Not so Fantastic 4.

I do enjoy writing the odd we film review and I hope you enjoy reading them. Most of the time I am raving about a film I have seen and want to share its general "awesomeness" with you all. In fact I general hate to be overly negative...after all I am sure there are reviewers out there who would jump at the chance of shredding my work! (oh please don't).

So last night we sat down to watch the Fantastic 4. The hype surrounding this film was great and Josh Trank was really one of those directors who had caught my attention with his 2012 Film Chronicle. All the cast brought their own excellence with them and there is not one bad actor among them...I particularly enjoyed seeing Tim Blake Nelson in the role as the snivelling Dr. Allen. However, with so much acting pedigree on the roster for this one, this film simply 'Does not happen'.  So what are the plus point - Visually it has been well shot and the section where we see Dr Doom letting rip some evil in the army base is great. Full Marks for the director and visual team on this one. 

This is an origin story and we get a relationship dynamic built up between Reed Richards, Sue Storm and Victor Von Doom. This is a very loose plus point as I even felt this was somewhat rushed. 
The real problem for me was the path of the story. It has a long beginning, squashed middle and very easy quick end. Almost like it falls victim to yet another Hollywood massacre to appeal to a large audience, yet in doing so ends up just been a poor attempt at a film. It seems to me that they have made a film with the sole intention of packing people into a film screen hall just to get their money, and if it makes some money then they will give the go ahead and make a sequel. What I would like to see is some forward thinking. If you think its going to be a trilogy then write a decent trilogy, spend the time and make the script work. 

Through the muddled mess we end up seeing on the screen, I can see what Josh Trank was trying to achieve, but for me the film didn't reach his expectation or vision - so is this his fault or the fault of others. In truth I don't know. The film may carry the Marvel stamp but you need to remember this is not the Marvel Studio that brings us Avengers and all things Iron Manish - so perhaps Marvel have just got the award winning team to properly adapt comic books and other studios don't. 

Oh and don't wait to see the usual Stan Lee cameo or end sections as it just doesn't happen. 
I'd like to see the same cast attempt a sequel in the future (I think scheduled for 2017) and give Josh Trank another go at it with a little bit more creative control. 

The film wasn't terrible, it wasn't brilliant - it was average. Worth seeing, if like me, you generally like these types of films. But this time it gets a *** rating.

The Jafwords rating system.
***** (Awesome)
**** (Almost awesome but with some flaws)
*** (To be honest it could have been better)
** (Struggling to say good things)
* (Dear director give me my money back)