And solely because of Michael B. Jordan. The final trailer for the gritty reboot of Fantastic Four is out and it looks like all your least favorite parts of comic book movies—destruction on a massive scale, blue beams of light pointing at the sky, overly serious dialogue, overreliance on CGI, the Very Special Boy trope—mashed into one movie. But then Michael B. Jordan shows up and for a moment, everything is better. Instead of going full serious like everyone else in the trailer, Jordan is walking that line between straight authenticity and self-aware verve that makes for great superhero performances. Michael B. Jordan is too good for this sh*t—he should be an Avenger. Or an X-Man.
At Comic-Con, the cast of Fantastic Four had that look on their face, the one that says they know this movie is not good. But they powered through their panel, and they came off likeable enough, especially Jordan, that I hope it turns out okay for them anyway. Last year’s Ant-Man panel had a similarly “oh god, what have we done” vibe to it, coming off the Edgar Wright divorce, but that movie turned out okay. If Fantastic Four can just be good enough to justify the rumored X-Men/F4 crossover Fox is contemplating, then Michael B. Jordan can get his shot on one of the better superhero teams. That’s all I ask. Don’t waste him on what looks like a thoroughly second-rate superhero movie.
