Is it already time for a reboot of Fantastic Four? After all, it’s been only a decade since the previous Fantastic Four was adapted for the screen and a mere eight years since its sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. In the interim, The Avengers and their component characters generated a panoply of box office blockbusters. Could Hollywood producers resist rebooting the Fantastic Four franchise? Obviously not.
The new iteration extracts elements from the original Stan Lee-Jack Kirby series for Marvel Comics as well as the cinematic precursors. However, it offers a somewhat revised origin story, which dates back to the childhoods of Reed Richards and his friend, Ben Grimm. Here, Reed (Owen Judge as a child) is an unappreciated science prodigy growing up in Oyster Bay, outside of New York City. As the film opens, Reed is at the front of his grade school class, discoursing on the inventions that he is working on in his garage. His pinch-faced teacher denounces Reed as a confabulator and humiliates him in front of his peers. At home, things are no better; Reed’s mother and stepfather demonstrate little affection or affinity for him.
Eager to harvest parts for his inventions, young Reed sneaks into a local scrap yard. There, he is confronted by one of his classmates, Ben Grimm (Evan Hannemann as a child), whose family operates the facility and lives in an adjoining hovel. Like Reed, Ben is disdained by his family. The two lost souls forge a friendship. Fast-forward a few years. Ben enters his invention, a cyber matter transporter, into a local science fair. When he demonstrates the machine there’s a malfunction, and he is disqualified from the competition.
However, Dr. Franklin Storm (Reg E. Cathey from television’s “The Wire”) recognizes Reed’s genius and recruits him to the prestigious Baxter Institute. There, Reed is surrounded by fellow smartniks, including Sue (Kate Mara), Storm’s adopted daughter. Reed flourishes in this talent incubator.
Storm’s son, Johnny (Michael B. Jordan from Fruitvale Station) has become a hotrod racing thrill-seeker.
Storm had mentored another promising lad, Victor von Doom (Toby Kebble); however, the Baxter Institute had expelled Victor for his anti-authoritarian attitude and misconduct. Storm visits Victor and convinces him to return to the Baxter Institute.
Reed’s vision becomes a reality and a giant rocket ship is constructed. Reed, Ben, Johnny and Victor don space suits and travel to an alien space-time continuum. Sue is left behind to monitor them from a computer screen. When a series of explosions erupt, the four space voyagers attempt to retreat; however, Victor falls into a pit and is left behind. Can he possibly survive after he is marooned on this alien terrain?
This Fantastic Four is a decidedly uneven film. Does this perhaps reflect the divergent pedigrees of the three screenwriters? Josh Trank made his feature debut with the well-regarded lost-footage film, Chronicle. The film was made on a modest $12 million budget, but yielded a gross of $125 million worldwide. Simon Kinberg’s background is with the X-Men series. This film limns the theme of adolescent alienation that pervades that franchise. Jeremy Slater is culpable for The Lazarus Effect, an execrable affair.
As Reed, Miles Teller is bland and lacking any palpable charisma. Early in the film, Jamie Bell is fine as Reed’s best friend, Ben. However, once Ben is transmogrified into an ambulatory rock formation, there is little that Bell can do as an actor to humanize his character.
The filmmakers’ efforts to racially diversify the cast are laudable. It provides an African American as the benevolent Dr. Storm—Cathey brings a great sense of gravitas and empathy to the role. He helps anchor the film narratively in its first half. As his son, Johnny, Jordan captures his character’s rebellious nature. The depiction of the father-son relationship and Storm’s efforts to steer Johnny in the right direction are engaging. The dynamic embodies a poignancy that is rare for a comic book adaptation.
The film’s strongest element is its musical score. Composed by Marco Beltrami and Philip Glass, it provides a distraction from the film’s manifest shortcomings.
Because of its deviations from the source text, comic book devotees will be predisposed to dislike this film. Indeed, many fanboys have ventured onto the Internet for venomous tirades against this Fantastic Four.
Fantastic Four
**1/2
Miles Teller
Michael B. Jordan
Directed by Josh Trank
Rated PG-13
