Thread "How to make a GOOD Fantastic Four film." in forum "Comic Talk and General Discussion *"

Posted at 3:08AM, Aug. 18, 2015

Over the past 21 years they have tried to make a Fantastic Four film and have struck out three times.
The first one done in 1994 by Roger Corman was the most faithful in adapting the source material but was done on the sorriest of low budgets.
The second ones with Michael Chicklis and Jessica Alba were done on huge budgets and were derailed by an unfaithful adaptation. I mean come on…Dr. Doom does NOT mutate into a lightning throwing metal man. He wears a battlesuit like Iron Man.
And the one currently out…I don't even want to discuss it.
So MY plan to make a respectable FF movie is to take Roger Corman's cheap but faithful movie and remake it on a big budget.
Comments?

Posted at 5:08AM, Aug. 18, 2015

You know this hooks into the thread below about formula. What is the formula for the Fantastic Four movie or even superhero movie. So many bad ones out there.

Posted at 4:08PM, Aug. 18, 2015

it's simple, release the rights back to Marvel.
failing that.
My suggestions would be…
Don't use Dr Doom for the main antagonistfor the first movie, but build him up and stay true. He doesn't need powers just his intellect and gadgets. Personally I would love to see them show him mix technology and mysticim.
Cast him well, if he wasn't older than they will likely go for then willem defoe would be a sound choice.
Stay true to the characters. if you want to ethnic swap, change it sensibly. I could easily imagine a black ben grim. They aren't massively complex but they work. There is some classic formula there, use it.
do a trilogy. of sorts
The origin has been done to death and isn't that interesting. ditch it, flashback it, whatever. hell you can tie it into building up Dr Dooms storyline for a later film.
part one. Galactus isn't that interesting as a villain alone either, but his heralds can be slightly more engaging. still there are others. But in some ways he makes a good first villain, you can have a lesser villain to start the action and establish the characters aand powers. similar to how avengers age of ultron began, with a bang. you calm down and do some character building and introduce the silver surfer but being pursued by other heralds of galactus. you make him sympathetic from the start and use his struggle to make the plot actually resonate a little. Galactus should also have a personality unlike the last attempt. you have victor von doom in the film, perhaps assisting the FF but establish the rivalry.
Part two. perhaps puppet master with some work, as the villain. the problem is he is a scientist villain, but the whole puppet concept? that could be a mystic thing, especially the weird controlling people with robot marionette thing. But what is the main emotional drag? Which is the hardest part, the FF never engaged on that level and in the other movies it felt shoehorned in or tried to build it and failed. you start with them as a family with the familiarity and drive a wedge. which is where puppet master can be effective, it could also help push the situation with dr doom from rivalry to emnity.
Part three. Dr DOOM.
fantasy casting
Reed Richards - Richard armitage
he has the presence to pull off the role, he can be heroic and be convincing as an intellectual.
Sue Storm - Yvonne Strahovski
One of the thins that bugged me with the lder FF movie was jessica alba… no way you could believe she was a genius. Yvonne showed in Dexter she could do intelligent, flirty, and beatiful
Johnny Storm….
charlie hunnam - Solid enough actor and has charisma, but can he do a cocky shitface?
jonno davies (kingsmen) just a thought.
Ben Grimm
Jeffery Dean Morgan
idris elba
either of these guys could nail it.
Doctor Doom
Maybe Mads Mikkelson, he was excellent as hannibal.
mark strong.. maybe.

Posted at 7:08PM, Aug. 18, 2015

You know, I thought the Jessica Alba films were fine. The only bad things were that it diverted too much from the source (which I didn't know enough to care about), and the Fantastic 4 team were all way too young.
Appart from that they were enjoyable, well structured films.

———

Genejoke's suggestions are sound. I vote for him to produce the next Fantastic 4 movie attempt.

Posted at 1:08AM, Aug. 19, 2015

Genejoke got it exactly right. (Except I don't know Yvonne Strahovski.)

As for the "Jessica Alba movies" (is that what they're called now?), I thought the first one was forgettable, but occasionally fun (if you forgive the terrible Dr Doom interpretation), but the second was just UGH from start to finish.

Posted at 3:08AM, Aug. 19, 2015

I thought they were passable, I enjoyed them both well enough at the cinema. The cast was mixed, jessica alba was okay except I couldn't buy her as a genius and she seemed written older than the actress. The guy playing reed richards (whose name eludes me) looked the part but was a bit of a wet blanket. Chris evans was excellent as the human torch and the guy who played thing was pretty solid.
I think they are better than usually given credit for, but thats not hard as they are always slated.

Posted at 4:08AM, Aug. 19, 2015

The Incredibles is the closest thing we have to a good Fantastic 4 movie.
From what I've read of the F4 comics they seem more like adventurers than superheroes, exploring new planets and alternate worlds and experimenting with time travel. So I figure a good F4 movie should be more like Doctor Who or Rick and Morty (without the adult humour) than a traditional superhero film.

Posted at 11:08AM, Aug. 19, 2015

I read a Cracked (website) article recently that claimed the Superhero movie bubble is about to burst, and all these movies they've got planned out for the next several years will end up getting cancelled or put on hold, or something… Something about the cost to make them is so high and over-saturation is gonna lose public interest… And some followup comments that the FF movie may be the first casualty!
.
But… I read a similar article several years ago about Vampires and then along comes Twilight, True Blood, Vampire Diaries, and several others… They were so 'Dead' Wrong *chuckle*

Posted at 2:08PM, Aug. 19, 2015

I remember when cracked was funny and insightful… I think it was about 2008

Posted at 8:08PM, Aug. 19, 2015

The Cracked bubble has burst! 0_o

Posted at 5:08PM, Aug. 26, 2015

I'm kinda curious to see the new FF movie, after hearing what a disaster it turned out to be. I liked the director's last (first?) movie, Chronicle, quite a bit.

Genejoke, your suggestions sound great.
Maybe it could do the origin again, but make more out of the discovery of the foursome's bizarre gifts.

Like make it a little scary and Twilight Zone-ish, with the body horror going on. Ben Grimm has hard, orange boils. Reed's skin feels soft. There are just HINTS of what's going on. Maybe the whole thing started with some kind of intrigue involving Reed's work. Some kind of conspiracy. Some kind of conflict with other scientists or execs working against him or trying to co-opt his work.

After the "incident", Reed and friends are ill equipped to defend against the conspirators.
Anyway, the four get a handle on their new abilities and begin to realize they can control them somewhat. Thing is bitter and angry, very angry at Reed.

(for all I know, this is what the new movie did…haha)

As for a villain…could the Mole Man and Monster Island work somehow? FF seems like a title that could be over the top and get away with it.

This also seems like it would work as a period piece, as well. Set in the early 60's. Kind of surprised they haven't done this, actually.

Posted at 5:08PM, Aug. 26, 2015

On second thought, how about doing the origin in bits and pieces, in flashback like Genejoke suggests, with young actors, and having the rest of the story 20- or 30-something years later, with venerable older actors. The flick could cut back and forth between the old days and the present.

Casting…hmmm. Genejoke had great ideas. I was gonna list younger and older actors, but no clever ones were coming to mind…

I remember an old miniseries…I think it was FF vs. X-Men, where Reed was shown to have a dark side. A driven, workaholic, uncaring side. There was suspicion that he'd secretly suspected the potential for mutation among he and his friends, and had led them to the experiment on purpose.

Don't remember how it ended, but the team HATED Reed for it (especially Ben). That storline could be good territory for a sequel to explore…

Love the Puppet Master idea! Alicia (Thing's girlfriend) was his daughter, right?

Posted at 2:08AM, Aug. 27, 2015

I remember that story line. The thing with Reed purposely steering the folks to get mutated has turned up a couple of times in the series. And the ever-luving-blue-eyed Thing has had a bit of a love-hate relationship at times over the long years the comic has been around.

I'd like to see a retro 1960's FF with the style based heavily on Kirby's stuff and a simple story culled from some of the early issues. But that's me. As far as Doctor Doom her really deserves his own movie from his POV with the FF lingering in the background. Like Loki in the Thor films he could really take off on his own.

The comparison and contrast between Reed and Tony Stark owuld also make an interesting film. Go with a working franchise and have Stark's reaction to this new foursome as competeters and compatriots.

Posted at 2:08AM, Aug. 29, 2015

Disclaimer: Haven't seen the new Fantastic Four movie. Probably won't.

Honestly, I don't have a problem with them using the Ultimate Fantastic Four origin for the new movie. The classic "We got irradiated in space and now we have a bunch of completely unrelated powers rather than radiation poisoning!" origin really *is* very dated nowadays.

I thought the story implied by the trailer was perfect: The Four are transported to the N-Zone, their bodies only surviving the process by adapting en route leaving them transformed. They make it back, but in the process unfortunately attract the attention of Annihilus who wants to invade Earth now that he knows of its existence. Time passes and they work out at least the basics of how to use their powers then the portal reopens and the Fantastic Four have to fight Annihilus and his army - if not to beat them, at least to hold them off long enough for Reed to figure out how to close and lock the portal. Include Victor in a few minor scenes to plant seeds for the next movie. Done.

I guess that ends up being a little by like the second half of Avengers but eh, you could do worse than being like Avengers - like this movie apparently demonstrated!

Posted at 2:08PM, Aug. 29, 2015

There were a lot of things from the trailer that didn't make it into the final cut of the movie.
http://www.hitfix.com/harpy/12-scenes-from-the-fantastic-four-trailers-that-arent-in-the-film