Fantastic Four reboot director Josh Trank reviewed his own film this weekend on Letterboxd.
One of the most iconic cinematic bluffs this decade was Josh Trank’s 2015 reboot of Fantastic Four, which was plagued due to constant studio meddling, a plethora of reshoots and cuts, and Josh Trank’s own rumored chaotic behavior. One of the prime reasons the film was made was so Fox could retain the rights to the Fantastic Four films. With the film forced to be fast-tracked, and Fantastic Four being Josh Trank’s second movie, it was fair to say that the stars weren’t mean to align.
Over the weekend, Josh Trank joined the popular film review social media site Letterboxd, where he decided to review the 2015 Fantastic Four reboot. In his review, Josh Trank expressed how this particular viewing was his first since two weeks before the film came out in 2015.
“I was expecting it to be much worse than it was. I literally haven’t seen it since like two weeks before it came out,”
Josh Trank continued his 2-star review of the film by expressing how he had a fantastic cast for Fantastic Four, yet their efforts were wasted on a movie that they didn’t sign up for.
“Great cast. Everyone in the film is a great actor, and overall there is a movie in there, somewhere. And that cast deserves to be in THAT movie. Everyone who worked on Fant4stic clearly wanted to be making THAT movie. But…. ultimately… It wasn’t.”
Josh Trank also confirmed himself that there was a decent amount of studio meddling, suggesting that the final Fantastic Four product was a spliced version of multiple cuts of the film.
“What I can tell is there are TWO different movies in one movie competing to be that movie.”
Following his comments regarding there being competing cuts of the film, Josh Trank brought up the #ReleaseTheSnyderCut movement and its validity considering how storied Zack Snyder’s films are. The director continued by stating that there’s no point to a #ReleaseTheTrankCut movement, saying he was young when he made Fantastic Four but he doesn’t regret the situation he was forced into.
“Is there a #releasethetrankcut? Doesn’t matter. I’m not Zack Snyder. Zack Snyder is a storied, iconic, legendary filmmaker who has been knocking it out of the fucking park since I was in high school I was 29 years old, making my 2nd film, in a situation more complicated than anything a 2nd time filmmaker should’ve walked into. That said… I don’t regret any of it.”
Josh Trank ended the review by acknowledging the long-gestating rumors that Peyton Reed of Ant-Man fame would be taking on the Fantastic Four reboot for Disney.
“And I just hope Peyton Reed makes the next Fantastic Four and crushes it. And that I get a cameo.”
It’s genuinely breathtaking to see a filmmaker such as Josh Trank to be self-aware enough and not only review his own movie but also give fans further insight into one of the most prolific cinematic debacles of the decade. Despite Fantastic Four being a critical and commercial failure, Josh Trank has bounced back up and is currently directing Fonzo, a film based on Al Capone that stars Tom Hardy.
What are your thoughts on Josh Trank’s review of Fantastic Four? Comment below and let us know!
Here’s the synopsis for Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four:
Four young outsiders teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe which alters their physical form in shocking ways. The four must learn to harness their new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend turned enemy.
Fantastic Four was directed by Josh Trank and stars Miles Teller, Michael B Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, Toby Kebbell.
Josh Trank‘s Fantastic Four is available in 4k Ultra, Blu-Ray and DVD.
