DON’T MEAN A THING IF YOU AIN’T GOT THAT THING
July 8th, 2005 | by Tom(6 votes, average: 8.67 out of 10)
T.G.I.F., homeboys and homegirls. “It’s Clobberin’ Time!” indeed!
As most of you know, the big screen adaptation of the classic Marvel comic book Fantastic Four hits screens today. Most are expecting it to land with a resounding thud. Me, on the other hand? I’m… conflicted.
I’ll admit that my initial impression of the film was very negative. The casting of the principle characters was WAY off base for me. Each of the Four felt like an ill fit except for Michael Chiklis as the ever-lovin’, blue-eyed Thing.
But even my excitement to see the erstwhile Commish in his portrayal was dulled by frequent interviews Chiklis gave complaining about wearing the laytex suit created for the The Thing.
Maybe he earns points for being the only actor that’s even READ the comics, but when you want to get hyped up for a movie, you don’t want to hear the actors complain about what a pain in the ass it was to make.
So time passes. Pictures, teaser posters and trailers come and go. Even the first round of television commercials really sucked. Heap on all of the merchandising on top of that, and I’m far past caring about this movie.
But a little voice in the back of the head keeps nagging me. “But you loved the Fantastic Four growing up! Won’t you see this movie? Won’t you see it just to placate your curiosity?”
And suddenly, as if by magic, the promotional materials started looking more appealing. There was The Thing in his fedora and overcoat trying to look innocuous. There was that commercial where the Human Torch pranks The Thing with the old “shaving cream in the hand while sleeping” routine – perfectly capturing the playfully contentious relationship of the comics. Maybe this movie won’t be so bad after all.
But the tide of negative buzz around this movie is enormous. It seems most people are beyond thinking for themselves on this one. So for even the morbidly curious to step forward and say “Hey, I might actually be interested in seeing this.” is met with a showering chorus of “Are you stupid?! It’s going to be TERRIBLE.”
Oh to be a nerd without a country.
I would totally see the film this weekend if we weren’t getting ready for our big move to the new house next week. So buckle up because that means you’re in store for a WHOLE WEEK of guest strips while my computer is packed away in Styrofoam peanuts. We’ve got some good stuff lined up. You won’t be disapointed.
I hope everyone has a great weekend! I’ll see you all again soon!
If you’re curious about the costume Tom is wearing in today’s comic, it is the assembled product of Madison Avenue in overdrive and is available in most online and brick and mortar retailers.
Noting the success of the Hulk hands from the Hulk movie a few years ago (which some note that the merchandising made more profit than the film), producers of the new Fantastic Four movie decided to up the ante and said “Comically over-sized electronic hands weren’t enough. This year we’re doing feet, a mask and chest plate!”
Incidentally, I did a comic about the erstwhile Hulk hands on June 20, 2003. So it felt only right to do a comic about its profiteering cousin. Enjoy!
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