Fantastic Four 2015

By Hervé St-Louis
July 21, 2025 - 07:24

The Baxter Foundation’s main scientist, Dr. Franklin Storm finds Reed Richards, a smart young man who created a transportation device from random everyday electronic parts. Invited to the Future Foundation, Reed Richards along with Johnny Storm, Victor von Doom, and best friend Ben Grimm travel to another dimension. An accident happens and Doom is trapped while the others gain powers. The energy feedback from the returning trio also transforms Susan Storm who was trying to retrieve them. A year later, the government now in charge of the dimensional project opens a portal to the dimension once again, allowing Doom to escape and threaten the planet. Can the Fantastic Four save the world from Doom?

This is movie is known as the bad Fantastic Four film, released at the height of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) but without being a part of it. This film was competing with other Marvel films while being produced and distributed by Twentieth Century Fox, not Disney. Yet, this movie seems to have been inspired by the Ultimate version of the Fantastic Four, where the characters were younger, and perhaps, less Fantastic.

This film tries so much to make sense of something as wacky as four travellers going out in space and gaining powers, that it removes the charm from the original comic book. It also spends too much time on the origins of the Fantastic Four and Doom, providing a short fight in the end where the villain is easily defeated. Of course, all the clichés about being a family and standing together.

One noteworthy element is the strong presence of Dr. Franklin Storm, as the anchoring adult in the film, following the rebellious and outsider casting of Reed Richards (Miles Teller). In comics, Dr. Storm, Sue and Johnny’s father is not a noteworthy character, and not involved in the superheroes’ origins. His presence in the film turned Reed Richards into an unstable nerd, not the strong leader of the Fantastic Four. Moreover, the casting of the actors is trying to pass 30 years old as older teens.

While the effects were okay, Johnny Storm, the Human Torch looked great, Ben Grimm, the Thing looked bad, and as if he were made from a pile of rocks. That character had no charm, just brooding. It seems that this movie was made by Fox just to keep the Fantastic Four’s film license, instead of allowing it to revert to Marvel. I’ll skip Doom. That character was wasted and had no personality.

Last Updated: July 21, 2025 - 07:30

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