Movie Review: Fantastic Four

Why do movie producers feel like they need to keep remaking movies all the time? Yeah, maybe it'd be nice if the movies that are considered terribly done get remade well, but can't we have new stories? Instead of remaking Jumanji, make a movie based on another book. Instead of remaking League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, find another less-known comic and make it into a movie. Instead of remaking Fantastic Four (and Spiderman 10,000 times), they should start on Ms. Marvel or Spider Gwen, or hOW ABOUT BLACK WIDOW.

In this reboot of Fantastic Four, Reed, Johnny, Sue, and Ben are all teenagers, though the movie opens when they are children and Reed is trying to make a working teleportation device. I actually really liked how they showed the four of them as kids and then teens in this version.

The writer of the script/the director cut out all scenes where the Four would be discovering their powers and figuring out how to work them. I don't know about you, but that is one of the coolest parts of a superhero movie. And if you hadn't seen the original Fantastic Four movie, you may be confused about their powers anyway.

Doctor Doom was a pretty cool villain and I really liked him in this version-or at least for the majority of the movie.

I didn't think this movie was all that special, though I enjoyed it until the very end. **BEGIN SPOILERS** When Reed, Johnny, Sue, and Ben escape the other dimension, they leave Victor von Doom behind. A scientific visit to the dimension reveals that Victor did not die in the explosion, but gained powers stronger than any of the Four. Victor then comes back to Earth and announces that he hates humanity so much he is going to completely destroy the planet. (I know how you feel Victor...I know how you feel). But he has the whole other dimension...why can't he just stay there and be happy living alone without anyone else to "ruin the world"? (Okay maybe that's not what a villain would do, but it's more logical...). If I had made this movie, I would have just ended it when Victor returns to the other dimension to live alone and the world is "saved". Maybe throw in some resistance and a fight scene with cool powers when the Four convince him to leave and stay in the other dimension.

Oh...and how does it make sense that Victor von Doom's powers are stronger on Earth than on his homeworld where he got them from? He uses them excessively on Earth and then barely uses them all in the end fight in the other dimension. **END SPOILERS**

There was no post-credit scene. I don't know what they would have done for the post-credit scene-I don't even know if they are going to make this into a series-but this is Marvel. Post-credit scenes are a huge thing for Marvel now. Just like Stan Lee's cameo is. (Was he in this...?? I don't recall seeing him, either...) **Edit: According to an article I read, Stan Lee's cameo was cut out due to "behind the scenes troubles"

Ratatouille

It has been a week or so since we finished watching Ratatouille in CrossNCulture class. Now I must write my reflections and thoughts. So, without further ado..

A quick summary:
    Remy is a young rat who desires more than just the garbage food that everyone else in his family is satisfied with. He kept going back to the kitchen in the human's house to get nicer food, and found a cookbook. But when the lady who owns the house finds all the rats, she drives them out and Remy gets separated. Eventually, he starts helping Linguini, a young worker at Gusteu's restaurant. Because he had a passion for cooking, he was able to excel at it, and help out the restaurant, as well as bring out the truth with Linguini.

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     "Anyone can cook"

    With this motivational message from Auguste Gusteau, Remy is sure that he can be much more than every other rat is. Everyone keeps telling him that he is a rat, and rats only eat garbage, but when one person encourages him, his dreams come closer to becoming real. He does not let everyone get him down, and one person believing in him is enough to get him to his goal.
    In the same way, the world tells us that we cannot do certain things and have to stick to the "status quo", but as Christians, we need to know that we are different.

"You can't change nature."

    After finding out about his job in the kitchen, Remy's father takes him to a rat poison store to show him what normally happens to rats who do not know their place. He says that rats will always be considered filthy pests, and humans will always hate them. Remy is horrified at what he sees, yet he does not believe that things always have to be that way. To his father's dismay and confusion, Remy turns around and returns to the kitchen of Gusteau's restaurant.
    A lot of people think that once someone has an identity, they cannot change. People can change, though, just not on their own. We need God's grace and forgiveness to help us. In the same way, Remy and the people in the kitchen cannot change by themselves. They need each other's help to see what each different group is like.

"The world belongs to the enemy"

    Remy's father tells this to Remy at the rat poison shop, hoping to make it clear that the humans are in charge of the world, and the rats need to stay hidden.
    This is true for us, too. The world (or many things of the world, at least) belongs to the enemy, Satan. We need to be careful not to let the enemy get ahold of us.

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There are a handful main messages in Ratatouille, some of them being positive and a few being not so positive.

 

Negative themes:

-Defying the rules is okay, as long as you think you are doing good.



Remy knows that his family's rules are to stay together and only do what rats normally do. And definitely do not entre the house. But Remy does what he is not supposed to do anyway, because he wants to learn how to cook and be a great chef. While being a really awesome cook is not evil, the way Remy defied his father's rules was not the way to do so.
-People cannot change (beginning of the movie, Remy's father)
Remy's father believed that people cannot change their nature, but we know that they can, with the help of God.

Positive themes:
-People can change (end of the movie)
By the end of the movie, it is made clear that people really can change how they think and act.
-Anyone can be great
All people have potential, and if they work hard, they can do great things, and be even greater with the help of God.
-Family
Remy learns that he needs his family. While it is important to learn how to be independent, it is really important to stick with your family and help each other out.

Biblical Elements:
-Don't let people limit you because of where you come from
-Do not focus on the past

Art:
-The animation was very realistic. Rats were real-looking (but also cute)
-Gas mask lady in the beginning had great potential for nightmares (don't ask...)
-The food was very realistic and some people claimed that it made them seem hungry

Symbolic Names:
-Linguini=long, skinny, easily broken pasta. In the movie, Linguini was a tall, skinny boy who did not have much authority.
-Gusteau=large. Gusteau was a large/fat chef, and his business was also very large and popular
-Ego. Only thought about himself and how he feels about things.

Other things:
-Food
At first, Remy does not eat with his family, but then he does. (fellowship)
-Tired of pretending
Remy is tired of pretending to only be a normal rat

=Where is your identity?=


Note: I wrote this for my CrossNCulture/Bible class to publish on this blog.