The Fantastic Four: First Steps

My dream as a long time FF fan has come true. They did not only a good movie, but a GREAT Fantastic Four movie. Dare I say...Fantastic?!

I know the bar was extremely low, but this movie did all the things the other movies failed to do. Combined.

At this point, I don't think I have to provide proof, but I will anyways. For those of you that have seen my comic book collection, you will know that it is pretty massive. Let's just say the most of one title I have is Fantastic Four comics. They are one of the very few comics I've bought every issue consistently for the past 20 years without breaks. I've endured a lot of ups and downs with the series, so I feel like I have a pretty good feel on them. I want you to trust me as an expert. Or at least someone who is speaking as a big fan and then you can still dismiss me.

This movie combines the best elements of the characters for this movie. Let me get my review. I am going to gush a lot about this movie, so let me put this into my new bullet point format so it's easier to see my thoughts. I warn you that this will be long because I have a lot to say, 99% positive.

• We need to put more respect on Pedro Pascal's name. He did the unimaginable and that is make Reed Richards likeable. For context, in the comics, by and large, Reed Richards is a dick. He's a know it all that commands his team (his freakin' family) like they work for him. Even though he has arguably the worst power set of this team. His defining characteristic is that he is smart. We'll put a pin in this.
• Given the above, I'm glad that they gave the rest of the team something to do and further defined their roles in the dynamic. This was the best version of each of these characters, leaving behind a lot of the tropes they get caught up in for DECADES:
• Johnny does a mini-quest and is helpful later on in unraveling the personal side of the Silver Surfer. Even though he is the "hot head" they toned that quality down a lot in this movie. In the comics, he can be insufferable and always shown as immature. Here, they manage that a lot better.
• Sue is more than just the "Invisible Girl" a moniker she had way too long in the comic books. Because you know, mysogny. Yes, she is the mother, but she also helps broker peace treaties, so she is not blindly following Reed around and doing what he says like a doting wife. I would argue she's the most powerful member of the team and she displays that in the movie.
• The Thing. Thank God that for once, we don't have mopey, sad-sack ass Ben Grimm. He's come to grips with his condition and I'm glad we don't waste movie time dwelling on it. They've just now got past that in the books. He's also the gentle giant and heart of the film. 
• Going back to Reed, we see him wrestling with not always having the answers and explains his motivations for why he is always trying to come up with solutions for everything. In this movie, while he has the ego that only he can fix it, it feels more altruistic. Also, he can admit when he's wrong.
• This movie found an inventive (and short) way of explaining their origin. We don't have to see everything that leads to their powers, we get it in snippets as part of a TV show. More modern day super heroes need to spend less time on the origin and get to the action. I didn't spend money to watch an hour of heroes start to get it together.
• They really toned down the antagonistic relationship between the Thing and the Human Torch. In the previous movies and comics, they did this to a cartoonish degree to the point you ask, "Are y'all even friends?" Here, they clearly love and respect each other. I hate to say it, but that is refreshing.
• When this movie was first announced, I was not happy that we jumped straight to Galactus. This movie proved me wrong. They handled the threat well and they did this by establishing that the Fantastic Four have had their powers for years and have been dealing with the threats. We just didn't get to see them in detail, but it's covered. So this movie doesn't start with that being the very first threat they see.
• I felt like there was a palpable chemistry between the actors in this movie and for once, the FF felt like an actual family. Other movies tried to force the idea on it, but here they naturally feel like one. Again, this is refreshing, since they are refered to as "The First Family." This sounds like something very basic, but you'd be surprised how they got this part completely wrong in all the movies.
• For all those bellyaching about Norrid Radd not being the Silver Surfer in this movie, relax. This whole movie takes place in an alternate dimension anyway, so that frees them up. Shala Bal is the perfect choice for this movie and I think is represented very well here. I love the way they presentered her arc.
• If you loved that 60's aesthetic, you get a whole movie of that here and I loved that design choice with the way the FF is constructed and the world they are living in. It's gorgeous and bright. This includes their choice of costumes.
• As a long time fan, I loved that they name check a bunch of their rogues gallery, without wasting too much time showing them. Because their gallery is too goofy. They name checked The Wizard, Puppet Master, Red Ghost and Diablo. We spend some time with Mole Man, who will play a part.
• The special effects were very good in this movie. 
• If I had any complaints, Mr. Fantastic's stetchiness did not look great. Same for the CG baby Franklin they use in some scenes.
• The movie, like a good mystery, sprinkles in foreshadowing and breadcrumbs that are called back to later. So when things happen, they're not coming out of the blue, they already set it up earlier so it makes sense later.
• H.E.R.B.I.E.! That is all. Loved he had a functional usage and maybe it will be a cool toy for the kiddos.
• I loved the action shown in the action scenes. It was a good use of everyone's powers. I will not quibble about what they did or didn't do. For example, Sue can do way more than what she does here.
• The one negative thing I want to say is I am tired of this Marvel movie bullshit of having stingers at the end of the movies, just to tie it to other movies. At this point, people are either in or out. You don't need to tease the next damn movie or say, "The Fantastic Four will appear next in X". No shit, we'll see it when it comes out.
• The final thing I want to point out is how this movie affected me personally. Now that I'm a parent, the central conflict circles around Reed and Sue's baby, Franklin. They make a choice that ANY parent would make, but they play out what it really means in the context of their family. The world turns on them for it and they further explain the choice. But if it was me, I'd make the same choice too, the World be damned.
• There's humor here, but unlike the normal Marvel way, they don't over do it.

If you made it this far, congratulations. You're a dedicated reader and very much appreciated by me. Thanks for coming to read my review. My bold proclamation is that after watching this movie, it has moved into my top 3 Marvel films. In fact, I think the order will now go: Black Panther, Fantastic Four: First Steps, Captain America: Winter Soldier.

This was the movie I have always wanted out of the FF. I had to be calmed down by the friend I was watching it with because I was ready to jump out of my skin with excitement. I was smiling from ear to ear throughout and couldn't believe I was experiencing this. At no point did I feel disappointed or bored. After "The Incredibles" being the best Fantastic Four movie for years, I will give my personal title to this movie instead. 

Ironheart: Season One

In an effort to at least be relevant, I watched this show as quickly as my time would allow, so I could finish before it was spoiled for me. Unfortunately, it WAS, so I won't do that to you. But you come here, my tens of fans, to see what I think. I'll get right to it.

I loved this show. The episodes stuck with me long after they were over and that is a rarity with these shows. This was such a black show and that is probably why. There's unsaid things that we as a people just get when watching something like this. The fact that they got Disney money to do it makes it even sweeter. Per my new format, let me give you my bullet point notes:

• The Ironheart effects looked REALLY good. Most of these Marvel shows try to go above what their SFX budget allows (**cough** She-Hulk **cough** ), but that was not the case here. I was legitimately surprised.
• Riri was complicated and they delve as much as they can within six episodes. I don't feel like she made any moves that were inconsistent with her character. She is handling her grief throughout all of the episodes and you can see that manifest in ALL her choices.
• I loved the unique personalities of the Hood's crew. It was an "anti-woke" person's worst nightmare and I love it. I wish them a terrible day for eternity.
• At it's core in the comics, I think the Hood is a completely stupid character. They tried to ram him down our throats in the comics in the early 00's. He just doesn't work. Here, on a smaller scale he was alright. I liked him as the choice of villain because it sets up this magic versus tech confrontation.
• Picking up on the above point, I liked this magic versus tech throughline. Lord knows, I did not want to see two different people in iron man suits fighting each other again.  Normally I'll bitch about a difference in power sets (re: Captain America: Brave New World), but here I was surprisingly okay with it. Maybe it had something to do with them fleshing out the characters enough to know that their contention was personal, not simply good versus evil.
• The character of Natalie is fantastic and credit to the actress. Her and Riri put in a lot of emotional work.
• I don't know Chicago at all, but I feel like they showed you the black side of Chicago in this show and dealt with it with respect. The city felt like it's own character. 
• As is the way with these kind of stories, the heroes inadvertantly make villains out of friends. I'm not going to defend Riri, her ego set up one of her villains.
• LOVED seeing how they introduced Zora Stanton and I love seeing Cree Summer appearing in this even more. 
• I'm glad the Marvel cinematic universe got over their whole ethos of trying to make things realistic and finally embracing the magic side. I know that WandaVision and Doctor Strange crawled so that Ironheart could walk. I didn't say Agatha because this show was technically filmed long before that, so it couldn't reference anything there. 
• I do enjoy that we get a callback to the very first Iron Man by having another Stane in the show. What do I Mean? Watch to find out!
• I loved the fun way they showed the title card with each episode.

The final point I want to make and I wanted to break it out is the one negative thing about this show. It is not anything that is the show's fault. Everytime a show like Ironheart comes along (Black Female Lead, Black Female Directed, Black Female writers, hell, anyone not a straight white guy), the worst of the worst of the fandom come out to bash a show they didn't even watch. If you ever thought your fandom was free of racism, a show like this is the litmus test. 

In case you missed it, this show was review bombed before it was even released. People that never watched the show were giving it a 1 out of ten across the board and talking about how "woke" it was. First of all, some of these are fake fans. Ironheart has been around for almost a decade now, so it's not like she manifested out of nothing. 

Then there are the toxic-ass comic fans talking about how it's not accurate because she didn't have an A.I. of Tony in her suit, or Tony was able to build his armor in a cave as a way to dismiss what she accomplished. These type of people piss me off because they want their movies/tv shows to be EXACTLY like the comic book source material. I'm here to tell you, 75% of the time, that source material is shit and these shows are fixing some bad choices made back then because the showrunners have the benefit of perspective. I'll come out and say it, Riri is almost unlikeable in the comics. This show goes a long way to giving her some depth. Probably because they finally had a Black person writing for her. But I digress.

I said it before and I'll say it again, I think this show is legitimately good. It accomplishes what it needs to in a nice and tight six episode arc. It's layered, the characters are believable and are not perfect. The season ends on a cliffhanger and I pray to the old gods and the new, that she gets a follow up season. Strong recommendation to watch!

Thunderbolts*

I'm trying to keep up with the rest of the world in regards to the kind of movies that exist in my realm of expertise (i.e. Nerd shit), so I was only about a week late on watching the Thunderbolts*. I'm getting better at it.

I'll be honest, this is not a movie I asked for from Marvel. They have been floundering since Avengers: Endgame to come up with something that will catch on. I don't know how much Thunderbolts will actually catch on, but I did enjoy it. In what is a surprising rarity for Marvel movies, it was pretty grounded and street level. If by street level we mean espionage experts that are excellent hand to hand specialists. With the exception of the Sentry showing up, the power levels of everyone remained on the same level.

Let's continue in my new format that lets me get lazy and just bulllet point shit. There are spoilers so if you didn't watch the movie, you might want to wait to read this. Unless you don't care about that sort of thing.

The GOOD (or what I loved)

• I love Florence Pugh as Yelena, the new Black Widow. I'm glad that she is the center of this movie. She is the unexpected heart and she has a personal journey that she goes through. I don't know if this is a hot take, but I like her as a Black Widow more than I ever did for Scarlett Johansen. 
• I am a sucker for team dynamics and while everyone's powersets were similar, I like the personalities bouncing off each other and how they form into a family that they all needed.
• The action was really good and didn't resort to a lot of nonsensical hero stuff (lasers shooting, flying, other super hero bullshit). Just punches, kicks and some bullets. It's why more grounded stuff like Captain America: Winter Soldier stays at the top of my list.
• David Harbour is out here living his best life and his portrayal of the Red Guardian remains fun without ever going too far.
• This movie didn't reach for it's humor like Marvel movies tend to do. They didn't beat us over the head with jokes. These heroes are all dealing with depression and they don't joke around too much about it to undercut that theme.
• They treat this team like a bunch of rag tag failures (like DC's Suicide Squad or Marvel's Guardians of hte Galaxy), but everyone here feels competent which is refreshing. I'm tired of a team full of goofballs that only get serious in the last third of a movie. 
• The movie was a respectable length and nothing felt bloated. It felt surprisingly tight.
• I'm so glad we get more Julie Louis-Dreyfuss. She's a fantastic villain in this and we even get a little more of her backstory too. 
• This movie really did a good job of showing mostly everyone's backstory and motivation so that you can buy it. I do think there was a miss here and I will list that in the next section.

The BAD (what I didn't like)

• Words cannot express how much I mega-loathe the Sentry as a character. When I heard he was going to be in this, I rolled my eyes. They did the absolute best they could. But I still hate him.
• Also, they did what they could, but I also do not like John Walker. He was always an asshole and they do their best. I'll never get past my bias against him. NEXT.
• This movie does NOTHING to explain who Ghost is. If you didn't watch Antman and Wasp, you will have no idea who she is and the movie does not hold your hand. That's certainly a choice. It's hard to buy into her motivations.
• This is nitpicky, but Marvel created this problem, so I will address it. You can't keep making these movies all interconnected and tying into one another and then NOT have no other heroes show up when a big city like New York is attacked. 90% of Marvel characters live in New York, so the fact that we don't get one cameo is a problem. 
• Why are we even bothering with Bucky as a congressman? It's a weird direction for his character at this point and doesn't add anything. 
• Look, did they fumble Taskmaster in the Black Widow movie? Yes. Was I hoping they'd do more with her? Yes. Do they? Nope. She is dispensed early and quickly and that is it. With it dies my hopes of an actual Taskmaster in this universe. To be fair, his comic book version is super goofy and trying to make that work in a movie was a reach anyway.
• I was perfectly fine with the way they called themsleves the  Thunderbolts, but when they pivot to the "New Avengers", I was not down with that. At all. I also don't feel like explaining myself.

Yes, I had a number of bad things here, but I still really enjoyed this movie in spite of my what I listed here. I found it to be surprisingly fun and I did actually enjoy it.

Sinners

I know that this is a comic blog and this movie is not technically a comic book movie. Let me break my own rules with these flimsy connections. Ryan Coogler directed Black Panther and Wakanda Forever. Michael B. Jordan was in Black Panther. Hailee Steinfeld is in the Hawkeye show and is Kate Bishop that will appear in other movies. Wunmi Mosaku was in the Loki series and the Wolverine & Deadpool as an agent of the TVA. In doing a quick scan of credits, Delroy Lindo was in a tv show, "Marvel's Most Wanted", a spinoff from the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. show. So, you know... a lot of comic book ties. Justification complete!

This movie was fantastic. It was an unapologetically black movie. I'm so proud to see a movie like this doing so well. Gives me a glimmer of hope for the future as this "anti-DEI" bullshit takes a hold and manifests itself in my country. I've been thinking about this movie for days before I finally got it together and put this out. 

Anyways, lemme get to my new format to let me get my thoughts out better.

The GOOD (or what I loved)

• I want to start with the music. Music plays a very important part in this movie and it is all really good. I forgot that I liked Blues until I heard good blues music in this movie. The music in many scenes is purposeful and fits the moment in the story. I'm going to buy this soundtrack. I felt it in my soul.
• This is a gorgeous movie in the way that it's shot. Coogler had a very specific visual narrative and style to this movie that I appreciated. It made it feel classic, but also new. There is a beautiful scene in the movie where Sammie is playing his guitar and the shot swirls in and out of the dance floor. You'll know it when you see it.
• The cast is spectacular and there were no weaknesses here. I will give my flowers to Michael B. Jordan (pulling double duty), Miles Caton, Hailee Steinfeld, Wunmi Mosaku, Delroy Lindo and so many others I didn't name. There was a chemistry between the cast members.
• While the main antagonist, Remmick, is a vampire and technically the bad guy, he wasn't mustache twirling evil. He was kind of charming and he was kind of winning me over with his logic. I liked that his motivation was mostly animal instinct outside of trying to capture Sammie.
• While we're talking about Remmick, this movie dared to pose something interesting. The setting is the 1930's Jim Crow South and when Remmick poses to our main characters that they'd be better off in the post racial society of the Vampires, it made me pause. His reasoning was, humanity is not treating you well, black people, two of my new flock were actively plotting against you, so why not join us. I mean, given that offer, I might have taken him up on it.
• I Love that this took place all in one day and the stakes were just with our characters. There wasn't some grand save the world plot. Let's just make it through the night.
• I also loved that Vampires are a thing, no one spends time asking about it and they just roll with it. There wasn't some big lore dump about them. The movie doesn't treat us like we're stupid.
• As the story unfolds, Smoke and Stack have equally tragic stories and I was caught up in both of them. Yes, they wanted to make money, but they also wanted to take care of their own. As this movie showed and history taught us, no way that was going to be allowed to last.
• This movie had a slow burn with it's tension and that made for true horror. In the way that Get Out built to something, you feel that here. You're just waiting for the other shoe to drop and this movie makes you wait for it. 
• I guess Riverdancing is the dance that is used for a post racial society, huh? You know what, I'm down with that. If you've seen the movie, you'll know the scene I'm talking about.

The BAD (what I didn't like)

• This is so nitpicky. I wanted to see more of the magical herbs and spices play out in Wunmi Mosaku's character, Annie get a little more time. I was hoping she was a witch that would help fight the vampires, but it wasn't meant to be.

Don't be like me and wait too long on this movie. It is an experience and I don't use that term lightly.