The Fantastic Four trailer has finally hit a couple of days ago - and, if it did anything, it further enhanced the gap between its detractors and its apologists (the trailer is in here). But it shouldn't be this way, since this is the first time we have seen anything from it and, based on this first trailer alone, the film looks more than acceptable.
It can even be said that Fox has learned something from Marvel - a superhero movie can also be a spy movie, or a fantasy or a space epic. In the case of Fantastic Four and what we have seen, it is a science fiction superhero movie.
Fantastic Four influences
Sure thing - everybody must have heard until now that Fantastic Four will draw its roots from the Ultimates. However, we are talking about a different kind of influences - and the most obvious one seems to be the realistic and gritty tone (at least in the beginning of the trailer). And this beginning surely made you think also about Interstellar - whether the director wanted this or not, we believe it is a fine touch on the Fantastic Four story, since it brings much needed gravitas (compared to the previous Fantastic Four movies, of course).
Another influence may be seen in the design of the pods (sleeping pods, teleportation devices, or whatever they may be) - the first thing we thought was that the influence resides in another science fiction masterpiece, in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
By the way, did you notice that there are two types of pods? Some seems to be made in a garage, while the others have a much more professional design.
Other influences
As director Josh Trank said, David Cronenberg's The Fly and Scanners were movies to be watched - and when we see the Thing breaking out of a rock, as a butterfly from a cocoon, then we know that he was serious. Seeing the designs of the suits (with Johnny's having some vents on the back and Reed's having springs and elastic cords), we may believe that they have no control whatsoever on their powers for now (there is also a scene in which Johnny and Sue clash, which leads us to this same conclusion).
Oh, Thing is butt-naked.
6 pods
That is right - there are 6 people entering the pods. And these are presumably Reed Richards, Johnny Storm, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm, Victor Domashev and"¦?!? Who is that 6th person? The rumor is that he or she is just there to die and show the world that the N-Zone is indeed a terrible place - but this seems to convenient for the plot (it would be like pep talking to the Avengers…). There needs to be something else"¦ Could that person be Tim Blake Nelson's Harvey Elder?
What we know is that the Fantastic Four will be pitted against a former friend - what we presume is that the friend turned villain is Victor Domashev. But he may as well be Harvey, who later turns into Mole Man (but then again, some things don't add up if we are looking at this character's comic book origins - however, this wouldn’t be the first time when the origins are forsaken, and quite frankly maybe it should happen so for this character).
Dr. Doom
Is there any Doctor Doom in this trailer? Hardly - and we can even say that he doesn't appear at all. Sure, we see someone hitting some soldiers in a hallway with electricity and we see someone (whose suit seems to be melted on his body) tied to a bed. But that's about all.
Speaking of Doom, there is however a hint. Enter these coordinates in your browser and see where they take you: 23.21.190.125
The N-Zone
According to the director, Fantastic Four will spend about 30 minutes in the N-Zone. And this seemed an awful lot of time before the trailer hit. But not now, after we saw the tone of the movie. The N-Zone is indeed a perilous place, but also a place which should be explored.
Who knows? Maybe it is indeed a gateway to another universe, where the X-Men exist"¦
