Fantastic Four holds restraint, care and pride in the hands of its new-found origin story, but that seems to be all it cares about.

As the story develops, real effort and exposition runs its course, meandering slowly through the plot’s easy sci-fi veins, conflicts rising, falling, and rising once more. However, all this is seemingly tossed aside at the puntastic turning point of the 4, quickly becoming Adam West’s Dark Knight, with all the dramatic inconsistencies in between.

Though much of Marvel’s muted/nonsense reboot shows the team’s perhaps deserved maturation, Fantastic Four would rather quip-cringe from the sidelines.

Fantastic Four sets itself well for a sequel if turned off well before the final act.

RATING: 2/5

INFORMATION

DIRECTOR: Josh Trank

WRITER: Simon Kinberg, Jeremy Slater, Josh Trank

CAST: Miles Teller, Jamie Bell, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan

SYNOPSIS: Four young outsiders travel to an alternate dimension which grants them supernatural abilities.

A preview screening of Fantastic 4 was kindly provided by 20th Century Fox and Substance Global.