matthew Wood) whose burbles began to grate: couldn't they have programmed him to have a proper speaking voice?
Everything seems to be going well, professionally and personally. Sue finds out she is pregnant, after she and Reed have spent a long time trying, and so the anxiety and anticipation of impending parenthood is thrown into the usual bantering and bickering in which happy families engage.
It can't last, of course.
The enigmatic Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) comes to address the world with some bad news. A massive, ravenous space being named Galactus (Ralph Ineson) is on his way. His diet is the life force of planets, and Earth is next on the menu (though his ETA is neither given nor requested, oddly).
Naturally, everyone looks to the FF to deal with this threat. But despite their powers, the heroes soon discover that is not going to be easy. Galactus offers a bargain: he will spare Earth in exchange for Sue's unborn child.
Reed and Sue are understandably not too keen on the idea, but is the sacrifice necessary for the greater good? Or can they find another way to defeat Galactus before he gobbles everything up?
The film is unpretentious and straightforward, some might think a little too much so, but it works. The story keeps moving along and the characters are well played and their interactions feel genuine. They're very much to the fore throughout. The film's bright colours and impressive production design are immersive, creating a world both retro and futuristic.
This simplicity might not be enough for some and it's possible to nitpick. There are few side characters and those that are around get little to do. But complaining about that kind of thing is really beside the point given the way the writers and director Matt Shakman (creator of WandaVision) have made the film. Just go with it and enjoy.
There's a mid-credits scene and a scene at the very end and the promise that the Fantastic Four will return. I'm looking forward to it.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
(PG, 115 minutes)
4 stars
I'd have thought The Fantastic Four to be a fairly straightforward Marvel Comics to adapt effectively for the screen. It's got an interesting origin story and four solid main characters, each with individual qualities and powers, with which to work. But up to now, the cinematic adaptations have been surprisingly lacklustre, with box office returns ranging from bad to mediocre, and little acclaim or lasting affection for any of them. They had their enjoyable elements but lacked that certain something.
Filmmakers kept trying, though, and this version is easily the best so far. And that's not damning with faint praise: it's a lot of fun.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps takes on place on Earth-828, a reality in which the title characters seem to be the only known superheroes. The setting combines high tech with a distinctive 1960s look and feel - a nod to the period in which the characters first appeared (1961).
Two trivia notes: 828 is the date of original artist Jack Kirby's birthday, and there are cameos by the stars of the first Fantastic Four movie from the 1990s, made on a very low budget and only it's been said, solely so the man who held the movie rights could retain them. It never got an official release so it's nice those actors, who made the movie in good faith, finally get an acknowledgment.
The characters' origin story is cleverly and economically retold in a celebratory TV broadcast early in the film. Four astronauts returned from space physically changed by a cosmic ray shower, each in a different way, and become superheroes. Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) became the stretchy Mister Fantastic (curiously, his power is seen the least), his wife Sue Storm (c) is now the self-explanatory Invisible Woman (who also does powerful things with force fields), and her younger brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn) can transform himself into the fiery Human Torch. Reed's best friend Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) underwent the most extreme transformation, permanently becoming the superstrong, rock-skinned Thing.
Four years later the FF, who live together, are universally renowned as a force for good by a grateful, and seemingly much improved, world. They have as a helper a cutesy robot named HERBIE (Humanoid Experimental Robot B-Type Integrated Electronics, voiced by Matthew Wood) whose burbles began to grate: couldn't they have programmed him to have a proper speaking voice?
Everything seems to be going well, professionally and personally. Sue finds out she is pregnant, after she and Reed have spent a long time trying, and so the anxiety and anticipation of impending parenthood is thrown into the usual bantering and bickering in which happy families engage.
It can't last, of course.
The enigmatic Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) comes to address the world with some bad news. A massive, ravenous space being named Galactus (Ralph Ineson) is on his way. His diet is the life force of planets, and Earth is next on the menu (though his ETA is neither given nor requested, oddly).
Naturally, everyone looks to the FF to deal with this threat. But despite their powers, the heroes soon discover that is not going to be easy. Galactus offers a bargain: he will spare Earth in exchange for Sue's unborn child.
Reed and Sue are understandably not too keen on the idea, but is the sacrifice necessary for the greater good? Or can they find another way to defeat Galactus before he gobbles everything up?
The film is unpretentious and straightforward, some might think a little too much so, but it works. The story keeps moving along and the characters are well played and their interactions feel genuine. They're very much to the fore throughout. The film's bright colours and impressive production design are immersive, creating a world both retro and futuristic.
This simplicity might not be enough for some and it's possible to nitpick. There are few side characters and those that are around get little to do. But complaining about that kind of thing is really beside the point given the way the writers and director Matt Shakman (creator of WandaVision) have made the film. Just go with it and enjoy.
There's a mid-credits scene and a scene at the very end and the promise that the Fantastic Four will return. I'm looking forward to it.