Fantastic Lemonade

So…I was not a fan of the the latest stab f the Fantastic Four. And I was not alone. But Jamie Broadnax, whose writing I respect and enjoy, has voiced an appreciation of the film.

This challenged me to think about the film a bit harder. Specifically, are there things I did like? Things that I could appreciate even if they did not work?

There things I liked. For instance, Franklin Storm. I liked him. He radiated a general kindness and his interactions with Johnny and Sue were welcome additions. It’s frustrating he kind of fades away until he is needed for the “Big Emotional Motivation” towards the end.

I did like Johnny Storm in general. The specifics frustrate me…Johnny as a free spirited risk taker works better for me than “Angry Risk Taker”. Michael B. Jordan manages to still infuse some charm into the role.

I like the cast in general. All the actors are proven talent, so the issue was never performance. The actors did their best with questionable material. Dr. Doom especially suffers there. Nothing about his early behavior suggests what he will become. There is an offhanded comment about whether the world should be saved…but once everyone gets their powers, Doom is lost and nobody seems to care. Once he reappears he hates the world and wants to destroy…because.

The use of powers, especially by Reed, were pretty effective.

I liked the inter-dimensional travel part of the plot. The use of science in general. The early suggestions of Sc-Fi Adventure would have been a great path to go. This was clearly borrowed from the Ultimate Fantastic Four comics. I think this works well.

Leaping from there, I think would have benefited the film to have a different villain. Victor Von Doom should have been there, but more as a scientific foil for Reed. It might have been a good idea to borrow from the comics, unbeknownst to the rest of the crew, Doom alters their coordinates, resulting in the tragedy that gives them all powers. And Sue would be there with them. Not sitting back at a computer terminal.

Instead, a different villain. An obvious choice would have been Annihilus. The discovery of an alternate dimension is not one way. Save Doom for a later film in the franchise.

And then there is the whole deal of Reed running away. Yeah, it gives Ben his motivation for anger towards Reed. But it felt like getting rid of Reed was more because they did not know what to do with him. The idea that Reed sees Ben in his rock form and simply runs away…just does not gel. It would have made more sense to show Reed working with Franklin and Sue Storm with the goal of getting everybody back to normal. The big conflict with the military regarding the attempts to turn Ben and Johnny into weapons.

There are all sorts of ways this film could have gone to be better. A brighter color pallet for instance. More humor. More heroics.

And for Pete’s sake…give Ben Grimm some pants.

August 11, 2015 0

Blahtastic (Fantastic Four, 2015)

Truthfully, the Fantastic Four reboot is exactly what I would expect from someone behind Chronicle. Chronicle was a good film, but it was tonally dark, focused on the breakdown of family bonds and friendship. It was dark and sad. None of these are really good tones for the Fantastic Four.

Josh Trank has already tried disowning the movie, but the problem is? It sure looks like the kind of movie I would expect from him. The film has a color treatment to suck out any and all vibrancy. It is a serious and un-cheery affair. Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan) is not a carefree adventure loving guy…now he is and aggressive, unhappy street racer.

Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell) is…a guy? Sue Storm (Kate Mara) is awkward socially, so is Reed (Mile Teller) and so is Victor Von Doom (Toby Kebbell). There is nothing that makes the characters easy to tell apart…and little to see a spark of heroism.

The film takes forever to get to the pivotal accident that gives everyone their powers. And then the film gets real boring. Doctor Doom is terribly dull, and lacks any visual identity. Sure, he has a green cloak. But He looks like a generic villain, like they forgot to finish the character design in the pre-production stage.

The film lacks any joy of discovery with the characters, and focuses on the darkest take of their getting powers. They do not have code names in the film. Everybody refers to the as Subjects. Johnny’s digs at Ben are simply mean, lacking the playful spirit (Captured so well by Chris Evans) of the character in the comics.

This is a dull film, that misses why people love these characters in the first place. I wish it had been a disaster, because that might have been interesting to watch.

And there is just something about the Thing not wearing pants that just looks weird.

August 8, 2015 0

Spider-Man Swings Past the Origin

The site Collider has a discussion with the writers (though, the actual interview occurred on the Andy Greenwald Podcast) of the rebooted Spider-Man franchise.

Much talk has been given about Spider-Man’s second reboot and his entering the the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The hype is getting so ridiculous that an article appeared in my Facebook feed *confirming* Spider-Man would appear in Civil War. People are so desperate for angles that they are confirming stories confirmed months ago.

The more interesting part is the address the most common concern people seem to have about the reboot. Are we getting stuck with another origin story? The fact that Spider-Man is appearing in Civil War would indicate the answer to be no. The MCU has been fairly good at not jumping backwards. The timeline appears as if they will be jumping into a story with an active Spider-Man.

This interview suggests that, currently, they are not writing an origin movie:

“I think that everybody feels like you know he got bit by a spider and you know Uncle Ben died, and we probably don’t need to revisit that.”

“We want to explore the fact that just because you get superpowers doesn’t make you into a really sophisticated, successful adult. He’s still a kid and he’s clumsy and he’s a geek and he’s a bit of an outcast, and in many ways the superpowers amplify that and exacerbate his trying to fit in.”

This is good to see. Truthfully, the origin movie is rarely needed. I get that there are all sorts of fun that can occur with someone learning their powers. But a simple solution is set the story early in the hero’s career. This allows for amusing and dramatic stumbles due to inexperience. You can still set up the rivalries.

In that sense, I get the idea that DC is working with. It seems like Batman v Superman will be introducing characters who are already active. I am not fully behind the “older Batman” approach…but in a way, I appreciate the way they seem to be avoiding another Batman origin story. Sure, it appears we will see some flashbacks, but comics have always reflected on characters origins in their storytelling. But Warner Brothers and DC seem to be realizing they can start the story later in the career of the character. Really, I think it would have helped Man of Steel to start in his early career, instead of the introduction to his world as fighting a massive and destructive battle with Zod.

To be fair, Marvel has not just given us origin films. The Incredible Hulk was not an origin tale and really, Thor was an established Asgardian Warrior. But Marvel really has leaned heavily on origin films. And it certainly worked for the best with Captain America. So it is good to see that Marvel and their screenwriters understand that it is just not necessary to retell the Spider-Origin all over again.

August 1, 2015 0

Ava DuVernay Will Not Direct the Black Panther

I was hoping this one would come to be. I really thought DuVernay’s Selma and felt that it would be good to bring some of that passion to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In a talk with Essence Magazine, she confirmed she was not going to direct. Explaining that why she loved the people involved, she could not come to a place of agreement with Marvel. This is certainly not the first time Marvel and a Director could not find a point where their visions aligned enough make things work.

A lot of this comes down to just how Avengers-centric the Marvel Cinematic Universe is. There is seeming to be less and less room for specific visions within the films themselves. Already Civil War looks less like a Captain America film and more like a mid season replacement for the regular Avengers.

Marvel Studios needs to start looking to expand their product. Movies that are not connected to the Avengers and movies that might even be outside their theatrical universe. Warner Brothers has shifted films based on Vertigo comics to New Line. Marvel needs to start exploring movies that are based in some of their more independent books.

As it stands, their vision and commitment to the Avengers franchise is becoming to restrictive to allow them to work with directors uncomfortable with making a film that serves the bigger puzzle.

July 4, 2015 0