By Teri Bayus
The Fantastic Four was a movie the husband was dying to see. Myself? I’m getting leery of all these comic book movies.
Don’t get me wrong, I am a total comic geek, but I am looking for some real writing, genuine acting, and not just a bunch of misfits looking to save the world. But it is summer and it is either this or another kids’ movie, so I acquiesced.
The plot: lifelong friends Reed Richards (Miles Teller) and Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell) have been working on a prototype “teleporter” since they were in elementary school.
Upon showing it off at a science fare, they attracted the attention of Professor Franklin Storm (Reg E. Cathey).
Storm was the director of a government-sponsored research facility for the young and brilliant known as the Baxter Foundation. Reed and Ben work with brother-sister, scientist, Sue Storm (Kate Mara), and technician, Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan) to create the “Quantum Gate,” an advanced teleporter crafted by Victor von Doom (Toby Kebbell), that has the ability to teleport people to different dimensions.
After a night of drinking to celebrate Quantum Gate’s success, Reed, Ben, Johnny, and Victor decided to test out the invention and subsequently wind up being in a life-threatening situation in a different dimension of the universe.
All but Victor return safely, but the survivors all exhibit some physical deformity. Reed is left able to stretch any limb of his body without limits, Sue is left with the capabilities to turn invisible, Johnny can make himself engulfed in flames at the blink of an eye, and Ben is left a towering monster made up of rocks.
Bad guys try to ruin them and the world and they fight back and eventually win. Yawn, zzz…
This movie definitely had a creative edge to it in the beginning, but it looses momentum rapidly. They introduced the main four characters fairly well, but left far too much to be desired about the villain.
The pacing of the movie is all over the place, it felt like a full hour into the movie before we saw any character with power.
The writing was groan inducing, and I was glad I had a tub of popcorn and a bottle of wine to keep me from yelling at the screen.
This film isn’t an embarrassment but an experiment gone wrong.
Another major construction project on Hwy 1 in Monterey County is slated to begin Monday, Aug. 24, creating a second spot of traffic delays and future, over-night closures, Caltrans announced.
By Teri Bayus
Patrick took us on a tour of the menu and told us they spent a year touring the country looking for comfort food with a twist. Everything is made in-house and locally sourced.