More Than Just Great - Fantastic Four: First Steps, Reviewed

Despite being the first superheroes created by Marvel Comics (yes, predating Spider-Man, Iron Man and the Hulk!), the Fantastic Four have not had much like being adatped to movies or TV. The Roger Corman version from 1994 (unreleased) is objectively terrible, the 2005 Tim Story films didn't blow anyone's skirts up, and the 2015 Josh Trank version was an utter bomb, regarded by many as being the worst superhero movie ever released, and Marvel disliked the movie so much they not only killed analogues of the actors in another comic, they cancelled the Fantastic Four comic itself. 

Fantastic Four: First Steps finally gives Marvel's First Family the platform they deserve.

Director Matt Shakman (WandaVision) and a host of writers have crafted a tight little adventure film (first Marvel film to clock in under two hours in who knows how long) that has great heart and expresses the core characters pretty much perfectly.

By settting the movie in a completely independent timeline (Earth 828, for artist/creator Jack Kirby's birthday), the filmmakers not only gave themselves a chance to play with a retro-future vision of New York, but removing it from an increasingly convoluted MCU continuity means absolutely no 'homework' is required by exhausted, lapsed or maybe even new viewers.

The casting is pitch perfect, from Pedro Pascal's portrayal of Reed Richards/ Mr. Fantastic as a brilliant, preoccupied but loving husband, to Vanessa Kirby/ Invisible Woman showcasing Susan Storm as being protective, diplomatic but also ruthless when her family is threatened. Joseph Quinn brings the needed sass and swagger to Johnny Storm/ the Human Torch but doesn't look out of place when displaying his own insights and intelligence.

My favourite is Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/ The Thing, for carrying so much humanity and empathy through a CGI-created set of rock-like features - my compliments to the FX team! He also underplays the mopishness and woe-is-me nature so prevalent in the early FF stories. His deep appreciation of his found family does not grate against his desire to punch a threat if the opportunity presents itself.

I wish I could spend more time in retro-pastiche Earth 828, and the next time I watch this film I will pay even more attention to the billboards, ads and magazine covers (although wow it felt like a lot of product placement early on). I love that one of the montage bits early on show the Mole Man abducting the Pan-Am (Airlines) tower, and all the analog touches like tape drives for teh H.E.R.B.I.E. robots.

For the first time in a long time, a Marvel picture has balanced action, character, humour and pathos proportionately while still bringing all the vibrancy and wonder of the source material. It is a wonderful thing to experience in the theaters, and a real tour de force in superhero films.

Most critically for me though, is how quickly they establish what differentiates the Fantastic Four from every other team in comics - the fact that they are a family.

Family, loyalty and sacrifice are themes that run throughout the film, and I would love to delve into them except for fear of spoiling even the tiny revelations that enthralled me. Suffice to say, this is one of the better Galactus stories I have ever come across because of the hard choices given the heroes in this story.

Suffice to say, the love and optimism displayed in Fantastic Four: First Steps make it a great double-feature pairing with Superman, at  time when the real world could use a lot of both. Highly recommended, not just to comic fans, but to anyone who appreciates wonder on the big screen.

PG ‘25 - The Ancient Forest

Sorry for the delay in posting - it did not take very much camping time to get to the “what day is this again?” stage.

We have been at a campground called MamaYeh, 15 min south of Prince George, the ‘northern capital’ of British Columbia. Tomorrow we pull up stakes and head three hours west and a smidgen North to Burns Lake to visit our niece, but we wanted a couple days to see what was in this area (and to break up the 11 hour drive time from Edmonton). And even without flush toilets, it is a lovely campsite, with a great host.

One of the things to see is an amazing inland rainforest, at B.C.‘s newest provincial park, Chun T’oh Whudujut. It turns out you don’t have to drive out to Clayuquot on Vancouver Island to witness immense, 1000-year-old cedars.

There is an accessible boardwalk with minimal elevation change, but lured upward with the promise of a waterfall, we instead opted for the larger loop with a lot more climbing than I’d anticipated. 

The footing is sure on a sturdy boardwalk and steps, all built and maintained by volunteers.

It is very dense off the boardwalk, and I can only imagine how easy it would be to get lost in terrain like this, and wondering what sort of fauna is lurking just out of sight in the underbrush.

At one point, Canéla stopped pulling ahead on her leash and drew back with a low growl, which I found unnerving. Another dog would have made her bark, as would any small mammals like a squirrel or mouse. I looked intently ahead, and saw nothing, so I coaxed her forward again, but once more she balked, growling more loudly.

“What is it girl? What’s the matter?” I asked, knowing full well a response of any kind was unlikely. Once more I peered into the low brush surrounding the immense cedar trunks, following a dry creekbed heading downhill to our right. Surely not big enough for a bear or cougar, was it?

Audrey drew up behind us and asked, “hey, is she scared of the knot coming out of that stump? The one that looks kind of like a birds head?”

Sure enough, that’s what it was - and I was so relieved I never even thought to take a picture!

No injuries or wildlife encounters, but we were all pretty tired by the time we got back to the Lander. But the waterfall really is worth the effort.

A Hard Story About a Soft Guy - Superman, Reviewed

Let me start off by saying that as much as I enjoyed James Gunn's Superman movie, both as a showcase for the world first real superhero and as the foundation for a rebooted shared universe for DC comics characters, my favourite iteration of Kal-el remains his portrayal on the Justice League aninamted series. (The same goes for Batman and I adored Matt Reeves' noirish take!)

After nearly a century of storytelling I think it has become apparent that, whatever the medium, is it not difficult to write a Superman story. He has an extensive array of interesting powers, many of which lend themselves well to a dynamic medium like film or television. He has an extensive and largely well-known lore and backstory, as well as one of the best rogues gallery in comic books.

So writing a story with one of the most beloved fictional characters is not supremely difficult -  it is estimated that there are over 50,000 indiviudal comics featuring Superman.

The challenge is in writing a good Superman story; one that is compelling and original and surprising. And although I have some problems with the how of it, I think James Gunn has done this with Superman.

In the interest of avoiding spoilers, I will be avoiding detailed discussions of some of what I felt were shortcomings. Some of them are nitpicks and couel of them really aren't,  and I felt that each of them could have been written around. 

The most critical thing they got right is the heart of Clark Kent himself; a midwesterner committed to helping people and doing the right thing. Not just beating up bad guys, but saving people (and more than a couple of animals).

They also got the casting and the supporting cast spot-on, from the journalists of the Daily Planet (especially Rachel Brosnahan in what feels like a very Margot Kidder-influenced Lois Lane) to the other heroes in the 'Justice Gang' (esp. Nathan Fillion's arrogant Green Lanter Guy Gardner). But special mention has to go to Nicholas Hoult for portraying a Lex Luthor with all the smarts and savvy of past interpretations and then infusing him with a roiling core of anger borne out of jealousy and perceived inadequacy. 

This acrimony lefd to some surprisingly mean-hearted moments that, even for a megalomaniacal and selfish tool like Luthor left me a bit surprised, but I respect the boldness of the choice. There are a few bold choices in the film, not all of which I agreed with, but all of which I think I understood.

Some of the best things about Superman is what they didn't do, however.

• They didn't make it an origin story (thank Gawd)
• They didn't have him straight up murder anyone, or let someone die to preserve his secret identity
• They didn't make his dog smarter than they majority of other characters - in fact, notwithstanding the superpowers, Krypto is maybe the most realistic dog in movie history
• They didn't get rid of the red trunks, a bag part of Superman's iconic look
• They didn't make Lois a patsy for Superman, challenging him instead

As a comic-lover, there was a lot for me to like in this film. As a movie lover, Gunn gave all of Superman's weaknesses an opportunity to be exploited, from the well known mineral ones to the less-explored social ones. He gave one of the most powerful characters in fiction multiple (maybe too many) opportunities to be vulnerable and a great assortment of characters to play his strengths and weaknesses against. 

The action sequences are dynamic for sure, Gunn's trademark humour is given many places to shine, but the best thing about Superman is its intrinsic belief about good - not that good will always triumph over evil, but simply what good is. The rest is nitpicking.

This is the Superman I have been waiting for for 45 years. Welcome back, Clark.

More Fast, Less Furious - F1, Reviewed

I came out of our Canada Day viewing of F1: The Movie with two thoughts:

1. That is some seriously commercial and formulaic filmmaking; and
2. That is a great summer movie.

The shorthand is, if you enjoyed the speed and camerawork of last year's Top Gun: Maverick, this is cut from essentially the same cloth, only at a much lower altitude. It not only has the same director (Joseph Kosinski), but where TGM had the full cooperation of the US Department of Defense and Navy, this one not only has Formula 1 Racing behind it, but even boasts seven-time World Driver's Champion Lewis Hamilton as an executive producer. Some wags are calling it Top Gear: Maverick, which I wish I'd thought of...

Brad Pitt plays Sonny Hayes, a one-time Formula 1 up and comer from decades back who is now a mercenary wheelman drifting from race to race (including the grueling 24 hours at LeMans!) without connections or continuity. His old teammate (Javier Bardem), now the owner of a struggling F1 team, begs him to return to the league in order to help him salvage what remains of a terrible season. 

Along the way he will have to contend with a prickly relationship with his rookie teammate (Damson Idris), convince a female engineer (Kerry Condon) to re-design the car and, of course, deal with the ghosts from his past - as well as a full field of younger, yet more experienced drivers.

The great thing about sports movies (which this undoubtedly is) is that the conflict is built in and you honestly don't need a whole ton of plot. The story of F1 isn't quite paint-by-numbers, but it is definitely done by the numbers, with not too many surprises in store along the way.

So why bother watching it?

Well, since they let Idris and Pitt drive on real F1 tracks with legit F2 cars during actual Grand Prix weekends (but not at the same time as guys like Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen), you are unlikely to ever get a better look at what F1 racing looks like at ground level.

And to be clear here, I am not a guy who really gives a hoot about motorsports, but I appreciate the skill and engineering behind any competition this intense, and let's face it, these amazing vehicles are essentially jet fighters on wheels. Kosinski has repurposed a lot of his technology from TGM and reapplied it to these road rockets, and makes even the qualifying laps look engaging and intense. In fact we all agreed that early shots of the spoiler dropping to increase speed should have been repeated more in later races (but this may be due to rules about how he drag reduction system is used).

I can't speak to how realistic the film is, because how the hell would I know, but they have enough good-looking details for the serious fans and enough explanations for newbies like me to keep the challenges and stakes clear without constant exposition. And I know Sonny's unconventional 'Plan C's would get a real-world driver penalized, if not litigated, indicted, or simply assaulted in pit row.

The story, though simple, does not treat its audience as stupid. The goal is not to win the championship or even a single race, but just to improve the team's standing enough that the board does not force the owner to sell and put a rookie driver out of work. No one will die if the goal is unmet, and there is no villain from another team sabotaging their cars or racing dirty to put them in their place. In fact, the lack of mustache twirling made the movie more enjoyable as a whole. Honestly, when the protagonist is coming out of a straightaway at 350+ km/h and approaching a corner on worn out tires, inertia is a sufficient enough antagonist, don't you think?

The product placement is relentless, even away from the track, so if you don't like logos, maybe give this film a miss. But the international venues are a real treat for the eyes on a big screen.

F1: The Movie has everything you want from a solid summer entertainment spectacle: thrills, spills, drama, charming performers and the occasional laugh. It's a pretty good date movie, as those who aren't that interested in cars can enjoy Pitt and Idris in everything from witty banter to ice baths.

And all of it, especially the cars but also the scenery, looks better on a bigger screen, so that and Hans Zimmer's score (plus a very decent soundtrack) made me glad we splurged and saw it in IMAX.