Fantastic Four

[Randall]

Oh dear. And just 20% early on at Rotten Tomatoes.

Sounds like, while not necessarily terrible, it's yet another mediocre (at best) FF film. How sad.

I've said it before, but.... if you're going to make a movie with the word "fantastic" in the title, it had better be fantastic. To deliver a modern superhero origin movie, with four leads, and try to get a full story done satisfactorily--- complete with a compelling antagonist and a worthwhile plot--- in 106 minutes just seems ludicrous. Of the few reviews so far, it is already being repeated that the movie seems like a prologue to a longer film.

Trank had an interesting take on things, but it sounds like all we've heard about a botch job is maybe true.

Once again, a Fox superhero pic goes only part-way, eschewing greatness for lameness.

[gaastra]

Oh dear. And just 20% early on at Rotten Tomatoes.

It's down to 16% now.

[Ben]

Fantastic Flop?

[EricJ]

It's down to 16% now.

The high percentage is due to there only being 12-15 reviews in at the moment, and the two "Oh, it's fun anyway!" reviews pump up the percentages a bit.
Expect that to change now that the critic embargo has been lifted.

[Randall]

14% tonight.

[Dacey]

I'm hearing from what I've read that the money shot from EVERY trailer of the Thing jumping from a plane and flipping tanks over as he lands ISN'T going to be in the actual movie. So even the good parts of the ads have been lies!

[James]

...Of course we may all yet be surprised...

Don't hold your breath! Just got back. Could have been worse... but that's the best thing I can say about it!

14% tonight.

Down to 9% now!

[Dacey]

Johnny doesn't sing a song called "Flame On," does he?

Rand knows what I'm talking about.

[James]

Some funny quotes from RT critics:

-- This Josh Trank-directed reboot had a very low hurdle to overcome to become the best FF movie so far. The most fantastical aspect of the movie is that it may not achieve that goal.

-- Finally, a superhero movie without action, character development or a plot.

-- This is a bad movie.

--It's an amazing feat to have produced a movie where every decision made seems to be the wrong one.

-- Frankly, it's amazing this is watchable at all.

-- Somehow, the movie finds a way to make the bland human characters even less interesting once they gain their superpowers.

-- Oh, well - they can always reboot.

-- Just give Marvel Studios the damned license back already.

And some spot on criticism:

-- The question one can't help but return to again and again during Josh Trank's Fantastic Four reboot is "Who was this supposed to appeal to?"

-- I can't remember the last time four actors appeared less invested in a movie for which they've teamed up.

-- The movie is on such sure footing at first that it's a legitimate shock to see it fly so far off the rails.

-- This is a film that's been shredded to near-incoherence in the editing room, with a finale that's over before it's barely begun.

-- Fantastic Four isn't unwatchable or flat-out awful. It's aggressively mundane, and devoid of energy, wonder, wit and whimsy.

-- The film is almost all build-up, though any mounting sense of excitement is dispelled by the monotonously downbeat tone and the cast's conspicuous lack of chemistry. Nobody looks like they're having fun, and the gloom is infectious.

-- Fantastic Four feels like a 100-minute trailer for a movie that never happens.

-- There isn't an authentic human motivation or emotion to be found here. The bar has been raised too high on comic-book movies for us to accept junk like this.

[Dacey]

Is there at least a cool fight with Doom at the end? Josh Trank promised a "big smackdown," but then again, his tweet from tonight probably ended his career, so I wouldn't trust his word.

[James]

Is there at least a cool fight with Doom at the end? Josh Trank promised a "big smackdown," but then again, his tweet from tonight probably ended his career, so I wouldn't trust his word.

Tagging this because it is spoiler-y

The big movie ending fight is short and ridiculously easy for the heroes. Barely a smackdown at all. I really thought the movie had about 30 more minutes after the final fight because it never crossed my mind that that mild scene might actually be the finale.

[Ben]

Trank just tranked his career by blaming Fox for this mess.

As far as I can tell, and despite the lack of pre-screenings, they've been behind this as far as publicity is concerned: TV is full of promotional spots and posters are everywhere, so they're obviously going for some aggressive marketing to make people know it's out there even if they don't know if it's any good or bad!

But for him to just come out like that...yeah...he won't be working for a long while, or at least until he cleans up his act (Hollywood will always forgive).

[gaastra]

FF only made 2.5 on it's first day! Ouch!

http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendel ... -thursday/

[Ben]

Fantastic Flop!

[Dacey]

Actually, according to all posters, the movie's apparently called Fantfourstic.