'Fantastic Four' Fumbles At The Finish Line

I am one of those rare film fans who did not hate the last interpretation of the Fantastic Four starring Chris Evans and Jessica Alba.  I thought Rise of the Silver Surfer was ridiculous and making Galactus a giant storm cloud was a horrible decision, but the previous film I thought had a lot of good qualities. It nailed some key FF traits like Johnny and Ben's bickering, Reed focusing so much on his work he is oblivious to Sue's advances, and Ben needing Reed to wrap himself around Ben to calm him down.  In order to prepare myself for this film adaptation I read the source material; Ultimate Fantastic Four.  The relationships and characters were a bit different compared to their classic counterparts; a point I had to keep reminding myself as I watched this film.  

Reed Richards is a genius.  The young man solves inter dimensional travel and is recruited by Dr. Franklin Storm to join a government funded group to travel to that other dimension.  Helping Reed is Dr. Storm's emo daughter, Sue, his rebellious son, Johnny, and a guy who likes to crash government servers, Victor Von Doom.  The kids travel to this other world, along with Reed's friend Ben, but of course it goes horribly wrong.  Soon they all exhibit strange abilities that will come in handy as a great evil is about to strike at them and possibly destroy the planet.

Director Josh Trank has already gone on Twitter saying the film currently in theaters is not the version he agreed to do with 20th Century Fox, and I've seen nothing but bad reviews of the movie.  So walking into this film I expected the worse, but as the movie went along I was quite enjoying it.  It was less jokes and fun than the previous FF films, but still interesting.  The characters seemed a bit under developed, but over an hour into the film I was liking what Trank and his crew had done. WARNING! MILD SPOILERS: Then Victor Von Doom resurfaced and the film took a nose dive.  Dr. Doom started killing people for no reason and had no motivation for doing so.  The heroes as well seemed to act differently and the dialogue became very cheesy and forced.  It was if Trank said "F%ck It" after 75% of the film was edited and walked out, leaving a scared editor to piece together what he felt like was the film's ending.

One of the weakest parts in this film was the relationships.  All of the actors are capable of good performances but their interactions weren't great.  I felt no chemistry between Sue and Reed, and Michael B. Jordan played The Human Torch, but that was no Johnny Storm I had ever read before.  However, his version of the character worked in the context of the film so I'm ok with it; or I would have been if the film's ending delivered.  I felt like the focus should have been more on Reed's journey, even though he was obviously still the main character.  His relationship with Ben was set-up but never fully realized.  I think that could have been the best part of the film, again, if they just developed it more.  

Visually, I was happy with how the characters looked.  I thought The Thing looked the best out of any interpretation on screen, and The Human Torch has been done wrong in the past, but worked in this instance.  However, I'm not sure what they were trying to do with Dr. Doom, both in look and the character overall.

Fantastic Four is not a Marvel Studios film.  It's not full of jokes and action.  It's a serious sci-fi film that I thought would have worked well if the ending would have paid off.  I feel like there is another 20 minutes of the movie left in the editing bay that could help the 3rd Act.  Given Trank's social comments I doubt we'll get a Director's Cut of the film like we got with X-Men: Days of Future Past, but I am anxious to see the deleted scenes on the DVD to see if their ever was a better ending to this film we just didn't get.  Say what you will about Tim Story's FF films, at least they had follow through.  Also, worst delivery of "It's Clobberin Time" ever.

RATING:  D+

P.S. There is no mid or end credit scene. You're Welcome.

Teller and Simmons Bang Out 'Whiplash'

Everyone has a dream right?  However, the trouble with most of our dreams is that we aren't willing to sacrifice our regular lives to be great.  In Whiplash, Miles Teller plays Andrew, a young man attending a prestigious music school in New York.  Andrew plays the drums in the competition band where he is constantly challenged by his teacher.  Thatcher, played by J.K. Simmons, has a knack for degrading his students to the point of cruelty.  Andrew's only wish is to be one of the best ever, but to do that he must push himself like never before and hope it's enough.  

This film may be about a student at odds with his teacher, but it is the classic heroes journey. Teller's character doesn't take a ring across Middle Earth or save the galaxy from Darth Vader, but Andrew grows throughout the film and learns several life lessons before it's done.  He is a loner who alienates those around him;  from his girlfriend to his father.  He doesn't want anyone getting in the way of his greatness.

 This is by far Teller's best performance I've ever seen.  He's always been good with the quick and witty dialogue, but it's his emotional range here that helps push the story through.  When Andrew hits his lowest point in the film I had to bow my head and look away because I didn't want to see him fail.

Meanwhile, Simmons gives an equally stunning performance as the Andrew's nemesis.  Simmons plays the part so well that I just couldn't hate him.  I could never quite tell if he was a genuine nice guy who threw fits of rage, or a just a genuine jackass; even in the end.  I see a supporting role nomination of some kind for Simmons with this film.  At least I hope.

 Of course, there would be no movie without the music.  This film is loaded with classic jazz music.  Damien Chazelle, who directed and wrote the film, shows Andrew's love and drive to be a better drummer by surrounding the character with posters, Cd's, and everything you can think of related to his life-long passion.

Whiplash boils down to the performances of Teller and Simmons, who both light up the screen.  Even an appearance by Paul Reiser as Andrew's dad was barely a blimp next to the other two actors.  The dynamic between them is so interesting.  Andrew hates Thatcher but wants his approval. Thatcher hates Andrew but wants him to be great, thereby validating himself.  I could examine it all day.

 I really don't have anything to criticize this film about except for one scene.  Andrew and his dad are having dinner with a family and Andrew is ridiculing the two brothers about their mediocre accomplishments.  While it's of my favorite scenes in the movie I have no idea who this family is.  Are they relatives, friends, or acquaintances?  I feel like there is a deleted scene somewhere that tells me.

Overall, I could not have enjoyed this film more.  I think it speaks to everyone on some level about what we are willing to do to achieve our dreams, and how to overcome the obstacles that stand in out way.  I'm crossing my fingers Whiplash gets some Oscar recognition.  I'm already trying to memorize that major burn Thatcher lays down in the film.  Now I can't wait to see Teller play Mr. Fantastic next year!

Rating:  A