Wednesday, April 23, 2014

"Fantastic Four" Movie Faces Major Backlash

Fantastic Four Backlash
Let's make things clear first. When they said that the new "Fantastic Four" movie "will be a more 'gritty' and 'realistic' movie than the original,” don’t believe that. It’s all just marketing hype.

Producer Simon Kinberg will no doubt start the production soon, but avid followers of the superhero quartet and avid fans of Marvel universe are up in arms for the head-scratching choices made by Fox.

The backlash is mainly focused on the unconventional casting composed Michael B. Jordan; Miles Teller; Jamie Bell and Kate Mara. If you are not familiar with these names, then you will soon be because of the controversy they have created.

We have already posted a story on why Jordan ("Fruitvale Station" and "Friday Night Lights") is not the proper actor to play the Human Torch. My question then was: can anybody tell me in what comic episode did the Human Torch burned crisp using his powerful 'supernova' that it turned a Caucasian young male into an African-American? This is not to mention that Johnny Storm is the brother of a blue-eyed blond-haired Susan Storm.

How about this, Jamie Bell is a skinny 5'7" English actor, but he was tasked to play the role of a rough and tumble, muscle-laden tough guy from the Bronx named Ben Grimm aka The Thing. Even the baby-face Miles Teller — who recently starred with Jordan in the bromantic comedy "That Awkward Moment" — does not look the part of a middle-aged with white hair on the sides and highly- accomplished scientist Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic. Only Kate Mara has gotten something of a pass from playing Susan Storm aka Invisible Woman.

There is no denying that all three actors are accomplished professionals in their own way, but, for the crying out loud, stay close to the material that made these four characters popular in the first place. This is one of the basic formulas why Disney is very successful in creating their Marvel Super Hero movie empire.

Comic fans need not see the finished material to know that the new "Fantastic Four" is not realistic and not grounded on the original story.

If Fox really wants more diversity and more ethnic characters in their super hero movies, they don’t need to change the original material for sensationalistic reasons. All they have to do is integrate the Black Panther, Luke Cage or the Inhumans in the "Fantastic Four" story lines or better yet give them their own movies.

Comic fans have only one simple request to all movie outfits: "Just give us what we want, a really good story involving the characters we already know from the comic books and love as they are and if those characters aren't what you want then make a different movie using your own super heroes."

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