Four Reasons for a Fantastic Flop!
The summer movie wars are heating up and I'm going to go out on a limb and make a prediction. I think the Fantastic Four movie is
going to flop, and I'll give you the four reasons:
1. Batman Begins - Have you seen the movie? This movie may be my favorite Comic Book Movie of all time. In my opinion, they finally got it right in more ways than one. Not only as a tribute to Batman, but also as a philosophical movie for the age we live in. The story pits good versus evil and the responsibilities we all share. Bravo to David Goyer and director Christopher Nolan (Memento, Insomnia).
2. War of the Worlds - This is movie is being billed as the movie of the summer. It definitely has the star power going for it. It's a Spielberg movie and has Tom Cruise in the starring role, you can't get much bigger than that. Add this movie to the mix and there is a lot of summer competition. Batman Begins will be released a few weeks ahead of Fantastic Four, so the overlap problem won't be too bad, and they won't be going head to head. War of the Worlds on the other hand was to be released on the same weekend as Fantastic Four which leads to reason number 3....
3. Sliding Dates - The Fantastic Four release date was slipped so it wouldn't be competing head-to-head with War of the Worlds. This probably makes good financial sense, but in my opinion shows the studio is conceding defeat - this movie won't be as strong a draw as the star power of War.
4. Try to please everyone - Have you seen the movie trailer for Fantastic Four? If not, visit the official site at http://www.fantasticfourmovie.com. Make sure to watch the trailers in order of release. Start by watching the first trailer and then see how they've changed. I may be blind, but the first trailer shows a little camp, and has some modern fanboy images. Now this isn't bad, but it limits the appeal to one particular audience. When you watch the most recent trailer I think you'll notice a more serious tone. So what kind of movie is it? Does it capture the more serious nature of the Fantastic Four, or is it a modern rendition full of special effects, chase scenes, the hot babe and snappy lines? I may be wrong, but it's increasingly looking like both, and by trying to please everyone, it may not please anyone.
I've gone out on a limb here, and to be honest, I hope I'm wrong. I'll see the movie and probably enjoy it, but it doesn't look to be shaping up to be the major blockbuster of Spider-man or X-men. We'll find out soon!
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Labels: comic book movies
