Fantastic Four -- The End of Decency

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Fantastic Four -- The End of Decency

    I (unfortunately) caught this today when it arrived at the second-run cinema.

    SPOILERS

    Honestly, this film is a great watch for screenwriters in learning exactly how NOT to write a superhero movie (or any movie of that kind).

    You know how gurus always emphasize "The Want" of the protagonist? How it needs to be relatable, visceral? This film's want was "Gee, I'd like to know which desert that sand keeps coming from." Since the protag wasn't actually pursuing anything, it felt like an endlessly meandering sequence of scenes.

    The third act was literally the worst I've seen in... I don't even know. It felt like the writers wrote all the way to page 100 and then realized "Oh, sh*t! We don't have an antagonist or even a third act yet! Quick, throw one in!" In the span of what felt like 10 minutes we had the main villain pop out of nowhere, the mentor die, then the team inexplicably unite to quickly incinerate the bad guy. It's like the writers/director had a bus to catch.

    I'm aware there were development problems, but... come on!
    I'm never wrong. Reality is just stubborn.

  • #2
    Re: Fantastic Four -- The End of Decency

    We don't know what happened. But as a fellow writer I'm always on the side of the writer vs studio notes. Because I've had my work go from good to better with notes and to ****. So I can only imagine what happens (hear stories from people like Kevin Smith and Adam Green) of the notes they get like "make sure Superman doesn't fly." So Trank might have been off the rails, but maybe just maybe the studio interference made him go crazy.

    Either way, sometimes they rush in. And sometimes they have a great script, everyone is exicted and then as they start filming they start making changes, they cut budget, they lose confidence and it all gets ****ed up.

    Star Trek V -- a huge movie -- had that terrible Act 3 ending because of budget cuts and couldn't get the good people to do effects. It happens all the time.

    To just blame the filmmakers outright on a studio picture isn't always fair. Same way when over praising a writer or director isn't fair as it takes tons of people to make good art or terrible art.

    And often the same people are doing both.

    I didn't see movie. But Chronicle was a solid film. No doubt in my mind that Trank's tweet of "my version was great" was the wrong thing to say but true.

    http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/07...sh-trank-tweet

    Just saying. One day if we are lucky we might also be in the same situation. And you'll be like "dude on message board, why don't you get it?"

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Fantastic Four -- The End of Decency

      I do think the title of this tread is a bit hyperbolic. I mean, horrible movies come out all the time. Why is this one special?

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Fantastic Four -- The End of Decency

        Originally posted by UnequalProductions View Post
        I do think the title of this tread is a bit hyperbolic. I mean, horrible movies come out all the time. Why is this one special?
        I remember Craig Mazin saying something like "Movie-goers complain that the scripts were awful, and that they could do better, but they can't. They don't have the writing skills necessary."

        Let's just say an average movie-goer could've wrote a better third act.

        You really do have to watch the film.
        I'm never wrong. Reality is just stubborn.

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Fantastic Four -- The End of Decency

          If you know a little of the background of this movie, you know that what resulted was not the ideal version for anyone involved in the production. It was a rushed production, because they had to meet a deadline in order to keep the rights, so the script was not finished and there were apparently major creative differences between those involved. Because of that, there's plenty to criticize about the final product and lessons to be learned, but it's hardly fair to look at storytelling in the final product as a reflection of the abilities and intentions of the writers involved.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Fantastic Four -- The End of Decency

            Originally posted by TheKeenGuy View Post
            Because of that, there's plenty to criticize about the final product and lessons to be learned, but it's hardly fair to look at storytelling in the final product as a reflection of the abilities and intentions of the writers involved.
            You say not to blame the writers, but if they were really concerned about the quality of the work, they should have quit and rejected any writing credits
            I'm never wrong. Reality is just stubborn.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Fantastic Four -- The End of Decency

              Originally posted by FoxHound View Post
              You say not to blame the writers, but if they were really concerned about the quality of the work, they should have quit and rejected any writing credits
              Isn't that basically the nuclear option, professionally speaking? I'm pretty sure only people who have enough success to get away with bratty behavior (and live without any negotiated bonuses from credit) can really do that without doing damage to their reputations.

              Though when it comes to writers, it is useful to remember that the person who gets credit isn't likely responsible for anything that got rewritten after them.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Fantastic Four -- The End of Decency

                Originally posted by FoxHound View Post
                You say not to blame the writers, but if they were really concerned about the quality of the work, they should have quit and rejected any writing credits
                Well, that's awfully whimsical. Sometimes writers have and can exercise those options without any particular blowback, and more power to them if that actually has some kind of positive outcome. However, it's just not that simple most of the time. To suggest that writers who don't quit projects that turn out bad don't care about the quality of the work, it's just insulting and assumes that writers have a lot more power than they do. Very often, that kind of approach would only damage the final product and, even more so, the writer's career.

                Don't doubt that when it comes to most productions, big and small alike, that turn out great and awful alike, most of the conflict comes from people genuinely trying to make the best film possible and not having the same vision for how to do so, usually under great financial constraints. It's easy to Monday morning quarterback the situation, but drop your average moviegoer into the crisis of trying to rework the third act of FANTASTIC FOUR at the eleventh hour, and their brain would have melted.

                If you really want to lay blame on why a movie like this goes wrong, it's still not as simple as this, but I'd most often say follow the money.

                Comment

                Working...
                X