As any long term reader of this 'ere blog would know ( pauses for hysterical laughter at the thought of such impossible creatures ) my all-time favourite comic book is the Lee & Kirby Fantastic Four. I used to do a semi-regular feature here called FF Fridays, and the release of Marvel Studios' latest movie trailer prompted me to dust this off.
The previous cinematic adaptations of Marvel's First Family have been a very mixed bag. The Tim Story-directed films from the early 2000s were fun but deeply flawed, while the 2015 reboot was irredeemably bad. ( We won't mention the unreleased Roger Corman production from the '90s. )
Regardless of the merits or otherwise of the previous FF films, none of them captured the unique feeling of the original source material: the superhero soap combined with cosmic melodrama, and an often goofy humour. The FF were always tied to their era - the heady days of JFK and the Space Race - and I always thought any movie adaptation should be set in the 1960s. This trailer gives us a glimpse into a retro-futurist world which seems to be exactly that and is very promising, from the brief glimpses of the characters, to the Silver Age aesthetic, to the shadow of the Big G looming over Manhattan.
For the first time in a very long while I'm quietly excited for a superhero movie. ( And, to be fair, James Gunn's upcoming Superman film looks promising too. ) Maybe we're heading for a renaissance of the superhero film? Stranger things have happened.
I enjoyed the first 2 FF films ( not the 2015 disaster) but like yourself , I am looking forward to the new movie ( and the new Superman film). Marvel are releasing the first 12 issues of the FF as facsimile editions which may be of interest if you no longer have these
Hi Paul. Yes, both those movies look like they could be fun. Fingers crossed! I'm glad to hear Marvel are publishing those facsimiles - it's always good to keep those old stories in the public eye: the Marvel Universe was built on them! Of the first dozen issue of the FF, I've got original copies of numbers 8, 9 and 10. I bought them back when low-grade copies of the mag were still affordable - I certainly couldn't afford them now...
Hi Sean. I'm not too worried about Ben wearing a costume - at least he's not wearing a mask like he did in the '90s DeFalco / Ryan era of the comic ;-)
I missed most of that decade if Marvel, Simon, but when I finally saw the Thing's mask - which I would say was more of a helmet - I was just relieved to find out it wasn't a robot head (you never know with 90s super-hero comics).
And anyway, I was much more concerned about Sue's costume... Ffs what were those idiots at Marvel thinking? I suppose at least any FF film can't be worse than all that stuff.
@Sean I didn't read the FF in that era ( it all seemed like a self-conscious rehash of the glory years ) but I remember leafing through the occasional issue in comic shops. And Sue's costume was a disaster alright. They were clearly going for the testosterone market in a big way...
@Paul Very likely. There are obviously fans of the FF from various eras and Marvel will probably throw in nods to different iterations. It's a tall order to please everybody but it certainly looks promising.
I enjoyed the first 2 FF films ( not the 2015 disaster) but like yourself , I am looking forward to the new movie ( and the new Superman film). Marvel are releasing the first 12 issues of the FF as facsimile editions which may be of interest if you no longer have these
ReplyDeleteHi Paul. Yes, both those movies look like they could be fun. Fingers crossed! I'm glad to hear Marvel are publishing those facsimiles - it's always good to keep those old stories in the public eye: the Marvel Universe was built on them!
ReplyDeleteOf the first dozen issue of the FF, I've got original copies of numbers 8, 9 and 10. I bought them back when low-grade copies of the mag were still affordable - I certainly couldn't afford them now...
The Thing has a regular FF costume, rather than just a pair of blue trunks?!?
ReplyDeleteThats already a fail right there, Simon. I am not optimistic...
-sean
Hi Sean. I'm not too worried about Ben wearing a costume - at least he's not wearing a mask like he did in the '90s DeFalco / Ryan era of the comic ;-)
ReplyDeleteI missed most of that decade if Marvel, Simon, but when I finally saw the Thing's mask - which I would say was more of a helmet - I was just relieved to find out it wasn't a robot head (you never know with 90s super-hero comics).
DeleteAnd anyway, I was much more concerned about Sue's costume...
Ffs what were those idiots at Marvel thinking? I suppose at least any FF film can't be worse than all that stuff.
-sean
I suppose the films aiming more for the 1980s fans of the cartoon with the robot etc. Still it looks good.
ReplyDelete@Sean
ReplyDeleteI didn't read the FF in that era ( it all seemed like a self-conscious rehash of the glory years ) but I remember leafing through the occasional issue in comic shops. And Sue's costume was a disaster alright. They were clearly going for the testosterone market in a big way...
@Paul
Very likely. There are obviously fans of the FF from various eras and Marvel will probably throw in nods to different iterations. It's a tall order to please everybody but it certainly looks promising.