One Marvelous Scene: Fant4stic

[Winter]

Fant4stic is the WORST Superhero movie I've ever had the misfortune to see. Ignoring how it has little to nothing in common with the source material it's bland, boring, all the characters are either unlikable or forgettable, the action is dull and I the plot is driven by stupidity. For all their faults the Fox Fantastic 4 films have a certain charm to them that at least makes them fun to watch if you've got nothing better to do and does at least TRY to be like the comics... It Failed but it still tried... And I still think that Michael Chiklis is the Best Ben Grimm out of all of them and would love to see him reprise his role as The Thing.

But Fant4stic is just bad... But it has it's moments. Not many but it does have them.

Case in point, my favorite scene in the film is one that I honestly think is great and that's the Hallway scene with Crash Dummy Doom.


youtu.be/aUG2MIDhV70

This is honestly wonderfully creepy with the music having this fast pace drum beat and the sound mixing emphasis Doom's slow calm breathing. And the deaths are just unnerving as people's heads explode as Doom kills anyone who just happens to be within his line of sight and he clearly shows no signs of effort or remorse in doing so. And this is one time the design of Doom actually works to the film's advantage as his blank expressionless mask gives him a doll like appearance.

It's honestly really good. Such a shame that it's in this Crap Sack of a movie that did so badly that EVERYONE hates it, including the people who made it and almost destroyed Josh Trank's film carrier. In fact he wouldn't make another movie for 6 years and even then it's unlikely that he will ever escape Fant4stic.

Really, for the F4 there's no where to go but up, this IS the bottom of the barrel. There is literally NOTHING that can be worse. But this scene with Doom was honestly a really good moment and one that really deserves more credit.

[Madner Kami]

Yeah, well, that scene was stolen.

[Winter]

Yeah, well, that scene was stolen.

From what?

[Madner Kami]

Yeah, well, that scene was stolen.

From what?

Elfen Lied comes to mind immediatly, 2004. I vaguely recall Hellsing having a very similar scene as well, but can't put my finger on it, so it might actually be another series, 1999.

[Winter]

Yeah, well, that scene was stolen.

From what?

Elfen Lied comes to mind immediatly, 2004. I vaguely recall Hellsing having a very similar scene as well, but can't put my finger on it, so it might actually be another series, 1999.

Then it might not be a case of stolen but rather inspired by other stories. Trank did say that he wanted to make a superhero movie based on the Horror Movie Scanners and I can see a lot of that in this scene but it doesn't feel like ripoff to me. And even if it is stolen that doesn't negate my point that it's the best scene in the movie and does show the potential of the film even if it would have been F4 in name only.

[Madner Kami]

Well, the jump from homeage to ripoff isn't particularly far, I admit that. I'd still call it a ripoff, because I remember quite a number of particular moments from that scene having been elsewhere literally 1 to 1. Specifically the guy pressing against the wall in desperation to get out of the way and getting his head exploded for example. I've seen that before, but I can't figure out where it was. Elfenlied and Hellsing were only my second best guesses...and just as I write these lines I figured it out. AKIRA! Specifically Tetsuo's escape from the research facility!


youtu.be/jZ0ECP9XN9M

Of course fucking Akira (sorry, I can't find a video with the complete scene, but I am certain you've seen Akira and if not: DO IT RIGHT NOW). Though the more sadistic moments are very much from Elfen Lied. And on the opposite end, you got Vader's hallway scene in Rogue One, though that movie was released a year after Fantfourstic. Either way, my point being, the scene isn't particularly original, the movie didn't do it first. It's a good scene, yes, but it's a good thing that's not original or particularly unique in a movie that is fairly uninspired overall. To me, it's like putting an *insert favoured treat of choice, which you like but have ample access to* in an otherwise flavourless meal.

[Frustration]

And of course Tetsuo is just a tiny child, compared to Akira. It's not a coincidence Akira means 'light' in Japanese.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Here's the redux Weapon X escape redone from X-Men Origins '09. Seems kinda similar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2kDIzijJ2U