The Fantastic Four's real superpower is bringing the fun back to Marvel
(PG) 114 minutes
The history and geography of the Marvel Universe has grown so serpentine over the years that even the most dedicated fans have trouble keeping up with the homework. They've also been feeling jaded at the relentless procession of re-boots, spin-offs and re-imaginings. Nonetheless, these go on with the attendant hoop-la undiminished.
This week, the Marvel marketing machine has gone into overdrive for the release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps – the first screen appearance of Mr Fantastic and family since their 2015 outing, Fant4stic, which proved to be a rather large flop. This means the studio is hoping for their own re-boot with this one. There's a lot at stake.
One of the script's main aims is to make itself understood even by those who haven't done their homework. To that end, the basics of the Fantastics' backstory are conveyed in a tightly condensed flashback. The action then gets under way and doesn't stop. Naturally, none of it makes sense. Sense has never been the point with this lot. What matters is director Matt Shakman's success in maintaining the tongue-in-cheek tone that distinguishes Marvel movies at their most likeable.
When we catch up with them, Mr Fantastic, his wife, Sue, the Invisible Woman, her brother, Johnny, the Human Torch and their craggy friend, the Thing, are now celebrities, having been made famous by their life-saving powers. And because the film is also out to emphasise the human side of being superhuman, Fantastic, alias Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), and Sue (Vanessa Kirby), are expecting their first child.
The production design harks back to the 1960s, but the decade has been given what the director, Shakman calls a 'retro-futuristic' look. Roughly translated into English, this means the era has been embellished by some of the futuristic theories fashionable at the time. And it does work, mining plenty of wry laughs out of the nostalgic highlights.
For the Fantastics, all is going well until the Silver Surfer, a perfectly sculpted metallic woman riding a space-going surfboard, appears out of nowhere to announce that her master, Galactus, the devourer of planets, has fixed on Earth as his next meal.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
18 hours ago
- News.com.au
Jodhi Meares opens up about new life in Byron Bay after leaving Sydney: ‘I don't get bored'
Jodhi Meares has opened up about the real reason she left Sydney for Byron Bay, and the private life she has created for herself in the hinterland. In a new interview with Stellar, the fashion mogul and ex-wife of James Packer admits she was never comfortable in the spotlight and is 'definitely a behind the scenes person'. 'I'm a true introvert. I like to be able to watch people. I find people really interesting. 'Being in the public eye wrecked that a little bit,' Meares told Stellar. Late last year, Meares purchased a four-bedroom, Modernist-inspired home – which features an avocado, citrus, banana and papaw orchard, at Brooklet. The property is located inland between Ballina and Byron Bay in the NSW Northern Rivers region – and was purchased for a reported $4.1 million. Listen to a new episode of the Stellar podcast Something To Talk About below: Speaking to Stellar, The Upside designer explains why she is at home among the papaya trees, a dog named Soda Pop, and her five cows. 'I don't get bored and I don't get lonely. I suffer from other things, but I don't suffer from those things,' Meares said. 'Sometimes I have to ask myself, 'How many days has it been? I need to just go somewhere and speak to another human …'' The former Australia's Next Top Model host and Tigerlily founder also made a surprising confession about her time as a model, saying she 'never really loved having my photos taken'. 'It's been a means to an end. But I felt very lucky to be able to do it because I wasn't sure what I was going to do when I was young. 'And school and I didn't get along that well.' In the Stellar cover story, Meares also reflected on interviewing Australian supermodel Elle Macpherson – who stars in a new campaign for Meares' activewear brand, The Upside – for Stellar earlier this year. 'She's such a phenomenal woman. Elle doesn't have to do these things. I thought it was just very special,' Meares said. 'It was very beautiful, really touching that she was able to do that.' Listen to a new episode of the Stellar podcast Something To Talk About below:
The Advertiser
21 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Superhero films ignite Marvel, DC comic fans' rivalry
Comic fans are embracing the latest showdown between Marvel and DC as their superhero films Fantastic Four and Superman compete for box-office dominance, reigniting a rivalry spanning eight decades. Whether it's the thrill of seeing the comic book superhero The Thing shout "It's clobbering time!" before throwing a punch or watching Superman and his faithful pup Krypto save the day, fans are heading to cinemas to support their favourite films. "Well, clearly I'm a Marvel fan," said Danielle Stroski, who was dressed as the shapeshifter character named Mystique from Marvel's X-Men comics, at the San Diego Comic-Con. "But I have a little white dog at home, so I love me some Superman as well. "And I know the little white dog is stealing the show for Superman, so it's going to be close, but I've got to go Marvel." The 42-year-old from California predicted Fantastic Four would outperform Superman at the box office. DC fan Lito Loza, dressed as Superboy, voiced his support for Superman. "I've already seen Superman three times, and I'm very, very happy with what James Gunn did with it," he said, referring to the director. "It makes me feel hopeful." The filmmakers, meanwhile, encourage fans to support both movies. "I'm a huge Superman fan. I'm a huge James Gunn fan. I'm thrilled that both of us are coming out this month," Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman told Reuters at the film's London premiere. "I think we share a lot of similar optimism in our tone and our feeling in the worlds that we're building. And there's room for Superman; there's room for Fantastic Four. "I'm thrilled. Go see both," he said. Comic fans are embracing the latest showdown between Marvel and DC as their superhero films Fantastic Four and Superman compete for box-office dominance, reigniting a rivalry spanning eight decades. Whether it's the thrill of seeing the comic book superhero The Thing shout "It's clobbering time!" before throwing a punch or watching Superman and his faithful pup Krypto save the day, fans are heading to cinemas to support their favourite films. "Well, clearly I'm a Marvel fan," said Danielle Stroski, who was dressed as the shapeshifter character named Mystique from Marvel's X-Men comics, at the San Diego Comic-Con. "But I have a little white dog at home, so I love me some Superman as well. "And I know the little white dog is stealing the show for Superman, so it's going to be close, but I've got to go Marvel." The 42-year-old from California predicted Fantastic Four would outperform Superman at the box office. DC fan Lito Loza, dressed as Superboy, voiced his support for Superman. "I've already seen Superman three times, and I'm very, very happy with what James Gunn did with it," he said, referring to the director. "It makes me feel hopeful." The filmmakers, meanwhile, encourage fans to support both movies. "I'm a huge Superman fan. I'm a huge James Gunn fan. I'm thrilled that both of us are coming out this month," Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman told Reuters at the film's London premiere. "I think we share a lot of similar optimism in our tone and our feeling in the worlds that we're building. And there's room for Superman; there's room for Fantastic Four. "I'm thrilled. Go see both," he said. Comic fans are embracing the latest showdown between Marvel and DC as their superhero films Fantastic Four and Superman compete for box-office dominance, reigniting a rivalry spanning eight decades. Whether it's the thrill of seeing the comic book superhero The Thing shout "It's clobbering time!" before throwing a punch or watching Superman and his faithful pup Krypto save the day, fans are heading to cinemas to support their favourite films. "Well, clearly I'm a Marvel fan," said Danielle Stroski, who was dressed as the shapeshifter character named Mystique from Marvel's X-Men comics, at the San Diego Comic-Con. "But I have a little white dog at home, so I love me some Superman as well. "And I know the little white dog is stealing the show for Superman, so it's going to be close, but I've got to go Marvel." The 42-year-old from California predicted Fantastic Four would outperform Superman at the box office. DC fan Lito Loza, dressed as Superboy, voiced his support for Superman. "I've already seen Superman three times, and I'm very, very happy with what James Gunn did with it," he said, referring to the director. "It makes me feel hopeful." The filmmakers, meanwhile, encourage fans to support both movies. "I'm a huge Superman fan. I'm a huge James Gunn fan. I'm thrilled that both of us are coming out this month," Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman told Reuters at the film's London premiere. "I think we share a lot of similar optimism in our tone and our feeling in the worlds that we're building. And there's room for Superman; there's room for Fantastic Four. "I'm thrilled. Go see both," he said. Comic fans are embracing the latest showdown between Marvel and DC as their superhero films Fantastic Four and Superman compete for box-office dominance, reigniting a rivalry spanning eight decades. Whether it's the thrill of seeing the comic book superhero The Thing shout "It's clobbering time!" before throwing a punch or watching Superman and his faithful pup Krypto save the day, fans are heading to cinemas to support their favourite films. "Well, clearly I'm a Marvel fan," said Danielle Stroski, who was dressed as the shapeshifter character named Mystique from Marvel's X-Men comics, at the San Diego Comic-Con. "But I have a little white dog at home, so I love me some Superman as well. "And I know the little white dog is stealing the show for Superman, so it's going to be close, but I've got to go Marvel." The 42-year-old from California predicted Fantastic Four would outperform Superman at the box office. DC fan Lito Loza, dressed as Superboy, voiced his support for Superman. "I've already seen Superman three times, and I'm very, very happy with what James Gunn did with it," he said, referring to the director. "It makes me feel hopeful." The filmmakers, meanwhile, encourage fans to support both movies. "I'm a huge Superman fan. I'm a huge James Gunn fan. I'm thrilled that both of us are coming out this month," Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman told Reuters at the film's London premiere. "I think we share a lot of similar optimism in our tone and our feeling in the worlds that we're building. And there's room for Superman; there's room for Fantastic Four. "I'm thrilled. Go see both," he said.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Pop culture at breaking point: Is the multibillion-dollar fan machine about to overheat?
In addition, there is no Game of Thrones, and The Walking Dead has slowed, at this point, to a cautious gait. Amazon's Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has a year off. How deeply that absence is felt by the fandom is as simple and complicated a question as, how long is a piece of string? You wouldn't think it's a thing, as this year's Comic-Con is making all the right commercial noises. In real terms, it's about the source of all that noise: the content. Peak TV sold us fewer channels and more streaming platforms – and now there's more content than ever, and we're scrambling to keep up. House of Cards, Stranger Things, Barbie, Strange New Worlds, Andor, Baby Reindeer, The Bear, Adolescence, Euphoria. We loved Sex and the City. We hate And Just Like That. We were tired of DC Studios, but baby we're back with Superman. We were tired of Marvel, but oh, baby we're so back with The Fantastic Four. This appetite has split open the seams of all the silos and social content, TV content and movie content, and an army of YouTubers are now just living in one giant noise machine, in the palm of your hand, and perpetually stuck, it often seems, one iOS update behind everyone else's. But there is an upside. 'Trash has given us an appetite for art,' wrote the legendary American film critic Pauline Kael, whose genius was confirmed when she was the first to acknowledge that The Empire Strikes Back was indeed the best film, cinematically, of the three original Star Wars films. In an essay for Harper's Bazaar, provocatively titled Trash, Art and the Movies, Kael offered this as an explanation for the power of pop culture: 'Good movies make you care, make you believe in possibilities again. If somewhere in the Hollywood-entertainment world someone has managed to break through with something that speaks to you, then it isn't all corruption.' Kael, who died in 2001, did not live through the era of reality TV, of the Kardashians, of the Real Housewives, or a landscape that sometimes places a billion-dollar motion picture and a scrappy YouTube home movie next to each other and, algorithmically speaking, chooses to elevate the latter. But she understood people, and pop culture. And that understanding gave her a rare insight into why we are all, underneath our hesitation, confidence and I'm-asking-for-a-friend dismissiveness, just a bunch of big fat superfans. That's what keeps the TV channels transmitting, and the movie theatres open, and Comic-Con in business. But the problem with our content-powered escape room is that the seams are beginning to split under the strain. In space, you may not be able to hear anyone scream, but sometimes the roar is so loud you can't hear yourself think. To some extent, that explains the rise of digital detoxes, and phrases such as 'conscious unplugging'. That's why some people are drifting into slow living, and shopping for 'dumb phones', which don't have apps, or easy texting capabilities, but rather depend on you dialling a number and having a real conversation. So, what does all of this mean for the world's trillion-dollar fan business? Nobody is going to stop buying Funko Pops tomorrow, and The Big Switch-Off is never going to be a real thing. But it does mean that the system, overheated by both money, marketing and brand exhaustion, can run too hot, and when it needs to, let off steam. But there is also a natural upside. With Superman and The Fantastic Four not stopping at Comic-Con's Hall H on their global whistle-stop PR tours, space has opened up for all manner of things, from the indefatigable enfant terrible of animation, South Park, to the appropriately titled Dexter: Resurrection. And at the weekend, the granddaddy of it all, filmmaker George Lucas, is coming to Comic-Con, not to sell a Star Wars movie, or indeed to sell an action figure, Death Star play set or poster. He's coming to talk about a museum: the Lucas Museum of Narrative Arts.
