It isn't so fanatastic.- ***

The Fantastic Four comic series is Marvel's oldest superhero hero team and this movie is the third re-imagination into film since 2005.  This particular installment is really a step back towards history and throws us further away from  the entertainment level that the first two films provided.

Reed Richards had been working on a science project since grade 5 when he was taken in by Franklin Storm who was developing the same kind of technology through a school that is funded by the US government with the aim of discovering other sources of power. He was assigned to work alongside Franklin's children; Sue and Johnny and another genius by the name of Victor Von Doom.

The teleportation device they were working on was proven to be a success at sending organic material into another dimension and along with  Reed's best friend, Ben Grimm, the young scientists foolishly decided an unauthorized test at sending themselves to the other dimension with the intention of being the first humans to successfully come back from another world.  They were able to comeback sans Victor because of  some instability in the other world, and this transport back to our world genetically changed their bodies allowing some sort of powers that are different from one another.

The success and failure of this film largely depends on the viewer.  If one is expecting an action packed, special-effects laden super hero film then this film will just ruin your day.  But if you are someone who would like to understand some details pertaining to their origins as a group then you might like to take some time out and watch this film.

What is ultimately wrong about this film is that it inadvertently broke the momentum that the first two films did and thus it suffers to be called the worst of three films.  It is dark and melodramatic and it spent too much time on the narrative that it forgets to entertain. If you ask me, this film wasn't so bad,  I was glad to see Miles Teller and Jamie Bell. I appreciated that now I know how they are all related.  I appreciated knowing the origins of their powers.  I had wished to see more dynamics in their relationships, like the friendship of Reed and Ben would have been a nice subject to explore or maybe get a glimpse of how Victor's feelings for Sue started but these would have made the film more dramatic.

In summary, there is still much to be desired even by judging this film on its own terms, but then this film possesses a solid story worth telling and it challenges our definition of a super hero film and in effect opens our minds.