Amph Official "Fantastic Four" Reboot(s) Thread

Yeah, I caught the full statement on io9 and where there was a second bit clarifying it.

 

If it's anything like Chronicle then I suppose it could at least be bearable.

 

Well, the Hulk does have daddy issues in the comics. That's been the central theme since Bill Mantalo and Peter David's runs. The problem with "Hulk" was that they were trying to balance it out in a film that was trying to be a blockbuster action film, while being a serious dramatic piece. It would have worked if "Hulk" was presented in a slightly different tonality.

 

Well, to be fair, the source material FF went through a pretty bitter and gritty time period. The result is what had Sue switch her name from the original "Invisible Girl" to the "Invisible Woman."

IIRC, the summary was (I might leave some little plot points out) that Reed and Sue wanted to settle down to a normal life. They adopted secret ID's (away from their normal public ones) They conceived another child, but the (in)famous cosmic radiation reared its ugly head, and the child was stillborn. Sue Storm went rather berserk at this point, and her dark emotions were easy prey for the villain Psycho Man. Sue actually turned into the villain "Malice, Mistress of Hate." When she was finally freed from the Psycho Man's manipulation, she engineered revenge by turning all negative emotions against him.

That's some pretty dark stuff, which worked because it was a story based on pure emotion- the reverse of the FF's typical science/knowledge adventurer norm. I don't think there were any other really gritty stories. Ant Man once replaced Reed Richards when it was thought that Reed was dead, but that wasn't particularly gritty. The FF also kind of went rogue for a while when they ousted Doom from Latvaria.

Still, there are some instances of effective "dark" FF story lines.

 

... but not when they're also running the origin story.

 

That's true. Which is all the more reason why this reboot should probably be scrapped. Or at least, if any movie is going to be lost in the "Superhero movie shuffle" and ignored by audiences, this one is probably going to be it.

 

My only real exposure to the F4 comes via a coloring book I had as a kid (based on the 1978 cartoon, where the Human Torch was replaced by H.E.R.B.I.E. the Robot due to the former being optioned for use in a solo movie that never came to be), but my friend and writing partner, Noel is a bit of a comic book historian and a huge Marvel fan, and he describes the F4 as Marvel's version of a domestic sitcom, where the characters just happen to have super powers.

None of that means that they can't do something a bit different with the property. There's plenty of pathos to be mined from a character like Ben Grimm and the relationships between the characters can be given an edge. But what they can't do is take a B-Squad level property and make them Varsity simply through good marketing. As big as comic book movies have become, I don't think that the world is anxiously awaiting a F4 re-boot. There's a lot more competition out there this time around, and this new version will have to not only stand out, but be outstanding. Buzz and good word of mouth are the only thing that will keep this from being the not-quite-a-hit of its predecessors IMO.

 

It's hard to say if the world is ready for another FF film. It was essentially a 1-1 situation so far, which isn't so bad, but then Fox did nothing with it until now. You're right, it does need that certain something to get people talking about it like with the Avengers series.

 

Just do what Hickman did.

 

Doom can be the next Loki for Fox, they would love that. But he has to be done the right way and they need the right actor for the part.

If he's really great like Hiddleston is, the rest can be overlooked if it's mediocrity (as much of the Thor-verse is in the movies so far).

 

But the Thor-verse has Anthony Hopkins!

 

True, but I thought he phoned it in big time in The Dark World.
Great actor as Hopkins is, he was clearly in it for the pay and didn't want to try very hard.

 

Hopkins seemed to be having fun in the first Thor, but in the sequel he brandished his apathy like a weapon.

 

I know. He's been phoning it in since '98.

 

Part of me wonders if Anthony Hopkins got tricked into being in the Thor movies. Like maybe he thought he was signing on to do a legit retelling of Norse myths and nobody explained to him until it was too late that he's in a superhero movie.

 

He signed-on when Ken Branagh was directing, and I'm sure they're pals. Now Ken's gone and Anthony is left wearing an eyepatch, looking like an extra from the (awesome!) 80's Flash Gordon movie.

They should totally make a movie starring Odin and the Red Skull.

 

He did a good job with Thor, but I always that Kenneth Brannagh was bit of an odd choice for a superhero movie, as his only other genre credit up to that point was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, so I'd be curious to know how that one happened in the first place.

 

Seems he was a good choice though, he created a more character-focused story which made it more interesting. My big problem with Captain America is I don't think he's very interesting and struggles to carry a movie without support (he's much better in the Avengers & Winter Soldier with a whole bunch of other heroes than he is in First Avenger on his own). Thor is largely a grunt but Hemsworth & Hiddleston really work well together and that dynamic is what helped Thor succeed when it could have failed. The Dark World on the other had went with big fancy spectacle over much else, so you don't a 1 dimensional villain and an Odin who looked bored.

Loki was the only good character, and Marvel have struggled for decent villains apart from him. Doom could be the next great baddie if they do him right.

 

REally?

Brannagh is a masterful director and specifically familiar with Shakespearean tragedy -- which was exactly the vibe they were going for.

 

LOL, I had that coloring book!

 

See, that's interesting, because I didn't know Kenneth Brannagh was tapped for the Shakespearean angle and because Thor didn't really feel Shakespearean to me, what it felt like was a comic book movie trying to be opera, and in that sense, the Asegard seqauences succeeded in spades. The costume design for the Asegardians and the set design for Asegard looked great.

 

Nice! I've come close to picking one up off of eBay a couple of times. You can usually snag one for under $10.

 

You guys are aware that Branagh was just in Harry Potter, right? He had no hand in the direction or production of the film. He was just an actor for that one. I felt Thor was pretty good with him directing.