Comic book movie fans know that not every film based on beloved source material will end up as a smash hit. For every "Guardians of the Galaxy" or "The Dark Knight" you have an "The Amazing Spider-Man II." Sometimes, you just miss.
Such was the case for 2005's "Fantastic Four" and its 2007 sequel. Each film left both casual audiences and die-hard comic book fans snickering at the sheer ridiculousness. For whatever reason, Marvel's first family just didn't translate successfully to the big screen. Unfortunately, 20th Century Fox's reboot looks to be heading to a similar fate.
"Fantastic Four" hits theaters this Friday, but not with the same type of buzz and excitement as a Marvel rollout. Coming off the unique but overrated Indy super hero flick "Chronicle," 30-year-old director Josh Trank got bumped to the big leagues for "Fantastic Four." But his time behind the camera was marred by reports of erratic behavior and made worse by his sudden departure from a "Star Wars Anthology" film to pursue "other creative opportunities."
This film was already divisive thanks to its race-changing casting of Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch (a move which audiences need to get over given that Jordan is one of the more talented up-and-comers in Hollywood). Reports of behind-the-scenes drama helped to destroy what hope committed fans had left.
What's more, "Fantastic Four" underwent heavy reshoots in post-production in which it's rumored that Fox put writer/producer Simon Kinberg in charge over Trank. Reshoots are never a good sign, especially when the studio feels the need to undermine its director. Add that to the moratorium the studio is placing on reviews for the film (online reviews can be posted just one day before the film opens) and the picture becomes pretty clear: Fox knows it has a clunker on its hands.
As a result, Cinema Blend's Doug Norrie projects the film to score just 54 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, an aggregate movie review site.
"It's hard to get a read on Josh Trank's vision here," Norrie wrote. "While he boosts confidence with his previous directorial work in Chronicle (85%), I'm not totally sure this movie lands. I want it to be great because I'll take a good comic book flick any day, but there are a lot of moving parts: Many powers to deal with, a villain in Dr. Doom who strays a little from the comic book style of his character and some other je ne sais quoi that I just can't put a finger on. It may be just how dark the trailer feels."
Fox was hoping to eventually cross this new version of the Fantastic Four over with the suddenly-cool-again "X-Men" franchise to form their own shared cinematic universe to rival the MCU. But if "Fantastic Four" lives down to expectations, Fox could decide to let the rights revert back to Marvel.
