Book: Marvel Comics' The Fantastic Four #1
(with some influence from Ultimate Fantastic Four)
(with some influence from Ultimate Fantastic Four)
Gap between first publication and film release: Forty-Four years (1961-2005)
Closeness to original characters: 70% (Mike)
Closeness to original story: ..... uh..... 20%... maybe. (Mike)
Kate says I came to this movie with zero prior exposure to the comic book heroes, so I'm reviewing it from just the movie angle. Mike will deal with the movie and comic book angle below.
In terms of the characters, I find the non-secret identity of the superheroes rather refreshing as well as Johnny Storm's reaction to his superhero status. It's nice to have a superhero with zero angst!
The talented Ioan Gruffuld, playing a part with far less complex material than usual, is a pleasant surprise (although Gruffuld, who usually does costume dramas of the historical kind, seems at a bit of a loss in this movie). And Ben Grimm--The Thing--supplies most of the purely human elements.
Jessica Alba is . . . bland. Heroines in superhero action movies tend to veer between boring beyond belief (Katie Holmes in Batman Begins) and downright amazing (Kirsten Dunst in Spiderman). Jessica Alba falls into the "well, maybe it's the material" category.
"Well, maybe it's the material" is how I feel about Joe Penny look-alike Julian McMahon as Victor von Doom. As the resident bad guy, the actor brings more than enough sizzling bad mood to the part. But the reason for his villainy is kind of unbelievable. He has access to studying four humans whose DNA has been altered. Would the board of any corporation really throw this guy out the door? Seriously? (No.)
In Spiderman, Norman Osborn's personal identity is bound up in his corporation. His desire to wreck vengeance on the people who want to take it away from him makes sense. But Victor's motivations seem to be little more than "hey, I'm now the villain. I now hate people!"
However, in general, I'm more than willing to give an action film a pass if it just does its job: hero(es), bad guy(s), problem, climax. Unfortunately, superhero movies have to spend a great deal of time establishing the superhero(es)' back-stories, meaning the problem often doesn't show up until at least 45 minutes into the movie.
The best solution is Ironman where the back-story coincides with the problem. Batman Begins is the next best solution: just do what the title says--establish the character! The third solution is to create a human interest story, a la Spiderman and Superman. Fantastic Four could have done the last with Ben Grimm (and kind of did).
Mostly, though, Fantastic Four is all back-story, very little main problem. The human interest is there but scattered. This makes its success reliant on either the stars (which is how it is advertised on the DVD packaging) or on past familiarity with the superheroes. The former type of success is temporary and the latter, while longer-lasting, is limited. I believe Fantastic Four was reasonably successful in the theaters, but I can't see it having long-term memorability.
Which isn't to say the idea won't last!
There are many many things that went wrong with this movie. But, that doesn't mean that it wasn't cool to watch. Where this movie really gets it right, at least MOSTLY, is in the character portrayals.
First, a quick history lesson.
The origin is a bit mixed up: In the comics, Reed builds a rocket and decides to test it without approval. Reed takes his best friend Ben Grimm, who is an accomplished pilot, and, for some reason, his girlfriend and her little brother (this is the 60's, remember). Their purpose? Well, to beat the Ruskies to the moon! (really). Unfortunately, Reed miscalculated the shielding they'd need, and well, the rocket got irradiated, the four crashed, discovered their powers, and decided to do good! And no, Doom had NOTHING to do with it. Nope, not even a little. Sorry. (However, in Ultimate FF, a modern re-imagining, Doom was heavily involved in Reeds' work.)
The great things about comic adaptations is that there have been so many re-interpretations, updates and alternate stories through the years, film adaptations really can be seen as just another version. This is why my percentage above is a little hesitant. There are many version of the FF origin, and this is an exact portrayal of none of them. But the story is in the SPIRIT of the original stories. As a result of the update, the film must stay true to the characters in order to appeal to the fans, which FF did, to a point.
Reed is pretty close to his comics portrayal. As in the comics, the trip is his idea, and he was college classmates with Doom. Although, in the comics, Reed was a bit more confident (re: arrogant), making his mistake about the shielding a continual source of guilt and humility for him. A bit more self conscious and bumbling in the movie, I think this is done to appeal to a younger audience, as the comic-book Reed can be a bit stuffy.
Johnny is dead on, though with the Storm siblings, something had to be done to explain why they were along. As I mentioned, the Storms were originally just along for the ride. Making Johnny a pilot makes a lot of sense, as it does fit his personality, and gives him a valid seat on the ship.
Ben is one hundred percent accurate. In looks, personality, personal trials in dealing with his transformation, and his dedication to Reed.
Sue is the most changed of the four heroes. Like Johnny, she needed a reason to be along. Making her a scientist does work, sort of, as it gives her and Reed a little more in common. In the comics, they are drawn together because she can see who Reed is, and can make him see her, when he might ignore everything else. She gets him, and he loves her intensely for it. Originally, Sue was just kind of the adventuring girlfriend, but over time she became a Mother, and the emotional heart of the team/family. Also, she's probably the most powerful of the four, and her power is the most changed in the movie version, being toned down a lot. Unfortunately, these changes were really not for the best, and as a result, Sue is the weak link in the movie.
Doom, as featured in the movie, is a completely different character. I think it was an attempt to make him more Lex Luthor/ Norman Osborn like. Many of the changes can be understood, especially when one is trying to condense a pretty complicated story.
In a nutshell: Reed and Doom were classmates. Reed found Doom's notes on a project, and pointed out a flaw. Doom (a prince of a European country), ignored Reed's advice, and horrifically scarred his face when the project literally blew up. Blaming Reed for his failure, Doom returned to his country to plan his revenge (building a very cool suit of armor in the process).
Understandably, this didn't work for the movie. The Ultimate version is a little closer, but still really different. Overall, Doom probably suffered the most in translation, and perhaps should have been saved for a sequel.
While suffering some changes, the movie really succeeds with the character relationships. While back stories have been reinvented, the interactions, like between Ben and Johnny, Sue and Reed, Red and Ben, Sue and Johnny and Johnny and Reed, are all captured wonderfully. Especially the teasing, love/hate friendship between Johnny and Ben. Great Stuff, and truly fun to watch for a fan.
Look for next week's review, Princess Bride, on August 12th!
2 comments:
I do think Ben Grimm was the most interesting of the characters in terms of available material. I would have liked to have seen more of an arc--to even see him get back together with his wife or at least struggle more with that specific relationship. He creates a very interesting problem because he is SO different, yet so cool, as The Thing.
And his struggles and anger did make his susceptibility to Doom very believable. It also made Reed's willingness to risk himself in the machine believable. However, that material was dealt with so offhandedly! How did Reed fix himself? His face was melting!
It would have been neat to see that relationship/sequence as the heart of the movie: everything leading up to it and then away. In Ironman, everything leads up to Stark recreating the Ironman costume, which makes sense since the villain is also recreating the Ironman costume. (Showdown!)
But that comparison made me think: Ironman is just about Stark. Writing a movie script with four heroes is rather difficult. It would really make a better television show! Has the idea of a non-animated Fantastic Four series ever been mooted?
I don't think they've ever considered it. I do know that there was a low budget FF movie made back in the 90's. it was so bad, it was never released!
There have been SEVERAL cartoon series though, and many have been very cool.
Thinking about this makes me so excited for Avengers next year. Joss Whedon really does ensembles well, and I think he has the skills to level out an entire crew of heroes, much like Serenity!
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