As far as cursed franchises go, the Fantastic Four is more afflicted than most. Marvel’s First Family is one of the most popular teams in comic book history, and Hollywood has spent the past 30 years trying to translate their success to the big screen... with mixed results. There have been three attempts to faithfully adapt the Fantastic Four on film — one of which never got the theatrical release it was promised — with a fourth set to hit theaters this summer. Fans are hoping that the latter, produced by Marvel Studios, will finally deliver the team out of its decades-spanning rut, but that’s still a lot of pressure to put on one film. The Fantastic Four: First Steps already has a lot going for it. Its retrofuturist setting will undoubtedly set this film apart from its predecessors, while its cast seems to get what makes the Fantastic Four tick. It’s also set to (finally) depict one of the team’s most popular villains, Galactus, with the weight the character deserves. Still, it’s hard to fully buy into the fourth Fantastic Four reboot. Marvel’s marketing strategy has been strange to say the least: each trailer reveals another puzzling addition to the film, from the mystery of Franklin Richards to the Thing’s inexplicable facial hair. Director Matt Shakman is telling an ambitious new origin story — but could he also be biting off more than he can chew? When the dust settles, will we end up wishing Fantastic Four had tried to tell a simple story, as Fox did in 2005? |
