Blog For Free!
Archives
Home
2005 October
2005 August
2005 July
2005 June
2005 March
2005 February
2005 January
2004 December
2004 November
2004 October
2004 September
2004 August
2004 July
2004 June
2004 May
2004 April
2004 March
2004 February
2004 January
2003 December
2003 November
2003 October
2003 September
2003 August
My Links
Mixed Reviews Home
Modern Fabulousity
Brilliant at Breakfast
Cinemarati
Film Snobs
Filmsnobs's Blog
Low IQ Canadian
The Nedpages
Nick's Flick Picks
The Film Experience
The Flick Filosopher
Strictly Film School
Dan Jardine's Cinemania
Slant Magazine
CineMe
Window to the Movies
Then Fuck You Jack: The Life and Art of Vern
Flim Flam Flummox at Movie Poop Shoot
Deep-Focus
Catherine Cantieri
Critical Eye
tBlog
My Profile
Send tMail
My tFriends
My Images
Sponsored
Blog
Visit us at: 
|
| FANTASTIC FOUR |
| 07.07.05 (10:39 am) [edit] |
FANTASTIC FOUR
Starring: Ioan Gruffudd, Michael Chiklis, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, and Julian McMahon
Directed by: Tim Story
Written by: Michael France and Mark Frost
reviewed by GABRIEL SHANKS
On some level, the uninspired, shoddy FANTASTIC FOUR is something of a surprise. Under normal circumstances, a film this devoid of ideas and imagination would cause an audience to revolt (or at least wander away) halfway through. But despite its flaws, the ambitious blockbuster-in-training amiably passes by the viewer, like a garish wall hanging or 1970’s cyclorama exhibit on tangential super-heroes. Rarely entertaining and never rapturous, the film is (somewhat) redeemed by its very inconsequentiality, its disposable market-driven ethos.
Certainly, it is not effortlessly executed…just the opposite, in fact. You can feel the flopsweat of the screenwriters, laboring to make their jokes work and their scenes interesting. But the filmmakers are in on the conceit, which is weirdly comforting…they knew they were making the cinematic equivalent of cotton candy. And once the audience realizes that fact, FANTASTIC FOUR transforms from supremely disappointing to…merely dull.
Which is not to say that there aren’t interesting possibilities. The titular quartet embody the flavors of a juicy circus freak-show: super-elastic leader Reed Richards (Ioan Gruffudd, aka Mr. Fantastic); disappearing vixen Sue Storm (Jessica Alba, known alternatively as Invisible Girl and Woman); Sue’s rebellious matchstick of a brother, Johnny (Chris Evans, or The Human Torch); and hulkish bruiser Ben Grimm (who goes by the moniker The Thing). There’s great potential in these wildly outsized fantasy roles, and the film makes a desperate stab to exploit that potential, making Ben a postmodern Elephant Man and Johnny an extreme sports addict always looking for more heat.
But against a background of drab, cheesy special effects and a choppy, reshoot-heavy editing style evocative of a Cuisinart, these dribbles of character are hardly enough. The director, Tim Story (Barbershop), hasn’t a clue how to make these characters special or truly unique, instead settling for cutesy come-ons, easy references and by-the-numbers action sequences. With the exception of Alba, all of the actors are engaging presences, and it is much to their credit that they survive the mediocrity of their surroundings, keeping the film from complete disaster. Their buoyancy and bounce keep things upbeat, a quality that goes a long way when watching super heroes suffer for their gifts. (Just ask anyone who saw the tedious and maudlin Daredevil, and they’ll educate you.)
It’s sad, of course, this completely un-fantastic film. But not a big loss by any means. The joy of summer blockbusters is their ephemerality, and a film that embraces its paper-thin entertainment value – that settles for the ground rule double instead of swinging for the cheap seats – is, in its own way, remarkable. If that’s enough for you, please consider the FANTASTIC FOUR's petition for your time and money. If you want greatness, look elsewhere.
|
|
|
| |
|
Welcome to Mixed Reviews Single Servings. Here you'll find short reviews of current and past movies for people too busy to read a full review.
You can find full-length reviews of present and past films, from Hollywood releases to independent films to "hidden treasures" that haven't been released yet, at our main site, Mixed Reviews. Please browse our archive for links to reviews of films dating back to 1998.
For more smart stuff about movies, please visit the Cinemarati Roundtable.
|
