Never being too critical of a film is one of my top ten notes to self but it's pretty difficult to find something wonderful to say about the Fantastic Four which is out now on the big screen.
Filmmakers no matter their finished work deserve to be applauded regardless of how little impressed we may be with their achievement because making a film is a very difficult process in itself.
I thought long and hard about how I would rate the Fantastic Four and really couldn't come up with more that an average five at best.
Although a film about why and how the Four came to be as they are is a great idea for a prequel story, the actual script is quite disappointing and the acting leaves much to be desired.
There were times when the actors almost seem to be slowly spelling out phrases for the audience about very basic plot elements and that makes it seem almost comical.
Film audiences generally require less obvious explanations of the story line and more visual an actual story telling through the use of powerful images in an intelligent subtle and coherent way on screen.
Using fewer word sequences and more visual stimulation and expressive images is usually a more effective story telling process.
The background, set design and props are so basic as to be reminiscent of the very first special effects films and the digital work or graphics are quite poor bringing to mind that this is perhaps quite a low budget film. There is a huge gap between what is advertised in the poster and log line of the film and what is actually on offer in the cinema.
The Four's powers are given an explanation of course but the characters' relationships are superficially presented at best.
Visually the best images are probably in relation to the elasticity of Reed in one or two shots when he comes into that particular power. The fire power, stone/strength power and invisibility power are 'nice' enough to see on a big screen but really not what might be expected in terms of powerful visuals of or special effects.
The theme of predictable patterns of human behavior-similar to the one in Mission Impossible which I touched upon last time- is evident in this film too in the scene where music is explained as a series of predictable patterns and anticipated beats. The idea is that human beings enjoy music emotionally because of it's predictable nature and their anticipation of that.
This for me was the most interesting and intelligent scene in the film but could have been delved into a little more I felt and used to support other scenes or to emphasize the theme of human predictability a little more.
Touching on the notion of music patterns is a good idea in relation to thought processes and human behavior but we as an audience are let down by the fact that it doesn't really tie in with the rest of the story as it should, It could have been used in a much more effective way to support the plot and the characters' dynamics.
I honestly almost don't remember the ending or the story unfolding structurally so I am not sure if this is worth the money as a movie experience, and as my colleague mentioned earlier to me that day: it's a home movie not a cinema film.
All in all a let down because the origins of the Four could have been produced for film in a much more sensory explosive and entertaining way.
Barely a Five for Fantastic Four.
Before 
After
Filmmakers no matter their finished work deserve to be applauded regardless of how little impressed we may be with their achievement because making a film is a very difficult process in itself.
I thought long and hard about how I would rate the Fantastic Four and really couldn't come up with more that an average five at best.
Although a film about why and how the Four came to be as they are is a great idea for a prequel story, the actual script is quite disappointing and the acting leaves much to be desired.
There were times when the actors almost seem to be slowly spelling out phrases for the audience about very basic plot elements and that makes it seem almost comical.
Film audiences generally require less obvious explanations of the story line and more visual an actual story telling through the use of powerful images in an intelligent subtle and coherent way on screen.
Using fewer word sequences and more visual stimulation and expressive images is usually a more effective story telling process.
The background, set design and props are so basic as to be reminiscent of the very first special effects films and the digital work or graphics are quite poor bringing to mind that this is perhaps quite a low budget film. There is a huge gap between what is advertised in the poster and log line of the film and what is actually on offer in the cinema.
The Four's powers are given an explanation of course but the characters' relationships are superficially presented at best.
Visually the best images are probably in relation to the elasticity of Reed in one or two shots when he comes into that particular power. The fire power, stone/strength power and invisibility power are 'nice' enough to see on a big screen but really not what might be expected in terms of powerful visuals of or special effects.
The theme of predictable patterns of human behavior-similar to the one in Mission Impossible which I touched upon last time- is evident in this film too in the scene where music is explained as a series of predictable patterns and anticipated beats. The idea is that human beings enjoy music emotionally because of it's predictable nature and their anticipation of that.
This for me was the most interesting and intelligent scene in the film but could have been delved into a little more I felt and used to support other scenes or to emphasize the theme of human predictability a little more.
Touching on the notion of music patterns is a good idea in relation to thought processes and human behavior but we as an audience are let down by the fact that it doesn't really tie in with the rest of the story as it should, It could have been used in a much more effective way to support the plot and the characters' dynamics.
I honestly almost don't remember the ending or the story unfolding structurally so I am not sure if this is worth the money as a movie experience, and as my colleague mentioned earlier to me that day: it's a home movie not a cinema film.
All in all a let down because the origins of the Four could have been produced for film in a much more sensory explosive and entertaining way.
Barely a Five for Fantastic Four.
Before After
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