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Irish Times
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
The Fantastic Four: First Steps review - Good, clean, retro fun. The superpower here might be sentimentality
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Director : Matt Shakman Cert : 12A Starring : Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Julia Garner, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, Ralph Ineson Running Time : 1 hr 54 mins It remains an oddity that – until this weekend, anyway – two of Marvel's most popular creations of the 1960s have singularly failed to click in stand-alone films. A brace of Hulk projects slumped. The comics giant has also struggled to make sense of The Fantastic Four. Were they a little too of their time? The happy family. Matching costumes. Clean-cut heroics. Cold War morality. They were never cool in the way the irreverent Spider-Man was cool. The supposed solution here is to lean into the period detail. Set on an alternative Earth to our own (and that of the Marvel Cinematic Universe), The Fantastic Four: First Steps revels in a retro-futuristic version of the 1960s. Chet Baker is on the wireless. VW Beetles are on the streets. Fashions are sub-Quant. But Reed Richards, genius pater familias of the Fantastic Four, has mastered teleportation and lightspeed transportation. Similarities to the Jetsons are pitched as a feature rather than a bug. It seems as if – see also the recent Superman reboot – origin stories have gone out of style. Mark Gatiss, enjoying himself as a variation on Ed Sullivan, introduces the heroic foursome on telly and allows a potted history of how they became so Fantastic. In short, they went into space and weird waves mucked up their metabolisms. Reed Richards ( Pedro Pascal ) can stretch. Sue Storm ( Vanessa Kirby ), Richards's wife, can turn invisible. Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) is stony and strong. Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), Sue's brother, can burst into fire. READ MORE At least that's the idea. The plot is so taken up with impending apocalypse that the team doesn't get much chance to use their superpowers until the last 15 minutes. This is particularly irksome for Sue. In the comic series, the Invisible Woman (for it is she) accumulated further powers as the years progressed. Those new to the story may be puzzled as to the apparently unbounded nature of her abilities in the current entertainment's closing conflagration. The crisis that so escalated is essentially the same as the one that launched The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Shalla-Bal, distaff Silver Surfer in the unrecognisable form of Julia Garner , visits New York to announce the Earth is being demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass. I jest. I jest. She is herald to the mighty Galactus, who seems to destroy planets for fun. In this version, Ralph Ineson – best known for throwing a copper kettle over a pub in The Office – allows just the faintest hint of Leeds into the cosmic entity's booming delivery. Coming after the exhaustingly overstuffed Superman, First Steps rattles along with a refreshing clarity of purpose. It doesn't exactly make sense. Richards is a little too warm for a hero who originally came across like the clean-cut, hospital-cornered star of an Eisenhower-era cigarette commercial. The computer-generated set pieces, by allowing anything to be possible, cause nothing to matter. So self-conscious are the period stylings that they end up reminding one more of earlier reimaginings of the pre- Beatles era than of anything actually produced in that period. As if someone attempted to construct the early 1960s by watching Mad Men rather than The Apartment. But we are – thank heavens – free of any tangled links to previous films or TV series from the MCU. No homework is required to make sense of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. It can be enjoyed or loathed on its own uncomplicated terms. Engagement will, however, require an embrace of some sentimental values that have gone out of date. If the film does have a message it is that the greatest superpower of all is a mother's love. Ahhh! (Or bleurgh! if you prefer.) In cinemas from July 24th
CBC
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Super Thomas gets a retirement party fit for a comic book hero
If you've been to Heroes and Hobbies comics in Mount Pearl, there's a good chance you've seen Super Thomas welcome you in. But the nearly 13-year-old dog is having trouble with the stairs, and his owners have decided it's time to spend more time at home. Thomas was centre stage for a retirement party over the weekend full of cake, photos and pets.
Gizmodo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Gizmodo
Marvel's Ultimate Universe Is Approaching Its Endgame
Since its launch at the top of 2024, Ultimate Marvel has been working toward a finish line that's soon approaching. Days ago, Marvel teased the alt-universe's first proper event, Ultimate Endgame kicking off in December. In the comics, the Maker—the evil version of Reed Richards from the original Ultimate Marvel books—made this new universe with the specific intent of leaving it without any heroes to stop his oppressive regime. Since his imprisonment, various heroes have emerged and have been either doing their own thing or intentionally preparing for his eventual return. While Marvel's keeping specifics under wraps at the moment, it released two teaser images that aim to really drive home the event's significance and establish some of its major players. Both covers mimic the teaser and initial posters of Avengers: Endgame, which kickstarted the MCU's current multiverse obsession and closed out the Infinity Saga. The parallels are likely intentional, since Marvel's billing Ultimate Endgame as 'the showdown for the fate of the Ultimate Universe.' But like the movies, we've surely got more tales to tell in this world, whether the heroes win or lose against the Maker. Writers Jonathan Hickman (Ultimate Spider-Man) and Deniz Camp (The Ultimates), and other Ultimate creators will be at a San Diego Comic-Con panel on Saturday, July 26, where we'll learn more about what's in store for the event and possibly the larger Ultimate line. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what's next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.
CTV News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
What's On: JFL, Fantasia, and Cho Dem
Montreal Watch Chris Bumbray provides the lowdown on stand-up comics, Asian and horror films, and Vietnamese food.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
New Judge Dredd Movie in the Works From Thor: Ragnarok Director
A new movie is now in the works. Created by John Wagner and Carlos Ezquerra, the Judge Dredd character first appeared in the British weekly anthology comic 2000 AD in the late 1970s. He quickly became a popular pop culture figure and went on to headline two live-action movies: 1995's Judge Dredd by Sylvester Stallone and 2012's Dredd with Karl Urban. Now, per The Hollywood Reporter, a new Judge Dredd movie is in the works from Taika Waititi. What else do we know about the new Judge Dredd movie? The script for the new Judge Dredd movie is being written by Drew Pearce, who has worked on projects such as 2013's Iron Man 3, 2015's Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation, 2019's Hobbs & Shaw, 2024's The Fall Guy, and more. Chris Kingsley, Jason Kingsley, and Ben Smith of Rebellion Developments are producing the movie alongside Roy Lee of Vertigo Entertainment, Jeremy Platt, Natalie Viscuso, and Pearce. Official plot details remain under wraps at this time; however, The Hollywood Reporter's article notes that the pitch 'is said to take inspiration more from the comics than the previous screen iterations, leaning into the world-building and dark humor. It is also meant to be a fun sci-fi blockbuster that nonetheless speaks to this moment in culture. The desire is to see the movie launch a Dredd universe that could be explored with additional movies and shows across various platforms.' Waititi and Pearce reportedly grew up reading Judge Dredd comics and 'are friends who have been trying to find a project to work on together for years.' While best known for directing 2017's Thor: Ragnarok and 2022's Thor: Love and Thunder, Waititi won the Best Adapted Screenplay Academy Award in 2020 for writing Jojo Rabbit. His filmography also includes 2007's Eagle vs Shark, 2010's Boy, 2014's What We Do in the Shadows, 2016's Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and 2023's Next Goal Wins. Solve the daily Crossword
