Doktor Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 (edited) This third effort, based on the 8 or so reviews that I have read on RT, point to two problems: a bland -script and a director who was in over his head. (Fox thought Trank was the next Steven Spielberg, gambled and lost.) I'm not sure a young Steven Spielberg would have done much better. Spielberg rose to fame on original works that don't carry the type of existing expectational baggage we're so vividly outlining in this thread that Trank skipped over to his own detriment in favor of modernizing the story. I think you hit it right on the head after reading so many reviews now. Why would Fox jeopardize a production like this when they are trying to build out a much larger superhero franchise? You would assume there would be folks there directly representing the studio watching this all come together. All that money being thrown into a production, you would want some studio comic book geek squad coming back with an update if this even looks like it is going to be interesting. I'll still watch it to judge for myself. It will probably not be in a theater. I think that's the problem: they had too many studio suits in the room tweaking this or that or changing this thing there & real quick, the too many cooks problem shows up. Fox has only basically 1 "comic geek" on their staff with any actual authority (Millar) and a bunch of movie people that have made a bunch of comic movies in the past (Laura Shuler Donner, Zak Penn, Singer, and a few others) and many of them think they know comics because they've made successful comic movies or read them as a kid. So the only real "comic geek" you can rely on to be that voice is 1 guy, and anyone else in the room are going to be movie people that have made comic movies, rather than actual comic people. That's the problem with Fox. Their "comic people" aren't "comic people" except for 1 Edited August 5, 2015 by Doktor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calcnerd Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 https://www.yahoo.com/movies/heres-the-thing-about-fantastic-four-its-125872066562.html The story is longer than this, but it sums it up very well... Fantastic Four feels like a 100-minute trailer for a movie that never happens. At this point in the ever-expanding cinematic superhero game, it behooves any filmmakers who get involved to have at least a mildly fresh take on their characters and material, but this third attempt to create a worthy cinematic franchise from the first of Stan Lee’s and Jack Kirby’s iconic comic book creations, which can genuinely claim to have launched the Age of Marvel, proves maddeningly lame and unimaginative. Die-hard fans will undoubtedly show up but box-office results for this Fox release will fall far short of what Marvel achieves with its own in-house productions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheLiamSturgess Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 What's great about Sony's situation is that if the Spider-Man reboot is successful, it may push other large entertainment companies to explore collaboration opportunities in the future (even outside of the superhero genre). Yes, it's about maximizing profits within one's own corporation, but Fox must be at least considering the fact that they could still turn this around and make a profit on the FF property without having to sell it back to Marvel. Strike a deal. Give Marvel creative influence, and if Fox still retains final say, then fine. But open up a trust relationship with the studio that knows how to do these movies at least halfway decently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBT Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Yes they made a very good movie with GOTG but IM2, IM3 and both Thors weren't exactly great. I liked all those stinkers. could be worse, you could like the band Creed and then you'd really have problems I think all Canadians love Nickleback, actually. Sadly, we're few and far in between. Nickleback is terrible, Thor 1 is one of the best movies of Phase 1, Ironman 2 is excellent. IM3 and Thor 2 are good but not great, like a lot of the posts in this thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VintageComics Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 On Tuesday’s Live with Kelly and Michael, Mara explained that the cast was not met with the most welcome arms at San Diego Comic Con last month. "We spent a whole day there, sort of working and doing press, and you don't really get to meet the fans. So the next morning, Jamie Bell and I decided, 'Well, we want the experience of Comic-Con. So let's just go out, let's walk to get a coffee amongst all of the fans.'" Initially, Mara and the cast thought this would be a bad idea, but after the fact, the cast (jokingly) realized that nobody even noticed, "And we were like, 'Well, maybe this is a bad idea. We'll get mobbed and it'll be crazy,' and not one person...not one person noticed us," she said, laughing. That's sad. It's sad that people didn't notice them? The only guy I'd recognize is Miles who has broken through into superstar status. The rest are B-list actors and I wouldn't recognize them from any other attendant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ComicConnoisseur Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 I don't think he is blaming on Johnny being black. From what he said, he is blaming it on their need to change so much and disregard the collecting community/fans. Johnny being black just happens to be the biggest change. 1950's war comics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatsby77 Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Ahh -- but see, the fans don't really matter. See this latest from Scott Mendelson, titled "'Fantastic Four Won't Flop or Hit Due to Bad Buzz Alone." "Yet despite the lousy reviews (and hey, it may be my new Lone Ranger), the months of toxic buzz, and copious behind-the-scenes gossip about what did or didn’t go down on and off set between 20th Century Fox and director Josh Trank, the film is still tracking at a pretty solid $45 million domestic debut. That’s not awful for a 2D comic book property that has never been a “thing” in mass culture in a way that X-Men or Batman was. The picture has no real stars to boot. So how is it still tracking so decently? Simple: None of the other stuff matters nearly as much as outright audience interest in the picture." http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2015/08/05/box-office-fantastic-four-wont-flop-or-hit-due-to-bad-buzz-alone/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prince Namor Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 :shrug: I'm sure exactly what part you are asking about with these questions How do you gauge opinion? Popularity? How do you gauge popularity? Box Office? I'm going to assume you mean my point about Rocky IV. I'm only basing it on conversations I've heard with people I know or what I've heard on tv/radio when discussing the Rocky films. I rarely base anything I say on box office numbers (I don't know where to access those nor do I know how to do the translation numbers today etc) As for critics, I only go with the ones I trust or have agreed with their opinions on how they view films. I think for me and how I approach movies is one of two ways. And again this is just for me and what I enjoy If the movie I am going to watch is something of a serious quality (meaning the content, story, premise, filmmaker) then I go into it with a critical eye as I try to understand the intent of the filmmaker or the concept the movie was trying to convey. If the movie is not of a serious nature (i.e. most comic movies would fall under this category) then I go with much lower expectation and it's really just about being entertained for that time. I love movies. I love going to the theatre. I think it's still a wonderful experience that no home theatre (at least that I can afford) can recreate. When it's a great experience it's truly wonderful (Mad Max Fury Road). Sometimes I just want to kill 2 hours and enjoy the screen. That's not say that my enjoyment for the first type of movie is any different, but I go into it with another reason. I want to learn and watch someone do something different, something special. Does that make sense? most of what I wrote was me rambling. Yeah it makes perfect sense, and that's why it's impossible to gauge a movie's 'place' in history when discussing it amongst friends. There's no, this is 100% right. Even what most consider the greatest film critics of all time disagree on what the best films of all time are.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prince Namor Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Yes they made a very good movie with GOTG but IM2, IM3 and both Thors weren't exactly great. I liked all those stinkers. could be worse, you could like the band Creed and then you'd really have problems I think all Canadians love Nickleback, actually. Ewww... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantastic_four Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 On Tuesday’s Live with Kelly and Michael, Mara explained that the cast was not met with the most welcome arms at San Diego Comic Con last month. "We spent a whole day there, sort of working and doing press, and you don't really get to meet the fans. So the next morning, Jamie Bell and I decided, 'Well, we want the experience of Comic-Con. So let's just go out, let's walk to get a coffee amongst all of the fans.'" Initially, Mara and the cast thought this would be a bad idea, but after the fact, the cast (jokingly) realized that nobody even noticed, "And we were like, 'Well, maybe this is a bad idea. We'll get mobbed and it'll be crazy,' and not one person...not one person noticed us," she said, laughing. That's sad. Neither of them are well-known. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisInBaltimore Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 You don't think Mara is well known after the success of House of Cards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantastic_four Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 You don't think Mara is well known after the success of House of Cards? No. She was a secondary character who got whacked a season and a quarter into a show that's been on three seasons now, and while it has enjoyed critical acclaim and has solid viewership, it's not a wide ratings success in the vein of a Sopranos, Walking Dead, or Game of Thrones. Lena Headey is still B-list yet is probably five times more well-known at this point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VintageComics Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 You don't think Mara is well known after the success of House of Cards? what is House Of Cards? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comix4fun Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 You don't think Mara is well known after the success of House of Cards? Frankly, with that short haircut, she doesn't look much like her character in that show. (Posted for Instructional Purposes ONLY!!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsilverjanet Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 I may need to see a few more shots to recognize her greggy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisInBaltimore Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 You don't think Mara is well known after the success of House of Cards? Frankly, with that short haircut, she doesn't look much like her character in that show. (Posted for Instructional Purposes ONLY!!) I just don't understand how people on the boards said she wasn't attractive Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantastic_four Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 I'm not a fan of her new pixie cut. Neither is her dad--she texted "I miss you" to him recently, and he texted back "I miss your hair." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BettrFastrStrongr Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 She looks like Norman Bates in that pic. Yep, still not "hot". Sue needs to be hot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fantastic_four Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 She looks like Norman Bates in that pic. Most girls do with pixie cuts such as Natalie Portman or Emma Watson below. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zosocane Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Why would Fox jeopardize a production like this when they are trying to build out a much larger superhero franchise? You would assume there would be folks there directly representing the studio watching this all come together. All that money being thrown into a production, you would want some studio comic book geek squad coming back with an update if this even looks like it is going to be interesting. But, with the benefit of hindsight, Fox studio reps weren't hands-on with this production, and didn't have a studio comic book geek squad taking numbers, or at the very least, Fox wasn't 100% committed to resounding success. By contrast, we saw how Marvel Studios effectively fired the first Ant-Man director when he was perceived to be going off-course, and the final product with the replacement director was quite good. Marvel acted quickly and decisively. Tone from the top trickles down in film production. The first warning sign I remember about this FF film (and this has nothing to do with Trank) was back in 2013 when I read that the filming location was being moved from Vancouver/British Columbia (where many of the X-Men films are shot) to Louisiana. I've got nothing against Louisiana, but Swamp-Thing wasn't being filmed -- it's Fantastic Four. I interpreted that as Fox looking to save $$$ at the sacrifice of little things that truly matter in film, such as outdoor cinematography suited to where the action is supposed to be taking place (e.g., a Manhattan-esque, non-CGI skyline -- not a digital cartoon building that says "BAXTER" on it). That's the studio's fault. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
