Fantastic Four Reboot

[Obi-Ron]

Especially by one guy with electric powers.

I still say that was a doombot.

 

[FaT_tONle]

Anyone honestly think this thing will be rebooted by Fox? There hasn't been a movie out since 07, and Wolverine and First Class will probably occupy Fox through 2013. After that wouldn't Disney take action and grab it back, even if they have to shell out cash? Marvel will need a new franchise alongside Avengers, and what better way than to re-acquire FF and start over 2014ish.

 

[nephron]

I don't agree that the focus needs to be taken 'off of family.'

I think focusing on the exploration without the focus on true family (as opposed to Sitcom family, like the forgettable movies did) will make an equally bland and forgettable film.

Regarding the first point: I'm not suggesting that they should completely dump the family-aspect, merely that they need to back off from it a little bit compared to the previous films, which simply paid way too much attention to that one aspect of the FF.

The family-thing was focused on to the point of excluding or marginalizing other things that make the FF so much fun.

Regarding the second point: I agree.

They need to find the right balance, and they could probably do that by setting out to write a kickass adventure story first - make that the starting point around which the story is framed, but just keep in mind the relationships the characters have while writing a solid sci-fi, action-adventure story.

 

[Franklin Richards]

Ok.


Yes, the movies may have not struck the correct balance between family and imaginauts. But to dismiss the family dynamic because Ben isn't related is insulting to all the non-blood families out there. Including my own.


Blood doesn't make a family. Love does. Just ask Sue.

 

[Spidey-Quad]

FOX is bluffing to get the best offer from Marvel. Same with "DD". They have too much of a Wolverine fetish.

 

[nephron]

...to dismiss the family dynamic because Ben isn't related is insulting to all the non-blood families out there. Including my own.

Not really.

Do you find Star Trek insulting?

If the FF is a family, then so is the crew of the Enterprise. Same thing - a bunch of people who may not always get along, but they all love each other, would give their lives for one another, etc. etc.

And yet, when you think Star Trek, is the first thing to pop into your head "Star Trek is all about family." Of course not. The Enterprise crew is a family in the exact same way as the FF, but Star Trek puts the emphasis on other things.

That might be worth doing with the FF.

...
Blood doesn't make a family. Love does. Just ask Sue.:

So what?

Again, the first two movies were deliberately built around the family-thing, with the actual plot of the adventure nothing more than an afterthought.

They weren't very good.

Time to try something else.

 

[JAK®]

Not really.

Do you find Star Trek insulting?

If the FF is a family, then so is the crew of the Enterprise. Same thing - a bunch of people who may not always get along, but they all love each other, would give their lives for one another, etc. etc.

And yet, when you think Star Trek, is the first thing to pop into your head "Star Trek is all about family." Of course not. The Enterprise crew is a family in the exact same way as the FF, but Star Trek puts the emphasis on other things.

That might be worth doing with the FF.





So what?

Again, the first two movies were deliberately built around the family-thing, with the actual plot of the adventure nothing more than an afterthought.

They weren't very good.

Time to try something else.

Fantastic Four has been about a dysfunctional family superhero team since day one. It's the driving concept behind it.

 

[nephron]

Fantastic Four has been about a dysfunctional family superhero team since day one. It's the driving concept behind it.

Star Trek has been about a dysfunctional family starship crew since day one. It's the driving concept behind it.

 

[Franklin Richards]

No.


There is a big difference between a family and a crew.


When Kirk gives an order, you follow it.


When Reed gives an order, you follow your conscious.



I agree that the balance in the movies could have been better, as I said before. You however, seem to only know the dictionary definition of a family.

 

[nephron]

There is a big difference between a family and a crew.

Not in this case. If you can say that, then one could also say there's a big difference between a family and a superhero team, and be just as correct.

When Kirk gives an order, you follow it.

When Reed gives an order, you follow your conscious.

How many times has Reed said something like "I'm the leader of this team! Follow my orders!" Plenty of times.

If blood has nothing to do with it, than neither does transient authority based on your job-title.

Remember when Cpt. Kirk stole the Enterprise? And what did his trusty crew do? They broke regulations, followed their conscience, and chose to follow Cpt. Kirk.

If the FF is a family, then so is the crew of the Enterprise. You need to get beyond your own narrow definition of what is and what is not a family.

I agree that the balance in the movies could have been better

I'm glad we agree.

 

[Franklin Richards]

So if I agree that the Enterprise crew is a family, then you agree that the FF is a family by default.


Glad I could get you to admit that.

 

[TheVileOne]

I'm not sure what Nephron is angry about or what point he is trying to make. The Star Trek comparison makes no sense.

The FF movies basically missed the family aspect. FF means that being family is more than just blood ties. When you marry someone you aren't related by blood, but when you marry someone you are a family. You are a part of a family. Ben isn't related to Reed or Sue by blood but he is still a part of the family. Family is greater than blood ties. That's what the movies missed.

 

[nephron]

So if I agree that the Enterprise crew is a family, then you agree that the FF is a family by default.


Glad I could get you to admit that.

OK. That's fine.

The point is that, whatever we want to call the FF, the crew of the Enterprise is the same thing. Family's just as good a word as any.

Moving on...

My suggestion is that, rather than build a movie around the family-theme like they did for the last 2 movies, they should start with another theme and build the story around that.

The next FF movie should be like Star Trek in that, even though the characters are a family, the story's narrative and theme don't completely revolve around the concept. The characters of Star Trek are a family, but Star Trek isn't about family. It's about optimism for the future, exploration, action, adventure, and social issues of the day.

Perhaps it might make for a more entertaining FF movie if the characters are a family, but the movie isn't about family like how the last 2 movies were. It could be about exploration, action and adventure.

 

[Obi-Ron]

Perhaps it might make for a more entertaining FF movie if the characters are a family, but the movie isn't about family like how the last 2 movies were. It could be about exploration, action and adventure.

That's a better way of putting it.

 

[JAK®]

Star Trek has been about a dysfunctional family starship crew since day one. It's the driving concept behind it.

Except that isn't true. It may have been the end result (and very common when it comes to large casts in long running TV series. As the writers and actors get comfortable in their roles a family dynamic is created) but the concept behind Star Trek was space exploration. The whole point behind the creation of the Fantastic Four was that they were a superhero family.

Since the original four's 1961 introduction, the Fantastic Four have been portrayed as a somewhat dysfunctional yet loving family. Breaking convention with other comic-book archetypes of the time, they would squabble and hold grudges both deep and petty, and eschew anonymity or secret identities in favor of celebrity status.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Four

 

[nephron]

That's a better way of putting it.

Right on.

 

[nephron]

Except that isn't true. It may have been the end result (and very common when it comes to large casts in long running TV series. As the writers and actors get comfortable in their roles a family dynamic is created) but the concept behind Star Trek was space exploration. The whole point behind the creation of the Fantastic Four was that they were a superhero family.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Four

That's what they are but it's not what the FF is entirely about in the same way the crew of the Enterprise is a family, but that's not what Star Trek is about.

But ok, let's pretend I'm completely wrong about that, and the single, most important thing about the FF is how they relate to each other as a family.

They already made 2 movies that took that approach and they weren't very good, so maybe a reboot shouldn't worry quite so much about how the FF functions as a family to the point of hiring the director of a movie like Barbershop. That's all I'm sayin'.

 

[JAK®]

That's what they are but it's not what the FF is entirely about in the same way the crew of the Enterprise is a family, but that's not what Star Trek is about.

Yes, they are a family and Fantastic Four is about the adventures of this particular family.

But ok, let's pretend I'm completely wrong about that, and the single, most important thing about the FF is how they relate to each other as a family.

I'll do more than 'pretend'.

They already made 2 movies that took that approach and they weren't very good, so maybe a reboot shouldn't worry quite so much about how the FF functions as a family to the point of hiring the director of a movie like Barbershop. That's all I'm sayin'.

I'm not convinced that focusing on the family aspect was what made the movies lame. (In fact they basically used 'about family' as an excuse to not having to spend money on special effects for the cosmic-level adventures the family has)

There was a superhero movie, however, that focused on having the team be a family and it was brilliant.

It was called The Incredibles.

 

[MilkmanDan]

Is it weird that I'd like to see Joseph and Ralph Fiennes play against each other as Richards and Doom?

Also, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is one of the few actors who I think might have the right mix of down-to-Earth machismo, teddy-bear quality and acting talent to play good old Ben "Idol of Millions" Grimm.

 

[Kelly]

Yes, they are a family and Fantastic Four is about the adventures of this particular family.

I'll do more than 'pretend'.


I'm not convinced that focusing on the family aspect was what made the movies lame. (In fact they basically used 'about family' as an excuse to not having to spend money on special effects for the cosmic-level adventures the family has)

There was a superhero movie, however, that focused on having the team be a family and it was brilliant.

It was called The Incredibles.

Agree 100%.

 

[cerealkiller182]

Also, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is one of the few actors who I think might have the right mix of down-to-Earth machismo, teddy-bear quality and acting talent to play good old Ben "Idol of Millions" Grimm.

Agreed

 

[Denny67]

If they do it I hope they do it right and are not just looking to throw some piece of crap movie together in order to retain the rights. IMO this time around The Thing should be done as a CG character like The Hulk was done. Maybe even go with Rhythm & Hues Studios, the same guys who did The Incredible Hulk.

 

[spiderwyze]

I think the comparison between the group dynamic of Fantastic Four and that of Star Trek is surface-level at best. When the members of the Enterprise crew met each other, it was because they were assigned to the same ship. It was a career for them, and they formed a familial bond with one another through living in the same ship and facing the same challenges. They started out as a team, but they became a family.

When the members of the Fantastic Four met each other, there wasn't the slightest inkling thatthey were ever going to become a team called the Fantastic Four. They all met because two of them were college buddies, two of them were siblings, two of them were romantically involved, and there was overlap with those three dynamics in that four-person group. They didn't become the Fantastic Four team until quite some time later, when Reed and Ben were trying to get a space mission off the ground, and the other two were caught up in it. From there, they made a career out of living under the same roof and facing the same challenges.The Fantastic Four started out as a family, but they became a team.

I think the Star Trek dynamic fits teams like the Avengers and the X-Men better. And even then, the X-Men concept kind of straddles the fence between being a 'family, then team' and a 'team, then family' dynamic. The original team went to school under the same roof and didn't find a need to be a superhero team until later, but subsequent members joined after the superhero aspect was already in place. But because the family aspect was in place as well, the newer X-Men became part of the family at the same time they became part of the team, if that makes sense.

The Avengers play the 'team, then family' dynamic straighter, as the various members are there to work as a superhero team with an official charter, jets, by-laws, etc. But because it's convenient for most of them to live at the same mansion (or skyscraper, or fortress, depending on the era or continuity) that serves as their base of operations, they develop a relationship with one another that extends beyond a simple working one.

I think any Fantastic Four movie worth its Roman numeral has to be able to identify and convey what sets its group dynamic apart from other superhero teams. I actually think the Tim Story movies did a great job of showing the family dynamic of the FF. Sure, maybe they went overboard with it and caused the horizons of what was otherwise an epic sci-fi property to shrink, but I'd rather that they erred on the side of too much family dynamic rather than not enough. They showed the FF living together, eating together, drinking together, sleeping together, arguing, making up, getting cold feet, offering solace, and sticking with each other when the chips were down. I firmly believe that the FF movies got the family aspect RIGHT, and it's for that reason that I can't bring myself to hate the movies as much as most fans seem to. I do admit the first one was underwhelming, but it was a step in the right direction, and I thought the sequel was a lot closer to what an FF movie was supposed to be. "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" is one of my favorite superhero movies, and I make no apologies for that.

All that said ... I really wish the FF movies would be rebooted by Marvel Studios instead of Fox. If movies like "Hellboy", "Iron Man", "Incredible Hulk", and "The Dark Knight" taught us anything, it's that the best superhero movies are the ones produced by people who understand what the characters are supposed to be about. We're long past the point where it's a wise idea to put people in charge of a superhero movie who have no idea who Kal-El is.

And the first step toward understanding the Fantastic Four is understanding what makes their group dynamic unique.

 

[Jake Cassidy]

Sue Storm - January Jones (Mad Men)

Johnny Storm - Eric Christian Olsen (Fired Up)





Namor - Jonathan Rhys Meyers (The Tudors)

Perfect t:

 

[Jake Cassidy]

Agreed

Me too. JDM would be great as Ben.

My favourite for Reed is Alexis Denisof. As for Johnny, I have no idea.