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TRAILER: Fantastic Four #2

I was skeptical about the Fantastic Four reboot ever since I first heard the casting choices. I even went through the trouble of writing an article explaining why I thought it was going to suck. People told me I would change my mind after watching a trailer. Well, I saw the teaser about a month ago and I still had my doubts. Now that the first full trailer is out, well, I’m still not hopeful. Check it out:

Let’s start out with the positives of this trailer. We finally get to see everyone’s powers, which was my biggest complaint about the earlier teaser. I SHOULD be satisfied that we also get to see Doctor Doom, but he just looks God-awful. I mean, look at him!

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In the 2005 Fantastic Four film, Doom looked more threatening and was more convincing as a villain. The one we have in 2015 looks like the Phantom of the Opera after he stuck his head in a chimney. It’s ridiculous. Then again, I had little hope for the character ever since rumors spread that he was going to be an online blogger whose username was “Doom”. Of all the origin stories they could’ve used for him, they go with that one? At the very least, they could’ve hinted at his relationship with his mother or his utter hatred and jealousy of Reed Richards. At least then we would’ve had a good background for one of the most sinister villains in the Marvel Universe. But an antisocial blogger is the best they can come up with on such short notice? I hope they change this aspect or at least provide a little more background for Doom in the actual film.

Another character we got to see more of is the Thing.

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He looks like the love-child of the Rockbiter from The Neverending Story and Gaia from the God of War video games. Who approved this design? The Thing from 2005 looked better than this pile of dirt clods. Oh, and why is Jamie Bell playing Ben Grimm? Nothing against Bell or his acting abilities, but he’s supposed to be the tough guy of the group, even before his transformation. In the trailer, Reed Richards refers to him as the “muscle”; this is right before we get a shot of Grimm in his 120-lb glory. Such a weak casting choice (pun intended). However, I will admit that the best shot of the entire trailer is at the end when the Thing is seen dropping from an airplane and slams into a jeep in the middle of a military compound.

The entire trailer feels lacking. It’s mostly just eye-candy and showing off the various superpowers. I can’t complain about that, but I wish it cleared up what was going on with the plot! I’m guessing the story goes like this: Fantastic Four and Doom discover inter-dimensional travel and end up in the Negative Zone, which leads to them getting their powers. Then, when they get back to the regular world, the military tries to experiment on them. Oh, and they fight Doctor Doom for some reason. It’s all over the place. I have no idea what’s supposed to be happening except that Franklin Storm, Johnny and Sue’s father, is going to be involved in some aspect (and he’ll most likely die).

Early synopsis reports indicated that the movie was going to be about the Fantastic Four coming to terms with their new “disabilities”. Yeah, that makes for an outstanding superhero film! Superhero puberty!

I don’t care how many times I say this: I firmly believe that this film started out as a sequel to Chronicle, but then Fox slapped the Fantastic Four name on it so that they can keep the rights and earn more money. That’s the only reasonable explanation for this cluster-%$&@ of a movie portrayed in the trailer. I would’ve rather had a sequel to Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer than this reboot. It just looks that bad.

In the beginning, a lot of people were as iffy as I am about this reboot. Now with the trailers coming out, I’ve seen plenty of them converted and starting to show their support, and that’s totally cool. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, and if you think the movie looks awesome, I applaud you. Personally, I think it’s going to be a disaster. In fact, I’m making a prediction: if Fantastic Four gets a poor pre-screening reaction, they’ll chop up a quick after-credit scene that hints at an X-Men crossover. If the film bombs at the box office, they’ll send out a press release announcing a “Fox Cinematic Universe”. I can see it happening right before my eyes.

Regardless of everything I say, I’m still going to see this film, though I’m not paying the full price of a movie ticket to do so. I’ll most likely pick it up at Redbox and watch it just to get a full grasp of its quality (or lack thereof). I’m praying that the film somehow defies my expectations and actually turns out to be decent. The Fantastic Four deserves it.

What are your thoughts on the upcoming Fantastic Four? Do you agree with me that it’ll be a flop or are you more optimistic? Give us a shout in the comments or on Twitter!

About the author

Alex Reale

From a young age, Alex knew he was destined to be a writer. He also harbored a deep infatuation with superheroes and comics. Luckily, he was able to combine these two passions through his role with A Place to Hang Your Cape, where he works as Junior Sidekick and Social Media Hero.

When he’s not writing for AP2HYC or working full-time as a content manager for a small business website, Alex is diligently at work on other creative projects including a fantasy novel collection and an independent comic series.

You can find Alex's first book, Dodger's Doorway, on Amazon!