The first teaser for Fox’s expensive reboot of Marvel’s “Fantastic Four,” was all about mystery and atmosphere. It was intriguing and atmospheric, and certainly hooked those of us who appreciate a less-is-more approach, but we’re about to enter the summer movie murder-dome; it’s time to show off the goods or get out of the race. And the goods are certainly on display in this new trailer for “Fantastic Four,” which beams into cinemas in August.
This new trailer sets up the basic premise more clearly: a group of daring scientist adventurers travels to an alternate dimension, get doused with radiation, and return home with superpowers. Reed Richards (Miles Teller) can stretch, Sue Storm (Kate Mara) can turn invisible and has force fields, Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan) can light on fire and fly and Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell) turns into a rocky monster known as The Thing. (Also, Victor Domashev (Toby Kebbell) gets zapped and turns bad. (Honestly plot specifics are still a little fuzzy.) The main threat seems to be that their doorway to another dimension has been left open, which will undoubtedly cause certain problems for those us on earth. So they’ve got to team up and get super-heroic!
“Fantastic Four” was directed by Josh Trank, who helmed the low-budget, found-footage superhero romp “Chronicle,” and you can tell that he accomplishes a kind of tactile earthiness to something that could have gotten very silly very quickly. It’s also nice that it’s punctuated with moments of humor, since the first trailer was almost uncomfortably solemn. Other thoughts: The Thing looks great, as does Kate Mara’s hair, and hey, it’s Reg E. Cathey as Dr. Franklin Storm! That is so, so awesome!
“Fantastic Four” lights up on August 7th.
The long-awaited first teaser trailer for the reboot of “