Fantastic Four

The first family of Marvel comics gets royally shafted again in the fourth disheartening attempt at putting their story on screen. Four scientists teleport to another dimension where cosmic radiation gives them superpowers in this contemporary reboot directed by Josh Trank, who fails to invest this simple escapade with the same shrewd naturalism he brought to his refreshed superhero adventure Chronicle. In the mysterious Area 57 facility, the quartet learn to harness their new rubberised/invisible/fiery/rock-solid abilities and team up to save Earth from black-hole oblivion. It's completely banal in set-up and execution, with perfunctory CG visuals of the now done-to-death variety, and even the capable young leads can't punch above the bog-standard myth-making, by-the-numbers script and reams of trite exposition. Feeling more like an elongated trailer for the next, better episode, this is strictly cardboard cut-out stuff, a tedious, underwhelming and hardly fantastic experience all round.