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Chicago Tribune
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
‘The Fantastic Four' review: In a jet age dream of Manhattan, Marvel's world-savers take care of business
Ten years after a 'Fantastic Four' movie that wasn't, Marvel Studios and 20th Century Studios have given us 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps,' a much better couple of hours. It takes place in the mid-1960s, albeit a sleekly otherworldly jet age streamlining of that time. Result? Extras in fedoras share crowd scenes with a Manhattan skyline dotted with familiar landmarks like the Chrysler Building, alongside some casually wondrous 'Jetsons'-esque skyscrapers and design flourishes. Typically a production designer working in the Marvel movie universe doesn't stand a chance against the digital compositing and effects work and the general wash of green-screenery. 'The Fantastic Four' is different. Production designer Kasra Farahani's amusing visual swagger complements the film's dueling interests: A little fun over here, the usual threats of global extinction over there. In contrast to the current James Gunn 'Superman,' worthwhile despite its neurotic mood swings and from-here-to-eternity action beats, director Matt Shakman's handling of 'The Fantastic Four' takes it easier on the audience. Having returned from their space mission with 'cosmically compromised DNA,' Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm adapt to their Earthbound lives with some new bullet points for their collective resumé. Richards, big-time-stretchy-bendy, goes by Mister Fantastic, able to out-Gumby Gumby. One Storm's alter ego is Invisible Woman, while the other Storm is the flying Human Torch. Grimm returns to Earth as a mobile rockpile, aka The Thing. So what's it all about? It's about a really hungry tourist just looking for one last meal before he 'may finally rest.' So says Galactus, devourer of worlds, for whom noshing involves planets, and whose herald is Silver Surfer. Galactus wants Sue Storm's soon-to-be-newborn baby in exchange for not devouring Earth. How the Fantastic Four go about dealing with Galactus culminates in an evacuated Manhattan, in the vicinity of Times Square, while the New York throngs hide away in the underground lair of Harvey Elder, the infamous Moleman. One of the buoying aspects of Shakman's film is its avoidance of antagonist overexposure. You get just enough of Paul Walter Hauser's witty embodiment of auxiliary more-misunderstood-than-bad Moleman, for example, to want more. And Galactus, a hulking metallic entity, is such that a little of him is plenty, actually. The Fantastic Four run the show here. Not everyone will love the generous, relaxed amount of hangout time director Shakman's film spends setting up and illustrating family dynamics and medium-grade banter. Others will take it as a welcome change from the 10-megaton solemnity of some of the recent Marvels, hits as well as flops. While Pedro Pascal, aka Mister Ubiquitous, makes for a solid, sensitive ringleader as the ever-murmuring Mister Fantastic, the emotional weight tips slightly toward Vanessa Kirby's Sue Storm, as she weathers the travails of imminent parenthood, wondering along with her husband whether the child of DNA-scrambled superheroic parents will be OK. I wish Ebon Moss-Bachrach had better material as The Thing, but he's ingratiating company; same goes for Joseph Quinn's Johnny Storm, a boyish horndog once he sets his sights on the metallic flip of the screen's first female Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). Michael Giacchino's excellent and subtly rangy musical score is a big plus. The costumes by Alexandra Byrne are less so. This is where indefensible personal taste comes in. There's no question that Byrne's designs fit snugly into the overall retro-futurist frame of 'The Fantastic Four.' But holy moly, the palette dominating the clothes, and picked up by numerous production design elements, is really, really, really blue. blue. The movie works bluer than Buddy Hackett at a '64 midnight show in Vegas. Few will share my aversion to the no-doubt carefully varied shades of French blue prevalent here, but what can I do? I can do this: be grateful this film's just serious enough, tonally, for its family matters and knotty world-saving ethical dilemmas to hold together. It's not great superhero cinema — the verdict is out on whether that's even possible in the Marvel Phase 6 stage of our lives — but good is good enough for 'The Fantastic Four.' 'The Fantastic 4: First Steps' — 3 stars (out of 4) MPA rating: PG-13 (for sequences of intense action, and some suggestive content) Running time: 2:05 How to watch: Premieres in theaters July 24
Hypebeast
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Hypebeast
An Android and Predator Outcast Unite in First 'Predator: Badlands' Trailer
Summary 20th Century Studios has debuted the trailer forPredator: Badlands,the standalone film helmed by Dan Trachtenberg. The upcoming title starsElle Fanningas the android Thia and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as Dek, a youngPredatoroutcast from his clan. The two join forces 'in search of the ultimate adversary,' with the trailer teasing major fight scenes with humans and creatures bigger than Dek. Badlandsmarks the seventh film in the main series and nine in the overall franchise. It follows 2022'sPrey, which served as a prequel and was also directed by Trachtenberg. Watch the trailer above. Predator: Badlands hits theaters November 7.
Newsweek
20 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
'Predator: Badlands' Director Teases 'Alien' Crossover
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek's network of contributors One of the more surprising things about the promotional rollout for "Predator: Badlands" was the reveal that Elle Fanning appeared to be playing a Weyland-Yutani android; something usually reserved for the "Alien" movies. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, "Badlands" director Dan Trachtenberg confirms Fanning's character Thia is a Weyland-Yutani synthetic, and he also explains why he chose that over casting the actress as a human. Read More: 'Predator: Badlands' Trailer Teases The Ultimate Hunt Trachtenberg explained that one of the challenges of "Badlands" and one of the things that inspired the film was the idea of making Predator a sympathetic protagonist. He initially considered making Thia a human, but worried that would take too much focus away from Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi). That's when the idea of using a synthetic character came up. Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi in "Predator: Badlands". Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi in "Predator: Badlands". 20th Century Studios "And then the next thought was, wait a minute, I know a company that makes robots," Trachtenberg recalled. "And that led to the Weyland-Yutani synth of it all." Making Dek more relatable is also why unlike the Yautja in other "Predator" films, you won't see him wearing a helmet very often. "We were tempted, but the whole thing is, can you find a way into this monster?" Trachtenberg said. "Shrek isn't wearing that knight's helmet throughout the whole movie." "It's like, no, the idea is he's an ogre. That's it — and you're going to have the experience with that guy and hopefully fall in love. And so that became the path here: really saying, yes, he is a creature, and yes, hopefully you're going to fall in love." While Thia is a synthetic like the ones we're used to from the "Alien" films, Trachtenberg wants fans to know they shouldn't expect a full-on crossover between "Alien" and "Predator" in "Badlands." "It is exciting to have this movie be just a little toe-dip link between those franchises," Trachtenberg said. "It's important to me — I am sure people anticipate a much bigger thing, and maybe other movies and other cinematic universes would be more aggressive — but I really didn't want to take all the action figures and smush them together. I really wanted to tell a cool story." The "Alien" and "Predator" franchises have crossed over before and may do so again. Along with "Alien Vs. Predator" entries in other media, there was the 2004 film "Alien Vs. Predator" and its 2007 sequel "Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem." More Movies: 'Spinal Tap II' Teases Huge Rock Star Cameos 'The Naked Gun' Reboot Popcorn Bucket References Original Classic Gag
Digital Trends
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
Want to watch the Avatar: Fire and Ash trailer? Here's what you need to do
We are approximately five months away from returning to Pandora in Avatar: Fire and Ash. Besides a few posters and concept art, Disney's 20th Century Studios has not released many promotional materials for the third Avatar movie. That changes this week with the arrival of the Fire and Ash trailer. However, you'll need to head to the theater to watch. In a post on Avatar's X account, it was revealed that the trailer for Avatar: Fire and Ash will run exclusively in theaters this weekend before screenings of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The post includes an image of Varang, a new character introduced in the film. Recommended Videos Avatar: Fire and Ash is using a similar tactic employed by Universal, who paired the teaser trailer of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey before showings of Jurassic Park Rebirth. Meet Varang in Avatar: Fire and Ash. Be among the first to watch the trailer, exclusively in theaters this weekend with The Fantastic Four: First Steps. — Avatar (@officialavatar) July 21, 2025 The first footage from Fire and Ash ran at CinemaCon in April. Since then, select press members have seen the trailer at Fantastic Four screenings. According to Entertainment Weekly, the trailer primarily focused on the Mangkwan Clan, a new Na'vi clan known as the Ash people. Varang, played by Oona Chaplin, is the leader of the Ash Clan, who inhabit the land near an active volcano. The Mangkwan Clan is not friendly. They soon come into conflict with Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and their family. EW reports that the footage shows Neytiri firing arrows at the Ash Clan, while Varang holds a flamethrower. Avatar creator James Cameron previously stated that he wanted to blur the lines between good and evil by introducing a darker portrayal of the Na'vi. 'Varang is the leader of a people who have gone through an incredible hardship. She's hardened by that,' Cameron explained. 'One thing we wanted to do in this film is not black-and-white simplistic. We're trying to evolve beyond the 'all humans are bad, all Na'vi are good' paradigm.'' The trailer also previews another Na'vi clan, the Wind Traders, a more peaceful group who float on gigantic creatures in the clouds. Plus, the RDA remains a top threat to the Na'vi. Avatar: Fire and Ash is the third film in the franchise, following 2009's Avatar and 2022's Avatar: The Way of Water, two of the three highest-grossing films of all time. Avatar ranks first at $2.9 billion, and The Way of Water is third with $2.3 billion. Avatar: Fire and Ash opens in theaters on December 19, 2025. Two more Avatar sequels are in development. Avatar 4 is slated for December 2029, and Avatar 5 is scheduled for December 2031.
Tom's Guide
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Tom's Guide
The first reactions for 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' are in and they're overwhelmingly positive
(Image credit: Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios / Marvel Studios) "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" comes out later this week, marking the next installment in the MCU. But a select few already saw the movie at an exclusive Los Angeles premiere. The good news? Those who saw the movie have come away impressed. The vast majority of social media reactions have been positive, with one person even going as far as to say it's visually " one of the best things Marvel has ever made" (h/t Brandon Davis on X). Clearly, the choice to remove John Malkovich's Red Ghost from the movie paid off, or at least it hasn't seemed to hurt the movie. Nor has pushing this movie back multiple times to give director Matt Shakman and the rest of the crew ample time to get things right. You may like Full disclosure: Take these reactions with a grain of salt. While some critics are throwing their opinions in the mix, it's largely influencers, superfans and those most inclined to give the movie positive buzz who are posting these early reactions. There's nothing nefarious about it, but they also don't always represent the final critical or audience consensus around the film. So without further ado, here are some of the first reactions from the premiere of "The Fantastic Four: First Steps." 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' first reactions — 'a genre-defining classic' The Fantastic Four: First Steps | Final Trailer | Only in Theaters July 25 - YouTube Watch On I know I just told you to temper expectations, but let's start with some potential hyperbole right out of the gate. "#FantasticFour Quite possibly the best Marvel Studios film ever released," writer George McKay unequivocally stated on X. "Thoughtfully crafted and easily a genre-defining classic." Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. #FantasticFour Quite possibly the best Marvel Studios film ever released. Absolutely loaded with talent and standout performances from Vanessa Kirby and Joseph Quinn. If you thought the MCU died with Endgame, think again. Thoughtfully crafted and easily a genre-defining classic 19, 2025 While not quite so declarative about the movie's standing in the MCU pantheon, People Magazine writer Sharareh Drury had plenty of praise for the film. "Stunning visuals, a moving story, witty banter and epic action," she declared. "Marvel's First Family delivers one awesome ride." Saw #TheFantasticFour today - it's breathtaking! Stunning visuals, a moving story, witty banter and epic action. Marvel's First Family delivers one awesome ride. Pedro Pascal nails it as Mr. Fantastic. Vanessa Kirby stands out as Sue Storm - she's a shooting star. 💫July 19, 2025 Finally, let's wrap things up with my personal favorite. Content creator and actor Matt Ramos took to X to declare the movie's characters a delight. "The cast & their chemistry hold this film up," he posted. "Pedro delivered my favorite performance as Reed." #TheFantasticFour was AMAZING! The cast & their chemistry hold this film up. Pedro delivered my favorite performance as Reed. The score elevates every scene & is sooo prevalent. Galactus is perfectly adapted. This is a film with joy, heart, comedy & more. Solid 8/10. 22, 2025 And yet, for all that praise, the movie is merely a "Solid 8/10." Something about the shift from euphoric delight to tempered praise really summed things up neatly for me. I'm hopeful Marvel truly has hit the mark, but I'm keeping my expectations in check on this one. I'd gladly settle for "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" to be a solid eight out of 10. Follow Tom's Guide on Google News to get our up-to-date news, how-tos, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
