Being a fan of science fiction movies, I was thrilled to watch the new Fantastic Four film. Fantastic Four follows the plot of Reed Richards (Miles Teller) as he is enlisted by Dr. Franklin Storm to build a teleporter that goes to an alternate dimension. Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell), who is Reed’s best friend and supporter, has an accident involving the teleporter and dies. However, Reed and his friends Johnny, Ben, and Sue obtain superhuman powers.  

One of the most disappointing things about this movie was the sparse plot. Over half of the film was build up and back story, lasting longer than the conflict itself. The plot that was there wasn’t very developed or impressive. For example, the accident that gives the Fantastic Four their powers amounts to nothing more than a drunken mistake. Any actual fighting or conflict feels rushed and poorly executed. The movie was also extremely predictable.

The character development started out well, showing Reed Richards as someone who believed in himself despite all of the naysayers. Victor Von Doom (the bad guy) showed a lot of promise as a deeper character, but unfortunately, the movie didn’t explore that side of him as much as I would have hoped.

A redeemable quality was the movie’s humor. A lot of the jokes actually evoked laughs from the audience (or maybe I’m just a sucker for a bad joke). The acting was also done very well; each actor represented their character in an extremely different way than represented in the 2005 Fantastic Four, which was interesting to see. Although the movie overall was rather dissatisfying, it had its bright spots. That being said, I wouldn’t recommend it, nor do I see myself re-watching it anytime soon.