Is the Fantastic Four...fantastic?

 Spoilers maybe potentially...

As a Marvel kid who from a very young age had comics in my collection from before my time, and a handful were very old (I had some issues that were between original FF issues 12-60...lotsa Wyatt Wingfoot, Diablo, and Dragon Man) and I really loved those. That eventually inspired me as a young adult in the 80's and early 90's to collect new issues for some years (until those fuckers started to cost like 250 or more a pop).

Loved those great Kirby touches. Like having
Namor take a big fish dump while watching TV

But so many of us who are not total seniors yet, we experienced Jack Kirby through reprints and graphic novels. That distinctive 60's futurepunk look for technology and outer space objects (often just a big wall made of abstract shapes and who the hell knows what it is kind of stuff). 

We don't really get it in its purest Kirby form in this new film, but it is there. That homage is what was making me hopeful about this. The Kirbyness was most present in Galactus scenes. 

First, the cast. Not bad. Pretty much unknowns except for very overexposed Pedro Pascal. He was fine as Richards, but he was a different Reed than I was familiar with. Quiet and moody. My Mr. F is a nerd, but also had a 60's manliness and a can-do attitude. 

and maybe a little rough when he is 
explaining to his wife how to listen

But I think my real problem is they got an overexposed guy to play him. I saw a commercial the other day for the FF appearing at Universal Citywalk or something, and that unknown Reed would have been better. For one thing, Mr. F and Sue Storm are kind of old for the parts. In the comics Reed is in his 40's and Sue in her 20's. A trophy wife deal. Vanessa Kirby is 37 and Pedro is 50. C'mon. 

There is some chemistry between the leads. Though at least Kirby is in a relationship with somebody else last I read, they had many instances of public affection at interviews. 

Yes, this blog is a gossip page now

But seriously, I'm pretty sure there is one main thing about him that would keep Pedro for pursuing his lovely lead...

not that there is anything wrong with that..

Ben Grimm was...ben Grimm. No cartoonish Bronx accept or way of talking. He sounds more like a college literature grad than the "Crips! Shut yer yap! Why I outta!" comic book Noo Yawk working stiff stuff. But ok. Johnny Storm is not as woke as I expected. I heard they were going to make him gay. But he is a bit of a hot shot, he liked to get sniz on the reg, but he is also often a voice of reason here, and I think also a bit of a scientist now. I think they all are. But yeah they keep the horndog aspect. He's hot for Silver Surfer, and she pretty much looks like the Oscars trophy. Really, Human Torch is the big standout in the film. Smart, funny, and fearless. He was the big suprise here. 

As far as FF films I still think ...

we all know what the best FF movie was

Some basic dislikes:

The eye candy was good, but it still moved too slow. The action was...not very actiony. Ben Grimms big display of power was running through some pillars to know a building down. 

I guess I mention Sue's age. She should be just out of college, not at an age where her biological clock is running out. 

Pedro again. Tired of his face. And his interview comments in the marketing leading up kind of made him the new Rachel Zegler (look her up). 

They are from the 60's but are coming to modern day. I feel like they will become about being time displaced. The 60's of their world has high tech thanks to Reed, but still they will be out of touch. How will they approach that. Constant Beetles references?

I heard Reed will be leading character in upcoming films, even leading the Avengers. So where does that leave the rest of the FF?

Some basic Likes:

Gratitude that Kang is no longer the threat (though I hear he will show up at some point). Should have been Doom all the way (though he might have been ruined in Ant Man 3).

Herbie. As a kid I hated that he was in the cartoon rather than Torch. But he works well here. 

The whole 60's vibe. Very Fallout..out of place tech.

The early montage where many FF classic villains were mentioned. Actual action against the Red Ghosts super apes and Mole Man...plus mentions of Diablo and Puppet Master. 

Cheers

Superman Review and yeah some spoilers

 

As a kid and into my teens Spider Man was my favorite superhero, the comic I collected the most of, and the collection I much later made a lot of money on in the early days of Ebay. I was a Marvel kid for sure, but at swap meets and thrift shops I encountered and took possession of a lot of DC. I would not actually collect DC until I was into my 20's, and those were very specific. Suicide Squad and Johan Hex were almost complete sets I had.

But the big three, you know, Superman, Batman, and even Wonder Woman were in my collection. At some point as a young man Superman became my favorite overall hero. Whether a big blue boy scout, or a troubled and alienated being, Supes in any flavor was OK by me. 

What we get in James Gunns Superman is a mildly flawed, kind of corny and loveable Man of Steel. He really comes off less like the 70's Reeves Superman, and more like that films goofy Clark Kent. This movies Clark actually seems cooler than his Superman identity. 

Superman starts the movie off all beat to shit, and his cousins dog Krypto drags him to the Fortress of Solitude where Supes assistant Robots put him on a gurney and expose him to magnified sunlight to bring him back near peak. Yes, if this all sounds very 50's and 60's Superman then you are on the nose. James Gunn is looking to vintage and kind of cartoony DC for his inspiration. Anyway, Supes is right back in action and back to getting his ass kicked. All up and down Metropolis. 

Nick Holt is a great Luthor. Both evilly funny and at times terrifying. Though he seems to be a good boss to his assistants. He doesn't hit anybody like you might expect from this Luthor. He just breaks a glass and tells them to clean it up. They hop right to it so they must be well paid. And the most abuse he heaps on his girlfriend Miss Teshmacher is throwing a pencil at her. But at some point he does jail her in his prison dimension where what appears to be another former gif is already imprisoned. So yeah, that seems kind of dark. 

So Luthors scheme is to out Superman as a fraud or something, and when he unscrambles the speech by Supes Krypton parents where it is heavily implied they sent him to rule (Gunn ripping off Invincible it seems) rather than protect. When humanity is supplied the scandalous info (confirmed to be genuine by Mr. Terrific) they turn on Superman. This rewriting of Supes parents is probably the most controversial addition by Gunn. But it sets up an incredible montage of how great Clarks Earth parents were to him growing up, and how they inspired him to be good, not some prince of aliens from an ice planet on the other side of the galaxy. I actually got misty at that point. Gunn got me. 

My toxic fandom cronies online are not going to like how much I like the movie. It is not as woke as I feared. Any political stuff is blurred enough that you can add what you like. The foreign war portrayed could be Israel, or it could be Ukraine. So pick your preferred flavor of global injustice. 

The back up cast is pretty good. They are all there. Lois, pal Jimmy (who it turns out is a dork who somehow gets unbelievable supermodel sniz on the reg)

 Perry White (who nowadays is ironical black), office slut Cat Grant, and others.

Of the other heroes Guy Gardner is good, Hawkgirl may as well not even be there (though she gets her own wicked moments on the battlefield), but Mr. Terrific is, well, Terrific. The most obscure of the bunch, I loved him in the comics. Worlds smartest man as well as super athlete. His abilities, and technology, and attitude are right out of the comics. He might be the most accurate portrayal of a comics hero ever. He needs his own movie. 

Everybody loves a nutty dog, but Krypto gets annoying at times. Cousin Supergirl, played by the chin girl from House of the Dragon, shows up for like a minute at the end to collect her dog, and is clearly drunk. When she leaves she calls Supe a bitch, which I thought was funny. She is a party girl. This is all a reference the Woman of Tomorrow graphic novel where Supergirl likes to go to yellow sun planets so she can actually get drunk, and a story that the upcoming movie will be based on. 

Superman starts and ends the movie beat to shit. There is a certain lack of the respect the character gets in other media. Authorities and other heroes treat him more like the popular high school quarterback than a demigod. And it's OK. This is Superman early in his career. There is room to grow. 

Oh yeah, some pretty good songs selected like James Gunn do. 

So yes, I do recommend it. It's a good time at the movies. 

Cheers.