On August 7, 2015 20th century Fox released it’s third attempt at a cinematic adaptation of Marvel’s "The Fantastic Four." As I am writing this article the film has grossed a meager $25.6 million domestically, and with a tepid 8% approval rating on the critical website Rotten Tomatoes it doesn’t appear "Fantastic Four" will be getting a sequel anytime soon. As a life long comic book fan and super hero apologist watching Josh Trank’s "Fantastic Four" is definitively the hardest film going experience I’ve had to endure in the past decade. This is no easy feat considering the abhorrent quality of past superhero films not created under the Marvel Studios moniker. That being said, after what has been a run of success for films based on Marvel Intellectual Properties, one question is dogging the thoughts of filmgoers worldwide. What the hell happened?
To say the film’s dreadful opening weekend was a shock would be libel on my part. Reshoots, rewrites, and directorial meltdowns were all well publicized. The origins of the film’s failure however extend well beyond its backstage drama. No, the problems with this current "Fantastic Four" film are a result of Marvel’s own lack of business savvy in the decades preceding its cinematic universe. Superhero films were not always guaranteed box office successes; in fact there was a period of time when filmed Superheroes were confined to low budget serials and weekend matinees. In the eyes of the general public superheroes were tantamount to Mickey Mouse and Felix the Cat. The characters were considered child fodder with no real marketability outside a certain age-range.
All that changed in 1978 with the cross-over success that was "Superman: The Motion Picture." The film was a critical and commercial success and proved there was a tangible market for super hero films. Movie Studios smelled success and so did comic book publishers. For years Marvel and its main competitor, DC comics, had butted heads for control of the comic book industry, with neither ever really turning a profit. Following the 1954 United States Senate hearings (an investigation that attempted to address the detrimental effects of comic books on juveniles) the comic book industry entered a period of stagnation that would go uninterrupted for decades. Readership went from numbering in the millions to the thousands in the span of a few years, and both publishers were bleeding money. Marvel, in an attempt to avoid bankruptcy began licensing several of their most popular characters to movie studios.
Spiderman, the X-men, and the Fantastic Four were all were placed under the jurisdiction of several different studios. Fox, Sony, and Warner Bros. now held the rights to make film adaptations of these Marvel characters as long as they appeared in some cinematic form. This, True Believers is why you will probably not see the X-men or the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Superhero reboots we’re seeing today are not just the result of industry wide lethargy, they’re the result of studios attempting to hold onto Marvel’s intellectual properties as long as possible. This is why Fox’s "Fantastic Four" is so terrible. It’s not a labor of love. It’s not trying to be an accurate adaptation. It isn’t trying to be a decent science fiction film. It’s a piece of cinematic garbage farted into existence to capitalize on a popular trend. This film was made to keep Marvel away from the cinematic rights to the Fantastic Four. If you are reading this article do not watch this film. It isn’t worth your time or the price of admission. Maybe this opening weekend will give Fox the same epiphany Sony had last year following the critical and commercial disappointment that was the "Amazing Spiderman 2." Who knows. Maybe we’ll see a decent Fantastic Four movie in the not to distant future, but if Fox remains as adamant as they currently are about creating their own cinematic universe, those chances are mighty slim.
