Fantastic Four

I don't like comic book films about heroes with superpowers because I consider them to be heavily infantile and their audience clearly belongs to a different age category than mine. But even within what comic books work with and strive for, Fantastic Four tragically fails. It amounts to sterile boredom, where all attempts at dramatic transcendence fail and where it lacks even what its genre colleagues possess, namely exciting action and plenty of special effects. The ratio of investment to result here is catastrophic. Overall impression: 10%. (02/04/2018)

I'm quite sorry that the restart Fantastic Four failed. A better origin of the main heroes could not have been imagined for film purposes and the actors were also ideally chosen, but on the other hand, the film is terribly dragged down by inconsistency, which is especially evident towards the end. Until the final battle, I was very satisfied with the concept of the story, apart from a few things. At times, it was surprisingly dark and I definitely appreciate the effort to approach it differently than previous films, but unfortunately it didn't quite work out in the end. The final battle with Doom is just a digital mess, and as I watched it, I realized that huge potential had been flushed down the toilet. However, I definitely don't throw Fantastic Four in the trash. I certainly didn't get bored and I left the cinema relatively satisfied, but after the second home screening, some of the nonsense and missteps just can't be overlooked, and I see problems elsewhere, not just with the mishandled ending. Also, I don't understand why it's just a little over an hour and a half long. We probably won't find out how the film would have looked if there hadn't been creative disagreements between Fox and Josh Trank, but I do believe that the final product would have been at least something to build on in the future, as certain elements of the film are excellent. However, Fantastic Four unfortunately fails as a cohesive unit, thereby sinking all the positive elements it contains. If this were the pilot episode of a series, it wouldn't be such a big mess. But as a blockbuster with a $120 million budget, it simply can't stand up, especially when some of the tricks resemble TV production in terms of quality, which is unforgivable. It's a shame to waste the potential. (05/04/2018)

An old-fashioned, very good film that took a different path than the current comic book wave, which hasn't been used in a few years, and unfortunately it backfired. Most viewers probably wanted to see something else, but I enjoyed Fantastic Four without shame. In my opinion, there's actually nothing wrong with it - the viewer cares about the likeable characters, the science-boy atmosphere gradually transitions smoothly into a big adventure, the special effects are great, and the terrific music by Marc Beltrami and Philip Glass is one of the best to come out of the comic book soundtrack genre in years. It's a shame that we probably won't see any sequel(s). (12/23/2015)

An origin story like crazy, that could never find a favorable reception with the audience. It contains so many separate films that it remains almost untenable as a whole. In the first layer, it goes through the exploration of other worlds, in the second it explores oneself when trying to succeed in your field despite unfavorable circumstances. And in the third layer, a military dilemma is projected, and ultimately also the predictable realm of an action comic. To fit all of this into one blockbuster would take three hours, and even then it wouldn't be easy. Josh Trank attempts to master it in ninety minutes, which is complete folly, but it's so appealing to me because of the fight with the windmills. Also because he knew how to lead the viewer to the characters – primarily through the boyish charm of Miles Teller and the closeups on Kate Mara's eyes. That's why it's a pity that the birth of an iconic villain comes across completely empty and doesn't create a craving for a potential (however unlikely) sequel. (01/12/2016)

I must say I was quite surprised by the pretty negative reviews this movie has been getting here. I didn’t think The Fantastic Four was any worse than the last Avengers movie. The fact that the plot is as silly as a pair of trousers with holes in them does not surprise me at all. That is essentially true about every other Marvel movie (or DC Comics, they’re pretty much the same) that is being made these days. But I do have to say that I liked the way they depicted other dimensions and planets. You can clearly see that some grumpy digital effects specialist really had a great time playing with those in this film. I didn’t have any problem with the actors, either. For instance, I’ve really enjoyed Miles Teller’s performances lately. I don’t need to point out that this movie is useless. In my opinion, any contemporary comic book movie is useless – they keep recycling the same things over and over again. A three-star review is adequate. What I got was superheroes, a beautiful and colorful digital world and an average villain who has his better moments. So, I got pretty much everything these movies are able to offer. You see, these movies hardly ever manage to deliver more than that. (10/27/2016)