Comic Book and Superhero movie & TV discussion.

[RedTwoster]

On 7/28/2025 at 2:36 PM, Chris B said:

Double-post wanker, but been stewing on this one a little.

I didn't have the reaction to Fantastic Four that I expected. I wanted to like it. And, to be fair, there's not much to dislike - a likeable cast in a solid comic book movie. It's by far and away the best Fantastic Four film so far.

But it never actually felt like a film. It felt like something AI generated from a piece of concept art, playing it incredibly safe by just being a new instalment in a franchise.

I compare that to the new Superman film and, despite that literally being the first instalment in a new franchise, it still felt like choices were being made. It still felt like some risks were being taken and this was an interpretation of a character and icon. And it was trying to say something about family, which it did pretty well. All of that was just wrapped in a comic book movie.

The Fantastic Four... doesn't have that. If it hits any buttons, the buttons are 'ah, yes, this feels like the comics, and what the Fantastic Four should be'. It doesn't feel like a single choice was made at any point during the making of it that wasn't fitting into a pre-determined space.

I feel weird saying all this, because I'm a fan at heart. But this never felt like it was trying to do anything other than getting to the next part. And playing it safe and close to the comics so it doesn't make any decisions that will make anyone angry.

I seem to be a lone voice in this one, as it's clearly popular. And it is likeable, it does have charm, and who isn't going to like that retro-future style? But it feels like a movie based on prompts, not storytelling or caring about what is happening.

I came out of this one feeling kind of empty. Like it was a good corporate experience.

I saw it last night, and this is exactly how I felt about it. It was fine, but I felt apathetic about pretty much all of it. I also thought John Krasinski’s portrayal of Reed Richards was better than Pedro Pascal’s. I’m generally a fan of Pascal, but there was something a bit off about his performance here, and I can’t put my finger on what that was. 

[Lorne Malvo]

I thought Fantastic Four was beyond boring. Thunderbolts was much better, and I actually preferred Captain America: Brave New World too.

There's not much actually wrong with it, but everything about it - the plot, the pacing, the dialogue - was all just so basic and 'My First Superhero Movie'. A big missed opportunity for me.

Whilst I thought most of the cast were decent (and got a kick out of seeing Finchy - bloody good rep - in a Marvel film), I'm with @RedTwoster on Pedro Pascal. I couldn't dial into his performance at all for some reason. I know they're deliberately presenting him as a buttoned-up, sensible superhero, a million miles away from Iron Man or Thor, but it just lead to the character coming across as utterly boring and devoid of personality for me. 

Bland.

[Chris B]

Pascal doesn't have "smartest man in the world" energy. He comes across as possibly the nicest guy who is pretty smart - but not an ultra-genius.

[Mr_Danger]

CGI baby and dodgy looking Stretch Armstrong aside I thought it was pretty decent. Cast well with good chemistry. Plot was maybe overly simple and the problem with them trying to science their way out of it instead of just having loads of fights is that you know that it will all break down and end in a big fight anyway. Jetsons aesthetic was lovely and I kind of get the criticism of Pedro Pascal as Reed but I’m never sad to see him on screen.

[DavidB6937]

I feel like it was what it said - first steps. Reed will likely grow as a character the more we see him, but it felt more like Sue's story.

[Jazzy G]

As I said earlier, it was fine. It did all the stuff you'd want a Fantastic Four movie to do, apart from Namor turning up to be creepy around Sue

[davertfnewman]

Gotta be the contrarian who despite hating Superman really enjoyed Fantastic Four. It kinda reminded me of X-Men from 2000 in the sense of keeping the cast limited and the story simple so you could be acclimatised to the world of the story. The baby was sweet (and, as per my suspicions, is actually a girl) and Galactus was presented well (I spent the movie trying to work out the face and the voice and then heard something that registered as "While you're down there!" with me). It would've made the movie bloated if they'd included these but I'd happily watch TV episodes with the smaller battles they alluded to with other villains.

Edited August 5, 2025 by davertfnewman
Got Carbombed!

[Carbomb]

2 hours ago, davertfnewman said:

acclimated 

"Acclimatised", ya Yank

[davertfnewman]

4 hours ago, Carbomb said:

"Acclimatised", ya Yank

Seeing as you've spelt it with an s and not a z I've changed it. ?

[davertfnewman]

Anybody into animated DC or Marvel movies? The Marvel ones died a long time ago, with DC ones being sent off to the isle of no return more recently with James Gunn in charge. At least they ended with Watchmen, though, which I've got to watch among other gaps.

[BigJag]

DC are still making some. This one should be out soon. DC have usually produced the best animated movies. Justice League-Doom is quite good.

[davertfnewman]

Added that to the wish list, cheers!

I've got to go back to Justice League: Warworld in preparation of watching the three Crisis on Infinite Earths movie, which will span six to eight hours. The graphic novel took me several journeys to get through, but felt like a big gap in my comic history.

[BigJag]

I don't remember Warworld being all that great or having much bearing on the Time Crisis trilogy. I'd recommend going straight to the Infinite Earth series.

[Bellenda Carlisle]

I thought Warworld was good fun, the western segment was great. I love the DC animated movies, Crisis on two Earths was always my fave, I think that one is brilliant.

[Just Some Guy]

Not a movie but the animated Creature Commandos series is good fun and links into the current DCU.