In my fantasies, I’m quarantining with Chris Evans (yes we’re talking about the old F4). In reality, I’m perfectly content (dare I say borderline ecstatic) to be by myself and not having to deal with social interactions, but right now, Chris is the one person I’d allow into my isolation bubble. His pup Dodger is absolutely welcome as well (even though I’m sure Lestat would have something to say about that).
So it shouldn’t be too hard to follow my thinking in choosing this movie to watch the other day. I know him so well as Captain America, but it’s been a very long time since I’d seen him as Johnny Storm (fun Dawn fact: the first wallpaper I ever had on my phone way back in the day was Chris as the Human Torch). And I wondered how that film would hold up in a post-MCU world.
It does still work in its way. Keep in mind, this movie isn’t only pre-MCU, it’s also pre-Dark Knight, which was really the first franchise that changed the superhero genre. Fantastic Four has all the hallmarks of superhero movies before the game was changed, and the ones that a lot of people can’t seem to register don’t apply anymore.
The movie is fun and light. It moves quickly with silly moments and big action. There’s no deep philosophical meaning or dark and gritty weight of the world bearing down on their shoulders. It’s just a good time, and I enjoyed it. Sure, it doesn’t tonally fit with what’s going on in the cinematic superhero world, but it doesn’t matter. It fits the time it was released in, and it provided that burst of positivity that I’ve been chasing during these tougher times.
I enjoyed it enough to add Silver Surfer to my watch pile, but I’m less optimistic about that one.