Fantastic Four

Just got before from Night At the Museum, and saw the trailer.

WOW.


The theatre was only 60% full by time the Spider-Man 3 trailer passed and many latecomers were still spilling in when the FF2 clip--which came next--was shown. The vast majority of those present were teens, but there was a good mix of other adults, parents and some little children. The clip starts out with a shot of the Surfer zooming down into the earth's atmosphere. But it wasn't until the Marvel logo flashed across the screen, when a complete hush fell on the audience again.

From the moment we saw the wedding cake topper (with it's elongated 'Reed Richards' wrapping itself around its crystal bride) there was a stir in the audience. When the camera panned on the Four themselves that stir grew into subdued whispers; I heard several whisper "Fantastic Four", making it clear that folks definitely remember the actors and their roles even before the title card was shown.

Then it got quiet again. I wished I had never seen that Youtube.com clip.

The cinematography in this teaser was beautiful. Rich, vibrant colors and everyone looked good. The most improved? Without a doubt it's Benjamin. His suit has clearly been upgraded from that "burn unit look" from the first film, to a more traditional aesthetic--his hide has greater definition; his coloring is more of a tangerine orange--which looked great as a contrast against the "normal-looking" wedding guests at the ceremony.

The music? Perfect. Pulsating...urgent. Think along the lines of the aforementioned Spider-Man trailers. It melted seamlessly into the action sequences which arrested the attention of everyone in the joint. I loved the way the music melts down to a heart beat as Surfer morphs through a glass skyscraper. When he emerges, the construction materials around his exit ripple like water, and again the drowned music made that money shot even more poignant.

Speaking of Silver Surfer...um, yeah. Norrin Radd looks like an effing chrome demigod on screen--absolutely amazing. I seriously believe all of these people whining about his eyes (of all things ) will hush up when they see him in movement. The chase through the Holland tunnel was awesome, and the point when he turned upside down and coldly stared Johnny down showed he was totally in control--and unconcerned about Johnny's little "pursuit." In just seconds, his facial expression gave me the feeling that he viewed Torch as nothing more than a pesky insect to be swatted away condescendingly. And when he grabbed Johnny by the throat the guy next to me said "Whoa...sick!" And dude wasn't the only one blown away, because by time the Silver Surfer had dragged Johnny with him to the heavens, latecommers--who had yet to even find a seat--had also stopped in their tracks in the fricking aisles to watch. The sequence was simply that good.

To be frank with you, I'm finding hard to believe that Tim Story has created this. It just....feels different. For those of you who have been on this board since the beginning, you'll recall I was one of Tim's biggest supporters the first go 'round, but was somewhat dissillusioned with much of what was done (especially the editing job). And despite set reports, etc., up until today it's been hard for me to get my excitement up for this sequel. However, I'd be lying if I didn't tell you all that I'm officially impressed and stoked now.

The "sitcom" feel from FF1? Gone. In its place? A distinct epic flavor--at least in this trailer. The action sequences and the overall framing had a sense of style--it had flair. And the tone of the entire clip is definitely grimier...edgy even. And that's a good thing. With the exception of Johnny's "But I just got this tux" wisecrack, there is no cheesiness to be found here--something that even the first film's trailers couldn't hide. This one was serious...darker.

When it was over, there was a lot of buzzing amongst the audience and not a few "schweets" mixed in too. It was by far, the most well-received trailer save the aforementioned Spider-Man 3 clip.