Fantastic Four (2015) Movie Review

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The Good:

First off, let's give this some effort points for being original. This version of the film tries to go a bit beyond the traditional comic book story and attempts to give a more realistic origin. You also get a couple new and interesting variations of their powers compared to the previous films.  This especially applies to Toby Kebbell's character, "Doom", who possess a number of new powers. Michael B. Jordan was probably one of the few bright spots in the film (no pun intended) due to his wise-cracks and humorous one-liners.

The Bad:

(Grab a chair, this may take a while.) This film tried way too hard to be different. I don't want to spoil it, but let's just say that their origin story may draw a lot of comparisons to the origin story of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. (You'll know EXACTLY what I'm talking about when you see it.) There was entirely too much time devoted to the characters, starting even from when they were children. As a result, you're not even given enough quality time of seeing what you want, which is the main characters using their powers, and fighting the villain.

Speaking of which, the character of Doom reminded me of some type of Darth Vader-like character, with no clear explanation as to why he's "evil". It just seemed counter intuitive to devote so much time into developing a character, and then under develop the explanation as to what motivates their actions. (Couldn't tell if he wanted revenge, or if he was just an evil Captain Planet.)

As for the fight scenes, get ready to wait about 1.5 hours for it to happen. The main fight scene was short, cheesy, and some parts just seemed lazy in my opinion. The end of the scene seemed to be covered up in so much flash and special effects that it's very difficult to make out what exactly happened. I'm not sure if this was done intentionally or not, but they practically stole a scene right from the script of Avengers: Age of Ultron. (So much for originality.)

The Reason:

*Deep Sigh* As you can probably tell by my face, this movie was a bit of a let down. Now to its credit, it was better than the previous Fantastic Four movies, but that isn't saying much at all. The previous films tried to stick too close to the comics and this one went too far off. In other words, this film failed to find the happy medium. A perfect example is the fact that this film tries to appeal to younger audiences with the super hero aspect, but then goes a little too dark with some semi-gruesome killings. Even one of the main actors, Miles Teller (who plays Reed Richards) said that this movie wasn't going to do well. Question is, "Eman, should I go see this for myself?"... My response would be, "Sure. Give yourself a root canal while you're at it too." (Okay that's too harsh, but you get my point.) I would recommend that if you don't believe me, and still want to see this for yourself, please find the CHEAPEST matinee price available. Otherwise, you can absolutely wait for this via rental or download. Lastly there is no end credit scene, so do not bother waiting after the credits. In the many movies I've seen, I can't recall the last time I heard so many boo's from the audience. :-/

The Rating: 6/10 

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