The thing that has always worried me about Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four reboot is that it would just be Chronicle: Redux. And then a couple months ago I saw some rough footage and had a definite YIKES reaction, so my expectations, which weren’t high to begin with, plummeted even lower. I was having flashbacks to Roger Corman’s infamous 1994 Fantastic Four, made entirely so that a studio could keep character rights from reverting to Marvel Entertainment. It would seem that Fox was in the same position, needing to crank out a movie in order to keep the rights from swinging back to Marvel, from which they would never be released again.
But the first trailer just came out for Trank’s Fantastic Four and it looks GOOD. I love the visuals and distinct style—this does not look like the Avengers or the X-Men. Superhero movies have to get distinctive in order to co-exist, and I really like the look of Trank’s work. I also like how grounded it looks. Sure, there’s big computer monitors and space stuff, but it’s not cartoonish. If anything, it’s giving me an Interstellar vibe. I could do without the self-important narration and FEEL FEELINGS music, but overall, I am pleased with how this looks. At a similar stage in post-production, Guardians of the Galaxy was a goddamned mess, and it turned out fine. I hope the same goes for Fantastic Four, or as Fox has it on the title card, Fant4stic. That’s dumb. Maybe rethink that.
