I would have wanted nothing more than to tell all my friends that they need to see this film. I wish I could have given this film a 9 out of 10 and declared it the year’s best superhero film. However, this is not the case. It is with great disappointment that I declare this reboot one of the worst films of the year. With that said, this film had a bunch of potential, but this potential was not fully realized in the end result.
With Every New Discovery, There Is Risk
While the film certainly has many problems, it does have several bright spots. First of all, I like the first 20 minutes or so. The film did a decent job building its’ characters, even though the dialogue they were given was pretty bad. I particularly liked the relationship between Ben and Reed. The problem is that the film does not develop it well enough. I also really liked how the film handled the relationship between Sue and Johnny. They have a much more complex relationship than in previous films, but once again, the film does not explore enough of it. Another plus to the film is also how they got their powers. I know many people do not like the approach that the film chose, but I thought it was interesting. I loved the aftermath of them getting their powers. It was a very haunting scene that demonstrates the true terror of the characters getting their powers. Lastly, I enjoyed several aspects of the character of Doctor Doom. For example, I loved when he first popped up, and even the first couple of scenes with him. I thought he was absolutely menacing (even though he looked pretty stupid). However, as the film went on, his character became a generic villain and lost all of his menacing qualities. Aside for this, the film is a mess. Before elaborating, I do want to mention that this film had potential. I saw glimpses of what the film could have been, and it could have been much better. It could have been interesting, it could have been sophisticated, but ended up being a complete disappointment.
You Can’t Fix This. No One Can
The worst aspect to this film is the writing. There is absolutely no subtlety to this film at all. Especially the very last scene. Even though I do not think this film is necessarily horrible, the last scene is. It had some of the worst dialogue I have heard all year. Another problem with the film is also the cast. I love every single person of this cast, but they were not very good, and I do not blame them. They were given atrocious dialogue, and they tried their best to make it work. I could also tell that they did not want to be there. The last 30 minutes or so consisted of them giving very wooden performances. Whether they were talking to each other, or using their powers, all of them felt very disconnected from the film. Not only that, but the four leads had no chemistry with each other. It is not a good sign when the 2005 and 2007 Fantastic Four cast had more chemistry than this cast. In addition to the acting, the editing of this film also felt disconnected. It seemed like the editors were given a bunch of footage, and were instructed to assemble it in a way that made some sense. Going from scene to scene did not feel very smooth, which made the film move in a very uneven pace. Another major negative to the film is the use of visual effects. They were some of the worst effects I have seen. They were even worse than the 2005 and 2007 Fantastic Four films. I do not need the best visuals effects to enjoy a film, but these effects were simply laughable. On occasion they looked passable, but they were mostly a disappointment. Finally, I need to mention the use of Doctor Doom and the final 20 minutes. They dropped the ball big time. Doctor Doom started off alright, but he was never given proper motivation. Sure, he had a couple of scenes where I thought he was pretty menacing, but once his plan started taking hold, I lost interest. The final 20 minutes had the worst dialogue, the worst special effects, the worst acting, and simply the worst execution. I felt like it did not belong with the rest of the film, which only added to my disappointment with the final product.
Closing Remarks
I am aware of all the behind the scenes drama associated with this film, but I am here to review the final product. Even though I thought the film showed some promise, I cannot score it on what could have been, I have to score it on what it is. This is a bad film, and I cannot recommend it to anyone. It makes me really upset because there was a good film buried underneath, but all the problems behind the scenes seemed to really bring it down.