“You made it ugly,” Reed accused Harvey.
To boldly say, the latest Fantastic Four (the third installment since 2005) is obviously not a good movie.
Getting snubbed by critics before its international release, then ‘flop’ symptoms at opening box office, then director Josh Trank’s self-defense: LEGIT PROOFS.
This is not the first time Fantastic Four failed to shine, but this one is obviously ridiculous. Yet, please notice: IT ISN’T ABOUT THE CASTING! The casting was okay; no problem with Human Torch’s being an afro-American, the movie found a fine way to solve that. There are some other points.
Discussing the behind-the-scene turmoil might be a good thing to start. However, that would not be wise unless you think that filming that production ‘disaster’ might make a better movie than the actual one.
We all know that Josh Trank took a different approach to the origins of this bunch of superheroes. Instead of sending them to space only to get exposed to radiation, the filmmaker decide to send them to a different dimension through a quantum gate (you know, most popular sci-fi gimmick lately).
Josh Trank led us to believe that Fantastic Four is a sci-fi-adorned superhero movie, and at least, for sometime in the movie, it works. A genius, Reed Richards (Miles Teller) and his fella, Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell), invented an inter-dimensional teleporter that attracts Dr. Storm.
They soon assemble a team—involving Dr. Storm’s son,Johnny Storm (Michael B.Jordan), his step-sister, Sue Storm (Kate Mara) and Dr.Storm’s former protege, Victor von Doom (Tobby Kebbell)—for a voyage. It works up to this point with understandable plot-holes and non-understandably long duration.
Then comes the power that makes Fantastic Four. While we’re ready for another buildup detailing how those clumsy people adapt to their new ability or, at least, cope up with the condition, the movie fast-forward to a year aftermath… leaving a blank space.
What comes afterwards is, honestly, disappointing—specifically, one-sided. Unbalanced storyline, perhaps, is the most appropriate phrase to describe it—only Fantastic Four redefines it extremely.
All the could-be-better setup is ruined by self-destructive third act, where an archnemesis comes (back) without comprehensible motifs (for both sides). With ridiculous set-pieces, the movie loses its own urgency—concluding the doom for Fantastic Four.
Everything’s going wrong following the questionable one-year gap. The movie leaves what’s worth to explore from each character or any of their relationship for a not-so-worth finale. There are so many missing links waiting to be discovered but ended up untouched.
What’s implied eventually is clear: you’re watching a half-made film. From the editing, the pace, the unbalanced story, and all the ridiculous anecdotes, it’s a raw film.
VERDICT: Josh Trank might have his own defense that his film is ruined by “other party”, but one cannot lie that Fantastic Four is a half-made film—incomplete, unbalance, shallow, and half-hearted. Just remember, it’s not about the cast.
Fantastic Four (2015)
Adaptation, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi Directed by: Josh Trank Written by: Josh Trank, Jeremy Slater, Simon Kinberg Starred by: Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, Toby Kebbell Running Time: 100 mins Rated PG-13 for sci-fi action violence, and language
Singkat saja, Fantastic Four bukan film bagus.
Sebelum jadwal rilis internasionalnya, film ini sudah dihancurkan kritikus, gagal di box office saat opening weeknya, bahkan disangkal Josh Trank—sutradaranya sendiri. Bukti itu saja sudah cukup membuktikan.
Memang bukan pertama kalinya Fantastic Four jeblok, tapi flop yang satu ini sungguh konyol. Perlu diingat, ini bukan karena cast-nya! Tak masalah kalau Human Torch berkulit hitam. Ada banyak hal lain.
Jujur saja, membahas disaster di belakang layar produksi Fantastic Four mungkin lebih seru. Tapi, itu tidak bijak kecuali Anda pikir memfilmkan production disaster ini bisa membuat Anda menang Oscar.
Yang jelas semua tahu, Josh Trank mengubah origin yang berbeda bagi para superheronya. Alih-alih mengirim mereka ke luar angkasa dan “memaparkan” mereka pada radiasi, Trank malah mengirim mereka ke dimensi lain lewat portal antar dimensi (gimmick sci-fi yang sedang ngetren).
Josh Trank memang menjanjikan film ini lebih sci-fi, dan setidaknya ia berhasil membuktikannya sampai titik tertentu. Seorang jenius, Reed Richards (Miles Teller) bersama rekannya, Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell) berhasil menemukan alat teleportasi yang menarik perhatian Dr. Storm.
Kemudian mereka mulai membentuk tim untuk perjalanan antar dimensi—bersama putra Dr. Storm, Johnny (B. Jordan), saudari tirinya, Sue (Mara) serta mantan murid Dr. Storm, Victor von Doom (Toby Kebbell). Sampai titik ini, filmnya masih bisa dicerna meskipun ada plot-hole yang pantas dimaklumi serta pace super lambat yang sulit dimengerti.
Lalu terjadi kecelakaan dan muncullah prototip Fantastic Four. Sementara kita mengharapkan lebih banyak drama yang mengeksplorasi bagaimana para karakternya beradaptasi dengan kekuatan barunya, film ini malah mem-fast forward filmnya ke satu tahun kemudian… dengan lubang besar menganga.
Pasca gap setahun itu, filmnya menjadi sangat mengecewakan—lebih tepatnya, one-sided. Penceritaannya tidak imbang, karakterisasinya kacau, editingnya buru-buru dan terkesan seperti tambal sulam.
Sayangnya, itu semua fakta.
Setup yang bisa jadi menjanjikan di awal film ditukar dengan babak ketiganya yang self-destructive. Apalagi semenjak kemunculan Dr. Doom yang entah apa motifnya dan apa fungsinya. Film ini kehilangan urgency-nya—memastikan kegagalannya sendiri.
Semuanya memburuk. Karakternya tidak lagi dibahas lebih dalam, hubungan antar karakter seolah sengaja tak disentuh. Hanya demi finale-nya yang jauh dari kata memuaskan.
Bukannya tidak mengapresiasi, tapi kesimpulan akhirnya: kita disuguhi film setengah matang yang belum siap tayang namun memaksakan diri sehingga malah nampak asal-asalan.
This Fantastic Four review is written and translated into Bahasa Indonesia by Paskalis Damar. Follow my blog with Bloglovin.
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