‘Fantastic Four’ starring Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell and Michael B. Jordan

2 out of 10

By Chase L. Manson ’16
THE ROUNDUP
In 2005 Fox Studios thought it would be best to continue adapting their comic book franchise to the big screen due the success of “X-men.”

This lead to an adaptation of the “Fantastic Four,” released to poor reviews.

Flash forward 10 years later and Fox has attempted once again adapt the “Fantastic Four,” to very poor reviews.

The 2015 film follows the classic Marvel hero team in a new origin story setting. However, this fails on so many basic ways, it truly is a disaster.

While it is better than its predecessor, it’s not as enjoyable to watch in a guilty manner and is leaps and bounds more frustrating on every level.

Why is it so frustrating to watch? Because it could have been a good movie, in fact it could have been even one of the best.

It boasts a good cast and there are great ideas, but they seem to be flashes in pan; the filmmakers, defiantly unsure of what to do with them.

The main problem with the movie is the poor pacing of an awful, awful plot, that for the record, does not make sense in contexts of its own universe.

Pacing is key to film to make sure the audience isn’t lost or confused, or even annoyed. The screenwriters seem to ditch any rules of pacing.

Plot points and development are resolved way to quickly and others drag on. It really doesn’t understand the classic rule of screenwriting: show don’t tell.

Exposition will be spewed at you in a mind boggling manner and will make you question if the dialogue was indeed written–it’s really bad dialogue.

One of the biggest examples of the need for show don’t tell is that the movie and characters tell you that they care and love each other but there is never one scene showing it; rarely any emotion is seen.

Above all this is just failure of an adaptation.

The film never really touches on why the Fantastic Four work. They work because they function like a family and are very likable.

I guess they thought this aspect wouldn’t match the “dark” and “grim” plot but it simply could with just a little more retooling it is evident, from the screenwriting to the directing, nobody cared.

To be honest, I’ve shown more caring and sympathy in this review than the Fantastic Four showed in this entire movie.

For an overall real lack of effort, shoddy pacing, poor dialogue and it for never making any sense, this film earns a two out of 10.