Everyone knows what the definition of insanity is, and yet Kevin Feige has thrown caution to the wind to develop a fifth Fantastic Four movie with a fourth different lineup, despite none of the previous quartet setting the world alight.
The 1994 original was cynically made on a shoestring budget for the sole purpose of holding onto the rights and never released, while Tim Story’s 2005 blockbuster earned a respectable $335 million at the box office in spite of a critical pounding. His sequel Rise of the Silver Surfer fared marginally better in terms of reviews, but earned less money and ultimately saw a threequel canned.
Josh Trank’s Fant4stic ranks as one of the worst comic book adaptations in the history of cinema, so all the Marvel Cinematic Universe really needs to do in order to deliver the iconic team’s best live-action outing ever is send a perfectly acceptable superhero story to the big screen. Based on the ongoing backlash towards the Multiverse Saga, though, that might be all anyone’s expecting from WandaVision director Matt Shakman.
Story’s first installment does have its moments – with Michael Chiklis and Chris Evans emerging from the wreckage fairly unscathed – but it’s one of many early-to-mid 2000s spandex-clad capers that ticks all of the necessary boxes without coming close to striking out as original and unique in any way.
That being said, Fantastic Four has at least cobbled together a new wave of appreciators on streaming, with FlixPatrol confirming the underwhelming epic as one of the top-viewed features on the Rakuten rankings.